Summer Delight: Silky Lemon Semifreddo

 

Have I mentioned how HOT it is in Texas?  So hot that I've been having an ice cream sandwich or popsicle every day. Probably not the best diet to have.

My daily conversations with Liz always revolve around food - what we are currently eating, plan to cook or would love to be eating. She is a master hostess and made an amazing ice cream dessert for one of her dinner parties, which inspired me to make a semifreddo.  

In my research for the best recipe, I found that there are several many ways to make this dessert.  It doesn't have to be citrus based - some are based on berries, bananas or mangoes. Insight from Liz is that the flavor sometimes isn't as strong so in order to get that intense lemon flavor, I added more lemon and lime juice than the original recipe and also cut back on the sugar and buttered crust. You can also add in some lemon flavored liquor to give it a little more punch, but I can't justify buying a bottle of limoncello, for instance, just for one dessert. 

Just be prepared, you'll go through several bowls and mixers. Another downside? You have to wait eight hours until you can enjoy it, but that gives you plenty of time to do the dishes...

Lemon Semifreddo

(adapted from Giada)

20 amaretto cookies (can be found at Central Market)

1 cup heavy cream

Zest from 2 lemons

Zest from 1 lime

1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (approximately 4-5 large lemons for me)

1/4 cup lime juice (approximately 4 limes) 

8 egg yolks

1/3 cup sugar

1/4 cup sugar 

Pinch of salt

1. Prepare everything first. Zest the lemons and lime first before squeeze the juice from them. Squeeze the rest of the lemons and limes, which I do directly into the measuring cup so I know exactly how many more lemons/limes I need. Get a large bowl, fill with water and ice and set aside.

 

2. Get a small saucepan with water, put on stove until it starts simmering. While that is happening, separate the egg yolks and whites. Save the whites for another meal/dish. Put the egg yolks directly into a large bowl that will fit on top of the pot of simmering water.  Add 1/3 cup sugar, lemon and lime juice, and the salt. 

3. Put it on top of the simmering water on the stove and using an electric mixer, mix until it almost triples in size and is fluffy, creamy/frothing and turns a pale yellow. This took about 7 minutes.

 

4. Once done, take the bowl and put into the ice bath so it completely cools down. Fold in the zest.

 

5. Next, whip the heavy cream and 1/4 cup sugar until it also triples in size and holds firm peaks when you stop.

6. Fold the heavy whipping cream into the lemon mixture.

7. Take a loaf pan and spray with cooking oil.  Take a plastic wrap that is enough to wrap around the pan and stick it to the bottom and sides of the pan.  Make sure you have enough plastic wrap hanging over both sides of the pan so that you can fold this over later. Take a few handfuls of the amaretto cookies and crumble them into the bottom of the loaf pan until you have a very very very thin layer of crumbles.  This was approximately 10-12 cookies.  If you wanted a firmer, richer crust, you can mix the crumbled cookies with melted butter before putting in the pan, but I think this is just fine without those few extra calories...

8. Pour the mixture into the loaf pan.  Fold over the plastic wrap so it covers the top and put this in the freezer for a least 8 hours, preferably overnight.

9. To serve, unfold the top two layers of plastic wrap and pull out. If you can't, put the sides of the loaf pan under hot water - careful not to get the semifreddo wet.  You should be able to easily take out.  Slice about 1 inch pieces for a serving and crumble two amaretto cookies on top for additional extra crunch.  

I dare you to have only one slice.

Mushroom & Jicama Salad

I've been on a side dish, salad, quick and easy kick for a few weeks now. This is one of the easiest salads to make and watch out, you may end up eating the entire dish in one sitting! I've had jicama before, and at the time, it was served in slices with no additional seasoning. Honestly, I wasn't impressed. It's a type of food that is good while you are eating it, but not exciting enough to make you run out and buy several to eat again for the next few days. (Like I do often with mushrooms, tomatos, squash, cheese....) It wasn't until a recent trip to Hawaii with my sister that I had jicama again - cut into cubes with other raw vegetables in a citrus dressing. We couldn't figure out every ingredient in the dish. It was good enough that we went back for tres servings each - good thing it was a buffet!
I saw this recipe from Giadda a few weeks later - pretty perfect in that it included cheese and mushrooms. Fresh from Hawaii, I thought Jicama would make a perfect addition to this dish - and I was right! White button mushrooms have a contrasting light vs. dense consistency so the jicama adds a juicy and sweet side to the dish. I pretty much ate half - 2 servings - in one sitting and skipped my main dish since I was full on this salad. The below recipe is the original recipe from Giadda - I just added in Jicama slices and lemon zest.
Fresh Mushroom & Parsley Salad

Recipe from Giadda

1 pound large button mushrooms, trimmed, cleaned and thinly sliced
1/3 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (I squeezed approximately 2 large lemons)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2-ounce piece Parmesan

(I added in 1 half medium sized Jicama sliced)

(I added in the zest of one lemon)

In a medium salad bowl, mix together the mushrooms and parsley. (Add Jicama here)

In a small bowl, whisk together the oil and lemon juice until smooth (also added in lemon zest here). Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Add the oil mixture to the salad bowl and toss until all the ingredients are coated. Shave the Parmesan on top and serve.