Crazy-Good Lemon Bars

Who here, besides me, has been keeping up with the latest season of The Next Food Network Star? 

Wait--that's right, nobody is because you know why? It freaking sucks balls.

Excuse my rather vulgar language but honestly, the Food Network isn't what it used to be. Don't get me wrong, I love the network and most of its shows and chefs. BUT, this latest season of FN Star made me seriously want to gouge my eyeballs out. 

What was so frustrating about it is that it had so much potential. It had a great batch of finalists, with several particularly strong cooks like Viet Pham (who once beat Bobby Flay in Iron Chef America, for heavens sake). They all had good points of view. They (mostly) knew how to cook. But as the ridiculous challenges came on, they were all picked off one by one, some for the most retarded of reasons. Some finalists, like the snotty and angry Danushka, they left on to create "drama" and some finalists weren't even given a fair chance (I feel so bad for poor Daniella, who was kicked off in the first episode). Now, I'm not saying the three finalists still left aren't good. I'm just mad that the ones I was really rooting for got booted out just because they didn't do particularly well that week

Maybe I really should learn to care less about these things. Because so what if one of my favorites got to be the next FN star? I probably won't watch their shows anyway. 

In yo face, Food Network.

Anyways, the real reason I mentioned this show (and went off on a crazy rant) is because on one of the episodes, the contestants were asked to taste a plate of food and describe it as best as they could without using generic words like "good" or "delicious" or "tasty," things that apparently "mean nothing to viewers." Which then got me thinking about just how many times I used those terms in my last post about NYC. And how terrible of a food writer I was. I mean, at least I could do some creative brainstorming beforehand. 

So as of now, I have resolved to become a better food blogger and save my special collection of overused food terms for only things I think are truly great. For example, these Crazy-Good Lemon Bars.

Call this base treachery if you will, but before last summer, I had never had a lemon bar or particularly liked lemons in anything. They just weren't my cup of tea. And plus, I wasn't exposed to it much as a kid. It's just not that commonly used in Chinese household cooking.

Anyways, so one Monday during our weekly lab meeting, my boss brought in some leftover lemon bars she had made for a party that weekend. And after I sampled one, I immediately fell in love. It was like a sweet, but tart, delightfully-creamy brownie, perfect for brightening up a disgustingly-humid summer day. And the crazy thing was, they were made from a box mix, which in my book, should've been completely abhorrent (okay, maybe I haven't given box mixes the fair chance they deserve). So I thought, if a box mix lemon bar could be that good, than the real thing must be truly phenomenal. I just had to try it out myself.

That night, after I had bought a sackful of lemons and extra eggs at the supermarket, I tried out a recipe I found from My Baking Addiction which combined a softer shortbread crust with Ina Garten's Lemon-Bar filling. Although I ran into some difficulties (I had to hand squeeze my lemons and leave out the zest because I didn't have a zester) and mistakenly over-baked my lemon bars, the pieces I could eat, I have to say, were simply divine. Just complete perfection, even better than the ones I had eaten that morning. I had again, hit a dessert jack-pot. 

They were so delicious in fact, that one of my friends requested it for her upcoming birthday the next month. And so, with the intention of creating absolutely perfect lemon bars the second time around, I went ahead and purchased a zester and extra fruit for decoration. And it made all the difference in the world. My friend declared them "amazing" and I was showered with compliments throughout the day. Which felt incredibly nice. Like I hadn't failed at something. For once. 

Point of the matter is, the zest matters, people! If you don't have a zester, go get one! It's super useful and you'll end up needing it for so many unforetold things.

So here is the glorious recipe copied from My Baking Addiction:

Crazy-Good Lemon Bars

Adapted from Ina Garten and Cook’s Illustrated Magazine, May, 1998

INGREDIENTS
The Crust
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup confectioners’ sugar — plus extra to
decorate finished bars
1/4 cup cornstarch
3/4 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons unsalted butter — (1 1/2 sticks) at
very cool room temperature, cut into
1-inch pieces, plus extra for greasing pan

The Filling
6 extra-large eggs at room temperature
3 cups granulated sugar
2 tablespoons grated lemon zest (4 to 6 lemons) -the more zest, the better
1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice -no fake lemon concentrate, please!
1 cup flour
Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting

Note:
The lemon filling must be added to a warm crust. The 30-minute chilling and 20-minute baking of the crust should allow plenty of time to prepare the filling. If not, make the filling first and stir to blend just before pouring it into the crust. Any leftover bars can be sealed in plastic wrap and refrigerated for up to two days.

DIRECTIONS
1. For the crust: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter a 13-by-9-inch baking dish and line with one sheet parchment or wax paper. Dot paper with butter, then lay second sheet crosswise over it.

2. Pulse flour, confectioners’ sugar, cornstarch, and salt in food processor workbowl fitted with steel blade. Add butter and process to blend, 8 to 10 seconds, then pulse until mixture is pale yellow and resembles coarse meal, about three 1-second bursts. (To do this by hand, mix flour, confectioners’ sugar, cornstarch, and salt in medium bowl. Freeze butter and grate it on large holes of box grater into flour mixture. Toss butter pieces to coat. Rub pieces between your fingers for a minute, until flour turns pale yellow and coarse.) Sprinkle mixture into lined pan and press firmly with fingers into even, 1/4-inch layer over entire pan bottom and about 1/2 inch up sides. Refrigerate for 30 minutes, then bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes.

3. For the filling, whisk together the eggs, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and flour. Pour over the crust and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the filling is set. Let cool to room temperature. Probably better to underbake than overbake these. I suggest wiggling the tray a little and see if the center jiggles a bit. If it does, it's probably done.

4. Dust with Confectioners’ sugar and cut into squares. The second time, I made mine into a tart-like form and decorated the center and edges with raspberries. It looked so pretty :)

Anyways, that's all for today! I hope I have finally redeemed myself in the eyes of the illustrious Lemon Gods out there. I will, for sure, be on the lookout for more incredible lemon desserts in the future. 

Remember folks, if the recipe calls for it, don't forget to zest, zest, zest!

Aw, look at my beautiful baby!