Lemon Love

I believe I found something that Mr. R and I can disagree about: I use ketchup in my Chicken Marsala. Horror of horrors! To my credit, it's not Heinz ketchup I use, and I still think a couple of teaspoons' worth of ketchup is better than opening a can of tomato paste, but nevertheless... I also wanted to buy pre-sliced white button mushrooms and he wanted bulk portabellas that he would slice himself. I've been outgunned. The man also makes a mean Caprese Salad, hunting for heirloom tomatoes and the good balsamic. I think I'm in love.



One thing we can agree on is our fondness for lemon desserts. Of late we've made two recipes with Meyer lemons, mousse and sherbet. The sherbet was just right, with just enough sourness to wake you up and a perfect creamy soft texture.

Meyer Lemon Sherbet
adapted from Cook's Illustrated

Ingredients

1 tablespoon grated lemon zest from 1 to 2 lemons
1 cup granulated sugar (7 ounces)
1/8 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup Meyer lemon juice, plus 1 cup water
2 teaspoons Grand Marnier, optional
2/3 cup heavy cream, chilled

Instructions

1. Process zest, sugar, and salt in food processor until damp, 10 to 15 short pulses.
2. With machine running, add lemon juice/water mixture in slow, steady stream. Process until sugar is fully dissolved, about 1 minute.
3. Strain mixture into medium bowl (I skipped this step because I don't mind the zest) and stir in Grand Marnier, if using. Chill until very cold but not frozen.
4. When mixture is cold, whip cream in medium bowl until soft peaks form. Whisking constantly, add juice mixture in steady stream, pouring against edge of bowl.
5. Immediately start ice cream machine and add juice/cream mixture to canister; churn until sherbet has texture of soft-serve ice cream, 15 to 25 minutes.
6. Transfer sherbet to storage container; press plastic wrap directly against surface of sherbet and freeze until firm, at least 3 hours.