Golden Lemon & Orange Coconut Bars

My absolute favorite lemon bars have a ton of coconut in them.  Coconut reminds me of Hawaii, Phuket and Boracay, and thinking about past tropical vacations is always a lovely daydream.  For this recipe, I adapted slightly from Mary Engelbreight's Cookies Cookbook by subbing in Orange.  The flavors were less tart, mildly orange-y.  Good thing I had a potluck to attend otherwise I could have eaten these all myself!

Finished Lemon-Orange Coconut bars!

Ingredients:
Crust:
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup confectioners sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups of flour

Coconut-Lemon-Orange topping:
4 large eggs, room temperature
1  1/4 cups granulated sugar
1/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly grated orange zest
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
3 cups sweetened flaked coconut

Equipment:
Stand mixer with paddle and whisk attachments (or hand mixer)
9"x13" pan
Aluminum foil
Cooking spray for greasing the pan & foil
Spatula
Sharp knife
Instructions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease the 9"x13" baking pan with cooking spray.  Line with foil, allowing the ends to extend over the two short sides of the pan.  Grease the foil.  

Baked crust completed

2. In the mixing bowl of the stand mixer using the paddle attachment, beat the butter, confectioners' sugar, and salt. Beat until light and fluffy.  On low speed, gradually add in the flour.  Press the mixture evenly into the bottom of the pan.  Bake for 16 minutes, until golden around the edges.

Cooling bars

3. Meanwhile, clean the mixer bowl and dry.  Now using the whisk attachment, beat the eggs until they are frothy.  Beat in the granulated sugar.  Beat in the flour and the baking powder, then beat in both zests and the juice.  Add the coconut, stirring on the lowest setting, until the topping is thoroughly mixed.
4. Spread the topping evenly onto the hot crust with the spatula.  Bake for 28 minutes, or until the edges are golden and the coconut is lightly browned in a few spots. 
5. Allow to cool in the pan for a few minutes.  If necessary, run the sharp knife along the edges to release the foil from the pan.  Lift the foil by it's long ends and transfer the bars to a cutting board.  Using the sharp knife, cut into 24 squares.  Store well-sealed in the refrigerator, using wax paper to separate the layers if you are stacking them. 

Small Batch of Orange Marmalade

This week, fueled with my large supply of oranges (and a few lemons), I continued in experimenting in cooking with them.  This was my first time making a jam and canning, definitely an adventure!  I was a bit scared of so many issues that could have happened, but in fact, canning is fairly easy and it tastes delicious.  I did not make a big batch, this adjusted for a half recipe based from the Ina Garten recipe and Alton Brown's canning instructions.  Only three ingredients! 

Orange slices

Ingredients:
2 ripe, seedless large oranges (I used CA Navel)
1 medium lemon
4 cups of sugar

Equipment: 
Large non-reactive pot and lid (stainless steel)
Canning supplies - 2 pint size jars with lids and rings, canning pot, tongs
Candy thermometer
Spatula
Ladle
Canning funnel
Paper towels
Small plate

Lemon sliced by food processor

Directions: 
Wash fruit throughly in cold water.  Cut off the top and bottom the oranges and lemon to make the ends flat.  Cut into quarters, and then into very thin slices.  If you have a mandoline or a food processor with a slicing blade, this will go very quickly.  Chop into smaller pieces, if desired.  Discard the lemon seeds.  Place all fruit in the large pot, and cover with 4 cups of water, and bring the mixture to a boil, stirring often.  Remove from the heat and stir in all of the sugar until it dissolves. Cover and allow to stand overnight at room temperature.

The next day, bring the mixture back to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer uncovered for about 2 hours, stirring occasionally.

Stick the small plate in the freezer to get cold for testing doneness later.  Also during this time, prep your canning supplies by boiling all pieces, submerged, for 5-10 minutes to ensure they are sterile. 

Overnight soaking

After two hours, turn the heat up to medium and boil gently, stirring often, for another 20 minutes.  Stir more often. Skim off any foam that forms on the top. Cook the marmalade until it reaches and holds for a minute at 220 degrees F on a candy thermometer.  At this stage, the boiling will look more rapid. To make doubly sure it's ready, pull out the cold plate from the freezer and put a few drops of the marmalade on it. In a minute, pick up the plate and tilt it.  If it's firm -- neither runny nor too hard -- it's done. It will be a golden orange color. (If the marmalade is runny, continue cooking it and if it's too hard, add a little more water.)  Remove from heat.

Using the canning jars, funnel, and ladle, carefully scoop the marmalade from the pot to the jar, up to a 1/4 inch from the top.  Repeat with the second pint jar.  Wipe jar rims with damp paper towels and place on canning lid, then ring and tighten down.  

Cooling on the counter

Handle these hot jars carefully! Put them back into canning pot, submerge with water by an inch, and boil for 10 minutes to seal.  Take the jars out, leave them at room temperature for 24 hours while they cool.  The lids should be solid when pressed down from the top.  Store in cabinet for up to a year!  Once opened, they will last several weeks in your fridge.

Steak with an Orange Bourbon Glaze

What do you do when a friend generously gives your fruit off of her tree?  Figure out how to use it all in creative recipes before it all spoils!  Such is the case for me and 2 dozen California navel oranges.  While I have been juicing and adding to smoothies, I still have so many to left enjoy.  And while I would love to make mini orange angle food cakes and other sweets, I started with a savory recipe.  Filet Mignon steaks with an Orange Bourbon Glaze.  It is amazing in flavor, and elevates the steaks to an even tastier level. I've adapted the recipe here from the Food Network.  Start by marinating the meat, then make the sauce.  It makes an excessive amount of sauce, good for side dishes or save it for a chicken dish the next night!

Orange slices simmering down in the glaze

Ingredients for Orange Bourbon Glaze:

2 tablespoons diced shallots  

1/4 cup butter, divided 

2 seedless oranges, peeled and segmented 

1/2 cup bourbon

1/2 cup water
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
4 cups beef stock

Equipment needed:
Large saucepan
Spatula
Measuring cups and spoons
Knife and chopping board

Directions:

In the saucepan over medium-high heat saute the shallots in 2 tablespoons of butter until caramelized, about 3 minutes.  Whisk in the bourbon (careful, it will sizzle!), water, oranges, brown sugar, salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and add beef stock. Simmer until mixture is a sauce-like consistency. This will take a while, about 20 minutes to reduce it by half.   Remove from heat. Whisk in the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter. 

Tasty steak with orange glaze sauce

Ingredients for Steaks:

1/4 teaspoon Cajun seasoning
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil 

2 (5 ounce) Filet Mignon steaks

Equipment needed:  
Medium bowl
Plastic wrap
Non-stick fry pan with lid
Rubber-tipped tongs

Directions:

In a medium bowl, combine Cajun seasoning, cayenne, salt, pepper and 2 tablespoons canola oil. Rub mixture on both sides of the steak. Cover bowl with plastic wrap to marinate and put in refrigerator for 1 hour. After marinating for 1 hour, take it out and let rest at room temperature for 10 minutes.  Add some olive oil to the pan over medium high heat.  When the pan is hot, carefully add in the steaks, turn after 3 minutes.  Add lid to cover pan to ensure even cooking.  Cook steaks to your preferred level of done-ness, remove with tongs and place on a plate.  Spoon Orange Bourbon glaze on top of steak.  Enjoy!