Citron-Semoule de Maïs Madeleines

Okay, so I got a little fancy with the name. I just thought "Lemon-Cornmeal Madeleines" sounded so boring and thought French would spice it up a bit. I found this recipe in a Weight Watchers cookbook and made a few changes. Anyway, this is my new favorite recipe! It is easy, delicious, refreshing and low fat. I think these would be perfect for a wedding reception or a tea. These madeleines are basically a cross between a mini muffin and a cookie and go perfectly with a cup of your favorite warm beverage or a bowl of strawberry ice cream.

Citron-Semoule de Maïs Madeleines

1 lemon
1 egg white
2 Tbsp. water
4 Tbsp. powdered sugar, sifted
1 (8 1/2-ounce) package corn muffin mix (dry)
2 Tbsp. butter, melted

1. Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Spray 48 mini-madeleine molds, 2 (12-cup) mini-muffin pans, OR 2 (12-cup) regular-sized muffin pans with non stick spray. (I used the regular muffin pans and it worked great.)

2. Grate 1 tsp. of the zest from the lemon; squeeze 3 Tbsp. of juice, set aside. Combine the egg white and 2 Tbsp. water in a medium bowl, beating with a whisk until blended. Stir in the lemon zest, lemon juice, and 2 Tbsp. of the powdered sugar. Add the melted butter and the muffin mix; stir just until blended. (I found that using a whisk to stir gave the muffins a finer crumb.)

3. Spoon the batter into the muffin cups. (I used a tablespoon measuring spoon, filling it 3/4 full for each muffin cup to be sure the batter would stretch for all 24 muffin cups.) Bake until the edges are golden and the tops spring back when lightly pressed in the center, about 8 minutes. Immediately invert the madeleines on racks and let cool. Using a seive, sprinkle the remaining 2 Tbsp. of powdered sugar onto the tops of the madeleines just before serving.

Makes 12, 2-madeleine servings.

**Note: These are great fresh. I put the leftovers in a sealed plastic container on the counter and they lost their crunchy edge, making them taste more like muffins. I didn't like them too much that way, but they were still good. So, for an experiment I left the rest of them out on the counter for about 2 days with the lid off and they dried out, becoming a lemony, crunchy cookie. I think they tasted great! You might want to experiment to see how you like them best.

**Another note: An idea I had was instead of sprinkling them with just powdered sugar, mix some of the extra lemon juice with the powdered sugar and use it as a glaze.... Yum! I think I'll try this next time.

Banana-Raspberry Bread

Aaah! The most wonderful way to use up over-ripe bananas. I like plain banana bread pretty well, but this version is wonderful! The raspberries add just the right amount of tartness to contrast with the mellow taste of the banana. This recipe is adapted from The Joy of Cooking (I added the raspberries to the recipe and made a few other adjustments.)

Banana-Raspberry Bread
(adapted from The Joy of Cooking)

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
¾ tsp. salt
½ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. baking powder

5 1/3 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
2/3 cup sugar

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 cup mashed, very ripe banana (about 2)
½ cup coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)
½ -1 cup frozen raspberries (in pieces and whole)

1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Grease an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 loaf pan.

2. Whisk together the dry ingredients in a medium-sized bowl and set aside.

3. In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar on high speed with an electric mixture until lightened in color and texture, 2-3 minutes.

4. Beat in the flour mixture until well blended and is the consistency of brown sugar. Gradually beat in the eggs. Finally, fold in the banana, walnuts if desired, and frozen raspberries, just until combined. (Baker's Note: Keep the raspberries in the freezer until you're ready to add them to the batter. Otherwise, you'll end up with red streaks and raspberries that fall apart as you're stirring.)

5. Scrape the batter into the pan and spread evenly. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 50 to 60 minutes. Let cool in the pan on a rack for 5 to 10 minutes before removing from the pan to cool completely on the rack.

Baker's Note: As tempting as it is, don't cut this bread until it has cooled down for at least a half hour to an hour. When it's removed from the oven, it's still cooking and contains a lot of moisture. We want to let that process wind down on its own without letting a lot of the moisture escape. The wait is well worth it!

Recipe Requests

I had a few requests for recipes so here they are!

Tuna Loaf

This is a good change from beef meatloaf, especially if you love tuna. Using foil during the baking really helps keep this loaf moist. You can make this recipe using salmon as well. Some day I'll have to try making this with fresh, broiled tuna. Yum!

1/2 cup onion, finely chopped
2 tsp. dried dill weed
2 tsp olive oil
2 large eggs, slightly beaten
2 cups whole wheat bread crumbs
1/2 cup fat-free skim milk (powdered milk would work here)
4 6-oz. cans of tuna, drained and broken into chunks

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Oil a regular-sized bread loaf pan with a little extra olive oil or some cooking spray.
2. Saute onions and dill weed in a saucepan with the olive oil until onions are tender.
3. Add eggs, bread crumbs, milk and tuna. Stir until everything is well distributed.
4. Pour the filling into the bread pan, spreading the top to make it even without pressing the filling down too much. (We don't want it to be dense!)
5. Cover the top with aluminum foil (to keep it from drying out) and bake for 30-35 minutes. Let it cool about 5 minutes with the foil off before serving. Good with tartar sauce or Italian dressing.


Spinach Artichoke Dip

A classic recipe good for dinner or an appetizer.
Thank you, Janae! I hope you don't mind me posting this - I've had a number of requests for this recipe. Everyone loves it!

8 oz. (1 package) reduced-fat "neufchatel" cream cheese, softened
1 cup light mayo
1 cup light sour cream
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 14-oz. can artichokes (in water), chopped and drained
1 small package frozen spinach, thawed and drained
1 garlic clove, pressed
1 tsp. dill
1/8 tsp. salt

1. Preheat oven to 375ºF. Oil a medium-sized, deep baking dish with olive oil or cooking spray.
2. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl by hand or with a hand mixer. Pour into baking dish, using a spatula to get all of the dip out of the bowl.
3. Cover baking dish with foil and bake for 50-60 minutes. Serve with your favorite corn chips or a good French baguette.