Lemon Meringue Cupcakes

My mom and I went to a birthday party a few weeks ago and my friend Alyssa had made some really yummy lemon blueberry cupcakes with a lemon curd. It inspired me to make these lemon meringue cupcakes for my brother. He LOVES anything lemon and for his birthday BBQ I knew I had to make something special. These cupcakes are truly delicious! Although there appears to be several steps, they really are fairly easy and definitely worth the time- and to make the cupcakes a little bit easier on myself, I took some help from a boxed cake mix for the cupcake part!

Lemon Curd ( I doubled this recipe)

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup lemon juice

zest of 2 lemons

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon corn starch

pinch of salt

6 large egg yolks

Cupcakes

1 box of your favorite white vanilla cake mix

2-3 vanilla pods, beans removed

Meringue Frosting

6 egg whites

1 cup sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 teaspoon cream of tarter

Directions: 

• Bake the cupcakes according to the box instructions, and add extra ingredients listed. 
• Remove from oven and let cool completely
• I recommend even doing these the night before so they are set up nicely and cooled completely

Lemon Curd:

• Melt the butter in a sauce pan over medium-low heat. Remove from the heat and add the lemon juice and zest. 
• Mix together the sugar, salt and cornstarch and add it to the pan.
• Whisk in the egg yolks until smooth and return to the heat.
• Cook over medium-low heat for roughly 10 minutes until the mixture has thickened and coats the back of a spoon. 
• No not allow the mixture to boil.
• Once thickened, strain the mixture through a fine mesh strainer into a large bowl. 
• Allow to chill in the refrigerator completely before using. 
• When cooled- using a Bismarck tip and piping bag, push the Bismarck tip approximately 3/4 of the way into the cupcake and slowly pull up, this will fill the center of the cupcakes with the lemon curd. 
• If any of the curd comes out, just lightly spread it over the top of the cupcake to give it some extra lemony-goodness!

Frosting Directions:

• Beat egg whites until frothy then gradually add sugar, and then cream of tarter, continuing to beat until stiff peaks form. Make sure you don't rust this process- you want the meringue to be stiff. 
• Add vanilla. 
• Pipe onto cupcakes and using a small pastry torch, cook the topping until peaks are nicely browned.

NOTE: I ended up doubling the meringue recipe (oops) and ended up with a crap load of meringue. Not wanting to waste it- I ended up making a lemon meringue pie (found some vanilla wafer cookies at my moms house and mixed that with butter for the crust) and then some meringue cookies! The pie was GOOD! The cookies, eh. I liked them, not no one else loved them- I think its a texture thing. You either love or hate meringues. Stephen is still confused over what they were- he thinks they would be good- on TOP of a normal cookie :)

Spicy Pork Chops with Roasted Orange Cauliflower

I really can't believe I made pork chops twice in 2 weeks- never thought that would happen! Well, they turned out awesome and I think that anytime I ever make pork chops I am going to brine them in OJ, water and salt because these pork chops are so incredibly moist!

Cauliflower:

1 head of orange cauliflower

2 teaspoons olive oil

salt and pepper

garlic powder

red pepper flakes

Pork Chops: 

2- 1+ inches thick pork chops

1 cup OJ 

1/2 cup water

1 tablespoon salt

Pepper Plant's Smokey Chipotle seasoning

garlic powder

pepper

Kale:

1 bunch of kale

salt and pepper

garlic powder

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

Directions:

• Put your pork chops in the OJ, water and salt for 2-12 hours - you want the liquid to fully cover the pork chops, so depending on what type of container you are using you might need to add more. The longer you brine the better- but I have done it for only 1 hour before and just that little bit makes a huge difference! 
• When you remove the pork chops from the brine, pat them dry and season with the chipotle seasoning, garlic powder and pepper on both sides.
• Put 2-3 tablespoons of oil in a pan (enough to coat the bottom of the pan) and let the oil heat
• Put the pork chops in the pan and let them get a good sear on both sides. When you flip the pork chops, add 2 tablespoons of OJ to the pan and continue to let the pork chops cook. Mine took about 15 minutes
• For the cauliflower- separate the florets and put them on a cookie sheet
• drizzle with olive oil and seasonings and roast in a 400 degree oven for about 15 minutes. The cauliflower will still have a little firmness to it and will be browned on the edges. 
• For the kale- heat your olive oil and butter in a pan and saute the kale until wilted. Season. 
• Enjoy!

Cornmeal Rockfish & Fresh Corn Salad

Another day, another fish meal :) Trying to get fish in our diets at least once a week if not more. This week was a fresh rock fish that I lightly breaded with cornmeal. I love cornmeal on fish. It makes the the crust super crisp while the inside stays nice an moist. I decided to "invent" a fresh corn salad with this meal too. The salad has a lemon vinaigrette that pairs perfectly with fish! I think the corn salad will be one of those dishes that I will try to work and perfect- its all in the vinaigrette, so if you have a vinaigrette that you love, feel free to try it out!

Rock Fish: 

1 pound rock fish (or other white fish)

1/2 cup corn meal

2 tablespoons spicy garlic seasoning (or like a Lowrys seasoning & garlic powder)

2 eggs

2 tablespoons milk

salt and pepper

Corn Salad: 

3 ears of corn, kernels removed

1 red pepper, diced small

1/2 purple onion, diced small

1 cup cilantro, chopped

Vinaigrette: 

juice of 1 lemon

1 tablespoon rice vinegar

3 cloves garlic, minced

salt and pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

Directions:

• For the salad, remove the corn from the kernels and chop all ingredients and put them in a big bowl. 
• Mix all the ingredients together for the vinaigrette and slowly incorporate the olive oil, whisking the whole time. 
• Add the vinaigrette to the salad and place in the fridge. 
• For the fish- salt and pepper both sides of the fish
• Whisk the egg and milk together in a shallow dish
• Mix the corn meal and spicy garlic seasoning together in a shallow dish
• First put the fish in the egg mixture followed by the corn meal, making sure the whole fish is covered completely.
• In a large pan, heat 3 tablespoons oil
• Shallow fry the fish until both sides are golden brown and the fish is slightly firm to the touch. 
• Serve up the fresh corn salad next to the fish & enjoy!