Lemon Chicken

I seem to be on a bit of a citrus jag lately. I suspect the reason being this: on our back porch sits a potted lemon tree. It produces exactly 8 lemons every other year. We have coaxed coddled and crooned to it. Sadly, this is its best work. Consequently, when it produces, I get to work. This recipe is really a bit of this and smidge of that. Really delicious, very lemony and extremely popular in our house. The best part: it freezes well.

Lemon Chicken

1 lb chicken breasts
olive oil
1/2 onion–finely chopped
1/4 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup white wine
juice of 2 large lemons (a bit less if you don’t like your chicken really lemony)
1 tsp honey (or more to taste)
salt and pepper to taste
fresh parsley–minced
Pound the chicken breasts until they are thin like a cutlet. pat chicken dry. Heat enough olive oil to cover the bottom of a large skillet. Cook eat chicken breast enough to just brown, but not to cook completely through. Remove from skillet and reserve. Add a bit more olive oil and toss in the onion. Cook on medium heat until onion begins to soften. Toss in the chicken broth and use tongs or spatula to scrape up all the bits of chicken that stuck to the bottom of the pan. Add the wine, lemon juice and honey. Stir to combine, then put the chicken back into the skillet. Simmer on very low until the chicken is cooked through. Serve with the sauce spooned over the chicken. Sprinkle a bit of parsley on top. Sserve with lemon slices if desired.

Lemon-Pecan Mascarpone Pound Cake

March 4th is national pound cake day. Don’t roll your eyes. It is legit. I read it on the internet. Before my great aunt passed, I borrowed her box of tattered and stained recipe cards and copied each one into a book of my own. My aunt rose baked a great pound cake. Several actually. All different. All delicious. For national pound cake day, I borrowed a recipe from her, with a few substitutions.

Lemon Pecan Mascarpone Pound Cake
1 1/2 cup unsalted butter–room temp
4 oz mascarpone cheese–room temp
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 large eggs–room temp
1 tsp vanilla
2 tsp lemon zest
1/4 cup + 1 Tbs lemon juice
2 1/4 cups flour–sifted
2 tsp baking powder
1 cup toasted pecans
Cream butter and mascarpone until very light. Gradually add sugar and beat thoroughly, about 2-3 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, scraping down sides in between additions. Beat for an additional 2-3 minutes after you add the last egg. Beat in vanilla, lemon zest, lemon juice and salt, until fully incorporated. The batter may look curdled, which is okay. Blend in the sifted dry ingredients (flour and baking powder) and mix until silky. Fold in pecans. Bake in a greased pan (10 cup capacity) at 325 for about 60 minutes. If you separate the batter into smaller pans, bake for considerably less time.
Once cool frost with icing made from powdered sugar mixed with lemon juice. Add enough lemon juice to make a drippy icing with good lemon flavor.

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