Lemon Strawberry Cheesecake Cupcakes

The LCBO Food & Drink magazine brings culinary creations to life in such a dazzling way that you simply must see it for yourself, if you can. The popular (free!) magazines come out seasonally at LCBO stores, usually to quite a bit of fanfare, and disappear quickly. The publication's photographers are truly artists, which makes it a treat to read - and makes it all the more tempting to try the suggested recipes!

We made the Lemon Strawberry Cheesecake Cupcakes (found on Canadian Baker Too's blog) as the grande finale to our summertime backyard meal (see post below). They took quite a bit of work but oh my goodness they are one of the best (tastiest and prettiest) desserts we've ever made.

Lemon Strawberry Cheesecake Cupcakes

Note: we made 8 cupcakes by cutting the recipe in half. The recipe below has the full ingredient amounts.

1/2 package Dare Simple Pleasures "Lemon Social Tea" Biscuits --> we had to use a different brand, but try to stick with Dare to make measurements easier

3 tablespoons butter, melted

2 packages cream cheese

1/2 cup strawberry jam

1/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 to 1 cup lemon curd (recipe follows)

6 strawberries (fresh is best)

• Line muffin tins with papers.
• Place eggs in small bowl and cover with hot water to warm them up. Set aside.
• To prepare the crust, put the lemon tea cookies in a food processor. Blend until the cookies are fine crumbs. You should have about 1 cup. Add melted butter and stir until evenly coated.
• Divide crumb mixture equally between cupcake liners, pressing the crumbs firmly into the bottoms of the cups.
• Wipe the crumbs out of the food processor.
• Combine cream cheese, eggs, jam, sugar, and vanilla in food processor. Spoon this batter into the cupcake cups, on top of the crumb crust.
• Bake in preheated 375 F oven for 20 minutes, or until just set. Ours cracked a little - but don't worry, the lemon curd covers any cracks that may appear.
• Cool the cupcakes on a rack. Cover and store in fridge until chilled.
• Top with lemon curd and a strawberry slice.

Tea biscuits about to be turned into dust...

The next food processor combo is about to turn a lovely shade of pink.

Graham-cracker-esque crust made with lemon social teas.

A few cracks appeared on the cheesecake tops. Don't worry if this happens to you too!

Lemon curd adds major glamour to these creamy cupcakes.

Lemon Curd

We also cut this recipe in half. The full recipe, which makes 2 cups, follows.

4 lemons

3 eggs

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup softened butter

• Squeeze the juice out of the lemons until you have 3/4 cup of juice.
• Stir eggs with 1 cup sugar in small pot. Whisk in lemon juice. Add softened butter.
• Using a whisk, stir constantly for 10 - 12 minutes while lemon mixture cooks over medium heat. It should get thicker and a little darker. Do not let it boil!
• Remove from heat, transfer to a bowl if you'd like, and place plastic wrap directly on surface of the lemon curd. Cool and store in fridge.

Keep stirring!

Prepared lemon curd will keep for over a week in the refrigerator.

Or, freeze it and it will stay good for several months.

Rosemary Ranch Kabobs with Strawberry Feta Salad

A summertime meal in the backyard: cool refreshments, a hot BBQ, lingering over the meal, and finally lighting citronella candles as the mosquitoes come out.

We invited our grandparents over for dinner on the deck, and decided to tackle the meal preparations ourselves. We started marinating the chicken early in the afternoon and tossed the salad just before serving the meal. As sides, we served hot rice and cold marinated asparagus. Our next blog post will be the spectacular dessert!

Rosemary Ranch Chicken Kabobs - from AllRecipes

1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 cup ranch dressing

3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary (we used 1 1/2 teaspoons dried)

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon white vinegar

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 tablespoon white sugar (optional --> we didn't add this)

5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes

Assorted chopped vegetables

• Stir together marinade ingredients (everything on the list except the chicken!) and let the mixture stand for 5 minutes. Put the marinade in a wide bowl or shallow baking dish and add the chicken, coating it in the sauce. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
• Thread the chicken and vegetables onto skewers. Grill over medium-high heat for 8 - 12 minutes, until the chicken is cooked thoroughly (juices will run clear). Discard the rest of the marinade.

Strawberry and Feta Salad - adapted from AllRecipes

1/4 cup slivered almonds

1 clove garlic, minced

1 teaspoon honey

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1/4 cup raspberry vinegar --> we used cherry vinegar and it was perfect!

2 tablespoons balsamic vingar

2 tablespoons brown sugar

3/4 cup vegetable oil

1 head romaine lettuce, torn

1 pint fresh strawberries, sliced --> we used 3/4 cup frozen... and you should definitely use fresh

2/3 cup crumbled feta cheese

• Toast the almonds in the oven (350 F for 5 minutes) or in a skillet on the stove. Remove from heat and set aside
• To make the dressing, whisk together garlic, honey, mustard, vinegars, brown sugar, and vegetable oil.
• In a large salad bowl, toss together the almonds, lettuce, strawberries, and cheese. Add the dressing a little bit at a time - you won't need all of it! Toss and serve.