Here's something I wish I hadn't discovered

[rainey]

Graham crackers spread with cream cheese and topped with lemon curd taste like lemon cheesecake without the necessity of having to actually bake one.

...goodbye to anything of my waistline that remained. =o

[pmody]

My favorite is trader joe's ginger cat cookies with nutella!

[rasputina]

LOL I've eating cream cheese and jam on graham crackers since I was a kid good stuff

[DonShirer]

I did it as a kid too, but hadn't done so lately until I ran across this thread. Tried the CC and lemon curd, it tasted ok, but not as good as CC and strawberry preserves, and definitely not like any cheesecake I ever made.

[raygunclan]

baskin robbins mocha blast.
the other day i drove through and was going to grab an afternoon cup of dunkin donuts coffee. on a whim, i decided to try the mocha blast. assuming the large was the size of a dunkin donuts cup of coffee large, that is what i ordered. after all, it was the same price as a similarly sized frap from charbucks. well, let me tell you that if this vat of reverse liposuction was an ounce under a gallon, i would be surprised.
as i slurped the last sip, i giggled to myself about the 387 grams of fat i probably just ingested and the fact that i told the window girl that i would NEVER be able to finish it.

oh! did you mean something i cooked???? ;)

[opinionatedchef]

on no mr bill. Rainey, you are a baaaaaaaad girl.

[ski_gpsy]

Hi, my name is ski_gpsy and I'm a recovering Lemon Curd on Graham Cracker addict.

"Hi ski_gpsy".

I am here to tell you all that it took me 2 weeks and 4 jars of Lemon Curd to get off of the "Easy Lemon Cheesecakes" curd on graham with cream cheese binge. One dark night I finally reached saturation/satiation and cried out "That's it, I'm done" and I turned those delicious lemon devils over to my Higher Power!

I say to you all "BEWARE Chowsters! Stop now! Back away from those Cream Cheese & Lemon Curd on Graham Cracker tempters"!

But... while we're on the subject of things I wish I didn't know about... and since you asked...I'm all about easy, and QUICK. Gimme that instant gratification. All of the recipes posted here sound decadently yummy, and fairly easy to make, but I want it NOW! Not 8 or 10 minutes from now. I want something rich and delicious that I can have NOW! Like the wickedly instant microwaved, only-time-it-takes-is-to-open-the-box, position the chocolate caramel Rollo candy on top of the salty square pretzel, microwave til melted, remove and press a pecan into the gooey chocolate caramel, INSTANT TURTLE CANDIES!!!!!

It takes me longer to brush my teeth than it takes to make these fresh warm, melty chocolaty caramel, sweet and savory turtle candies.

Oh, Sweet Goodness, I am going to Cellulite Hell!

PS And on the subject of quick; How about almost melted vanilla Haagen Das being the new creme anglaise when poured over slices of store bought chocolate loaf cake and topped with fresh berries (or even easier, just plain berry jam!)....OMG. A truly QUICK and EASY wicked, wicked temptation... that I sincerely wish I didn't know about ;)

[threedogs]

Too funny, ski_gpsy!! I'm still laughing. Hahahaha!!

I hear you about wanting it NOW - but I also love to cook/bake/create with food. Unfortunately, I also love to eat. My poor knees are hurting, and although I'm sure when someone looks at me, they might just thinking, hmmm, less goodies & more salad just might alleviate some of the stress on those knees. Ironically, though, it was my three dogs (one now passed on. sniffle... still miss him!) that pulled me to the ground ("EMERGENCY!! EMERGENCY!!! THERE'S ANOTHER DOG DOWN THE STREET!!!") sigh... if only I had them hooked up to a sled, I would have been fine, but alas, I didn't (come to think of it, that wouldn't have worked, as it was the summer) that damaged one knee. Clumsy falls hurt the other.

So now I'm trying to plan Easter dinner. I'm thrilled that I now live close to small, ethnic markets, so I am going to pick up some ready made things for a terrific Easter dinner. Gonna put my new wheelie task chair in there & let my dog, Emma, clean up whatever I end up dropping on the floor (tough job, but someone's gotta do it...)

Now - getting back to this thread. I am now craving lemon curd something awful. Can't believe how no matter what I think of baking for Easter, it's now all "gotta put some lemon curd in there." Planning (hopefully) a cake w/lemon curd (no cheese, though, as one son hates cheesecake (makes me wonder if he was switched at birth) in addition to lots of other desserts. Went out and splurged (biggest splurge I ever spent on myself) & got a KA pro-mixer at Costco & a cheapo food processor at Target. Trying to get my kitchen set up this weekend so I can actually do some baking w/out straining the knee that's currently killing me. Hopefully the prep work won't kill me, but it's all about the food....

Thinking about the statement someone once said to me - that the "food is NOT the most important thing" for a party she was planning (*and* was expecting help fr me. ha..haha. Big ha.)

Gasp!!?? What? This does *NOT* compute...

Now that Haagen Das creation sounds heavenly. If only I had the ice cream maker that I *will* get for free, should I decide to keep the KA (scary - not sure yet), so you can imagine where I'm going w/this.

P.S. I love, love, love baking for people. Guess I'm being true to my half Sicilian roots - gotta share food - and good coffee!! ;-)

[opinionatedchef]

3, have something i thought you might want to know about, OT. if you contact me via my member pg., i can email it to you. re your sweet girl.

[walker]

Dear Threedogs: Keep the KA mixer .. or, at least keep and use it a few months -- you can always return it to Costco later.

I kind of begged/hinted to my mother that I wanted one for Christmas. It's white and I think it's over 40 years old. In GREAT SHAPE.

(Have you read "Three Dog Life" by Abigail Thomas? I love this book.)

[threedogs]

Ah, the older ones - built by Hobart - are gold. I was checking some on eBay - if I was sure I'd actually use it, I'd bid on one, but as it is - I'm not sure. Yeah, I love Costco for their return policy! Can't get the free ice cream maker, though, if I think I might need to return it - have to chop up the box for the UPC label, sad to say.

So far, I haven't tried it out (yet). Knee injury (fr. last yr) is keeping me fr doing all I want to do. I managed to get a bit of kitchen organization done (so very important, all the more so since my mobility is taxed right now). As soon as I figured I would start something - I realized that I was out of one blasted ingredient, or something like that, and the son is at work w/the car. Today I'm all set to start the lemon curd I've been craving. Planning, I think, a lemon chiffon cake w/lemon ganache frosting. Finally - I'll have my spring-time lemon!! Mmm...

Anyway, I threw some chickpeas on the stove for hummus - and a while later, while I'm at the computer, I smelled ... hmm, what's that... smells like... BURNING!

Whole house was filled w/smoke. Arrggh - not again - looked like *this* time the pan was a destroyed (maybe my sense of smell after this, too), and froze as I opened as many windows I could get open. Lovely Boston spring in the low 40's. Brrrr.

Some time later, I remembered I picked up some Barkeepers Friend. Wow - that stuff is amazing! I was able to bring my poor burnt pot back to life (had just thrown out another pan - I think this would have saved it). Oh, if I had discovered it years ago, I could have saved SO many pots & pans, lol.

Made my lemon curd (despite knee pain - have to keep one's priorities!) and oh, is it amazing (fr the Cake Bible by Rose Berenbaum). Hopefully it'll still be there by Easter, lol.

No - never read (or heard about) Three Dog Life. I *have* to read it now, of course. :D Thanks for mentioning it.

[blue room]

Ski_gpsy, if you want quick (like now) and easy, you get a spoon and open a can of sweetened condensed milk.

[Pegmeister]

I discovered Westfield Farms chocolate cheese at a local restaurant and loved it. Even worse, I got so obsessed that I went on line and discovered I could order a whole package for my very self. Can't decide what I like better, chocolate cheese spread on a warm toasted cinnamon bagel from Panera's or taking a nice shortbread cookie, spread on the chocolate cheese and top with a slice of fresh strawberry -- tastes like chocolate cheesecake!!

[jsheridan1956]

O ya. Endless possibilities. Make a caramel (to bout 245f), add chopped pecans, cook 3 mind longer, then drizzle over a tray of Graham crackers. Let cool... devour...Yummmmm.

[smartie]

I just made a batch of lemon curd tarts and lime curd tarts. Homemade crust too. I can't decide which ones I like best so I may have to test them again in a few minutes.

[alkapal]

ha ha, smartie. yes...definitely more testing is required.

[threedogs]

OK, this is going to be one of those thread I wish I didn't discover. I can taste it already, but need to lose the extra padding I put on over the winter (along w/the extra padding I put on for so many winters before that..) so I CAN'T make this... I mean, I love cream cheese, and lately I've been craving lemon anything.

One grocery store near me (only one!) has an amazing fat free cream cheese made by Philadelphia. This is not the same stuff they sold years ago (ugh - it was awful). Granted, it's not 100% the same, but I don't think with lemon curd one could tell the difference.

I think it evens out the fat in my body fr the delicious Amish farm butter that I've been lathering on everything. :D

Seriously, though, I have to stop this! My daughter is engaged, and I don't want to look like a beached whale in the wedding photos!

[haiku.]

I just had some brownies straight from the freezer where I'd put them so I wouldn't eat them all, and it was better than unfrozen :(

[petitgateau]

Thanks Joan and everyone else. One question, Joan, do you go through the whole process of canning or do you just freeze? sounds like you just freeze the curd. (I hope so)

[JoanN]

Just freeze. Definitely. I do sterilize the jars and tops by running them through the dishwasher. But I don't make a big deal of it. I just throw the jars in the dishwasher the night before I know I'll be making the curd. Pour into the jars, let cool, and stick in the freezer. That's it.

[petitgateau]

Thank you Joan!!! I have been trying to use up my meyer lemons and this will be a great thin g to do!

[Hank Hanover]

I wish I hadn't discovered the disadvantages of frying bacon without a shirt on.

[rainey]

Ouch!!! =o

I think this topic just took on a whole new significance! ;>

[mamachef]

I wish to G-d I'd never discovered the chocolate wafer cookie dessert layered with unsweetened whipped cream and chocolate shavings that you let sit for an hour or two and it turns into chocolate whipped cream cake because it takes about 8 minutes active time and is one of the best possible things you could ever ever ever put into your mouth.
Thankkkkkkkkks for reminding me........
And to the person who turned me onto the thread
: ) Because I have to try those graham goodies before I eat an entire box of matzoh crack to my head.
Pants, expand. I command thee.

[alkapal]

let's reintroduce the "sansabelt." LOL.

PS, they still sell sansabelt, by the way!

[mamachef]

not to mention those horrible pajama jeans. : )

[alkapal]

oh girlfriend, i just ordered me 5 pair! dem's da bomb! ;^D. https://www.pajamajeans.com/flare/nex...
aaawwww, the end is near. <which *end*? my, what were are you thinking!?!>

[Hank Hanover]

Could you make lemon bars with graham crackers or would they get soggy?

I guess if I was worried about it, I could put a genache layer on the graham crackers. That sounds evil.

[mamachef]

You ARE evil, hank h., but the answer is, you could easily use graham crackers for a crust but I'd definitely pre-bake it, as if for a cheesecake. If you didn't want to be AS sinful, alternatively you could just paint the crust with a tbs. or two of beaten eggwhite before baking.

[Hank Hanover]

You didn't have to agree! :D I have this same problem with my wife. I will criticize myself and, instead of saying something like: "now, don't be so hard on yourself", she will just agree.

Now, repeat after me. I'm sure your mistaken, you are not evil.

[mamachef]

It's a kind of wifely reverse psychology. I admit wholeheartedly that it doesn't work, but it is much more fun to see the looks on your faces when we say, "why yes, I just never thought about it that way, but now I see you're right about yourself, honey."
I'm sure you're mistaken; you are not evil. : )

[rainey]

This is exactly what I do for my husband's traditional birthday banana cream pie. People in my family now think any banana cream pie that doesn't have a graham cracker crust and a black-bottom layer are deficient.

[mamachef]

Oh, rainey, why do I do this to myself? Come to a board at 9:30 a.m. to hear about, talk about, fantasize about and plot how to get me adopted into your family? Or at least figure out how to find......wait. I've got it. There's a breakfast house in Berkeley that sells at least 10 kinds of pie. Gotta go. : )

[alkapal]

rainey -- a banana cream pie with a black bottom layer? that sounds wonderful!

[rainey]

This is what I do for a deep 9" pie:

Prepare a soft ganache from about 1/2 cup of heavy cream, a tablespoon of butter, 5 ounces of bittersweet chocolate and a splash of Navan liqueur. Cool slightly. Pour into cool tartshell, rotating to create a second shell over the bottom and slightly up the sides. Cool.

Then, when the genache has firmed up and become stable I fill the shell.

[alkapal]

i looked up "navan liquer" and see that it is vanilla cognac made by the grand marnier people -- BUT that they have just stopped production. this is according to wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Navan_li...

i had never even *heard* of it, and now it is history.

[rainey]

Awwwwwwwww! Shame! I really liked that stuff. But I was aware it never made a big splash. I wonder if I'm too late to find a back up bottle on a shelf somewhere...

When it comes to gananche, tho, just use anything you like. Grand Marnier or Kahlua would be good with bananas. Probably many other things as well. Even vanilla or coffee extract.

[arashall]

Oh my goodness! That sounds fabulous! I can think of several other pies that would benefit from similar treatment :-)

[Will Owen]

To answer the actual question, Hank, they WOULD get soggy unless you did the GC crust thing with enough butter. Plain crackers don't have enough fat in there to waterproof them. At least that'd be healthier than those Krusteaze lemon-square mixes you can buy, that are really quite delicious except the press-it-down no-mix crust works so well because of its artery-clogging ingredients.

[John E.]

This reminds me a little of my big sister's caramel apples. She would buy a bag of the Kraft square caramels and some apples. When she wanted a caramel apple she would take a bite of an apple and then a bite of caramel, and then repeat.

I have not made caramel apples in years but if I were to make them again I'd slip a couple of onions in just to give the kids a special treat.

[petitgateau]

Joan,
Can you really freeze lemon curd? I thought it would separate or something when defrosted. It would be great to be able to freeze it.

[JoanN]

Yes, you can. I make up a couple of batches when Meyer lemons are available, freeze it in canning jars, and defrost it for about 24 hours in the fridge. There's no change in quality whatsoever--not in texture, not in flavor. Canning instructions I've seen say it maintains its quality for up to a year, but mine never lasts that long.

[roxlet]

That's so good to know! Thanks JoanN!

[roxlet]

Next time, keep your discoveries to yourself.

[CynAmyn]

+1
and your photos too!

[JoanN]

Uh-oh. Lemon curd in the freezer, cream cheese in the fridge. Let's see how long I can hold off buying graham crackers.

[blue room]

Just do it!
http://www.google.com/images?hl=en&am...

[Caitlin McGrath]

Not to add fuel to the fire, but that combo would be even better on gingersnaps, IMO, or something like Anna's Ginger Thins...

[JoanN]

Caitlin the Enabler. Ginger somethings. Brilliant.

[alkapal]

i'm happy to see that those ginger thins are sold around here!

i'm sorry to know the easy "cheesecake" recipe.

and my hips will be sorrier.

[rainey]

Well then, you'll just HATE to know how easy and yummy this lemon curd is too:

Super Easy Lemon Curd

This must be the easiest lemon curd ever. And it lacks nothing for simplifying the prep to everything-in-the-pot-and-stir..

Serve it on hot scones. Top a mousse pie with it. Stir it into cheesecake batter. Fill a cake with it. Pipe it into eclairs. Stick your d*mned finger in it and lick. It's delicious!

• 1 teaspoon finely grated fresh lemon zest
• 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1. Whisk together zest, juice, sugar, and eggs in a 1-quart heavy saucepan -- a saucier is particularly nice if you've got a small one. Add butter and cook over moderately low heat, whisking frequently, until curd is thick enough to hold marks of whisk and first bubbles appear on surface, about 6 minutes.

2. THE END. That's it! Put it in a jar and store it in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. Thank me (or curse me) later. ;>

[alkapal]

wow, you said it s easy, and you ain't kidding! thanks! i wonder how adding a bit of candied ginger into that would do near the end? <yep, this is all i need -- to think of variations on ways to "plump up the volume" of my body!>

[susancinsf]

great. I have an over-productive lemon tree in the back yard and a continuing need for more recipes involving fresh lemons. thanks and curses.

[magnolia]

I just made this recipe. I had some Meyer lemons in the cool part of my garage that I hadn't yet used. It's great! Your method reminds me of the way I make Hollandaise sauce. Lightly beat 1 egg yolk and 1 tablespoon+ fresh lemon juice in a small heavy pan (I use a Windsor pan). Place 1/2 stick cold butter in the pan. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until butter melts and sauce is slightly thick. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Hold the pan up off the heat if the butter melts too quickly. It should be incorporated very gradually. Makes about 1/2 cup. The egg yolk will emulsify more butter should you wish to enlarge the recipe.
If you want Bernaise, place a small minced shallot, some minced tarragon, 2 tablespoons tarragon vinegar and 3 tablespoons dry Vermouth in a small pan. Reduce mixture to about 1 1/2 tablespoons. Strain and use in place of the lemon juice in the Hollandaise.

[magnolia]

follow-up to my comment above: I picked up graham crackers today and had the quickest most delicious dessert--we dipped the crackers in the curd which I had topped with light whipped creme. Yummmm

[jubilant cerise]

Ooh, thanks for the tip on the Hollandaise, magnolia! Though I guess my waistline won't be so thankful, lol! ;)

[greygarious]

Have you seen the cheesecake filling (Kraft, I think) in the supermarket where the cream cheese tubs are? It's a chemical stew, to be sure, which accounts for its light texture, but it sure does taste like cheesecake. Mixing with a cheesecake-flavored yogurt may make it lore virtuous.... Maybe the thinner schmear you can get by with compensates for the artificial stuff in it, she typed hopefully. Oh, and the graham crackers should be Trader Joe's.

[Antilope]

Toffee Graham Cracker Bars - Easy bars with graham crackers, pecans
http://southernfood.about.com/od/brow...

[jarona]

AHHH..I was just thinking about those toffee bars--but the ones made with saltine crackers as opposed to graham crackers.

[viperlush]

Thank you.

[todao]

Try them spread with marshmallow cream and topped with shaved chocolate or Hershey's chocolate syrup. Sinful ...

[emily]

Or spread with (gasp!) canned chocolate frosting... a favorite from the 6th grade. Good fresh, but if you wrap them up and let them sit for a few hours, the graham crackers go a bit soft.

[tracylee]

Ooooh, I loved those in 6th grade too! The cafeteria at school would have them every now and then. I don't think my Mom would have allowed me to open a tub of frosting for that.

[jennaroo]

Oh man, my mom used to make us this treat to use up any leftover frosting. I think she made extra frosting, just to have enough to make us this treat.