I am happy to report that my niece Lara’s bridal shower was a huge success! It was a lot of work, but the outcome made it well worthwhile. Her other aunts and I chose to have it at a restaurant in New York City. We also chose “cooking” as a theme as my niece loves to cook! Since I do not live in the city, I had to carefully plan every table, pack everything up and bring it to the restaurant. I still can’t believe I fit everything in my car, it was completely filled. Even my cousin, who sat in the passenger’s seat was holding things in her lap.

Planning these kinds of parties is a huge undertaking. There are always little hiccups and many worries. There is always the risk of having something you ordered not coming on time. I’ve found it helps to anticipate that not everything will go right, and make peace with it. I just really enjoy doing these special little things for my family.

I have a close friend who threw a similar baking themed bridal shower for her niece, so her input made it easier, and I just had to put it all together.

When people first walked in there was a “greeting” table that had glass jars filled with candy and each person’s name and table number on it. 

My friend had a mannequin that she used for her niece’s bridal shower and I appropriately dressed it for the cooking theme. We also had guests sign it when they arrived.

I took a coffee maker, a crockpot, a blender, a colander and a wooden spoon holder to a florist, and had them filled with flowers that coordinated with the colors of the shower, which was blue and yellow.

Here is how each table looked.

Of course, I was not working alone and everyone was happy to help.

My other niece baked this beautiful wedding dress “cake” which was made up of cupcakes (and my friend’s idea).

Even my great-niece Jenna contributed by handing out the favors (which were blue potholders) and thanking each person for coming. How cute is she?!

Lara had a wonderful day and was so happy to be celebrating with family and friends. That made every minute worth it.

It’s that simple (oh no, not really)!

It was so miserably cold and rainy around here today, so I got all my tools ready and did what I always do…bake!

As you know, I am a lemon lover through and through. Even when I was younger, I would pass over the chocolate dessert and go for lemon one every time. I have baked lemon bars before, however, these bars caught my eye because of their name. I couldn’t think of a more beautiful combination than sweet and tart. I knew I had to try it. 

When you think of lemon tart so many words come to mind, such as vibrant, bright, and tangy. For this recipe, you add a little bit of sweet to it and it becomes heavenly. 

This is the perfect dessert, it is light and smooth with a great lemon flavor and wonderful silky texture. It is sitting on top of a nice thick, buttery shortbread crust that is just enough to hold up to it without getting soggy. The tanginess of the lemon gets tamed by the sweetness of the sugar. The creaminess of the filling is enhanced by the delicate, crunchy crust. I must say, this gloomy day turned out pretty damn good.

This recipe is courtesy of Jessica Battilana and will make 20 small bars that bring a unique flavor experience like you have never had before.

Ingredients for Sweet and Tart Lemon Bars

For the crust:

1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

For the filling:

5 whole eggs
1 egg yolk
1/2/3 cups sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Pinch of kosher salt
1 cup of lemon juice (from 5 to 6 large lemons)
1 tablespoon lemon zest (from 2 lemons)
2 tablespoons heavy cream
Confectioners’ sugar for dusting

Preheat oven to 350°F degrees.

To make the crust:

Line a 9-inch-by-13-inch baking pan with parchment paper, leaving some overhang on both of the short ends of pan (this will make it easier to remove bars from the pan).

In a bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or a large bowl with a handheld mixer), cream the butter and sugar on high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.

Reduce the mixer to low and add the flour and salt.

Mix until the dough comes together into a ball.

With your fingers, press the dough into the prepared pan in an even layer.

Transfer to the oven and bake until golden brown, about 20 to 25 minutes.

Transfer to a wire rack and reduce the oven temperature to 325.

To make the filling:

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, egg yolk, sugar, flour, and salt until smooth.

Whisk in the lemon juice and zest and the heavy cream.

Pour over the warm crust, then return to the oven and bake until lemon mixture is set, about 20 minutes.

Remove from the oven and let cool completely on a wire rack (if you want to try them chilled, pop the pan into the fridge once it’s cooled down to room temperature).

Just before serving, dust with a generous snowdrift of confectioners’ sugar and cut into bars.

It’s that simple!