A Lemon Lover's Dinner

If you love the taste of lemons, then this dinner is for you!  None of the components are very difficult to make, but it is sure to impress everyone at the dinner table!

Drink...

Aviation

The Aviation is a classic cocktail created in the early 20th century.  It traditionally consists of gin, maraschino liqueur, and lemon juice.  Some older recipes also include crème de violette.  I changed some parts of the cocktail because of the difficulty of finding ingredients, and for reasons of personal taste.  I was unable to find maraschino liqueur (although I will admit, I didn't try too hard), so I replaced it with cherry brandy, which is why my cocktail is red where it would normally be clear.  Also, Doug enjoyed his with just gin, cherry brandy, and lemon juice, but it was a bit strong for my taste, so I added some simple syrup.  This is a real, grown-up cocktail, so watch out - it is pretty strong!

Ingredients:

(makes 1 cocktail)

• 2 oz. Gin
• 1/2 oz. Maraschino liqueur (I substituted with cherry brandy)
• 1/2 oz. Lemon juice
• 1/2 oz. Simple syrup (if you would like a sweeter, less strong drink) 
• Maraschino cherry

Directions:

1. Put the gin, maraschino liqueur, lemon juice, and simple syrup (if you are using it) into a cocktail shaker with ice.
2. Shake and strain it into a cocktail glass.
3. Add a cherry into the glass and enjoy!

Dinner...

This is one of my favorite dinners because it is pretty simple to make, but turns out really impressive (I would say restaurant-quality :).  It's a great dish to make for guests.
Chicken Piccata
*recipe adapted from Giada De Laurentiis
(Serves 4)

Ingredients:

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts sliced thinly into cutlets.
• Salt and pepper
• Flour for dredging
• 12 tbs. butter
• 10 tbs. extra virgin olive oil
• 2/3 cup lemon juice (or to taste)
• 1 lemon, sliced
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1/2 cup capers
• 2/3 cup parsley

Directions:

My chicken is browning!

1. Season the chicken with salt and pepper.
2. Dredge the chicken in flour and shake off the excess.
3. In a large skillet melt 4 tbs of butter with 6 tbs olive oil.  Add half of the chicken and cook for 3 minutes or until lightly browned.  Then, flip and cook the other side until browned.
4. Remove the cooked chicken and transfer to a plate.
5. Melt 4 more tbs butter and another 4 tbs olive oil.
6. Add the rest of the chicken and cook the same as before.  When finished cooking, transfer the chicken to a plate.
7. Into the pan add the lemon juice, stock, lemon slices, and capers.  Bring to a boil, scraping up the brown bits. 
8. Check the seasoning. (This is where I always add more lemon juice because I like mine very lemony).
9. Return the chicken to the pan and simmer for 5 minutes.
10. Remove the chicken from the pan to a platter.
11. Add remaining 4 tbs of butter to the sauce and whisk vigorously.
12. Pour the sauce over the chicken and garnish with parsley.

Lemon-Pistachio Rice
*Recipe from Maureen K.
(Serves 4)

Ingredients:

• 2 tsp. extra virgin olive oil
• 1 large shallot, minced
• 3/4 cup of white rice (I used brown rice in mine to be healthier, but it tastes better with white)
• 4 tbs. chopped pistachios
• 8 oz. chicken broth
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 11/4 tbs lemon zest

Directions:

1. Heat the oil in a heavy saucepan over medium heat.
2. Add the shallots and sauté 3 minutes.
3. Add the rice and 2 tbs of pistachios; stir 2 minutes.
4. Stir in the chicken broth, lemon juice, and salt; bring to a boil.
5. Reduce the heat to low; cover and cook until liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender (about 20 minutes).
6. Mix in the remainder of the pistachios and the lemon zest.

Dessert...

This pie is a refreshing finish to dinner.  The best part is that it tastes delicious, but is SO easy to make!
Raspberry-Lemon Pie
*Recipe from Kraftfoods.com 
(Serves 8)
Ingredients:

• 1 pkg (8oz) cream cheese, softened
• 1 pkg (4-serving size) lemon flavor instant pudding
• 1 cup cold milk
• 2 tsp. lemon zest
• 2 cups cool whip, divided
• 1/4 cup raspberry preserves
• 1 (6 oz) graham cracker pie crust
• 1 cup raspberries

Directions:

1. Beat cream cheese, dry pudding mix, milk, and lemon zest in a large bowl with a whisk until blended.
2. Gently stir in 1 cup of the cool whip.
3. Spoon the preserves onto the bottom of the pie crust.  
4. Cover with the pudding mixture.
5. Top with remaining Cool Whip and the raspberries.
6. Refrigerate 4 hours or until firm.

Enjoy!

Sit back, relax, and enjoy all of this dinner's deliciousness.  It's one of my favorites and I hope it soon will be one of yours too!