Celebration of Sour

A little splash of lemon will enhance almost any food. Just a squeeze of lemon on salads, vegetables and fruits gives them a delightful sparkle and clean taste.

In baking, lemon zest--the deeply flavored, thin layer of colored skin--contains aromatic oils that impart a deep lemon flavor. Handled properly, a zester or fine grater removes just the thin, bright-yellow skin without any of the bitter taste that comes from the white part of the rind (the pith).

Simple as these Hungarian-inspired noodles are, they offer a delicious alternative to the richer noodle kugels. Serve with ham, smoked turkey, brisket and broiled fish.

LEMON NOODLES WITH POPPY SEEDS

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup lemon juice

2 tablespoons butter or margarine

1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

Dash salt

8 ounces egg noodles, cooked according to package instructions

1 teaspoon poppy seeds

Combine sugar, lemon juice, butter, lemon zest and salt in small non-aluminum pan or microwave-proof dish. Heat mixture on stove top or in microwave oven until hot. Stir to combine.

Toss hot drained noodles with lemon mixture and poppy seeds until noodles are well coated. Serve immediately. (Can be made ahead, kept at room temperature and reheated quickly on stove top in non-stick skillet or in microwave oven, tossing noodles during cooking.) Makes 4 servings.

Each serving contains about:

327 calories; 121 mg sodium; 69 mg cholesterol; 9 grams fat; 55 grams carbohydrates; 8 grams protein; 0.27 gram fiber; 24% calories from fat.

Popovers are always welcome; consider serving them for breakfast, lunch or supper. These popovers are very crusty on the outside, making it possible to freeze any extras for another meal. The clove brings out a little lemon flavor in the popover; the maple-lemon butter brings out more.

LEMON POPOVERS WITH MAPLE-LEMON BUTTER

1 cup flour, sifted

1 1/2 cups milk

4 large eggs

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon salt

Grated zest of 2 large lemons

Maple-Lemon Butter

Grease 6-cup popover pan with shortening or thin coat of non-stick cooking spray. Heat pan on center rack of 400-degree oven 15 minutes.

Using mixer, food processor or blender, combine flour, milk, eggs, cloves, salt and lemon zest until smooth. Transfer mixture to 1-quart measuring cup.

Carefully pour batter into hot popover pans, about 7/8 full.

Bake at 400 degrees 10 minutes (do not open oven door during baking). Decrease heat to 350 degrees. Bake until very dark and crisp, about 40 to 45 minutes longer. Serve hot with Maple-Lemon Butter. Makes 6 popovers.

Note: Popovers can be frozen. Remove from pans and cool completely on rack. Place in freezer on baking pan. When frozen solid, wrap airtight in plastic food bag. Can be frozen as long as 2 months. To serve, place frozen popovers (do not thaw) directly on oven rack. Bake at 350 degrees until heated through, about 10 to 12 minutes.

Each serving contains about:

254 calories; 272 mg sodium; 167 mg cholesterol; 12 grams fat; 28 grams carbohydrates; 8 grams protein; 0.06 gram fiber; 44% calories from fat.

For breakfast, you may want to add 1 tablespoon powdered sugar to this deliciously tart mixture.

Maple-Lemon Butter

1/4 cup unsalted butter or margarine, softened

1 tablespoon lemon juice

3 tablespoons maple syrup

Grated zest of 1 large lemon

1 tablespoon powdered sugar

Combine butter, lemon juice, maple syrup, lemon zest and powdered sugar in mini food processor or blender, or stir vigorously with wooden spoon until smooth. (Can be made several days in advance and refrigerated, or frozen for as long as 2 months.) Makes about 2/3 cup.

This lemon cake is plain enough for brunch and appealing enough for a picnic. Broiling the glaze for a few minutes gives the cake a nice, moist quality.

SOUR CREAM-LEMON CAKE

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

6 tablespoons unsalted butter or margarine, room temperature

3/4 cup sugar

Grated zest of 2 large lemons

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon lemon extract

1 1/4 cups flour

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

Glaze

Stir sour cream and baking soda in bowl and set aside.

Cream butter with sugar until light. Add lemon zest, eggs and extract. Mix until fluffy. Sift flour, baking powder and salt together onto piece of wax paper. Add flour mixture and reserved sour cream. Mix until smooth. Transfer batter to greased 9-inch-square baking pan. Smooth surface with spatula.

Bake on center rack of 350-degree oven until cake is lightly browned, separates slightly from sides of pan and wood pick inserted into center comes out clean, about 30 minutes.

When cake is done, quickly adjust oven shelf to 6 inches from broiler heat. Turn on broiler. Pour warm Glaze as evenly as possible over hot cake. Broil cake until entire surface is bubbling, watching constantly to avoid burning, about 2 to 3 minutes.

Transfer cake to rack to cool. Makes 8 servings.

Each serving with Glaze contains about:

343 calories; 241 mg sodium; 90 mg cholesterol; 15 grams fat; 50 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams protein; 0.05 gram fiber; 39% calories from fat.

Glaze

3 tablespoons lemon juice

2 tablespoons unsalted butter or margarine

1 cup powdered sugar, sifted

1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

Dash salt

Combine lemon juice in small non-aluminum pan or microwave-proof dish. Heat on stove top or in microwave oven until butter melts. Stir to combine.