Despite the endless snow...

I stumbled, boots soaked in mud-slush, into the grocery store to pick up a few goods for tonight's dinner with Kathy and Jen. Today's citrus craving led to Roasted Pepper and Caramelized Onion Pizza, Salmon with Lemon Pepper Sauce, and Lemon Bars.

This is before baking. Okay, I cheated just a little with Betty Crocker's instant pizza dough, but I FORGIVE MYSELF.

Roasted Pepper and Caramelized Onion Pizza

1 package instant pizza dough
1/2 cup hot water
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dried herbs
1 tsp parsley
1/2 cup sliced roasted bell peppers
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 cup sliced onions
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
Salt & pepper
1 cup skim mozzarella

Mix dried pizza dough with hot water until combined and let it set for 10 minutes. Spread the dough on a flat baking pan until desired thickness is reached using the balls of your hands. Grease top of dough with olive oil and sprinkle garlic powder, dried herbs, and parsley to cover. Heat oil on high and sautee sliced onions. Let it cook for 20 seconds before adding in sugar and balsamic vinegar. Add salt and pepper to taste and let onions caramelize until brown and soft. Add sliced roasted bell peppers and caramelized onions. Sprinkle mozzarella over the vegetables making sure to cover the edges. Bake pizza at 450 degrees F for 20-30 minutes.

Priding myself on my ghetto-college ways, I zested the lemons by thinly slicing the lemon peel and running the knife through it. No, I don't own a grater, don't judge.

Mixing the lemon pepper sauce.

Salmon with Lemon Pepper Sauce

1/3 cup light sour cream
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp lemon zest
1 tsp honey
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 Tbsp diced shallots
1 salmon fillet
1/2 lemon

Whisk together sour cream, lemon juice, lemon zest and honey. Mix together olive oil, lemon juice and shallots. Rub salmon with olive oil mixture and chill in refrigerator for 30 minutes. Bake salmon in a pan at 450 degrees F for 12 minutes. Drizzle lemon pepper sauce over salmon and place lemon wedges for garnish. (Adapted from bon appetit).



Pouring lemon filling over the crust.

Lemon Bars

Crust

1 stick unsalted butter
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup all-purpose flour

Lemon Filling

1 cup sugar
3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
3 large eggs
1 tsp lemon zest
1/2 cup lemon juice
Powder sugar for dusting

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Oil the bottom and of a baking pan (I prefer circular pans for symmetry). Combine melted butter with sugar, vanilla and salt in a medium bowl. Add the flour and mix until incorporated. The dough should be grainy and almost crumbly. Press the dough evenly on the bottom of the pan. Bake for 25 minutes until the crust is browned at the edges. Sift sugar and flour together and mix. Whisk in the eggs one at a time and add in the lemon zest and juice. Pour the filling onto the hot crust. Bake at 300 degrees F for 25-30 minutes until the filling is set. Place on a rack and cool completely in the pan. Cut into slices and dust top with powdered sugar over before serving.

We ate all of it--end of story.