LEMON CURD

My neighbors trimmed their HUGE lemon tree and put the branches out for bulk pick-up last week. There must have been 150 HUGE lemons still on the branches, so I helped myself and juiced ALL of them. I had 1 gallon of lemon juice! I froze most of it in ice cube trays and put in Zip locks for further use, because I can't tell you how many times I just need one or two tablespoons of lemon juice and don't have a lemon. My cute friend Ang gave me this recipe for lemon curd--I tried it--we ate it on pancakes and I have been sneaking "little" tastes from the jar in the fridge about 3 (maybe 5) times a day. It is so good! You can use it on scones or hot rolls or spoon it over pound cake with whipped cream! One of my new favorites!!

1 cup fresh lemon juice (about 6-8 large lemons)
2 tablespoons fresh lemon zest
1 cup sugar
6 large eggs
1.5 sticks butter (12 tablespoons) cold, UNSALTED butter cut into bits
Zest lemons and set aside. Halve lemons and juice. Whisk together juice, zest, sugar and eggs in a 2-quart heavy saucepan. Cook over medium low heat for about one minute. Then slowly add bits of chilled butter, whisking frequently, until curd is thick enough to hold marks of a whisk and the first bubble appears on the surface (about 5-6 minutes).
Press curd through a large sieve into a shallow casserole dish (a 9×13 Pyrex works well). Cover the surface with plastic wrap to keep a film from forming on the surface of the curd. Chill overnight or for 8 hours before serving. Stores for several weeks. I store in a jar with a tight lid.

**It thickens a lot when it chills, so warm what you are going to use for a few minutes in the micro-wave and it will thin and become more pouring consistency.