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Lemon Poppyseed Cookies

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OK, so I will share that this recipe is not a “Patty” original but the recipe itself was interesting to me as to make the lemon syrup you have to cook it down by half and that intrigued me enough to deviate from my original recipe.  I enjoyed this version of the recipe…I will do my recipe next week and let you know which one I liked more.

In the meantime, I put a nice yellow ribbon around them to show you how lovely they can look as the perfect hostess gift.

Let me know what your thoughts are…

  Thank you for visiting my site and I hope you enjoy this recipe along with others.  To make sure you are being kept up with all my new posts please make sure to subscribe in the box listed on the top of the page.  You will be emailed with a link to confirm you are interested in the subscription so be sure to click on that link too.  Thank you again!

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Lemon Poppyseed Cookies

Ingredients

  • ¼ cup lemon juice
  • 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1 ¼ cups sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 4 teaspoons lemon zest
  • 3 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon poppy seeds + extra for topping

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350ºF, line 2 large baking sheets with baking paper.
  2. In a small saucepan, bring lemon juice to a simmer and let reduce by half. Once it has reduced add 1 stick of butter and let melt, remove from heat and set aside.
  3. In a mixing bowl, sift flour, baking powder and salt, set aside.
  4. In another bowl, add the additional stick of butter and 1 cup of sugar together and mix until smooth and creamy. Beat in egg and melted lemon-butter mixture, beat on medium-high with an electric mixer for 3 minutes, or until very light and pale in color. Mix in vanilla, poppy seeds and 3 teaspoons of lemon zest; once combined, add dry ingredients and mix on low until smooth, you may need to stir in the last 1/3 to 2/3 of a cup by hand. Blend until smooth.
  5. In a plate, combine the remaining ¼ cup of sugar with 1 teaspoon of lemon zest – rub the sugar and zest between your fingertips to obtain a lemony sugar. Roll leveled ½ tablespoons of dough into small balls and place on a prepared cookie sheet, 2" apart. Using a very slight moist glass, dip the bottom into sugar mixture and flatten cookies, follow by sprinkling a few poppy seeds and a pinch of the sugar+zest mix over the top of each cookie.
  6. Bake for 11-12 minutes or until perfectly golden around the edges. Let cool for a few minutes before transferring the cookies to a wire rack.
https://mmgood.com/lemon-poppyseed-cookies/

Caramel Macadamia Nut with White Chocolate Butter Cream

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Alright so I will admit that this recipe for caramel macadamia nut with chocolate buttercream is not an easy recipe to do…but I will say that it was so tasty that I just had to share it with you.  I had a friend forward me a copy of the recipe so I am unsure where it originated from.  I would not say that it’s a beginners recipe…unless of course, you are already familiar with how to make homemade caramel (which I wasn’t).  Although I guess if you really wanted to cheat you can modify it and do a store bought but I would say to challenge yourself as it’s such an impressive little tart that will leave everyone talking about you.

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Baked Rosemary Chinese Purple Yam

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Red Yams

Okay so who knew that there were so many different kinds of potatoes or yams?  On a field trip with my culinary class, we were able to explore different types of markets, one of which was a Chinese market.  I was surprised as when we got there, I was introduced to a Chinese purple yam, I knew that I just had to try them.

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Stuffed Mini Bellpepper Appetizer

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A few weeks ago I was home preparing dinner when my good friend Susan called to see what I was doing. I told her I was making dinner, an appetizer, some soup, homemade biscuits and a dessert. She too was making a fabulous dinner.

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Encino, CA – The Red Room

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The Red Room – 17499 Ventura Blvd., Encino, CA –  March 29, 2011

Last Friday night I was invited to The Red Room which is located in Encino, CA. We had a friend that was visiting us from Tennessee and I’m grateful I was invited as it was a blast to see my friends. I had never heard of The Red Room but I was open to trying it out. We carpooled and I was glad we did as the parking is not great. It’s a cute restaurant that caters to the wine connoisseur, the wine collection is amazing! I shared a bottle of red wine with my girlfriend, it was the Mossback Pinot Noir 2011..it was such a smooth wine. The cost on the wine was $40 or $11 per glass. I’d highly recommend it!

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Now for the food…they promote it as a “Tapas Bar”, but I didn’t feel that it was the “Spanish” flair that usually matches the word “Tapas” and they had full portions for food so if you are going to visit it on your own, know that you can get appetizers, salad, pizza or a main meal.

We ordered 2 different salads…the shaved artichoke salad, with shaved Parmesan and a lemon/olive oil dressing on arugula, the cost of the salad was $12

Salad with Aritchokes

The second salad was the Kale Chopped Salad with kale, quinoa, toasted almond, Parmesan cheese and a lemon vinaigrette dressing, cost for this salad is $9

Kale Sald

I got the pizza with wild mushrooms and brie cheese, $10

pizza

I shared my pizza with others as it was a large pizza for just one person. My girlfriend had gotten the salmon dish with I believe was $18, she shared it with someone and they LOVED it, I’m sorry I don’t have great shots but it’s my first of many more reviews coming your way!!!

Best Thanksgiving Turkey…Gobble Gobble

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It’s a week before Thanksgiving and all through the house,

I have recipes all scattered…and you won’t find a mouse.

The turkey is bought, yes it’s a week still away,

the fixin’s are all counted for and I know I won’t stray.

I’ll make the same thing as last year as everyone left content,

I want to skip on making the peas…wait did i just say that?  It’s not really what I meant.

I hope you all find joy and happiness and make sure to give thanks,

and if you can’t make a turkey, you can always make yourself some franks!

Ok so that was my attempt at a cute Thanksgiving fun.  I can’t tell you all the stories I’ve encountered with making turkey for Thanksgiving but I can share that there has been uncooked turkey, overcooked turkey, butterball turkey…and every other kind of turkey story in between.  A few years back, I called my Zia (aunt in Italian) and asked her how she prepared her turkey as my mother is no longer with me and I wanted some family advice, she gave me some of her pointers and I included my normal Thanksgiving turkey fixins and now I have what I consider to be the best turkey recipe ever!!!!

1) First off, I always start with a brine, I use the William Sonoma brine which we just love and I just follow the directions on the package, the brine is great because you do it the night before and I do really believe that it helps with keeping the turkey moist.

2) I always give my turkey a “wine bath” I basically purchase a cheap bottle of white wine and after the brine, I pour white the wine to wash off any of the brine.

3) I always use sliced oranges on the bottom of the pan with fresh bay leaves.

4) I always stuff put some butter that has been left at room temperature and mixed with chopped herb sunder the skin of my turkey.

5) I always stuff my turkey with lemons, apples, oranges, celery or whatever else I have around, this year i even used onions!

6) I try to get a turkey that is 17 pounds or less as it’s much more tender then the bigger turkeys (I have been known to even buy two turkeys for larger parties)

7) Finally, I always follow the baking rules for the turkey I buy.

I hope you enjoy this recipe as it’s my “no fail” amazing turkey!

 

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Best Thanksgiving Turkey…Gobble Gobble

Ingredients

  • 20 pound Turkey, brine over night
  • 1 jar Brine, William Sonoma
  • 1 ½ sticks Butter, room temperature
  • 2 packages Fresh poultry herbs or fresh poultry herbs from your garden
  • 1 package Sage
  • 1 package Bay leaves (I use fresh from the farmers market)
  • 4 whole Oranges
  • 1 whole Lemon
  • 1 whole Green apple
  • White wine
  • Oil
  • Salt and pepper
  • 3 Stalks celery
  • Orange juice

Directions

  1. Twenty-four hours before Thanksgiving, brine your turkey, following the instructions on the jar or package. Whether or not you brine, make sure to remove the neck and giblets that are in the cavity of the turkey.
  2. On Thanksgiving Day, remove your turkey from the brine and, use half a bottle of wine to give your turkey a "wine bath," basically rinsing your turkey. This is my Italian secret). Reserve 1/2 of the bottle of wine for later. Pat your turkey dry with paper towels. Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.
  3. On the bottom of a roasting pan, add the orange slices and lay the bay leaves on top. Set the pan aside.
  4. Chop the fresh herbs (excluding the bay leaves) and combine with the butter. Add the orange and lemon zest to the butter and mix well. Put the butter mixture under the skin of the turkey, focusing on the breast area. In the cavity of turkey, place lemon, and remaining orange slices, celery, apple and any remaining herbs.
  5. Place turkey on top of the orange slices, breast side up. Add the orange juice and the remaining wine to the pan. Put some oil on the turkey and season it with salt and pepper.
  6. Cover it with aluminum foil and cook until thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh reaches an internal temperature of 180 degrees. The juices of the turkey should run clear.
https://mmgood.com/best-thanksgiving-turkey-gobble-gobble/