Lemon Poppyseed Bread

I have always loved the crunch of a poppyseed in a sweet bread or on a fresh, warm bagel with rich cream cheese.  However, I have never been a fan of all the little black spots that you find stuck in your teeth.  Despite that, it has never deterred me from either eating or baking anything with poppyseeds!  In fact, I often crave them, especially almond poppyseed.

Well, as you can probably read, this is not an almond poppyseed recipe.  It seems so much more appropriate to use lemons, as it is June, however, I really don't think it matters what time of the year it is.  Eat it if you love it!

The recipe you'll find below is adapted from Joy of Baking.  (Funnily enough - I as I was looking for recipes to compare, I found one that had the words "adapted from Joy of Baking" that upon comparing the two recipes, was an exact replica.  I honestly can't even remember what the site was, which is for the best, but all that to say...  I promise, I DID in fact adapt this and it is not a 100% replication!  If you've read enough of my previous posts, you know I always have to tweak something).  :D

Lemon Poppyseed Bread

1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 tbs poppyseeds
zest of one large lemon
2/3 cup butter (softened)
1 tsp lemon juice + milk to equal 1/2 cup
3 eggs
2 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350.

Butter and flour one loaf pan.  Set aside until ready to use.

In a bowl, combine lemon juice with remaining milk, vanilla, and the eggs together.  Whisk lightly to combine.

In a stand mixer combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, poppyseeds, and lemon zest.  Add in the butter and beat on low to combine, creating small clumps.  Add the first half of the egg/milk mixture, beating on low.  If necessary and the dough is not coming together, stop the mixer and scrap down the sides.  Add the second half of the mixture and combine on low until well mixed.  Pour batter into the loaf pan and bake for 40-50 minutes, or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted comes out clean (with just a few crumbs!).

Remove from oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes before removing from the pan.  Drizzle with "frosting" is desired.

Lemon Drizzle

remaining lemon juice from zested lemons
powdered sugar or granulated sugar

This really is a "free for all."  If you like it sweet, use more sugar.  If you desire a nice tart topping, then use less of the sugar!  :)

On low heat, combine sugar and lemon juice into a saucepan and heat until sugar dissolves.  Pour over bread and let set for about 10 more minutes.  If you decide to use more sugar and get a thick frosting, you may want to wait until it hardens.

Lemon Meringue Pie

I'm starting to think less is more...  Or understand, rather.  Less "talking" is probably better and probably less pictures.  I'm pretty sure Anna understood that way back in the beginning, as she is much better at looking at other blogs and absorbing what looks good and what goes over well.  As for me?  Well, I guess I don't look at enough cooking blogs (until this past week).

Oh, and the other thing?  I want to go buy a hundred cool dishes now, each looking different from the other, just so I can plate my food on something new (and MATCHING!) each time.  Not sure if Nicholas would enjoy that...!  ;)  I may just need to hit-up Anthropologie once we get back to the East Coast and start settling in (the sale section, that is...!).

Since I have been kicking my feet back until the real summer crunch starts, I have been trying to cram in as many recipes as possible while here at my parent's.  My dad's request?  Lemon Meringue Pie.

Pie Crust

1/2 cup butter (room temp)
1/4 cup cold water
1 - 2 tbs sugar
1 1/4 flour (more for dusting)

I think making pie dough varies from person to person.  We each have our own preference.  One of mine?  Butter!  Another?  Either melting or using room temperature butter!  This is my Lemon Meringue pie crust (which, I must say, is very different from Apple Pie and many others).

In either a stand mixer or by hand, place flour and sugar in bowl and mix.  Combine butter and water with the flour mixture, alternating between the two, until a nice firm dough is created.  You may find that you need to add a little more flour.

On a flat work surface, dust with flour.  Place dough onto hard surface and begin rolling out into a circle (about 12" wide).  Once rolled, place dough into pie dish and finish off edges (crimp, cut, fork, etc...).  Chill in fridge for at least an hour before baking.  You may need to fork the bottom of the pie shell to keep it from rising.  You may also choose to do the old "bean trick" when baking the crust!

Preheat oven to 400.

Bake for 10-12 minutes or until lightly golden brown.  Cool before placing warm custard into the pie shell.

Lemon Custard Filling

zest of two large lemons
juice of two large lemons (about 1/2 cup)
1 1/2 cups water
1 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup cornstarch
4 egg yolks (reserve whites for meringue)
3 tbs butter

In a saucepan, combine zest, lemon juice, water, sugar, salt, and cornstarch.  In a separate bowl, whisk egg yolks.  Place saucepan on burner on medium or medium-low heat, whisking constantly, until mixture comes to a boil and thickens.  Remove the saucepan from the heat and slowly begin to pour into the egg yolk, whisking vigorously.  Pour mixture back into the saucepan and return to heat.  Continue to whisk again until mixture comes to a low boil and allow to cook for about 1-2 minutes.

Remove the custard filling from the heat and add in the butter, stirring to melt.

Pour into the crust and let set for at least six hours.

Meringue Topping

4 egg whites
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
3 - 4 tsp sugar

Preheat oven to either 400 or broil (options below).

In a stand mixer, begin to beat the egg whites on the highest speed.  As the whites beat, add in the cream of tartar and sugar.  Once the eggs become thick and create a nice peak, turn mixer off and top the custard with the whipped meringue.

Place pie into oven and bake on 400 for 3-5 minutes (on the lower rack) or broil for 45-60 seconds (on the top rack), watching carefully the WHOLE time!  You want to make sure you don't totally burn the meringue.

Allow to chill for a couple hours or so before serving.

Lemon Chicken with Creamy Pesto Pasta

Have you ever purchased anything in "bulk" when you only need a little?  You know - when you decide that really, it's just more economical to do it that way, because you're getting a better deal.  Right?  Well... that was certainly me late last week! - from that Margarita pizza on Friday night...  I grabbed a huge container full of basil instead of a little bundle.  It just seemed like it made more sense.  :)  At the time, at least...

I knew that I wanted to make pesto.  That wasn't a difficult decision.  Thankfully, it's not a difficult food to make.  Honestly, though, it has been about four years or so since I have made pesto, and after thinking about it for... oh... let's say... two seconds, I knew I was going to use walnuts and not pine nuts.  Let's just say, first of all, we have some and they should be used, and secondly, unless you own a palace... well, you just don't buy pine nuts that often.

I spent about 36 hours racking my brain for the "most creative ways" to use this pesto.  Let's just say... I guess I haven't quite succeed at being super creative and unique... but I don't think it was a disappointment in the end.  Alas, however!  There is enough pesto for a second recipe.  Don't worry!!!  My goal?  To not let you down!  :)

So... here's take one of the pesto adventure.

Homemade Pesto
4 cloves garlic
3/4 cup walnuts (you can also use pine nuts)
2 1/2 - 3 cups fresh basil, packed (or about 4 oz)
3/4 cup grated Parmesan
olive oil
salt & pepper

In a food processor (or a blender if you don't have one), combine garlic, walnuts, basil, and Parmesan cheese and blend.  Once the mixture has begun to form a paste, add about a 1/4 tsp pepper and 1/2 tsp salt.  Begin to blend again and slowly begin to pour the olive oil into the mixture.  Add olive oil until you reach your desired consistency.  Taste to see if it needs any more salt or pepper and add as necessary.

Creamy Pesto Pasta
1/2 of the pesto recipe
about 3 cups fresh spinach
1/3 or so olive oil
1-2 cloves garlic
1/2 - 1 cup heavy cream
1 box pasta (I used shells, cause they're fun!)
salt

Prepare pasta as directed.

In food processor or blender, combine pesto, spinach, extra garlic, and olive oil.  Blend until creamy and combined.

Drain pasta and put back into the boiling pot.  On medium-low heat, add enough heavy cream to lightly coat the pasta.  Add in spinach pesto and mix.  Season with extra salt if needed.

Serve!

Lemon Chicken

4 chicken breasts (cubed or sliced into 1/4" pieces)
2 large lemons (sliced very thinly) with juice their juice
1/4 cup olive oil
4-5 cloves garlic (crushed)
salt & pepper

Season chicken with salt and pepper on both sides.  On medium heat, warm skillet and olive oil.  Once heated, add in chicken and cook the first side for about 3-4 minutes.  Turn chicken, re-season if necessary, add garlic, and place lemon slices on top of chicken (as well as any excess juice from slicing).  Allow chicken to fully cook, about another 3-4 minutes, stirring lemons and chicken as needed.

Once chicken is fully cooked, remove from heat and serve with pasta.  (Serve with lemon slices if desired, or just the chicken).

Lemon Fennel Chicken with Brown Butter Sauce

I guess tonight I don't have too much to say...  It was a night alone and I needed some dinner to inspire me to keep working and getting things done.  I started searching the cupboards and looking for what I could use without heading to the store (sounding like a theme?).  This was certainly not a planned meal, but all in all, I was quite pleased and rather sad that I enjoyed it all by myself.  While stuffing my face, I wished I had had a loaf of nice garlic bread or maybe some garlic mashed potatoes to accompany the meal, but despite that, it didn't discourage me from enjoying the creation.  (I highly suggest some if you make this!).

I can't take all the credit for this creation.  Props go to Julia Child, as she has a delicious white wine cream sauce with lemon and fennel chicken, that Nicholas and I quite enjoy (and as for the green beans, it's a twist on a regular in my in-laws household).  As I found I was lacking some good 'ol heavy cream and couldn't make that recipe, I decided to go with my instinct.  That's what you have just got to do!

 Lemon Fennel Chicken with Brown Butter Sauce
2 large chicken breasts (butterflied and cut in half)
salt and pepper
zest of one lemon
juice of lemon
3-4 garlic cloves (minced)
2/3 - 1 cup white wine
3-4 tbs butter
1 tsp fennel seeds

Prepare chicken by butterflying and salt and peppering both sides.  In a large skillet, heat 2 tbs butter on medium heat.  Once melted, add in chicken, browning both sides (about 3-4 minutes per side).  Turn up heat to medium-high and add wine (it will do that cool burning-off thing when it sizzles!).  Toss in garlic, zest, lemon juice, and fennel seeds.  Check to see if chicken is cooked through, if not, remove sauce and chicken to finish cooking.  If chicken is fully cooked, remove chicken from the skillet, add 1-2 more tbs butter, and allow sauce to thicken and brown (but not burn!).  Once sauce has reduced, add chicken back in for about 1-2 minutes to allow sauce to cover the chicken.

Remove from heat and serve.

Balsamic Green Beans and Onion
1 medium onion (sliced)
16 oz green beans
salt and pepper
2-3 cloves garlic (minced)
3-4 tbs olive oil
1-2 tbs balsamic vinegar

Heat a skillet on medium-high heat.  Add 2 tbs olive oil to skillet.  Once oil is heated, add onions and add salt and pepper to season.  Begin cooking down onions.  After about five minutes, add garlic.  Once onions have begin to nicely caramelize, toss in green beans, adding more olive oil if necessary.  Cook until desired tenderness.  About a minute before, toss on balsamic so it lightly coats the green beans and onions.

Braised Lamb with Orange Marmalade, Couscous, and Asparagus

Anna and I both love to watch Simply Ming on the PBS station.  We both don't have cable, which is really a blessing disguise, as we'd both spend multiple hours a day watching the Food Network if we did (which is why when we're around a television with cable, we instantly will turn to that station and start watching).  If you're any kind of a foodie and like to keep up-to-date with your favorite chef(s) or a blog or two (or three or four) or enjoy creating things, then you probably have an appreciation for being inspired to make your own twist on a recipe or two you see.

Well, let's just say that today I was about ready to reach right into the television and grab that lamb Ming was making with his clementine marmalade.  This marmalade was inspired by his, but it is not a replica, and I can't say that putting marmalade on-top of lamb is something I think of doing quite often.  Sorry if you're a fan of mint jelly and lamb, which since I have never tried, can't quite seem to wrap my head around, but despite that, I certainly see a correlation between the two.  As this isn't quite the best season for fresh citrus fruits, even though we're in Texas, I decided to stick with the traditional orange and make my own twist on the marmalade and how I braised the lamb.  I have to say, both Nicholas and I really enjoyed the brightness it brought to the dish.  Give it a try if you like lamb!

Braised Lamb
4 lamb shanks
1/4 cup olive oil
1 medium red onion diced
1 cup + 2 tbs red wine (of choice)
4-5 cloves garlic (minced)
salt
pepper

Being by patting excess moisture off the lamb shanks.  Season both sides with salt and pepper.

Heat skillet (preferably stainless steel) on medium-high heat with olive oil.  Once oil has heated, place shanks in skillet and allow to brown (it should take 3-4 minutes on both sides).  After browning both sides, remove from heat and add onions to olive oil, seasoning with salt and pepper.  Add garlic and continue to cook down.  This should begin to deglaze the pan.  You want all of the nice juices to flavor the onions.

Once the onions have nicely browned (8-12 minutes), add in red wine and deglaze again if necessary.  Simmer for about three minutes before adding the lamb back to the skillet and reduce heat to medium.  Cover and let cook.

Turn lamb after about 5-7 minutes, cover again, and let cook for another 5-7 minutes.  At this point, check the internal temperature of the lamb and make sure it is fully cooked.  If so, remove from the skillet, turn the heat to high and let wine reduce down to a nice, thick glaze (this can take up to 10 minutes or so depending on how much moisture your lamb took in).  Serve the onions on top of the lamb with the marmalade.

Orange Marmalade
3 medium oranges
zest of all 3 oranges
1/4 cup white sugar
1 1/2" piece of ginger (peeled, in two halves)

Wash oranges (unless you like the taste of pesticide if you're not going the organic route).  Start by zesting the three oranges and setting zest side.  Cut oranges in half and juice.

Pour the fresh orange juice into a sauce pan and add the sugar.  Begin by cooking on medium-high stirring occasionally as the mixture begins to boil.  After about five minutes, add the ginger and zest in and continue to cook/boil, continuing to stir, and let mixture reduce.  This will take about 35-45 minutes and will reduce greatly from the original amount.  Once it begins to start to resemble the texture of marmalade or jam, you know it's ready to go!  Remove from heat and discard ginger pieces.

Parsley and Olive Oil Couscous
1 1/2 cups boiling water
1 cup couscous
1/4 cup olive oil (more if you'd like)
1/4 cup fresh parsley (minced)
1 tsp salt (to taste)

Even though this couscous recipe is rather simple, it's a nice contrast to all of the flavor in the lamb and the marmalade.

Bring water to a boil, pour over couscous, cover tightly and allow to sit for 5 minutes.  Fluff with a fork and toss in olive oil, parsley, and salt.  You may decide you want more or less parsley or olive oil.  Adjust salt if you'd like, but trust me, you'll notice a big difference if you don't put it in.  (Whoops!!  We added it after a bit or two and it make all the difference in the world.)  :)

Lemon Garlic Asparagus
1 bunch asparagus
1 lemon
zest of lemon
2-3 tbs olive oil
2-3 cloves garlic (minced)
1 1/2 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
salt
pepper

Wash asparagus and get rid of ends.  (There's an easy trick to getting the most out of your asparagus!  Simply hold the two ends of the asparagus in both hands and break "in half."  The asparagus will break at its "best" point.  Trick from watching TOO many cooking shows.  You may feel like you're wasting too much as sometimes it does break in the middle, so you may decide that you payed for a whole bunch of asparagus and you'd like to use the whole thing, but I'll leave that decision to you!).

Heat skillet on medium heat with olive oil.  Once the oil is ready, toss in asparagus and season with salt and pepper.  Allow to begin cooking, mixing around the asparagus so certain pieces don't overcook on the bottom.  After about two or three minutes, add the garlic, zest and juice of the lemon, and mix.  Allow to continue to cook for another few minutes before adding the Worcestershire Sauce.  Once it looks tender, remove from heat and serve immediately.

Chicken Piccata with Sweet Potato Mashers and Green Beans

Are you tired of the same old dried up chicken dinners?  Looking for pizazz?  Sweet and tangy with a side of AWESOME? Look no further.  This recipe brought to you by lonely without husbands, seeking food.  Luckily, we have each other and don't fall prey to the temptations of ice cream and donuts for dinner when the guys are off for a few nights at a time.  We rise above.  We even eat vegetables!  And like it!

Anna's friend Megan served this chicken dish at a recent dinner party.  So we decided to recreate it. It's moist, tender, and packed with flavor - and easy as pie to cook up in a jiffy!  Whether you're searching for the perfect no-hassle recipe to serve for guests or just want some comfort food to accompany your favorite chair and tv show, this is the recipe for you! Go get em!

Chicken Piccata (adapted from Giada)
2 chicken breasts (butterflied and cut in half)
salt and pepper
flour (for dredging)
4 tbsp butter
3 lemons (juice of three and zest of one)
1/2 cup cooking sherry
1/4 cup capers

To prepare the chicken, salt and pepper both sides of your chicken and then dredge the chicken in the flour, making sure to shake off the excess flour.  Heat skillet over medium-high heat and melt 2 tbs of the butter until nice and bubbly.  Once the butter is melted, place the breasts in the skillet and cook about three minutes on each side until lightly browned.  Remove chicken and place on serving plate.  To the skillet, add the sherry, lemon juice, lemon zest, and capers.  Deglaze the bottom of the pan, bringing to a boil.  Once the sauce has come to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low and return chicken to the skillet.  Allow to reheat and finish cooking for about five minutes.  Once fully cooked, remove from the skillet, and place on serving platter.  To skillet, add the remaining 2 tbs butter and whisk until fully incorporated.  Pour over chicken and serve!

(Yields approximately four servings).

Sweet Potato Mash
1 large sweet potato
1/4 orange juice
1-2 tbs butter
salt (for tasting)

Add water to pot and bring to a boil.  Peel and cube sweet potato and add to boiling water.  Cook until tender.  Remove from water, place in mashing bowl and add orange juice, butter, and salt (to desired preference).

(Ratios of ingredients two large or three medium servings.  Adjust according to the number of servings.)

Green Beans with Red Onion
1/3 red onion (thinly sliced)
1 1/2 - 2 cups green beans
1 lemon (juice of)
olive oil
salt and pepper (for tasting)

Heat skillet on medium heat and add olive oil.  Once heated, toss in the red onion, season with a little salt, and cook until tender.  Add green beans, lemon juice, and season with salt and pepper and cook until desired tenderness.

(Ratios are for about 2 large or 3 medium servings).