Category: Food and Drink

Meyer Lemon Shortbread Cookies- And a Gadget Recommendation…

It’s Cookie Time!

imagesI can’t go very long between baking cookie baking sessions. I think I’d revert to some sub-human level. Picture something out of a Lord of the Rings movie. I’d like to register a complaint to The Board of Fairness- I bake for a hobby, my husband gets cookies; his hobby, biking, just has me occasionally bonking my head on the bikes hanging from our garage ceiling. Not. Fair.

I have way too many cookie recipes on a Pinterest board for desserts. With too many things on my plate this week and a a spare hour, I crammed in making this recipe. I made the dough for these Meyer Lemon Shortbread Cookies, ran carpool while it chilled in the fridge, then came home to bake.

Get a rasp grater, really.
Get a rasp grater, really.

Several years back I read a short writeup in a magazine about hardware store rasp graters being bought by home cooks and chefs alike to grate hard cheeses and citrus rinds. If you haven’t bought one for your kitchen and are passing up recipes calling for citrus zest because you don’t like wrestling with a round fruit and a sharp paring knife, go get a rasp grater! I don’t like to own many tools that do only one thing- a good knife can probably replace half of the gadget wall in any store’s housewares department. Even though I only use a rasp for parmesan cheese and grating citrus rind, I keep it because it really works well-  finely grated lemon rind with practically no effort.

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Refrigerated dough, sliced, now ready to bake.

This recipe hails from a great travel and food blog, TinyUrbanKitchen.com. I love it when bloggers mention where they originally found a recipe, and she respectfully credits The Joy of Cooking in her adaptation of this shortbread. I followed the recipe, but with one small change- instead of two teaspoons of vanilla I used one, and added a teaspoon of lemon extract to really get the lemon flavor to pop. These were delicious! The recipe would work well as a plain shortbread cookie or almond flavored with sliced, toasted almonds on top… yum! I might need to make another batch tomorrow… do I have enough almond extract?

Click here to go over to TinyUrbanKitchen.com for the Meyer Lemon Shortbread Cookie recipe. These were great!

Really Good Lemon Shortbread Cookies
Really Good Lemon Shortbread Cookies

Taste Test and Recipe: Chicken with Red Curry Sauce from Trader Joe’s with Homemade Hummus

I made most of my family try something new for dinner tonight that I was pretty sure that they would flat out refuse- a chicken curry sauce over rice. They have been relatively on board with me trying new things this year, pretty supportive overall, but are getting to the breaking point with the food experiments.


IMG_6565IMG_6566Tonight I made them try Trader Joe’s Chicken Breast Medallions with Coconut Red Curry Sauce. The photos all stink tonight, sorry… lost my mojo for the day, what can I say.

In a nutshell: The Boy gave the best performance of his life, feigning torture at the hands of his mother. His drama teacher for next year would have been so proud! Because this is mildly spicy, The Girl got a Get Out Of Tasting Free pass with her sore throat. Neither reaction from my kids surprised me, but here was the kicker: The Husband loved it. This guy does not care for Indian food. We have Indian friends and it kills me that he doesn’t like most of the home made foods we have been fortunate to share. He is always game to try it… he’s not an unmannered slob, for Pete’s sake, he just doesn’t enjoy the the spices. As for me, I liked it a lot. Great flavor, not to spicy (hot), super easy, the big chunks of chicken weren’t dry and tasted freshly made, and the stuff looked like the picture on the box- no food stylist magic was done by TJ’s.

As for this box of curry from Trader Joe’s fridge section, I know it isn’t authentic, but I’ve received a seal of approval from a friend who knows her Indian cuisine; she likes this ready-made dish, too. I served the curry over brown basmati rice (also from Trader Joe’s), with a side of peas, and hummus that I made this afternoon. Holy cow, that hummus was GOOD!

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Here’s the world’s easiest recipe for fabulous hummus:

Into the bowl of a food processor add the following:

-fresh squeezed juice from one lemon
-one clove garlic
-one 14 oz. can of chick peas drained, but reserve the juice from the can
-one tablespoon of tahini
-one tablespoon good extra virgin olive oil.

Blend until smooth, this could take a while to get it good and smooth, and to get the hummus to the right consistency you will probably need to add some of the reserved juice from the can of chick peas- add a little at a time, you don’t want too much. Add salt to taste, also. You may want your hummus with more garlic, lemon, or tahini so adjust to your tastes.

This is kick-butt-good because it uses fresh garlic, fresh lemons, good extra virgin olive oil and real tahini. If you substitute any of these with something that isn’t fresh, it won’t be nearly as good. And you will be cursed in the kitchen. And you will stub your toe and get a paper cut. Really.

Trader Joe's Chicken with Coconut Red Curry Sauce, served with Brown Basmati Rice
Trader Joe’s Chicken with Coconut Red Curry Sauce, served with Brown Basmati Rice

How Do I Like My Mother’s Day? With Two Pies.

It is Mother’s Day today, and along with sleeping in and French Toast and Bacon made by the Husband for brunch, we tried two different pies for dinner. Julian Pie Company‘s Chicken Pot Pie and Claim Jumper’s Peach Pie. I can’t think of a better gift for me the mom than to cook for me and make an easy bake, easy clean-up dinner.

Julian Pie Co. Chicken Pot Pie- pure yum.
Julian Pie Co. Chicken Pot Pie- pure yum.

The pot pie was FABULOUS. All four of us decided that every time we go past the Julian Pie Company and pick up an apple pie, that the dinner pie WILL be bought, too. The whole family liked this dinner- the crust was super tender and flakey, the vegetable to meat to gravy ratios were all in great balance, and the flavor of the whole pie was delicious.

Better than "Meh"
Better than “Meh”

The Claim Jumper Lattice Peach Pie was just what you would expect from a frozen pie, but on the better side of average. I had no expectations from this freezer section selection, but honestly? The crust was flaky and crisp and even though the filling was really sweet, it wasn’t bad- not a home made fresh peach pie by a long shot, but not the usual sub-standard grocery store ilk.

So, there you have it. Cook for your moms, clean up your dishes, and the next time you want a really good but still ready made pie for dessert for Mother’s Day, get to the store before they sell out of all the Julian Pie Company Apple Pies.

Taste Testing Korean Snacks with a Couple of Ringers! (Part TWO)

Part Two of our taste-testing extravaganza focused on the sweet treats and drinks while the K-pop was playing in the background…
IMG_6528Banana Kick- Can you imagine your basic cheese puffs, with NO cheese or powder, but with banana flavor instead? Comments included “Holy crap, it’s a banana cheese puff!” and “ Weird, but cool; tastes less banana-y than they smell.” We dug these things.

IMG_6525Corn Silk Tea- Joseph was so happy that we didn’t like this as much as he did. This was clearly one of his favorite home foods. Corn Silk Tea is a very mild tea that, very oddly, I thought tasted like tea plus the milk left over from a bowl of Cap’n Crunch. Yeah, I know, like I said- odd… but not in a bad way. I can totally see why this would be a favorite if you grew up drinking it- kind of like how most other world cultures can’t stand our root beer, but we Americans LOVE it.

IMG_6537Custard Cream Cakes- Joseph and The Boyfriend said that these are Korean Twinkies. Honestly, the comparison is a bit insulting. These are WAY better than Twinkies.

IMG_6538Matdongsan- One of the snacks that the boys were most excited to eat and have us try. To quote them: “Tastes like Korea.” I thought these were really good, peanut butter cookie meets cracker-y wafer-ish treat stick.

IMG_65572% by Lotte (Peach Flavored)– Oh, man! This was great! 2% is a non-carbonated soft drink that is not overwhelmingly sweet. We all liked it. “Ooo, right in the Childhood,” was The Boyfriend’s comment. We totally should have gotten more of this in different flavors. Get this- you can buy Lotte’s 2% Peach from Amazon, if you are so inclined.

IMG_6541Jolly Pong- almost exactly the same thing as the American honey puffed wheat cereal Sugar Crisps (now called Golden Crisp to not sound so sugar laden) or Honey Smacks (does that cereal even exist any more) . But more delicate. Really good!

We still have the frozen treat to try, and another aloe flavored soft drink, some various ramen and a couple more sweet snacks to try… Looks like Joseph will have to ask for an extension on his student Visa? We can hope. Have a great summer with your family, Joseph, and we wish you all the luck in the world when you start university next fall. New York doesn’t know how lucky it is to be getting you, I hope you take Manhattan by storm! We should make Willy do this with Chinese snacks next year, shouldn’t we- maybe between the Fall play’s Saturday performances? Ha, look out, Willy, you are next!

All Hail The Nutty Irishman!

Oh man, where has this drink been the last 27 years of my life?!? Went to The Company Pub and Kitchen for wings and found a fabulous cocktail instead.

Photo from Food.com Click pic for link and recipe!
Photo from Food.com
Click pic for link and recipe!

It is unseasonably cold in The Great Southland tonight, and I went with our server’s suggestion to try this hot coffee-based drink- yea for great suggestions! The Nutty Irishman has a coffee base, hazelnut liqueur, and my all-time favorite, Bailey’s Irish Cream. Perfect. I really loved how a gal at the table next to us was delighted that I went with her favorite drink.

The basic recipe is-

That’s it- serve with whipped cream, if you like. I loved this drink.