Lemon Poppy Seed Compound Butter Food

LEMON-POPPY SEED COMPOUND BUTTER

Steps:

• Combine butter, lemon zest, lemon juice, poppy seeds, and honey in a small bowl.
• Place butter on top of a sheet of plastic wrap. Shape into a log. Fold one side of the plastic wrap over the log and roll into a tube, shaping with your fingers as you roll tightly. Twist the ends to seal.
• Refrigerate for at least 1 hour or until firm. The longer it sits, the more the flavors will develop. Unroll from plastic wrap and slice.

LEMON-POPPY SEED FETTUCCINE

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Heat the olive oil and garlic in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and cook until the garlic is golden brown; discard the garlic. Add the zucchini to the garlic oil; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, until the zucchini is crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Stir in the poppy seeds and remove from the heat.
• Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook as the label directs. Reserve 1 cup cooking water, then drain. Return the skillet to medium-high heat and add the pasta, 1/2 cup of the reserved cooking water, the lemon zest, butter and parmesan; season with salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer and toss to combine. Add the remaining 1/2 cup cooking water and the lemon juice and simmer until the sauce is slightly thickened, about 1 minute (the pasta will continue to absorb the sauce as it sits). Divide among bowls.

LEMON POPPY SEED CUTOUTS

Steps:

• Cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes. Beat in lemon zest, juice and vanilla. In another bowl, whisk flour, poppy seeds and salt; gradually beat into creamed mixture. Shape into a disk; cover tightly. Refrigerate 4 hours or until firm enough to roll., Preheat oven to 350°. Roll dough between 2 sheets of waxed paper to 1/4-in. thickness. Cut with a floured 1-1/2-in. cookie cutter; reroll scraps. Place 1 in. apart on parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake until edges begin to brown, 10-12 minutes. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool.

LEMON-POPPY SEED DROPS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• In a small bowl, combine the flour, poppy seeds and salt. Set aside. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and the sugar until fluffy. Add the egg yolks, vanilla extract and lemon zest. Stir until well mixed. Add the dry ingredients, and stir only until they are incorporated and dough pulls together into a ball. Do not overmix.
• Drop the dough from a teaspoon onto ungreased cookie sheets, leaving an inch between the cookies. Bake for 15 minutes, or until the cookies are lightly browned around the edges.

LEMON POPPY-SEED MUFFINS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a standard 12-cup muffin tin with baking cups. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together sugar, eggs, zest, juice, and milk. Whisk in butter. Stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients, until just combined. Stir poppy seeds into batter.
• Divide batter evenly between muffin cups, adding a scant 1/4 cup to each. Sprinkle with sugar and poppy seeds, if desired. Bake until tops spring back when lightly touched, about 20 minutes. Cool 5 minutes in pan, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

LEMON POPPY SEED LOAF WITH LEMON SYRUP

Steps:

• In large bowl, beat butter with sugar until light and fluffy; beat in eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.
• In separate bowl, whisk together flour, poppy seeds, lemon rind, baking powder and salt; stir into butter mixture alternately with milk, making 3 additions of flour mixture and 2 of milk. Spread in greased 8- x 4-inch (1.5 L) loaf pan.
• Bake in centre of 325 F oven for 1 hour or until cake tester inserted in centre comes out clean. Place pan on rack.
• Lemon Syrup: In saucepan or microwaveable measure, warm sugar and lemon rind and juice until sugar dissolves. With skewer, pierce hot loaf right to bottom in 12 places; pour lemon syrup over loaf.
• Let loaf cool in pan for 30 minutes; turn out onto rack and let cool completely. Wrap and let stand for 12 hours before slicing. Makes 1 loaf, 12 slices.
• Make-Ahead Tip: Store at room temperature for up to 2 days or overwrap with heavy-duty foil and freeze for up to 1 month.

LEMON-POPPY SEED BUTTERMILK BISCUITS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, baking soda, poppy seeds, and lemon zest for 30 seconds. Toss butter into dry mixture to evenly coat, then press between your fingers to create flower-petal shapes and return to bowl.
• Slowly drizzle buttermilk over flour-butter mixture (to evenly distribute) while stirring with a fork. Stop stirring when dough begins to form but mixture is still crumbly. Transfer to center of a parchment-lined baking sheet. Gather dough with your hands, pressing firmly to bind, and flatten it into a 6-by-10-inch rectangle. Lift parchment along a short end of dough and fold in half, forming a 6-by-5-inch rectangle. Turn dough 90 degrees; gently reflatten to 6 by 10 inches. Fold in half again and flatten slightly into a 6-inch square.
• To keep things easy, form the dough on the same tray it's baked on. Cut it into thirds in both directions with a large, sharp knife, to form 9 biscuits. Brush tops with buttermilk. Bake until puffed, golden brown on top, and hollow-sounding when tapped on bottom, 16 to 18 minutes. Transfer to a kitchen towel-lined basket; cover to keep warm. Serve with strawberries or jam and whipped cream.