Fresh Blueberry Cheesecake

Last week we went to a blueberry U-Pick and picked 2 whole flats of berries. So let me tell you, we will be seeing lots of blueberry dishes to use up all the berries. We froze some to use this winter, but still have lots to use. The first thing we tried was this amazing cheesecake recipe.


Ingredients:
Crust
2 cups graham crumbs
1/2 cup melted butter
1/4 cup sugar

Cheesecake
1 8 oz package of softened cream cheese
1 cup white sugar
1/4 tsp salt
zest from 1 lemon
3 tsp lemon juice
2 tsp vanilla

Pack graham crumbs, sugar and butter into a 9x13 pan.

In a bowl, cream together cream cheese and sugar. Add salt, lemon zest, lemon juice and vanilla to cream cheese mixture. Blend in one large tub of Cool Whip and carefully fold in 3 cups of fresh blueberries.

Pour cream cheese mixture over graham crust. Refrigerate a few hours to harden the crust.

Lemon Spaghetti w/ Lemon Chive Noodles

Last night I made one of Mr. Pomegranite Martini's favorite dishes, Lemon Spaghetti. I've been making this recipe for years, and recently we've discovered it's even more fabulous with homemade noodles infused with fresh chives and lemon zest. It's perfect with roasted chicken or a side salad.



Lemon Chive Noodles
2 c flour
4 eggs
zest from 1 lemon
5 or 6 chives finely chopped

Pour flour, lemon zest and chives into a bowl and wisk until incorporated. Make a well in the center of the bowl and drop eggs into well. TAKE OFF RINGS and combine with fingers until a dough forms. Turn out onto well floured surface and knead until the dough becomes smooth. I usually have to add more flour as I knead. When the dough becomes smooth, cut into quarters and roll out one quarter at a time onto a well floured surface as thin as you can get it. Cut with a sharp knife or pizza cutter into thin strips. Cook in well salted water for 2-3 minutes.

Lemon Spaghetti
Salt
Lemon Chive Spaghetti from above
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 3 turns of the pan
4 cloves garlic, grated
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 lemons, zested and juiced
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 cup grated Pecorino Romano
Finely chopped chives for garnish

Directions:

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt the water and drop the spaghetti into the pot.

Heat a large deep skillet over low heat. Add extra-virgin olive oil and garlic and crushed red pepper flakes.

When the pasta has finished cooking, before you drain, reserve a ladle full of pasta cooking water. After draining the pasta, add cooking water, lemon juice, and the cream to the garlic and oil. Raise heat a bit to bring sauce to a bubble.

Add lemon zest and half of the cheese to the cream sauce. Season the sauce with salt, to taste. Add pasta to pan and turn off heat. Toss the pasta with sauce a minute or 2, allowing it time to soak up the sauce.

Top the plates of pasta or platter with remaining cheese and some chopped chives.

Adapted from Lemon Spaghetti recipe by Rachael Ray

Lemon Poppyseed Cookies

I'm determined I'm going to get back into blogging about the things I'm cooking, both as a way to keep track of the recipes I've been making and to share with everyone. These cookies were fairly easy to make and didn't take much time either... I ended up needing to cook these a few minutes longer than the recipe called for but man were they good. :) The lemon zest keeps the lemon flavor subtle but the glaze with fresh lemon juice brings it to the perfect amount of lemon.

Frosted Lemon Poppyseed Cookies
1/2 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
2 tbsp lemon zest
1 large egg
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp poppyseeds

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, cream together butter, sugar and lemon zest until light and fluffy. Beat in egg.
In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Add to wet ingredients and mix until just combined, then stir in poppyseeds. Drop by 1-inch balls onto prepared baking sheet.
Bake for 9-11 minutes, until cookies are set and just begin to brown at the edges (the bottoms may be lightly browned, but not the top of the cookies)
Cool for 1-2 minutes on the baking sheet, then remove to a wire rack to cool before glazing.

Lemon Glaze
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
2-3 tbsp lemon juice

Whisk together juice and sugar until icing is a smooth, pourable consistency. Add additional juice if yours is too thick to drizzle easily or additional sugar if it is too thick.
Drizzle over cookies. Cookies should not be hot, but it is ok if they are not completely at room temperature before frosting.
Cookies must be cooled to room temperature before being stored.

Makes 2 dozen.