Poppy Doodles are a cross between poppy seed cookies and snickerdoodles.
How many hybrid designer dogs have been created by crossing another breed with a poodle? Let’s see, starting with the popular labradoodle, the list includes the schnoodle, the goldendoodle, the bernedoodle, the saint berdoodle, the bassetoodle, the dalmadoodle, the foodle, the whoodle, the cockapoo, the lhasapoo, the maltipoo, the morkiepoo, the pekepoo, and the doxie-poo. This is by no means all of them!
I know you want to see how some of these genetic puppy recipes turn out.
Funny how dog breeding is very much like recipe development. What happens when you combine two distinct breeds of food? That’s fusion cuisine. I think chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten put French Asian fusion on the map for me when he opened Vong in New York in the early 1990s. Now it’s just so every day, like a labradoodle or an order of Grilled Chicken Wonton Tacos at Applebee’s. More than 20 years later, Chef Vongerichten’s influence is evident in Nashville as our local Tennessee southern ingredients are seen on menus crossed with French, Asian, Mexican and Italian, something like country ham and turnip green pizza.
Sometimes all this fusion seems forced, and I yearn for a regular taco and a real poodle. But often, fusion is another word for freedom. Freedom to create and combine ingredients in any way you choose. Using what you’ve got on hand in new ways. Recipes aren’t ever static, they change with every cook and every kitchen. And they often benefit from a little crossbreeding.
Poppy Doodles are a great example of simple fusion that works. The homey popular, chewy, crunchy snickerdoodle sugar cookie takes well to the addition of exotic poppy seeds. Like designer dog breeds, the poppy seeds add a bit of elegance and intrigue to a cookie jar regular. Not better than the original, but different, a new creation that’s just as delicious. And, in keeping with tradition, the recipe has a goofy name.
