Christmas

Hi everyone! I hope you all had an enjoyable Christmas filled with great food and family. I had a nice day with my parents just relaxing, catching up on some reading, and of course cooking and eating. My mom fixed some baked brie and shrimp cocktail to snack on throughout the day both of which were delish!

There is nothing better than curling up by the fire with some good food, and relaxing with family. I was attempting to post again last night, but after some computer issues I gave up and decided to wait until today to share my Christmas with you. Thankfully my dad was able to get the computer up and running again so I am able to blog. Wooo

A few more of my gifts…

Santa brought me a pizza stone! Dutch and I are both pizza lovers and make it from scratch pretty frequently we can’t wait to try this one out.

David got me this food scale, something I have wanted forever.

My mom Santa also brought me a few books to help me get started with my newest endeavors. I’m already halfway though the blogging book and am excited to learn even more about blogging.

After a day of relaxing my mom and I poured some Lover’s Leap Blackberry Wine

and got cooking!

We decided to sear some scallops and serve them with parsley smashed fingerling potatoes and a cherry tomato caprese salad.

Seared Scallops

Ingredients:

1 lb (or 12) scallops

2 tbsp olive oil

salt

pepper

parsley

Directions: Clean scallops and dry very well. Season with salt and pepper. Sear 2 1/2 minutes per side in a large skillet coated with olive oil over medium high heat. Garnish with parsley and serve. Serves 4.

Dry scallops well and season liberally with salt and pepper.

Sear scallops over medium high heat for 2.5 minutes per side.

Scallops are my absolute favorite food, so sweet, buttery and decadent I am in loveee

For the caprese salad I tossed together halved cherry tomatoes, fresh mozzarella cheese, basil, lemon zest, salt, pepper, and olive oil. So simple, fresh, and delicious!

Dinner was fabulous, the perfect ending to a wonderful Christmas with my family. For dessert I made cranberry orange cookies, which have been a hit with everyone that has tried them so far.

Cranberry Orange Cookies

adapted from allrecipes.com

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup raw cane sugar

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 egg

2 teaspoons grated orange zest

2 tablespoons orange juice

2 1/2 c whole wheat pastry flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2      cups finely chopped dried cranberries

Directions: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, sugar and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg until well blended. Mix in 1 teaspoon orange zest and 2 tablespoons orange juice. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt; stir into the orange mixture. Mix in cranberries and if using, walnuts, until evenly distributed. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Cookies should be spaced at least 2 inches apart. Bake for 9.5 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, until the edges are golden. Remove from cookie sheets to cool on wire racks.

Beat together butter and sugars until fluffy, add egg, orange juice and zest.

In another bowl combine flour, salt, and baking soda.

Mix flour mixture into sugar mixture

and fold in cranberries.

Drop by tablespoons onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper (I used a small cookie scoop to get even balls).

Bake @ 375 for 9 to 10 minutes until just barely browned around the edges.

Let cookies cool and devour! Every time I bake these i’m amazed at how delicious they are. A crunchy exterior leads you to a soft interior bursting with orange flavor. The sweet, chewy cranberries are a delicious complement to these yummy cookies! I suggest you make them right away they are divine.

Now for my big gift I waited weeks for ahhh i’m so excited!

I have known about this gift for over a month and have been counting down the days. I can’t wait to start using them i’ll let you know how they work!

Time to get ready, my dad’s family is coming over in a few hours i’m making roasted butternut squash so i’ll be posting that recipe tomorrow. Bye!