Merry Christmas!

Hello, all! Just wanted to take a quick second to wish all of you who celebrate Christmas a very merry one, and to those of you who don't, I hope you are having a lovely holiday season as well!

I have had absolutely no time to blog lately. Christmas is a very busy time in a flower shop, so I've been working a lot, and then coming home and staying up late baking and preparing for Christmas.

Speaking of baking, I made these cookie tray for our neighbors and coworkers. Despite this not so pretty photo, they came out quite nice I thought. I pretty much stuck to the original recipes, so I am going to just include the links instead of reposting them.

I made:

Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies (aka Peanut Butter Blossoms) from Savory Sweet Life - I had to add an extra few tbsp of peanut butter to help bind the dough

Swirly Chocolate-Peppermint Bark from Confections from a Foodie Bride

Oatmeal Cranberry White Chocolate Chunk Cookies from Ocean Spray- I used 2 cups Craisins and used white chips instead of chunks, increasing it to 3/4 cup

And at the request of my two year old...

Gingerbread Men from McCormick- Even after chilling overnight, the dough was very soft and sticky. It took a little playing around with but we found that if we rolled it in between parchment paper and then placed it in the freezer before cutting the men out (while we had another batch in the oven) that it was fine as long as you worked quickly. It was worth the extra effort, I thought, because the cookies had great flavor and a perfect consistency that was neither too soft or too crisp. I decorated them with not-so-perfect little faces and mini M&M buttons.

I am off today and pretty much done with everything I need to do, besides running out for a quick errand- can you believe I work in a flower shop and I forgot to get flowers for my own dining room table???- and then finish cleaning and prepping for tomorrow. We are hosting Christmas brunch for half of our family tomorrow and then spending the rest of the day at my mom's, who does Christmas like no one else and makes it an absolute blast! I'm so excited to spend time with family and most especially to get to re-experience it all through the eyes of my young child.

I hope you all have an absolutely wonderful Holiday weekend spent your loved ones!

Lemon-Basil Pesto with Farfalle, Broccoli and Feta

We lost my father-in-law to a heart attack yesterday. Curt was truly a one-of-a kind individual and lived a fascinating life (How many people do you know who survived being struck by lightening on two separate occasions?). He loved being the center of attention and would tell stories of his past that sounded like they were from a movie script. Along with more talents and skills than I could ever count, he was an amazing cook. Having spent time as a chef, he was passionate about food and cooking. I was lucky enough to have cooked beside him on numerous occasions, which was always an experience. He was like a tornado in the kitchen, and every meal prepared, no matter how simple, came with a lengthy lesson or two.

Last night for dinner, I wanted to cook something I thought he would've enjoyed. Lemon, basil, garlic and parmesan were all ingredients commonly found in his kitchen. I intended to use a long slender pasta (which I apparently forgot to buy) and serve this with chicken (which I forgot to defrost) but it worked well with the farfalle and even my chicken-loving husband thought this was just perfect as a vegetarian dish. I think "Papa," as my son called him, would've loved this, and in his honor I completely trashed the kitchen while making this.

Lemon-Basil Pesto with Farfalle, Broccoli and Feta
2 to 3 servings

for the pesto:
2 cups packed basil leaves
1/4 cup walnut pieces, toasted
2 tbsp good quality olive oil
1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan
2 cloves garlic, smashed
juice from half of a large lemon
1 tsp water
pinch or two of kosher salt

for the pasta:
7.25 oz uncooked multi-grain farfalle (about 2 1/2 cups)
1 tbsp olive oil
3 broccoli crowns, cut into small florets
kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
crumbled reduced fat feta, for serving

In a food processor, pulse all pesto ingredients together until smooth, stopping to scrape sides as necessary. Set pesto aside.

Cook pasta until al dente in salted water, according to package directions. Drain, reserving pasta water.

Meanwhile, heat oil in a large skillet that has a lid over medium heat. Add broccoli, season with salt and pepper, and saute for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add a couple tablespoons of pasta water, cover and cook for an additional two minutes, or until broccoli is tender crisp. Toss with cooked pasta and pesto, adding a little of the reserved cooking liquid if dry.

Spoon into serving bowls and top with feta.

Beckett's Birthday Cupcakes (and some birthday pics of my favorite two year old)

Last week, my little man turned two. I think I was almost more excited about his second birthday than I was his first. Something about the fact he was able to understand and look forward to the big day made it all the more fun. For the days leading up to it, he would say "Birthday- coming up!" He even walked around practicing singing Happy Birthday to himself. And when asked what he was going to get for his birthday, he'd answer "Cake!" We're not big cake eaters, but I knew I couldn't deny him some kind of birthday cake.

For his actual birthday, I made his very favorite dinner, homemade pizza topped with his favorite vegetable, mushrooms. I was all set to make pumpkin cupcakes for dessert, but last minute I began to worry that the others joining us for dinner wouldn't care for them. With limited time, I had to find a recipe that I could make with what I had on hand. That ended up being peanut butter cupcakes specked with coarsely chopped bittersweet chips and topped with peanut butter buttercream. I'm pretty glad I changed my mind, because these were so awesome!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cupcakes
slightly adapted from TLC Cooking , makes 18 cupcakes

1/3 cup softened butter
1/3 cup creamy or chunky natural peanut butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/4 cup milk (I used 2%)
1/4 cup bittersweet chips, coarsely chopped (or mini chips would work well too)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard muffin tin with cupcake liners.

In a stand mixer, beat together butter and peanut butter at medium speed until smooth. Beat in sugars until well mixed. Beat in eggs and vanilla.

Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a seperate bowl. Add flour mixture to peanut butter mixture alternately with milk, beginning and ending with flour. Stir in chocolate pieces until mixed well.

Spoon batter into cupcake liners, filling 2/3 full. Bake 23-25 minutes, or until cupcakes spring back when touched and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks for ten minutes. Remove cupcakes to rack and cool completely.

Peanut Butter Buttercream, from Martha Stewart

2/3 cup natural creamy peanut butter (I used crunchy and it was fine)
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup confectioners sugar
Fine salt (optional- I actually forgot all about it)
Cream peanut butter and butter together with a stand mixture fitted with the paddle attachment at high speed. On low speed, mix in the sugar until combined, then beat mixture on high until fluffy and smooth. Add salt to taste, if desired. Use immediately.

*This recipe is supposed to yield 1 cup. I would say it was closer to twice that.
I garnished mine with milk chocolate shavings. I think a small peanut butter cup would be great too!


And now, just because I like to show off my super cute kid, here's some pictures from his birthday trip to the The Lowry Park Zoo. We had a group of 17, which included 6 little ones, for a chilly but really fun day.
Prior to leaving, opening a gift from his cousin.

Checking out the Orangutans

Taking a carousel ride with Nana

Watching the Mama Rhino doing laps

The newest member of our family

Okay so this has nothing to do with cooking, but I wanted to show off our new pet, Beasley. Beckett loves cats so much, and I've really been wanting to get one for him.

On Saturday I took him to the Sherriff's Dept. Animal Shelter to just to see if there was a kitty who seemed receptive to a toddler. I didn't want a young kitten, since I feel everyone wants to adopt them instead of the adult cats, and I didn't care what he or she looked like, I just wanted one that liked Beckett!

It was heartbreaking how many cats they had. Appearently they're overloaded at the moment, so they were running an adoption special this weekend. There were serveral cats that were affectionate towards Beckett, but one little beige/pale orange kitty, kept following him around. We left without one that day- I knew better than to bring home a cat without talking to Sage first. On Sunday, after a little persuasion, he and I returned to the shelter, and upon walking into the cat room, guess who was the first to run up to us? The same one who kept following Beckett around! We looked at them all again, but it was pretty clear who was meant to come home with us.

At the shelter they'd named him Beasley, which fits him. He is about 8 months old, and has spent pretty much his entire life at the shelter. I can't imagine how he's never been adopted, being that he'd been a unique colored kitten with a sweet disposition. We took him home and spent some time with him before introducing him to Beckett and our dog, Sasha (who both had spent the night at Papa's house.) He's a little lover and is adjusting very well. He likes Beckett a lot and is warming up to the dog. I'm so happy we were able to give such a loving kitty a new home.