Christmas Cookies with Cheryl

Just before Christmas Cheryl came over to make Christmas cookies!  It was a blast!  Thankfully she is very precise in her measurements so they turned out yummy.  The photo is Cheryl, showing off her precision. =)  I would post photos of the cookies, but they are....ahem....all gone.  

We did a little tinkering with a recipe from allrecipes.com and it turned out just fine.  I've never been comfortable enough in the kitchen to change up a recipe too much, but I might get a little more gutsy now. 








Cookies

• 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). In a small bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in egg and vanilla. Gradually blend in the dry ingredients. Roll rounded teaspoonfuls of dough into balls, and place onto ungreased cookie sheets.
3. Bake 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden. Let stand on cookie sheet two minutes before removing to cool on wire racks.
   

 Icing

• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• 2 teaspoons milk
• 2 teaspoons light corn syrup
• 1/4 teaspoon lemon extract
  
• assorted food coloring

Directions

1. In a small bowl, stir together confectioners' sugar and milk until smooth. Beat in corn syrup and almond extract until icing is smooth and glossy. If icing is too thick, add more corn syrup.
2. Divide into separate bowls, and add food colorings to each to desired intensity. Dip cookies, or paint them with a brush.

Sam's New Game Revealed

This is the game Sam's been working on for the past year.  It comes out Fall 2010.

Halo: Reach

http://www.gametrailers.com/video/halo-reach-spike-tv/59813

Stuffed Bell Peppers

I tried making stuffed bell peppers for dinner tonight.  It was fun and tasty. I put on my snazzy new apron and got to work with a little help from Pandora.

Ingredients:

1 cup water 1/2 cup uncooked Arborio rice 2 green bell peppers, halved and seeded 1 tablespoon olive oil 2 green onions, thinly sliced 1 teaspoon dried basil

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning 1 teaspoon salt 1 pinch ground black pepper 1 tomato, diced 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

Directions:

1.	Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Lightly grease a baking sheet.
2.	In a medium saucepan, bring water to a boil. Stir in the rice. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from heat, and set aside.
3.	Place the peppers cut-side down on the prepared baking sheet. Roast 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until tender and skin starts to brown.
4.	While the peppers are roasting, heat oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the onions, basil, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper in oil for 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the tomato, and cook for 5 minutes. Spoon in the cooked rice, and stir until heated through. Remove from heat, mix in the feta cheese, and spoon the mixture into the pepper halves.
5.	Return to the oven for 5 minutes. Serve immediately.

Orphan Thanksgiving

It's always tough to be so far from family during the holidays, but it was a blast hosting the orphan thanksgiving at our house this year.

It also doesn't hurt that all of our friends here in Seattle are really great cooks.