Here is this year’s list Yule Cookies 2008

Place rolled oats in a large bowl; pour boiling water over oats and let stand 30 minutes.
Add molasses, oil and salt.
Dissolve yeast in warm water and add to oat mixture. Beat well, add bean flour.
Work in enough whole wheat flour to make a medium-soft dough.
Turn out onto a floured board and knead until smooth, about 10 minutes.
Put dough in an oiled bowl, turning to coat.
Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.

Divide and shape into 2 loaves and place in loaf pans that have been sprayed with nonstick vegetable coating.
Cover and let rise until doubled, about 45 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Place pans on middle rack of oven and bake for 10 minutes.
Reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake for 30-40 minutes, or until the loaves sound hollow when tapped.
Cool on wire racks.
Brush tops of loaves with butter for a soft crust (optional).

Yield: 2 loaves (approx. 1 lb each)

Seasonal Kitchen

also including an bonus, I whipped some of this up last night to toss in with pasta for the wee one and fresh greens for me. yum.

Garlic Scape Pesto

1 c. garlic scapes, roughly chopped
1/2 c. olive oil (more as needed)
1/2 c. nuts-walnuts, almonds or pine nuts
1/2 c. parmesan (asiago is strong but would work well as a half and half blend with parmesan)

Whizz all the above ingredients in a food processor until paste-like in consistency. Add additional olive oil to make it a smooth paste. For best flavor, store in a sealed container and refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight.

Yule Cookies 2007

Heat oil in a skillet and brown chicken breasts on each side; remove
from pan and allow chicken to drain on paper towels.

Add mushrooms, garlic, thyme, salt, pepper, and chicken broth to
skillet, and cook over medium heat for several minutes.

Return chicken to skillet. Add wine and cover. Cook over low-medium
heat for 30 minutes. Add half-and-half and parsley and serve.

source: unknown

4 Chicken breast, skin on
6 tablespoons Garlic Rosemary-Butter (recipe follows)
4 small onions
1 large carrot
4 small red potatoes, blanched
2 oz small green beans
4 oz white wine
4 oz chicken stock
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Garlic Rosemary Butter
3 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon rosemary, chopped
2 tablespoon roasted garlic, chopped

Peel the garlic and place on a non-stick tray in 450 degree oven for about 10 minutes until golden. Remove tray and let cool. When garlic is cool to the touch, chop finely. Soften butter to room temperature. Combine the garlic and the rosemary with the butter and hold at room temperature until needed.

Loosen the skin from the breast, place 1 1/2 tablespoon of garlic-rosemary butter under the skin and spread throughout. Season the meat side with salt and pepper and reserve. Clean, peel, and cut the carrot in 1 inch pieces. Cut the potatoes into quarters. Peel the onions, keep the core attached and cut in half. Rinse and trim the green beans.

Place 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a non-stick pan over medium-high heat, when the oil is very hot, place the breast in the pan, skin side down, and cook for 1 minute. Turn over the chicken and add the carrots, potatoes, and onions, cover and place in a pre-heated 400 degree oven. Cook for 7-9 minutes until chicken has an internal temperature of 140 degrees. Remove pan from the oven.

Remove the chicken from the pan, and return the pan to high heat. Add the green beans and deglaze the pan with wine and chicken stock. Let the liquids cook until reduced by 3/4 . Remove the vegetables, pull the pan off the heat and incorporate the butter.

Place the vegetables and the chicken on the plate, pour pan sauce over the chicken, garnish with the rosemary spring and serve.

4 (5 oz.) chicken breasts
1/4 C. raspberry preserves
2 tsp. vegetable oil
1/4 C. red wine
1/4 C. chicken stock
Jerk Seasoning

Jerk Seasoning
2 T. brown sugar
2 T. kosher salt
1 T. onion powder
1 T. granulated garlic
1 T. dried thyme
1 T. cracked pepper
2 tsp. ground coriander
2 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ground allspice

Mix Jerk Seasoning and rub chicken breasts using about half the seasoning. Let marinate for 2 to 3 hours.

Heat oil over medium heat and sauté chicken until browned and cooked about halfway (4 minutes per side).

Add red wine and let reduce until almost dry, then add stock and preserves. Continue cooking until chicken is done and the raspberry sauce has thickened slightly (another 4 or 5 minutes).

Serve with roasted potatoes or rice and black beans.