Roasted Salmon with Walnut-Red Pepper Relish

One of my favorite recipes that I made over the holidays was this very tasty salmon dish. We have been addicted to salmon lately and I love trying new ways to prepare it. This was so easy to make and tasted so fresh! Thanks, Food Network Magazine, for another big hit!

Roasted Salmon with Walnut-Red Pepper Relish

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Ingredients

1/2 cup walnuts
Pinch of cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon honey
2 tablespoons diced roasted red pepper
1 tablespoon walnut oil (I substituted with vegetable oil)
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest 

2-to-3 1 lb. pound pieces of salmon 

Make the relish: 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spread the walnuts on a baking sheet and bake until toasted, 7 to 10 minutes. Let cool, then finely chop and transfer to a bowl. Add the cayenne, lemon juice, honey, roasted red pepper, walnut (or vegetable) oil, 1 tablespoon olive oil and 2 tablespoons parsley. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt and black pepper to taste and toss to combine. (The relish can be made up to 1 day ahead; cover and refrigerate.)

Make the salmon: 

Raise the oven temperature to 425 degrees F. Combine the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil and 2 tablespoons parsley, the chives, lemon zest, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and black pepper to taste in a bowl. Rub the herb mixture all over the salmon. Lay skin-side down in a baking dish and roast until just cooked through, 12 to 14 minutes. Let rest 5 minutes, then transfer to a platter and top with the walnut-pepper relish.

We served this with our go-to favorite side dish: Grilled asparagus. We simply trim the rough ends, and let them soak in olive oil and kosher salt for a few hours. They are always outstanding!

If you like salmon, this is a great recipe to prepare at home. Enjoy!

Sugared Cranberry Brie Bites

Of all the dishes I prepared over the Christmas holiday, this treat may be my favorite. It was so easy, and so festive. This is yet another idea inspired by Pinterest, particularly from Yummy Mummy. Check out her blog - so amazing! I made a few adjustments to the recipe based on what I had. This would be a perfect appetizer for any holiday gathering, especially New Year's Eve!

Sugared Cranberry Brie Bites

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Ingredients:

2 cups fresh cranberries

1 cup good maple syrup

1 cup granulated sugar

Crackers

Spreadable brie

Cranberry sauce or relish of your choice  - I used a pomegranate balsamic drizzle
Fresh mint leaves

Rinse cranberries and place in a medium bowl. Heat syrup in a small sauce pan just until warm. Pour over cranberries when syrup is warm, not hot, or cranberries may pop. Cool, cover, and let soak in the refrigerator overnight. 

Drain cranberries in a colander. Place sugar in a large bowl or baking dish. Add cranberries in 2 batches and roll around until lightly coated in sugar. Place on a baking sheet until dry, about 1 hour. Note: try to drain the cranberries as best you can. The excess maple syrup can get your cranberries too loaded down with sugar, so I had to use a fork to get my cranberries out of the sugar without too much excess.

To assemble the crackers, just spread brie on them, drizzle with sauce, top with cranberries and garnish with mint. This recipe makes plenty of extra sugared cranberries that you can use to drop into champagne or use in another dish. I stored mine in a plastic container at room temperature and snacked on them occasionally, too!

Everyone will go crazy for these - they are fantastic!! Enjoy!

Our Christmas in Pictures

We had a wonderful, relaxing and love-filled holiday. We are feeling so very blessed! Here are the pictures!

On Christmas Eve, we went to our church's candlelight service, and then had appetizers at our house before a delicious dinner. We managed to have a little photo shoot while everyone looked so pretty...

It's not easy to take a picture with your family giving you a hard time:

"You guys already have tons of pictures together!"

"Keith, put your hand in your pocket, it looks awkward."

"Kendall, your bangs are in your face, honey."

"It's not flashing....I can't figure out this camera!"

My Dad pointed out that I always pose with my hand on Keith's stomach. So, he joined to demonstrate. I guess I am guilty of that!

Keith with his good-looking siblings, Ryan and Meagan.

My parents and I happened to accidentally coordinate in our grey and gold.

There I go with my hand again!

Christmas Eve dinner was at Paulette's in Harbor Town. It was delicious, intimate and so very enjoyable. At this stage in our lives, going out to eat for Christmas Eve is really perfect and I never thought I'd say that! No hours in the kitchen, no clean up, an excuse to dress up....wining and dining. Good times.

Keith's parents in lovely Christmas colors.

 

My Dad approves!

Christmas morning breakfast is at our house and it is such a treat to host! We all sleep in and eat breakfast around 11. We don't even get to the presents until after noon. I love the leisurely pace. I know it won't last forever! 

Among many other things, I made my Spinach and Bacon Quiche and made lots of crust snowflakes to embellish it with using a set of cookie cutters from Williams Sonoma. YUM!

A simple table setting...

I love our new Christmas pajamas from Keith's mom!

Keith's family has a longstanding tradition of opening matching pajamas on Christmas Eve. The girls get coordinating sets and the guys get their own look. It's somewhat cheesy, but we all LOVE it. After the big Christmas Eve dinner, everyone looks forward to opening their new pajamas and putting them on! These polka-dot versions are from Victoria's Secret.

The boys look handsome in their plaid pants and polo t-shirts. Getting them to be serious for one picture is a challenge!

Oh, could this qualify for an Awkward Family Photo? Perhaps! 

My mother-in-law found the Christmas Vacation moose cups somewhere online and we all enjoyed punch in them the night before while watching our favorite holiday movie. We were so relaxed we didn't take any pictures, so she insisted we get a group shot the next morning, even though our punch cups were empty. So funny!

Keith got tired of the photos and finally started handing out gifts!

Meagan loves her Hobo wallet!

I ordered Keith's mom some of these custom binders that my friend originally designed for me last year to give to my grandmother. Want a set for yourself? Order them here.

My dad looooooved his whiskey stones and special holiday edition of Jack Daniel's.

Keith started layering on all of the clothes he received. He is such a kid at heart...

I gave Mom a new hand mixer. Her current mixer has one speed: TOO FAST :)

The last gift Keith and I opened was a beautiful set of new Daniel Cremieux luggage. This was a big surprise, and I just love each piece! We didn't get a picture of it opened, but they are so pretty! My mom gifted them to us in these cool large felt drawstring bags. The one I'm holding says 'smile if you've been naughty" - and I guess I have been!? :)

And, in the tradition of Christmas, my dad was a total goofball. It wouldn't be the holiday season without him doing something silly! But, we like it that way...

It was a wonderful holiday, and I made so many delicious treats that I'll be sharing soon!

Merry Christmas!!

Merry Christmas with Love

From our hours to yours, we wish you a very Merry Christmas!

Holiday Scenes

Christmas Eve is here! The last two days of no-work-all-play have been fabulous. I've been busy in the kitchen and wrapping presents. Christmas music plays non stop. Keith and I have enjoyed making dinner together the last few nights, followed up by lots of rented movies. It's been pretty perfect! Mom and Dad arrived today and the festivities begin tonight at 5:00 with the Christmas Eve service at church.

In the meantime, here are a few scenes from around our cozy holiday house...

The presents are wrapped with love under the tree.

Inspired by Pinterest, I used parchment paper and various ribbon from Michael's. I stamped each person's name on their gifts. I had fun doing that this year!

I think this style of gift wrap is my favorite. Casual, rustic and sweet.

The ribbon at Michael's this year was fabulous! I bought a lot when it was on sale one day.

I can't wait for our loved ones to open these gifts tomorrow morning!

Yesterday, my parents sent us these beautiful tulips with evergreen. I also love looking at the Christmas cards on the wall.

I've really enjoyed this advent calendar sent to me by my friend Kelsey. The various scripture verses each day have been so powerful to read as Christmas Day approaches.

The house smells amazing thanks to this concoction on the stove. Also inspired by Pinterest!

These delicious Chocolate Chip M&M cookies may not last until tomorrow at the rate that Keith is eating them :)

But, you'll have to excuse me now. This cozy blanket from Target is calling my name. Time to get some rest in before the evening.

Merry Christmas to all!

Almond Bark Drop Cookies

The holidays are a perfect excuse for excessive baking and over-indulging, as if I ever need a reason! I've been baking a lot of goodies over the last couple of days. Here's a recipe for one of my favorite treats that also happens to be one of the easiest to make! My friend Lauren brought these treats to a cookie exchange I had a few years ago and I've been making them ever since. Thanks, Lauren!

Almond Bark Drop Cookies

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Ingredients:

2 packages of white almond bark coating

1 cup crunchy peanut butter

2 cups dry roasted peanuts

2 cups Rice Krispies

4 cups miniature marshmallows

Melt the bark in a microwave for 2 minutes, stir and microwave 2 minutes more until melted. Stir in peanut butter until well combined and smooth. Add remaining ingredients. Drop by tablespoons on wax paper and allow to harden.

These are insanely good, but this recipe makes a ton! If you are taking a bunch to an event or giving as gifts, the amount listed above is perfect. It would be easily halved for your family, or you can freeze extras in an airtight container.

You know you want a bite! :)

Enjoy!

Sun-Dried Tomato Bacon Chicken

Hey there! I'm sharing a recipe tonight that I've had archived to share for a very long time. There just aren't enough hours in the day to post all of the things I'd like on the blog :)

This is a very healthy chicken dish that tastes amazing with bacon and a delicious tomato mixture on top. The recipe comes from Tablespoon and we've made it several times.

Sun-Dried Tomato Bacon Chicken

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Ingredients:

2 slices bacon, chopped

1/4 cup sun-dried tomato vinaigrette dressing

4 (1 lb) boneless skinless chicken breast halves

2 tomatoes, chopped

1 Tbsp chopped fresh basil or 1 tsp dried

2 Tbsp Parmesan cheese

a picture of the almost-finished chicken

Cook bacon in a large pan until crisp and drain on paper towels.

Add chicken to large pan and brown on each side for about 2 minutes on regular heat. Pour sun-dried tomato dressing over chicken and sprinkle with basil. Continue to cook chicken for 8 minutes or until done.

Remove chicken; place on serving dish and keep warm. Save the remaining dressing in the pan and add the chopped tomatoes to the pan cooking until heated through. Stir in the bacon.

mmm, tomatoes

Pour tomato mixture onto chicken and top with Parmesan cheese.

**If you have time to marinate the chicken ahead of time, it's even better after spending some time soaking up more dressing**

Enjoy!

Homemade Gift Goodies

Christmas is one week from today. How is that possible?! Time is just flying by. In the midst of being so busy, I am so glad I took the time to make some homemade goodies for my friends at work last week. The smell of these nuts roasting in the oven made me finally feel like I was slowing down and doing something festive for the season. Plus, I love to get my craft on!

I bought inexpensive bottles of wine and downloaded free wine label printables from Better Homes and Gardens and Martha Stewart. I simply cut them out and applied to the wine bottles with double-sided scrapbook tape. I didn't even need to remove the existing labels - easy peasy!

Aren't they festive!?

The only thing to be mindful of is selecting wine bottles with labels that aren't gigantic so that the wraps will cover it.

To go with the wine, I wanted to make an easy snack and these 2 nut recipes sounded so delicious. It's just a coincidence that both have chipotle in them. It does happen to be one of my favorite flavors though! I packaged them in cellophane gift sacks tied with ribbon and a tag.

Below are the recipes!

Chocolate-Drenched Chipotle-Roasted Nuts

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Ingredients:

3 Tbsp sugar

2 Tbsp water

2 tsp minced chipotle pepper in adobo sauce (I removed seeds)

1/2 tsp salt

2 Tbsp butter, melted

1 cup pecan halves

1 cup walnut halves

1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate morsels

1 Tbsp shortening

1/4 cup white chocolate morsels, melted

Note: I doubled this recipe to make a larger batch

Combine first 4 ingredients in a medium-size nonstick skillet. Cook over medium heat until mixture comes to a boil. Remove from heat; stir in butter. Add nuts, and gently stir to coat. Spoon coated nuts in a single layer onto a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Bake at 250° for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Spread nuts on wax paper or parchment paper to cool, breaking apart large clumps as nuts cool.

Melt semisweet chocolate morsels and shortening in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring until smooth. Remove from heat; cool slightly. Toss cooled nuts in semisweet chocolate until well coated. Return nuts to wax paper, and let harden. Drizzle white chocolate over nuts (do not toss). Let harden.

Tip: Speed up the chocolate hardening process by popping the jelly-roll pan into the freezer for 5 to 10 minutes.

Recipe from Southern Living

Chipotle & Rosemary Roasted Nuts

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Ingredients:

Vegetable oil
3 cups whole roasted unsalted cashews (14 ounces)
2 cups whole walnut halves (7 ounces)
2 cups whole pecan halves (7 ounces)
1/2 cup whole almonds (3 ounces)
1/3 cup pure maple syrup
1/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
2 teaspoons ground chipotle powder
4 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary leaves, divided
Kosher salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. 

Brush a sheet pan generously with vegetable oil. Combine the cashews, walnuts, pecans, almonds, 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil, the maple syrup, brown sugar, orange juice, and chipotle powder on the sheet pan. Toss to coat the nuts evenly. Add 2 tablespoons of the rosemary and 2 teaspoons of salt and toss again.

Spread the nuts in one layer. Roast the nuts for 25 minutes, stirring twice with a large metal spatula, until the nuts are glazed and golden brown. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with 2 more teaspoons of salt and the remaining 2 tablespoons of rosemary.

Toss well and set aside at room temperature, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking as they cool. Taste for seasoning. Serve warm or cool completely and store in airtight containers at room temperature. 

Recipe from Ina Garten in Food Network Magazine

Happy gifting!

Menu Monday 12/12

Happy Monday!

I feel like it's been ages since I've posted a Menu Monday. Things have been so busy that I've been having on and off weeks with cooking. If we have plans for 2 or more nights a week, I don't even mess with groceries. But, this week is a cooking week! Keith is out of school for Christmas, so I can rely on him to get dinner started if I'm at the office later-than-my-normal late :)

Here's what we have cookin' up!

From Top Left:

Chicken Tortilla Soup - I made this vat of soup last night and it was pure heaven. It is one of the best soup recipes I have, and it feeds an army! Click here for my post with the recipe.

Wasabi and Panko-Crusted Pork with Gingered Soy Sauce - A title that long can only mean one thing: it's gonna be yummy! This is a pork dish that is one of our very favorites. I like to serve it with some jasmine rice and steamed veggies. Click here for the recipe.

Chicken Tetrazzini - I am looking forward to making this recipe of my mom's that is based on a Southern Living dish. She includes prosciutto and tops hers with tomato slices. It's divine.

Christmas Gifts - I included this last picture as an inspiration for some Christmas gifts I'll be whipping up this week. I was inspired by all of the free wine label downloads you can find on the internet these days. I plan to make some homemade treats that pair well with wine and package it all together nicely. I will, of course, blog about my end results! Labels pictured above are available via Better Homes and Gardens.

Check back this week for new recipes, Christmas decor pics and more! :)

Tis the Season to be Married

This weekend, we headed to our old college town of Fayetteville, Arkansas to see two friends get married. I always love a trip back to the city where Keith and I met and where we spent some of the best years of our life! One of Keith's fraternity brothers got hitched, so the wedding was also a reunion of the Kappa Sigmas. Fun times! Here are a few pics, and I really should have taken more than I did....

We had a great time with Brandon and Melissa! Brandon caught the garter, so the pressure is ON!

Dr. Boone was looking stellar in his suit and tie combo

Catching up with my long-time friend, Allison

I got so many questions about this black lace dress from the last wedding I wore it to, so I might as well tell you where it's from! It's an Adriana Papell from Dillard's. The website has this variations of this, but you'll need to check your local store for the black version. Hope that helps you gals that were looking!

Another Kappa Sigma friend, Mr Brick, was the life of the party! 

I managed to chat so much that I didn't carry the camera around, and also missed a pic of the bride and groom. It was one of the sweetest ceremonies I had ever been to - they read letters to each other before the vows. Not a dry eye in the church! :)

These last two pictures are just for Robert Shaw, one of Keith's hilarious roommates in his time in the fraternity. He was gracious enough to let us stay with him this weekend...

He also specifically requested to 'make the blog.' I love hearing that from our friends :)

Keith made Robert an omelet to a) prove that he could and b) make up for not bringing him anything back from McDonald's for breakfast. I don't know about you, but I'd take a homemade omelet over a McGriddle any day!

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend! Congrats to the Bride and Groom, Channin and Katie. We are so happy for you!