Baked Shrimp Scampi

courtesy of the food network

Ingredients

• 2 pounds (12 to 15 per pound) shrimp in the shell
• 3 tablespoons good olive oil
• 2 tablespoons dry white wine
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 4 teaspoons minced garlic (4 cloves)
• 1/4 cup minced shallots
• 3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary leaves
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 extra-large egg yolk
• 2/3 cup panko (Japanese dried bread flakes)
• Lemon wedges, for serving

Baked French Swirl Toast

Courtesy of Campbell's Kitchen

1 loaf (16 ounces) Pepperidge Farm® Cinnamon Swirl Bread, cut into cubes

3/4 cup dried cranberries or raisins

6 eggs

3 cups half-and-half or milk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Cinnamon-sugar or confectioners' sugar

Whipped butter

Pure maple syrup

Gingerbread Truffles

courtesy of Epicurious

yield: Makes about 2 dozen

Holiday spices and molasses give these chocolate truffles seasonal charm.

• 3/4 cup whipping cream

• 10 whole allspice
• 10 whole cloves
• 1 tablespoon mild-flavored (light) molasses
• 1 1/2 teaspoons grated peeled fresh ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• Pinch of salt
• 7 ounces plus 12 ounces bittersweet (not unsweetened) or semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 7 ounces plus 12 ounces high-quality white chocolate (such as Lindt or Perugina), chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped crystallized ginger plus additional for garnish

Michael Symon's Seafood Stew

Cleveland's own Michael was on live Kelly this Morning.  Here's his recipe for seafood stew.

INGREDIENTS:

2 tbl olive oil
6 u10 scallops (drypack)
10 u16 shrimp shell on deveined
1lb. calamari
1lb. mussels
2 cloves sliced garlic
4 sliced scallions
½ cup chopped parsley
½ tsp chile flake
2 oz sambuca
16 oz san marzano tomatoes (chopped)
10 oz stock
1 pinch saffron
zest of 1 orange
¼ tsp ground coriander
salt to taste

Paula Dean's Snowflake Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Edible Paint Icing, recipe follows
• Garnish: silver dragees, sugar pearls, sparkling sugar

Now bring us a figgy pudding!

In the December 2004 issue of Good Housekeeping, author Laura Kalpakian shares the wonderful tale of Amanda Day, a crusty old British dame intent on bringing cheer to widower Roland Night. Her plan of action? To prepare a traditional Figgy Pudding that she hopes will remind him of the joy of Christmas. But when Amanda invites Roland to her family's home for Christmas Day, how will her relatives react? The answer's in the current issue. And here, as a special gift to GoodHousekeeping.com visitors, is Laura Kalpakian's treasured recipe for Figgy Pudding. Says Laura: "I always feel when I make pudding from this recipe that I am part of a tradition that connects to the 19th century."
Try the recipe for Figgy Pudding!

Brooke Fraser's Fig Glazed Ham!

Recipe: Brooke Fraser's Fig Glazed Ham!

Author: Brooke Fraser

Today I’m sharing with you my favourite favourite favourite ham recipe. It is to. die. for. and so easy that it’s kind of unfair.

I made this at the first Christmas I ‘hosted’ as a married woman and it was a smash hit! It was definitely a big deal for me to leave my family Christmas in NZ (four generations, 30 people) and have my first Christmas with my new family in Australia, but this ham helped me start a tradition of my own. I can’t even remember where I got the recipe, it might have even been out of a supermarket catalogue pullout, but it is now handwritten in my recipe journal and a firm favourite. Enjoy hot at Christmas lunch, then cold over the following days in sandwiches, salads or on it’s own. I even eat the cooled, caramelized glaze with a spoon. So wrong yet so right.

Here it is!

FIG GLAZED HAM

Prep time 20 minutes/Cooking time 40 minutes/Serves 6 (at least)

3-4kg half leg ham (7-9 lbs)
½ cup maple syrup
1 cup fig jam
1 cup macadamia nuts, roughly chopped (I add more)

1. Preheat oven to 160°C (320°F)
Remove rind from ham by easing it off gently with your fingers. Use the tip of a sharp knife to score the layers of fat at 2cm (0.8 inch) intervals.

2. Put syrup and jam in a pan over a medium heat and stir until jam has dissolved. Remove from heat and stir in nuts. Put ham in a deep baking dish, spread syrup miture over the top and bake for 40 minutes until golden. Allow to rest for 10 minutes before carving.

Not the most amazing presentation last year, I’ll admit that, but we were eating on a porch on the sand in a rented house, so an al foil tin from the local grocery store was the best we could do! Still tasted redunkulous.