Busy.

Thanksgiving nearly did me in, but I loved every moment of it. My familia made the trek up to Boise for the weekend and I couldn't have asked for a better time. However, I cooked a lot. And then I stopped cooking once everyone left. I needed a break. Here's what we ate during the weekend:

Orange Lavender Scones
Cinnamon Swirlies
Steel-Cut Oatmeal with Brown Sugar & Cream
Peppered Pork Tenderloin with Grilled Pears and Bleu Cheese
Mushroom and Ricotta Ravioli
Heritage Turkey
Mashed Potatoes & Gravy
Jonathan's Sweet Potato Gratin
Yolanda's Sausage and Cornbread stuffing
Roasted Vegetable Cornucopias
Maak Family Rolls
Pumpkin Pie
Key Lime Pie
Lemon Custard Pie
Black Bottom Pie
Apple Pie
Pear Butterscotch Pie
Banana Cream Pie

I think that is all, but it seems like there was more. The weekend before Thanksgiving I made chocolates with a good friend and her sisters and we spent 2 days making salted caramel, lavender caramel, nougat, English toffee, and orange fondant, all of which we then dipped in chocolate.

This past Monday we had our own Christmas party and had ham, my mom's scalloped potatoes, cinnamon roasted almonds, pear terrine with brie and crackers, caramel apple cider, and CHOCOLATE CREPES WITH CANDY CANE ICE CREAM AND CHOCOLATE GANACHE SAUCE. That deserves to be in all caps, because it was amazing. I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but Bryant gave me the BMW of ice cream makers for my birthday, and it is now my favorite kitchen item. Desserts have been elevated to a completely new level in our house.

Soon we will be heading to SLC and we will feast on our traditional clam chowder, bacon wrapped shrimp, gingersnaps, and cranberry cake with hot butter sauce. And I'm making an apple pie for my Aunt Jayne. And then I will be working out, a lot. I most likely won't be blogging until the new year unless you have specific requests, so have a very merry Christmas.

One last thing, we had spiced banana pancakes for breakfast topped with the remaining chocolate ganache sauce. Connor had a pancake sans ganache and loved it. He has no idea what he is missing.