Family Dinner

I love family dinners. When everyone has such busy and hectic lives, it is nice to slow things down every now and again with a nice meal, some nice vino, and share some stories. Obviously, the holidays lend themselves to family time and, as such, family dinners. I was already looking forward to that bit. But we tried to take things a bit further this time and we collaborated to create a family dinner that really became a family feast, with everyone taking on a bit of the responsibility for the menu and creating something that was truly special.

After a brainstorming session, we shirked the traditional ham or turkey. While we all loved the thought of either, we wanted to push ourselves outside of tradition and really challenge ourselves... thus landing on duck as our protein. Needing some sort of unifying flavour or attribute, we thought to link our various courses and components through the orange, as it would lend well to sweet or savoury application. 

Orange Chocolate Walnut Oatmeal Cookies

I tried to shrink the name of these cookies somewhat... but I certainly didn't shrink the ingredient list (though there was not one item on this list that required a special trip to the market). But, just like the Lemon Cranberry Pecan Oatmeal Cookies, these cookies have a lot going on.

I solicited a great deal of feedback before embarking on this next cookie attempt... and so many great suggestions came my way! The last batch of cookies was such a hit that I could not fathom producing a poorer version of cookie... or why not just make the first ones again and keep the taste-testers satisfied?! This cookie only changed slightly from what I had dreamed of in my mind (or my mental mouth as coined by Food Philosophy) but I'm already scheming on how the next one will taste. What do you think of a chocolate chocolate (cocoa plus chocolate chunks) cookie with chili heat?? Kirby and Cori seem to think it would be a good one... and I can't help but agree!

So, I go to share this wonderful cookie with you and discover that, in my reckless cookie making abandon, I completely neglected to take one photo of the finished product. I blame my excitement over getting this cookie into the hands, and mouths, of some important people. All hope was not lost though... apparently one lone cookie managed to escape all clutches and was squirreled away in a secret cache. Count yourself lucky that there are now photos of a cookie... and not a post-it note on a plate that reads, "a cookie was once here."

But before I get too far into this imaginary cookie-land where the possibilities are limitless, let's take a moment to enjoy this cookie... Orange Chocolate Walnut Oatmeal... yum.