Readers recipes offer scallops, plus holiday cakes

Scallops are a gift from the sea. Here are two ways to prepare them, plus two festive cake recipes.

From Mary Ann Arlio of Trumbull:

Seared Scallops with Cabbage and Leeks

Serves 4

7 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1 large leek, white and pale green parts only

1/2 head medium-sized cabbage

1/3 cup chicken stock

Coarse salt, 1/2 teaspoon and 1/4 teaspoon

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1 pound sea scallops tough side muscles removed

Lemon slices

Heat 4 1/2 tablespoons oil in a large nonstick saute pan over medium-high heat until hot. Halve leek lengthwise, thinly slice crosswise and rinse well. Add leek and cook 1 to 2 minutes. Halve cabbage lengthwise, core and thinly slice crosswise. Add cabbage to pan and stir. Add stock. Cook, stirring occasionally until cabbage is slightly soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in 1/2 teaspoon salt and black pepper to taste. Set aside. Sprinkle scallops with 1/4 teaspoon salt and freshly ground black pepper. Heat remaining oil in nonstick skillet. Add scallops, turning once until dark golden brown, about 4 minutes per side. Divide cabbage mixture among four plates and top each serving with 3 scallops. Garnish with lemon wedge.

From Mary Ann Arlio of Trumbull:

Scallop Kebabs

Serves 6

1 1/2 pounds sea scallops

1/4 cup lemon juice

1 pound bacon

1 pound small mushrooms

2 ounces butter

Onion salt

Cut large sea scallops into bite-sized pieces. Pour lemon juice over them and let stand for 1 hour. Cut strips of bacon into 3 pieces. Brush any dirt off with a damp cloth. Put strip of bacon around each scallop. Slip on metal skewers alternating with mushroom caps. Plan on 5 or 6 scallops per person. Brush mushrooms with melted butter. Sprinkle with onion salt. Lay skewers across a baking pan. Cook in a 400-degree oven for 8 to 10 minutes. Slip under broiler just to brown bacon. Serve with lemon wedge and tartar sauce.

From Gayle Mimnaugh of New Canaan, this week's cookbook winner:

Apple Cake

Serves 8-10

4-5 Gold Delicious Apples, cored and peeled

Batter

1/2 cup butter, softened, not melted

1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs

2 tablespoons milk

1 cup flour

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Topping

2 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons cinnamon

Glaze

1 cup confectioners' sugar

4 tablespoons milk

Cut prepared apples into quarters and then slice each quarter into 4-5 slices. Set aside. Cream butter and sugar together. Add eggs, milk, flour and baking powder and stir until well blended. Grease a spring-form baking pan and spread batter around bottom. It will be thin to stretch it all around, but will work out OK. Place apple slices around the pan bottom in a pinwheel fashion, overlapping as you work in toward the center. Tuck in any remaining slices where needed. Mix sugar and cinnamon together and sprinkle evenly over apple slices. Bake in a 375-degree oven for 40 to 50 minutes until apples are cooked, but not mushy. Cool in pan until just warm. Mix together confectioners' sugar and milk, then drizzle over cake. Let sit about 10 minutes, then remove to serving dish. Serve with a dollop of ice cream.

From Ellie Potter of Danbury:

Cranberry Walnut Cake

Makes 24 2-inch squares

2 cups sugar

3 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

3 eggs

1/3 cup vegetable oil 1 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups sliced cranberries

3/4 cup chopped walnuts

Sugar for sprinkling

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9- by 13-inch pan. In a large bowl using a wire whisk stir the first four ingredients together until well blended. Combine the eggs, oil, milk and vanilla and whisk them in. Stir in cranberries and walnuts and turn into the prepared pan. Sprinkle top with a little sugar. Bake until cake is golden brown, about 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan and then cut into squares.