We’re celebrating birthdays this week. For those who have birthdays around Christmas, birthdays can sometimes get overlooked. So I try to do something special for my guys so they feel celebrated. Of course Josh wants Reese’s Cheesecake every year. He’s big on traditions and sticking with them. I decided to make Mini Cheesecakes so that I could make something special for Joe and Josh could continue to have his Reese’s cheesecake too.
Posole is a New Mexican tradition that some natives serve on Christmas Eve while others serve up a bowl on New Years Eve for good luck. I’ve always been of the opinion to just have a bowl of posole anytime around the holidays and all will be good. It’s comforting and reminds me of my New Mexican roots. Last year I made Blue Corn Posole with dried blue corn and red chile. This year I’m making a Green Chile Posole with white hominy, green chiles and poblano peppers. And just for fun I am also trying out a new corn husk muffin where you line your muffin pans with strips of soaked corn husks, ladle in the batter and out comes these cute little muffins that look like they grew right out of a corn stalk. Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and many blessings for the New Year!
Christmas in New Mexico has many traditions, many of which I still honor. This week I’m focusing on what might be on the menu in many New Mexican homes. While this Green Chile Apple Pie isn’t something I’ve had before it tastes like something that might be served after a bowl of Posole and Tamales on Christmas eve. I saw this pie made on the Cooking Channel awhile back from a pie shop in the San Francisco area and I was intrigued. It sounded like something that would be served in New Mexico, not San Francisco, but no matter where it originated it was something I wanted a taste of. This pie originally had a walnut streusel but I decided to go with pine nuts. I grew up on pine nuts (most times still in the shell) which we called Pinon nuts grown from Pinon trees which also happens to be the state tree of New Mexico. This pie was the most intriguing pie I’ve ever made. The first bite was “interesting”, and each bite afterward was like “hey, this is pretty good”. As I took the last bite I decided I really liked it.
I’ve been planning on making truffles for weeks and set out to make a dark chocolate truffle that involved a lot of prep work with several steps. However, I’ve been a bit under the weather and have decided to go easy on myself and make these Peanut Butter Truffles which take very little time. One of the local grocery stores mails out a magazine called “Seasons” which is filled with seasonal recipes. I found this easy to make truffle recipe and thought it sounded good. A little melting in the microwave, a little mixing, a little chillin out in the fridge and they are ready to go. Really cute and fun to eat too!
I have a couple of cook books (I call them recipe books) that I keep out on my entry table. I love the ones with the beautiful layouts and pictures so I keep them close by for when I have a few minutes to sit down. One of my favorites is a Junior League of Greater Covington book called “Roux To Do, The art of Cooking in Southeast Louisiana”. It not only has beautiful Louisiana festival posters but most of the recipes are very inspired. A lot of them come from area Chefs that share their most popular recipes. I came across this recipe called Gruyere Cheese, Arthichoke and Tomato Pie. It sounded so delicious but it had a plain pie crust which I wasn’t in the mood for. I remembered a recent post from Roz at la bella vita who made a tomato pie with an herbed buttermilk biscuit crust. That’s the crust I envisioned so I made her crust and filled it with big slices of tomatoes, a layer of artichokes and lots of gruyere cheese. It reminded me of a deep dish pizza pie!
If you love fig newtons you are going to love these sweet rolls. Peel away the layers of this sweet brioche dough to find a sticky fig walnut paste that reminds you of the newtons you always loved. The maple icing over top goes well with the fig flavors and makes your fingers sticky delicious! I have to send a Thank You to Joan for the figs as she always sends home a treat whenever we visit. My guys thought the figs were up for grabs and as I started seeing them disappear I set aside a small amount to make sweet rolls. Getting started on the brioche dough a day ahead made the rest a breeze.
Joe loves this time of year because it’s the time of year that I bake cookies. He loves all sweets but cookies are his favorite. I’ve been making these peanut butter cookies for several years now from a recipe I found in a Penzey’s spice catalog. There are some great recipes in that catalog! I love big chewy cookies and these cookies virtually bend, they are so soft.
An Inspired Cook 