I often think that my love for cooking is in my DNA. See, I come from a family of excellent cooks, if I may say so. My great-grandmother, on my dad’s side, worked as the head cook (this is before women could be considered chefs) at a restaurant in one of the best hotels in Mexico City. Her daughter, my grandmother, followed her lead and worked at several restaurants as a cook. There was not a dish she did not know how to make – in fact she made the best Chinese fried rice – and everything she made, was ridiculously good.
Although she is no longer with us, I remember with fondness when we visited her and the smell of whatever she was cooking inundated her house. Growing up, we usually spent New Year’s Eve at her house. It was a night full of fun: all of the cousins lined in her yard to hit a piñata full of candy; we were allowed to drink a small glass of rompope (Mexican eggnog); and we would stay up until midnight to eat 12 grapes for good luck in the new year. Another highlight of the night was the food, of course. My grandmother would always make Bacalao, a dish made with dried salted codfish that the Spaniards introduced to Mexico and which is traditionally eaten on Christmas and New Year’s Eve. When we moved out of Mexico City, my grandmother gave my mother the recipe to make Bacalao and since then, she makes it every year on Christmas Eve. Every time she makes it, the smell of the Bacalo takes me back to my grandmother’s house...
So, if you still don’t know what to make on New Year’s Eve (and if you like fish), try making Bacalao. It is very easy to make and it pairs beautifully with champagne. There is nothing else I would rather eat for New Year’s Eve than Bacalo.
Ingredients
2 pounds salted cod fish
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
3 pounds tomatoes (diced)
2 pounds onion (diced)
1 bunch parsley (chopped)
6 garlic cloves
1 pound potatoes (peeled and diced)
1/3 cup green olives
5 or more whole banana peppers pickled
Directions
1. Soak the salted cod in hot water changing the water two times over the course of eight hours. Drain and shred the fish.
2. In a large pan, toast the garlic cloves in hot olive oil. Once they turn brown remove.
3. Sautee the onions, tomatoes, and parsley. Once cooked, add the shredded salted cod and potatoes. Keep in medium heat and covered until potatoes are cooked.
4. Add the olives and banana peppers and cooked for five more minutes. Do not add salt.
5. Serve with baguette. It pairs very well with champagne.
“Where have you been?” You may be asking since I haven’t posted a recipe in several weeks. Between work, Christmas parties, Holiday dinners, the gym, Christmas shopping, caroling and other shenanigans, I haven’t had time to either cook or post any recipes. I am sure you understand.
I do however, have a recipe for you. This is a recipe I meant to post a month ago: hojarascas, a type of Mexican (from Monterrey to be more specific) cookies. I wanted to give it to you so you could bake them for Christmas and give them to friends and family for the holidays. I guess you could still do that if you really make the effort. Anyhow, these type of cookies are not, per se, Christmas cookies, so you can make them whenever. However, I do not make them often because they are time-consuming and mainly because once I eat one, I have to eat 35 – and that, my friends, cannot be good for my heart or my physique (yeah, yeah, I’m shallow). So yes, they are highly addictive… but they are so good. Before you start your new year’s resolution of getting in shape (which seems to be everyone’s resolution) bake yourself some hojarascas, eat them all, and throw the recipe away. If you don’t do that, you will be very tempted to make them over and over again and, as I said before, that is not good for you.
Here it is!
Hojarascas (it makes 140 cookies approximately)
Ingredients:
Dough
2.2 pounds of flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 cups of sugar
1.1 pound of lard
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (Mexican vanilla is preferable)
¼ cup milk (or more if necessary)
Topping
½ cup of sugar
1 tablespoon powdered cinnamon
Directions:
1. Heat oven to 350 F.
2. In a large bowl (or electric mixer) mix eggs, lard and vanilla. Add the flower and baking powder. Add the milk slowly until the consistency of the mix is soft and it no longer crumbles. You may need to add more mlk.
3. Divide the dough into four or five balls. In a floured surface, spread out one dough ball with a rolling pin and roll out (1/8 inch thick). Cut using a flower-shaped cookie cutter. Repeat.
4. Transfer to a parchment paper lined baking sheet and bake for 17 min. In the meantime, mix topping (sugar and cinnamon) in a wide bowl.
5. Take cookie sheet out of the oven and let it sit a few minutes. Use a metal spatula to transfer cookies to the bowl where the topping is and cover each cookie with it.
6. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
December is here, and with it, the holidays. I personally love December, not only because it is my birthday month (hint, hint), but because there are parties galore, twinkling lights glimmer the streets, carols are sung all around, cookies and treats abound, you get to put a freshly cut pine in your living room and decorate it with ridiculous ornaments (who thought about that?), and because most people are in a festive and giving mood. If you are one of those jolly people who will be hosting a Christmas party, or a Hanukkah party, or Kwanza party, or a “I don’t believe in shit” party, this recipe is for you: mocha martini. It is delicious and will make you and your guests warm inside. In fact, I can guarantee you that after two mocha martinis, even the “grinchiest” person will start growing a heart and a smile will appear on his face.
Without further ado, below is the recipe for this very festive drink.
Mocha Martini
Ingredients:
One part spiced Rum
One part Whipped Cream Vodka
One part Kahlua
One part chocolate liquor
One part heavy cream
Dash of ground cinnamon
Crushed ice
Directions:
Mix all the liquid ingredients in a shaker with ice. Pour into a martini glass with crushed ice. Sprinkle with powder cinnamon.
