Nibble Nibble

Merry Christmas!

I like to bake cookies for Christmas. It just doesn't feel like Christmas if I haven't baked until 11pm at least one night. Each year, I do a mix of favorites and a few new ones. This year's family favorites included chocolate chip, peanut butter, pecan tarts, and decorated sugar cookies. The new ones I tried are the Chocolate-Vanilla Swirls (awesome), Blondies with choc. chips and coconut, and Chocolate Cherry Drop Cookies.

Its Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas

We've been mad bakers here at the house. We're preparing for a small childrens party of Christmas crafting, cookies and hot chocolate. My son and I enjoy cutting out cookies and decorating them with bags of tinted royal icing, colored sugars and sprinkles. It quickly has become a tradition. Here's a sampling of our handiwork. They're not fancy but they're fun.

Braised Mexican Chuck Steaks

Here is Bistecas Rancheros, the second recipe that I've tried from All About Braising. These are chuck steaks, cut thin and into small pieces, and braised with potatoes, poblano chiles and a flavorful tomato sauce. I liked that this was a one-pot meal. It tasted good, but I think I might do it without the potatoes next time because we prefer rice with mexican flavors. The potato-tomato combination made it a little strange to me. The leftover meat was once again turned into some mighty fine tacos.

The Taco: the world's most perfect food.

I first heard of Molly Steven's "All About Braising." from the people over at CooksTalk. This cookbook is based on, you guessed it, braising or slow cooking with low heat and moisture. Molly Stevens is a highly regarded chef who has written numerous books. In this book, her recipes are unique versions of basic braises. She likes to pair meats with interesting things, for example Whole Chicken braised with Pears and Rosemary or Zinfandel Pot Roast with Glazed Carrots & Fresh Sage. I find her reicpes very enticing and I've always enjoyed her articles for Fine Cooking magazine, so I decided to get the book. I found it for a great price at Half.com. The first recipe that I tried was Braised Pork Country Ribs with Chipotle , Roasted Tomatoes & Red Peppers. It turned out good, but not so deliciously wonderful that I need to make it again soon. As per her suggestion, for leftovers, I shredded the cooked meat from the ribs and added it back to the flavorful sauce to make pork tacos. These tacos were more yummy than the original dish. But really that shouldn't surprise me, doesn't everything taste better on a tortilla?