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Hey guys! I hope you all had frank and productive holidays! As for me, I consumed lots of really great food, but it came at a steep, steep price. I completely threw my back out on the 23rd.

Thankfully I had finished baking, but I've been pretty immobile. I can't sit or stand for more than a few minutes, I totally missed the Christmas get together at my Aunt's house, and I haven't been able to sit down to type out my Christmas recipes.

Hopefully I'll be able to post within the next couple of days, but in reality it might not happen til after the 1st. So be patient, I will be back as soon as humanly possible.

And just case I'm not on here again for awhile, I wish you all a safe and wonderful Happy New Year! Bring it 2012!

Christmas 2011

Hooray for the holidays! If you're like me, Christmas is a great excuse to bake (and consume) mass amounts of baked goodies. Below you find my master list of all the treats I'm making to pass out to my friends and neighbors (I will post the links to recipes as I go, so make sure to check back!).

COOKIES:

Lime Christmas Tea Cookies

Candy Cane Cookies

Gingerbread Cookies (cutouts)

Jeweled Coconut Crisps

Eggnog Snickerdoodles

Raspberry Linzers

Pecan Goody Cups

Mexican Wedding Cookies

Almond Raspberry Kisses

Pear & Pistachio Cookies

BREAD/FUDGE

Texas Sheetcake

Zucchini Bread

CANDIES:

Mexican Chocolate Truffles

Gumdrop Fudge

Magical Mint Chocolate Bark

Beef Tamales Part II: Assembly & Cooking

Okay, so you have your beef in red sauce ready, and it's time to assemble the tamales.

WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT MASA:
Masa (or dough) is a dough made of cornmeal that is seasoned. If this is your first time making tamales, I highly recommend you go to a Latin supermarket and buy some prepared masa. It's already mixed and seasoned, and will take ALL the guesswork out of it.

WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT HOJAS:
Hojas are corn husks that you can buy in a bag at most supermarkets. Before you assemble the tamales, you must rinse the corn husks in a large bowl. Keeping the husks in the bowl will make spreading the masa easier for you.
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Hojas
Masa
Beef & Sauce
Olives (optional)

1) Hojas have a rough and smooth side. Find the smooth side and spread your masa. Go from the top to just below down the husk.

2) Spread the beef and red sauce in a strip down the middle.

3) If you are going to place an olive or other item, place it in the center.

4) Fold over one side of the husk.

5) Fold over the other side.

6) Flip the tail of the tamale up.

7) Place standing up in a large container.
(this is the icebox from my fridge.

NOTE: I like to freeze my tamales partially before bagging them into half-dozens. It makes for cleaner storage. Don't let them get too frozen or else the husks will freeze together.
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COOKING (sorry, I will eventually add pictures of this.)
NOTE: This is not a process you can put on the oven and forget about. You will have to make sure you pay attention and check on the tamales or else they will burn.

1) Make a cone out of aluminum foil.

2) Place cone in the center of a heavy pot or dutch oven.

3) Place tamales upright around the cone.

4) Add enough water to coat the bottom. If you add too much water the tamales will be soggy and that is probably one of the grosses things on the planet EVER.

5) Take another piece of aluminum foil, and place over the tamales.

6) Cover with a well-fitting lid.

7) CHECK YOUR TAMALES! You will have to check about every 15-30 minutes to make sure there is enough water in the pot or else your tamales will burn. Want to know what that smells like? BURNED POPCORN.  Your tamales will be ready when the masa starts to pull away from the husk.
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TA-DA!!!!!

There you have it folks! You can serve these with beans and Spanish rice for dinner, or you can have them with salsa and scrambled eggs for breakfast (which is my preferred method of consumption). So if you have the patience, give these bad boys a try.

Beef Tamales Part 1: The Meat & Sauce

I try to keep the cooking stuff to a minimum, but I really wanted to show you guys a staple in my house around the holidays. I'm Hispanic, and tamales are a Christmas treat that I only get once a year. WHY? Because even though they are pretty basic to make, they are very time consuming.

The reason for that, is if you are making tamales for a family get together, the amount you make is going to depend on A) how many people are going and B) figuring out about how many tamales each person will consume. Which is is why you will hear of people (like myself) making ridiculous quantities because they disappear much quicker than you would imagine.

If you were to ask 5 different Hispanic people how they make tamales, you will more than likely get 5 different answers. This is how my Mom and I make them, this is how my Nana Elvira made them. So let's get started!

NOTE: I'm only listing the ingredients I used, not the quantities. It's going to vary depending on how many you are going to make, and your personal tastes.
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INGREDIENTS:
minced/diced onion
garlic powder
salt
bay leaves
roast (size will vary)
flour
vegetable oil
enchilada/red chile sauce

1) In a heavy pan or dutch oven, fill under 1/2 way and season then bring to a boil.

2) Trim off any excess fat on your roast.

3) When water is boiling, add meat to the pot. Fill with more water to cover the meat.

4) Cover with a well-fitting lid, and cook until meat is tender and falls apart.

5) When meat has cooked, shred and place into a deep container.

6) Reserve the leftover chicken broth, you will need it when assembling the tamales.

7) In a pan, make a roux with vegetable oil and flour
(over low heat warm the oil, then add flour. when it bubbles it is ready)

8) Add your enchilada or red sauce, and let simmer until thick.

9) Add to red sauce, let cool before placing in the fridge overnight.
(the juices from the sauce will keep the meat from being dry)

VOILA!

PART II - Assembly and Cooking

Sam Adams Winter Classics

Hello everyone! I hope you all had fantastic Thanksgivings, and if you live in a part of the world that doesn't celebrate that kind of thing, I hope you had a nice Thursday. :)

So about the six-pack I made. 3 of the beers I had weren't skunky, but due to my fridge being really dumb, 3 of the pack went skunky. Here are reviews for the 2 I had. (The third bottle was a Guinness, which I've had a million times. Guinness rules.)
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SHOCK TOP PUMPKIN WHEAT ALE - Not bad, although I didn't get a lot of spices or pumpkin in it. It could have been a bad bottle, but the beer was pretty smooth with a mild aftertaste.

SAMUEL ADAMS CHERRY WHEAT - I LOVED THIS ONE! The aroma was loaded with cherries and had a hint of yeast on the tail end. The taste was sharp and bright, with a nice cherry after-taste. This is one I will definitely want to drink more of.
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So while I was at the store last week, I picked up this 12 pack from Samuel Adams. It has 2 bottles of 6 different holidays flavors, and now that my fridge is fixed I can enjoy them without suffering from bitter beer face.

Boston Lager

Winter Lager

Holiday Porter

Black & Brew

Chocolate Bock

Old Fezziwig's Ale

Pumpkin Walnut Pie

Here is the second pumpkin pie recipe I promised. This is one of my favorite holiday pies, and it's making a return to Thanksgiving after a 3 year absence. It has all the heartiness of a pumpkin pie, but with a sweet crunchy walnut layer on top. Seriously, I'm hoping that there are going to be some leftovers.

NOTE: There is no way around it, you MUST use SOLID-PACKED pumpkin for this recipe. If you use any other kind, the walnut layer will sink to the bottom and the pie will never finish cooking.

NOTE: I ran out of sugar, so for the walnut layer I substituted brown sugar for white sugar, and for the pumpkin layer I also added 1/2 tsp. of cinnamon.

INGREDIENTS:
PUMPKIN LAYER:
1 unbaked 9 in. pie pan
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 cup solid-pack pumpkin
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

WALNUT LAYER:
2/3 cup corn syrup
1/2 cup sugar
3 tbsp. butter
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup walnuts

1) Combine all the pumpkin layer ingredients in a medium-sized mixing bowl.

2) Spread pumpkin layer in pie shell.

3) Combine walnut layer ingredients, coating the walnuts well.

4) Carefully spread walnut layer over pumpkin layer.

5) Bake at 350 F. for 40-50 minutes.

(it's in my fridge taunting me with its deliciousness...)

Cinnamon Pumpkin Pie

It's the night before Thanksgiving, and I am so glad my baking is done. I cranked out three pies this morning, and I just finished helping my mom make her stuffing. So like I promised, here is 1 of 2 pumpkin pie recipes that I said I would post. Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup sugar
4 tsp. cornstarch
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 eggs
1 can (15 oz.) solid-pack pumpkin
1 cup milk
1 unbaked pastry shell (9 in.)

1) In a small bowl, combine the sugar, cornstarch, salt and cinnamon.

2) In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs.

3) Stir in pumpkin and sugar mixture.

4) Gradually add in milk

5) Pour into pie shell.

6) Bake at 400 F. for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 F. for 45-50 minutes
Pie is ready when a fork inserted near the center comes out clean.

(this pie is saying 'put whipped cream on me')

How to Roast a Pumpkin

Hey everyone! So Thanksgiving is going to be at my Aunt's house, and I was asked to bring a couple of pies. I'm going to feature both of these pies tomorrow, and for one of them I'm using a small sugar pumpkin. I've always used canned pumpkin before, so this was a new exciting adventure for me, and it was super easy. Let me show you how to roast your own pumpkin.

1) Preheat your oven to 350 F.

2) Cut your small pumpkin in half.

3) Scoop out all the stringy pulp & the seeds from inside.

(P.S. Be sure to save the seeds so you can toast them later!)

4) Place the 2 halves face down in a shallow baking dish.

5) Add water, coming up 1/4 inch up the side.

6) Cover the dish with foil, and seal tightly.

7) Bake for 45-60 minutes, depending on the size.

(you're going to need a min. of 45 minutes, then check every 5 min.)

 

 

8) Scoop out the pumpkin and discard the shell

(The meat should be a darker orange and soft.)

 There you have it! It's super easy and took about 90 minutes from start to finish. My pumpkin still had some lighter non-soft spots, but I didn't want to leave it in the oven any longer for fear of it drying out. Shouldn't be a problem though; I covered the pumpkin with foil and let it sit on my counter while I waited for it to cool down. 

Be sure to check back tomorrow for not one, but TWO pumpkin pie recipes!

My Journey with Beer

This is my last non-dessert post for awhile, I promise. :)

To start, I have never been a beer person. I have always preferred hard liquor, and to a lesser extent wine. I didn't really learn about beer until I was in college and started hanging with my friend Frankie, whose family is originally from Wisconsin. The first time I went to their house, I discovered that they had a full-sized refrigerator for just their beer!

I still can't drink Bud, Miller, Coor's, Dos Equis, etc, and I also don't like IPA's or Pale-Ales. I'm a lager kind of girl (amber to dark), and seeing as how I've kind of been jonesing for some beer, I decided to take a trip to my local Total Wine & More. I made my own six-pack, and I can't wait to try them out.

FROM L-R

Shock Top - Pumpkin Wheat Ale

Bison - Organic Chocolate Stout

Bison - Organic Gingerbread Ale

Samuel Adams - Cream Stout

Samuel Adams - Cherry Wheat

Guinness - Extra Drought

Chicken Pot Pie

I know, this is a baking blog, but this was so good that I wanted to share. I have to start by saying that I was never really a pot pie person. I always found that they were dry, or that they were so rich that they upset my stomach. This recipe is stick to your ribs fantastic, and perfect for cold weather.

WARNING: The recipe below is not exact, and it only made 2 pot pies. Feel free to add more or less for your own needs.

INGREDIENTS:
chicken
frozen vegetables
garlic powder
pepper/salt
chicken broth
bay leaf
flour
butter
milk
pie crust

1) Cut and cube chicken. I used thigh meat which I HIGHLY recommend. I feel that the darker meat gives the pot pie a more hearty flavor. Added bonus, it holds up to boiling really well.

2) Boil the chicken and frozen vegetables in chicken broth for 15 minutes. I used the Korr's chicken broth in those little plastic containers. I also seasoned it with garlic powder, black pepper, and a bay leaf.

3) Save some of the chicken broth (you'll need it for the cream sauce), and then drain before setting aside.

4) MAKE A RUE! Melt butter (I used 2 tbsp.) over a low heat. Once it's melted slowly add in 2 TBSP. of flour until combined. Add your spices (garlic powder & pepper), then add a touch of chicken broth, followed by 1/4 cup of milk. Let simmer over medium high heat until sauce thickens, then remove from heat.

5) Divide chicken mixture into tins.

6) Pour sauce over mixture, then stir.

7) Place pie crust over the top of the pot pie. I didn't put the crust on the bottom of the pie, because I personally could not handle that much breading. I also used a roll-out pie crust which you can find in the dairy section at your local grocery store. It's seriously my new favorite thing. NOTE: Be sure to cut a few slits or poke a few holes in the pie crust, or your pot pies will explode.

8) Bake for 40 minutes, at 375 F. VOILA! You have pot pie!