The last post was a word-free one. This one…, sorta. Twelve months, twelve dishes. Check it.
January: Those asparagus rolls were very popular, but this one, this was crazy good: Shrimp & Grits.
February: Lots of desserts that month, of course I would pick these. They’re good and pretty. Pretty and good, damn good and pretty. Pears with Bleu Cheese.
March: There was a LOT of food this month, a huge Foodbuzz event for me, that’s probably what led me to drinking. Have a Lemon Drop.
April: Tropical fruits and peeling a mango.
May: I made up dishes with pickles. Pickle & Onion Ravioli.
June: Sometimes you just want some dessert, have some Tres Leches.
July: There was pastry and beef. El Burek-o.
August: My Latina side finally kicked in, Fish al Ajillo, nena!
September: means there’s a lot of grilling still going on if you live in Houston, best Pasta Salad evahh!
October: A close look at foods in Panama. Memories and still trying to figure things out.
November: I shared my yuca-ddiction… Enyucado.
December: I went for the comfort foods. Maczetti!
These are some of my favorite dishes for 2010, here’s wishing you and yours a lot of goodness in the new year.
Cookingly yours,
Anamaris
What I saw.
I’ve been slow around these parts, the year end has blasted through and left me completely depleted. I apologize for the lapses, but it is becoming increasingly obvious that I need to take some time to show myself some TLC. I will keep you posted, though.
Let me share some good news with you, though. A few months ago, Thas over at Cooking with Thasneen invited me to share one of my favorite recipes for the year. Chacko’s Kitchen, a blog by Susan and Abraham, was putting together a list of the 30 Best Recipes of 2010. So I sent them my Asparagus Roll and my little recipe was selected! You should definitely check out the other 29 recipes, there’s a lot of yummy food on there.
The other fun thing happened with your input. Thanks for helping me pick another great recipe for the year. The results were close, but in the end you voted for those scrumptious Tamarind Ribs and that shall be the recipe I submit to Nancy’s blog for her countdown. That list will be up in a few days and I’ll give you the heads up when it is.
Speaking of best of roundups, stay tuned for some more.
Enjoy your holidays!
Today I’m hanging out with my pal Katie from You Are What You Eat or Reheat, remember her? Well, she’s had too much spiked eggnog and asked me to guest post, so I did! Tune in.
Anamaris
PS: Don’t forget to vote!
Last week I introduced you to Nancy from Spicie Foodie; she has a monthly roundup for food bloggers to share their best recipe for that month. This time she’s making it the best recipe of the year… a tough call when you consider how many recipes I have posted since 01/01/10.
This left me pondering what would be the criteria for best recipe? My favorite? The creation I’m most proud of? The most popular? One that speaks to my cooking identity? All of the above? Well, I’m going to include a recipe from each of these criterion and let you decide which is Chef It Yourself’s best recipe for 2010, dig it?
So here they are, after going down memory lane, use the poll to select your favorite.
I absolutely love this recipe, it falls under the criteria of my favorite. There’s just something about Al Ajillo that makes me happy.
This one makes me very proud for many reasons. Creativity, simplicity, delicious-ratio, celebrity factor: Mangalitsa Wrapped Halibut.
This was one popular post. It landed me on WordPress’ front page, aka Freshly Pressed. There’s no doubt the recipe was a delicious original, but I never expected it to go viral. Not quite, but work with me. Spareribs with Tamarind Glaze.
This one answers all the questions about my cooking identity, at least I think so. It brings Latin flavors to common American ingredients and cooking techniques from various cuisines. Achiote & Herbs Turkey.
This one did it all. I was incredibly proud of it, I loved it, it was crazy popular and it speaks to my Latin background. Amazing bringing all of this together in one plate. Chicken in Beer.
If you’ll take a couple of seconds to vote in the poll, I’ll be forever in your debt. I have to submit the recipe before month’s end, so I’ll keep this little poll open until Thursday, December 23rd. Go on, do the clicky.
[polldaddy poll=4271572]
I have no idea how I’m able to type right now. Don’t be surprised to find typos, omissions, grammatical errors on this post. I just got word. And what a word.
I’m beyond myself!
Remember a few weeks ago I presented you with a recipe utilizing Mangalitsa ham on halibut? Do you, doyou?
Well, that beautiful ham came to me courtesy of Santa Marx, all I had to do was make something with it and share the recipe. What I didn’t know is that they were going to review the recipes submitted by all foodies and choose their favorite…
Can you guess yet? Do you know where this is going????? I can’t tell you how excited I am about this. Well, I can. I’m at work. I checked my emails and there was one telling me the roundup of recipes was up. That was it. Nothing else. So I went to see them all. As I read through the post I saw it. The announcement for the favorite. I couldn’t believe my eyes.
YES! See what the good awesome folks at Marx had to say:
And the best mangalitsa recipe is…
The Marx Foods staff judges had a very difficult time deciding this one…all the submissions were excellent. Ultimately Chef It Yourself’s mangalitsa halibut recipe won them over by a nose. Congratulations Anamaris! We’re sending a mangalitsa boneless mangalitsa neck your way, a cut perfect for rich winter braises. Email Justin with your address and date that you would like the mangalitsa neck.
To all who submitted recipes, thank you! The caliber of your creativity was beyond impressive, to say the least!
I have to say, I love cooking and I enjoy my cooking, but there’s nothing better than having others like your cooking. Thanks again to the Marx Foods team for giving me the opportunity to try this amazing product and MIL GRACIAS for the props! I’d like to encourage you to visit their site, they really do have amazing products AND go see the other recipes with this ham, I’ve been drooling over them for weeks now.
Super-excitedly yours,
Anamaris
Well, it’s official! Chefoodie, aka Me, will be skiping off to Marxland with… drummmmmmmrollllllll….
Norma from Mangoes, Platanos & Me
AND
Heather from Girlichef
Thanks again to the awesome people at Marx Foods for this fab giveaway. I’ll let you know what I get when I get it.
I’m psyched! That is all. Carry on.
Anamaris
So, tell me, have you enjoyed meeting my bloggy friends? I hope so, I’ve had a lot of fun celebrating my blogiversary with them, I’m so grateful they hung out with us. I’m rounding off the month-long celebration with this one, but no worries, I will bring this feature back in 2011. I promise, but for now, let’s meet Nancy!
I was immediately intrigued with her blog, Spicie Foodie, the first time I read it. Nancy is a Latina living and cooking Mexican recipes in Europe, a feat when you consider the availability, or lack thereof, of traditional ingredients. Nonetheless, she’s managed…quite beautifully as you’ll see from her photographs. Yes. I envy every shot on her blog. Enough about me, heeeeere’s Nancy!
What is the elevator pitch for your blog?
Spicie Foodie is a blog about a Mexican expatriate cooking ethnic foods in Europe. Healthy, fresh and delicious recipes to spice up your kitchen!
Why and when did you decide to become a blogger?
It was in late July of 2009. Really the idea was because I badly needed a distraction from my job. All I wanted to do was be in the kitchen cooking,baking and experimenting. Then I started thinking it over in my head and mentioned it to my husband. He was very positive and for the idea, so I started my blog.
What’s next for your blog
Well, I’ve just announced the release of my first cookbook. It’s called An Epiphany of the Senses, and you could say it’s my blog come to life. Most of the recipes are new but it still has all of the Spicie Foodie soul in it. I’ve poured all of my heart and soul into my book and the goal is to just keep getting the word out about it and see where it goes from there. Also the YBR (Your Best Recipe) event is gaining popularity and I am looking forward to hosting it every month.
What sound or noise do you hate?
I hate the sound of paper being folded. You know when someone slowly folds the crease until it’s completely flat, running their finger or nail across it. Eeeek! Just writing this makes me cringe!
Lucy & Ethel or Monica & Rachel?
I have to admit that I’ve only watched like 2 episodes of Friends. So I don’t know much about those characters, hehe no I don’t live in a cave. But regardless I would still choose Lucy & Ethel. I loved that show so much, so glad for reruns. I’m totally Lucy, always in trouble and my husband could say , “Naaannncyy you got some esplainin to do”, on more than a hundred occasions.
If you had 3 wishes, what wouldn’t you wish for?
I wouldn’t wish for cold rainy weather, I wouldn’t wish for love-handles and I wouldn’t wish for a shortage on Cocoa. (Can’t live without chocolate!)
If you have to hire a TV attorney, past or present, who’d represent you?
Lionel Hutz from the Simpsons. Is he still on the show I wonder? Well if I needed a really good Lawyer it would be Patti Hewes, she’s a real cut throat biatch! and you know she would win. I love the Simpsons and just watched a couple episodes of Damages, great show.
I love Damages too, Glenn Close totally rocks that role. Those were just a few questions I asked, but Nancy, in true Latina form, had more to say. So I’m just handing this over to her and making myself a cocktail. Talk among yourselves.
Hi everyone and thank you Anamaris for inviting me to do a guest post on your blog. When Anamaris invited me she asked if I could share a recipe with you that showed how living in Europe has influenced my Mexican dishes. For those of you familiar with my blog you know that I am a Mexican expatriate and I’ve spoken a lot about the lack of authentic Mexican ( and other ethnic) ingredients where I live. This has lead to my experimenting with the local ingredients available as well as learning to make many things from scratch.
While I have always strived to stay as authentic as possible with my ethnic cooking, sometimes it can be extremely difficult to find what I need. One Mexican dish or rather salsa that is commonly served at my house is Pico de Gallo also know as Salsa Mexican. A simple salsa made from tomato, onion,cilantro, fresh chiles, lime juice, and spices. Sounds simple enough no? Well, fresh Jalapeños or Serranos are virtually non-existent here in Prague. Limes are usually hard as a rock and not worth spending money on. Cilantro is not always available either, especially in the winter. Limes are not a local product, fresh hot chiles are not in the local cuisine either. But both parsley and radishes are abundantly available all year round. So on those occasions where the Mexican ingredients are not available I’ve created a different version of Pico de Gallo. You can say it’s a Czech take on a Mexican classic.
Doesn’t this look amazzzzing?!!!
Spicie Foodie’s Czech-xican Pico de Gallo
4 Roma tomatoes, finely diced
1 small white or yellow onion, finely diced
8 small red radishes, finely sliced
large handful of finely chopped flat leaf parsley
1 large lime or substitute with a small lemon, juiced
1 tsp. red pepper flakes ( I add more for a spicier version)
1/2 tsp. granulated garlic
1/2 – 1 tsp. salt
a pinch of ground black pepper
Gently mix all ingredients in a large bowl until well combined. Cover the bowl with kitchen wrap, place in the refrigerator and allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving. Serve with corn chips as a healthy snack or as a topping or accompaniment to a Mexican meal.
Nancy is currently accepting entries for Your Best Recipe (YBR), just click that link to see who’s in and to submit your own. Since she has changed the format a bit to make it about the year’s best recipe, I’m taking my time to decide, I think I will enlist your help! For now, don’t wait any longer, go visit my friend Spicie Foodie, she’ll be really nice to you.
I have to admit, I’m pooped. I’ve overdone it yet again. I went cruh-ah-zee with it all and I’m now feeling like cartoon characters probably do when they go splat against the wall.
I literally haven’t stopped since I got back from Panama and the funeral. I hit it hard at work and on the blog, hurling myself at every possible distraction and project that would keep me moving. I’m like a shark right now, constantly on the move, never resting, always on to the next thing. I don’t want this to be a woe is me post, I’m just trying to say I think I will slow it down a bit for the next few weeks. There will be posting, no worries, but I’m probably gonna mix it up a bit with new and old-er posts.
So what’s on the menu today? Well, you’re probably getting ready for the holidays. For most people that means lots of shopping, for me, its food and menu planning. What can I say, I love my food. So, I’m going to point you to a couple of old posts. Both of these showcase dishes that are ALWAYS present on a Panamanian holiday table. They also happen to be 2 of my absolute favorites. Ready?
There is Arroz con Pollo. There always is Arroz con Pollo, I think it may be a law, one I will happily and faithfully abide by. When you see arroz con pollo on your plate, you know that the beautiful bright yellow rice is having a party of flavors with the chicken and the raisins and the olives and the capers and… The rice is having a really good time, trust me. Click the link for the recipe and you can see the full photostream here.
Then there will be Tamales. Whether they’re filled with chicken, pork, seafood or a combination of all of those, you will find these at your Tia’s table. I love these so much, I need to make another batch. You can too, just click this link for the recipe, the food shots are here.
What is always present on your holiday table?
Yesterday I introduced you to Lesley of Mija Chronicles fame. She’s an expat living in Mexico City and she loves food, particularly that of the Mexican persuasion. She posted this recipe for Pan de Elote just a few weeks ago, I made it the day I read it. I’m sure that gives you a good indication of how fantastic it is. I’m SO happy I made this. My waistline isn’t happy, well, I don’t think my waistline cares one way or the other. The mirror…, that’s a different story.
Moving on. I will redirect you to her post for the actual recipe, no need to re-invent the wheel. Believe me, you WANT to see her post. You may actually want to EAT her post, but I don’t think computer monitors will taste quite the same. A few notes about the recipe and the steps to bring it together.
Her recipe was made with white corn, which is commonly available in Mexico, but I wasn’t able to find it here in Houston. The best I was able to get was 2-color fresh corn, but still, it was mostly yellow.
I was 1 ear of corn shy of 4 cups of husked corn kernels. Upon closer inspection, I only had 3 cps. Gulp. Unwilling to take such a massive risk, and because The Hubbz will always make an emergency run for me, I asked him to get me more cobs. Crisis averted.
Because I suck at following recipes, I missed the part where it said to grind HALF of the corn…, you should do that.
I did use the unsalted butter, but added a pinch of salt for that ying yang effect. I would also suggest using a bit less of the sugar since the US corn tends to be so sweet.
For this recipe you will beat the egg whites to punto de turrón or to soft peaks for the non-Spanish speakers. Check it out, I’m holding that bowl over my head.
And you want to fold these beautiful whites into the rest of the batter without losing all that cloudy fluff. So, take just a bit of the whites and mix them into the batter, then fold in the rest of the whites. This will make folding the two together easier and more uniform.
And when it baked for 55 minutes or so, it came out looking like this. Can you hear the choir? Aaaaaaaaaaaaah…
The Hubbz and I ate this in 2 days. I’m not proud of it, but this is about full disclosure. This isn’t cornbread as we know it here in the US, it’s not even the cakier version of it. This is a cross between a souffle and an angel food cake. Lesley describes it as a buttery corn cake, and it is all of those things. We especially enjoyed this cake with a bit of queso fresco sprinkled over the top. Ying Yang, baby.
Another keeper!
Cookingly yours,
Anamaris
