Holiday Goodies

I first tried this exotic guacamole a couple of years ago at my good friend Robert’s Christmas party. His mother was in town that year and helped prepare some most of the incredible food on the buffet table.

His mother Anita is the kindest woman and has had an extraordinary life -- a true treasure and absolute delight. We bonded at that party by sharing recipe secrets and continue to correspond to this day about favorite foods and cooking techniques. When I asked if she would tell me how to prepare her famous pomegranate guacamole, she graciously emailed me the instructions, explaining that it was a recipe from her mom´s hometown, Guanajuato.

I’ve taken the liberty to list some precise measurements, but in full disclosure, Anita sent the list of ingredients and just put “to taste” after each item (she wrote, “No real amounts, but you are an excellent cook and I am sure you can eyeball it perfectly”.)

According to their site, Andes Crème de Menthe candies rank as the “number one after-dinner mint” delivering a “smooth blend of mint and chocolate flavors– the perfect post-meal treat”.

They are particularly popular during the holidays and easy to find at your local grocery store. They help bring these easy chocolate “brownie” cookies to a new level of decadence.

After removing the cookies from the oven, each one is topped with an Andes mint while still warm. The residual heat melts the candy, turning it into a spreadable “frosting” to swirl over each cookie.

They’ll be the hit of any holiday gathering cookie swap.

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, I thought it was time to experiment with some turkey recipes. Some years I have a house full of people and often cook two big birds, but other times it’s just a small group and cooking a huge turkey just seems to be too time consuming.

Roasting a turkey breast is a great solution for small gatherings and it makes a great dinner any time of year – not just at Thanksgiving! Most of the “experts” (Alton Brown, Emeril, Cooks Illustrated, etc.) recommend brining in a saltwater solution to season the meat and keep it moist, juicy and succulent and though it does add to the prep time, it’s really worth it.

Probably one of the best ways to sample Italian wines is in a pairing with Italian cucina especially when chefs of note are involved in the preparation and choices, and so it was one evening. To celebrate the Holiday season this very special event took place at Market City Café in Burbank, California. Together the Executive Chefs from the MCC Hospitality Group joined forces to produce a superb repast – seven courses of fabulous Italian food paired with Italian wines from Tuscany, Umbria, Asti and Friuli Venezia Guilia near the Slovenian Border. The bustling restaurant on the edge of the Burbank Mall was bright and shiny with Christmas decorations and sparkling lights, and a lot of excited and happy people, all looking forward to a very eventful evening and willing to forget all their dietary conditions and the no-nos that many nutritionists and doctors want to place on food loving folks!

The opening course was a delightful array of three cheeses, a pressed goat’s milk Garroxta produced in the Catalonia region of northern Spain, a creamy white New York Camembert and a lovely Fourme d’Ambert which is one of France's oldest cheeses dating as far back as Roman times. Slices of bread, grapes and the slightly sweet pochettes of date preserve and onion marmalade offset the cheeses perfectly. Servers came round pouring a subtle Santa Marina Pinot Noir from Venezia and if I had not known there were many more different wines to be poured, I would have spent the evening with this!