Holiday Recipes, 2012 Edition

Each holiday season I am seduced by glossy magazines and fancy blog photography with interesting recipes for the holidays. Occasionally I will make a recipe twice, but my greatest cooking challenge comes from trying something new. Here is the list of recipes I tried in November and December 2012, noting them here because they are worth making again.

Wassail, NYT, Wednesday 12/12/12

Chocolate Dipped Nut Bites (I used equal amounts of almonds, walnuts and pepitas)

Elizabeth Faulkner’s Nib Crinkle Cookies (used only 3/4 tbs baking powder and 1/4 tbs salt)

Swedish Red Cabbage (Epicurious)

Smothered Pork Chops (NYT, December 2012)

Twice-Baked Sweet Potatoes with Chipotle Chile (Fine Cooking)

Hot Crab Dip (Simply Recipes)

Mini Mincemeat Pies (Epicurious)

Chocolate Souffle Cake with Candied Squash Compote (NYT, November 14, 2012)

Molasses-Ginger Crisps (Martha Stewart)

Plus a couple of the recipes from the Cookbook Book Club dinner in November.

Also, for posterity sake, here are four menus from holiday gatherings in December:

Annual Cookie Exchange

• Shepherd’s Pie with ground lamb and sweet potatoes
• Baby kale salad with persimmons, walnuts
• Cowgirl Creamery Mt Tam with Warren pears

Christmas Dinner with extended family

• Pepper-Crusted Beef Tenderloin (Cook’s Illustrated December 2012)
• Red Wine-Orange Sauce (Cook’s Illustrated December 2012)
• Yorkshire Pudding (not good, tried to double recipe without success)
• Roasted Brussels sprouts
• Broccoli and tomatoes
• Cowgirl Creamery Mt Tam with Warren pears
• Persimmon Pudding

Christmas Dinner with immediate family

• Prime Rib
• Yorkshire Pudding (both recipes from Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything. Pudding a success!)
• Italian cake roll with Nutella

New Year’s Eve Family Party

• Apple Acorn Squash Soup (in the Vitamix)
• Roast Shrimp with homemade cocktail sauce (Ina Garten, Back to Basics)
• Roasted artichokes with aioli (Aioli recipe from Vitamix)
• French 75 cocktail (with gin and with cognac; husband sourced recipes)