Advocate staff picks: Winter recipes you should try this holiday season

Arianna Perez-Garcia

The Advocate

Being able to experience the change in seasons is definitely one of my favorite things. Mostly because once it’s winter, I know that the hot foods with leftovers for days will take over my household kitchen. 

It feels like the best day ever when a meal is made for a special occasion – such as a workplace potluck, a holiday party, Christmas Eve dinner and even New Year’s. I also think cooking creates memories with family and friends. We can trace back to those memories because of certain smells that exactly tell us what food is cooking on the stove.

Here are recipes that you could cook yourself during our winter break, or share this recipe with the best cook you know!

Pozole

Let’s begin with a simple dish, pozole. This is a traditional dish in the Mexican kitchen. It’s simple for the fact that it is a corn soup that could have multiple toppings, including pork meat, avocados, chile, oregano, and lime. 

Ingredients for pozole:

• 1 can of Teasdale white hominy 

• 1 peeled onion

• 1 head of garlic 

• salt to your liking (you will have to be tasting the pozole while it is cooking!)

• 1 spoonful of oregano 

• 7-8 bay leaves 

• pork meat to your liking 

Directions:

1. First, have a large pot filled with water about halfway on the stove on medium-high heat. Next, use a large strainer to wash the hominy. Once the hominy is washed it is ready to be in the pot. Immediately after the hominy makes it in the pot, add 1 peeled onion and 1 head of garlic into the pot. 

2. Next, wash the pork meat with salt thoroughly and add it to the pot. 

3. After, one hour of cooking and you notice the ingredients boiling, you should be using a large cooking spoon to add the oregano and 7-8 bay leaves.  

4. Finally, once everything has been boiling for more than 2 hours, you add salt, once again use a large cooking spoon. Taste the broth to see if you will need to add another spoonful or so. Use a fork to check if the pork meat is ready. If the pork meat comes apart, it means it’s ready! 

Serve the pozole with toppings such as crushed chile peppers, more oregano, sliced avocados and lime. I suggest a cold Coke drink to accompany your steaming hot pozole. Enjoy! 

Flan

Next is a flan dessert recipe. This is a delicious and easy-to-make dessert for this holiday season and any time you have a sweet tooth. 

Ingredients for flan:

• 2 cups of sugar

• 1 can of evaporated milk

• 1 can of condensed milk 

• 1 packet of cream cheese 

• 5 eggs

• 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract

Directions: 

1. Begin with putting a tray full of water inside the oven at 350 degrees.

2. Next put a pan on medium heat and add 2 cups of sugar to melt. This part can take a while. The sugar is ready when it is a light brown color and fully melted. 

3. Once the sugar is melted you add it to a baking container, like a fluted tube mold.

4. In a blender add 1 can of evaporated milk, 1 can of condensed milk, 1 cream cheese packet, 5 eggs and 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract. 

5. Finally, you blend these ingredients for 4 minutes and add it to the fluted tube mold. Use aluminum foil to cover it. Then you can put the tube mold into the tray inside the oven. Leave the flan to cook for 1 hour and 40 minutes. 

Enjoy this desert on its own or add berries as a topping to serve!

The Advocate team had a Friendsgiving on Nov. 29. We brought our favorite holiday-related dishes and played “Job Job” from Jackbox Games. Bruschetta and shepherd’s pie were a hit at our gathering, and so it feels right to share the recipes! 

Bruschetta

Ingredients for bruschetta:

• 4-5 Roma tomatoes 

• 2 tsp minced garlic 

• 2 tsp of salt

• 2 handfuls of fresh basil 

or 2 tbsp of basil paste 

• 1 French baguette 

• 1 cup balsamic vinegar, reduced 

• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 

Directions: 

1. Slice and toast bread in your oven until crisp and golden. Set aside. 

2. Set 3/4 cup of balsamic vinegar on stove and bring to a gentle boil, then simmer at a low temperature. Leave to reduce the balsamic until it’s a syrup consistency, around 1-2 hours. 

3. While the balsamic simmers, chop your tomatoes into fine pieces and place in a bowl. 

4. Once chopped, mix the salt into your bowl of tomatoes, and add the minced garlic. Set in fridge for a least 30 minutes to sweat – the salt will bring out the sweet flavors of the tomatoes.

5. Set your balsamic reduction aside to cool.

6. Add your chopped basil or paste into the tomatoes mix. 

7. Add half or less of your reduction to the tomatoes, the remaining into a squeeze bottle. 

8. Add olive oil and 1/4 cup of reduced balsamic to tomatoes.

 9. Plate your bruschetta by serving the tomato mix on top of your baguette rounds, with the reduction drizzled on top.

Shepherd’s Pie

Ingredients for shepherd’s pie:

• Potatoes 1 1/2 pounds (about 3) Yukon gold potatoes, fully peeled

• 2 ounces unsalted butter 

• 3/4 teaspoon table salt 

• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 

(Filling) 

• 2 tablespoons olive oil 

• 1 large carrot, peeled and diced 

• 2 cloves garlic, minced 

• 1 1/2 pounds ground lamb 

• 1 teaspoon kosher salt 

• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 

• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

• 1 teaspoon thyme 

• 1/2 cup fresh or frozen black current 

• 1/2 cup fresh or frozen peas 

Directions:

1. Cube the potatoes and cover with water in a medium saucepan. Cover saucepan with lid and heat until water boils, then remove lid and reduce to a simmer until potatoes are easily mashed. Turn heat off, then drain potatoes with colander or strainer, then return to saucepan. Melt butter in microwave. Mash potatoes and mix in butter, salt, and pepper. 

2. Coat frying pan with olive oil and set to medium heat. Sauté carrots for about 5 minutes, then add lamb, garlic, salt, and pepper.

3. Stir and cook lamb until fully brown. Reduce to simmer and cover for 10 minutes. 

4. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spread lamb mixture evenly on bottom of 11x 7-inch baking dish. Mix in peas, black current, Worcestershire sauce, thyme. Layer mashed potatoes on top and smooth with rubber spatula. Bake in oven 25 minutes, cool for 15-20 minutes.