It has became our tradition to celebrate our Christmas with New Mexican food. Posole, the holiday hominy and pork stew is the anchor for this holiday meal and this year I also made a traditional New Mexican style chicken enchilada with red sauce. I made the red sauce from dried red chile pods and it took the enchiladas to the next level. I also learned a lesson from my mistake. I did not fry the corn tortillas long enough and by the time I plated them, they were falling apart. Timing is so important. You should not fry too long otherwise it will become tortilla chips and you can't roll it. But if you don't fry long enough, the tortilla can't hold its shape.

Every year I have two big Christmas projects: sending out a creative seasonal card, and making a batch of Christmas cookies for gifts (and snacking). This is the best way to show our gratitude to our co-workers, friends, family and someone who helps you a lot. Unlike gifts you purchase, you put your time and effort into baking so it is always very special.

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We managed to squeeze in one holiday party with our friends a week ago and we had such a wonderful time. I made a slow roasted pork shoulder. I like to make braised meat for the big dinner party because I can manage to make everything else while the meat is cooking in the oven and it never fails to impress. It is a very reliable dish. The recipe I used requires salting the meat from over up to 3 days and roasting it at 300F for about 5 hours. I served the meat with sweet potato gnocchi with brown sage butter. It was such a wonderful winter comfort food.

I have been waiting for this season to arrive so that I have an excuse to make a huge turkey. The farmer's market at 14th & U Street in front of my house took turkey orders several weeks in advance and then delivered fresh turkeys on the Saturday before Thanksgiving. As you know, brining a turkey for 24 hours is the only way to ensure a juicy turkey. Other than that, the rest of the process was quite easy.

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