I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas and is ready for the New Year! 🎄✨

I just got home after spending time with my family, which was so special. After years of non-traditional Christmases due to COVID and the past two years of being sick, we finally had the chance to enjoy the holidays together truly. A special shoutout to my mom for all the incredible food she made—I ate a crazy amount of delicious food every single day. 🍽️

Food is such a special way my family connects, bringing back so many memories. My mom continues to cook a lot of my grandma Titi’s recipes, and they always fill us with so much joy. One day, I hope to carry on all the same traditions my mom keeps alive. 💛

The past few weeks have been very busy with work and Christmas parties, but I’ve loved every moment of the holiday season. ✨Christmas time makes being in the kitchen so much fun. There are just too many good excuses to bake for family and friends. For the first time, H and I decided to make cookie boxes for our neighbors, friends, and family. We drove around and dropped them off, and I absolutely loved it! I think I’m going to make this a new tradition. I might even start testing cookies throughout the year to add to next year’s boxes. You did not want to see my kitchen after all the cookie-making chaos, though. 😅 Thankfully, it’s now back to its original clean state.

This past week was also Nico’s school holiday party, and I helped my sister by making desserts for it. Decorating is not my strength, but my sister and I brainstormed ideas; I gave it a shot and had so much fun!

She later sent me a picture of Nico at the party, and she told me he didn’t leave the dessert table. That made my day! 🥹 I’m happy to bake for all of Nico’s school parties—and someday for Lucia’s too. 💛

I also had a cooking session with my mom, where we tackled four recipes together. Let’s say… they didn’t turn out as planned! We laughed so much, joking that the best thing we had that day was the sourdough bread she bought. 😂

I tried lots of new recipes these past weeks too! I went to our local Japanese market and bought raw seafood to make crudo for the first time. I also made tuna crispy rice and honey walnuts from Brocc Your Body’s cookbook. For the first time, I experimented with other Asian-inspired recipes like mochi and rice paper dumplings.

On top of that, I found my go-to chicken parmesan recipe and so much more. In the past three weeks, I’ve made 37 recipes! I’ve added all of them to this post for you to check out.

As we wrap up 2024, I’ll be spending the last few days of the year reflecting on all the amazing recipes I’ve cooked and shared. I’ll be back in the New Year to highlight the best moments from this year in the kitchen and share my plans for what’s next.

Wishing you all a wonderful end to 2024 and a Happy New Year! 🎄✨May it be filled with delicious recipes and lots of food to enjoy with your loved ones!

Recipes Made So Far This Year:

Goal: To try seven new recipes each week 🗓️, aiming for 365 this year!

 Number of Recipes Made this Week: 15 ✅ (Week 49) + 10 ✅ (Week 50) + 12 ✅ (Week 51)

Number of New Recipes Tested as of 12/22: 450 🌟

Weeks Achieving Seven or More New Recipes: 49 out of 51

This Week’s Recipe Test Summary

Impress Someone🌟

Sicilian Pasta with Creamy Pistachio Sauce from Mangia Bedda🍝🌿
H said this might be one of his favorite recipes I’ve ever made! It’s so simple yet incredibly tasty. I’ve already made it four times… oops. 😅

Citrus Salmon Crudo from Seriously, So Good: Simple Recipes for a Balanced Life [Cookbook]🐟🍊
This dish looks impressive but is surprisingly easy to make—and so delicious! 

Spicy Tuna Crispy Rice from Seriously, So Good: Simple Recipes for a Balanced Life [Cookbook]🍣🍚
I’m a big fan of crispy rice! While I didn’t quite get the right consistency for the “fried” rice, H and I still loved it. I just need to figure out how to get the rice to stick better when frying.

Would Make Again 👍

Lemon Crinkle Cookies from Crate&Barrel by Dan Pelosi🍋🍪
I added these to the Christmas cookie boxes, and they were a hit. The lemony taste was so refreshing, and as you know, I’m a huge Grossy Pelosi fan.

Gingerbread Pancakes from NYTimes Cooking 🥞🎄
I made these for my cousin, Bicho, and we both enjoyed them. They’re perfect for cozy winter mornings!

Brown Butter Sugar Cookies from Sally’s Baking Recipes🍪✨
My sister gave these a 10/10, and they were the favorite dessert at Nico’s Christmas party. They looked festive and fun with sprinkles! 

Triple the Ginger Cookie from Allrecipes🍪🫚
Packed with crystallized ginger, fresh ginger, and ground ginger—this one is for serious ginger lovers.

Christmas Brownie Trees from Food Network 🎄🍫
I was nervous about this request for Nico’s party, but they turned out beautifully! My sister gave them an 8/10.

Christmas Rice Krispies Treat from Dash for Dinner 🍚🎄
I found the Christmas-themed Rice Krispies at Target, and these looked so festive! My sister gave them a 9/10.

Coconut Cake from Barefoot Contessa🥥🍰
My friend Emma requested this for our girl’s Posada, and everyone loved it. It’s a keeper!

Polvorones from Chipinita (my grandma’s sister ❤️)
This recipe is amazing, but I need to perfect it. My sister thought they were too soft, so I’ll test it with my mom next time.

Sizzling Beef Bulgogi Tacos from Smitten Kitchen EVERY DAY [Cookbook] by Deb Perelman🌮🔥
I had leftover ground beef and other ingredients at home, so I scaled this down for one serving. These tacos were so flavorful and easy to make!

Potato Leek Soup from NYTimes Cooking 🥔🧄
I made this with my mom, and while she and I were a bit critical, my dad gave it a solid 10/10. Definitely worth making again.

Best Chicken Parmesan from America’s Test Kitchen 🍗🧀
This brought back memories of my college dorm chicken parm! It’s a gem of a recipe and will be on repeat for sure.

Broccoli Mashed Potatoes from @maxiskitchen | Instagram Reel 🥦🥔
My sister sent me this one—it’s so simple and a great way to sneak in greens with your carbs.

Would Not Make Again 👎

These recipes didn’t live up to expectations or weren’t to my taste

Frozen Immunity Cubes from Kale Junkie | Instagram Reel 🍊🍋
My sister shared this one, but blending the fruit with the peel gave it a weird taste.

Pistachio Chia Pudding (Blended) from Avocado Skillet🥜🥣
Oops, I honestly don’t remember much about this one!

Almond Milk from Nourish: Simple Recipes to Empower Your Body and Feed Your Soul: A Healthy Lifestyle Cookbook by Gisele Bündchen🥛🌰
My blender broke while making this, so I had to redo it with a new one. I think there are better recipes out there.

Turmeric Morning Glory Smoothie from Get Inspired Everyday🍹🧡
Just okay—not a standout.

Miso, Ginger, and Miso Roasted Honeynut Squash from @caitlinjesson | Instagram Reel 🍯🍠
My sister and I didn’t enjoy this one at all.

Shredded Cauliflower and Squash Salad with Apple Butter Tahini Dressing from plant-basedRD🥗🍎
The salad was good, but the dressing wasn’t for me.

BA’s Best Bolognese from Bon Appétit by Andy Baraghani | Youtube Video 

I prefer Weeknight Tagliatelle with Bolognese Sauce from America’s Test Kitchen. It is very tasty and freezes well.

Healthy Thai Basil Chicken Rice Paper Dumpling from @maxiskitchen | Instagram Reel 🍗🥢
These were fun to make but didn’t wow me.

Cucumber Salad with Soy, Ginger and Garlic from NYTimes Cooking 🥒🍶
This was highly rated, but it just wasn’t for me.

Lemon and Garlic Chicken with Cherry Tomatoes from NYTimes Cooking 🍋🍗🍅
Another highly rated recipe that fell short of expectations.

Crisp Thin Pizza from America’s Test Kitchen 🍕
A classic Chicago thin crust, but I expected more flavor from the dough.

Kung Pao Chicken from The Woks of Life 🌶️🍗 
It was just okay—nothing remarkable.

Honey Walnut Shrimp from Seriously, So Good: Simple Recipes for a Balanced Life [Cookbook]🍤🍯
My kitchen smelled like this for two days.

Crispy Orange Beef from America’s Test Kitchen 🍊🐄
H thought the beef was chewy instead of crispy.

Leek and Cheddar Lunch Toast from @samanthainperson | Instagram Reel 🧀🍞
Decent but could be better.

Garlic-and-Herb Cheese + Potatoes with Pasta Mista from Anything's Pastable: 81 Inventive Pasta Recipes for Saucy People [Cookbook] 🧄🧀
Too much going on—less would be more.

Cook’s Illustrated’s Blondies from Food52🍫
The walnuts gave them an odd, seed-oil-like taste.

Lemon Poppy Seed Cake from The Cookie That Changed My Life [Cookbook] by Nancy Silverton🍋🍰
My mom and I both found it underwhelming.

The Best Mochi Recipe from Keeping it Relle 🥮
The texture was perfect, but the coconut milk flavor was overpowering. 

Brown Butter Baklava Rice Krispies Treats from @saturdaytable🍚🍯
The orange blossom flavor was too strong for my taste.

Gingerbread Spice Dutch Baby by Jen Hatmaker 🍳🎄
I can’t get past the eggy taste and texture of Dutch baby recipes.

Peppermint Brownie Cookies from NYTimes Cooking 🍪🌿
Too much peppermint flavor—it was overwhelming.

Better Than Anything Toffee from Mom on Timeout🍬
The toffee turned out too buttery for me, though it might just be personal preference since it was my first time making toffee.

I’d love to hear your thoughts, suggestions, or any recipe requests you might have. Just respond directly to this email.

See you next week. Keep cooking! 👋 

Vale from ValeCooks