Feliz Navidad Fiesta

Earlier this week, I had the great pleasure to cook for some very friendly folks at a party hosted by local homebuilder Caleb McCaleb. We had a great time. I prepared Salpicon, a favorite in El Paso, Brie and chicken quesadillas, guacamole, and two kinds of salsa. For dessert, we had Smore Bars with Dark Chocolate Gravy Here are the recipes:

Salpicon

1 12 pound brisket

1 onion

6 cloves garlic

2 carrots

2 celery stalks

2 cups beef broth

1 stick butter

1 tablespoon salt

1 tablespoon black pepper

2 cups olive oil

1 cup white wine vinegar

1 7 oz. can chipotle in adobo

Juice of 1 lime

2 cups diced cheddar cheese

1 cups diced green onion

Preheat oven to 225 degrees. Place brisket fat side up in a roasting pan with onion, garlic, celery and carrots. Put the stick of butter on top of the brisket and seal the top with foil. Cook 10 hours or until internal temperatures is 180 degrees. Let cool an hour then shred into fine ribbons.

Mix oil, vinegar, chipotle and lime into a vinaigrette.

Combine all ingredients and serve in warm tortillas, tortilla cups or wonton cups.

Chicken and brie quesadillas

16 oz. brie, peeled and diced

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, diced into 1/4-inch cubes