Taquito New Year's Party

When I was nineteen, Santa gave me some cash for Christmas, instead of the usual mall gift certificates he'd been accustomed to bringing in my teenage years. I got on the phone the next day and booked a flight to visit my friend Holly in San Francisco for New Year's. No way was that cash going to sit in my pocket! Holly was my gorgeous Michelle Pfeiffer look alike friend with the sweetest laugh, like a bird and a Disney princess and a sunshiney birthday party, exactly the opposite of my goose-honking guffaws. Although we jetted around San Francisco all week long in our Cavaricci jeans, the thing I remember best about my New Year's visit was the taquitos. Taquitos. Oh, mama. Holly's family had the tradition of eating them on New Year's Eve. She told me how to make them and sent me on my way, and you better believe we've had them every New Year's since. (Holly's family -which now includes her five children and husband in NYC-even had them for Christmas Eve this year, too.) And the trend is spreading, I'll tell you. Once you've been to a New Year's taquito party, you just see if anything else will suffice for ringing in the New Year. (Pictured are baked (instead of fried) chicken taquitos with grapefruit salsa.)

First of all you'll need a filling. Begining in November, I make extra pot roasts, shreded chicken, etc knowing that these babies will be waiting in the freezer until the last night of the year. But don't worry if you didn't start in November, it's still not too late. I'm making some today too, since I make approximately 300 for my giant Italian family. My favorite fillings are green chili chicken, and a red chili beef, but I also do a vegetarian filling with black beans, mushrooms, jalapeno, etc. You'll need about 2 scant tablespoons of filling for each taquito. Heat corn tortillas on a dry hot griddle, or in the microwave between damp paper towels. Wrap the tortillas in a dish towel to keep them hot. Then place the filling inside the tortilla and roll it up and place it on a cookie sheet. Place the finished taquitos in the freezer. After a couple of hours, separate them and place them in zip top baggies back in the freezer, where they will patiently wait until needed. On New Year's night, you fry them in hot oil (or you can brush them with oil and bake them like the ones above) until golden brown and crispy and serve them with guacamole, salsa, and sour cream. And then you wake up on New Year's Day and repeat. And repeat. Indefinitely. And you'll think you're starting the New Year in paradise.
Trust me; you'll love them. Leave a comment with a taquito testimonial if you've had them before!

And as for Christmas...

Here's a mural that the two charges painted, just in case Santa lost his way in a snow storm....

And my little boy, fast asleep, dreaming about the zero gravity car that he was sure he was getting....

And walking over for Christmas breakfast at Grandma's house

And checking out the loot with their cousin A

And in costume for our annual sincere and scrappy Nativity.

Did I tell you what I got from the man in red? A Latin primer. Ergo, I'd better get started conjugating. I got the Quiet Man the complete collection of Sherlock Holmes. Elementary, my dear Watson. I can't wait to get my hands on that, too. Hope you all had a wonderful holiday and continue to enjoy it all week, month, and year long.

See you tomorrow with Mile High Cheesecake!