Official State Cookie

(photographer's note: 2 Canon 580 EX II speedlights did the trick for these treats. One was bounced off a 14 ft ceiling at +2 power, the other was bounced off a card and the wall behind the cookies. A little bit of "cross processing" in Photoshop finished up the final photo...)

The official state coookie of New Mexico is the biscochito. We tried our hand at making a few dozen of these sweet little anise and cinnamon spiked treats to give as gifts to our family and friends (read that as, my partner did the rolling, kneading, cutting and baking, I sampled the brandy and got in the way).

These cookies are popular during holidays, weddings, parties and are commonly devoured with a side of milk.

Little did I know that New Mexico was the first state to have an "official state cookie". Undoubtedly, this is yet another reason New Mexico is known as the "Land of Enchantment".

No worries though, these cookies don't have the same storied past as the posole from yesterday.

Enchantment in a Bowl - The Other White Meat

(photographer’s note: It was really difficult to capture this dish without making it look like a congealed bowl of crap. The secret is in the lighting. Or... perhaps... the sauce...)

I love New Mexico for a number of reasons. The dish above is one of those reasons. When it comes to local food, posole or “pozole” definitely tops my list of favorites. This is a traditional Native American/Mexican dish and can be found in any number of New Mexican style restaurants or someone's grandma's kitchen. Posole is a spicy, meaty combination that can clear your sinuses, intestional tract and anything else that may be stopped up and is a favorite during the winter months.

This was take-out, not homemade. One of these days I’ll snag a recipe and give it a try. Maybe…

Interesting side note from Wikipedia: According to research by the National Institute of Anthropology and History and UNAM, during special rituals and occasions in the distant past, the meat used to cook the pozole was human. After prisoners were killed by tearing their hearts out in a ritual sacrifice, the rest of the body was chopped and cooked with corn; the meal was shared among the whole community as an act of religious communion. After the conquest, when cannibalism was banned, pork became the staple meat, as it "tasted very similar", according to a Spanish priest.

(you know, I do love Wikipedia. I couldn't make this stuff up if I tried...)