I get to a point during the holiday season when the heavy meals begin to weigh me down. Overwhelmed, I reach for simpler foods closer to the earth. A trip to the farmer's market usually does the trick. There, I found a beautiful butternut squash, more yellowish in color. I wanted to showcase the delicate flavor of the squash without overwhelming it, so I came up with this simple broth. Not too sweet nor spiced, this is the perfect winter soup. It relies on the hardiness of the squash for its texture, rather than heavy creams or butter. Serve on a cold night with a nice crusty bread or a salad, it's perfect for dinner in pj's by the fireplace.

Every Latin culture has their salsa. While more common in the States is the red tomato based stuff, this is the everyday salsa of my household: onion salsa. Heat is optional, but a little yellow hot pepper goes a long way. Try it on top of meats (excellent on canned tuna) and starchy foods like corn, potatoes, or yuca (shown above).

Even though I live in the North East I've never experienced a white Christmas. That's because every year I travel to visit my family in Miami. I'm not complaining, I love a tropical Noche Buena. As far back as I can remember, my entire family gets together on Christmas Eve and my uncle roasts a whole pig in a make-shift box out in the yard. Caja China we call it, it's a Cuban tradition we adopted from his in-laws. Roasting the pig takes about 12 hrs so there's usually a barrage of snacks and goodies to feast on prior to the main course.

This year, I offered to bring an apple pie to the party; however, while out in my mother's yard I was inspired by her bitter orange tree. Like a phoenix, the tree managed to rise again from a stump when local authorities had previously chopped it down due to the citrus canker hysteria rampant in South Florida.

Rather than using lemon, I used bitter orange with a bit of Triple Sec. I actually enjoy bitter orange juice, it's like orange juice with the sugar content dropped down a notch. I left the apples to soak in the juice for about an hour, mainly because my mother was using the oven; however, the result was stupendous: sweet, tart, and boozy- apples with an orange twang. Perfect for Christmas in Miami.