Brisket and Bagels Celebrates It’s One Year Birthday

This past week Brisket and Bagels celebrated it’s first birthday. If you’re a devoted follower or just viewing the site for the first time, I want to say thank you for stopping by. Here’s a recap of highlights from the last 52 weeks.

Top Recipes

The most viewed post has been my Creamy Jalapeño Salsa recipe. This fiery and creamy salsa was inspired by Tacodeli’s Doña sauce, a salsa that has a cult following. The recipe is actually deceptively easy and requires only a handful of ingredients. Despite Tacodeli claiming that the secret recipe is tightly guarded, I’ve come up with an almost identical version. The other posts that round out the top three include Slow Cooker Mexican Braised Beef recipe and my post for the Austin Food Blogger Alliance, City Guide 2015 about Where To Eat Meat In Austin. Now that football season is upon us, I’ve been craving wings and will be making one of my own personal favorites, the Asian Wings with Crispy Onion Crumbs.

Best in Show

In July the Mohawk hosted the 5th Annual Quesoff here in Austin. We were honored with the best-in-show award for a creative Kimcheez Queso. It was quite a shock to take home top honors as competitors included the likes of Tacodeli, Frank’s, Mighty Bird, and Freedmen’s Bar amongst others including talented home cooks. You can read more about our Quesoff V win here.

Publication and Press

In the September edition of Austin Monthly, Brisket and Bagel’s was named a must follow and best “Up-and-Comer” food Instagram account in Austin.

It was also fun to see some of my photos in the Austin Statesman’s Austin 360 edition print and online editions.

Food Photography

I quickly learned that I like taking pictures of food just as much as I like cooking and eating it. My only training has been a few online courses but you can see the progression over time. Below is a comparison from some of my earlier posts (on the left) and some more recent food photos (right).

Looking Forward

I’m looking forward to what the next year has in store. You’ll still be able to count on original creative recipes and next week I’ll be sharing my secrets for making homemade pizza. In October the Texas State Fair comes to Dallas and I’ll be road tripping to check out all the outrageous eats. In November I’ll be attending the Texas Monthly BBQ Fest which will feature some of the best BBQ joints in the state and will share mouth watering pictures of smoked meat.