My sweet little Maggie has the strangest taste in food for a 6 year old. She refuses to eat pizza with red sauce, has to be garlic sauce. Devours mac and cheese with winter squash in it. Will eat any edible flower because it "tastes good and has to be magical". She will also not touch anything with potatoes, what kind of kid does not like french fries or mashed potatoes?! I do not know why but I have taken this on as a challenge so I am always looking for ways to trick her into eating potatoes. Well, I failed with her taking the bait on this one but everyone loved these eggs in a nest. 
Ingredients;

• 3 potatoes
• 2 carrots
• 1 tbs grated turmeric
• 1/2 c cheddar cheese
• eggs
• salt & pepper

Instructions;

• Preheat oven to 475
• Grate the potatoes and carrots. Wrap them in a smooth non fuzzy kitchen towel and squeeze out as much moisture as you can. The less moisture the better they will cook. 
• Place everything potatoes, carrots, turmeric, cheese, salt & pepper in a mixing bowl and combine.
• Coat a regular size muffin tin with cooking spray. Fill each muffin tin with the mixture then push down the middle and up the sides. These will cook down so don't worry about it looking like too much. 
• Bake for 13 minutes and the edges begin to brown.
• Remove from oven and lower the heat to 350. Crack an egg in each of the nests. For medium eggs bake for 13 minutes.
• When it is done use a butter knife on the sides and then slowly remove from the muffin tin and onto a plate. 

When I was growing up we spent many Christmas' in Tahoe. My dad would wake us up early on Christmas morning and rush us through opening Santa's presents, load us in the car and make the drive to spend the day skiing. When the ski lifts would begin to shut down and we were wet, cold and exhausted we would get back into the car and drive all the way home. It is not common for restaurants to be open on Christmas night so our dinner consisted of Denny's where my brother and sister and I would feast on a grilled cheese sandwich. We still talk about it 30 years later laughing about it and I wouldn't change it for the world but at the time what we really wanted was to wake up on Christmas, open our presents and enjoy the day playing with our new toys and end the night with a normal Christmas dinner. 
For the majority of my twenties I lived in Tahoe and that meant combining those childhood memories with what we actually wanted at the time. One year stayed in Reno and went out for a nice dinner. My dad ordered shanks for dinner and still to this day talks about how that was one of the best meals he ever ate. When my parents recently came to visit us I knew I had to make him shanks. I was so excited and the pressure was on for the perfect recipe. When I told him he then just talked about how the Reno dinner was the best and nothing could top it. The challenge was on! That night I created one of the best meals I have ever made and for weeks every time I talked to him on the phone he brought it up. This recipe is not hard or super time consuming and it doesn't call for technical fancy cooking techniques. What makes it fabulous is the quality of ingredients. With the wine use a wine that you would enjoy drinking. Fresh local vegetables, quality meat and good conversation around the table will give you a meal your family or friends will be talking about for a long time.

Ingredients;

• Beef shanks bone in
• Flour to coat shanks in
• olive oil
• Diced onion
• Diced carrot
• Diced fennel (you can use celery instead but I prefer fennel)
• 2 tbs tomato paste
• 1 c red wine
• 4 c beef or bone broth (homemade is best)
• fresh rosemary and thyme (can use dry if you do not have fresh on hand)
• rough chopped garlic
• Salt & pepper

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees
• With a kitchen towel pat dry the shanks then salt and pepper them and coat in flour.
• Heat olive oil in a large dutch oven or large stock pot. When the oil is really really hot add the shanks and brown each side. This should be about 2-3 minutes on each side. Remove when browned and set aside.
• Add the carrots, onions and fennel to the pot and sauté on medium until softened. Add the garlic and sauté about 30 seconds being careful not to burn.
• Add the tomato sauce and combine with the veggies. Then add the beef stock, red wine, herbs and your beef shanks.
• Cover the pot with a lid and place in the oven for three hours.
• After the shanks are done cooking very carefully remove them from the pot trying not to let them fall apart. Put the pot on the stovetop over low and allow the sauce to simmer and reduce. 

If I were to say ramen most people associate that with the sodium infused 10 cents a packet broke college student staple. That is not ramen. It is so delicious with a rich deep broth and everything just comes together in this beautiful way. The broth can take a long time to develop those perfect flavors but I think I have discovered a way to come in a quick second with this recipe. It looks like a lot of work but it honestly does not take that long to put together, If you are a meal planner I recommend marinating the egg overnight but it is not mandatory. If you do not like boiled eggs they can be replaced with a poached or fried egg as well. The real key to this recipe being a success is quality ingredients. Try making your own bone broth and the difference will be quite noticeable. The beef and beef broth can be replaced with chicken and chicken broth or the meat can be omitted completely. If there are ingredients you do not like they can be replaced with something else or left out. Be sure not to cook noodles with the broth otherwise it will affect the flavor.
Ramen Recipe;
Ingredients;

• 1 tbs sesame oil
• Chopped onion
• Minced garlic
• Minced ginger
• Chopped fennel or celery (I prefer fennel)
• 1 tbs chili garlic sauce
• 1/2 tbs fish sauce
• 1/2 c soy sauce
• 1/4 c rice vinegar
• sliced mushrooms
• Flank steak or carne asada
• 4 c bone or beef broth
• Bok choi or greens of your choice
• 1 package noodles such as udon or soba
• Toppings of your choice such as scallions, cilantro, lime or red chili flakes.

Instructions

• Heat oil in a large pot or dutch oven. Add the onion, mushrooms and fennel until they are soft. Add the garlic and ginger for about 30 seconds being careful not to burn them.
• Cook noodles according to package instructions.
• Add the broth and 1 cup of water, soy sauce, vinegar, fish sauce and chili sauce. Stir together, bring to boil then reduce heat to a simmer. 
• While broth is simmering grill the steak to medium rare. When done slice very thin then add to the broth. 
• In the last 5 minutes of cooking add the box choi. 
• To serve place noodles in bowl then pour the broth over them. Place a ramen egg in the bowl and any toppings you choose.

Ramen Egg

• Soft boil as many eggs as you want to serve then immediately place in an ice bath for 20 minutes. 
• Whisk together 1/4 c soy sauce, 1/4 c rice vinegar and 1/2 c water. Place egg in the mixture making sure eggs are covered. Put in fridge overnight.