There was this one time that I made a beautiful batch of Earl Grey sugar cookies, photographed them, waxed eloquently about them in my food column and then absentmindedly omitted the 1 1/4 cup of sugar required in the list of ingredients.
Oh, yeah. That was last week.
The emails poured in. "Sugarless sugar cookies," one clever reader called them. Some readers caught the error midrecipe and emailed me asking for help before they could finish baking. Others made the recipe without sugar and the result was, as one reader aptly put it, inedible. Facepalm. I couldn't believe I had made such a huge mistake. I've been developing recipes for years and I can assure you that this sugar cookie debacle will go down in infamy. I apologized profusely, one email at a time.
Just as it is one of my greatest joys in life to hear that you love one of my recipes, it breaks my heart when one of my recipes fails. This particular note from a reader redeemed my week:
Dear Maya,
I am happy to report a MUCH better outcome with the correct recipe. I prepared another batch this afternoon and presented them to my wife with a cup of tea. The combination was delicious. You've restored my faith in your recipes.
John from Anchorage
This week, I have for you my trusty recipe for homemade fajita seasoning. Break out your cast-iron skillet, grab a pound of your favorite fajita protein -- like shrimp, chicken or thinly sliced steak -- slice some bell peppers and onions, and sizzle it all together in the pan with this irresistible seasoning mix. I like to serve my fajitas in warm flour tortillas with a squeeze of lime and a dollop of sour cream, and finished with fresh cilantro and ripe avocado slices. If you like your fajitas on the spicier side, add a pinch of cayenne pepper or chipotle chili powder to the mix and customize it to your liking.
Homemade fajita seasoning
Yields 1 batch of fajitas, easily doubled
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon paprika (I used smoked paprika)
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin
To a small bowl, add the cornstarch, chili powder, paprika, sugar, salt, onion and garlic powders, and cumin. Stir to combine. Store in an airtight jar until ready to use.
Maya Wilson lives in Kenai and blogs about food at alaskafromscratch.com. Have a food question or recipe request? Email maya@alaskafromscratch.com and your inquiry may appear in a future column.