Asian Style Braised Short Ribs

This past Christmas I received a cookbook from my aunt featuring recipes from several Food Network Stars.  The short ribs is just one of the many recipes by Emeril that caught my eye.  I personally loved these.  The meat literally fell off the bones.  My daughter enjoyed it as well but thought they were just a bit too sweet for her taste.

I don’t eat a lot of beans, but these are very tasty.  This is also an excellent way to use that left over ham bone with all the bits of meat stuck to it from Thanksgiving dinner.

Borracho Beans

Ingredients

3 c. pinto beans
3 qt. water
1 lb. bacon diced and cooked till crisp
1 lg. onion diced
1 bunch green onions chopped
3 roma tomatoes diced
1 c. cilantro chopped
2 jalepenos sliced
3 garlic cloves minced
1 beer (optional)
salt and pepper to taste
vinegar to taste (around 2-3 T)

Instructions
Sort through the beans, discarding small rocks, debris, and broken pieces.  Place in a large bowl and rinse several times.  Put beans into a clean bowl of water to soak overnight.  Drain beans, boil 3 qt. of water and add beans (add ham bone if you have one).  Boil for about 2-3 hrs. or till beans start to soften.  Add garlic, onions, tomatoes, cilantro, peppers, bacon with grease, beer, salt & pepper and vinegar.  Cook for about 30 min. longer.  I like to serve over rice.

I love cheesecake, of course not with fruit, but Brian requested a strawberry cheesecake.  I figured I could satisfy both of our tastes so I decided on a New York Style Cheesecake found at Martha’s.  This cheesecake was wonderfully creamy and delicious.

New York Style Cheesecake adapted from Martha Stewart

Ingredients

Makes one 10-inch cake

• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pans
• One 9-ounce package chocolate wafer cookies, finely crushed (about 2 cups)
• 2 1/4 cups sugar
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 3 pounds (six 8-ounce packages) cream cheese, room temperature
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup sour cream, room temperature
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 5 large eggs

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter the sides of a 10-inch springform pan. Wrap exterior of pan (including base) in a double layer of foil. Melt 6 tablespoons butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Place crushed wafer cookies and 3 tablespoons sugar in a large bowl; stir until well combined. Pour melted butter over cookie mixture and mix until evenly moistened. Press mixture evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan.
2. Place pan on a baking sheet. Bake until crust is set, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack to cool completely.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese on medium speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes, scraping down sides as needed. In a large bowl, whisk together remaining 2 1/4 cups sugar and flour. With mixer on low speed, gradually add sugar mixture to cream cheese; mix until smooth. Add sour cream and vanilla; mix until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until just combined; do not overmix.
4. Pour cream cheese filling into prepared pan. Set pan inside a large, shallow roasting pan. Carefully ladle boiling water into roasting pan to reach halfway up sides of springform pan. Bake 45 minutes; reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees. Continue baking until cake is set but still slightly wobbly in the center, about 30 minutes more. Turn off oven; leave cake in oven with door slightly ajar, 1 hour. Transfer pan to a wire rack; let cake cool completely. Refrigerate, uncovered, at least 6 hours or overnight. Before unmolding, run a knife around the edge of the cake.

The recipe calls for a 10 in. springform pan, but since I only have 8 in.  I was also able to make 2 mini cheesecakes and cheesecake bars.  For the mini cheesecakes, I put sliced strawberries that were mixed with a bit of agave in between the cookie crust and filling.  This made the crust a bit soggy so next time I’ll just mix the strawberries in with the filling.  As for the bars, I used the crust recipe found here and topped off with the extra leftover filling.  These turned out to be just as good as Baking Bites ‘Vanilla Bean Cheesecake Bars’, which I’ve made before and devoured instantly.

Crust adapted from Baking Bites ‘Vanilla Bean Cheesecake Bars’
1/3 cup sugar (pref. vanilla sugar)
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking pan (or used the Baker’s Edge).
Begin by making the crust. In a large bowl, cream together sugar and butter, until smooth and fluffy. Working at a low speed, gradually beat in flour and salt until mixture is crumbly. Press evenly into prepared pan and bake for 15-17 minutes.

The picture below is Brian’s slice with extra strawberries on top.

I had some leftover shrimp that I needed to cook before they went bad.  So I decided to make Coconut Shrimp.  Once the shrimp is prepared and everything is in place, it is pretty simple to put together.

Coconut Shrimp

1 lb. shrimp peeled, deveined, butterflied
1 c. flour
1 T. cornstarch
1/2 t. cayenne
1/2 t. garlic powder
1/2 t. onion powder
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper
1 egg beaten
2 c. shredded coconut
2 c. oil for frying (I used coconut oil)

Directions

In a bowl, mix flour, cornstarch, cayenne, garlic & onion powder, salt and pepper.  In another bowl lightly beat egg.  Put the coconut into a third bowl.  Heat oil in a med. sized saucepan so that when you drop a piece of coconut into oil it should start to sizzle.  Dip shrimp into flour mixture, then into egg mixture, and lastly coat completely with the coconut.  Gently drop shrimp into oil and cook till golden brown.  When shrimp is cooked, put onto a plate lined with paper towels to soak up the excess oil.

Several years ago Brian and I took a trip to Fredericksburg, TX with family.  I absolutely loved it there.  We spent the day browsing the local shops and wine tasting at several vineyards.  While at one of the local bakeries, I sampled a chocolate cake that was just to die for.  Ever since then, I have been on the search for my version of a perfect chocolate cake.  I didn’t want just a simple chocolate cake, I also wanted a brownie layer, and a chocolate mousse layer.  I found such a cake here.  I used the brownie base recipe (I added 3 oz. more chocolate than called for) and mousse recipe.  However, I used Hershey’s “Perfectly Chocolate” Chocolate Cake with the “Perfectly Chocolate” Chocolate Frosting.  My craving is now satisfied.

Brownie base
5/8 cup (1/2 cup + 2Tbsp) cake flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
6 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped fine
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/8 cups sugar
2 large eggs, room temp
2 tsp vanilla extract

Chocolate mousse filling
6 oz semisweet chocolate, broken into 1/2-ounce pieces
1 7/8 cups heavy cream
1 Tbsp granulated sugar

To make the brownie base:
1. Adjust oven rack to middle position; heat oven to 325 degrees. Cut parchment paper to fit the bottom and line the sides of a 9-inch springform pan. Spray lined pan with nonstick cooking spray.

2. Whisk to combine flour, salt, and baking powder in medium bowl; set aside.

3. Melt chocolate and butter in large heatproof bowl set over saucepan of almost-simmering water, stirring occasionally, until smooth. (Alternatively, in microwave, heat butter and chocolate in large microwave-safe bowl on high for 45 seconds, then stir and heat for 30 seconds more. Stir again, and, if necessary, repeat in 15-second increments; do not let chocolate burn.)

4. When chocolate mixture is completely smooth, remove bowl from saucepan and gradually whisk in sugar. Add eggs on at a time, whisking after each addition until thoroughly combined. Whisk in vanilla. Add flour mixture in two additions, folding with rubber spatula until batter is completely smooth and homogeneous.

5. Transfer batter to prepared pan; using a small off-set spatula or bench scraper, spread batter evenly and smooth the surface. Bake until toothpick or wooden skewer inserted into center of brownies comes out with few moist crumbs attached, 25-30 minutes. Cool on wire rack to room temperature, about 1 hour (do not remove the springform ring or parchment collar).

To make the Chocolate mousse filling:
1. Place stand mixer bowl and whisk attachment in the freezer or fridge.

2. Heat 1-inch of water in the bottom half of a double boiler over medium heat. Place the semisweet chocolate in the top half of the double boiler. Tightly cover the top with film wrap and allow to heat for 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir until smooth. Transfer the melted chocolate to a stainless steel bowl and set aside until needed. (I used the microwave method to melt chocolate then set aside to cool.)

3. Place heavy cream and sugar in the well-chilled bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a well-chilled whisk attachment. Whisk on high until stiff peaks form, about 1 1/2 minutes. Remove the bowl from the mixer.

4. By hand, whisk to combine 1/4 of the whipped cream into the melted chocolate until smooth and completely incorporated. Add the combined whipped cream and chocolate to the remaining whipped cream and use a rubber spatula to fold together.

Hershey’s “Perfectly Chocolate” Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans.

2. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pans.

3. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. Frost with “PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE” CHOCOLATE FROSTING. 10 to 12 servings.

“PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE” CHOCOLATE FROSTING

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine
2/3 cup HERSHEY’S Cocoa
3 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Melt butter. Stir in cocoa. Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating to spreading consistency. Add small amount additional milk, if needed. Stir in vanilla. About 2 cups frosting.