strawberry puff pastry w/ white chocolate ganache

I know I just posted a post on strawberry shortcake BUT let me explain. Remember when I did the devil's food cake with crunchy cream cheese-peanut butter filling & chocolate ganache? And then did a 'white' version or as I like to call his evil twin? Well I did the same thing here. After doing a decadent strawberry shortcake with chocolate ganache and fresh whipped cream I just had to make one with white chocolate ganache. Ok, and the other reason is I love strawberry shortcake a little too much and wanted to mix it up a notch by using a puff pastry this time. Puff pastry goes really well as a base for strawberry shortcake? You knew this right? Good. Because to honest I hadn't used puff pastry for strawberry shortcake.... yet. Why did I this time? Well, it was 90 degrees outside with 5000% humidity, and the last thing I wanted to do was roll dough out, sweat off 10 pounds, wait for it to bake (and bake while the oven was on) and then have dishes to wash. So I used those little frozen puff pastry cups, baked them for 15 minutes and voila we have fancy schmancy shortcakes.
The whipped cream looks like crap because it was 5000% humidity and the whipping cream wasn't cooperating. Well, OK I forgot to chill the bowl and beaters before whipping the cream, I know BAD girl bad. So please excuse my crappy whipped cream in the photo.
No money shot this time as I had hungry people waiting impatiently to devour this.

To make this strawberry shortcake:
print recipe

for the strawberries:
½ pound strawberries, washed, hulled & chopped
2 TB white sugar
1 TB fresh lemon juice
a splash or two of pure vanilla extract (champagne is good too)
It’s best to get the strawberries done first as you want them to sit for a while at room temp before serving. I like to let mine sit for at least an hour or two before serving (room temp).

white chocolate ganache:
by dawn
a small saucepan or double boiler
14 ounces white chocolate, coarsely chopped
½ cup heavy cream
½ tsp vanilla extract
1-2 TB butter

(you can halve this recipe as this makes a lot). Melt white chocolate, heavy cream, and extract over a double boiler. Do not boil. You need to stir this A LOT. It will take a long time before it gets to a thick consistency. Now if you want a little bit of shine to your Ganache add some butter into it just after you take it off the heat. When it’s melted then add butter and take off heat immediately. Stir to combine butter completely. Keep stirring. And stirring. I like to let my Ganache sit a bit before using; the longer it sits the thicker it gets.

whipped cream:
place your whipping bowl and the beaters in the freezer at least ½ hour before using. This is good for keeping the whipped cream nice and cold.
I use about ½ cup of whipping cream, beat till almost whipped, then add in a couple splashes of pure vanilla extract, then resume whipping till done.

to assemble:
take a baked puff pastry cup, fill with marinated strawberries, then top with the warm chocolate ganache, then top with the freshly whipped cream, then devour! The puff pastry cups do not keep well overnight, so it's best to eat them right up, but I think you have no problems with that.

asian beef short ribs over warm balsamic potato salad

Would you believe this is my first time making beef short ribs? I can't believe it either. I don't know why I haven't used these sooner because they are the perfect sponges for sauces. I remember always passing them by at Whole Foods thinking what the heck am I gonna do with those? They don't look very meaty to me, and to be honest they really don't. They look all fatty, but underneath all that fatty is the hidden gem of tender meat. Really tender. The only downfall is they are not cheap--very expensive, but it was worth it. A meal you won't soon forget. And as I said before they are the perfect vessel for sauces, and you all know how I love my sauce.
Please bear with me, I think I got all the ingredients for the ribs; I kind of used what came to mind and/or what it needed as I went along. But you're all smart little foodies and know to taste your sauce as you go along and see what it needs, right? Good.

asian beef short ribs
by vanillasugarblog.com
print recipe

1 cup soy sauce
1 cup packed light brown sugar
4 TB sesame oil
4 TB ketchup (oh yeah, gourmet time)
4 TB rice vinegar
4 TB minced fresh ginger
About 5 cloves of garlic, minced
1 ts red pepper flakes
4 - 5 lbs beef short ribs

Preheat oven to 260 degrees.
Mix soy sauce, sugar, oil, vinegar, ginger, garlic and red pepper in a bowl.
Place ribs in a dutch oven and pour sauce over.
Cover and cook about 4 hours, then move them around a bit, cook for another hour with the cover off. Check to see if they are done (the meat should be really tender and falling off bones, if not, just cook a bit longer).
Remove ribs from crockpot. And at this point I like to make a reduction sauce using the sauce along with a bit more brown sugar & ketchup (taste as you go along and add what you think it needs); reduce till nice and thick. (this should be enough for four people).

warm balsamic potato salad

4 large potatoes (I use russet, use whatever you like)
¼ cup of Hellmans mayo
2 TB high quality balsamic vinegar
Dashes of black pepper
5 TB red onion, chopped fine
3 TB chopped scallions

First make dressing mix all the ingredients but the potatoes and scallions in a dish and chill.
Chop up potatoes into med. size chunks. Boil in salted water until just tender. Drain very well, I mean very well, and let them be and cool off a bit. OR if you want a cold salad this would be the time to chill them in the fridge for a while. When ready add the sauce to the potatoes and stir, then add in the scallions. (this should be enough for four people)

hot dog w/ the works

Ever crave a chicago dog? I do, every night. Kidding.
So many variations on the Chicago dog.
This one is created with 'things I have on hand'.
Grilled hot dog filled with baked beans (you can use chili too), coleslaw, red onions, cheddar cheese and a pickle. That's like almost-chicago style? Wish I could take credit for the onions rings, I can't, they are from a bag.
But it's a good brand of frozen onions rings, by Alexia brand. Really good when you're in a hurry and don't want to make from scratch.

falafel rollup w/ hummus, tzatziki and tahini-yogurt sauce

Mmmm. Just looking at these photos again I am just starved right now. I love homemade falafel balls. Either fresh from the deep fryer or cold from the leftover storage bin in the fridge--I don't care how, just love them. I can make a pretty good falafel sammie rollup. But you know what I love best about these gems? The fact that they can pretty much go with anything. I've added corn relish, sweet pepper relish, horsey sauce, etc.... But the best I've had so far is to add hummus and tzatziki AND some really good tahini-yogurt sauce. Oh the love of this combo people.
Please try this, I know you'll love it, and do me a favor? Experiment! Add on, take away, try new, etc...that's the best part.

Can we get a close up of the MONEY SHOT? You bet.

falafel rollups with hummus, tzatziki, and tahini-yogurt sauce
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falafel balls (are from mark bittman)

1 3/4 cup dried chickpeas
2 cloves garlic, lightly crushed
1 small onion, quartered
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 tablespoon ground cumin
Scant teaspoon cayenne, or to taste
1 cup chopped parsley or cilantro leaves
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Neutral oil, like grapeseed or corn, for frying

For the falafel balls:
Put the beans in a large bowl and cover with water by 3 or 4 inches; they will triple in volume. Soak for 24 hours, adding water if needed to keep beans submerged.
Drain beans well (reserve soaking water) and transfer to a food processor. Add remaining ingredients except oil; pulse until minced but not pureed, scraping sides of bowl down; add soaking water if necessary to allow machine to do its work, but no more than 1 or 2 tablespoons. Keep pulsing until mixture comes together. Taste, adding salt, pepper, cayenne or lemon juice to taste.
Put the oil in a large, deep saucepan to a depth of at least 2 inches; more is better. The narrower the saucepan the less oil you need, but the more oil you use the more patties you can cook at a time. Turn heat to medium-high and heat oil to about 350 degrees (a pinch of batter will sizzle immediately).
Scoop heaping tablespoons of batter and shape into balls or small patties. Fry in batches, without crowding, until nicely browned, turning as necessary; total cooking time will be less than 5 minutes. Serve hot or at room temperature.

hummus
2 cups canned chickpeas, juices drained
Juice of 2 lemons
2 TB or more tahini paste
2 TB or less garlic, chopped
1/4 cup olive oil
Salt & pepper to taste (It does not need much salt)

For the hummus:
In a food processor, fitted with a metal blade, combine the chickpeas, lemon juice, tahini paste, and garlic. Process until smooth. With the machine running, add the olive oil, a little at a time. Season with salt and pepper. Spoon the humus in the center of a large platter. Arrange the black olives, red onion slices and fresh pita bread slices around the hummus.
Yield: about 2 cups

tzatziki sauce
16 oz. Greek style yogurt
1 cucumber, washed and peeled
3 - 4 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 TB extra virgin olive oil
1 TB lemon juice
1 ½ - 2 TB chopped fresh dill
½ ts salt
A pinch or two of cayenne pepper (optional, but wonderful)

Cut the cucumber in half lengthwise and scrape out the seeds with a small spoon. Then coarsely grate the cucumber. Gather the grated cucumber in a cheesecloth or paper towel and squeeze out the excess water, otherwise the tzatziki will be too runny. Get out as much water as you can, then mix the grated cucumber with everything else. It’s good to store this in fridge for about an hour to let all the flavors come together.

tahini-yogurt sauce
1-2 large garlic cloves, minced
3 TB tahini
1 cup plain yogurt
3 TB fresh lemon juice
½ ts paprika
Dash of hot sauce, optional but wonderful
Salt to taste
(I also love to add in a couple teaspoons of grated horseradish, this is up to you—it really tastes good though)

In a bowl, combine the garlic and tahini, then mix in the yogurt, lemon juice, hot sauce, and paprika. Taste, see if it needs salt. Then refrigerate for at least an hour for flavors to come together.

To assemble:
Use large mountain bread wraps other kind, but they should be the large size ones that are good for filling up the wraps with stuff. Spread a layer of the hummus, add in about 4 falafel balls, your choice of veggies (onions, carrots, black olives, lettuce, peppers, whatever you wish), then drizzle on some of the tahini-yogurt sauce. You can add on some tzatziki sauce, but I love to have mine on the side for dipping because I like a lot of on each and every bite.

Cook notes: You can also serve this rollup with fresh tomatoes slices, black olives, yellow onions, peppers, oh the list is endless indeed.
For a change in the flavor of your hummus add more garlic or add in your favorite pepper or onion or scallion (chopped of course and added in during the blending part). You can also add in eggplant or marinated artichokes to the mix for a really tasty mix.

raspberry-cream cheese crumb cake

I know I've been a bit m.i.a lately, but the weather's been so gorgeous around here, and I have a new house that needs all that spring stuff-a-mah-doo done to it. Amazing how having a house just literally sucks up the time, day AND MONEY!
So this recipe, well, I first set out to create a raspberry or strawberry cream cheese muffin. I wanted the middle of the muffins to have a lot of good creamy-fruity stuff in them. It was a fail, not up to my standards. I might give it another go at some point. Instead I came up with another crumb cake recipe (I hope ya'll aren't tried of my crumb cakes by now....I see a cookbook theme here "365 crumb cakes, a crumb cake a day..."
I don't have to tell you that this cake was a huge cake right? I mean it didn't even last a day in this house. Poor crumb cake didn't know what it had coming to his sexy, yummy, buttery, fruity, crumbly self. But you know what else? This cake is actually a danish imposter; a danish posing as a crumbcake. Shhhh....don't tell anyone, they'll all be doing it.

raspberry-cream cheese crumb cake
print recipe

Cake:
¼ cup canola oil, plus more for pan
½ stick unsalted butter, melted
2 TB sour cream
2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pan
½ cup + 2 TB granulated white sugar
1 ts baking powder
½ ts coarse salt
1 large egg
½ cup + 2 TB half & half
2 ts pure vanilla extract

Crumb Topping:
1 cups flour
1 cups packed light brown sugar
¾ ts coarse salt
½ TB ground cinnamon
1 stick unsalted butter, melted & cooled

Cook notes: the batter is very thin. It rises a bit when baking. This crumb cake bakes very fast! So please make sure to check it at the 25 minute mark. It will be hard to see if it’s done with all the layers on there, so use a cake tester to check cake layer. The coulis can be made a couple days ahead of time and stored in fridge until ready to use. It is optional, but wonderful to add in a couple tablespoons of the coulis into your cream cheese mixture.

raspberry coulis:
1 pint fresh raspberries
2 TB granulated sugar, or to taste
1 TB fresh lemon juice, or to taste

For the coulis:
Put all the ingredients in medium sauce pan and cook over medium (not high!) heat until fruit is mostly dissolved and mixture has reduced a bit as well as thickened up; about 30 minutes or more. Strain through a fine mesh sieve, pushing down on the solids. You might have to let this sit for a while to finish draining—it takes a while. Don’t forget to scrape off the bottom side of the sieve for all the juicy, thickened pulp. Discard the seeds. Taste and add more sugar or lemon juice if needed; it shouldn’t need anything. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

For the crumb topping:
In a medium bowl, combine all dry ingredients, pour melted butter over mixture, and toss with a rubber spatula until large crumbs form. Set aside

Cream cheese mixture
8 ounces cream cheese, room temp.
1 large egg yolk
3 TB white sugar
1 TB fresh lemon zest
2 TB or more of the coulis (optional, but wonderful)

For the cream cheese mixture:
Mix all in a bowl (really well) until ready to use.
For cake:
Place rack in center of oven, and heat oven to 350°.
Lightly butter a 9 x 13 baking pan and dust with flour, and tap to remove excess. (I’ve also used the Pam with Flour and it worked just fine). Set aside. In a medium bowl, sift together 2 ¼ cups flour, add in the granulated sugar, baking powder, and salt; set aside. In a second bowl, whisk together egg, butter, half & half, canola oil, sour cream, and vanilla.

Using a rubber spatula, fold dry ingredients into wet mixture.

Spread batter evenly into prepared pan, and set aside. (to keep batter from sticking to your hand or spoon, just wet or oil your fingers or a spoon and spread evenly throughout pan).

The batter should be about half an inch high. It will cook/rise to an inch thick. (Don’t worry if the batter is very thin and hard to get into the corners, it does spread out as it’s cooking). Use wet fingers to push batter into corners.
Next put on the cream cheese mixture either in one single layer, clumps or vertical lines. You can make swirls if you want too, I did not.
Next add on the crumbs. Then drizzle on the coulis (if it helps put the coulis in a pastry bag and draw lines).
Then transfer pan to oven, and bake for 14 minutes, rotate pan. Then cook another 10 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Check cake at 25 minute mark for sure. Let cake cool and set up before slicing.
Using a serrated knife or bench scraper, cut into 3-inch squares. Store in an airtight container for up to 2-4 days.