Tamales Dulces

First try at Tamales Dulces that I gave out as Christmas gifts. Need to add more food coloring, and tie my tamales a little tighter next time. They call for a lot of sugar - but do not taste that sweet - the corn balances out the sweetness.

Ingredients

• 1 bunch dried corn husks
• 1 1/2 cups butter
• 1 1/2 cups rice flour
• 2 1/4 cups masa harina
• 1 cup rice flour
• 1 1/2 cups water
• red food coloring, about 5-7 drops 
• 1 teasoon cinnamon
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup raisins
• 1 cup finely chopped almonds
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
  

Put corn husks in large pot of water to cover the husks. Place something large on top to keep the husks under water and let sit overnight to soften.

Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Mix the rice flour with the masa harina, adding water until the dough is well mixed.
Add the beaten butter-sugar mixture to the dough, beating after each addition until the dough is light and fluffy. Add red food coloring if desired.

For the filling, mix the cinnamon, sugar, raisins, almonds and sweet cream.

Place the corn, butter, sugar mixture in each tamale and top with a good spoonful of the cinnamon mixture, wrap them tight using a piece of husk to tie them, and steam them for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Makes 24.

Pressure Cookers Rock!

For my first meal using a pressure cooker, I made corned beef. What normally would have taking much of the day only took 1 hour. The time for chili - 15 minutes. Wow!

India Mart - now open

India Mart is now open in Bentonville - just off Rainbow Curve, in the same building with Dink's Barbeque, Rubaie's Cafe, and WellQuest.

They carry Halal chicken and goat - they even post the name of the person who butchered them so you can call to verify. They have fresh Paneer Cheese and Yogurt (Yogurt milk, Yogurt drinks, and plain Yogurt). They also have some interesting vegetables - like Indian eggplant and snake gourd. You can find a plethora of samosas in the freezer section and also lamb kebabs. And, there are several types and grades of Basmati Rice to be had.

INDIA MART

3400 SE MACY ROAD

SUITE #12

BENTONVILLE, AR

Pecan Pie Cheesecake - This is not diet food.

A few years ago, I combined my brother's favorite two desserts into one fantastic creation. This is beyond decadent, but the cheesecake cuts through the sweetness of the pecan pie and mellows everything out. Basically, you make a New York style cheesecake and once it is cool, top with a crust less pecan pie.

Modified Philadelphia New York Cheesecake

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups Graham Cracker Crumbs

1/4 cup butter, melted

5 (250 g) packages PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened

1 cup sugar

3 tablespoons flour

1 tablespoon vanilla

1 cup sour cream (preferably Breakstone)

4 eggs

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 325 degrees F if using a silver 9 inch springform pan (or to 300 degrees F if using a dark nonstick 9-inch springform pan). Mix crumbs and butter; press firmly onto bottom of pan. Bake 10 minutes.
2. Beat cream cheese, sugar, flour and vanilla in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add sour cream; mix well. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing on low speed after each addition just until blended. Pour over crust.
3. Bake 1 hour 10 minutes or until centre is almost set. Turn off oven and let sit for 30 minutes, then remove from oven and cool. Cool before removing rim of pan or adding topping. Refrigerate 2 hours or overnight.

 

Pecan Pie topping

Ingredients:

1 cup Karo® Light Corn Syrup

3 eggs

1 cup sugar

2 tablespoons butter, melted

1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract

2 - 2 ¼ cup pecans

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Mix corn syrup, eggs, sugar, butter and vanilla using a spoon. Stir in pecans. Pour filling into an empty pie pan.
3. Bake on center rack of oven for 60 to 70 minutes (see tips for doneness, below). Cool for 1 hour.
4. Carefully pour onto top of cheesecake and refrigerate.
5. RECIPE TIPS: Pie is done when center reaches 200°F. Tap center surface of pie lightly - it should spring back when done. For easy clean up, spray pie pan with cooking spray beforehand. High Altitude Adjustments: Reduce sugar to 2/3 cup and increase butter to 3 tablespoons. Reduce oven temperature to 325°F.

Italian Truffle Cheese and Osso Buco

Went to Kansas City on Friday and discovered a great place to buy cheese and not spend lots of money on shipping. Here in Northwest Arkansas, there is not a really good cheese selection to be had - there are some supermarkets that try to carry some gourmet cheeses, but you have to watch out for expiration dates because not enough people purchase them. But, Kansas City has two locations for Better Cheddar. What peaked my interest from their website was the Sottocenere Truffle Cheese, a semi-soft cow's milk cheese that has shavings of black truffle running through it. The cheese is very rich, earthy, and unique.

So, on Saturday, I made a batch of risotto and finished it off with a pat of butter and some shavings of the cheese. The flavor was very subtle in the dish.

As a main course, I decided to do Mario Batali's Osso Buco. Ivan's Old Time Meat Shop had the four veal shanks in the very back of their freezer - I bought them out, and they were very happy to sell them to me - cost was around $70.00 for them.



As sides, we had the aforementioned risotto, fresh green beans, homemade french bread, and slices of the Italian truffle cheese. And, as a desert, Arkansas is going to the Sugar Bowl - Go Hogs!

Duck Fat Musings

With all the rage in using duck fat to cook, one would think you could find it rather easily. Stuttgart, Arkansas, is supposed to be a duck hunting mecca, with all the flooded rice fields. Unfortunately, the only way to get it in this area is to either order off of Amazon.com, have someone kill a duck for you (or do it yourself), or purchase a whole duck at the butcher shop - I know Ivan's and Richard's both carry it.

If you order it off Amazon.com, you can get a nice 7 lb. container of the stuff for under 10 dollars. BUT, you have to spend over 40 dollars for it to be shipped overnight.

If you have a freshly killed duck, you have to deal with those lovely down feathers and plucking is not my forte.

So, the least painful way to get duck fat in Northwest Arkansas is to purchase a whole frozen duck (for around $20.00), let it thaw, remove the skin and cook the skin over low heat for a long time to render the fat. Whew!

The reward - you only will make about 1 to 1.5 cups of fat in this method, but pan frying potatoes in the fat makes them taste somewhat earthy, and almost as rich as if you were eating meat. And, you can keep it in the refrigerator for at least 6 months.

Leftover Thanksgiving Turkey Ideas

Chinese Turkey Dinner

Cut up leftover Turkey into bite size pieces. Add some fresh blanched green beans and some chopped green onions. Heat wok oil in a wok or a large saute pan. Add turkey and vegetables. Pour in some Ponzu sauce, Sweet Chili Sauce for Chicken, and Szechuan Spicy Stir-Fry Sauce and saute until heated through.

I served this with a version of the following recipe and store bought egg rolls. If you haven't tried Pho soup before, you are in for something tasty, especially on a cold winter day or if you have a cold.

Vegetarian Pho (Vietnamese Noodle Soup)  You can find Pho noodles at the local Asian Markets or the WalMart Supercenter in Bentonville.

Tonight, we will be having Barbeque Turkey with red kidney beans and fingerling potatoes topped with Breakstone Sour Cream - which just made it's appearance in the WalMart Supercenter in Fayetteville by the Mall. This is the best sour cream I have ever tasted - not runny at all, and great on a tortilla.