Roasted Corn & Pepper Dip

 Roasted Corn & Pepper Dip

1 cup frozen whole kernel corn, thawed

1 cup red pepper, chopped 

2 tsp olive oil

Salt 

Pepper

3 cans crab or 1 cup

1 cup Monterey Jack, jalapeño cheese, shredded 

1/3 cup mayonnaise 

1/4 cup sour cream 

1/4 cup green onions, sliced 

Preheat oven to 435 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with non stick cooking spray. Set aside. 

In a small bowl combine corn, and sweet pepper. Drizzle with olive oil, season with salt & pepper and toss to coat. Spread on baking sheet and roast uncovered about 15 minutes or until vegetables start to brown, stirring occasionally. Remove from oven and cool. 

Reduce oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease a small quiche dish or casserole and set aside. 

In a medium bowl stir together crab meat, cheese, mayonnaise, sour cream and green onions. Stir in. Oiled roasted vegetables. Transfer mixture to prepared dish. 

Bake uncovered approximately 20 minutes or until bubbly and golden. 

Serve with tortilla or pita chips. 

Beef Short Ribs Instant Pot

 Beef Short Ribs Instant Pot

1 lb beef short ribs

2 tbsp vegetable oil

1/2 cup red wine 

2 cups beef stock 

Salt

Pepper

1 tbsp cornstarch

Set Instant pot on sauté and once it reads hot add vegetable oil. Season ribs generously with salt and pepper on all sides. Add ribs to instant pot and sauté 3- 4 minutes on each side. Remove ribs and set aside. 

Add red wine and deglaze the pot until all brown bits are scraped up. Add beef stock. Hit cancel. Return the ribs to the pot and set pot to pressure cook 60 minutes. It will take 10 - 15 minutes to come to pressure. Natural release 15 minutes then release the rest of the pressure. 

Remove ribs to a serving plate and cover to keep warm. 

Hit cancel, then sauté and simmer the juices until reduced   Add cornstarch and simmer until sauce has thickened. Serve over ribs. 

Brown Sugar Mustard Glazed Ham

 Brown Sugar Mustard Glazed  Ham

8 - 10 lb bone in fully cooked ham

1/2 cup water 

1/2 cup butter 

1 cup brown sugar

2 tbsp Dijon mustard 

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground cloves 

4 cloves garlic, minced 

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. 

Score a 1” wide diamond pattern 1/4” deep over the entire ham. Place the ham in a baking tray, pour 1/3 cup water into the base of the pan and cover the ham with foil & bake for 30 minutes.  

Heat the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat until golden brown. Add brown sugar, honey, mustard, cinnamon and cloves, stirring to mix together well until the sugar has dissolved, approximately 2 minutes. 

Reduce heat to low and add the garlic. Allow it to become fragrant for a minute or two until the glaze just begins to simmer, then set aside to cool to lukewarm. 

Remove the ham from the oven after 30 minutes and increase the temperature to 425 degrees. Pour 1/3 of the glaze over the ham, brushing between the cuts to ensure even cover. Return to oven and bake uncovered 15 minutes. 

Remove from oven, brush with another 1/3 of the glaze and some of the pan juices. Bake an additional 15 minutes and repeat until a dark golden brown crust has formed, approximately 30 - 45 minutes in total. 

Remove from oven and allow to rest 10 - 20 minutes before slicing. 

Jam Topped Mini Cheesecake

Jam Topped Mini Cheesecake 

2/3 cup graham cracker crumbs

2 tbsp butter, melted 

8 oz cream cheese 

1/3 cup sugar 

1 tsp vanilla extract 

1 large egg, room temperature 

3 tbsp assorted jams, room temperature 

In a small bowl combine graham cracker crumbs and butter. Press gently into the bottom of 9 paper lined muffin cups. 

In a separate small bowl beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until smooth. Add egg, beat on low speed until just combined and spoon evenly over the crusts. 

Bake at 360 degrees for 15 - 16 minutes until centres are set. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack to cool completely. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour. 

Remove mini cheesecakes from liners, top each with 1 tsp warm jam and serve. 

Shrimp Ramen Soup

 Shrimp Ramen Soup

1 tbsp olive oil

8 oz mushrooms, sliced

1 large carrot, grated 

4 cloves garlic, minced 

4 cups beef broth 

1 tbsp ginger, grated 

1 tsp soy sauce 

1 tsp sesame oil 

2 packages ramen noodles 

1 lb large shrimp, peeled and deveined 

Chopped green onions for garnish 

In a large pot sauté mushrooms and carrots in olive oil for approximately 5 minutes or until they start to soften. Add garlic and cook an additional 30 seconds. Add broth, soy sauce, ginger, sesame oil and the seasoning packets from the ramen soup packages. Cover and bring to a boil. 

Once boiling add shrimp and noodles. Cover and boil for 3 minutes. Serve topped with green onions. 

Spice it up by adding sriracha sauce, Tabasco sauce, red pepper flakes, cayenne pepper or jalapeño pepper. 

Make it more broth by doubling the broth, ground ginger, soy sauce, sesame oil and garlic.  

Chai Tea Sandwich Cookies

Chai Tea Sandwich Cookies

1/3 cup heavy cream

2 Chai flavoured tea bags 

8 oz white baking chocolate 

2 cups flour

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp cardamon

1/8 tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper 

1 cup cold butter, cut into 16 pieces 

2 tsp vanilla 

For ganache, in a small saucepan bring cream just to a boil, remove from heat. Add tea bags, let stand 10 minutes and discard tea bags. 

Place chocolate in a small bowl. Reheat the cream just to a boil. Pour over the chocolate & let stand for 5 minutes. Whisk until smooth and cool until room temperature, stirring occasionally until ganache thickens to a spreading consistency, approximately 1 hour. 

In a large bowl whisk flour, sugar, cinnamon, cardamon, salt and pepper. Cut in butter with vanilla until crumbly. Knead until dough holds together when pressed. Shape into 2 disks, wrap each in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, approximately 15 minutes. 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. On a lightly floured surface, gently roll out the dough to 1/8” thickness, lifting and rotating dough as needed. Cut with a 1 1/2” round cookie cutter and place 1” apart on a baking mat lined baking sheet. Bake until light brown, 10 - 12 minutes. Remove from pan to wire racks to cool completely. 

Spread or pipe 1 heaping teaspoon of ganache and half of the cookies.  Cover with remains cookies amd let stand until set. 

No Bake Salted Caramel Coconut Macaroons

No Bake Salted Caramel Coconut Macaroons 

5 tbsp butter 

2 tbsp heavy cream

3 tsp brown sugar

11 oz caramels, unwrapped 

5 - 6 cups sweetened shredded coconut

4 oz chocolate almond bark

1 - 2 tsp sea salt 

In a medium sized heavy bottomed saucepan melt butter, heavy cream, brown sugar and caramels over medium heat. Stir until smooth and sugar is dissolved. Can use a double boiler to prevent scorching. 

Remove pan from heat and stir in coconut until fully combined starting with 5 cups of coconut adding more if mixture seems too wet. 

Allow to cool for 10 minutes. Scoop 1 tbsp of mixture onto parchment lined baking sheet and allow to cool and set completely. 

In a small bowl melt chocolate bark. Dip bottoms of each macaroon into chocolate and place on waxed paper or silicone baking mat. Drizzle remaining chocolate over tops of cookies. Sprinkle with sea salt before chocolate has set. 

Allow to cool completely until chocolate has fully hardened. Store in airtight container.