Fall-off-the-Bone Short Rib and Slaw Sandwich

I’m trying a bunch of short rib recipes lately I know, but I’m trying to use up items in the freezer before we get our next freezer full from the steer we bought this year. This recipe is ok, I liked the slaw, but for some reason the meat was chewy, I probably did something wrong I don’t know.

Fall-off-the-Bone Short Ribs
(Adapted from Aaron McCargo Jr.)

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6 (4-ounce) beef short ribs
Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
3 tablespoons grapeseed oil
1 small onion, diced
1 cup dry red wine
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 (14-ounce) can stewed tomatoes
4 cups beef stock
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1 sprig fresh rosemary
4 brioche buns
Kicked Up Cole Slaw, recipe follows

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Season the short ribs with salt and pepper.

In a large Dutch oven or soup pot over medium-high heat, add the oil. Sear the ribs on all sides until well colored and slightly charred. Remove the ribs from pan to a plate and set aside.

Over medium-low heat, add the onions to the Dutch oven and cook for 1 to 2 minutes.

Add the red wine and vinegar and reduce liquid by half.

Stir in the tomatoes, stock and fresh herbs.

Add the short ribs and cover the pot. Put in the oven and cook until meat is fork tender, about 90 minutes.

Remove from oven, transfer the short ribs to a large bowl and shred the meat.

Assemble the sandwiches on brioche buns with slaw.

I added a little of the juice to flavor the buns as well as a dipping sauce on the side.)

Skim the fat from the cooking liquid, strain into a serving bowl and use for dipping the sandwiches.

Kicked Up Cole Slaw:

1 (16-ounce) package shredded cole slaw mix (I used broccoli Cole Slaw)
1/2 red onion, sliced thin
2 green onion, sliced
1 red jalapenos, seeded and thinly sliced
3/4 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons sour cream
2 tablespoons white vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
Several dashes hot sauce
1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
Pinch cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon celery salt
Pinch kosher salt

In a large bowl, mix together all ingredients. Allow to sit in refrigerator for 30 minutes before serving. Serve on top of sandwiches.

Yield: 6 servings

Drunken Shortribs

This is one of those set it and forget it recipes. I really like the way our pot roast comes out and I enjoyed the shortribs I made not that long ago (click HERE for crockpot shortribs) so I combined the two to make this recipe. Loved how this came out and it’s easy to adjust adding the flavors you like to use.

Drunken Shortribs
(Created by Finding Inspiration In Food)

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3 packages of shortribs
1 pound baby carrots
1 ½ pounds baby dutch yellow potatoes
1 onion, sliced
3 jalapenos, sliced and halved
1 head of garlic, peeled
½ bottle red wine

Combine all ingredients in a crock pot. Cook on low 6-7 hours.  Serve onto of a bed of rice or noodles.

Creamy Chicken Fajitas using Philadelphia’s Cooking Creme

I’m a member of Kraft First Taste and if you aren’t a member I urge you to sign up for free. When they have new products you get an email alert and they either mail you a free coupon or the item itself. The last one I got was for the new cooking creme. Overall the idea is smart for people who don’t have a lot of time to make a from scratch meal. Personally I would rather just whip up my own cream cheese with the flavors I like similar to the way I do with my stuffed chicken recipe I made HERE.  I chose the Santa Fe Blend as something different since I normally go for the Italian flavors. On the package they had a 4 recipe ideas you could make with the product. I chose the Creamy Chicken Fajitas, but made them as enchiladas for hubby to take to work for lunches. I added cumin and a little more heat with red pepper flakes and cayenne to the onions as they cooked. It’s a doable product, but not sure if I would buy it again. I may use my coupon I got to try another flavor. If I do I’ll let you know if it changed my mind any. Have you tried any of the cooking cremes?

Creamy Chicken Fajitas
(Adapted from Kraft)

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1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into strips
1 cup each - thin onion slices and green pepper strips (I left out bell peppers)
1 tub (10 oz) Philadelphia Santa Fe Blend Cooking Creme
8 flour tortillas, warmed
1 cup Kraft Mexican Style Finely Shredded Four Cheese

Cook chicken and vegetables in large nonstick skillet on medium heat 6 to 7 minutes or until chicken is done.

Add cooking creme; cook and stir 2 minutes.

Spoon down centers of tortillas; top with shredded cheese. Fold over. (I used the leftover chicken mixture to top the tortillas then topped with cheese and put under the broiler. I also sprinkled on some dried cilantro.)

Layered Buffalo Wing Dip

If you have a house full of people coming over for Easter this weekend you’ll want to whip up a batch of this dip!

A while back I made a Buffalo Wind Dip that’s always a huge hit with friends at all the parties I take it to. (Click HERE for the recipe) I saw a similar recipe on Supermarket Serenade’s blog so I had to give it a try. The one thing I like about this recipe is it doesn’t get a layer of grease on the top after it’s sitting in the crock pot for a while. No matter how much low fat items you use it’s still greasy, which I found out was from the hot wing sauce. Anyway I love this version just as much as the other so I’ll be making both again! Yummy!

Buffalo Chicken Dip
(Adapted from Supermarket Serenade)

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2 cups shredded rotisserie chicken
3/4 cup hot sauce (such as Frank's)
8 ounces cream cheese (room temperature)
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup blue cheese dressing
1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese
1 packet ranch dressing mix
1 cup mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray a 9x9 inch or similar baking dish with cooking spray.

In a medium bowl combine the chicken and the hot sauce, stirring to completely coat the chicken. Spread the chicken in an even layer in the bottom of the baking dish.

Using the same bowl, stir together the cream cheese, sour cream, blue cheese dressing, blue cheese crumbles and ranch dressing mix; spread in an even layer over the chicken. Sprinkle the mozzarella cheese over all.

Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes or until lightly browned and bubbly. Cool for 10 minutes before serving as it will be very hot. Serve with corn chips, celery sticks or carrot sticks.

Sweet Potato Balls

Have you watched the show Private Chefs of Beverly Hills? I really like it. It reminds me of how demanding people can be when they want to make sure they get what they pay for. Let it be a lesson too that if you hire a private chef they are gonna give you what you ask for they can not read your mind. Give them more then enough details to make sure you ultimately get what you ask for. 

The episode I made a recipe from was when 2 chefs where asked to make a menu highlighting a new line of products to investors. I couldn’t find the product at my local store so I winged it. Overall these where pretty tasty, I probably won’t inject the ranch in the balls again, only because since they where hot the ranch got really liquidly and started running out of the balls.

Stuffed Sweet Potato Bites
(Adapted from Jesse Brune)

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1/2 package frozen sweet potato fries, chopped into small cubes
1 cup grated sharp Cheddar
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup all-purpose flour, plus extra for drudging
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs, plus extra for drudging
1 egg, plus 2 eggs for drudging
2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon bacon salt seasoning (I just added some bacon bits)
1 tablespoon cold butter, chopped into small cubes
Canola oil, for frying
1 cup sour cream
1 package bacon ranch dip mix (I used plain ranch)
1 kitchen syringe (think turkey syringe at Thanksgiving)

In a large mixing bowl, add the chopped sweet potato fries, Cheddar, honey, 1/2 cup of flour, 1/2 cup of panko bread crumbs, 1 egg, salt, bacon salt seasoning, and chilled butter, and begin to mix rigorously with your hands.

When the items are incorporated properly you can begin to form bite-size balls with the mixture.

If the sweet potato mixture is not forming properly, add more flour and mix again.

After forming the balls, put them on a plate, side by side, until all the mixture is used. When the plate is filled, wrap in plastic wrap and put it in the freezer for at least 1 hour.

While the balls are freezing, prepare a "dredging" station. This should consist of (in this order) 1 bowl of seasoned flour (seasoning with salt and pepper is fine, you can also add more bacon salt seasoning) 1 bowl with 2 beaten eggs, and 1 bowl with seasoned panko bread crumbs (same seasoning as flour).

When the bites are frozen begin the drudging process. You do this by rolling the balls in the flour, then dipping in the egg, then rolling them in the bread crumbs. Repeat this process with all the sweet potato bites.

Fill a frying pan half way full with canola oil. Heat the oil to about 350 to 375 degrees F. When the proper temperature is achieved, gently drop the bites into the oil and cook until the entire outer layer of the bite is a golden brown. Transfer the bites to a plate lined with paper towels to absorb excess oil.

When all the balls have been fried and are cooling, take a small mixing bowl and mix the sour cream and the bacon ranch dip mix until it is totally incorporated. Take the tip of the kitchen syringe and put in the dip; pull the lever to transfer the dip into the shaft of the syringe.

Insert the needlepoint of the syringe into the center of a sweet potato bite, then gently inject the dip into the bite.

You may need to experiment with 1 or 2 bites before you get the technique down. You want to slightly fill the bite, but not overstuff it to the point where the dip leaks out.

Continue this process until all the bites have been filled. Arrange the bits on a serving platter and serve warm.