Mini Chocolate Raspberry Rum Cakes

Ingredients

1 bx devils food cake mix

4 lg eggs

1 bx chocolate instant pudding

2/3 c raspberry rum

2/3 c water

1/2 c oil

1 c raspberry preserves

1/2 c raspberry rum

1/2 c power sugar

1 pt fresh raspberries

Directions

1. Mix together the first 6 ingredients. Pour into greased mini bundt cake pans (or 1 large bundt cake pan) bake at the 350 for 45 minutes
2. While that is baking simmer your raspberry preserves with the 1/2 cup raspberry rum. Just want it nicely blended and warm. When cakes are done. spoon this glaze on top of the cakes. Let set till cool. Then top with powder sugar and a raspberry

 Source: http://www.justapinch.com/recipes/dessert/cake/mini-chocolate-raspberry-rum-cakes.html

 

Crawfish or Shrimp Pistolettes aka Stuffed Beignets

Ingredients

2 1/2 pound crawfish tails or shrimp

2 1/2 stick butter or margarine

2 ounces margarine for brushing

3 medium onions

1 small stalk of celery or 6 ribs chopped fine

1 cup bell pepper chopped fine

1 tbsp garlic cloves minced

3/4 cup chopped parsley

3/4 cup chopped green onions (scallions)

2 cans mushroom soup or 1 cream of mushroom and 1 cream of shrimp
8 ounces Velveeta cheese
1 small can or jar of pimentos (optional)
1 tsp black pepper 1/2 tsp cayenne or more (optional)
1/2 tsp Season All or Cajun Seasonings
hot sauce to taste
1 tsp Accent (optional)
2 bags Pistolette Rolls (24) or dinner rolls that are large enough to be stuffed
enough flour and water to make a paste

Directions
First prepare the pistolettes rolls; cut off one end, about 11/2-inch thick, and set aside. Take a knife and cut a pyramid shape opening into the heart of the roll and remove the middle of the roll. (Save this bread to make bread pudding.) Keep the two pieces of roll together for an easier fit. Set aside. Make a glue with 1 part flour and 3 parts water - Set aside.

In medium saucepan over medium heat melt the butter and sauté the onion, bell pepper, celery and garlic until onions have wilted.

Add the seasonings along with the cans of cream of mushroom and/or cream of shrimp. Add the Velveeta cheese and stir until completely melted. Add the crawfish/shrimp to the mixture. Note - you could chop the crawfish/shrimp into smaller pieces as in a dip. Bring to a boil then simmer about 10 minutes. Do not forget to stir to prevent scorching. You could choose to add more or less cheese to achieve your desired "pudding" consistency. Add the parsley and green onions to mixture combining well. Once cooked set aside to cool some.

Once cooled, fill the pocket of the bun with 1/4 cup of the filling. Dip the nose of the bun in the "glue" of flour and water and attach it to the same bun. Push the roll to the side of the tray to secure.

Stuffed Pistolettes may now be baked at 375 degrees F until golden brown about 20 minutes. If frying, drop into heated cooking oil until browned. Make sure there is enough oil to cover the pistolettes. Drain fried pistolettes on paper towels; serve hot.

The pistolettes can be frozen until needed. Remove from freezer one hour before baking or frying. These are the best!

/source: http://www.realcajunrecipes.com/recipes/cajun/crawfish-shrimp-pistolettes/762.rcr

Hope these are as good as the ones I had at the Port Arthur Mardi Gras a week or so ago! Can't wait to find out.

Maryland Crab Roll Ups

Ingredients:

5 large, Burrito sized flour tortillas
1 8 ounce package cream cheese
⅓ cup mayonnaise
⅔ cup finely chopped red pepper
¼ cup finely chopped green onion
⅔ cup shredded cheddar cheese
½ teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
8 ounces lump crab meat

Preparation:
With a hand mixer, mix together cream cheese and mayonnaise until smooth.
Stir in pepper, green onion, cheddar cheese and Old Bay.
Fold in the crab meat.
Spread a thin layer of the crab mixture onto each tortilla.
Tightly roll the tortillas up and wrap in plastic wrap.
Chill 3 hours or overnight.
Cut into ¾ inch slices.
Sprinkle with more Old Bay, if desired.
Serve 10.

Source: http://bestestrecipes.blogspot.com/2013/02/maryland-crab-roll-ups.html

Thin Mints Cheesecake

1 (10-oz.) package thin mint cookies, crushed and divided
1/4 cup butter, melted

4 (8-oz.) packages 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened
1 (8-oz.) container light sour cream
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 large eggs
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate morsels

1. Preheat oven to 325°. Line bottom and sides of a 9-inch springform pan with aluminum foil, allowing 2 to 3 inches to extend over sides. Stir together 1 1/2 cups cookie crumbs and butter; press firmly onto bottom of prepared pan.

2. Beat cream cheese at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth. Add sour cream, sugar, and vanilla, beating well. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating at low speed just until blended after each addition. Pour into prepared crust.

3. Microwave chocolate morsels in a microwave-safe glass bowl at HIGH 1 1/2 minutes or until smooth, stirring at 30-second intervals. Pour melted chocolate onto center of cheesecake batter. Swirl chocolate into batter using a small spatula. (Do not overstir.)

4. Bake at 325° for 1 hour and 10 minutes to 1 hour and 15 minutes or until center is almost set. Cool on a wire rack 1 hour or until completely cool. Cover and chill at least 8 hours or up to 24 hours. Gently run a knife around outer edge of cheesecake to loosen; remove sides of pan and foil. Let stand for 30 minutes before serving. Sprinkle with remaining cookie crumbs.

Source: My Recipes from Southern Living via Huntsville Antique Show

Homemade Tamales

20 lbs Pork (Boston Butt)

Boil meat in two pots until tender. Salt water lightly add spices, carrots & celery. Retain broth to add to chopped meat, if dry. Chop meat in food processor. Cut meat into 2x2 squares to chop in food processor.

In a large pot add the chopped meat, some broth and the following spices and cook; stir frequently to keep from sticking:

2 c. chili powder

½ c cominos
1/2 c. minced garlic
1/3 c salt
2 T cayenne pepper

Place large pot of meat into refrigerator and remove 4 or 5 cups at a time. Divide into smaller pots if refrigerator room is a problem. Because it takes a while to make try to keep meat refrigerated, do not let meat set out all day while making tamales.

20 lbs Masa

Crumble (5 lbs) of masa into mixer

Melt 5 c. lard and following spices:

Use ½ of the mixture below in the 5 lbs of masa save the other ½ for next 5 lbs of masa

5 c. Lard

1/3 c. chili powder

1 T. cominos

1 t. garlic powder

1-2 T. salt

Repeat process 5 lbs of masa at a time until the 20 lbs of masa are well mixed (Use your hands to mix all 20 lbs together). Divide mixed masa in half and place damp towels over bowls to keep moist. Use out of one bowl at a time keeping masa moist.

Total 6 T. salt (4 tsp per lb of masa)

• Soak corn shucks in warm water.

• Assemble tamales by spreading masa on corn shuck, add meat and roll. Spread not too thin or too thick. Masa swells when cooked.

• Tie in bundles of 6 and place in large pot with rake in bottom. Stack and fill bundles to top of pot (Water for steaming should be 3-3 ½ inches deep in bottom below first layer)

• Steam finished tamales for 2 hours

YuSheng - Chinese New Year Raw Fish Salad

While in Singapore I had the opportunity to experience "tossing" and eating this salad. I loved all the colors and it was great fun tossing it with chopsticks trying to get it higher and higher while wishing prosperity to those around the table. I found this recipe by searching the internet. This one looked most like the one I had out at Raffles Marina. I found it at www.noobcook.com and it has all the steps on how to prepare it laid out with photos. Looks easy to follow and Chinese New Year for 2013 is Sunday, February 10th and is the year of the Snake.

(A) Main Cast – 8 main ingredients

1) 1 carrot, skin peeled
2) 1 white radish (daikon), skin peeled
3) 1 cucumber
4) 2 tbsp Japanese red pickled ginger (In Singapore, I buy them at Sakuraya/Cold Storage Taka/Isetan Scotts Supermarket) - these are stores local to Singapore. Here in Texas I would need to go to an Asian Specialty Market. There is also a list of substitutions at the bottom of the recipe.
5) Pomelo (the pommel is a crisp citrus fruit native to South and Southeast Asia. It is usually pale green to yellow when ripe, with a sweet white flesh and very thick albedo.), peeled and sacks separated, about 50g (1-3/4 oz)
6) 1 packet of Pok Chui crackers (I used store bought ones from NTUC - another store in Singapore)
7 & 8 ) Red and green yam strips which is made with
- 1 yam, remove the skin (wear disposable gloves when handling yam)
- red and green food colouring (I use Bake King’s Cochineal/Cherry Red and Apple Green)
- vegetable oil for deep frying

(B) Supporting cast
- 1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
- 1 tbsp roasted peanuts, chopped finely (or crushed using mortar and pestle)
- 1 tsp Chinese 5-spice powder
- 1 tsp cinnamon powder
- a small dash of Chinese white ground pepper
- 1 tbsp good quality extra virgin olive oil

 (C) Sauce
Note: Serves 2, feel free to double the quantities for 4, triple for 6, and so on
- 2.5 tbsp Chinese plum sauce
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- a tbsp of hot water to achieve the consistency of sauce to your liking (adjust according to the brand you use)

(D) Raw fish
Suggestions
- raw fish slices 生鱼, usually salmon sashimi slices (traditionally raw mackerel used) and/or
- abalone slices

(E) Tools

- a special vegetable peeler with “teeth” or julienne slicer or mandoline for shredding vegetables quickly and finely to long thin strips

- a round plate for assembling the main ingredients as roundness symbolises fullness

DIRECTIONS:

(A) Main Cast – 8 main ingredients
1) Pat dry carrot, daikon and cucumber after washing. Using a special vegetable peeler with “teeth” or a julienne slicer or a mandoline, julienne (slicing to long thin strips) 50g (1-3/4 oz) of each vegetable.
2) To prepare the yam (see photo step-by-step below), wear disposable gloves as the yam will “bite” our skin. Slice off the yam skin and then using a special vegetable peeler with “teeth” or a julienne slicer or a mandoline, julienne (cutting to long thin strips) 100g of yam. Divide yam into two equal portions in two separate bowls. Using a short straw, pick up a few drops of red colouring and dye one bowl of yam red. Use another straw, dye the other bowl of yam green. Leave to dry for a while. Heat up some vegetable oil in a wok (enough to cover the ingredients; I use about 500 ml), when the oil is hot enough turn it down to medium, add the red yam first and deep fry for about 3 minutes. Remove and drain on a plate. Repeat for green yam. It is important that the oil is hot enough but not too hot or else the yam will become too crispy. Set aside.
3) Arrange all the ingredients on a round plate.

(B) Supporting cast
1) To toast sesame seeds, heat up a dry pan or wok, then add sesame seeds. Use a spatula to stir the sesame seeds evenly and toast till the sesame seeds is a nice golden brown. Do not take your eyes off during the toasting process as it only takes a few minutes, and the seeds get from golden to burnt really quickly.
2) Arrange the ingredients in separate shallow dishes.

(C) Sauce & Raw fish
1) To prepare the sauce, just add everything in a small bowl and mix till evenly dissolved.
2) Arrange the raw fish on a separate plate. If using mackerel, you may want to marinade the fish slices with some ginger juice because some people find it more “fishy” than salmon.

When all the ingredients have been piled on the plate, then everyone, on cue, proceed to toss the shredded ingredients into the air with chopsticks while saying auspicious wishes (吉祥话 Jíxiáng Huà) out loud to mark the start of a prosperous new year. It’s believed that the higher you toss, the greater your fortunes!

Extra Sides (optional/not shown in photos)
- preserved jellyfish
- preserved papaya & melon strips
- lime slices and a bit of lime juice
- lobster sashimi slices

Ingredients substitution
- red bell pepper for red yam
- green bell pepper for green yam
- deepfried wonton skin wrappers for pok chui crackers
- grapefruit for pomelo

Source:http://www.noobcook.com/yu-sheng-chinese-new-year-raw-fish-salad/

Caipirnha

1 small orange, chopped
1 lime, chopped
1 lemon, chopped
1 cup of sugar
1 bottle cachaca
ice
fresh mint and lime slices for garnish

Place the pieces of citrus and the sugar in the bottom of a pitcher. Using a muddler or the handle of a wooden spoon, crush and mash the fruits to release the oils and juice from the rind. When you have some nice juice in there and the sugar begins to dissolve, add theliquor and stir to combine. Fill lowball glasses with ice cubes and pour the cocktail over the ice. Do not remove the pieces of crushed fruit. Garnish with mint and lime. Use fresh sugarcane sticks as stirrers, if desired.