Vanilla Bean Cheesecake

Cheesecake is another one of my favorite desserts. It comes in so many different varieties. Basic, New York, White chocolate, Fruit topped and swirled the list goes on and on.
This is a recipe for a classic style Cheesecake with a sour cream topping.
Crust
1 1/2 cup Graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup confectioners sugar
8 TB Butter
1 tsp cinnamon
In medium bowl combine graham cracker crumbs, sugar and cinnamon. Stir in melted butter. Press crumb mixture into 9" spring form pan and chill for 1 hour.

Filling
4 PK cream cheese (2 Pounds)
3 eggs
1/2 cup vanilla sugar or just plain sugar
2 vanilla beans (roe)
1 tsp lemon juice
Preheat oven to 370 degrees
In electric mixer beat cream cheese and eggs one at a time until smooth. Add sugar and the roe from the vanilla beans. (cut bean length wise and scrap out roe with knife use roe for cheesecake and place pod in container to make vanilla sugar).Add lemon juice and gently mix. Pour mixture into prepared crust and bake at 370 degrees for 30 min. The cake should be slightly soft in the middle but hot all the way through. Do not over bake or cake will split. Remove cake from oven and allow to cool.

Topping
1 1/2 cups sour cream
3 TB sugar
1/2 tsp lemon juice
Combine ingredients and spread on cooled cheesecake. Bake at 425 degrees for 6 to 8 minutes. remove and cool to room temperature and then chill in refrigerator for 3 hours.

Strawberry topping
2 Cups fresh strawberries
1 tsp orange juice
1 tsp lemon juice
Fresh strawberries
Combine 2 cups strawberries, orange juice and lemon juice in blender and blend until smooth Add a few drops of water if the sauce is too thick. Drizzle over slice of cheesecake and garnish with fresh strawberries.

Caramel Pecan Turtles

"Just one more won't hurt me!" "Hey! Who ate all the cookies?"
These are a cookie I made for a Great cookie Exchange back in 2005. I love vanilla and these are a good way to taste the flavor of it.

Cookie
1/2 Cup Shortening
1/2 Cup Butter
1 1/2 cups of Vanilla sugar/ granulated sugar
1/2 cup Brown Sugar
2 TB Milk
3 Eggs
2 tsp Vanilla

1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp salt
4 to 5 cups flour

Cream shortening, Butter and sugars together. Add milk, beat in eggs one at a time, add vanilla. Combine flour, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt. Mix into sugar mixture. Roll out dough to 1/4 inch thickness on a floured surface. Cut out with
2 1/4" cookie cutter. Place on ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes or until edges are golden. Remove and cool on wire rack.

Caramel Topping
This recipe makes more caramel then you will need but its nice to have in the fridge for other snacks. Caramel corn, dipping apples, Ice cream. Just pop into the microwave for a few minutes stir and pour.

1 cup white corn syrup
1 cup vanilla sugar/ granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 can sweetened condensed milk
3/4 cup butter
dash salt
Pecan halves
Mix all ingredients together and bring to boil. Boil for 5 min stirring constantly. Drop spoon full of hot caramel in center of each cookie. Place 3 pecans around caramel.

Chocolate Topping
6 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips
Melt chocolate in double boiler stirring until smooth. Drop by spoon full in center of cookies. Cool

I hope you enjoy these cookies the vanilla sugar really gives them a great taste. If you do not have any vanilla sugar you can try adding more vanilla to your taste.

Slow smoked BBQ Ribs

What is the first thing you think of when you hear the word BBQ.
"Ribs"
Ribs are the true American comfort food. There's not much better then sitting down to a slab of slow smoked, fall off the bone, sauce running down and dripping off your elbows Ribs. I love watching people bit into a a perfectly done rib and see the smile in their eyes as the meat pulls away from the bone and the taste of the rub and sauce mingle together to make a perfect culinary delight.

Any one can make the perfect rib. All you need is the right equipment and a little bit of patience. But if your a regular follower of this blog you already have plenty of that. As they say good food takes time and ribs are no exception.

To begin you need to fire up your smoker and get it up to temp. 180 to 220 degrees is the BBQ temp. A couple of racks of pork ribs, (spare or baby back,) some of your favorite rub, a bottle of mustard, a spray bottle of apple juice, some aluminum foil and a love for good food and some Friends to share it with.

First you need to prepare the ribs. Rinse them off and pat dry and trim off any excess fat and meat. Then you need to remove the membrane off the bone side of the ribs. To do this slide your knife under the membrane on the left side of the rack and pry it upwards.


Take hold of the membrane and slowly pull across the slab. If your lucky it will all come off in one piece. If not then remove all pieces the same way. It takes practice but you'll get the hang of it.


Next you need to apply a layer of mustard all over the ribs(both sides). Yep that's right mustard. Don't worry you wont be able to taste it after the ribs are cooked. The mustard is a binder to keep your rub on the meat. You don't have to use it if you don't want to. If your skeptical about the taste I suggest you try it both ways you will be surprised at the out come.

Apply your rub next. Don't be stingy really put it on there you can always make more.

Your smoker should be up to temp by now so you can place your ribs right on the grill. Place them meat side up. Slow smoke the racks at 180 to 220 degrees for 4 hours. I like to mist the ribs once an hour with apple juice. This helps keep the meat moist. But remember if your looking your not cooking.


After 4 hours it's time for the Texas crutch. Wrap the racks in aluminum foil and place them back in the smoker for another 2 hours.

What this does is help the meat get a little more tender and separate from the bone. Some people think that this is cheating. You can skip this step and leave them in the smoker if you like. After 2 hours open the foil and check the ribs. You should see the meat Begin to pull away from the bone.

Close the smoker and let the heat dry the ribs a little another 20 minutes should do the trick. Remove them from the smoker and place on a cutting board and slice. I like to place the racks meat side down with the bone end away from me and using a sharp knife cut down between two bones. Serve the ribs naked with sauce on the side. That way you and your guest can have as much or as little sauce as they like. Enjoy

VIOLA the perfect rib.

Prime Rib

Prime Rib, Does it get much better?
Take your fork and cut into a slice of prime rib its amazing how tender and juicy it is. As you place it in your mouth your taste buds explode with the flavor. Smoke, salt and spices mingle with the beef to form a culinary experience like no other. It's no wonder prime rib cost so much. I paid $110 dollars for a 18 pound roast around Christmas time. Which is cheap compared to other times I've paid over ten dollars a pound before.
Like most good foods prime rib takes time. Time to prepare, time to cook and time to eat. You begin with preparing the the rub, in prime ribs case the crust.
Crust/rub
2 cups Kosher sea salt
3 T Hi-I-Que rub (or your favorite rub)
4 T Garlic powder
2 T Freshly ground Black pepper
Mix together and add enough water to make a thick paste.
Once the Crust/rub is ready. Take your prime rib roast and trim the fat cap to 1/8 inch thick. Lightly mist roast with apple juice (or water) and add paste in layers to fat cap. Paste should be approx 1/2 inch thick. Wrap meat in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Preheat your smoker to around 250 degrees.


Place meat on grill and cook for 3 hours. (Mist with apple juice or water every 1/2 hour to keep crust moist.) Then turn your smoker down to smoke setting and smoke for 2 hours. Return smoker to 250 degrees and cook meat until internal temp reaches 125 degrees for Med rare or 145 degrees for med well. When prime reaches desired temp remove from grill and let rest for 15 minutes. Slice and Enjoy.