Cranberry Cream Cheese Stuffed Steak Recipe

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, I’m sure many of you have turkey on the brain. For those of you who don’t really much care for turkey meat, here’s a steak recipe that still manages to capture some of the flavors of the season. Specifically, I made a cranberry-flavored cream cheese that I stuffed into the steaks. I was inspired by a chicken recipe I recently made with a filling of Granny Smith apples. The only difference is beef doesn't need to marinate overnight. Allow beef to marinate for at least 15 minutes, but no more than 30 minutes. I used my usual meat tenderizer (green papaya paste).

After stuffing the steaks with cranberry cheese filling, I sealed them with twine. I gave them a quick searing and then transferred the steaks to the oven to bring them to a perfect medium-rare. The cranberries bring a hint of tartness to the beef in addition to fitting perfectly on your (non-traditional) Thanksgiving table.

Salmon Tortilla Pinwheel Appetizers

Salmon wasabi pinwheels are super easy to make. I prepared wasabi and dill-flavored cream cheese in advance and stored them in the refrigerator until dinner time. The assembling part is so simple a child could roll them. In fact, that’s exactly what we did. I let the kids prepare the rolls and then slice them into bite-sized pieces. We secured the cute appetizers with fancy hors d'oeuvre picks.

For those who can tolerate a little bit of heat, I topped the appetizers with wasabi flavored peanuts to repeat the same flavors from the filling. My husband Lulu brought them back from a recent trip to Texas. Lulu knows what a foodie I am so he always tries to find new products for me to experiment with. It’s not all that altruistic though, since he’s usually the beneficiary of these creations. Don’t I have the sweetest husband?

Cucumber Tea Sandwiches

Cucumber sandwiches are the most delicious, easiest finger foods to make. All you need is sliced white bread, butter and of course, cucumbers. To enhance the flavor, I also spread a thin layer of parsley and garlic chive cream cheese spread.

We hosted a pool party today for Lya (my 13-year-old sis-in-law) and her classmates. I think everyone had fun, splashing in the water, chatting and reuniting right before school starts. They all seemed very hungry after swimming and the little cucumber sandwiches and other finger foods went fast!

Spicy Peanut Mascarpone Chicken Curry Recipe

To make mascarpone chicken, I marinated chicken breast cubes that I tenderized overnight using buttermilk. For the thick gravy, I made a mixture of mascarpone and coarsely ground peanuts and turmeric.

Since the dish is a little heavy, I suggest serving it with leafy greens and steamed rice. It’s not the healthiest way to eat chicken, but it is quite delicious. Also, I’ve found that even finicky kids love it. That should be enough to get over any guilt you feel. It works for me!

Carrot Halwa Cheesecake Recipe

I just received a huge package of Walkers shortbread cookies (thanks so much Iza), and before my little munchkin goes through the entire package (she's already had 24 individual packets!), I wanted to prepare a sweet treat with them. I also had leftover carrot (gajar) halwa from a batch I made over Memorial Day weekend, so it made sense to combine the two items. After much deliberation, I decided to make an Indian-inspired cheesecake using the shortbread rounds. I mixed the halwa with cream cheese and cardamom syrup, then softened it with whipped cream and used the mixture as the filling. For the crust, I crushed several shortbread cookies and mixed them with butter.

The Indian flavors weren't overpowering at all. In fact they were actually quite subtle, and paired perfectly with the buttery flavor and mild sweetness of the shortbread crust. The dessert was a big hit,and has inspired me to try using both Indian sweets and shortbread in creative ways. Stay tuned!