Beef Barbacoa Nachos

Barbacoa is tender slow-cooked beef, marinated in spicy and smoky flavor, and then shredded before serving.  It goes great in tacos, burritos, nachos, or just by itself.  This was the first time we made it, and let me tell you, it was wayyy better than the Chipotle version!  It is marinated over night and cooked for 3 1/2 hours in the oven before removing and shredding.   This barbacoa will definitely spice up your meal!  We made nachos this time, with cheese sauce and pickled onions to go on top.  Thanks to Serious Eats for the recipe :)

Ingredients:
Barbacoa

2-3 lbs beef brisket 

16-ounce can diced, fire-roasted tomatoes with juice 

½ cup dark or amber lager 

2 t ground cumin 

1 T dried ancho chile powder 

1 T unsweetened cocoa 

½ t dried Mexican oregano 

½ cup apple cider vinegar 

1 whole chipotle chile en adobo, chopped, plus 3 tablespoons adobo sauce, divided 

2 t sugar 

2 t kosher salt, divided 

½ t fresh-cracked black pepper 

2 bay leaves

For the Cheese Sauce 

4 ounces extra sharp cheddar cheese (half of an 8-ounce block), shredded 

4 ounces Velveeta, cubed 

1 cup whole milk 

One T cornstarch 

For the pickled red onions 

1 teaspoon vegetable oil 

1 large red onion, halved and sliced 

½ cup cider vinegar 

¼ cup water 

½ t Mexican oregano 

½ t sugar

Directions: 
Combine tomatoes (with juice), lager, cumin, chile powder, cocoa, oregano, vinegar, chipotle chile and 2 tablespoons adobo sauce,  salt, and pepper in a blender and puree until smooth. Place brisket in a zip-lock bag, add marinade and seal bag tightly removing as much air as possible, and place in refrigerator to marinate overnight, turning occasionally.

The next day, adjust the oven rack to the lower-middle position and preheat oven to 300°F. Place brisket and marinade in a Dutch oven, with the burner heated over medium heat.  Add bay leaves and bring to a bare simmer.

Cover, place in the oven, and cook until meat is fork-tender, about 3 1/2 hours. Remove meat from the cooking liquid, discard bay leaves and allow meat to cool before shredding into strands.   The meat should be very tender and easily pull apart.  If it still feels tough, continue cooking for 30 minutes at a time, checking in between.

Roughly chop into 1 1/2-inch pieces. Transfer to a small bowl, combine with 1 cup reserved cooking liquid. Taste and season with salt, if necessary. Set aside. 

From here, you can do whatever you want with the beef.  We made nachos, following recipe below.

Pickled Onions -
Heat vegetable oil in a medium saucepan over medium high heat until shimmering. Add onions and sauté, stirring constantly, for 30 seconds. Remove from heat and add vinegar, water, oregano and sugar and season with half remaining ½ teaspoon salt. Allow to cool to room temperature before using.

For the Cheese Sauce:
Add the cheeses and cornstarch to a medium saucepan and stir to combine.  Add milk and remaining tablespoon of adobo sauce. Over low heat, whisk until cheese is melted and velvety, about 5 minutes. Set aside.

To make the nachos:

Spread tortilla chips over a large baking sheet.  Sprinkle toppings on the chips, such as beans, salsa, black olives or jalapenos.  Evenly distribute the barbacoa, (you will probably have enough for 2-3 trays)  Pour the cheese sauce on top and place in the oven for about 10 minutes.  Once they are out, add extra toppings such as sour cream and chopped cilantro.  Share these with a big group!

Cookie Dough Truffles

I've never branched out too far from my usual truffle recipe, but when I saw this I knew it would be the perfect treat to make for Sean.  He's been begging me to make cookies recently, but these are much more indulgent.  Everyone loves cookie dough, but you've been taught it's bad to eat because of the raw egg, plus you want to save it to have enough baked cookies.  This dough is made with milk in place of the egg, so it's guilt-free in that respect.  The balls of dough are coated in melted chocolate to make the perfect bite-sized morsel.  I decorated these with some white chocolate, melted and dyed pink for Valentine's Day, but you could do any number of other non-holiday decorations like sprinkles or crushed nuts.

Ingredients:

3/4 cups butter, softened to room temperature

1/2 cup white granulated sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar

3 T milk

1 t vanilla

1/4 t salt

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups mini semi-sweet chocolate chips (I used regular size)

6 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips

2 T vegetable oil

Directions:

Cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy.  Add the milk, vanilla, and salt and stir until well combined.

Next, add the flour and mix until it is all incorporated.  Finally, stir in the chocolate chips.  Make tablespoon sized balls of dough and place them on a baking sheet covered with wax paper.  Refrigerate for at least one hour before dipping them in the melted chocolate.

 When the cookie dough is almost done chilling, melt your chocolate chips.  I always do mine in the microwave, but you could also use a double broiler.  Stir in the vegetable oil with the melted chocolate to thin it out a bit.  Coat each ball in the chocolate and place them back on the baking sheet.  Place the tray back in the fridge to chill until the outer shell dries.  If you are adding nuts or sprinkles, do this while the chocolate is still wet. 

I melted some white chocolate chips and added pink food coloring to make "frosting" to decorate the truffles.  I piped it through a zip lock bag.  It was a little thick but it did the trick.  Serve in mini-cupcake holders.  Enjoy!

Candied Bacon

I made Sean a few treats on Sunday for an early Valentine's Day present.  Because we both LOVE bacon, I knew this recipe would be perfect for a sweet and savory surprise.  And... it was.  The brown sugar and crushed nuts that coat the bacon caramelize in the oven creating a sweet crunchy crust around the strips as they bake.  The result is super addicting!  We had this as a pre-dinner snack, but it would also pair wonderfully with dessert.  (Such as the chocolate cookie dough truffles, below!)

Ingredients:

1 lb (or less, as much as you want to make) sliced bacon

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup crushed nuts (use whatever you have on hand - walnuts, pecans, hazlenuts, almonds... etc.)

2 T flour

Directions:  Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.  Cover a broiler pan and the tray underneath with foil to make the clean-up easy.  Mix together the sugar, flour, and nuts in a bowl.  Dredge each slice of bacon in this mixture and place it on the broiler sheet.  I pressed more on top of each slice because it didn't seem like that much was sticking.  *If you are allergic to nuts, I would just add more sugar and I'm sure it will still taste amazing.

Bake for approx. 30 minutes, or until golden-brown and barely crisp.

 Let the slices cool for a couple minutes before you remove them from the pan.  We found that the foil stuck to the bacon slightly, but it was easy to peel right off.  Break the slices into two or three pieces and stack on a plate to serve!  (if they even last long enough to make it to a plate)  Sean paired the snack with a glass of Buffalo Trace bourbon. 

I made sure Sean knows I love him more than bacon... but this recipe comes in as a close second!

Apple-Cinnamon Steel Cut Oats

After my last time making steel cut oats, (when I discovered I loved them so much) I was thinking of different flavor profiles to go with the next time.  I decided on apple-cinnamon, mixing cooked apples into the oatmeal with fresh chopped apples on top.  I made a double-batch so we could eat it for breakfast all week long, and I'm so glad I did.  It was creamy and delicious, slightly sweet but also tart from the fresh apple.  The cinnamon smells and tastes amazing, without overpowering the dish.  Looking forward to making this again!

Ingredients:

2 cups steel cut oats

1 T vegetable oil, or flavored oil such as hazelnut

1 cup coconut milk

1 cup milk

6 cups water

1 cinnamon stick

1/2 t salt

2 T honey

1 t vanilla

2 apples, peeled and diced

1 t ground cinnamon

1 T brown sugar

2 T water

ground cinnamon and nutmeg for garnish

Directions: 

Toast the steel cut oats with the oil in a non-stick skillet for about 4-5 minutes.  

Heat both milks and the water in a medium-large sauce pan until boiling.  Add the toasted oats, cinnamon stick, and salt.  Stir and let simmer for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, peel and dice your apples if you haven't done so already.  Reserve one apple for topping.  Combine the other chopped apple in a medium non-stick skillet with the ground cinnamon and sugar.  Stir to combine, and add the 2 T water.  Cover and cook for about 8-10 minutes.  Take the lid off and allow remaining liquid to cook off.  

  
When the oatmeal has thickened, add the cooked apple mixture, honey, and vanilla.  Stir and taste for more salt.  Top with fresh apples, cinnamon, and nutmeg.