Ropa Vieja
In the fourth Bean to Bar Mystery, A Shot it the 80% Dark, Felicity is in a better place with her friends and has made peace with Arlo (her ex – who she dated about a decade ago in high school).
Felicity sees Arlo’s mom – who doesn’t know Felicity has come back into Arlo’s life. Arlo’s mom – who is known to be an excellent cook — is polite enough to invite Felicity to join them for ropa vieja. Here’s the recipe for that dish.
3 pounds flank steak
2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
3 bay leaves
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 yellow onions, thinly sliced
2 green bell peppers, thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
10 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. ground cumin
2 tsp. dried oregano
2 Tbsp. tomato paste
2/3 c. vino seco (Golden Cuban cooking wine)
30 oz. canned tomato sauce
2 c. beef stock
1 lime, juiced
½ cup pimiento-stuffed olives, sliced into thirds
2 Tbsp. capers
White rice and Cuban black beans, for serving
Season the flank steak with salt and black pepper and place on a rack in a pressure cooker. Add 4 cups of water and the bay leaves. Lock pressure cooker lid in place and cook according to the manufacturer’s directions, cook for 35 minutes on High pressure. Remove the flank steak from the pressure cooker. Transfer the flank steak to a cutting board and allow to rest for about 5 minutes. Shred the beef into long strands.
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Place the olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium high heat. When the oil is hot, add the onions and peppers to the same pot. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables have softened and the onion turns translucent. Add the garlic, cumin and oregano and tomato paste and cook, stirring frequently, for about 1 minute. Add the vino seco, tomato sauce, beef stock. Cook, stirring frequently, for five minutes. Add the shredded beef to the tomato mixture and stir it in.
Cover the Dutch oven and place it in the preheated oven. Cook until the beef is tender and the sauce has thickened, about 1 -2 hours. Remove the Dutch oven from the oven and stir the tomato and beef mixture. Add the lime juice, olives, and capers. Add additional salt and pepper, if needed, to taste. Serve with white rice and black beans.
Larry’s Deli’s Cajun Reuben Sandwich
I have discovered over the course of several books in my Bean to Bar Mysteries that my protagonist, Felicity, is fond of sandwiches. It isn’t all she eats – obviously, since she’s got a developed palate for chocolate making. But sandwiches are laid-back, on-the-go foods which can still be delicious and support a variety of flavor profiles. Felicity’s taste varies – from the diner club sandwich she eats leisurely in the first book, to the cruise ship roast beef sandwich she has standing up because sleuthing has caused her to miss a meal. (The recipe for that one – including how to make the roast beef – is on the bonus page of my website.) In Book 4, A Shot in the 80% Dark, Felicity winds up grabbing sandwiches with one of her love interests to bring to the other love interest, who is in the hospital getting checked for a concussion. This is slightly less awkward than it sounds. In the scene, Felicity reveals that one of her favorite sandwich is a local restaurant’s Cajun-style Reuben. This makes sense for Felicity – who has a Cajun side to her family, and to the setting, Galveston Island, which has embraced Cajun culture in a number of restaurants.
You can either heat the corned beef wrapped in foil in the oven, or covered with a wet paper towel in the microwave. The remoulade itself isn’t that spicy, so control the heat level in the sandwich with the amount of minced jalapeno you add. (Omit them entirely if you don’t like spicy things) As written, the recipe had a bit of a kick.
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
4 slices marbled rye bread
1 batch Cajun Remoulade
1 Tbsp. jalapeno, minced
½ lb. deli sliced corned beef, warmed
1 c. sauerkraut, warmed and drained
4 slices Swiss cheese
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Brush one side of each slice of bread with butter. Heat a large cast iron skillet over medium heat and add bread, butter side down. Toast about two minutes, or until the toasted side turns golden brown. Place the slices of bread on a baking sheet, untoasted side up.
Spread Cajun remoulade generously on the untoasted side of each bread slice. Top two of the bread slices with the minced jalapeno. Layer those two slices with the corned beef and then the sauerkraut. Place a Swiss cheese slice on top of the sauerkraut on each of those two slices. Place the other two cheese slices on top of the other two remaining remoulade -coated bread slices.
Transfer the partially constructed sandwiches to the oven and cook until cheese is fully melted, about 3 minutes. Close sandwiches, making sure the cheese is hot enough to melt together. Cut each sandwich in half and serve immediately.
Cajun Rémoulade
½ c. mayonnaise
1 Tbsp. dijon mustard
2 tsp. Cajun seasoning
1 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
1 Tbsp. pickled jalapeno peppers
1 Tbsp. celery, minced
1 tsp. lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp. scallions, sliced
Combine all ingredients and mix thoroughly.
Tam Binh’s Cherry Vietnamese Coffee
In A Shot in the 80% Dark, Carmen and Tam Binh are working together in the kitchen at Greetings and Felicitations, testing some fusion recipes to highlight on Tam Binh’s podcast. Carmen’s cookbook is about to be released, and they have tons of ideas to promote it. Tam Binh brought along everything to make Vietnamese coffee. Spotting Carmen’s selection of home-made coffee syrups, she experiments with making a flavored Vietnamese coffee and is pleased with the results.
You will need a phin (Vietnamese coffee press) to properly make the coffee. If you can’t find one locally, there are inexpensive ones online.
3 Tbsp. Cafe Du Monde or Trung Nguyen coffee
1 c. boiling water
2 Tbsp. condensed milk
2 Tbsp. cherry simple syrup
¼ tsp. ground cinnamon
Fill a tall glass with ice and set aside.
Layer the condensed milk, and cherry syrup in a second glass. Add 3 Tbsp. of coffee to the phin. Add 2 Tbsp. hot water to the grounds and let set for a minute to bloom the grounds. Set the press on the top of the grounds but do not press. Place the phin on top of the glass with the layered milk and syrup.
Pour the rest of the hot water into the phin slowly, allowing coffee to drip through as needed, until it is full and all of the water is in. Press the press lightly if the water is dripping to fast. Let drip approximately 5 minutes. Press lightly at the end to get the last few drips out. Remove the phin.
Stir the coffee until the condensed milk and cherry syrup are completely incorporated. Then pour the coffee over the ice. Sprinkle the cinnamon on top.
Cherry Simple Syrup
3/4 c water
3/4 c sugar
1 – 12 oz. bag frozen cherries, cut in half
1 squeeze of lemon juice
Bring water, sugar, lemon juice, and thawed cherries to a simmer while stirring constantly.
Continue to cook for 8 minutes and remove from the heat.
Cool before straining into a glass jar. Syrup can be refrigerated for up to a month.
Pandan Chocoflan
In the 4th Bean to Bar Book, Carmen (the pastry chef at Felicity’s shop) is getting ready to promote her upcoming cookbook. Felicity’s blogger friend Tam Binh has showed up to help out. When Tam Binh shows up at the shop, she and Carmen decided to do some baking while podcasting. They start trying to outdo each other – while at the same time collaborating. They make traditional desserts that have special effects – but adding fusion-fun flavors. Carmen makes Chocoflan – because chocoflan does something special in the oven. Since Tam Binh brought pandan flavoring with her baking stuff, Carmen decides to throw it into the flan. And Tam Binh responds by making honeycomb cake – which is traditionally flavored with the pandan – with a café de olla-inspired mix of flavors. The honeycomb cake is fun, too, because it has to cool upside down. The book is first person and Felicity wasn’t there, but I imagined the scene in detail, even though Felicity only gets to hear Carmen talk about the results.
Chocoflan does a really cool trick in the oven: the layers switch places. You line the bottom of the pan with caramel, then scoop in the cake batter, and then pour on the flan. And somehow, the cake floats to the top to become the cake base when you flip it. I added pandan extract and coconut extract to the flan mixture to go with the events taking place in A Shot in the 80% Dark, but you could just as easily make a plain (more traditional) chocoflan by omitting the flavorings.
Butter, softened, to coat pan
4 Tbsp caramel sauce
10 Tbsp. butter, room temperature
1 c. sugar
1 egg, room temperature
1 ¾ c. all-purpose flour
¾ tsp. baking powder
¾ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt
⅓ c. Dark cocoa powder
1 ¼ c. buttermilk
8 oz. evaporated milk
1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
4 eggs, room temperature
2 Tbsp pandan extract
½ Tbsp. coconut extract
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Grease a Bundt pan generously with a butter, then drizzle the inside bottom of the pan with the caramel sauce.
For the Cake:
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cocoa. Set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar. Beat in the egg. Add ⅓ of the flour mixture, and ½ of the buttermilk to the egg mixture and beat until smooth. Repeat, ending with the flour mixture. Blend until well incorporated.
For the Flan:
In a blender, combine the evaporated milk, condensed milk, pandan extract, coconut extract, and eggs. Blend on high for 30 seconds.
To Assemble:
Scoop the cake batter into the prepared Bundt pan and distributing evenly. Slowly pour the flan mixture over the cake batter.
Prepare a water bath by using a baking sheet with a lip that can hold the Bundt pan and ½ inch of water.
After sliding the pan into the oven add the water to the pan, and bake 1 hour, until the surface of the cake is firm to the touch, or an inserted toothpick comes out clean. When cake is done, remove from the water bath and cool completely to room temperature, about 1 hour.
Place a serving plate upside down over the Bundt pan. Hold them together, shake side to side a little and flip over. Remove the pan and scrape any remaining sauce from the pan.
Honeycomb Cake
In A Shot in the 80% Dark, blogger Tam Binh and Carmen, the Pastry Chef at Greetings and Felicitations spend some time in the kitchen coming up with fun, fusion desserts. They’re also making coffee, so one of them decides to take the spices meant for the café de olla and use them to flavor a cake.
This Vietnamese-style honeycomb cake may have an untraditional flavor profile, but it maintains the traditional “honeycomb” structure that comes from the gloss of the tapioca flour, with the air pockets that are maintained by cooling the cake upside down. (As otherwise it might collapse in on itself.) The eggs are handled gently in the preparation stages as well, to allow for the most height in the cake.
vegetable oil, for greasing the pan
1 c. coconut cream
¼ tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. espresso powder
¼ tsp. clove
¼ tsp. anise
3/4 c. sugar
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
5 eggs, at room temperature
1 c. tapioca starch
2 tsp. cream of tartar
1 tsp. baking soda
3 oz. dark chocolate
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease the bottom of an 8 inch round cake pan and place it in the oven to heat up.
In a large microwave-safe bowl, combine the coconut cream, salt, espresso powder, clove, anise, and sugar. Place the bowl in the microwave and cook for one minute on high. Add the vegetable oil and mix to combine. Set aside.
Crack the eggs into a separate bowl. crack the eggs. With a pair of scissors, cut the egg yolks into small pieces. Pour the eggs into the bowl with the coconut mixture.
Sift together the tapioca starch, rice flour, cream of tarter and baking soda. Slowly add the tapioca mixture to the egg mixture, constantly whisking gently.
Carefully remove the cake pan from the oven and place it on a cooling rack. Press the cake mixture through a sieve, directly into the hot cake pan. Holding the pan with oven mitts, tap it on the counter a couple times to release air bubbles. Place the pan into the oven and bake for 40 minutes.
Meanwhile, set up a cooling station, using two cooking racks with a gap between them to allow the cake to cool upside down at least three inches above the counter.
Take the cake out of the oven and immediately rest it upside down on the cooling station. Allow to cool for 40-50 minutes, or until lukewarm. Flip the pan over, and remove the cake from pan.
In a small bowl, melt the chocolate in the microwave, stirring at ten second intervals. Drizzle the chocolate over individual cake slices and serve.
Felicity’s Ginger, Lime and Coconut Truffle
In A Shot in the 80% Dark, Felicity is creating a chocolate sculpture of a giant boat, to celebrate the maritime history of Galveston, Texas, the island where the books are set. To go with the maritime theme, she creates a set of bonbons with flavors the project has inspired. There’s hints of pirate history, and the museum’s mouthy cockatoo, which puts her in the mind of coconut, lime and ginger. They make her think of a tropical drink, and she imagines that the bonbons will transport visitors at the museum’s gala, where the sculpture will be unveiled, into the world of the sculpture. The version of this recipe in the book is fairly complicated. Felicity is layering lime curd with a white chocolate coconut ganache and a dark chocolate ginger ganache, inside shells created using polycarbonate molds. Here, I’ve simplified the recipe, combining all three flavors into a ganache that is firm enough to roll into a truffle, so that it doesn’t require any special equipment. If you prefer a non-alcoholic truffle, feel free to omit the rum and add a teaspoon of vanilla extract instead.
1 c. heavy cream
5 Tbsp. lime curd
2 Tbsp. chopped crystalized ginger
¼ c. rum
1 tsp. lime zest
2 Tbsp. coconut powder
1 lb. dark chocolate, chopped
Flaked coconut, for rolling
Place the cream in a medium pot and heat over medium-low until the cream starts to steam.
Place the chopped chocolate in a large bowl. Pour the cream over it, and allow it to sit for several minutes, until the chocolate starts to melt. Whisk the mixture until smooth.
Place the lime curd, crystalized ginger, rum, lime zest and coconut powder in the bowl of a blender or food processor. Process until as smooth as possible. Pour the mixture over the chocolate/cream mixture and whisk until evenly combined. Place the ganache in the refrigerator for at least two hours.
Roll the ganache mixture into 1-inch balls. Roll each ball into the flaked coconut.
Place the ganache in the refrigerator for at least two hours.
Roll the ganache mixture into 1-inch balls. Roll each ball into the cocoa powder, and then press a few cocoa nibs into the top.