Hazelnut Cheesecake

Ingredients:

• Polvorones Cookie Crust

• 282.5 Grams Polvorones Cookies* 

• 4 Tb melted Butter

• Hazelnut Cheesecake Layer

• 32 oz cream cheese, softened

• 1/4 cup granulated sugar

• 4 large eggs

• 1 1/2 cups Nutella Spread

• 1 cup Heavy Cream

• 1 /2 tsp salt

Hazelnut Ganache

• 2 Tb Nutella

• 1 Tb Heavy Whipping Cream

*Substitute Polvorones for Sugar Cookies

Instructions:

1. Preheat Oven to 400F. Meanwhile wrap a 9-inch springform cheesecake pan in aluminum foil and set aside. This is to prevent leakage. Place an inch of water in a 10 to 12-inch cake pan to create a water bath. 

2. In a food processor (or by hand) crush cookies and combine with butter to form the crust. Press evenly across the bottom of the cheesecake pan, pulling some of the crust up the sides. Bake for 10 minutes and allow to cool. 

3. Lower oven to 375F. 

4. In a stand mixer (or with a hand mixer) with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on high. Scrape sides of the bowl and then with mixer on a lower setting, add one egg at a time. Stir and scrape the bowl after each egg. 

5. Add the Nutella, heavy cream, and salt. On a low speed, beat mixture until smooth.

6. Pour into the prepared pan with cooled cookie crust and place pan into the water bath. Bake for 15 minutes and then without opening the oven door, lower the temperature to 325F and bake for an additional 50-60 minutes, or until set. (Should still jiggle slightly in the center)

7. Once ready, turn the oven off and crack the oven door. Leave the cheesecake inside for 20 minutes to allow to set without cracking. 

8. Remove cheesecake from the oven, the water bath, and allow to cool for 60 minutes at room temperature. When pan is able to be handled, also remove the foil. When ready, cover the top of the cheesecake with paper towels and loosely cover pan plastic wrap. Cool in fridge overnight, or for at least 4 hours. 

9. While the cheesecake is cooling, make the ganache by combining Nutella and heavy cream in a small pan and melt until combined and smooth. Allow to cool slightly before pouring over the cheesecake.

**Serve cheesecake with Ganache, toasted Hazelnuts, and a dollop of Plum or Blackberry Jam

Lion's Mane Mushroom Carnitas

Vegan Carnitas…..two words that you never thought would go together. This recipe is something that I created in my mind over the course of a few weeks and I was so incredibly happy when it actually came together in practice. 

Like I mentioned above, this dish is something that I worked on in my mind for a while. It was inspired by my first encounter with Lion’s Mane Mushrooms. Their texture is fibrous and chewy like meat and their flavor is rich and hearty. After eating them right out of the oven with a simple seasoning of salt, pepper, and olive oil I knew that I wanted to play with them more! Luckily I was able to grab these from the source, ordering them from a local vendor. If you are in the Paso Robles area, that vendor is Mighty Cap Mushrooms.

Given their texture and shredability when cooked, I knew that I wanted to play with Lion’s Mane as a Pork substitute. I ended up on the idea of Carnitas because honestly that’s what I wanted to eat and the stars lined up perfectly to make it so. If you like your Carnitas extra crispy I would follow the directions below but let them live under the broiler for longer. If you're scared of the broiler, skip that step entirely and just crisp up your mushrooms in the pan over high heat with a little extra oil.  Also I could use this space to tell you everything about Lion’s Mane and all the beautiful positive effects it can have on your body, but this isn’t the platform and I don’t have the time. If you have the time though, do your research. Lion’s Mane is amazing and it truly is a versatile ingredient with benefits for your cooking and your body. 

Lion’s Mane Mushroom Carnitas:

Prep: 10 Min | Cook: 2 Hours | Servings: 4

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Vegetable Oil

• 3.25 pounds of Lions Mane Mushroom cut into bite size pieces

• ½ white onion. Finely diced

• 1 cup milk (can use vegan milk if making vegan)

• 2 tsp oregano

• 1 sprig CIlantro

• 2 tsp cumin

• 1 bay leaf

• ½ cup water

• Zest of 1 orange

• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Heat oil in a saucepan. Add the onion and mushrooms and cook over medium heat for about 8 minutes. Stir occasionally and cook until browned. 

2. Add milk, water, and remaining ingredients. 

3. Reduce heat to low. Cook for 1.5-2 hours, stirring occasionally, until all the liquid has evaporated.

4. When the liquid is close to evaporating, turn your broiler to high and set a rack closer to the broiler. 

5. When liquid has evaporated, remove the pan from the heat and use two forks to shred the mushrooms before placing the pan (make sure its heat safe) under the broiler. If you're prone to burning yourself, I would remove the mushrooms from the pan and shred them in a bowl then place them back in the pan and broil for 5-15 minutes, stirring occasionally until you reach desired crispiness. 

****If your mushrooms are not shredding, add more liquid (water or broth) and let them cook down for longer until they reach that shreddable texture. 

1. I served these with Poblano Rice, pinto beans, lime, tortillas, and salsa verde. 

This recipe was adapted from Mexico: The Cookbook.

Pineapple Carnitas & roasted Pineapple Salsa

Check out my recipe for Pineapple Carnitas and roasted Pineapple Salsa. I’ve broken out the recipe and instructions into two in case you want to try one without the other. The Carnitas recipe is a labor of love, but if you don’t have 4 hours to dedicate to them I suggest you check out this much faster version at Two Peas and Their Pod.

Carnitas:

PREP TIME: 15 min

Cook Time: 4 Hr

Servings: 10

• 5# boneless pork shoulder

• salt/pepper

• 2 cup chicken broth**More may be needed

• 3/4 cup Dole Pineapple Juice

• 1/4 cup lemon juice

• 1 Tb brown sugar

• 1 Tb minced garlic

• 1 tsp chili powder

• 1 tsp smoked paprika

• 1/2 tsp oregano

• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

• 4 Tb Canola or Vegetable Oil

Instructions:

1. Pat pork dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Set aside

2. In a bowl, stir together broth, pineapple juice, lemon juice, brown sugar, garlic, chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, oregano, and cinnamon. Set aside.

3. In a heavy bottom pot (with a lid) over medium high heat, add oil. When oil is hot (not smoky) brown pork shoulder on all sides. If too big for the pot, cut up the pork into workable chunks and sear in batches. 

4. When browned on all sides (if pork was cooked in batches, add all pork back to the pot) pour in the juice/spice mix** Make sure not to fully submerge the pork, leave about 1 inch of the pork uncovered by liquid. 

5. Bring to a boil, cover tightly with a lid and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 3 hours until the meat is shreddable with a fork. Remove from heat, keep lid on, and allow to come to room temperature. 

6. Set the broiler to high.

7. Remove meat from pot, reserving liquid. Shred meat by hand or with forks. Spread meat onto a baking sheet and pour over 2 cups of the reserved liquid.

8. Broil on High for 5-10 minutes, stirring every few minutes to avoid burning. 

Roasted Pineapple Salsa

Prep: 15 minutes

Servings: 6

Ingredients:

• 1 can (20 oz) Dole Pineapple Slices in 100% Pineapple Juice (reserve liquid)

• 1/2 cup cilantro, minced

• 1 small white onion, sliced thin

• 1 Red Jalapeno Pepper, stemmed and seeded, finely chopped (Green Jalapeno works too)

• 1 clove garlic, minced

• 1 green onion, minced (including white)

• Juice of 1 large lime

• 1/4 cup of reserved pineapple juice

• 5 Tb Olive oil, (3 TB reserved)

• salt/pepper to taste

Instructions: 

1. Set broiler to high, in a baking sheet add pineapple slices and onion slices. Drizzle with olive, salt and pepper to taste. Roast for 5 minutes until ingredients are browned. 

2. Allow to cool. Finely chop the pineapple and onion.

3. In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients. Stir until well combined. Adjust salt/pepper as needed. Allow to sit for 10-15 minutes, serve chilled or at room temperature. 

*This post and these recipes are in collaboration with Dole and their #SunshineforAll campaign and I was compensated. They also donated 1,000 Fruit Bowls to the El Camino Homeless Organization on my behalf.

Quick Sofrito

This is the Sofrito that scents my Grandma’s home every day. It’s the Sofrito I grew up on and it’s the same I use for most recipes in my own cooking. So why do I call this Quick Sofrito? It utilizes the same core ingredients found across most Sofrito recipes, and can be used as the base for any recipe that calls for it. You can also tweak it with extra herbs/spices to make it more specialized for different dishes. My favorite thing about this recipe, aside from the delicious smell/flavor, is that you can make a huge batch and freeze it into portions. Whenever you need a little flavor boost, you can easily grab a cube out of the freezer!

Quick Sofrito

Yield: 3-4 Cups

Ingredients:

• 8 Aji Dulces or 4 Cubanelle peppers, stemmed, seeded, and cut into large chunks (about 2 cups)

• 18 medium Garlic cloves, peeled

• 1 large bunch Cilantro or 1/2 bunch of Recao, rinsed and roughly chopped

• 10-15 Spanish Manzanilla Olives Stuffed with Pimiento

Instructions:

1. If using a mortar and pestle, give all the ingredients a rough chop and slowly mash them together into a paste.

2. If using a food processor or blender, add all ingredients and puree until a paste.

3. If not using all right away, use an ice cube tray to portion and freeze the sofrito. Once frozen, add cubes to a freezer safe bag or container.