The story below is a preview from our November/December 2016 issue. For the full story Subscribe today, view our FREE interactive digital edition or download our FREE iOS app!
If you loved seeing our gorgeous cover featuring a chocolate cherry Roanoke Star roll cake, then you’re going to love making it in your own kitchen and impressing the holiday guests!
Not only are the last two months of the year cooler, making us yearn for comfort food, but it’s also holiday season, which means we want to impress guests with great recipes. With that in mind, I went immediately to my good friend Angie Barrett (of BigBearsWife.com), a successful Virginia foodie blogger.
Angie has created recipes for her blog and for national brands, including KRAFT, Dixie Crystals, Sabra, Hormel and many more. In addition, she won the 2013 Food Lion Cook-off, has been featured on Huffington Post and BuzzFeed, and shared recipes on WSLS 10 cooking segments.
Grab the delicious recipe for Short Ribs and Cheesy Grits here on our blog, and be sure to grab our latest issue on newsstands to get the chocolate cherry roll and homemade mac and cheese recipes! You’ll definitely be adding these dishes to the “favorites” list in your cookbook! —LIZ LONG
Short Ribs and Cheesy Grits
A restaurant quality meal that can be made perfectly in your very own kitchen! These ribs have been seasoned, braised and slow roasted for the perfect, fall-off-the-bone short rib. Next, they’re paired with homemade cheesy grits for a fantastic meal that’s full of southern comfort in every bite!
Ingredients:
- 3-4 pounds beef short ribs
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 tablespoon onion powder
- 2 cups beef broth
- 15 ounces tomato sauce
- 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 – 4 sprigs fresh thyme
Directions:
For the Short Ribs:
- Preheat oven to 325F.
- Sprinkle the short ribs with salt, pepper and onion powder.
- Heat the olive oil in a large oven proof pot or a dutch oven over medium-high heat.
- Once the oil is heated, add the short ribs.
- Cook for 3-4 minutes or until browned.
- Flip and cook the other side for 3-4 minutes or until brown. Remove from the pot and set aside.
- Add the minced garlic to the pot and cook for 1 minute or until fragrant. Pour into a small bowl and set aside.
- In medium-large bowl mix together the broth, tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and honey. Whisk to combine.
- Add ribs, broth mixture and cooked garlic back to the pot.
- Add thyme sprigs.
- Cook in a preheated oven for 2 hours. Remove thyme sprigs before serving.
For the Cheese Grits:
- 4 cups whole milk
- 1 cup yellow grits
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 5 tablespoons butter
- 3 cups shredded cheddar cheese
Directions:
- In a sauce pan, heat 4 cups of milk over medium-high until hot.
- Add in butter and salt, stir until butter is melted.
- Stir in 1 cup yellow grits.
- Reduce heat to low and cook for 10 minutes until thickened.
- Once grits are done, stir in cheese until melted.
To Serve:
- Spoon Grits into a large bowl and top with short ribs.
- Yields: 2-4 servings depending on appetite!
Chocolate Cherry Roanoke Star Roll Cake
This easy roll cake would make the perfect centerpiece for your next holiday dessert table. Featuring the Roanoke Star on the outside and a homemade cream cheese and cherry filling on the inside, this chocolate roll cake is sure to impress!
Ingredients:
- For the Roanoke Star pattern:
- 2 eggs
- 4 tablespoons sugar
- 2/3 cup flour
- 2 tablespoons melted butter
- Red Food Coloring
- Electric Blue Food Coloring
- White Food Coloring
For Cake:
- 4 eggs, separated
- 1/2 cup sugar + 1 tablespoon
- 1/4 cup butter, melted
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1/4 cup dark cocoa powder
For Filling:
- 8 oz cream cheese, softened
- 4 oz butter, softened
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 2-4 tablespoons of milk
- 1 (10 oz) jar maraschino cherries,
- cherries halved and drained
You’ll also need:
- Wax Paper
- Baking sheet with edges
- 3 Plastic sandwich bags or piping bag with piping tips
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 400F.
- In a medium bowl, mix together 2 eggs, 4 tablespoons sugar, 2/3 cup flour and 2 tablespoons melted butter. Mix well.
- Spoon 4 tablespoons of batter into a small bowl and tint blue.
- Divide rest of batter into two bowls. Tint one red and one white.
- Lay the star template onto the baking sheet. Cover with wax paper (or parchment paper).
- Scoop the blue batter into a plastic piping bag or sandwich bag. Cut a small hole into the tip of the bag and fit with a piping tip if using. Following the star template, pipe blue stars onto the wax paper.
- Do the same with the red and white batter, following the outline of the star template.
- Place baking sheet into the freezer; freeze for 30 minutes.
- While the stars are freezing, make the sponge cake batter.
- In the bowl of a mixer, combine the egg whites and 1 tablespoon of sugar. Mix on medium speed until the egg whites form soft peaks (about 5 minutes).
- In a medium bowl, whisk by hand the egg yolks and 1/2 cup sugar until the eggs yolks are a pale yellow color. Whisk in 1/4 cup melted butter.
- Fold in the egg whites.
- Fold in the flour and cocoa powder.
- Mix slowly until everything is incorporated, do NOT stir too much!
- Remove the baking sheet from the freezer and carefully spread the chocolate batter over the stars; spread the batter evenly on the baking sheet.
- Bake for 7-8 minutes. Do not overbake or cake may crack when rolled.
- Carefully remove the baked cake from the oven.
- Lay another piece of wax paper onto a flat surface. Flip the cake over onto the wax paper and carefully peel the wax paper off of the cake revealing the stars. Flip the cake over again so that the stars are on the bottom of the cake.
- Spread the icing/filling over the entire cake.
- Sprinkle the icing with the cherries.
- Starting on the edge without the stars, start to roll the cake “jelly roll style.”
- Roll until you reach the end. Place the cake on a flat surface with the seam down.
- Wrap in plastic wrap and place in the fridge until ready to serve. (Cake will keep 2-3 days if tightly wrapped in fridge.)
Yields: 1 Chocolate and Cherry Roanoke Star Roll Cake (about 8 1-inch servings)
White Macaroni and Cheese with Ham and Peas
You’ll never go back to boxed macaroni and cheese once you’ve tasted this homemade version! It’s so simple that you’ll wonder why you’ve waited so long to make macaroni and cheese from scratch. Perfect for festive dinners and an excellent way to use up the leftover holiday ham!
Ingredients:
- 16 oz shell pasta, uncooked
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 2 cups whole milk
- 8 oz extra sharp white cheddar cheese, grated
- 8 oz cream cheese, softened and diced
- 8 oz white American cheese slices, cut into small pieces
- 4 oz mozzarella cheese, grated
- 1/2 teaspoon ground dry mustard
- 1 teaspoon white pepper
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 8 oz diced ham
Directions:
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add shell pasta and cook for 10 minutes.
- Drain and set aside.
- In a large skillet, melt the butter. Whisk in the flour.
- Whisk flour and butter together for 1-2 minutes.
- Pour in milk and whisk until smooth.
- Whisk in dry mustard and white pepper.
- Heat milk until hot and then add in cream cheese.
- Whisk until melted and smooth.
- Add in all grated cheese and whisk until melted.
- Pour shell pasta into cheese sauce and mix well.
- Mix in frozen peas and ham.
- Stir well and heat for 2-3 minutes. Serve warm.
Yields: 8-10 servings
Angie Barrett is a self-taught cook who photographs and develops recipes for national brands as well as her very own food and travel blog, BigBearsWife.com. She lives in Virginia with her husband and their two dogs.
