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| photography by Kevin Hunter Marple |
The cheesecake at Positano is divine. I would love to make it for my next dinner party. Can you help me out?
Carla Avila, Dallas
Positano’s Cheesecake Positano
(Serves 6)
Cheesecake
1 1/4 cups cream cheese
1 cup granulated sugar
1 1/4 cups mascarpone cheese
6 tablespoons heavy cream
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Sauce
1/4 cup amaretto
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup heavy cream
Garnish
Raspberries
Strawberry slices
Blackberries
Kiwi slices
1 cup slivered almonds, toasted
Beat cream cheese, sugar, and mascarpone cheese with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Scrape the bowl well. Continue mixing on low speed and blend in heavy cream, egg, and vanilla. Scrape the bowl again.
Coat six 3 1/4-inch ceramic or stainless molds with a non-stick vegetable spray. Fill each mold
2/3 full with cheesecake mixture. In a large baking pan, add 1 inch of water. Arrange the six molds in the pan. Bake in water bath at 225 degrees for 1 1/2 to 2 hours until the centers are firm. Cool to room temperature and refrigerate.
For the sauce, blend amaretto and honey into a syrup, and then blend in heavy cream. Ladle a small amount of the sauce onto six plates.
Unmold cheesecakes onto the sides of the plates. Arrange berries and kiwi on the side of the cheesecake. Top with slivered almonds and serve.
The crab cakes from Central 214 are the best I’ve had outside of Maryland. Think you can get me the recipe?
David Williams, Lakewood
Central 214 Executive Chef Tom Fleming’s Crab Cakes
(Serves 2)
1 pound fresh jumbo lump crab
1/4 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons Old Bay Seasoning
1/2 roasted red pepper
1 teaspoon roasted garlic
2 tablespoons fresh Italian parsley, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh chives, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Clean crab of any shells and place in bowl. For dressing, combine remaining ingredients in separate bowl. Mix crab with dressing and season to taste. Make two crab cakes. In large sauté pan, heat olive oil and place both cakes in pan. Cook until golden brown on each side. Serve with choice of favorite sauces.
I would love to try a recipe from the new menu at The Pyramid Grill at The Fairmont Dallas. Think they would part with one?
Alice Brownling, Carrollton
The Pyramid Grill’s Beer Braised Short Rib Tostada Stack, Guacamole, and Tomatillo Salsa
(Serves 6)
Beer braised short rib
6 5-ounce short ribs
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 onion, thinly sliced
4 sprigs of fresh thyme
3/4 cup Rahr & Sons beer
Season short rib with salt and pepper. In a preheated sauté pan, add seasoned short rib and brown on all sides. Add onion, thyme, and beer. Cover and let cook at low temperature until tender, about 45 to 60 minutes.
Guacamole
2 avocados, mashed
4 tomatillos boiled, liquid reserved
1 jalapeño
1/4 onion, chopped
3/4 cup cilantro, chopped
Juice of 1 lime
Salt and pepper to taste
Mix all ingredients in a bowl, and set aside. In a blender, puree, adding reserved tomatillo liquid and season as needed.
Cilantro Radish Salad
1/2 cup red radish julienne
1/2 cup micro cilantro
1 pinch Tajín seasoning
1 squirt of mojo (lemon juice, olive oil, and salt and pepper)
Additional ingredients
12 3-inch fried corn tortillas
8 ounce container of crème fraîche
Divide guacamole, short ribs, and cilantro-radish salad to accommodate 12 tortillas, and assemble tostadas by stacking guacamole, sliced short rib, and cilantro-radish salad on each tortilla. On a serving plate, add tomatillo salsa, place prepared tostada on salsa, and then stack a second tostada on top. Add 1 tablespoon crème fraîche on top. Repeat for remaining five servings.
