Birthday Tamales and Rhurbarb-Strawberry Cheesecake

My birthday is later this week. To celebrate, I invited some friends over to make tamales. I've been wanting to make tamales for a while, but needed an occasion to justify how long they take to assemble and steam!

I'm still DASHing things up, so I found a recipe on mayoclinic.com. They turned out pretty well for having no animal fat and almost zero sodium. 

Tamales

18 dried corn husks, plus extra husks to make ties

2 cups fresh corn kernels or frozen kernels, thawed
2 cups masa harina
1/2 cup lukewarm water
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon white vinegar
5 tablespoons canola oil

Green Peppers

Red, Yellow, Orange Peppers

Purple Onions

Olive Oil 

Chicken, pre-cooked and shredded

Black Beans, canned or dry, soaked and cooked ahead of time

Lime

Cilantro

Chili Powder

Garlic

1. Place the corn husks in a bowl of water to soften for 10 minutes. Drain and rinse well. Pat dry and set aside.

2. In a food processor, process 2 cups of the corn kernels until coarsely pureed.

3. In a large bowl, combine the pureed corn, masa harina, lukewarm water, baking powder, vinegar and oil. Mix until well blended, using your hands if necessary.

4. Chop and saute peppers, onion, and garlic, 6 to 8 minutes. 

 

5. Douse black beans with lime juice. Add chopped cilantro, chili powder and garlic.

6. To assemble a tamale, position soaked corn husk on counter with pointy end facing you. Place 3 tablespoons of masa mixture in the center of a soaked corn husk. Flatten with your hand and form a small well in the center. Add 1 tablespoon of the sauteed vegetables, beans, chicken to the well. Overlap the edges to surround masa and innards. Fold the pointy end up and tie shut with a thin strip torn from an extra soaked husk.  

7. In a large pot fitted with a steamer basket, bring 2 inches of water to a boil. Make sure the tamales are standing upright in steamer basket. Cover and steam until the filling becomes firm and the tamales are heated through, 50 to 60 minutes. Add more water as needed.

 

8. While the tamales are steaming, make the salsa. I made two different types.

Tomatillo Salsa: 

Using a food processor, combine the tomatillos, lime juice, cilantro, jalapeno and 1 teaspoon vinegar.  

Tomato Salsa: 

Using a food processor, chopped cilantro, green peppers, onions. Add tomatoes (either one large can of stew tomatoes, low sodium, or 4 medium fresh tomatoes), hot pepper, 1 Tbsp honey and 1 Tbsp vinegar. Process briefly, until well blended.

 9. When tamales are done, allow to cool for a few minutes.

10. Garnish with sour cream, queso fresco, avocado, salsa.

Rhubarb Strawberry Cheesecake

1 and ½ 8oz packages of cream cheese , softened

8 oz mascarpone cheese, room temperature

2 large eggs

¾ cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon vinegar

Four stalks of rhubarb

A dozen strawberries

1 Tbsp brown sugar

2 Tbsp  water

2 cups rolled oats

4 Tbsp vegetable oil

¼ cup brown sugar

2 Tbsp whole wheat flour

1 tsp cinnamon

1. Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F

2. Heat oats, oil, sugar, flour and cinnamon in small pan. Press into spring form pan. Cook for 15 minutes at 350°F.

3. Make filling while crust bakes: Beat cream cheese, mascarpone, and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium high speed until fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla, lemon juice, and vinegar and mix at low speed until combined.

4. Chop two rhubarb stalks and half the strawberries. Heat in small sauce pan with small amount of water, until tender.

5. Spray top edges of spring-form pan with non-stick spray. Pour 1/3 of cheese cake batter over crust. Spread ½ of fruit on top. Then pour another 1/3 of cheesecake, followed by the remainder of the fruit. Pour the rest of cheese cake batter and place in oven. Bake until top is slightly brown and puffed around edge but still trembles slightly when pan is shaken gently, approximately 50-60 minutes. Cool before serving.

6. Cook the remainder of the rhubarb with 1 Tbsp brown sugar and a small amount of water. Spread over cheesecake once cooled. Garnish with fresh strawberry halves.

Special Thanks to my souf-chefs: Esther, Josh, Jen R, Heather, and Jen D!