Recipes
We thought you would enjoy some of our favorite recipes from the Arapahoe Cafe. Enjoy!
1 pound baking chocolate
½ pound butter, softened
¼ cup Kahlua
8 eggs
2 ounces egg yolks
- Preheat oven 325°
- Melt chocolate, add butter and Kahlua until melted and blended
- Whip eggs in blender; fold in 1/3 chocolate mixture at a time until blended
- Prep pan: place parchment paper on bottom and spray sides with vegetable oil; fill pan with batter and place in 4 inch deep larger pan ½ filled with hot water (water bath)
- Bake until 140° internal temp (20-30 minutes)
- Cool on wire rack
Ganache
6 ounces semisweet chocolate chips, melted
2 tablespoons butter
¾ cup heavy whipping cream
- Microwave cream and butter to boiling; add chocolate and blend until smooth; pour over cooled cake
3 cups buttermilk
2-3 teaspoons hot pepper sauce, such as Tabasco
2-3 teaspoons salt
4-pound chicken, preferably a roaster, cut into 8 bone-in pieces
1-2 teaspoons freshly milled black pepper
1 teaspoon dry mustard
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
Approximately 3 cups lard or 1 ½ pounds solid vegetable
shortening plus 3 tablespoons bacon drippings
- Mix the buttermilk, as much hot pepper sauce as you like, and 1 teaspoon of the salt in a shallow dish. Add the chicken parts, turning to coat them well. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 12 hours, turning occasionally.
- Combine the remaining 1 to 2 teaspoons salt, pepper, dry mustard, and flour in a large plastic bag or in the time-honored brown paper grocery sack.
- Place a wire rack for draining the chicken near the cooking area.
- Melt the lard or shortening in a 12-inch to 14-inch cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. If using shortening, then add the bacon drippings to the skillet. When the fat reaches 375°F, reduce the heat to medium and begin to prepare the chicken.
- Starting with the dark meat and ending with the breasts, lift the chicken pieces, one by one, out of the marinade, letting excess liquid drain back into the dish. Drop each chicken piece into the seasoned flour and shake to coat it. Place each in the skillet, skin side down. The pieces should fit snugly together in a 12-inch skillet, although they shouldn't stick to each other.
- Quickly adjust the heat as needed to maintain a temperature of about 300°F (adding all of the chicken to the oil should have dropped the temperature to this degree already).
- Cover the skillet and fry for 16 minutes, resisting the urge to open the skillet. You should hear a constant, ongoing bubbling and sizzling, neither urgent nor lackadaisical.
- After the allotted time, remove the lid and turn the chicken with tongs, using light pressure to avoid piercing the crust. Fry uncovered for 15-17 additional minutes, until the now crackling crust is a rich golden brown, and the meat is cooked through but still juicy.
- Drain the chicken on the rack.
Prepare the gravy:
Pan drippings
3 tablespoons flour
12-ounce can evaporated milk
1 cup chicken stock, preferably homemade
3 tablespoons whipping cream or half-and-half
½ teaspoon freshly milled black pepper or more to taste
Salt
- Pouring off the pan drippings through a strainer and leaving about a ¼ cup of the drippings in the skillet. Return any brown cracklings from the strainer to the skillet and discard the remaining drippings.
- Return the skillet to medium heat. Whisk in the flour, stirring to avoid lumps. Slowly add the evaporated milk, stock, and cream, whisking as you pour them in. Bring to a boil, then simmer until the gravy is thickened and the raw flour taste is gone, about 3 minutes. Stir the gravy up from the bottom frequently, scraping up the browned bits.
- Add pepper and salt to taste, keeping in mind that the pepper should be pronounced but pleasant on the tongue. Transfer the gravy to a gravy boat and the chicken to a platter. Serve immediately.
¾ Cup Chopped Red Bell Peppers
¾ Cup Chopped Green Bell Peppers
½ Cup Diced and seeded Jalapenos
2 ¾ Cups Sugar
½ Cup Red Wine Vinegar
1 Tablespoon Freshly Sqeezed Lime Juice
6 Tablespoons Certo Liquid Pectin
- Combine the peppers, jalapenos, sugar, vinegar, and lime juice in a large saucepan over medium heat. Heat until warm and sugar is dissolved.
- Pour mixture in a blender or food processor and blend for 5 seconds. Return the blended mixture to the saucepan and bring to a boil. Skim off any foam that rises to the surface.
- Decrease the heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in the pectin, increase heat to medium-high, and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and cool. The jelly will set as it cools down. When cool, cover and refrigerate for up to 5 days.
method
Deep Dish Pie Crust (2), partially baked
Sprinkle about ¼ cup brown sugar evenly on bottom while warm. Brush egg whites on edge of crust.
Combine but do not mash or whip:
6 baked, skinned sweet potatoes
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
Whisk together:
3 large eggs plus 2 yolks
1 cup sugar
½ teaspoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons bourbon
1 tablespoon molasses
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup heavy whipping cream
- Gradually add egg mixture to sweet potatoes, stir with fork to GENTLY combine…should remain lumpy.
- Pour mixture into pie shells over brown sugar layer.
- Bake at 350° until filling is set around edges but center jiggles slightly when shaken, about 45 minutes.
- Cool on wire rack about 2 hours, or until room temperature.
