Went for a drive today...

We went for a drive, up around the back side of the mountain. The road isn't maintained during the winter, so wasn't sure when we'd get to do it again before next summer! The view in all directions is gorgeous. We stopped at the top for awhile, got out and hiked on osme new x-country ski trails. It was a beautiful day.

Short Ribs 2

I'm using Touchstone Angus from Lusk... mmmmm!
Seasoned the meat with pepper, garlic/bell pepper seasoning, paprika. Browned them. Put them in the slow cooker. Tossed out excess (canola) oil from the cast iron pan. Added madiera to deglaze, poured that on top of ribs. Added a small can of tomato paste (it's what I had, if it was a can of tomato sauce, or crushed tomatoes, it would have been that), with two cans of water (to rinse out can) Tucked in a bay leaf.
It is a sunny fall day. The wind is picking up, naturally, but looks to be unusually warm, close to 70 degrees. We are going out to the lake with our dog later this afternoon. We'll have the ribs when we get back... hmmmm, just thinking that a nice loaf of home made bread would be good with that.
Back to the kitchen...

Mini Cheesecakes

For these mini cheesecakes, I used a mini-muffin pan and liners. In the bottom of each one, place a mini-Nilla wafer, flat side down.
Batter (makes about 60)
3 8 oz. pkg.s cream cheese
3 eggs
8 oz. sour cream
3 Tblsp. cornstarch
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 tsp. almond extract

I used a pastry bag to fill the muffin cups, about 1/2 full. Bake 350F for 18 minutes. I put sliced almonds in a third of the batter.
Some are topped with a toblerone and semi-sweet chocolate chip ganache, some have apricot jam, and others are drizzled or topped with melted chocolate chips.