Recipe provided by Chef de Cuisine Jeff Aspero of Public House at the Venetian – Originally Published by the Las Vegas Sun

This dinner favorite takes almost three hours to prepare and has many steps, but it’s not so complicated that a seasoned home cook can’t re-create it for a special occasion.

Ingredients and directions for short rib (serves 2-3)

• 2 lbs beef short rib

• 1 cup Deschutes Black Butte Porter beer

• 1 cup red wine

• 3 garlic cloves

• 2 shallots, sliced

• 1 onion, diced

• 2 carrots, peeled and diced

• 2 celery stalks, diced

• 2 tbsp tomato paste

• 2 cups beef stock

• 3 sprigs fresh thyme

• 4 tbsp flour

• Olive oil

• Salt and pepper

1. Season meat with salt and pepper, then dredge in flour. Heat olive oil in a pan and sear meat on all sides, about five minutes per side. Set aside.

2. In the same hot pan, add all chopped vegetables and herbs, and allow caramelizing. Once all vegetables are caramelized, add tomato paste and allow to brown.

3. Deglaze pan with red wine and beer and reduce by half. Add beef stock and seared short rib meat and bring to a light simmer.

4. Cover the pan with foil, then move it to a 350-degree oven for two hours, or until tender.

5. Remove meat from cooking liquid and set aside to rest.

6. Strain all vegetables from cooking broth and reduce broth to a glaze. Season with salt and pepper. Serve short rib with reduced jus and jalapeño-carrot purée.

1. In a medium saucepan, add carrots and jalapeños. Cover with chicken broth and milk and bring to a simmer. Allow to cook until carrots become tender, about 20 minutes.

2. Remove from heat and strain liquid from vegetables. Reserve strained liquid.

3. Purée carrots and jalapeños in a food mill or food processor. Add purée back to pan and place over medium heat.

4. Add butter and honey and stir; add reserved liquid if a thinner purée is desired. Season with salt and pepper and remove from heat.

Ingredients and directions for purée

• 3 lbs carrots, peeled and diced

• 4 jalapeños, diced, seeds removed

• 2 cups milk

• 2 cups chicken broth

• 2 tbsp honey

• 1/4 lb whole butter

• Salt and pepper to taste

Jalapeño popper potato skins made with non-dairy cream cheese and vegan bacon bits

By Bianca Bahamondes, Editor   –   The Daily Meal

By HANNAH KRAMER, AOL.COM

Welcome to Best Bites, a twice-weekly video series that aims to satisfy your never-ending craving for food content through quick, beautiful videos for the at-home foodie. Check back on Tuesdays and Thursdays for new episodes!

Stay warm this winter with melt-in-your-mouth restaurant-style queso dip. Made with creamy cheese, hot jalapeños and juicy tomatoes, this double cheese concoction is the perfect game day appetizer. Served with crispy tortilla chips and a refreshing margarita, you’ll be good to go!

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Ingredients

• 1 cup of half-and-half
• 1/2 lb of American cheese, shredded
• 1/4 lb of fontina cheese
• 2 tbsp jalapeños, diced
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• Salt and pepper
• 1/4 tsp red pepper.
• 1/3 cup sliced jalapeños
• 1/3 cup diced tomatoes
• Cilantro, diced

Directions

1. Heat pan over medium heat.
2. Pour half-and-half.
3. Mix in half of American cheese.
4. Stir, stir, stir!
5. Mix in half of fontina cheese.
6. Stir, stir, stir.
7. Finish mixing in American cheese.
8. Stir, stir, stir.
9. Finish mixing in fontina cheese.
10. Stir, stir, stir.
11. Add jalapeños.
12. Mix in cumin, nutmeg, salt and pepper.
13. Sprinkle in red pepper.
14. Mix, mix, mix!
15. Let simmer.
16. Broil in oven for 3-4 minutes.
17. Garnish with jalapeños, tomatoes and cilantro.
18. Serve with tortilla chips.
19. Enjoy!

By MICHAEL SYMON   –   ABC

A savory, spicy breakfast recipe (that happens to be vegan).

by MO WYSE AND SHANNON MARTINEZ   –   Broadsheet

We don’t really eat breakfast foods or many sweets – give us a bowl of pho for breakfast any day! But this pancake recipe is the perfect combo of savoury, sweet and spicy. It’s everything we love about cornbread, pancakes and the idea that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. But feel free to eat these at any time.

Serves 4–6

Ingredients

150g plain (all-purpose) flour
75g fine polenta
2 tbsp caster sugar
2 tsp no-egg powder
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp bicarbonate soda
375ml soy milk
1 tbsp lemon juice
3 tbsp butter, melted (plus a few knobs, to serve)
100g corn kernels, frozen or fresh
½ or 1 jalapeno, finely chopped (add the whole chilli if you like it spicy), plus extra thin slices, for garnish
Olive oil spray
Maple syrup, to serve
Coconut bacon (if you can find it – optional)

Method

Place the dry ingredients in a large bowl, add a pinch of salt and stir well to combine.

In a separate bowl or jug, combine the soy milk, lemon juice and melted butter, and give it a quick stir. Set aside for 1 minute to allow the mixture to thicken.

Create a well in the dry ingredients and pour in the soy milk mixture. Whisk well until the batter is smooth. Fold in the corn and jalapeno.

If you can resist, let the pancake batter sit for at least 30 minutes before cooking.

Heat a large frying pan over medium heat and spray with olive oil. Pour in the batter to whatever size you like and cook until bubbles begin to appear on the surface. Flip and cook for a further 1 minute or until golden on the underside.

Serve with maple syrup and a knob of butter and garnish with extra jalapeno. If you can get your hands on some coconut bacon, scatter it over the pancakes, just like we do at the restaurant!

This is an edited extract from Smith & Daughters: A Cookbook (that happens to be vegan) by Shannon Martinez & Mo Wyse published by Hardie Grant Books RRP $48 and is available in stores nationally.