Lunch Party (Asian Coleslaw, Peanut Dipping Sauce and Raspberry Swirl Cheesecake) + Sugar High Fridays (even though we're Tuesday)

Please scroll down for Sugar High Fridays! I'm a little disorganized this month so Sugar High Friday is being posted on a Tuesday; hey, I'm human!

I had a couple of friends over this weekend for a lunch party. The meal was a collaborative effort on all parts – my friend M. brought delightful smoked salmon canapés, my friend N. took care of summer rolls for the main as well as a tasty noodle salad with peanut dressing and I provided coleslaw with an Asian twist, peanut dipping sauce for the summer rolls and a raspberry swirl cheesecake.

Everything was delicious and we walked (rolled?) away from the table very satisfied.

My friends requested that I share with them my recipes of the day so I figured I may as well post them on here.

Asian Coleslaw
Inspired by All Recipes

3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
3 tablespoons canola oil
2.5 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
1.5 tablespoons soy sauce
1.5 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoons minced fresh ginger root
4 cloves garlic, minced

1 bag coleslaw mix
1 carrot, julienned
6 green onions, chopped
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

In a medium bowl, whisk together the rice vinegar, oil, peanut butter, soy sauce, brown sugar, ginger, and garlic.

In a large bowl, mix the coleslaw mix, bell peppers, carrot, green onions, and cilantro.

Toss with the peanut butter mixture just before serving. (Will not keep long after – gets soggy quickly.)

Peanut Dipping Sauce
Inspired by She Shimmers

13.5-ounce can of light coconut milk
2 ounces (approximately 1/4 cup) of red curry paste
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 tablespoon salt
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons of cider vinegar
1/2 cup water
1 clove garlic, minced

Put everything into a pot and bring to a very gentle boil over medium heat, whisking constantly.

Simmer for 3-5 minutes over low heat; be careful not to let the mixture scorch at the bottom of the pot.

Take the pot off the heat and serve – hot or cold – with summer rolls or satay.

***I thought the final result was a tad sugary for my taste. Next time I might use natural (unsweetened) peanut butter or decrease the sugar to ½ cup.



Raspberry Swirl Cheesecake with Chocolate Crust
Inspired by Pink Bites





The Raspberry Swirl Cheesecake is also my contribution to Sugar High Fridays created by Jennifer and hosted this month by Sweet Tooth. The theme was "all time favorite dessert" - yeah, it had to be cheesecake!

For the crust:
2 cups Oreo crumbs
1 stick butter, melted
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the cheesecake:
3 sticks of cream cheese, 8 oz each room temperature
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon of vanilla extract

For the raspberry swirl:
8 oz of raspberries, fresh or defrosted if frozen
3 tablespoons of sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Begin to boil a large pot of water for the water bath.

Mix together the crust ingredients and press into your preferred pan. You can press the crust just into the bottom, or up the sides of the pan too - baker's choice. Set crust aside.

Combine cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of a stand-mixer and cream together until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, fully incorporating each before adding the next. Make sure to scrape down the bowl in between each egg. Add heavy cream and vanilla, blend until smooth and creamy.

Pour batter into prepared crust and tap the pan on the counter a few times to bring all air bubbles to the surface.

Place raspberries in a food processor and blend it until combined. Pass it through a fine mesh and discard the seeds. Add sugar and mix well to incorporate it. Use about 2/3 of the sauce on the batter and the rest as a sauce to be served on the side.

Incorporate the sauce to the batter after pouring the batter into the pan. The best way of doing this is by the tablespoon full, going around the cake pan. After this is done, use a chopstick or a knife to swirl the sauce in the cheesecake until it creates a nice pattern.

Place pan into a larger pan and pour boiling water into the larger pan until halfway up the side of the cheesecake pan. If cheesecake pan is not airtight, cover bottom securely with foil before adding water.

Bake 45 to 55 minutes, until it is almost done - this can be hard to judge, but you're looking for the cake to hold together, but still have a lot of jiggle to it in the center. You don't want it to be completely firm at this stage. Close the oven door, turn the heat off, and let rest in the cooling oven for one hour. This lets the cake finish cooking and cool down gently enough so that it won't crack on the top. After one hour, remove cheesecake from oven and lift carefully out of water bath. Let it finish cooling on the counter, and then cover and put in the fridge to chill. Once fully chilled, it is ready to serve.