New Year, Renewed Blog: Cheesecake!

A perfect cheesecake. No cracks, lightly browned, creamy and delicious. I use a Barefoot Contessa recipe. Ina has never let me down. I received so many compliments on this cheesecake. It is my go to recipe; the only cheesecake recipe I ever make.

Ingredients

For the crust:

• 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (10 crackers)
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted

For the filling:

• 2 1/2 pounds cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 5 whole extra-large eggs, at room temperature
• 2 extra-large egg yolks, at room temperature
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest (2 lemons)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

To make the crust, combine the graham crackers, sugar, and melted butter until moistened. Pour into a 9-inch springform pan. With your hands, press the crumbs into the bottom of the pan and about 1-inch up the sides. Bake for 8 minutes. Cool to room temperature.

Raise the oven temperature to 450 degrees F.

To make the filling, cream the cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Reduce the speed of the mixer to medium and add the eggs and egg yolks, 2 at a time, mixing well. Scrape down the bowl and beater, as necessary. With the mixer on low, add the sour cream, lemon zest, and vanilla. Mix thoroughly and pour into the cooled crust.

Bake for 15 minutes. Turn the oven temperature down to 225 degrees F and bake for another 1 hour and 15 minutes. Turn the oven off and open the door wide. The cake will not be completely set in the center. Allow the cake to sit in the oven with the door open for 30 minutes. Take the cake out of the oven and allow it to sit at room temperature for another 2 to 3 hours, until completely cooled. Wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Remove the cake from the springform pan by carefully running a hot knife around the outside of the cake. Leave the cake on the bottom of the springform pan for serving.

The recipe online has a raspberry topping but since it was Christmas, I made a cranberry topping. I kept it on the side because I knew some of the people in the family would not want it. I boiled a bag of fresh cranberries with 1/2 cup cranberry juice and 1/2 cup of sugar. The tartness was perfect against the richness of the cheesecake.

Now I have to remember how well loved this cheesecake is and make it more often.

Cranberry Upside Down Cake

I made chutney but I still had some fresh cranberries left. I have been wanting to try new cranberry recipes so I went on a search. This one looked easy and delicious. I decided to give it a try, on a week night even. After all, who doesn't come home after working all day and having an afternoon class to make dinner and bake a cake for dessert? Don't look at me, this was a one time moment of crazy, but a tasty crazy.

Actually this came together easily and it had time to bake while I put the pork tenderloins on the grill, made dirty rice, and steamed some broccoli. Multitasking is the only way to get things done, especially on week nights.

This will probably be the dessert I take to our Thanksgiving feast.




Recipe found on recipezaar
Ingredients:

4 tablespoons sweet butter, very soft
3/4 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon orange zest, finely grated (optional)
2 cups cranberries, fresh or frozen (If using frozen, thaw first)

Cake

* 12 tablespoons sweet butter, very soft
* 7/8 cup white sugar (1 cup minus 2 tablespoons)
* 1 large egg yolk
* 2 large eggs
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 2/3 cup sour cream, room temperature
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1 3/4 cups cake flour
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Place 4 tablespoons of butter in a 9 inch cake pan. (The pan should have at least a 2 1/2 inch rim.) Place the pan in heated oven for 4 to 5 minutes until the butter is fully melted. Stir in the brown sugar, cinnamon and orange zest (optional). Spread the sugar mixture evenly across the bottom of the cake pan. Spread out the cranberries in an even layer over the butter and sugar mix.
3. To make the cake, begin by using a wooden spoon to cream together the butter, sugar and egg yolk for about 30 seconds. Switching over to a whisk, stir in the eggs one at a time. Continue to whisk another minute until the sugar crystals dissolve. Whisk in the vanilla extract, salt and sour cream.
4. Sift the flour, baking soda and baking powder into the bowl with the wet ingredients. Whisk everything together until the batter is smooth and lump-free.
5. Pour the batter over the cranberries and bake for 50 to 65 minutes. When done, the center of the cake should be dry to the touch and spring back when lightly poked.
6. Remove the cake from the oven and set on a rack for 5 to 10 minutes (no longer as the bottom begins to set as it cools).
7. Run a knife around the edge of the pan. Invert cake onto a serving plate and remove pan. Let it rest an additional 15 minutes before serving.
8. Best served warm.

Cranberry Chutney: A Seasonal Favorite

Cranberries have such a short season and you can only find them in the markets here in November and December. I love seeing those little red orbs of goodness in stores. I know it's time to make more cranberry chutney. Last year I made it in batches and froze part of it. Only I didn't freeze enough because we ran out a couple of months ago. We use it on chicken, turkey, and pork all year long. Plus we take a big bowl of it to my Grandmother's for Thanksgiving.

Tonight we had it on roasted chicken. (I told you there would be a lot of chicken posts since it was on sale)




Ingredients:



Cranberry/Apple Chutney

1 cup Water
1 3/4 cup Sugar
1-12 oz. bag of Fresh Cranberries
1 Apple, peeled, cored, and chopped (I used Granny Smith)
1/2 cup Cider Vinegar
1 Orange, zest grated and juiced
1 Lemon, zest grated and juiced
3/4 cup Golden Raisins
1/2 teaspoon ground Cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground Ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground Allspice
1/8 teaspoon ground Cloves
3/4 cup chopped Pecans

1. In a medium saucepan combine the water and sugar. Bring mixture to a boil over medium heat.

2. Add the cranberries, apples, cider vinegar, orange zest and juice, lemon zest and juice, raisins, and spices. Bring to a boil, than simmer gently for 10-15 minutes stirring often.

3. Remove from heat and add the pecans. Pour mixture in a bowl and place plastic wrap directly on the surface of the chutney.

4. Cool to room temperature and serve, or, cover and refrigerate. Bring chutney to room temperature before serving.


I leave out the raisins because we don't love them and the pecans because we have someone in our family who is allergic. This time I made a triple batch. I know there will be one more triple batch in my near future because it keeps well in the freezer all year. Plus I'll probably throw a bag of cranberries in the freezer for later.

Another reason to make this, it makes your house smell SO GOOD.