Almost-Famous Pumpkin Cheesecake

I didn't bestow that title on this seemingly celebrity-status dessert. That's the name it came with! I was determined to make a pumpkin cheesecake for Thanksgiving and I found several recipes in magazines and online. This particular recipe seemed special to me however. It made a large, restaurant size cheesecake with a super-buttery crumb crust and I just couldn't resist it's name. They totally reeled me in with the guarantee of "almost famous". It must be good then...right?? Well, fortunately, it was. It was more than good. It was stupendous!

Cheesecake on Thanksgiving is definitely a risk since you're asking people to eat a huge meal and then throw down a very rich dessert. Our crowd took on the challenge however, and did pretty well. And those who couldn't stuff in dessert took home slices of this spicy pumpkin dessert. I think those who took pieces home might actually enjoy it more than those who shoved it in after overloading their tastebuds on turkey and fixins. I would rather enjoy this cheesecake as a meal the day after Thanksgiving. It definitely deserves that kind of special attention.

A few notes about the recipe. For one, I substituted gingersnap cookies for the graham crackers in the crust. Another note about the crust, the 12 tablespoons of butter is too much, in my opinion. If I was to do it again, I'd probably use half the amount of butter. I used the whole 12 tablespoons and during the pre-baking process the butter was dripping out of my springform pan onto the oven floor causing my oven to smoke horribly. The house was full of thick smoke from the burning butter on the bottom of my oven. And honestly, it was just too much damn butter (and I thought I'd never say that, too much butter? How is it possible right?). But it's true. A little less and believe me you won't notice the difference in taste. The cheesecake part itself packs enough punch. Enjoy!

Almost-Famous Pumpkin Cheesecake
www.foodnetwork.com


12 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
2 3/4 cups sugar
Salt
2 pounds cream cheese, at room temperature
1/4 cup sour cream
1 15-ounce can pure pumpkin
6 large eggs, at room temperature, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
2 cups sweetened whipped cream
1/3 cup toasted pecans, roughly chopped
Directions
Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.

Brush a 10-inch springform pan with some of the butter. Stir the remaining butter with the crumbs, 1/4 cup of the sugar and a pinch of salt in a bowl. Press the crumb mixture into the bottom and up the sides of the pan, packing it tightly and evenly. Bake until golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool on a rack, then wrap the outside of the springform pan with foil and place in a roasting pan.

Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Meanwhile, beat the cream cheese with a mixer until smooth. Add the remaining 2 1/2 cups sugar and beat until just light, scraping down the sides of the bowl and beaters as needed. Beat in the sour cream, then add the pumpkin, eggs, vanilla, 1 teaspoon salt and the spices and beat until just combined. Pour into the cooled crust.

Gently place the roasting pan in the oven (don't pull the rack out) and pour the boiling water into the roasting pan until it comes about halfway up the side of the springform pan. Bake until the outside of the cheesecake sets but the center is still loose, about 1 hour 45 minutes. Turn off the oven and open the door briefly to let out some heat. Leave the cheesecake in the oven for 1 more hour, then carefully remove from the roasting pan and cool on a rack. Run a knife around the edges, cover and refrigerate at least 8 hours or overnight.

Bring the cheesecake to room temperature 30 minutes before serving. Unlock and remove the springform ring. To finish, place a dollop of the whipped cream on each slice and sprinkle with the toasted pecans.

A Beautiful Wedding

Ok so no I'm not turning this into a photo blog! But my friend's wedding was so beautiful I just had to share some pics. Being an Indian wedding, there was a lot of great color and photo opportunities. I love my camera and recently acquired an external flash, making it that much easier to get some fabulous indoor shots at night. I'm also using a new editing software that takes all the mystery out of making good photos look professional! So here are a few pics from the big day. And, as a teaser, I just finished baking an awesome pumpkin cheesecake for Thanksgiving dinner. We're having about 20 people at my mom's house and the menu is vast! More to come....

The groom came in on a horse with his nephew!

The beautiful bride!

The groom's sister sporting some great Indian jewelry.

The cake topper - the bride wore a vibrant blue and crystal dress for the reception that matched the cake topper exactly!

The couple during the toasts.

Sunset shots at the gorgeous bayside venue in Chesapeake Beach!

Mehndi Party!

One of my best friends from middle school got married this past weekend and before the wedding she held a Mehndi Party, which is a traditional ritual within the Indian wedding ceremony. The bride and her family and friends gather to see the bride get the Mehndi tattoo, painted on by hand out of red henna paint. My friend asked me to be her "unofficial" photographer for the night's event so here are my results. What a fun and beautiful event to be a part of and I really enjoyed the task of capturing it on film! I wanted to share some with everyone since I've been a little lacking on the food updates lately. Thanksgiving is coming though so more food to come. Meanwhile, here are some pretty pics to distract and entertain - and notice, I did squeeze one in of the yummy Indian foods her mom served at the party. Yum! Enjoy!

Manchego-Stuffed Pork Saltimbocca

So dinners at my house have been pretty boring as of late. There are two very good reasons for this. For starters, my nearly 6-month old baby makes planning elaborate dinners nearly impossible. Secondly, my husband has decided he needs to lose what he calls his baby weight and so is on a low-carb diet (the only diet that ever works for him, so he says). Because of this, our dinners lately have been simply grilled fish, chicken or steak with either steamed veggies or a green salad. Nothing much to blog about. However, last night I was sick of the same old thing and decided I could throw together something with a little more flavor and ingenuity that wouldn't take hours.
Enter manchego-stuffed pork saltimbocca .

This is my slightly, kicked-up version of the traditional saltimbocca preparation, which marries prosciutto and woodsy sage with seared chicken or pork in a simple lemon butter pan sauce. I served mine stuffed with nutty manchego cheese alongside some steamed asparagus. It satisfied all our dinner needs, quick, low-carb and delicious! Saltimbocca literally means jump in your mouth and the combination of cheese, salty prosciutto and the earthiness of the sage do just that. Your tongue will be dancing for joy when you taste this easy to prepare dish. Enjoy!

Manchego-Stuffed Pork Saltimbocca


2 boneless pork medallions, about 1 1/2 in thick each (the thicker they are the easier they are to stuff)
2 slices of thinly-sliced prosciutto
4 sage leaves
1/2 cup shredded manchego
juice of one lemon
1/2 cup chicken stock
3 tablespoons butter
1/2 tablespoon dijon mustard
salt and pepper
olive oil

Season your pork with salt and pepper on each side. Cut a pocket in each pork loin, being careful not to split the medallions in half. Fill each pocket with about a 1/4 cup of your shredded cheese. On the top of each pork loin lay two sage leaves and press flat. Finally, wrap your prosciutto around the pork medallion.
Preheat oven to 350. Heat a saute pan over medium heat and cover the bottom with a thin layer of olive oil. Once shimmering, add your medallions, sage side down. Let sear for 3 minutes on each side and then place the pork medallions in an oven-safe dish and cook the rest of the way - 20 minutes or until center is not pink.
Meanwhile, add your lemon juice and chicken stock to the saute pan. Scrape up any brown bits from the pork. Whisk in the tablespoons of butter and the dijon mustard. Bring the sauce to a rapid simmer and then reduce heat. Allow to thicken and reduce while occasionally whisking. Season with salt and pepper. Once pork is done, serve over top of steamed asparagus and cover with your pan sauce.

Fall at the Beach

I went down to the Eastern Shore one last time for the season with my family. It was a beautiful fall weekend with the temperatures in the 70s!

I forced them all onto the beach for a little amateur photo session and I'm so glad we did because the results were awesome! Between my mom and myself we got some beautiful pics and after some editing they are pure artwork to me :) Hope you are enjoying the beautiful fall weather in your neck of the woods! I should have some food updates soon, but meanwhile here is some eye candy.

Tiramisu Ice Cream

Is it just me, or does it seem like Tiramisu had it's hey-day as a trendy dessert years ago? Regardless I never really got into the sudden hype over Tiramisu. It seemed to be everywhere back in the mid-90's! Every restaurant, even the bad ones, had Tiramisu on their dessert menu. It was mentioned in movies, think Sleepless in Seattle , and seemed to be the ultimate dessert.

I've seen it served in a fancy champagne glass, two pale lady finger cookies swimming in a pool of spiked zabaglione and sprinkled with cinnamon. Other places have it in cake form, layers of lady finger cookies topped with a mascarpone cream, dotted with chocolate and cinnamon and soaked in coffee and rum. Something about it just never appealed to me, but I couldn't put my own lady finger (haha) on what it was (I'm such a sucker for puns!), until recently when I was flipping through David Lebovitz's book The Perfect Scoop . It's the lady fingers I don't like! Because honestly, what else in it is there to dislike? Epresso, good! Mascarpone, good! Chocolate, good! Liquor, GOOOOOOOD!

I didn't see any reason not to make David's Tiramisu Ice Cream . Not only was it easy to assemble - no tempering of raw egg yolks etc. - but, the ingredient list just sounded divine. It's not a traditional ice cream, since the base is made up mostly of mascarpone cheese. It ends up being QUITE rich, which is largely due to the silky chocolate ribbon that gets swirled in. Less is more with a scoop of this ice cream. In fact, I found that a scoop of this mixed with a scoop of Breyer's Vanilla was the perfect marriage. It subdued the richness of the Tiramisu Ice Cream and stretched the flavor a little bit. So if you're not too concerned about your waistline, give this recipe a try. Oh and (as if you haven't heard this a million times) Tiramisu means "pick me up" in Italian and it's named so because of the espresso in the dessert. The taste of this ice cream will definitely wake up your taste buds, but it's so rich and luxurious it won't have you ready to get up and go afterwards. Maybe it's named "pick me up" because it's so tasty you can't help but pick it up and eat it! Enjoy!

Tiramisu Ice Cream
Source: The Perfect Scoop, by David Lebovitz


2 cups mascarpone
1 cup half and half
2/3 cup sugar
pinch of salt
1/4 cup coffee-flavored liquer, Kahlua
3 tablespoons brandy or dark rum
Mocha Ripple (recipe below)

Puree the mascarpone, half and half, sugar, salt, liquer and rum together in a blender or food processor until smooth and the sugar is dissolved. Chill thoroughly in the refrigerator.
Freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. As you remove it from the machine alternate layers of Mocha Ripple with the frozen ice cream in the storage container.

Mocha Ripple
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup strongly brewed espresso
6 tb unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Whisk together the sugar, corn syrup, espresso and cocoa powder in medium saucepan. Heat over medium heat, whisking constantly until the mixture begins to bubble at the edges. Continue to whisk until it just comes to a low boil. Cook for 1 minute, whisking frequently. Remove from the heat, stir in the vanilla, and let cool. Chill in the refrigerator before using. Can be stored for up to two weeks in the fridge.

Mom's Jewish Apple Cake

So no we're not Jewish. In fact, I was tempted to rename this, Mom's Italian Apple Cake, since we are in fact, Italian-Americans. But I need to give credit where credit is due and unfortunately Italian's can't claim this deliciously moist, rich and fruity cake. Darn.

I don't know who, where or how my mom came into possession of this particular recipe for Jewish Apple Cake, but it's been in her Land-o-Lakes recipe box for decades. Fortunately, the tattered index card is in a protective plastic sleeve so we're still able to enjoy this recipe as often as possible. She's made it countless times for birthdays, neighbors, friends and even a bake sale or two. It's a fairly simple cake to make and it turns out nearly perfect every time. And what makes it even more perfect is when it is made with locally grown, fresh-picked Maryland orchard apples.

I visited a local pick-your-own apple farm a few weekends ago and came home armed with a large bag of Ida Red apples - good for eating, but perfect for baking. These tart, yet sweet apples remain nice and crisp through the baking process and end up with a toothy bite.

They are really the perfect balance of tart, sweet and crisp that you need for a pie or cake. And this cake nestles these delicious apples in a cinnamon-sugar mixture and then envelopes them in dense and intensely moist batter. On top of that, I fortunately, had enough apples to make a hearty apple pie in addition to the apple cake. Gosh I love Fall!! And speaking of apples, here's a pic of the "apple" of my eye, my sweet baby girl :)

She's loving Fall too and I love all the great cutie patootie outfits out there for little babies. I love my girl and love dressing her up! That's her in her first pair of jeans and flannel for the season. Hats off to Fall! There's so many wonderful foods to come - squash, pumpkins, brussel sprouts, turkey, cheesecakes, soups. Strap on those elastic waistbands and let the fall eating begin!! Why not start with this cake? Enjoy!

Jewish Apple Cake


For the apples:
5 to 6 apples, cored, peeled and sliced thinly
3/4 cup sugar
2 tb cinnamon

For the batter:
3 cups flour
1 tsp salt
3 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup orange or pineapple juice
4 eggs
1 cup oil
2 cups sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour a tube pan for baking.
In a large bowl, toss your sliced apples with sugar and cinnamon and set aside. In a separate small bowl, mix together your dry ingredients - the flour, salt and baking powder. Then in a large mixing bowl combine your juice, eggs and oil until combined. Pour in the sugar and extract and mix until well incorporated. Now in your prepared tube pan, layer batter then apples then batter then apples and finishing up with a layer of batter. If you have any juices that have collected from your apples simply pour them into the cake once your done building up the layers. These sweet, cinnamony juices will contribute to the moistness of the cake.
Bake for 1 1/2 hours until the cake fills the tube pan and a cake tester comes out clean. Let cool in pan and then remove and serve.