Strawberry Glazed Cheesecake!!

I am on a cheesecake kick lately!!!If you will remember the people that my husband works with "challenged" me to see if I could make a "good" cheesecake using goat's milk.  The one I made last week was good BUT not one to "stop the presses" or "OH MY I just died and went to Heaven" sort of thing - you know what I mean!  So the search was on for THAT cheesecake recipe.

I borrowed a book from the library called America's Best Pies by the American Pie Council and Linda Hoskins.  Glancing through it and drolling over all the wonderful pies, I happened to come upon this recipe for Strawberry Glazed Cheesecake.  Lo and Behold - I had all the ingredients except the cream cheese.  So what is a person to do . . . you make your own!!  Instead of using the Neufchatel recipe I used last time, I ussed my normal goat cheese recipe - Chevre.  Please note - you can use cream cheese in this recipe and the result will be the same or even better!

Glazed Strawberry Cheesecake

Preheat oven to 350

Crust

2 cups cinnamon graham crackers, crushed
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

Mix together all 3 ingredients.  To test if you have the right consistency, take a small fistful of the crust and squeeze tightly in your fist.  If the crumbs hold together - success!!  If not, add a little more butter until you get the right consistency.

Bake for 15 minutes.  Let cool on a rack.

Filling

3 8 ounce packages of cream cheese or 24 ounces of Chevre (soft goat cheese0
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup sour cream
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs

Cream all ingredients together.  Spoon into graham cracker crust.  Bake for 30 minutes.

Glaze (do this after the cake has been taken out of the oven and is cooling)

1 cup water
1 cup sugar
3 T Karo Syrup
3 T cornstarch
3 T gelatin (like Knox gelatin)
red food color (about 3 to 4 drops)

2 quarts strawberries

Combine all ingedients (except strawberries) in a saucepan.  Bring to a boil, then cool.

Hull and rinse the strawberries.  Pat dry and set on a papper towel.  Dip the strawberries in the glaze and set on cheesecake.  Garnish with whipped topping (note: I didn't have any whipped topping - the picture in the book shows the whipping topping around the edge of the crust - very pretty!)

It would have looked a lot prettier with the whipped topping around the edge - oh well!  BUT it was GOOD!!  My husband liked this cheesecake a lot better than the previous one.  So this is definitely a winner!!  Will I make it again?  Definitely!!

Was this THE perfect cheesecake recipe - probably not - but it was definitely good!!

A New Adventure - Goat's Milk Cheesecake!! (or Whole Milk Cheesecake)

To make a long story short, a couple of my husband's friends at work were watching some TV show about cheesecakes.  They asked my husband if I had ever made a goat's milk cheesecake since I make goat's milk cheese.  A new adventure was born!!

First, I had to find a "good" cheesecake recipe - where else to look but good ole Joy of Cooking.  The recipe did involve a little bit of shopping for the graham cracker crust, heavy whipping cream, a springform pan (you can get those at Walmart!), etc.  The main ingredient in any cheesecake is cream cheese.  Fortunately, I have this nifty cheese cookbook, A Cheesemakere's Journey by Mary Jane Toth which had a Neufchatel recipe (very similar to cream cheese but less fat!).  The recipe calls for 32 oz of cream cheese so I will have to make two batches of the Neufchatel.  This is so easy!!!

Here is the recipe for the Neufchatel makes about 1 to 1 1/2 pounds of cheese.  You don't have to use goat's milk - whole cow's milk would work - just don't use the ultra-pasteurized milk - make sure it says WHOLE milk on the label.

1 gallon whole milk (either cow or goat - I am using goat since that is what I have available)
1/2 cup cultured buttermilk (not low-fat!!!)
2 T diluted rennet  (Dilution - 3 drops of liquid rennet added to 1/3 cup of cold water)
(to order rennet go to: Liquid Vegetable Rennet )

Warm the milk to 80 degrees F in a stainless pot.  Remove pot from heat.  Stir in the cultured buttermilk. Add the 2 T of the diluted rennet.  Cover the pot and let the pot sit undisturbed for 8 to 12 hours.

This is what you should find after 12 hours.  It should look like thickened yogurt.  Line a large colander with cheesecloth and scoop the thickened curds into it.  Collect and tie together the corners of the cheesecloth of form a bag, with the curds at the bottom, and hang the bag to drain for 6 to 8 hours. 

Cheese is drained enough when it is the consistency of cream cheese.  Refrigerate.  This cheese will keep for about 2 weeks (though we are going to use it in the next day or two for our cheesecake).  You have to make two batches of this since the recipe calls for two pounds of "cream cheese."  Below is "goat's milk" Neufchatel or cream cheese.

That was the hardest part - WHEW!!!  Now the fun begins!!

The first step is to make the crust.  First, grease your 9" springform pan with Pam, you do have a springform pan, don't you??  I bought mine at Walmart - they had a set of 3 for $9.99.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

The Crust

2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup granulated white sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

Mix together.  The test to see if you have the right consistency for your graham cracker crust, is to take a small fist full of crumbs in your hand and squeeze it in your fist.  If the crumbs hold together - success!!  If not, add a little more melted butter until you get the right consistency.

Press the graham cracker crumbs into the greased pan.  Press some of the crumbs about an half inch to an inch up the side of the pan. 

You have two options depending on how you like your crust.  If you prefer a firmer crust, bake the crust for 10 minutes in a 350 degree F oven.  Otherwise, place your crust in the refrigerator.

The Filling

32 ounces cream cheese, room temperature (see above for homemade cream cheese - or if you use store bought do not use non-fat or low fat)
1 cup granulated white sugar
3 tablespoons all purpose flour
5 large eggs, room temperature
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tablespoon lemon zest (see comment below - I would make this optional!)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Combine the cream cheese, sugar and flour.  Mix for only 2 minutes - this is important!!  Do not OVER MIX.  Over mixing will bring air into your batter which could cause your cheesecake to crack while baking - not a pretty sight!!  Also, mix on low or medium speeds.

Add the eggs, one at a time scraping the bowl as needed.  Mix in the whipping cream. lemon zest and vanilla extract until just incorporated.  Pour into pan.

Place the pan on top of a large cookie sheet and place in a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes on the middle rack.  After 15 minutes, lower the temperature to 250 degrees F and cook for an additional 60 to 90 minutes - or until firm and only the center of the cheesecake looks a little wet and wobbly.  My baking time was about 60 minutes - your's may differ because of different ovens.  But the center of the cheesecake may seem a little wobbly - it will firm up as it cools.

Remove pan from oven and place on wire rack.  DO NOT REMOVE FROM SPRINGFORM PAN!!!

Topping

1 cup sour cream (not low fat or fat free)
2 tablespoons granulated white sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Mix together and spread over top of cheesecake once the cake has cooled a bit.  Place cheesecake in 250  degree oven for an additional 15 minutes. 

Cool on wire rack. 

NOW the hard part . . . this is one of the those recipes that really, really taste so much better the next day.  So, reluctantly you must put it in the refrigerator and let it "rest" its pretty little head for tomorrow.  Yes, you can occasionally open the door and droll at it.  I kept mine in the springform pan over night and removed it in the morning.

It's a miracle . . .  we have cheesecake!!!  The finale product!!

And my husband whisked it off to work before I even tasted a crumb.  So I will have a "verdict' this afternoon.  I made him SWEAR that he would save me a piece!!

VERDICT 

I still haven't tasted the cheesecake but my husband called me at noon to report on what the
"reviews" were.  He said everyone that had a piece thought it was really good.  Several people thought it would be even better with either a cherry or blueberry topping (well, yeah - duh!!).  The most important opinion I wanted to hear was my husband's.  He thought it was really good, but didn't like the lemon zest in it.  I really thought about omitting that and I think I will the next time I make the cake.  But, overall, I do think we have a winner on our hands (of course, I still haven't tasted it yet).

Julia Child's Shrimp Quiche or Quiche Aux Crevettes

Oh, what a dinner we had last night!!  I would have taken a picture of it but we ate it all.  It was THAT good!

The day started out with the age-old question "what on earth am I going to make for dinner?"  Nothing sounded really good.  I looked in the refrigerator - no inspiration!  I looked in my pantry - again no inspiration!  I grabbed a couple of my recipe books and found some recipes that sounded interesting but they all required a trip to the grocery store.  BUT I really wasn't in the mood for running up to the store for just one or two items.  I was in a MOOD!!  So I went downstairs to the freezer to see what I could find.  Lo and behold, there was a bag of cooked shrimp!  The angels sang!  (well, not really!)  Hmmmm - I saw possibilities!

So back upstairs I ran and started looking through cookbooks for shrimp recipes.  As always, Julia came to my rescue!  She does that a lot, you know!!  AND, I had all the ingredients!!  This recipe comes from her The French Chef Cookbook,

Quiche Aux Crevettes (aka Shrimp Quiche)

For the "quiche"

1 cup grated Swiss Cheese
an 8 inch partially baked pie shell
1 1/4 cup milk
3 eggs
pinch each of pepper and nutmeg

Shrimp

1 12 oz bag of cooked, shelled and "de-tailed" shrimp
2 T butter
salt and pepper
pinch of tarragon
1/3 cup white vermouth (or white wine)
1 T tomato paste
1/4 cup grated Swiss Cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Melt the butter in a large pan and add the shrimp.  Cook over moderate heat for about 2 minutes.  Season with pepper and tarragon, add the vermouth - boil rapidly until the liquid has evaporated.  Spread the shrimp on the bottom of the pie shell.

Mix together the milk, eggs, cheese and tomato paste.  Pour over the top of the shrimp.  Sprinkle the 1/4 cup of the remaining cheese of the top of the quiche.  Bake for 30 to 40 minutes.

Wonderful with a tossed salad!  ENJOY!!  (or as Julia would say "Bon Appetit!!)

My Grandmother's Seafoam Salad Recipe

This is sort of a family tradition.  My Mom used to make this every Easter.  And now I do also.  It is such a simple recipe and you can whip it up in minutes.  I just made it this morning and will post a picture later on this afternoon.

Seafoam Salad by Beth Tewes (my grandmother)

1 large can Pears
1 small package Lime jello
1 pint Heavy Whipping Cream
1 8oz. package Cream Cheese

Drain juice from pears, reserving 1 cup of pear juice.
Whip whipping cream
Mash pears
Bring pear juice to boil and add lime jice.
In a separate bowl, add the jello mixture to the cream cheese and whip
Add the mashed pears
Fold in the whipping cream
Chill until jellied.

See, isn't that easy!  I guess you can change the recipe and use peaches and peach jello for a different taste - it could be very versatile.

Enjoy!

Paska or Ukrainian Easter Bread

Do you have any special recipes that you make every year for Easter?  It seems like every Holiday has its "special" recipe.  When you think of Thanksgiving - at our house, it is always turkey and my corn pudding.  Christmas, I make my mother-in-law's lemon cakes and decorated sugar cookies.  I guess Easter is always Ham.  Oh yes, my grandmother's Seafoam Salad!!  Can't forget that!!  What traditions do you have at Easter? 

Today's adventure comes from the blog. Brown Eyed Baker.  I have just started following her blog!  She recently posted this recipe and it looked so good that I had to try it.  Fortunately, I had all the ingredients - EVEN the golden raisins!!  SO you know this was meant to be!!!  Here is a link to her blog:
Brown Eyed Baker Blog

NOTES:
Her recipe calls for 2 cakes of fresh yeast.  I used 4 1/2 tsp of active dry yeast or you can use 2 packets of yeast
I omitted the 1 tsp of salt - it is your choice.
She always puts an egg wash on the bread before it goes into the oven.  I omitted that.  If you want to do that, here is the ingredients for the egg wash:
egg yolk, beaten with 1 tablespoon water

Paska or Ukrainian Easter Bread
makes 3 loaves

Ingredients:

2 packets of active dry yeast or 4 1/2 tsp of yeast
2 cups whole milk, warmed to 110 degrees F (I used goat's milk just because that is what I had)
7 to 8 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
½ cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
5 egg yolks, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup golden raisins (optional)

Directions:

In large bowl, sprinkle the yeast over the warm milk, stir to dissolve the yeast. Let it sit for 5 minutes.

Add 3 cups flour and mix with a wooden or plastic spoon. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in a warm, draft-free area until the dough has doubled in size.  This rises fairly quickly.  I placed this in my oven with the oven light on. 

(NOTE:  If you are going to add the golden raisins, soak the raisins for about 30 minutes in warm water to plump them up.  Drain them in a colandar and pat dry with a paper towel).

Pour the dough into the bowl of an electric mixer and add the sugar, melted butter, egg yolks, salt (if using), vanilla, golden raisins and 4 cups of flour. Using a dough hook, mix until the dough comes together.  The dough is a eal pretty golden color from all the egg yolks!

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until it forms a smooth dough, about 5 minutes, again adding more flour as needed.

Divide the dough into three equal balls and form into loaves.

Place the loaves into three 8x4-inch greased loaf pans. Cover lightly with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in size.  This takes a little bit longer, about 1 hour to an hour and a half.

•If you are using dark, non-stick loaf pans, be sure to reduce the oven temperature by 25 degrees F

Preheat oven to 400  (or 375 if using a dark pan) . Brush the tops of the loaves with the egg wash.** (see note above about egg wash)
 Bake the loaves for 10 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 350 (or 325 if using a dark pan) and bake for an additional 40 minutes, or until the loaves are golden brown.

If the loaves seem to be getting  too dark, place loose piece of aluminum foil over top.

Allow the bread to cool for about 20 minutes in the pans, then remove  the loaves onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Wrap leftover bread in plastic wrap and keep at room temperature for up to 3 days.

This bread freezes well. Wrap baked loaves in plastic wrap and then in foil and store in the freezer. Alternatively, wrap loaves in plastic wrap then place in airtight freezer bags.

VERDICT:

The crust definitely does get very dark, so you almost had to cover it with aluminum foil right after you lower the oven temperature.
The dark crusts make the bread look hard, but it isn't. 
It is a very moist and soft bread.  Would make GREAT French Toast.  I think a vanilla glaze (powdered sugar mixed with some milk) would be great. 
Overall, I think I would make this again. 

Chipmunk Pie??? It's not what you think!

Now doesn't this catch your attention!! And no, it isn't made from those cute, little flurry creatures that scurry around your yard!  Whew!!  I know I live out in the country, but I am not THAT much country!!  It is basically an apple pie with nuts (I am thinking because of the addition of the nuts that the pie got its name).

I found this recipe last year in the book, United States of Pie.  According to the book, the recipe comes from The Delaware Heritage Cookbook. 

It is really a very simple pie. Takes only a few minutes to whip together and you might already have all the ingredients in your kitchen. 

Chipmunk Pie

Pie crust - I cheated and used Pillsbury Pie Crusts or use your favorite pie crust recipe

2 large eggs
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar (doesn't specify either dark or light - I used light since that is what I had on hand)
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
 1 1/2 cups peeled, cored and diced baking apple - I used 2 Granny Smith apples

Preheat oven to 350 F degrees

Place the pie crust over a pie plate and ease it into the plate.  Trim the edges to leave a 1 inch overhang.  Fold the edges over and then decoratively crimp the edges.  Place the pie shell in the refrigerator until the filling is ready.

In a medium size bowl, beat the eggs.  Add the sugars and flour, mix thoroughly.

Add the baking powder and vanilla and continue to stir. Fold in the apple pieces and nuts.

Remove the pie shell from the refrigerator and pour the filling into the shell.   Don't worry the pie filling won't fill the entire pie plate, as it bakes, it does expand - look at the picture at the top!

Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until the surface of the pie is golden brown and crisp.

Let the pie cool to room temperature (if you can!!).  I bet this is really good with ice cream - YUM!!!

Enjoy! 

Verdict:

We had the pie for dessert last night (with ice cream!!).  It was a huge hit.  Will I be making this again - most definitely!

Hamburger Buns Revisited

I am making a recipe tonight for dinner from the Campbell's Soup Cookbook.  The recipe is called Pizzaburgers and I needed hamburger buns.  So this was the PERFECT opportunity to try the Hamburger Bun recipe again with a few modifications.  I was VERY pleased with the results.

Here is the original recipe:
Homemade Hamburger Buns

I followed the basic recipe, BUT after shaping the dough into 8 balls, I only let them rise for an hour instead of two hours.  The buns turned out a PERFECT size.

Secondly, I didn't brush them with the egg white and water.  That seemed to smush (is there such a word??) the tops down.

Thirdly, I didn't steam the rolls.  So these should be nice and soft.

Overall, I am extremely pleased how the rolls turned out!!  I am definitely going to make these again with these modifications!!