New York Style Cheesecake

While I was at home for the holidays, I asked my dad if he could have one dessert what it would be. He answered cheesecake. Good 'ol New York style cheesecake. Of course, I couldn't leave the man who raised me cheesecake-less!



I made this cheesecake and froze it for him to enjoy after I left. Of course, I had a few bites as I was preparing it for the great freeze. MMmm! Delicious!

About a week and a half after I returned to New York, my Stepmom sends me a text saying how wonderful the cheesecake was and that they served it to some dinner guests, who were floored at how amazing it tasted!

Hehe. Daughter done good! I'll take it!

I made the cheesecake without a topping, but I heard it was enjoyed with caramel, strawberry and raspberry syrups. Although I couldn't be there to enjoy it with them, I am so glad it went over so well!

Shout out to the fam! Love you, miss you XOXO!



New York Style Cheesecake
Smitten Kitchen

Crumb crust
8 ounces (15 4 3/4 x 2 1/2-inch sheets of graham cracker; yes, I am crazy enough to both count and measure) finely ground graham crackers or cookies such as chocolate or vanilla wafers
8 tablespoons (1 stick or 4 ounces or 113 grams) unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt

Cheesecake filling:
5 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened (Philadelphia is recommended for cheesecakes but if you’ve had success with other brands, feel free to use them again)
1 3/4 cups sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
5 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

For the crumb crust: Stir together crust ingredients and press onto bottom and up the sides, stopping one inch shy of the top rim**, of a buttered 9 1/2-inch (or 24 cm) springform pan. You can fill it right away but I like to pop my into the freezer so it quickly sets while I prepare the filling.

For the filling: Preheat oven to 550 degrees***. Beat together cream cheese, sugar, flour and zest with an electric mixer until smooth. Add vanilla, then eggs and yolks, one at a time, beating on low speed until each ingredient is incorporated. Scrape bowl down between additions; I cannot stress this enough as if you do not, you’ll end up with unmixed stripes of cream cheese. I always find at least one, despite my best efforts.

Put springform pan with crust in a shallow baking pan (to catch drips). Pour filling into crust (springform pan will be completely full) and baking in baking pan in the middle of the oven for 12 minutes or until puffed. Please watch your cake because some ovens will top-brown very quickly and if yours does too fast, turn the oven down as soon as you catch it. Reduce the temperature to 200 degrees (see Note below about my baking drama) and continue baking until cake is mostly firm (center will still be slightly wobbly when pan is gently shaken), about one hour more.

Run a knife around the top edge of the cake to loosen it and cool the cake completely in springform on a rack, then chill it, loosely covered, at least 6 hours.

Jalapeno Popper Dip

I'm still behind in posting holiday recipes, but this is another one I made at home. I made this after a particularly long run and between my parents and I, we almost demolished the entire thing! Perfect cold day-cuddle up and watch movies dip. Or the Superbowl. Or a super PMS-y day. Wow, are those two conflicting days or what?!



The dips is the perfect blend of spicy and cheesy. We went the healthier route and dipped vegetables in and we used broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, celery and jicama (a fun new veggie for me that I now LOVE!). 



Jalapeno Popper Dip
Eating, Etc. 

8oz Neufchatel or Tofutti cream cheese substitute, at room temperature
1/2 cup mayo
1/2c cheddar cheese, grated (goat cheddar cheese)
1/2c parmigiano reggiano (goat romano cheese)
4oz can chopped jalapenos, drained
1/4c panko bread crumbs
1/4c parmigiano reggiano

1) Mix Neufchatel, mayo, cheddar cheese, parmigiano reggiano and jalapenos in a bowl and transfer to baking dish.

2) In a small bowl, mix panko bread crumbs with parmigiano reggiano, and sprinkle over the dip.

3) Bake, uncovered, at 375°F until bubbling on the sides and golden brown on top, about 30 minutes.

Gingersnaps

This past holiday season, I became a slave to the subtle and spicy flavor of ginger. In everything! I was craving gingerbread like it was going out of style! When I came home for Christmas, I decided to share the love with my parental units and made these gingersnaps.

I couldn't get over how good these were! They are very soft and chewy, but in a good way. Even a certain someone who prefers her cookies crisp loved these! They were very easy as well. No mixer or beaters needed. Just two bowls. 

Were having a cold snap here in the Northeast. I recommend making these if you are too! They will warm you up for sure!

Gingersnaps
17 and Baking 

2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cloves
Pinch of salt
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup molasses
3/4 cup canola oil
1 large egg
Sugar for rolling (I like evaporated cane juice or raw sugar)

Whisk together the flour, baking soda, spices, and salt in a medium bowl. In another bowl, combine together the brown sugar, molasses, canola oil, and egg until smooth. Mix the flour mixture into the brown mixture, stirring until dough comes together. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for 20 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and line baking sheets with parchment paper. Scoop up bits of dough by the heaping teaspoonful and roll into balls between your palms, about the size of a quarter. Roll the balls in sugar and place on the baking sheets 2 inches apart. Bake 8 minutes – if you like crispy gingersnaps, try 9-10 minutes.

Cookies will be very soft but will firm up. Leave on the baking sheet several minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

French Butter Cookies

When I saw these cookies on Annie's Eats before Christmas, I knew I was going to have to make them. I remember my mom coming home with a big tin of these butter cookies for the holidays several years in a row. I remember loving them! And, of course, eating too many. 



These cookies are just as great, if not better than those you get out of a big tin. They have a delicious buttery flavor, and are soft and crumbly. I made these for the family over Christmas and we literally ate them all in under one week!

They are definitely a process. It took me most of an afternoon to crank these out, but it was soooo worth it. It was also a fun process!





French Butter Cookies
Annie's Eats

1 large egg
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour

1 large egg white
Turbinado sugar for sprinkling 

Place the egg in a small saucepan and cover with 1 inch of water.  Bring to a boil.  Once boiling, remove from the heat, cover and let sit 10 minutes.  Meanwhile fill a small bowl with ice water.  Use a slotted spoon to transfer the egg to the ice water and let stand 5 minutes.  Crack the egg and peel away the shell.  Separate the yolk from the white; discard the white.  Press the yolk through a fine mesh sieve into a small bowl.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the butter, sugar, salt and cooked egg yolk.  Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes, scraping down the bowl as needed.  Turn the mixer to low, add the vanilla and mix until incorporated.  Add the flour and mix on low speed just until combine, about 30 seconds.  Use a spatula to press the dough into a cohesive mass.

Divide the dough in half and roll each piece into a log about 6 inches long and 1¾ inches in diameter.  Wrap each log in a piece of parchment or wax paper.  Twist the ends to seal and firmly compact the dough into a tight cylinder.  Chill in the freezer until firm, about 1 hour.  (At this point, the dough can be stored in a freezer bag and frozen for up to 2 weeks.)

To bake, preheat the oven to 350 ˚F.  Line baking sheets with parchment paper.  Using a chef’s knife, slice the dough into ¼-inch thick rounds, rotating the dough log every few slices so that it does not become misshapen.  Place the cookies 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheets.  Brush lightly with the egg white mixture and sprinkle evenly with turbinado sugar.

Bake until the centers of the cookies are pale golden and the edges are slightly darker, about 15 minutes, rotating the baking sheets halfway through baking.  Cool on the baking sheets about 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Variations: 
Vanilla Pretzel Cookies
Follow the recipe for French Butter Cookies, increasing the vanilla extract to 1 tablespoon and reducing the chilling time to 30 minutes.  Slice the dough into rounds as instructed.  Form each round into a ball.  Roll into a 6-inch long rope with tapered ends.  Twist into a pretzel shape.  Brush with the egg white mixture, sprinkle with turbinado sugar and bake as instructed.

Chocolate Sandwich Cookies
Follow the recipe for French Butter Cookies.  Slice the dough into 1/8-inch thick rounds.  Omit the egg wash and sprinkling sugar.  Bake the cookies as directed, reducing the baking time to 10-13 minutes.  When all the cookies are completely cool, melt dark or semisweet chocolate, spread a thin layer onto one cookie and sandwich with another cookie.  Let sit until the chocolate has set completely.

Black and White Spiral Cookies
Make one batch of French Butter Cookie dough.  Make a batch of chocolate dough by following the recipe for French Butter Cookies, reducing the flour to 1 1/3 cups and adding ¼ cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder with the flour.

Max Brenner

Before Christmas this year, my friend, T, and I decided to plan a date day for ourselves. Part of our fun day was to visit Max Brenner in Union Square for some major food consumption and boy, did we do our jobs well! Unfortunately I forgot my camera so you will have to pardon the photos from my phone camera.

I had never been to Max Brenner, although T had and guided me through the menu. Of course, we had to try EVERYTHING. And I do mean EVERYTHING! We started off debating between milkshakes and hot chocolate and decided to split a milkshake (even though it was freezing outside) and to order hot chocolate after our meal to-go.

So, after much deliberation, we decided on the Hazelnut Cream Chocolate Milkshake, which had vanilla bourbon ice cream, dark chocolate truffle and whipped cream.



WHOOO! Talk about delicious. This ended up being my favorite part of the meal. And aren't the cups adorable?! It was sort of like drinking Nutella, which we all know I can't stop myself from eating.

Next up was the main course. We decided t get two dishes to split, the first being the Mushroom and Ricotta Pizza with black olives and sun dried tomato pesto.



Since pizza is one of my favorite foods, if it's on the menu, I pretty much have to eat it. This pizza was good! Not my favorite but I enjoyed the thin crust and zesty pesto that was used as a sauce.

The other entree we split was Max's Sandwish of the Seas which had pan seared/seasoned salmon, caramelized onion, spicy roasted pepper aioli, tomato and lettuce.



 I LOVED this sandwhich. Next time I will probably just get one for myself. The coating on the salmon was super crunchy without compromising the soft fish inside. It came with a side of french fries that they dusted with cocoa powder. What a great idea!

(Side story: Speaking of cocoa powder on french fries, when I was little I ordered fries at a restaurant and mistakenly sprinkled them with sugar instead of salt. At first I refused to eat them and put up a huge fuss. Of course, after trying them I fell in love and for years after, I always ate my fries with sugar. What a wierdo!)



And, of course, what is the point of going to Max Brenner without getting dessert? At this point, we were both pretty full, but having run 10 miles earlier in the day, I had no problem singling out the dessert menu. We decided to split The Euphoria Peanut Butter Chocolae Fudge Sundae (say that three times fast!). It had chocolate peanut butter ice cream, caramelized banana toffees, pure chocolate chuncks, milk chocolate sauce and warm peanut butter sauce. It was garnished with whipped cream and hazelnut bits and served with extra peanut butter sauce and pure chocolate ganache. 



Lawda mercy was this thing crazy good! And SO rich! I am ashamed to admit we couldn't finish it. Chocolate and peanut butter were in each bite I took! So good!



Unfortunately we were both too full for hot chocolate afterwards, but will definitely be going back  at some point soon. We got lucky and didn't have to wait long for a table (about 30 seconds if you can believe it), but I hear it gets a little nuts so plan accordingly if you do go. I can't wait to return to Max Brenner and eat my face off again!

Pumpkin Gnocchi with Sage Butter

I've been talking about Gnocchi for awhile now. I was begging Spice to make it for me, but she hasn't gotten around to it yet. When I was home for Christmas, however, LadyJayPee pulled out an article in the Seattle Times for Pumpkin Gnocchi with Sage Butter and with a few pumpkins still fresh from her garden, I knew what my dinner project was going to be!



This was no doubt a time-consuming project, but SOOOO much fun! And the finished product...WHOOOO! Boy! Have I been missing out on the gnocchi train!



Although I followed the recipe this time, next time I will make pumpkin puree the "easy" way, by cutting the pumpkin in half and baking before scraping out the insides and pureeing it in a food processor. I also drained the puree a bit through a strainer to remove the access liquid. 

My pumpkin was approximately 3 lbs instead of the recommended 1 1/2. It still worked out perfectly though!



According to Atkinson, pressing the gnocchi dough into simple discs that are thinner in the center than around the edges allows them to cook evenly, like the hole in a doughnut. Many other versions are made by rubbing the gnocchi against the tines of a fork to create shell-like nuggets.

Pumpkin Gnocchi with Sage Butter
From The Seattle Times, Greg Atkinson

For the Gnocchi:
1 1/2 lbs fresh pie (sugar) pumpkin, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
2 tablespoons butter
1 to 2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour, divided
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg, or to taste

For the sage butter:
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
24 fresh sage leaves

For the garnish:
2 ounces parmesan cheese
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste 

1. Pile the pumpkin cubes onto a rack over a cup of water in a medium-size saucepan. Steam over medium-high heat until the pumpkin is soft and tender, about 10 minutes. Lift the rack from the saucepan, discard the cooking water and allow the pumpkin to cool to room temperature. 

2. Force the steamed pumpkin through a food mill or press it through the holes of a colander. Put the puree back in the pan and stir in the 2 tablespoons of butter. Cook over low heat, stirring frequently, until the pumpkin has thickened and dried, about 10 minutes.

3. Remove the pan from the heat and when the pumpkin puree has cooled almost to room temperature, stir in a cup of the flour, the egg yolk, salt, pepper and nutmeg. You should have a very sticky dough. Stir in another half cup of flour, then sprinkle the remaining flour onto a clean, dry surface and scrape the dough onto the flour. Knead the mixture gently, incorporating just enough flour to make a soft dough.

4. To form the gnocchi, divide the dough into 8 pieces. Roll each piece of dough into a rope about an inch thick and cut the rope into 12 pieces. Gently pinch each piece of dough with a well-floured thumb and forefinger to make a concave dumpling. Place the formed gnocchi in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. If you're not going to cook them immediately, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate the gnocchi for up to 4 hours or freeze them for several days.

5. When you're ready to cook the gnocchi, bring a gallon of water with a tablespoon of salt to a boil. Cook the gnocchi in several batches (I did about 15 at a time) in the boiling water until they rise to the surface of the water, about 3 minutes. Life the gnocchi out of the water with a slotted spoon and hold them on a warm platter. Toss with gnocchi with the butter sauce. Use a vegetable peeler to cut curls of Parmesan over the top of the dish and top with a few grinds of fresh pepper.

6. To make the butter sauce, melt the butter in a small skillet over low heat. Add the sage leaves and simmer until the butter turns golden.

Favorite Pancakes

Get a load of this: Breakfast is almost eclipsing dinner as my favorite meal of the day. And I credit it to new, fun and healthy options. These pancakes are another in a long line of recent breakfast creations that I have come up with.



They are packed with nothing but good, fueling food for a morning on the run. Since I am frequently on the run from dance classes to running to the gym most mornings, I really do need something good that sticks to my rubs.

Toppings are endless with these, but my favorites are nut butters, pumpkin butter, cranberry sauce, coconut and nuts. Let me know if you come up with other fun toppings!

Also, these pancakes freeze very well. I made them a month or so ago and keep popping them out of the freezer and into the toaster oven for a quick breakfast!



Pancakes
With a Side of Sneakers

1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup old fashioned oats
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
cinnamon
1 tablespoon coconut oil, melted
1/2 cup pumpkin puree 
1/2 cup greek yogurt
1/2 cup almond milk
2 heaping tablespoons Chia seeds
2 heaping tablespoons Ground flax seed
1/4 cup Oat bran
2 heaping tablespoons Wheat germ 

Mix together dry ingredients. Whisk in coconut oil. Stir in yogurt and milk (and pumpkin if you're using it). Cook pancakes a few minutes on each side.

Toppings:
Vanilla Cinnamon Peanut butter
Pumpkin butter
Walnuts

Peanut Butter Fudge

I have been becoming ever so increasingly obsessed with nut butters if you couldn't tell. Of course, that translates itself to topping everything with a dollup of almond butter and making peanut butter cookies. And also, fudge, according to this post! I enjoyed making this awhile ago and really couldn't stop eating the stuff so I suppose it was pretty darn good! Very easy too. It would be perfect for a Christmas gift next year. Bookmark!

PS: Excuse the picture. I was lazy. Please forgive me.

Peanut Butter Fudge
All Recipes 

• 1/2 cup butter


• 2 1/4 cups brown sugar


• 1/2 cup milk


• 3/4 cup peanut butter


• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract


• 3 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in brown sugar and milk. Bring to a boil and boil for 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat. Stir in peanut butter and vanilla. Pour over confectioners' sugar in a large mixing bowl. Beat until smooth; pour into an 8x8 inch dish. Chill until firm and cut into squares.

Baked Sweet Potato Fries

Sweet potato fries. Obsessed. I really can never get enough of these guys. At a restaurant, if these are on the menu, I will order them. No questions asked. Sweet or savory, you really can go no wrong with sweet potato fries. These home made guys were just as good too! I gobbled them right up all by myself.



Baked Sweet Potato Fries
Annie's Eats

2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. light brown sugar
1/2 tsp. kosher salt, plus extra for sprinkling
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil greased with cooking spray.

Halve the sweet potatoes lengthwise and cut each half into long spears.  (Soak in cold water for 20-30 minutes before continuing for crispy texture outside.  Drain well and pat dry.)  Place the potato spears on the sheet pan and toss with olive oil.  Spread them in a single layer.  Combine the brown sugar, salt, and pepper and sprinkle on the potatoes.  Bake for 15 minutes, then turn with a spatula or tongs.  Bake for another 5 to 10 minutes, until lightly browned.  Sprinkle lightly with kosher salt and serve hot.