Espresso cheesecake revisited

  I'm pretty much a minimalist in my approach to cooking. I start with the idea in mind to use as few ingredients and steps as necessary to get to my end result. Then, if a little fine-tuning is necessary, I'll take it from there. Unfortunately, I'm also of the mind that whatever I make, I can make better. So there's a constant battle going on in the crazy food world inside my head!

    

origninal recipe

  Back to the espresso cheesecake. I liked the flavor and ease of creation, but the end-result was too "thick" for my liking. So, it's bouncing around inside my head with all the other food thoughts for the past week and in one of those, "Well, duh!" epiphany moments, it came to me. One simple step to create a lighter cheesecake: separate the eggs, add the yolks in the mixing process as before, but beat the whites til they form peaks, then add them in in two steps at the end. So, here's the updated recipe:

• 4-5oz honey graham crackers (typically, one sleeve from a standard retail box)
• 6 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp instant espresso
• 1 tbsp hot water
• 15oz whole milk ricotta cheese
• 12oz cream cheese
• 1 14oz can sweetened, condensed milk
• 3 eggs, yolks and whites separated into two bowls
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 9" nonstick spring-form pan

  Preheat oven to 325. Place ricotta in a fine sieve over a bowl or in the sink to drain.
  Crush graham crackers and place in small bowl. Melt butter, mix into cracker crumbs. Pour into spring-form pan and press out evenly across bottom and slightly up the sides. Even though my spring-form claims to be nonstick, I spray a little olive oil around the inside edge of the pan to help ease the cheesecake out of it later.

revised cheesecake

  Mix espresso with hot water in a small cup and set aside.
  Place cream cheese in a large mixing bowl, and with a handheld mixer set on low, mix it for about 30 seconds (don't forget about mixing at a low speed so you don't paint the walls and ceilings with cheese). Add drained ricotta and blend together. Add sweetened condensed milk and blend together. Add 3 egg yolks and blend together. Add vanilla extract and espresso and blend again. Beat egg whites til they form stiff peaks. Add half the whites to the mixture and blend in with a spatula or spoon. Then, carefully fold in the remaining half of the whites.
  Pour mixture into spring-form pan. Place in oven and cook 50 minutes. After 50 minutes, remove from oven, place on rack, and let sit at room temperature for at least one hour or until cool enough to carefully handle. Do your best to gently remove it from spring-form pan and move to a serving plate, and let chill in refrigerator at least one more hour. I hope you enjoy!
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Chimichurri Sauce

I've seen several recipes for this wonderful sauce and this is my fairly simple version that is great with steak, chicken, seafood, even grilled vegetables. BIG caveat here -- my crazy gaucho friend Fabrizio from the Pampas of Argentina has informed me there is only one way to make Chimichurri (not the way I make it), and it is only used on one specific sausage dish (maybe the one thing I've never put it on). OK, he's not really a gaucho from the Pampas, he's from Buenos Aires and studying to be an engineer, but I still think he's crazy for not putting Chimichurri on everything!

• 4oz of sweet or Spanish onion roughly chopped
• 2-3 cloves of garlic cut in half
• 1 head of parsley rinsed and dried, large stem ends removed
• 1 head of cilantro rinsed and dried, large stem ends removed
• juice of 1 lime
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/2 tsp salt

  Put onion and garlic in food processor. Pulse 3 or 4 times, scrape down the sides. Add the parsley and cilantro to the processor. Run for 10 seconds, stop, scrape down the sides, then run again for 10 seconds (we want to keep some body to this, not make a smooth puree).
  Scrape mixture into a bowl, add olive oil, lime juice, red pepper flakes, and salt. Mix well. Place into a container and refrigerate several hours or even an entire day to let the flavors blend (unlike the "blending" mentioned in the Turkey Burger post, this time we're really letting the flavors blend!). You will have a full cup-worth of sauce and it will lasts several weeks in your refrigerator, but I doubt it will take that long before you're making another batch.
  Usually, I serve Chimichurri on the side and let everyone spoon some onto their plate. It can also be spread over what ever you're grilling or roasting for the last couple minutes of cooking. One of my favorite uses for Chimichurri is with chicken wings (calm down, Fabrizio!). Take your wings hot off the grill, or out of the oven, or out of the oil, and immediately toss them in a bowl with a healthy portion of Chimichurri. Fantastic! I hope you enjoy!

Turkey Burgers

Start to get those warm Spring days early and immediately thoughts go to grilling. Let's ease into it with something not so heavy, but still tasty. Now, you could buy some ground turkey and simply make patties and throw them on the grill, but where's the fun in that? Here's a way to jazz them up  a bit, but still keep it simple. And, hey, with the spinach and tomatoes in the recipe, you don't have to try and force your kids to eat their salad -- it's already in their burgers!

• 20oz extra-lean ground breast of Turkey
• 6 fresh sage leaves finely chopped
• 1 plum tomato diced
• 1 cup julienned fresh baby spinach leaves
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp chipotle powder

Place turkey in mixing bowl. Toss lightly to break up. Add all other ingredients. Blend well. Form four patties, place on platter, cover and refrigerate one hour to let them firm-up and let the flavors blend ("let the flavors blend" - that's code for having time to sit back and enjoy a cocktail or glass of wine!). Before placing the platter in the refrigerator, this is your chance to hold it up in front of you, slowly moving it from side-to-side, and ask you captive audience, "What's this?" And, then you tell them, "It's poultry in motion!" Ha!

Just before the hour is up, start your grill. Grill the patties seven minutes per side over medium-high heat. If grilling outside is not an option, grill inside in a grill pan using same temperature and time. Serve with or without buns and with whatever condiments you prefer. Enjoy!

Espresso Cheesecake

A simple recipe to make, about 20 minutes of prep time, and not too sweet with a subtle coffee background. I don't eat desserts often, so when I make them, I go all out. If you want to try skim-milk ricotta or low-fat cream cheese, let me know how it works (but I still won't make it that way!)

• 4-5oz honey graham crackers (typically, one sleeve from a standard retail box)
• 6 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp instant espresso
• 1 tbsp hot water
• 15oz whole milk ricotta cheese
• 12oz cream cheese
• 1 14oz can sweetened, condensed milk
• 3 eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 9" nonstick spring-form pan

  Preheat oven to 325. Place ricotta in a fine sieve over a bowl or in the sink to drain (if you have a cat as I do, and that cat thinks she's your sous chef, cover the ricotta as it drains or you might hear that familiar "lap-lap" sound, and now you have 14oz of ricotta).
  Crush graham crackers and place in small bowl. Melt butter, mix into cracker crumbs. Pour into spring-form pan and press out evenly across bottom and slightly up the sides. Even though my spring-form claims to be nonstick, I spray a little olive oil around the inside edge of the pan to help ease the cheesecake out of it later.
  Mix espresso with hot water in a small cup and set aside.
  Place cream cheese in a large mixing bowl, and with a handheld mixer set on low, mix it for about 30 seconds (I strongly recommend mixing at a low speed or you could be cleaning cream cheese off your kitchen walls. Also, I happen to share my kitchen with someone who will remain anonymous. Why is it she always stores the body of the mixer and the paddles in two different locations?). Add drained ricotta and blend together. Add sweetened condensed milk and blend together (beginning to see a trend, here?). Add 3 eggs and blend together. Add vanilla extract and espresso and blend one more time.
  Pour mixture into spring-form pan. Place in oven and cook 50 minutes (if you have a classic, two-oven Aga stove as I have, place the pan on the rack on the bottom of the roasting oven, place the cold sheet on the top rungs, and leave the door slightly ajar while cooking. If you have a more conventional oven, I think you just set it to 325 degrees). After 50 minutes, remove from oven, place on rack, and let cool at room temperature for at least one hour. Do your best to gently remove it from spring-form pan and move to a serving plate, and let chill in refrigerator at least one more hour. I hope you enjoy!

Homey Lemon Bread

There are countless recipes for breakfast breads. After tinkering around with various flavors and styles, I came up with this one which I really like. Rich from the honey, a nice zip of lemon, poppy seeds for fun, and easy to make!

• 1 stick of unsalted, softened butter
• 1/2 cup of honey (I use Grade A Clover honey)
• 2 eggs
• zest of 1 lemon (I like a coarse zest, so you get nice bites of it throughout the bread, just be careful not to  get into the white pith)
• 1/2 cup of lemon juice (you'll probably need a little bit more than the juice you can get out of the lemon you just zested)
• 2 cups basic white flour
• 1 tbsp poppy seeds (optional, but recommended)
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350. Cream butter and honey together. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well. Add lemon zest and lemon juice, mix well. Mix all dry ingredients together and then add to wet ingredients in 3 portions, mixing well each time. Pour/spoon batter into a buttered bread tin (I believe they're roughly 8.5 x 5 x 2.5 - I never remember the exact proportions). Place tin on a sheet and bake in preheated oven about 45 to 50 minutes, til top is golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool a few minutes, remove from tin and let further cool on a rack. If you can control the urge to dig in, wrap it in plastic or foil once fully cool and let it sit til the next day before enjoying.

Variations: try 3/4 of a cup of chopped walnuts or pecans instead of poppy seeds. I also would like to try using the zest of 1/2 an orange and 1/2 cup of orange juice in place of lemon. With that, I think I would take 3/4 cup whole cranberries (fresh or frozen) and pulse them in a food processor with a tbsp of sugar and use that in place of poppy seeds or nuts. I'll try it and let you know!
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Brie Bowl

We don't do this too often because it's very rich, but it is a favorite appetizer of ours when having friends over for dinner. I only know the basic recipe through word of mouth, so if any one can reference it from a cookbook, I will be happy to provide that information.

One one-pound loaf of good bakery bread such as sourdough or roasted garlic, either round or oval.
Two wedges, or about 3/4 of-a-pound of good brie cheese.
1/2 cup lightly-packed light brown sugar.

Preheat oven to 375.

Cut off top 1/3 of bread loaf, cut that into bite-size pieces and reserve. Pull out the majority of bread from inside of the loaf, trying to keep it in bite-size pieces and reserve.

Dice your brie cheese and fill the hollowed-out bread loaf with it. Cover the top of the cheese with the brown sugar. Place loaf on a baking sheet and place in oven. After about twenty minutes, check to see how the cheese is melting and make sure the loaf is not blackening on the outside - if it is, you can wrap some foil around it. Continue cooking until the sugar has melted into the cheese and the cheese is fully melted. Remove the loaf from the oven and place on a serving plate. Place reserved bread chunks on baking sheet, return sheet to oven for 5 minutes to lightly toast the pieces.

Scatter toasted bread around the brie bowl, serve using the toasted pieces to dip into the melted brie and brown sugar, and enjoy! (you can add a few extra cheese crackers to the serving plate if necessary)

Coming soon -- some bakery items, including a Lemon/honey bread and an easy espresso cheesecake!
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