Key lime cheesecake

The perfect bite.

How you know a cheesecake is good in one bite:

1. The flavor is so pungent that your mouth starts salivating uncontrollably.
2. The creaminess melts in your mouth like ice cream.
3. It is so rich that you become full way too soon.

This dessert was one of the first things I learned to cook in college, and now it occurs to me that it’s kind of a weird recipe. Is cornstarch a normal ingredient for cheesecake? I don’t know, but it’s still delicious. I love tart citrus flavors mixed with the rich sweetness of cream cheese. And the gingernap crust is a natural compliment of flavors.

I made this for our Superbowl supper, but it’s probably more appropriate in summertime, when you can find real key limes. I, of course, just used fresh limes. Please don’t use bottled lime juice!

Key Lime Cheesecake

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 c. ginger snap crumbs or graham cracker crumbs, or a combination of both (grind in food processor)
• 6 T unsalted butter, melted
• 24 oz. cream cheese, softened (I used 1/3 less fat)
• 1 c. white sugar
• 1 T cornstarch
• 3 eggs
• 1 T grated lime zest (one lime)
• 2/3 c. lime juice (about 6 limes)

Heat oven to 350.

Combine cookie crumbs and butter, press into bottom of springform pan. Bake for 10 minutes, then set aside. Cover bottom of pan with tin foil and place in roasting pan or large baking dish (for the water bath).

Lower oven to 300.

In a large bowl, beat with electric mixer the cream cheese, sugar, lime peel and cornstarch until smooth and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time, until just smooth. Add key lime juice with mixer on low, finish mixing by hand. Pour batter into prepared crust.

Pour hot water around the cheesecake, coming halfway up the sides. Place the whole thing in the oven and bake for 60-65 minutes, until just set (still a little jiggly in the middle). Turn off the oven, open it a crack and leave cheesecake in for another 30 min. This will prevent it from cracking…

Look, ma, no cracking!

Remove to the fridge to chill overnight. Slice with a warmed knife and serve!

Enjoy, friends! xoxo

p.s. Stay tuned for more Superbowl treats!

Focaccia with balsamic onions and rosemary

A couple big differences exist between this homemade focaccia and the focaccia you buy at the store. Whereas those I’ve purchased are thick, spongy and oily, this homemade recipe yields a thinner bread with a crunchy crust. It still tastes delicious, but it is definitely different than I was expecting.

I’ve made this recipe before, and this time, I added onions caramelized with balsamic vinegar and fresh rosemary. Very tasty, especially when dipped in garlic-infused olive oil and more balsamic vinegar.

Focaccia with balsamic onions and rosemary

Ingredients:

• 2 packages active dry yeast ( 5 tsp)
• 1 3/4 c. warm water
• 1 tsp sugar
• 3/4 c. EVOO
• 5 c. flour, plus more for kneading
• 2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp coarse sea salt
• 2 yellow onions
• 2 T EVOO
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
• balsamic vinegar

Dissolve yeast in warm water, whisk in sugar and let stand until foamy, approx. 5 min. Pour into large mixing bowl and add 1/2 c. olive oil, flour and kosher salt. Mix at low speed with dough hook (or wooden spoon) until dough is smooth and elastic, 7 min.

Turn dough out on floured board and knead for another 5 min., adding flour to keep it from sticking. Transfer dough to a lightly oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Put in warm place to rise – it should double in size (I put mine by the fire). If you are making this ahead, punch it down after it rises and place in fridge. Bring to room temperature before shaping.

Pour remaining 1/4 c. olive oil on half-sheet pan. Turn dough into pan and press evenly to all sides. Cover the pan loosely with a dry kitchen towel and let rise again in warm spot, about 1 hour.

Meanwhile, thinly slice 2 yellow onions and add to hot frying pan with olive oil, over medium heat. Saute until dark brown and caramelized, about 12 min. Add 2 cloves of chopped garlic and 1 T fresh chopped rosemary. Add 1-2 T balsamic vinegar and stir until everything is thick and caramelized. Season with salt.

Preheat oven to 450.

Sprinkle onion mixture over dough and dimple the surface with your fingers. Sprinkle sea salt over the top.

Bake until golden brown, 20-30 min. Transfer to wire rack and let cool in the pan. Cut into squares and serve warm. For a soft bread every time, microwave leftover slices for 20 seconds.

For anyone who is interested in a great baking book that has beautiful pictures and instructions, here is the book I’ve been using, and loving, “Essentials of Baking” from Williams-Sonoma:

Enjoy the weekend, friends! Do you have your Superbowl menu planned? I know I do…xoxo

Mac & Cheese

Growing up, we didn’t have homemade macaroni & cheese. We didn’t like it – instead, we begged mom for the Kraft kind in the blue box, which I’m sure pained her. I’d like to think that my newfound appreciation for homemade mac & cheese shows just how much I’ve matured.

The beauty of mac & cheese is you can make it almost any time, if you have cheese, butter, milk and some sort of short noodle. Jesse made this the other night with leftover rigatoni noodles, which I would highly recommend, along with penne or anything else hollow to catch all the oozing cheese. Other items we already had: some cheddar cheese, Parmesan, 1% milk and unsalted butter. Oh, and some bread I made.

Ah-mazing. Sharp cheddar cheese is my friend – but if you have gruyere and fontina, all the better. He also added chipotle chilies in adobo, which gave it a spicy, smoky flavor. Finally, breaking my claim that melted cheese is the only acceptable crust, he ground up nice bread to become crumbs that he sprinkled on top, along with some paprika. See how liberal you can be with this recipe? No wonder mothers have been making it for ages.

The leftovers are long gone and I’m still wishing we could have some more. And to my dear friend Cari, yes, it is even better than the frozen Beecher’s mac & cheese we ate when you were here (that stuff is crack in the frozen-food aisle).

J-Mac & Cheese

For the topping:

• 3-4 slices of sandwich bread
• 1/4 c. grated Parmesan
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp ground black pepper

For the pasta:

• 1 pound pasta (penne, rigatoni, etc.)
• salt
• 8 oz. cheese (we used sharp cheddar, but I would also recommend some combination of gruyere and fontina), grated
• 2 oz. Parmesan cheese, grated
• 2 tsp unsalted butter
• 2 tsp flour
• 1 1/2 c. milk (or heavy cream)
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
• 1-2 chipotle chilies in adobo, minced

Grind bread in food processor until crumbed, then mix with Parmesan, salt and pepper. Set aside.

Heat oven to 500 degrees. Bring large pot of water to boil. Add pasta and handful salt and cook until very al dente, still with a bite. Meanwhile, mix the cheeses in a big bowl and set aside.

Melt  butter in small saucepan over medium low, whisk in flour for 30 seconds, then whisk in milk until no lumps remain. Increase heat to a boil, stirring occasionally, then reduce to medium and simmer 1 min until it becomes a thickish white sauce. Stir in 1/4 tsp salt and pepper.

Drain pasta, leaving slightly wet. Pour pasta on top of the cheese, then pour on the cream mixture. Cover immediately and let stand for 3 minutes. Working from the bottom (cheeses) up, stir until cheeses are melted and mixture is thoroughly combined. Add chipotles to combine. Transfer to a baking dish, 13×9 inch, and sprinkle evenly with breadcrumbs, pressing down a little. Sprinkle with paprika as desired.

Bake until golden brown and bubbly, 7 min. Serve immediately, or let it cool a bit and then dive in. Melted cheesy goodness…

This is absolutely comforting and good for a crowd – or just yourself. Enjoy, friends! xoxo

Butternut squash soup

Curried squash with apples and onion

Roasted butternut squash soup is another example of sweet mixing with savory flavors in a lovely dinner entrée. The squash’s natural sweetness blooms when you roast it, along with crisp apples and sweet yellow onions. The soup has surprisingly few ingredients, but the important one is curry powder. Just half a teaspoon completely changes the soup – and even though it may look like baby food, it becomes most certainly adult.

It is also a very healthy soup because it is meat-free, butter-free and cream-free.

Here’s a fun fact: squash last forever! I think I bought my butternut squashes on Oct. 5, 2009. Still good, four months later. Glad I saved this warm recipe for a snow day.

Ina Garten uses all sorts of curry condiments to top her soup: bits of banana, toasted coconut, roasted cashews and green onions. I opted for the onions. Know what else would be good? Fried shallots. Duh.

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

• 3 pounds butternut squash, peeled, seeded and chopped into 1-inch cubes
• 2 yellow onions, cut into thick chunks
• 2 McIntosh apples, peeled, cored and cut into thick chunks
• 3 T EVOO
• Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
• 2-4 c. chicken stock (1 box)
• 1/2 tsp curry powder

Preheat oven to 425.

Toss squash, apples and onion together with olive oil, 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper. Place in single layer on sheet pan (or two) and roast 35-45 min., tossing occasionally, until very soft.

Process the vegetable mixture in food mill or food processor, adding chicken stock to help it become a coarse puree. Place the pureed mixture into a soup pot and add enough chicken stock to make a thick soup. Heat to a simmer, adding curry powder and S&P to taste.

Serve hot with a slice of bread and a sprinkling of scallions.

Puree to your desired consistency

Enjoy, friends! xoxo

Snickerdoodles

I like chocolate just as much as the next female, but in my heart, I would choose a sugar cookie over a cocoa cookie any day. Snickerdoodles are big sugar cookies rolled in cinnamon and sugar – like my favorite childhood treat: cinnamon toast.

They are easy to make, don’t require any butter and have a tasty combination of sweetness, spice and a hint of salt from the dough. I whipped these up while waiting for Jesse to rise one morning.

Snickerdoodles

Ingredients:

• 1 c. shortening
• 1 1/2 c. sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 3/4 c. sifted flour
• 2 tsp cream of tartar
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 3 T sugar

Preheat oven to 400.

Mix shortening, 1 1/2 c. sugar and eggs until thoroughly combined. In a separate bowl, combine flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, salt. Stir into shortening mixture until well mixed. Shape dough into 1-inch balls and roll in a mixture of cinnamon and 3 T sugar. Place balls 2 inches apart on a nongreased cooking sheet. Bake 8-10 min and cool on wire rack.

If you notice the cookies aren’t completely cooked in the middle, feel free to put them back in the oven until they finish. They might get a bit browned on the edges, but they will taste great.

Enjoy with a glass of milk, friends! xoxo

Scalloped tomatoes

Summer flavors baked together

Cari has made it known that these things are true: she doesn’t cook; she doesn’t consider herself a foodie; and she doesn’t like watching “The Food Network.”

I don’t know if East Coast living has influenced her, or her cat or what … but my party-girl college friend has started getting a little more Write Gal in her.

For example: yesterday, we got up late and watched FN while I made cranberry-orange scones. While we watched, we saw Ina Garten make an easy-enough “scalloped tomatoes” dish, which looked like a panzanella salad baked with parmesan cheese.

We thought this would be a nice, quick lunch for us two gals. I had homemade focaccia that I needed to use or toss. All we needed to buy were a few heirloom tomatoes and fresh basil.

This dish is simply delicious. Perfect use for leftover bread – it would be great with any chicken or fish, as a first course or appetizer. We both helped ourselves to two servings (and then somebody finished it off at around 2 a.m.) and it was perfect with a crisp glass of white wine.

We looked for the recipe online, but it wasn’t posted yet. So here, we present:

Flipflops and Write Gal’s scalloped tomatoes

Ingredients

3-4 good quality tomatoes, cut into wedges or big chunks

10 basil leaves, shredded

Four thick slices of good bread, cut into cubes

Olive oil

4 cloves garlic, chopped

1/2 c. Parm-reg, shredded

Preheat the oven to 375.

In a large skillet, heat 2 T olive oil and add the bread, tossing to brown. After 2 min., add garlic and stir for 1 min. Add tomatoes and stir for another 2 min. to combine and cook the garlic. Off the heat, add the basil and season with S&P to taste. Pour into a baking dish and drizzle with more olive oil. Sprinkle over all the Parmesan.

Bake until the cheese melts and the bread starts to brown, 15-20 min. You really can cook it as long as you want – we liked the bread still soft, but the cheese crispy.

Cut into squares and serve hot or at room temperature. There is no bad way to eat this.

Enjoy, friends! xoxo

Sweet potato ravioli

One evening at the office, I quietly ate leftovers at my desk while finishing up some projects. Not five minutes later, I heard my boss yell from her office, “What smells so good?” and then the girls on the other side of the cube echoed her question.

“It’s just me and my sweet-potato ravioli with browned butter and sage sauce!”

One thing lead to another and I was soon promising to post the recipe for everyone.

I first ate this at the Pretentious Thanksgiving party. I normally hate sweet potatoes, but they are soooo good wrapped inside wanton wrappers and then drizzled with a sauce of nutty butter, earthy sage, a pinch of pepper flakes, pine nuts and fried shallots. What can’t be good with that combination of flavors? One thing everybody says is that the red pepper flakes add a nice balance to the sweetness of the sweet potato, so don’t leave those out. Also, fried shallots and toasted pine nuts are good on about anything.

Every time I make these, they take a bit of a struggle. I recommend making the ravioli the day before and then freezing them. Drop the frozen bundles into boiling water as you would any ravioli and lightly boil until done. Other than that, the sauce and fried shallots are easy.

Also, the ravioli stick together easily, so don’t cry if they tear. It will still taste wonderful. And don’t crowd the boiling water with them or they will most certainly seal together.

Taken from Epicurious, here it is:

Sweet potato ravioli with a browned-butter and sage sauce:

Ravioli

• 2 1-pound red-skinned sweet potatoes (yams)
• 2 tablespoons (packed) golden brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter, room temperature

• 1 12-ounce package wonton wrappers
• 1 large egg, beaten to blend

Fried shallots and sauce

• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 4 large shallots, cut crosswise into thin rounds, separated into rings
• 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) butter
• 8 large fresh sage leaves, thinly sliced
• 1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper

• 1/3 cup pine nuts, toasted

For ravioli:
Preheat oven to 400°F. Place foil on a rimmed baking sheet. Cut sweet potatoes in half lengthwise; place cut side down on baking sheet. Roast until tender, about 35 minutes; cool. Scoop potato pulp out of skins into small bowl. Spoon 11/3 cups pulp into medium bowl. (Reserve any remaining potato pulp for another use.) Add sugar and butter; mash well. Season filling with salt and pepper.

Line large baking sheet with parchment paper. Place wonton wrappers on work surface. Using pastry brush, brush wrappers with beaten egg. Place 1/2 tablespoon sweet-potato filling in center of each. Fold each wrapper diagonally over filling, forming triangle. Seal edges. Transfer to parchment-lined baking sheet. Let stand at room temperature while preparing fried shallots and sauce. (Can be made up to 5 days ahead. Freeze, then cover and keep frozen. Do not thaw before cooking.)

For fried shallots and sauce:
Heat vegetable oil in heavy small saucepan over medium-high heat. Working in 2 batches, fry shallots until crisp and dark brown, about 2 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer shallots to paper-towel-lined plate to drain. Cook butter in large pot over medium heat until beginning to brown, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat. Add sage and red pepper.

Meanwhile, working in batches, cook ravioli in pot of boiling salted water until tender, about 3 minutes. Drain well. Add ravioli to pot with butter sauce; toss to coat. Transfer to plates, drizzling any sauce from pot over ravioli. Top with fried shallots and pine nuts; serve immediately.

Enjoy, friends! xoxo

Chicken teriyaki

When my sister and I were growing up, we naturally followed mother on her regular Costco trips. Costco has helped moms feed their kids for years, and one of our favorite treats was what we called “Costco Chicken.” It was a recurring stand in which some lady with a hair net cooked chicken bites with that Yoshida teriyaki sauce on it. We were totally those annoying kids who just hang out around the food, begging for more and blocking others.

Up until this year, I still loved Costco Chicken and would cook it up over white sticky rice. Yum! However, my gentle roommate wasn’t so thrilled. In fact, I think the word he used was “hate.”

Which brings me to earlier this week, when I had a craving for Costco Chicken but was too tired to go to the store after work to buy the sauce. So I used whatever was in my cupboard and I must say it was deeeelish! It tasted restaurant-quality. Gentle roommate LOVED it, and I happily gobbled up leftovers at work the next day.

Write Gal’s Chicken Teriyaki:

1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breast or tenders, cut into bite-sized pieces

1/4 c. soy sauce

1 c. water

1/2 tsp ground ginger (sure, you could use fresh!)

1/4 tsp garlic powder (duh, you could use fresh, but who cares?)

5 T brown sugar

1 T honey

4 scallions, thinly sliced

2 T cornstarch dissolved in 1/4 c. cold water

Red pepper flakes

Cracked black pepper

toasted sesame seeds

In a small bowl, combine the ingredients – soy sauce through cornstarch mixture – until combined. Add red and black pepper to taste. In a large skillet over medium, heat a dash of oil. Stir-fry chicken until slightly browned, but not cooked through. Add the sauce mixture and stir to cook. Bring to boil and simmer until thickened and the chicken is cooked through.

Meanwhile, cook a pot of brown rice.

To serve, on a bed of rice, spoon over chicken and top with sesame seeds and more scallions, if you have them.

This dish has a nice combination of sweet and spicy, but feel free to add more garlic or pepper as you wish. But remember that this is a convenience food meant to mimic that craving you have for cheap Asian take-out. Don’t spend more time or money than you would at the local Panda Express.

Enjoy, friends! xoxo

Engagement chickens (and believing in tooth fairies)

Before you ask: No, I am not engaged. In a few moments, you will see why.

Watching my favorite Food Network show, Barefoot Contessa, the other day and what on earth does Ina Garten prepare? An engagement chicken.

I am obsessed with the idea of the “engagement chicken.” I first heard about it three years ago from a close friend in Bend. The whole phenomenon started with a 2004 Glamour Magazine article about a magical roast chicken recipe. All you have to do is make it for your honey and poof! He’ll put a ring on it!

Ridiculous, right? Who in their right mind would actually believe that nonsense? But Glamour claims to have multiple accounts of this happening.

My friends and I always figured this citrus-roasted chicken recipe made men think of their moms or something – comfort food. But I recently spoke to a male friend who said chicken is “not sexy or romantic” and if someone presented him with an engagement chicken, it would say, “Here you go…our married life will now be incredibly boring.”

I happen to love a good roast chicken.  I’ve made my own citrus-roasted birds in the past, for men and for myself, and needless to say, I am still single.

However, I’ve never made this exact “engagement chicken” recipe, and I don’t think I ever will. Maybe it’s because I want to believe that it works. That somehow, magic does exist in this world. That a perfect roast chicken can be the solution to all your problems.

Instead, I’m just a regular girl who occasionally makes chicken, but not the engagement chicken.

Cold pizza

(DIY fast food)

Cold pizza brings me back to college. You wake up from a night of heavy socializing and eat a remaining slice of pizza that may have been stuffed (with box) into the fridge, or maybe was just left out all  night. The breakfast of university coeds.

Now I am older and much more mature. Instead of eating leftover frozen or delivery pizza, I eat leftover homemade pizza. The process of making pizza appeals to both the adult and child within – you get to play with dough and decorate it and have the satisfaction of knowing that you made everything with your own two hands.

Last night, Jesse and I had a little DIY pizza night. I made the dough the night before (recipe below) and then we rolled it out for pies.

Mine was margherita style: topped with olive oil, garlic, Parmesan, fresh diced tomatoes, fresh basil and fresh mozzarella. I also sprinkled it with cracked pepper and sea salt (and red pepper flakes). It was yummy and salty and scratched my itch for some fresh basil.

Jesse really hit a homerun with his. First of all, he shaped his into a perfect sphere, whereas mine was a sort of random shape, which is totally what I was going for. Secondly, the boy made his own marinara sauce! I told him I could buy him some, or he could just make it himself:

Saute a chopped yellow onion in olive oil, add 2 cloves chopped garlic, stir, then add one can of diced tomatoes, simmer, season with S&P and dried oregano. Puree in a blender to make smooth.

I didn’t expect him to actually do it, but something lit a fire under him and I am still amazed by how good it turned out! I’m not a big marinara fan myself, but I tell you it looked and tasted at least as quality as the stuff you can buy.

Next, he topped his with a ton of Boar’s Head pepperoni and shredded mozarella cheese.

His took a little longer to cook because of the mounds of meat on top, but it was so, so good. Hot, or cold. Jesse declared that he is “never going to buy pizza again!”

We now have dinner for two nights and the leftover ingredients to make pesto-tomato-mozarella panini tomorrow night. All I have to do is make the focaccia…

Recipe for pizza dough, adapted from the Williams-Sonoma Baking book

(If you don’t have a KitchenAid, use a wooden spoon)

2 packages dry yeast

2 1/4 c. warm water

2 tsp sugar

1/4 c. olive oil

5 c. flour, plus more for kneading

1 T sea salt

Semolina flour, for shaping (or corn meal)

Note: this is best made a day in advance.

In the bowl of your stand mixer, dissolve yeast and sugar in water and let stand until foamy, 5-10 min. Add oil, flour and salt. Using a dough hook, stir on slow until smooth and elastic, 8-10 min. Turn out on a floured work space and knead another 5 min., adding flour as needed. Form into a ball and place in a lightly oiled bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 1-2 hours in a warm place, until it doubles in size. Punch it down, cover again and place in the fridge. Let it come to room temp. before shaping.

Preheat oven to 500. Turn dough out on floured surface and cut in half. Shape each half into a ball and let rest for 10 min. Lightly dust each ball with flour and roll or stretch into your crust shape. Transfer to a pan sprinkled with semolina flour and shape it as needed. Brush away extra semolina, as it will burn.

Top with your desired toppings and bake until everything is melted and the crust is browned and cooked all the way to the middle.

Serve hot, and enjoy, friends! xoxo