Cheesecake with Roasted Walnut Graham Cracker crust & Apple Cider Caramel Sauce

Photo credit: Tumblr September 20, 2012

Cheesecake 

with Roasted Walnut & Graham Cracker Crust 

served with an Apple Cider Caramel drizzle 

Ingredients:

Note: Assemble ingredients at least one hour prior to making this cheesecake so 

that the dairy & eggs may come to room temperature.

Essential tools for the easiest prep are a food processor or blender and a stand mixer with whisk.

Prep time: about 30 minutes 

Bake time: 1 hour

Cool at least 1 hour at room temperature and refrigerate for at least 3 hours before serving. 

For the cheesecake:

3- 8 oz. bricks of Philadelphia brand cream cheese

4 large eggs

1/2 cup half & half 

1/2 cup heavy cream 

1 cup granulated white sugar 

2 tsp pure vanilla extract

For the crust:

1 & 1/2 inner wrapped pkg.'s of Nabisco Honey Graham Crackers

1 & 1/2 cups walnut halves 

1/2 stick salted butter 

1/4 cup (scant) granulated white sugar 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. You will need a 9" spring-form pan at the ready.

Spread the walnuts on a parchment lined baking sheet and roast for about 7-8 minutes or until slightly dark brown. Let cool.

Melt the butter.

Using a food processor fitted with the steel blade, process the graham crackers, sugar and the roasted walnuts to fine crumbs. 

Pour crumbs into the spring-form pan and drizzle the melted butter over the mixture. With a rubber spatula, moisten the crumbs thoroughly with the butter and then tamp firmly across the bottom and a little up the sides with a heavy, flat bottomed glass or similar tool. 

Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown around the edges.

Lower oven temperature to 325 degrees F.

For the cheesecake batter; fit a stand mixer with the work bowl & whisk attachment. Cube the cream cheese bricks and add to bowl along with sugar. Whisk on medium until very smooth, scraping bowl and whisk as necessary to incorporate all of the cream cheese with the sugar thoroughly.

Shut off mixer and add eggs, half & half, heavy cream and vanilla. Whisk on medium speed until super smooth and creamy. Scrape bowl & whisk with spatula as necessary to incorporate all ingredients well. 

Let batter sit for about 10 minutes. Check for lumps, re-whisk as necessary.

Pour batter into baked crust and set on a sheet pan. Drop the pan several times from about a 3 inch height onto the pan to settle the batter and release the air bubbles.

Bake for 1 hour or until slightly golden & puffed. It should still be a little jiggly in the middle. 

Let cool completely for 1 hour and then slide a thin bladed knife around the ring of the pan before releasing.

Refrigerate for at least 3 hours before serving. 

Apple Cider Caramel Sauce 

1 cup freshly pressed apple cider (raw if you can find it) 

1 cup light brown sugar (firmly packed)

1 stick salted butter 

1/2 cup heavy cream 

1 tsp pure vanilla extract 

2 tblsp Calvados Apple Liqueur (optional)

In a heavy medium saucepan combine the cider and sugar. Boil at medium -high heat until reduced to about half the original volume (about 10 minutes).

Keep heat at medium and add butter, heavy cream, vanilla & apple liqueur. 

Turn up heat and bring to a boil, stirring constantly, boil mixture for 3 minutes.

Remove from heat immediately and let cool. 

It will thicken as it cools. 

Microwave for 30 seconds before drizzling over cheesecake for best consistency.

Not Your Mother's Fudge Brownies!

More research and development led to this adaptation of one of my favorite brownie recipes, the Chocolate Espresso Brownies that are my usual go to. For this recipe I wanted to keep the decadent fudgy-ness intact, while making this more of a pan brownie. 


While Mom always made incredible brownies, these are not for the kids to eat after school with big glasses of cold milk. The addition of coffee liqueur and brewed coffee deepen the chocolate flavor, and lend themselves to be enjoyed with a glass of excellent red wine!






Not Your Mother's Fudge Brownies!


4 large eggs
1 & 2/3 cups granulated white sugar
1 & 1/2 sticks butter + 2 tbsp.
4 oz. unsweetened chocolate
1/4 cup coffee liqueur (such as Kahlua)
2 tbsp. brewed room temp. coffee (leftover from your morning brew)
1 tsp vanilla extract 
1/3 cup dutch processed Cocoa (such as Hershey's) + 1 tbsp.
1/2 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. sea salt 
3/4 cup AP unbleached white flour + 1tbsp.


Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Prepare an 13 x 9 metal rectangle cake pan by smearing with 2 tbsp. soft butter and coating with a mixture of 1 tbsp. cocoa powder and 1 tbsp. flour. Set aside.


In a stand mixer fitted with wire whisk attachment, beat eggs, sugar and vanilla on medium speed for 10 minutes until very light lemon yellow in color. Meanwhile, in a heavy small saucepan set over very low heat, melt the butter and chocolate, stirring occasionally. Turn heat off when about 90% melted, let residual heat melt the remainder. Add coffee and coffee liqueur. Set aside to cool slightly.
Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. 


Remove the mixer bowl from the stand and add the flour mixture and melted chocolate mixture all at once to the beaten eggs and sugar mixture.
Fold lightly with a spatula until just combined. Do not over mix! Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 20 minutes. 
Remove from oven and let cool completely before cutting into squares.
Yields approx. 35 2 x 2 squares. 

Carrot Soup

For Bill.

Carrot Soup

2 lbs. carrots - chopped roughly - not peeled
1 leek- white part sliced thinly
1 red pepper- chopped roughly
2 cloves garlic- minced
2 tblsp. olive oil
6-8 cups (or more) vegetable broth (use to achieve final consistency as well as cook carrots)
3/4 cup plain greek yogurt
Sea salt - to taste
Freshly ground pepper - to taste
1/2 tsp. Turmeric-
1/4 tsp.Nutmeg
1 tblsp. Lite Soy Sauce
1 tblsp. Honey

In a stockpot over medium heat, saute leeks, pepper, and garlic for about 8-10 minutes (or however long it takes you to wash & prep carrots). Add roughly chopped carrots and cover completely with broth. Simmer over medium heat, covered, for about 30 minutes or until carrots are soft.
Turn off heat.
Mash with a potato masher until broken down. Then (carefully!) blend soup in a blender until smooth. Only fill blender halfway and cover tightly- hold lid with a thick towel to prevent burns.
If needed, add additional broth (a few tablespoons) to help blend.
Return to soup pot and add yogurt, salt, pepper, honey, turmeric, soy sauce and honey.
Use additional broth to make the soup the consistency you like if it seems too thick.
Taste, adjust seasonings as you like.
Heat through over low heat - serve.
Note: This soup can be made with chicken broth as well.

Wow! What a year! Soon after the last post on March 25th, wheels were set in motion that basically took up the rest of the year. In late April, I was approached for a job opportunity in Cincinnati, OH.
Most of May was taken up with pursuing the job opportunity and once the interviews were done and I was offered the job -- craziness ensued.
June 2012 will be a month to remember - our best friends' daughter graduated from college (Oregon State) and we were honored to be at her graduation where First Lady Michelle Obama gave the commencement speech. As soon as we were finishing up the graduation, we flew to Nevada as quickly as possible to see our youngest grandson, a panicked call, concern for his life at stake. We spent several days saying goodbye.Thankfully, he was able to be treated for his condition, however it still remains to be seen whether he survives his illness. While we were sadly enduring what we thought might be the end of our grandson's life...another panicked call...my beloved dog Shasta (13) was in dire straits back in Oregon, advanced bladder cancer causing him duress. He was not to survive the week. We went straight from the airport to the Vet to say goodbye.
While all of this was happening, I was asked to make the decision to take the job -- I did.
"How fast could we be in Cincinnati?" they asked. This was June 21 -- we packed our home into a POD, I finished my time at my current job, sad goodbyes to family & friends...and we started driving east on July 12th. Our other dog, Cocoa (also 13) faithfully and diligently powered through with us, in the heat, in the car, in the motel rooms. We arrived in Cincinnati, OH on the 16th of July, during the hottest time of the year, meltingly humid and 100 degrees! A tiny motel room would be our home for the next 31 days until we could find a permanent home.

Fast forward to Dec 29th, we are now settling in to our routine; work, home, fun, exploring and finding that Cincinnati, basically unheard of to me in my life so far, is a pretty cool city. As we explore, I'll do my best to keep you filled in. My strong opinions of food have already found likes & dislikes in "Cincy".

B is for Brioche

Damn! These are good! 

There are days when I feel like I should make something that takes an inordinate amount of eggs and butter. That is how I felt yesterday, eggy, buttery, decadent and I didn't care how long it took, because it would be worth the wait! I researched several recipes and concocted my own version of this Brioche dough. Be prepared to start the process on these AT LEAST 8 HOURS in advance of when you need them. You cannot rush a rich egg dough such as this. 

I recommend a stand mixer w/ paddle attachment for this recipe, you can make it by hand, but it's that much easier and less messy with the mixer! 

Brioche Rolls 

3 & 3/4 cups AP Flour (King Arthur brand is my favorite)

2 & 1/4 tsp. active dry yeast

1/3 cup 2% milk -cool but not cold

6 large eggs

3 tblsp. granulated white sugar 

1 tsp. vinegar (white or cider)

1 & 1/4 tsp. sea salt 

1 & 1/2 cups (3- 4 oz sticks) COLD unsalted butter

1 egg beaten with 1 tsp. of water for egg wash

In the bowl of the stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment combine the flour, yeast, milk, eggs, sugar, and vinegar and mix until well incorporated. It should look like a stiff batter. Leave the bowl attached to the mixer and cover with a clean towel and let rest for 45 minutes. 

After 30 minutes, start to prepare the butter to be added to the dough. Coat a smooth working surface with about 1/4 cup of flour and keep more flour handy as needed. With a heavy rolling pin coated in flour pound the butter sticks flat, fold them over several times and pound flat each time. This will make the butter soft and malleable while keeping it cold. 

After 45 minutes have passed, turn the mixer on and beat the dough mixture for about 30 seconds. Leave the speed on medium and start to add the butter in small pieces, wait a few seconds after each addition for the butter to be absorbed into the dough. Add your salt at this point as well. Continue to mix dough for several seconds after all of the butter has been added to incorporate it well. 

Turn the dough (it will be VERY sticky) into a buttered bowl that is large enough for the dough to expand to at least 1 & 1/2 times its volume. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature (out of drafts) for 1 hour.

Punch dough down with a well floured hand and let rise again for at least 2-3 hours at room temperature. At this point if you have the time, you can put it in the refrigerator for 4-8 hours. 

Note: If you refrigerate the dough - take it out at least 2 hours before forming into rolls so that it may come back to room temperature.

When you are ready to form rolls, Prepare a muffin/cupcake pan with spray butter (such as PAM). You 'll needs two pans - 8 rolls in each pan works well. 

Punch the dough down and turn it out onto a well floured surface. Divide the dough into 16 equal pieces - if you have a scale weigh out 2.5 oz pieces. Roll each piece into a ball and place in a prepared pan. Brush each roll with egg wash. 

Let rise in oven (with just the oven light on) for about one hour or until 1.5 times their original size.

Remove rolls and preheat oven to 375 degrees F. 

Again, brush each roll lightly with egg wash. This make them super shiny and pretty! 

Bake for 20- 25 minutes rearranging pans as necessary halfway through baking to ensure even browning. 

You can check for doneness by removing a roll from the pan and inserting an instant read thermometer into the bottom, the rolls should be at least 175 degrees F to be done. 

Enjoy immediately with jam or butter - or reheat in foil in a 375 degree F oven for 15 minutes when ready to serve.

Croissants- You Tube Video - Julia Child making croissants

These were so good!  Yes, I made them Sunday morning for breakfast! 

Chicken Liver Pate

I don't know when I decided I really love Chicken Liver Pate, but I'm glad I do! 

This year Dad & Ma raised broiler chickens once again for family consumption and we specifically had our eye on the livers for a decadent pate for the Holiday.

I have to say I was anxious to try the pate with these homegrown livers because so far, everything that I've tasted that has been raised or farmed locally has been superior to anything I've ever had of the same purchased in a grocery store. 

These livers are no exception. 

"Clean" is the best way to describe the delicate flavor. Accented by perfectly matched herbs, shallots, garlic and onions. I believe I've hit upon a really good recipe. As always, I research classic recipes and techniques before striking out on my own. This recipe is an adaptation of the classic Jacques Pepin recipe in Food & Wine magazine. 

If you can get your hands on some local, organically raised chicken livers, please do. At the risk of sounding like an episode of "Portlandia", ask your source what the chickens were fed and under what conditions they were raised. Honestly, if they were farm raised and fed a good organic diet, allowed to scratch for bugs, eat some natural vegetation and had time in a nice environment, they really will taste better!

Chicken Liver Pate

1 lb. fresh chicken livers 

2 sticks unsalted butter -room temp

1 small shallot - minced

1/2 small yellow onion minced

3 cloves garlic-minced

1 tsp. dried tarragon

1 tsp. herbs de Provence 

2 bay leaves

1/2 cup water

2 tblsp. good cognac or brandy 

1-2 tsp. sea salt - flakes if possible 

1-2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper 

squeeze (about 1 tsp.) of fresh lemon juice

In a large saute pan cook the minced shallot, onion and garlic in 2 tblsp. of the butter over med-low heat until soft and clear. Add bay leaves, herbs de Provence and tarragon. Add chicken livers and water, turn heat to medium and cook for at least 3-4 minutes, turning the livers several times. They should slightly pink in the center. Transfer just the livers to a food processor fitted with a steel blade, leaving the onion and herb mixture in the pan. 

Remove the bay leaves and discard. Turn the heat to med-high and cook for 1-2 more minutes to evaporate any excess liquid in the pan. Turn off heat. Add the cognac to the livers in the food processor. Add onion and herb mixture and and the remaining butter, pulse several times to combine. Add sea salt and pepper to taste - start with the smaller amount and add to taste. Add fresh lemon juice and pulse several more times until smooth and creamy. Taste one more time and adjust seasonings. Remember that when you serve the pate cold, the flavors will be more muted than when the pate is warm and freshly made. Pour the pate into 4 (1/2 cup) ramekins- sometimes I need 5- depends on the day!

cover tightly with plastic wrap -making sure the plastic wrap is pressed down onto the pate. 

Refrigerate at least 6-8 hours before serving and overnight is best. 

Serve on crackers or crostini style bread, keeping a small bowl of flaky sea salt handy to sprinkle on top. 

This pate will keep approx. two weeks if tightly sealed with plastic wrap and kept cold.