If I had a food truck I would sell only soups and cheesecakes. There are only two more shows after tonight of the food Truck Race. I like it but I have found something I like even more and that is Facebook's food truck game. I only wish you could buy it out right and play it as much as you like. Facebook keeps wanting you to spend real dollars playing this game and there are ways around spending real money, but the road is fraught with time elements that drive me crazy. The Big Fish games allows you to buy a game and play it forever without out any more money factors, but they don't offer the food truck game. Anyway, I am enjoying the game which is difficult but not as hard as it would be putting food in that truck every day and selling it to cranky people waiting, hopefully, in line. The show is fun too because several family member drift in to watch this fast-paced hour show on Sunday nights. Togetherness. That's nice.
I have a pet peeve, well one of several, but hoarding recipes and not sharing bugs me. A friend from my teaching days was a good family style cook. I always thought it was a compliment if someone asked for a recipe but she acted as though I had asked to keep one of her children. I managed to squeeze two out of her with a promise, not quite in writing, that I would not give them out. Now that was around 1966 and I think the time limit has run out. This basic cheesecake is one of them. The salty caramel is an addition of mine which I am sure she would not approve. She always topped hers, and I did as well for years, with canned pie filling or fresh fruit or with a raspberry sauce. But anything caramel and I'm a goner.
Here is the recipe for the cheesecake--the other recipe I managed to get from her takes THREE DAYS TO MAKE and I am never doing that one again.
Bake 375 for 35 minutes and then turn off the oven and leave the door open and the cake in the oven without touching it for an hour.
I think it might be even better with plain caramel sauce now that I have had a piece of the salty caramel. Put the topping on that pleases you. Swirl in what you like, you cannot go wrong here.
I may have to put the recipe on later because this computer is acting up...but I will get it on. (Maybe it doesn't matter because I don't know if any one is reading this or not.)
- (2) 8 ounces cream cheese room temperature
- 1 cup sugar
- cream these two items together
- 3 eggs
- small pinch of salt
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1/ 2 teaspoon almond extract
- beat and add these items to the above mixture
- after all combined add one pint (2 cups) sour cream and mix
- Pour over a ready made crust of crushed cookies or nut mixture or gram crackers which has been mixed with soft butter--a crumb crust of your choice in a spring form pan.
- With the caramel I first pour a layer of the cheesecake over the crumb crust, then a generous drizzle of caramel and then more cheese cake mixture. After the cake has chilled, after baking, I drizzle more caramel, either salty or plain over each slice. I like it with pie filling or fresh fruit or a fresh raspberry sauce in a puddle with the cake sitting proudly on top.
I am so making this today. Love cauliflower and every roasted vegetable! Thank you Martha.
Cauliflower Steaks with Roasted Pepper and Tomato Salad
sweet peppers and onion jam
I have recently fallen in love with sweet peppers and sweet onions jam. I would not have been caught dead eating that until just recently and now I am slathering it on everything, well, not cheese cake, but everything else it seems. We have a plethora of peppers and onions on hand and one simply sautés this mixture with a little butter and olive oil, salt and pepper until it is on the thick side. I put in a little sugar to help caramelize this mixture. I had left over brussel sprouts (if you can believe I had left overs of this wonderful dish) and I combined them with the jam, some couscous, and WOW, I had a new and delicious dish. A variations of the above.
I must be hungry today. Everything looks tasty.
*Escalloped Potatoes*
Serves 4 to 6
