Cheesecakes

                                                       

Cheesecakes, you can do most anything to them and it all turns into a delicious treat.  In that large King Arthur (flour) order I told you about, is a glass jar of pecan pie filling which I have been thinking about for days.  When I remembered  there would be three or four extra hungry young people at home for a few weeks I thought this pecan cheese cake would fill the bill in the sweet tooth category. My cheesecake recipe came from a long time friend when I taught for her husband  back in the sixties.  I was told not to share it but since it is everywhere on the Internet and not that different after all, I will give it here.(I have discovered you can't trust me with a good recipe; I'm bound to share it.)

The base is simple use either vanilla wafers crushed with added melted butter to make the base or use graham crackers which is typical. Some add xxx sugar to the cookies, butter or crackers, I myself think the base is sweet enough and more of a raft for the good stuff. Press this base in a spring form pan bottom and part way up the sides.

.Next comes the jar of pecan pie filling from King Arthur.  Spread it over the base but not touching the sides of the pan--it's sticky cheesecake filling (8) ounces cream cheese (room temperature)

1 cup sugar
cream these two items together
add 3 room temperature eggs one at a time beating after each addition
1/4 tsp. salt
2 tsps. vanilla
1/2 tsp almond extract (or use any extracts you like to go with pecans)
beat this mixture and brush down the sides of the bowl,,,the mixture should be smooth
After all is combined add the 2 cups of sour cream and stir it in.  Pour the entire mixture over the pecan filling and put the pan to bake in a water bath for around 50 minutes at 350.  Once the baking time is over, shut off the oven but open the oven door and leave the cheesecake sitting in there for an hour.  The top will probably crack any way but the water bath is said to prevent that--actually, I never use the water bath, I just put the pan in the oven and bake the cheesecake period.  I do leave it alone in the oven for an hour after baking.

After it is cooled, I am going to use drizzles of caramel sauce from a jar or bottle over the top.  You can use any pie filling over the top if you want to or any home made sauce but I think with that pecan base it would be one sequin too many.

If you want to bake a straight cheese cake, leave out the pecan pie filling and bake at 375 for 35 minutes but still turn off the oven and open the door and leave the cake for an hour to set.

Isn't this a good idea?

S'mores Dip ~ melted chocolate  and toasty marshmallows bake up in a skillet; scoop up with graham crackers for a perfect party dessert! | FiveHeartHome.com

I've found another delicious Trader Joe's product.  Mandarin orange chicken is in the frozen section and it is $5. a bag which would feed four hungry people with a side of fried rice or noodles.  It is a very easy product to produce and the family raved about it this evening.

 3

An omelet and a glass of wine~

                                       
                      

I have never trusted an egg.  I am suspicious of them to this day, but every once in a while I get a message from my body that an egg will cure.  In Paris when I had an apartment in St. Paul there was a simple bistro typical of France that made the best omelet I have ever eaten.  The old woman's touch was the recipe for its success for it held knuckles of potatoes and roasted mushrooms, fresh herbs and French cheese and it was sublime with a chilled glass of white wine. Just the break one needed after an early morning flea market or getting into a show early as a dealer, well before the regular crowd burst through the doors. I don't make this treat in omelet form but in a frittata which is much more forgiving and accepting of many more tasty items. (Also, I have trouble spelling omelet.  It just does not look right to me, not that I don't have to look up frittata's spelling as well.)


I am feeling so lazy this week.  I want to be in the kitchen but my feet won't take me there. I am finding really interesting and even fast recipes to try, but the urge is gone.  It will return, I am sure.  I do want to tell you I have been yearning for rib roast and yet dragging my feet over beef prices.  In the last few years I have had the guys at Sam's cut these beautiful rib roasts for me and they have been divine. I didn't have one for Thanksgiving because I thought it would be too expensive to get one the size I needed for this big crowd.  Yesterday I was surprised to find out the prices for beef at Sam's are the same as far as buying rib roasts.  They are simply beautiful and while they are not usually in the display case along with everything else, they will cut them especially for you in the size you want.  I have two in the freezer and when everyone gets home from college and skiing and finals, and running, we will have a nice sit down with one of these beauties next week.

I found this shrimp patty recipe that I thought would be fun to try with the frozen tiny salad shrimp that can be found in most markets.  Or fresh shrimp, of course would work, but why go to all the trouble when it is actually the accents you work into the batch that carry the flavor.  

Shrimp Patties

One bag of frozen salad shrimp (or shrimp of your choice)

1 1/2 c. butter crackers like Ritz, Clubhouse etc.

1/4 c. onion

2 jalapeno peppers

1 cup mayo

Squirt of hot mustard--I like Stalin's hot mustard in a tube

10 dashes hot sauce

celery to taste

Parmesan cheese

salt, pepper and anything else you like with shrimp

Mix, form into patties, chill

Get the old iron skillet out and fire it up.  Lay in the patties and be sure they are brown and crispy on on side before turning.  I always have trouble keeping any of this kind of mixture together in patty form...but let's try this.  If it is not going to hold up, I will add an egg to the mix and then try it.  The recipe did not call for an egg, however.

Bacon Crackers.  Sorry.  I saw this and have to make these.

One box of butter crackers like townshouse or Keebler or Clubhouse.

1 pack bacon

brown sugar

Cayenne pepper

Lay the crackers end to end on a baking sheet.

Cut the bacon strips into thirds and lay one of each 

on each cracker which will then be sprinkled with

brown sugar. Then sprinkle gently Cayenne pepper 

over the top. 350 oven until it looks like this picture.

OMG.  If Tom Reddy were here now, he would swoon.

Delicious ideas and tastes

                     

Shrimp scampi dip

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Yield 4 servings

One of the best (and easiest) dips I've ever had, baked to absolute creamy, cheesy perfection!

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 8 ounces medium shrimp, peeled, deveined and roughly chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or more, to taste
• 1/4 cup white wine*
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste.
• 4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
• 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan

Make Yummy Ranch-Dusted Oyster Crackers

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly oil a 9-inch baking dish or coat with nonstick spray.
• Melt butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add shrimp, garlic and red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring occasionally, until pink, about 2 minutes. Stir in wine and lemon juice; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
• Bring to a simmer; remove from heat and stir in cream cheese, sour cream, mayonnaise, parsley, 1/4 cup mozzarella and Parmesan.
• Spread mixture into the prepared baking dish; sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup mozzarella. Place into oven and bake until bubbly and golden, about 10-12 minutes.
• Serve immediately.

Notes

*Chicken stock can be used for white wine as a non-alcoholic substitute.


Creamy artichoke dip.

This one I make every Thanksgiving for the turkey wrestler and there is nary a drop left at the end of the day. Everyone has this recipe, I just like to remind you to make it.

What a fun Holiday starter!  Who doesn't love grilled cheese and tomato soup??  I think it's a lot of people's favorites and what a great idea for a simple beginning. From Inspired by Charm.

Every time I go to Trader Joe's I try a different product.  This one is very good.

WHAT: SAVORY, GINGER TANG

TASTE LIKE:  To be honest, we expected it to be the usual frozen-to-table fare. Then, after heating it up on a skillet for a few minutes and dousing it in the microwaved sauce packet, our mouths melted. The chicken was crispy on the outside, tender and flaky on the inside. The orange tang of the sauce brought a superb punch of flavor, but didn't overwhelm the savory chicken taste.

PRICE: $4.99

Trader Joe's Nuts and seeds"

Nuts and Seeds

From basics to exotics, Trader Joe’s has nut fans (nut nuts?) covered with some of the best pricing I’ve found on cashews, pecans, macadamias, Brazil nuts, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, and sunflower seeds.

Pine nuts are a steal, and there’s a terrific variety of trail mixes to keep you full of energy on long hikes. The Old-Fashioned Blister Peanuts are savory and delicious, while luxurious Marcona Almonds from Spain are lathered in olive oil and rosemary—an irresistible splurge at $6.49 for six ounces.

Don’t overlook the peanut butter, along with sunflower seed and almond butter options. Almond meal for gluten-free baking is another great buy at just $3.99 a pound.

Isn't this a good idea and we can do the bags ourselves with a hole punch.  Who knew?

I love your potatoes~

In my opinion, the English take the prize for roasted potatoes.  In the English Kitchen she gives a good recipe

for these delights and a picture that makes ones mouth water at the sight of these delectable potatoes. Never met a potato I didn't like. I've never met an English person who could not roast a mean potato either.

*Bacon and Mustard Roasted Potatoes*

Serves 4

Printable Recipe

Crisp roasted potatoes with a delicious mustard flavor and bacon bits.

3 TBS of olive oil

1/2 cup of regular or whole grain Dijon mustard 

2 TBS butter, melted

2 TBS fresh lemon juice

1 tsp freshly grated lemon zest

3 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced

2 tsp dried thyme

3 slices of  bacon, finely chopped

fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 pounds of potatoes, washed, dried and cut into 3/4 inch cubes (about 5 cups) 

Preheat the oven to 425*F.   Lightly oil a large, rimmed baking sheet with some olive oil.

Whisk together the olive oil, mustard, melted butter, lemon juice, lemon zest, garlic, thyme and some seasoning in a bowl.   
Add the potatoes and toss together.  Spread out on the prepared baking sheet.
Roast until crusty and browned, stirring them every 15 minutes.  Add the bacon, tossing it with the potatoes, during the last 15 minutes of cook time.  

Check and stir every 15 minutes or so until they are ready to your liking.

Now if you can get them to hold together, there is no better side dish than the following:

Potato Cakes

Printed from Potato Recipes at http://www.potatorecipes.co.uk/

Potato cakes are small, round patties of potato that you could serve as a side dish or use in the same way as

a burger. This version of the dish is also known as ‘latkes’.

Ingredients:

3 large potatoes

1 onion

3 eggs

2 tbsp. plain flour

Salt and pepper

Olive oil

Directions:

1. Peel the onion and the potatoes and then grate them.

2. Place the grated veg into a bowl and lightly whisk the eggs. Pour the eggs in with the potato and onion and

add salt and pepper. Add the flour and stir until the mixture just begins to hold together.

3. Form patties of the mixture in your hands.

4. Heat some oil in a pan until shimmering and then fry the potato cakes for 6-7 minutes on each side.

5. Put the potato cakes onto a bit of kitchen towel before serving to drain any excess fat.

Author: Laura Young

The kitchen witch is gone, so back to work~

                                           


Relief and joy has set in and I am back in the kitchen today.  Adam has joined his father and brother in the mountains for a week of skiing and looking into a Bible college.  They would have enjoyed some of this soup that I am about to show you, but I am sure there is plenty of it where they are.  They have full and happy days ahead and so do we.

                                                                               

        Adam on top of it all.                                                    

Adam, Mike and Nate

It's Nate Lechler.

                                                                                                         

It's Adam.  

                                                                                                        Copper Mountain                                                                 

It's about to be soup.

Like

This is another sweet pepper soup base.  Saute pepper bacon, a bit of dried
beef, onion, miniature sweet peppers, herbs until caramelized.  Season with salt and pepper and I put in a bit of sugar.  Then add a little Mr. T's spicy bloody Mary mix and burble a little
longer.  Then add wine.  Simmer some more, then add as much bloody Mary mix as you
like and tame it with chicken stock or leave it thick, dark and luscious. (As you recall, I made this yesterday but the blender sent most of it flying over the kitchen so we had barely enough to go with roasted potatoes.  Tonight we will have plenty with rice.)

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  STONE FENCE POTTERY | Bacon Cooker

  STONEFENCEPOTTERY.COM

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  Doris Lechler How does that work, Dean?

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  Dean Margeson You drape bacon strips on the top rim of the cooker, put it in a microwave and cook a few minutes. The drippings end up in the bottom pan and you have crisp bacon on the rim. I think there is a video in the e-mail link demonstrating how it is used. We see the guys who make it at several of our Art Shows and we bought one from them last year and we use it all the time.

Have you known about this stone bacon cooker?  I never heard of it.

Have you every seen such delicious looking dried beef?  Both it and the pepper bacon
is from Stalin's in Cincinnati.

This is the base for Andy's favorite cheese ball that appears by magic in the frig.  I like keeping him happy.