Let Them Eat Cheesecake!
This vivacious cheesecake recipe, complete with chocolate, hazelnuts and Chambord, will have your valentine saying, "More, please!"
Is there another word in the entire culinary world more decadent, more sinfully indulgent, more filled with the promise of pleasure than "cheesecake"? It's no wonder to me, then, that the name of this delicious dessert was also used during the pin-up era to describe photographs of women's shapely legs.
As the story goes, in 1912, New York Journal photographer James Kane was developing a picture of an actress that included "more of her person" than either he or she expected. As he looked at the picture, he searched for the greatest superlative he knew of to express his delight, and finally exclaimed, "That's real cheesecake!" In that very same year, James L. Kraft invented pasteurized cheese, and that led to the development of pasteurized Kraft Philadelphia cream cheese, which is now the most popular cheese used for making cheesecake today.
A cheesecake is the simplest of confections and can be whipped up in a few minutes with a half-dozen or so basic ingredients such as cream cheese, sugar and eggs. It was a ubiquitous dessert choice in the bakeries, diners and coffee shops in New York, where I grew up. Sometimes the cakes were enormous rounds, 4 inches thick and sporting a layer of cherries or raspberries. Other times they were small and plain with a light golden crown and a crust of sweetened graham-cracker crumbs. I loved them all and was amazed to find how simple they are to make. This recipe would be the perfect ending to a romantic Valentine's Day dinner.
| Hazelnut, Chocolate and Raspberry Cheesecake | |
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Ingredients: |
Instructions: Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Crumble the chocolate wafers into the bowl of a food processor and add the toasted nuts (skins removed), sugar and butter. Process until it begins to clump. Use nonstick spray on a 9-inch spring-form pan or 4 mini-spring forms. Press the crust mixture into the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Put the crust into the freezer while you prepare the filling. Melt the chocolate in the top compartment of a double boiler and allow to cool slightly so it can still be poured. Add the eggs, softened cream cheese, sugar, cocoa powder and Chambord to the bowl of a food processor. Process just until smooth. With the machine running, pour in the melted chocolate. Process until well-mixed. Pour into the crust-lined pan and place onto a baking sheet to catch any leaks. Place onto the middle rack of the oven. Bake for 15 minutes and then reduce the heat to 250 degrees and bake another hour. Cake is done when it is set but still a little soft in the center. Combine the raspberry jam and sour cream and spread on top of the warm cake. Allow to cool and then refrigerate at least 3 hours or overnight before serving. |
| Butternut-Squash Ravioli | |
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Ingredients: |
Instructions: |
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Filling: |
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Cut the squash in half lengthwise and scrape out the seeds. Put cut side down onto a piece of buttered aluminum foil on a baking pan. Bake for 1 hour until very soft. Allow to cool. Scrape out the squash and spread it onto the baking sheet. Return to the oven for another 10 minutes until the pulp is drier. Remove from the oven and cool. Put the squash pulp into a food processor with the other ingredients and process until smooth. This should make about 2 cups of filling. Refrigerate until ready to fill the ravioli. Roll out the dough and fill as you would any ravioli. Gently add to a pot of boiling water. When the water comes back to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes until the ravioli are floating. Meanwhile, heat the butter in a large skillet and when melted, add the sage leaves. Cook gently just until the butter begins to brown. Add the cooked and drained ravioli and stir gently to coat. Serve with additional grated cheese. |
