Cinnamon Amaretti Cheesecake

I may be pumpkined out. It's hard for me to admit, but I believe I just have enough desire left for a pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving. Cinnamon on the other hand is something I never get tired of, so I created this quick little cheesecake. This has gotten rave reviews at my cooking classes and wine tasting! I hope you love it as well!

Cinnamon Amaretti Cheesecake

6 ounces Amaretti Cookies, crushed into crumbs
4 Tablespoons Butter, melted
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Combine in a small dish and press into a 9 inch springform pan.
Bake crust in a 350 degree, preheated oven for 12 minutes.

FILLING;
16 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
16 ounces Mascarpone cheese, room temperature
1 ¼ cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

In a large mixing bowl, beat cheeses and sugar until smooth. Add cinnamon and vanilla, stir until combined. With your mixer on low, add eggs one at a time, waiting until each is incorporated before adding the next.
Pour filling into baked crust and bake 65 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool an hour. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving.

Strawberry Conserves in Fruit Panzanella

During the spring/summer months, I hosted a series of food preserving classes at The Boulevard Market.  We cranked out all manner of food and fun.  One such recipe for me was Strawberry Conserves.

Not a jam or preserve, but more of a syrup with barely cooked fresh strawberries to be kept in your refrigerator.  Interesting concept that worked beautifully (it's now January and still perfect!) and is handy to have hiding in the fridge.  I've not tried making a conserve with other fruits, but it's now on my list for summer 2012.

Fresh fruit is not super great right now (excluding citrus) so we did with what we had.  A "fruit panzanella" if you will.... 

Strawberry Conserves

·         4 cups fresh strawberries (about 1 pound), hulled, halved

·         3/4 cup superfine sugar

·         Peel (with white pith) of 1/2 lemon

·         Combine all ingredients in a heavy, wide pot. Cover; let sit at room temperature, stirring occasionally, for 2 hours. (The berries will ooze and sugar will dissolve.)

·         Bring strawberry mixture to a simmer over medium heat. Cook, stirring gently, until strawberries are just tender, about 3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer strawberries to 1 pint jar. Continue simmering liquid until it thickens into a syrupy consistency, 1-2 minutes. Discard lemon peel and pour syrup over strawberries; seal and let cool to room temperature. Chill for up to 1 month.

SO, I extended the 1 month deadline by 7 months....(whoops) still great!

Over a year ago, we made "dessert croutons".  Cubes of artisan, crusty bread, tossed with a bit of melted butter and sugar, then baked.  We find we love them tossed with fresh fruit for a quick dessert without so much work with crusts and the like. 

Dessert Croutons

3 Tablespoons melted butter
1 1/2 Tablespoons sugar
2 cups cubed Ciabatta or Baguette bread

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Cube bread into 1 inch cubes.  Melt butter and stir in sugar.  Drizzle over bread cubes and toss until bread cubes are evenly covered.  Bake on foil for about 8-10 minutes until golden brown and crunchy.

I threw a few croutons into some pretty dessert bowls, drizzled with the Strawberry Conserves and topped with a bit of whipped cream.  So good and so easy for a Tuesday evening in January.

The Boulevard Market's Preserving classes will start up again in April 2012.  You can find more information and dates under the "Cooking Classes & Events" tab at the top of the page.
  

Dessert...add your own fruit!

My grandmother, Frances Prochaska, was an amazing woman. I grew up on the farm across the road and we visited every day. She was an important example of the woman I wanted to become and I can only hope I am a quarter of what she was. Baking was something we did together often. Grandma was not a fussy baker with frostings and such but made simple, farm style, comfort desserts usually with her own fruits!

This "cobbler" recipe was her favorite and now my favorite! It is great with absolutely any fruit, takes pantry ingredients, is delicious and SIMPLE, taking only minutes to put together! I tend to put this together with supper and bake it while we are eating, then serve piping hot with a scoop of ice cream!

I had blackberries on hand, but use any fruit or combination of fruit. Peach/blueberry is classic, but peach/raspberry is yummy. You can add additional spices or a glug of brandy or liquor. I LOVE to use salted butter! Because the butter is a main component and flavor, use something of really good quality and I like the barely salty-sweet combination that salted butter provides.

1/2 Cup Butter
1 Cup all purpose Flour
1 Cup Sugar, divided into 3/4 of a cup and 1/4 of a cup
2 teaspoons Baking Powder
3/4 Cup Milk
1 Pound Fruit, cleaned, pitted, sliced (whatever you need to do to it!)

Place stick of butter in a casserole dish (I use a 5X7) and place in oven to melt while oven is preheating to 350 degrees.

In a mixing bowl, combine flour, 3/4 cup sugar and baking powder until throughly blended. Add milk and whisk until just smooth.
Pour batter on top of melted butter-DO NOT MIX- and top with fruit-DO NOT MIX-sprinkle remaining 1/4 cup sugar on top-DO NOT MIX and bake for 40-50 minutes until a lovely dark golden brown.

Rich, buttery, crispy, sweet & salty....easy. You can even use canned fruit if you're in a pinch. Praise and thanks can go to Frances Prochaska.

Plum Sauce

I am trying to take advantage of the bounty here in Michigan before the end of the season! This week happens to be plums! While I love the juicy red type, my favorite is the Italian plums that are drier and more intensely "plum" flavor. I also needed a quick dessert! So after much fiddling around while doing the Sunday night laundry, kitchen cleanup and listening to teenagers talk about what the weekend was all about, I came up with Plum Sauce.

I used about 3/4 of a quart of plums, halved and pitted (I want a few for an upside down sponge cake!) 3 Tablespoons Sugar, Zest from a lemon and 1/4 cup of Recioto della Valpolicella Classico. I cooked the whole thing over low heat until the plums just started to break down. It was about 20 minutes. I then ran the batch thru the food processor. I thought about straining it...but I wanted it to be a little rustic and chunky + the dishwasher was full and I HATE cleaning the fine mesh strainer by hand!

The Recioto wine is produced like an Amarone using semi-dried fruit but served sweet rather than dry. I like the fact that it is not fortified (12.5% alcohol) and has intense plum and cherry flavors! The Boulevard Market is stocking the pictured Recioto and I love that it is only a 1/2 bottle...

I think you could easily use a semi sweet Riesling or Gewurtraminer if you wanted to summer it up a bit. I put a giant dollop on top of plain Four Corners Creamery Goat Yogurt and it was divine! The yogurt added the right balance of tartness and the plum sauce was rich and sweet.

So I saved a cup full and will add a bit to tonight's vinaigrette! I love sauce recipes that become condiments. I could also see this served with a pork loin chop, maybe add a bit of vinegar to it.