Pumpkin Cheesecake

We like to spend Thanksgiving at home, and then after dinner we go to a few relatives' houses for dessert and to visit.  So, when it comes time for leftovers, we are all itching for that taste of sweet pumpkin.  Normally I make a cold pumpkin pudding pie, but this year wanted to make a cheesecake.  I could not ignore pumpkin as a key ingredient!  This cheesecake was my family's favorite so far, and it was eaten VERY quickly!  I am looking forward to making it again around Christmas time!

To Make the Filling
1. Leave out 2 blocks of cream cheese to soften.  Once they are soft (usually in about an hour), blend them with 3/4 cup of sugar.

2. Beat in 3 eggs one at a time.  Add the eggs one at a time and make sure they are well incorporated into the filling so your batter does not become a slimy mess!

3. Beat in 8 oz of sour cream and mix well.

4. Add 8 oz of pumpkin puree, a 1/4 teaspoon of ground cloves, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, and 1 teaspoon of nutmeg.
5. Blend everything together!

To Make the Crust
1. Pulverize ginger snap or spice cookies until you have two cups worth that are the consistency of sand, and put it in a bowl.
2. Melt 4 tablespoons of butter (either on the stove or in the microwave), and mix it into the crumbs using a fork.  It will take a minute before the butter evenly spreads amongst the cookie crumbs.
3. Time to prepare your baking pan!  I like using a spring form pan when I make cheesecake, mainly because it is easy to present, and also cut and serve.  A spring form pan has a latch on the side of it that allows it to open by approximately an extra half inch around the entire circumference around the pan.  I bought mine as a set of 3 from Ross for $9.99, but they can also be found at Bed Bath & Beyond, Walmart, Target, etc.  If you do not have a spring form pan, you can use a cake pan.  You will need to wrap your pan in aluminum foil.  This helps prevent the crust from burning, and also helps the cheesecake cook more evenly!

Inside spring form pan

The buckle - aka business end - of the spring form pan

4. Spray the inside of your aluminum wrapped pan with Pam or another type of non-stick spray.
5. Pour your cookie crumbs into the pan.  (If you are using a shallow cake pan you will only need about half of the crumbs you prepared).  Press them into the bottom and sides of the pan to create a layer of crust.

6. Put the pan in the fridge for 15 minutes or longer so the buttered crumbs have time to set and hold the shape of the pan.

To Bake the Cheesecake
1. Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees.  
2. Get your pan out of the fridge and pour the filling into the crust gently.  Again, if you are using a shallow pan, you will not need all of the filling.  You will only need to fill the pan about half way with the filling.

3. Bake your cheesecake for just over 1 hour.  You will need to keep an eye on it...if you open the oven and it has risen and no longer jiggles, your cheesecake is done.  Bring it out of the oven and let it cool to room temperature before putting it in the fridge! Don't panic, as it cools it will shrink down to half the height it was when you pulled it out of the oven!

An example of a cheesecake fresh out of the oven!

An example of after the cheesecake cools!

The finished pumpkin cheesecake!  It cracked a little bit more than the cheesecakes normally do, but it was still delicious!

Pumpkin Spice Pancakes

Those of you that are fortunate enough to traffic Jersey diners on a regular basis probably look forward to Halloween as much as I do for one particular reason.  Just before Halloween, and through Thanksgiving, most of the diners offer up their precious pumpkin pancakes as a substitute for their regular batter.  I am, admittedly, not a huge fan of pancakes, but this time of year I find myself gravitating not only to the diner, but also to the breakfast menu morning, noon, and night!  My favorite diner offers up a nice 3 pancake platter with a meat side (choice of scrapple, sausage links, Italian sausage, or bacon) for approximately 7 bucks.  While I love getting them at the diner (it's all about the ambiance), at 7 dollars, this habit can become a little pricey!  After a failed attempt earlier this week (do not, I repeat DO NOT add pumpkin puree to pancake batter), I finally managed to get close to what the diner's pumpkin pancakes taste like.  After some trial, and serious error, I figured out that the magic lies in pumpkin pie spices, and not actual pumpkin!  On a quick side note, before I move on to the recipe, if you have not experienced the Amish delicacy that is scrapple, I will touch on it in another blog post soon!  The closest thing I can equate it to is a spicy meat hashbrown...nonetheless...it is delish!


Pumpkin Spice Pancakes
Yields 3 servings (2 large pancakes per person)

To Prepare the Pancakes
1. Mix 3 cups of complete pancake powder with 2 cups of water.
2. Add 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract, and 1/2 a teaspoon each of ground cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg.  Blend this all very well!
3. Heat a small amount of butter or non-stick cooking spray in a frying pan over LOW heat.  Low heat is the key to perfectly golden brown pancakes!  There are few things worse that looking forward to pancakes and getting a plate of burnt offerings instead!
4. Pour and slightly spread 1/2 a cup of batter into the pan, and let it rest until the batter is firm and rising around the edges and bubbling on the top.  Gently flip it!  As far as the measurement of batter goes, I like to make gigantic pancakes, but you can go with what ever size you prefer or normally make!

I make my pancakes in a 6 inch pan so I have control over their size and shape!

5. Cook on the other side until the pancake has risen more and it has a golden brown color on the bottom.  Check it gently with a spatula to see if the bottom is brown.  As a rule of thumb, if you cannot get the pancake edge to lift easily with the spatula, it is more than likely still cooking, and also, if you press down on the top with the spatula and it doesn't bounce back, your pancake is not done cooking yet! 
6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 until you are out of batter!

Pass the syrup!

7. Serve with maple syrup, and I made some sausage to go along side it, too! 

Sugar and Spice and Everything Expensive and Hard to Find

So, lately I have been on a "weird" spice kick, and cannot begin to tell you how aggravating the search for spices is!  Two weeks ago I went on a hunt for cooking grade lavender...yes, lavender.  You cannot use just any kind of lavender for cooking.  There is a specific type that has to be used, and it needs to be dried.  Also, many of the oils are not safe for consumption, so read carefully if you are going to use oil!  Believe it or not, lavender is actually used quite a bit in cooking.  It is a popular classic cupcake flavor (lavender and honey), can be used to season some beef dishes, and makes an AMAZING butter flavor (which is why I wanted it)!

Without hesitating, I immediately ran to the grocery store while thinking "Of course they will have it!"  I searched the McCormick spice rack up and down, and then proceeded to the McCormick Gourmet spice rack...crap, no lavender!  This is about when I start to realize that I may have gotten myself into more than I had planned on.  My next maneuver - A.C. Moore.  I start to think that they will, if anything, have lavender oil in the baking and candy making aisle...wrong again!  Now I am peeved!  So, I realize that we are going out for Indian food for dinner and think again, "Perfect!"  I can check the Asian Supermarket's spice aisle...they will have to have it...and cheap!  WRONG!  I finally give up on my search and head for Google.  McCormick just discontinued lavender from their gourmet spice line this year...of course!  After a little searching I find several sites (with great reviews) that sell these spices.  I didn't order it because I wasn't going to get it in time for the dinner party I was throwing, but it definitely was cheaper, and much less agitating!

For those of you that like your spices (and keeping some extra cash in your pocket), check out these sites!  Just keep in mind that sometimes when you order spices this way, they are sold in bulk...be sure to read carefully so you know exactly what you are getting!

1. www.myspicesage.com
2. www.puritan.com/spices-557?Mcat=1&top