I'm a terrible blogger! I made this AMAZING cheesecake a month ago and forgot to post the recipe!
I know what you are thinking "cheesecake!? I can't do this! it must be so hard! I thought that at first two... guess what It's not actually hard at all.
This is a TWO DAY process
Chocolate - Raspberry Cheesecake.
You will Need
For the Crust:
1 (5.3.oz) pack of pure butter shortbread cookies. to crush up.
2 Tbs unsalted butter
1/4 cup raspberry preserves, melted.
For the Cheesecake part:
1 (10oz) pack of frozen raspberries. Thawed (I know this sounds silly but because they are frozen they work better in the cheesecake mix than fresh ones)
3 (8oz) pack of cream cheese, softened (I just go spreadable cream cheese)
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened (this is important. I always forget to soften my butter)
1 cup sugar
2 Tbs flour
1/2 tsp lemon juice
2 eggs
For the topping: (Which you make THE NEXT DAY)
6 oz. semisweet chocolate, chopped (I would say go for the chocolate chips so you don't have to cut up the chocolate but it turned out amazing and I think chocolate chips have more sugar in them and stuff.)
1 Tbs light corn syrup
1 Tbs unsalted butter
1/2 cup whipping cream
1 1/3 cups fresh raspberries (buy extra so you can snack on them!)
Day 1:
Part 1-
1. Heat oven to 350* F.
2. Wrap springform pan (That's one of those pans with the removable bottom and the clasp thing on the side) with foil.
3. combine: Crushed cookies and melted butter into small bowl.
4. after they are mixed press the cookies and butter into the bottom of the pan. This makes your crust!
5. bake this for 8-10 min. until it's a nice golden brown color.
6. spread the raspberry preserves over it once it has cooled a little.
Part 2-
1. puree thawed raspberries in food processor or blender until smooth. strain through medium strainer, pressing spatula. You want to remove the seeds and just have yummy raspberry juice.
2. once done you only need 1/2 cup of the puree. (But I saved the rest to be fancy with when serving the cheesecake)
3. beat cream cheese and 1/2 cup butter at med-low speed until smooth. beat in sugar and flour until JUST blended.
4. beat in sour cream, raspberry puree and lemon juice.
5. beat in eggs ONE AT A TIME.
6. pour over crust.
Part 3-
1. Place spring form pan in large shallow pan. add enough hot water to come halfway up the sides of the springform pan. (this makes a kind of steam environment to cook the cheesecake)
2. bake 40-45 min. until edges are puffed up and top is dry to touch. The center should move slightly when pan is tapped but not ripple.
3. remove from water bath and place on cooing rack.
4. once cool refrigerate over night.
Day 2:
1, Place chocolate, (remember you chopped it up!), corn syrup and 1 Tbs. butter in med bowl.
2. boil whipping cream in a small saucepan.
3. pour hot whipping cream over chocolate mixture.
4. stir until melted smooth. (if the chocolate isn't melting like mine didn't just stick the bowl in a bigger bowl of hot water and mix it until it's melted.)
5. once cooled a bit but still able to be poured. Pour that stuck over the Cheesecake. which should still be in the springform pan!
6. refrigerate until the chocolate is hard.
7. decorate with raspberries.
ENJOY!
this cheesecake is SO good! Make it!
Thursday, March 27, 2014
Thursday, January 23, 2014
Caramel- Pear Pie
CookingClub 2013 calender.
OMG this Pie was amazing! I probably ate WAY too much of it.
DISCLAIMER: You are making your own caramel. Which takes FOREVER so this isn't something that you can do quickly.
You will Need...
**Dough for 1 (9 in) DOUBLE crust pie
3 Tbs all purpose flour
1 Tbs ground almonds
3 lb Barlett pears (6) (I just used some pears that I found at the market), Peeled and quartered
1 Tbs pear or apple cognac (I'm poor I can't afford this)
2 Tbs Unsalted butter
1/2 cup Sugar.
Steps!
1. Heat oven to 400* F. Line 9-in pie pan with 1 circle of dough. Sprinkle 1 Tbs of the flour and ground almonds over bottom of crust; refrigerate while preparing filling.
2. Toss pears with cognac in large bowl (or you know don't).
3. Melt butter in large skillet over Med. heat.
4. Add Sugar. cook and stir 7-8 min. or until golden brown.
**At first, caramel will appear crystallized, followed by a separating of the butter and sugar. It will smooth out as it begins to brown).
5. Whisk in remaining 2 Tbs flour until combined.
6. Add pears. Reduce heat to low.
** Some caramel will harden and that's ok
7. Cook and stir 3-5 min. or until caramel melts and coats pears.
8. place pears in pie crust. Pour remaining caramel over pears.
9. Cut remaining circle of dough into 10 (3/4 in wide strips. Weave strips into lattice over pie filling. letting strips overhang pie pan. Trim strips into 1/2 in. overhang. fold under edge of bottom crust. Press down gently to seal. flute or crimp edge. (First of all do whatever the hell you want with the top of your pie. don't measure your strips that's stupid we aren't Pro's over here. Second the hell does "flute" the edges mean?!)
10. Bake 45-55 Min or until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbly. Cool on wire rack to room temp. (Or just dig in and eat your pie)
OK So if you don't know I'm living in England for the year so some thing I have to make up. Cooking shouldn't be about following a recipe exactly. Let me tell you I NEVER do exactly what the recipe says.
For this Pie I couldn't find pre made dough so I asked my friend Hannah to help me and teach me to make Pie Crust Dough. So this pie was legit made from scratch.
Also, I'm not sure how I feel about making my own caramel. It was definitely a learning experience. I though for sure I was doing it wrong about 3 times but I decided to just wait and it ended up turning out right. I didn't get all of it to melt again after adding the pears so I had a few hard chunks in my pie. some melted some didn't. but hey if you get one that's not melted that's a bonus for you because you get a little candy treat in your pie!
I must say this pie was amazing! I think I ate way too much of it and gave myself a stomachache but it was TOTALLY worth it!
OMG this Pie was amazing! I probably ate WAY too much of it.
DISCLAIMER: You are making your own caramel. Which takes FOREVER so this isn't something that you can do quickly.
You will Need...
**Dough for 1 (9 in) DOUBLE crust pie
3 Tbs all purpose flour
1 Tbs ground almonds
3 lb Barlett pears (6) (I just used some pears that I found at the market), Peeled and quartered
1 Tbs pear or apple cognac (I'm poor I can't afford this)
2 Tbs Unsalted butter
1/2 cup Sugar.
Steps!
1. Heat oven to 400* F. Line 9-in pie pan with 1 circle of dough. Sprinkle 1 Tbs of the flour and ground almonds over bottom of crust; refrigerate while preparing filling.
2. Toss pears with cognac in large bowl (or you know don't).
3. Melt butter in large skillet over Med. heat.
4. Add Sugar. cook and stir 7-8 min. or until golden brown.
**At first, caramel will appear crystallized, followed by a separating of the butter and sugar. It will smooth out as it begins to brown).
5. Whisk in remaining 2 Tbs flour until combined.
6. Add pears. Reduce heat to low.
** Some caramel will harden and that's ok
7. Cook and stir 3-5 min. or until caramel melts and coats pears.
8. place pears in pie crust. Pour remaining caramel over pears.
9. Cut remaining circle of dough into 10 (3/4 in wide strips. Weave strips into lattice over pie filling. letting strips overhang pie pan. Trim strips into 1/2 in. overhang. fold under edge of bottom crust. Press down gently to seal. flute or crimp edge. (First of all do whatever the hell you want with the top of your pie. don't measure your strips that's stupid we aren't Pro's over here. Second the hell does "flute" the edges mean?!)
10. Bake 45-55 Min or until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbly. Cool on wire rack to room temp. (Or just dig in and eat your pie)
OK So if you don't know I'm living in England for the year so some thing I have to make up. Cooking shouldn't be about following a recipe exactly. Let me tell you I NEVER do exactly what the recipe says.
For this Pie I couldn't find pre made dough so I asked my friend Hannah to help me and teach me to make Pie Crust Dough. So this pie was legit made from scratch.
Also, I'm not sure how I feel about making my own caramel. It was definitely a learning experience. I though for sure I was doing it wrong about 3 times but I decided to just wait and it ended up turning out right. I didn't get all of it to melt again after adding the pears so I had a few hard chunks in my pie. some melted some didn't. but hey if you get one that's not melted that's a bonus for you because you get a little candy treat in your pie!
I must say this pie was amazing! I think I ate way too much of it and gave myself a stomachache but it was TOTALLY worth it!
Red Cabbage-Apple Slaw with Spiced Walnuts
From CookingClub 2014 calendar.
You will need....
2 Tbs packed dark brown sugar
1 tsp chili powder
1/8 tsp dried thyme
3 1/2 Tbs Olive oil (Divided into 1 1/2 and 2 Tbs)
1 Cup coarsely chopped walnuts, toasted
8 cups thinly sliced red cabbage (1 1/2 lbs)
2 Medium Granny Smith Apples, cut into slices
2 Tbs balsamic vinegar
2 Tbs orange or apple juice
3.4 tsp coarse salt.
Steps!
** Toast walnuts, place on baking sheet, bake at 375* F for 4-6 Min. or until pale brown and fragrant.
1. Combine brown sugar, chili powder and thyme in medium bowl. Stir in 1 1/2 Tbs oil. Add walnuts while still warm, toss well.
2. Combine cabbage and apples in large bowl. Stir in vinegar, orange juice, remaining 2 Tbs oil and salt. Add spiced walnuts; Toss.
That's it! I'm not a huge fan of cabbage but I will try anything once. This is a good side dish. But being that I am in Grad School and only cooking for myself even doing this recipe as a half. I was eating it for days and I got rather bored with it.
I think it would be something good to take to a summer or fall out door event though!
You will need....
2 Tbs packed dark brown sugar
1 tsp chili powder
1/8 tsp dried thyme
3 1/2 Tbs Olive oil (Divided into 1 1/2 and 2 Tbs)
1 Cup coarsely chopped walnuts, toasted
8 cups thinly sliced red cabbage (1 1/2 lbs)
2 Medium Granny Smith Apples, cut into slices
2 Tbs balsamic vinegar
2 Tbs orange or apple juice
3.4 tsp coarse salt.
Steps!
** Toast walnuts, place on baking sheet, bake at 375* F for 4-6 Min. or until pale brown and fragrant.
1. Combine brown sugar, chili powder and thyme in medium bowl. Stir in 1 1/2 Tbs oil. Add walnuts while still warm, toss well.
2. Combine cabbage and apples in large bowl. Stir in vinegar, orange juice, remaining 2 Tbs oil and salt. Add spiced walnuts; Toss.
That's it! I'm not a huge fan of cabbage but I will try anything once. This is a good side dish. But being that I am in Grad School and only cooking for myself even doing this recipe as a half. I was eating it for days and I got rather bored with it.
I think it would be something good to take to a summer or fall out door event though!
New Year 2 recipes a month. Let's do this!
Hello People!
My mom got me a calender from "cooking club" it has a recipe for every month. I have one from last year that I never cooked from so I took all of those and now I have 2 recipes to try every month. One a meal or side and one a dessert each month... Usually.
So let's get cooking!
My mom got me a calender from "cooking club" it has a recipe for every month. I have one from last year that I never cooked from so I took all of those and now I have 2 recipes to try every month. One a meal or side and one a dessert each month... Usually.
So let's get cooking!
Tuesday, November 5, 2013
Ok so a while ago a threw together mushroom pork chop amazingness. Here is what I did.
Sliced Mushrooms
Sliced or Chopped Garlic (1 clove)
Half a small Onion
1 Porkchop
Herb mix
Honey.
OK so I cut up the veggies and got them started cooking in a skillet. With just a little oil on the bottom so they wouldn't stick. While those were getting cooked a bit I sprinkled the herb mix on my pork chop and then drizzled some honey on it. After the mushrooms had started to get soft but were not completely cooked I added the pork chop to the pan and cooked that through with the mushrooms.
Th result was this AMAZING looking dinner. It tasted just as good as it looks too!
Thursday, October 10, 2013
Shopping as a Poor Graduate Student Abroad.
This week I am a struggling with budgeting. I haven't gotten my disbursement of government loans to live off of and my £200 ish was quickly disappearing after 1 week and getting essentials to live.
I do most of my shopping at the corner Sainsbury's Local. This is a smaller version of the Sainsbury's store (although I've never been to a normal one). They are reasonably prices and have quite a few options for being a corner store. I can get veggies, meats, cheese, eggs, milk, snacks, almost anything I want out of their selection.
This week I had £15 to spend on groceries. Keep in mind I still have some stuff left over from last week when I had no idea what I was doing.
My first bit of advice is to NEVER shop hungry. You will just buy thing's you don't need. Second if you are going shopping without a list and set recipes for the week as you shop think in terms of "meals" and what can be used in more than one meal.
So with my mad skills, for my £15 I was able to get the following
Milk
2 bottles of Dr. Pepper (pop is much more expensive here and they were on sale 2 for £2)
2 pack of Pork Loin Steaks
a pack of cubed chicken breast
pack of brown rice (microwave kind)
broccoli
mushrooms
snow peas
stir-fry corn
hummus
6 pack of eggs
I see you over there looking at me with doubt going "that's all shes going to eat in a week?" No silly, remember I said I sill had stuff from last week? I've got cereal and PB&J fixings for breakfast and lunch. I realize this looks impossible but I promise I'm not going to starve myself (I like food too much). I need this food to last me until I get my bank account open. But ideally it would last until next week. I usually don't eat all of what I make and have left overs to eat for lunch of dinner another day. Remember this is all new for me and I'm on a budget.
Next up will be a post on how my Loin Steaks work out with possibly a Kapparberg cider sauce? turn out.
I do most of my shopping at the corner Sainsbury's Local. This is a smaller version of the Sainsbury's store (although I've never been to a normal one). They are reasonably prices and have quite a few options for being a corner store. I can get veggies, meats, cheese, eggs, milk, snacks, almost anything I want out of their selection.
This week I had £15 to spend on groceries. Keep in mind I still have some stuff left over from last week when I had no idea what I was doing.
My first bit of advice is to NEVER shop hungry. You will just buy thing's you don't need. Second if you are going shopping without a list and set recipes for the week as you shop think in terms of "meals" and what can be used in more than one meal.
So with my mad skills, for my £15 I was able to get the following
Milk
2 bottles of Dr. Pepper (pop is much more expensive here and they were on sale 2 for £2)
2 pack of Pork Loin Steaks
a pack of cubed chicken breast
pack of brown rice (microwave kind)
broccoli
mushrooms
snow peas
stir-fry corn
hummus
6 pack of eggs
I see you over there looking at me with doubt going "that's all shes going to eat in a week?" No silly, remember I said I sill had stuff from last week? I've got cereal and PB&J fixings for breakfast and lunch. I realize this looks impossible but I promise I'm not going to starve myself (I like food too much). I need this food to last me until I get my bank account open. But ideally it would last until next week. I usually don't eat all of what I make and have left overs to eat for lunch of dinner another day. Remember this is all new for me and I'm on a budget.
Next up will be a post on how my Loin Steaks work out with possibly a Kapparberg cider sauce? turn out.
Long time no See
I know I haven't posted in awhile but I haven't really been cooking or having cooking adventures. However that is ALL changing. I moved to York England 2 weeks ago and Let me tell you it's been an experience.
Cooking for one is hard enough. But cooking for one on a budget is harder. I think I'm going to try to start some posts about the concoctions I makeup. I am definitely starting to just make things off the top of my head instead of necessarily following recipes.
I'm going to try some posts about budget shopping as I learn my lessons and let you know what works and doesn't work in the kitchen. We will see how this goes!
Wish me luck!
Cooking for one is hard enough. But cooking for one on a budget is harder. I think I'm going to try to start some posts about the concoctions I makeup. I am definitely starting to just make things off the top of my head instead of necessarily following recipes.
I'm going to try some posts about budget shopping as I learn my lessons and let you know what works and doesn't work in the kitchen. We will see how this goes!
Wish me luck!
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