Happy Birthday, Dan: White Russian Cheesecake

Here’s Dan, with his annual birthday present from me–a cheesecake. For the past several years, I have been making Dan cheesecakes, because he has an inordinate ability to consume entire cheesecakes at a sitting. They are his favorite thing, in fact, though with my cheesecakes, he contents himself with only two pieces at a sitting, because if he were to eat something containing three pounds of cream cheese and five or six eggs at a time, not to mention the cup and a half of sugar and who knows what all else, depending on the flavors, all at once, I believe he would likely kill himself.

He would die happy, of course, but still–death is not necessary on your birthday.

So this year, I made him a White Russian cheesecake.

Why?

Because he asked for one. And I always try to honor any request, especially when it comes to birthday presents.

White Russians are not the signature beverage of The Dude, they are also one of Dan’s favorite drinks, and both he and I were pretty certain that the flavors of it–Kahlua–coffee liqueur, cream and vodka, would translate beautifully into the cheesecake format.

Of course, vodka isn’t really a flavor–except in as much that alcohol has a flavor–and I puzzled over how to get it into the cheesecake without the alcohol effect and flavor baking out if it.

Eventually I came to it–I wouldn’t bake the vodka at all. The Kahlua would go into the cheesecake batter and be baked–along with a few other flavoring agents–but the vodka would come into the picture after the cake had been baked and cooled.

I spiked barely sweetened whipped cream with it, and sprinkled about a quarter ounce of the vodka on top of the cheesecake before icing it with the spiked whipped cream. Then, I sifted instant espresso powder over the whipped cream and garnished it with a coffee bean right before serving.

Now, the truth is, you could leave out the vodka, but then I wouldn’t call it a White Russian Cheesecake. I’d call it a Kahlua Coffee Cheesecake instead.

It turned out perfectly. Silky smooth, very light in texture–in large part because I beat the batter at high speed even longer than I usually do–and delectable. It tasted very like a White Russian.

Maybe I should have named this cheesecake in honor of The Dude himself, but I figured no one would want to eat something called “The Dude’s Cheesecake.” If I called it “Himself’s Cheesecake,” folks would assume that it was flavored with Irish Cream. Besides, if you hear White Russian Cheesecake, and you are an aficionado of the drink, you will have a pretty good idea what it is going to taste like. If you hear “The Dude’s Cheescake,” you might worry that it will taste of spleef, a Los Angeles bowling alley or a rug that really tied the room together.

Anyway, here it is, Dan’s White Russian Cheesecake.

And for those who are interested, here are a couple of Dan’s other birthday cheesecakes:

2008: Blackberry Cheesecake
2007: Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake

I wonder what kind of cheesecake I will make for Dan next?

White Russian Cheesecake
Ingredients:

2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 tablespoon instant espresso powder
1 tablespoon sugar
8 tablespoons butter, melted
3 pounds cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 cups raw sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste
1 heaping tablespoon instant espresso powder dissolved in 1/4 cup Kahlua coffee liqueur
3 whole large eggs
2 large egg yolks
1 cup heavy cream, thoroughly chilled
1/2-1 ounce vodka, from the freezer if possible
1 1/2 tablespoons confectioners sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons instant espresso powder for garnish
1 teaspoon or so
whole coffee beans for garnish

Method:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Place crumbs, espresso powder, and sugar into the bowl of a food processor. (I also use the processor to make the crumbs, by the way, so they are usually already in the bowl.) Start the processor and as it is running, drizzle the melted butter through the feed tube. Allow machine to mix thoroughly until the texture of damp sand is accomplished.

Dump crust ingredients from processor bowl into the center of a non-stick 10 inch springform pan. Pat the crumbs in an even layer on the bottom of the pan and about a third of the way up the sides of the pan. Don’t worry if the top edge is a little ragged. It won’t matter.

Bake in the preheated oven for fifteen minutes (ten if you have a convection oven), then remove from the oven and allow to cool thoroughly. Turn the oven temperature down to 300 degrees and put a pan of water in the bottom of the oven. This creates a moist, steamy environment for the cheesecake to bake in, without having to bake it -in- a water bath.

Beat together the cream cheese and sugar in a heavy-duty mixer until they are thoroughly combined and are fluffy. Add vanilla bean paste, and the espresso powder dissolved in the Kahlua, and beat until well mixed.

Whisk together the eggs and egg yolks until they are thoroughly combined and lighten in color somewhat. Add to cheese batter and beat on high speed for four minutes to aerate the batter.

Scrape cheesecake batter into the prepared, cooled pan over the crust, and smooth the top so it is even. Place into the center rack of the 300 degree preheated oven and bake for one hour and fifteen minutes. (Bake for forty minutes to an hour if you have a convection oven.)

Remove from oven when done–the cake will be set around the edges, and will be somewhat jiggly in the middle. Do not worry–as it cools on a wire rack on the counter, the residual heat of the cake will continue to bake the middle. By the time it is at room temperature, it will be completely set.

Allow to cool to room temperature, then cover tightly with foil, and still in the pan, refrigerate for at least ten hours or until completely cold.

To remove from the pan and serve, run a thin icing spatula or knife gently around the outside of the springform pan to loosen the cake from the pan. Unlock the spring, and loosen the sides of the pan away from the cake, and lift away.

Pour the heavy cream and the first measure of vodka into a chilled mixing bowl. Sprinkle the top with the sugar, and beat well, stopping when the cream will hold stiff peaks.

Sprinkle the garnishing vodka over the surface of the cheesecake, then spread the spiked whipped cream over the top, reserving 1 tablespoon or so of the whipped cream for garnish. Sift the remaining measure of espresso powder over the top, and plop that reserved tablespoon of cream in the center of the espresso-powdered top. Put one or more coffee beans on the central dollop of cream and voila–serve it forth!

It serves at least sixteen people, up to twenty or so, depending on how thinly you slice the cake.

Weekend Kat Blogging: Happy Mother’s Day

I had a wonderful Mother’s Day this year.

Kat was adorable all day, and after Zak told her it was Mommy’s Day, she would come running up and out of nowhere and hug me, which she does anyway, mind you, but this time she would say, “Mommy Day!” “Happy!”

It was terribly cute.

Zak gave me my presents a day early–a Starship Enterprise from the new Star Trek film (go see it, it rocks–I’ve seen it twice and plan to see it a few more times in the next week or so) as well as a new communicator and tricorder. Fun!

Morganna, in addition to not stealing me any flowers from other people’s yards this year, for which I roundly commended her, also gave me an amazing gift. She gave me a pack of Cryptozoological critters–a whole playset’s worth–which includes such luminaries of the cryptid world as Bigfoot, The Jersey Devil, Chupacabra, Nessie, and of course, my favorite and denizen of my home state, Mothman.

Of course, I looked at my presents arrayed before me and realized something–I am a geeky Mom. I mean, how many Moms do you know of who would be thrilled to receive not only a Starship Enterprise, which now owns pride of place in my sewing room, but a little plastic Loch Ness Monster, who now resides on my kitchen cookbook shelf with her cryptid companions? No flowers, no breakfast in bed, no massage gift certificates. Bah. Those are such run of the mill gifts. No, I get toys–and really cool ones at that!

So, yeah. Geeky. That’s me.

I also got a great dinner, which served to celebrate both Mother’s Day and Dan’s birthday. I cooked the dinner, but that is okay–I had fun, and Zak and Brittney and Morganna helped with it all, so it was great fun to make and eat. We had a really tasty version of Jamaican Jerk Pork, this time with ramps instead of garlic, the best version of Peas and Rice I have ever tasted or made–and yes, a recipe is forthcoming–a great pickled ginger and mixed greens salad and for dessert, in honor of Dan, a White Russian Cheesecake.

Morganna gave me another great gift, but I won’t tell about it yet. Maybe later.

Anyway, I hope that everyone else has a great Mother’s Day!

Eating Mostly Locally: Vegetarian Ramen for Lunch

I know that many of people approach eating locally with a mentality of deprivation. They discuss what they will give up while they endeavor to eat locally, usually for a set period of time, whether a week, a month or a day, They talk about having “exceptions” to their vow to eat locally, usually three, because as all Americans of a certain age, we know that three is a magic number. Yes it is, a magic number.

Exceptions of course, are non-local foods which the budding locavore cannot possibly do without. Most folks limit themselves to a handful of exceptions to their attempt to eat locally, and while that is fine, I just–well, I just think that this whole deprivation method of learning to eat locally is the wrong way to go about changing the way you shop, eat and look at food. I also think it is related to the rather Puritanical American view of food–we have this weird undercurrent in our culture that is anti-pleasure which extends to the pleasures of the table, which has led to us having a rather adversarial relationship with food that is less than healthy. Americans are all into dieting, especially if it involves strange combinations of foods or exclusions of entire food groups.

For all that Americans are known for wanting instant gratification all the time, a behavior which has led to super-sizing of meals (and of people), and richer and richer confections and desserts, we also seem to have the idea that if we deprive ourselves of something that gives pleasure, we are granted instant moral superiority.

But just because we -don’t- eat certain types of foods does not make us moral people.

And, frankly, I think that if we look at eating locally as a matter of -not- eating certain foods, we are setting ourselves up for failure. We are going about eating differently from a negative perspective, instead of a positive perspective. Instead of -adding- foods to our diets, we are taking foods away.

I just think that if we approach eating locally from the perspective of -adding- local foods to our diets instead of taking non-local foods away, then we are less likely to stick with eating local foods.

So, what is the point of this little post?

Well, the point is this–today for lunch I combined fresh local shiitake mushrooms, bok choy, green garlic and the chili garlic sauce I made last fall with some of my own frozen chicken broth and a package of ramen noodles, and it made a fast delicious, inexpensive meal for Kat and I to share.

And no, the ramen noodles didn’t come from Athens–they came from Korea. And yeah, that is a long way for a package of noodles to go before getting to my bowl.

And yeah, there are American brands of ramen, but they aren’t as tasty as the Korean sorts.

I guess I could have used a different kind of noodles, but every now and then, I would like a bowl of super-fast ramen for lunch. I suppose that as a chef, I should not admit to using such a blatant convenience food as a packet of ramen, but the fact is, I like the taste of it–or at least the more expensive Korean versions of it.

And I see no reason to deprive myself of it for ever and ever just because it is made in Korea.

I don’t feel guilty about it in the least.

And I don’t think that I should. When I buy more than 80 percent of my fresh fruits and vegetables in season from local farmers, when 100 percent of my fluid milk, butter, tofu meat and eggs come from local farms and food producers, and when at least 1/3 of my cheeses come from local dairies, and even 1/4 of my pasta is made locally, and I even freeze, can and otherwise preserve local foods for the winter, I don’t see how I should feel bad about eating a package of ramen from Korea now and again.

And I don’t think anyone else should feel bad about not eating completely locally, either.

The way I look at it is this way–I can help change more people’s eating habits for the better not by stressing facts like the “carbon footprint” of food, or how local foods support the local economy–which is valid and good and all. I can get more people to eat locally by talking about how great it tastes–and where to find it and by cooking and feeding local food to folks that tastes far superior than the stuff we get at the local grocery store.

It’s just a different way of looking at the issue of local food.

And hey, if some enterprising sort here in Athens decides to start making packets of local ramen, well, I’ll give the noodles a whirl and see what happens!

Leftover Makeover: Roasted Asparagus Salad

So, what do you do when you have leftover roasted asparagus?

Well, you could put it in an omelet the next morning for breakfast or brunch.

Or, you could add it to pasta with a creamy mushroom sauce.

Or, you could bake it into a casserole, puree it into a soup or mix it into a cheese sauce and use it to top baked potatoe.

Or, you could toss it to a salad made of other sweet spring vegetables and fresh goat cheese then dress it with a simple vinaigrette, which is what I did for dinner last night.

It was probably the most simple way of using up the roasted asparagus I could have come up with–and I have to say it was amazingly tasty,

The salad was a combination of mixed young leaf lettuces, tender baby spinach, julienne strips of sweet red onion, blanched baby sweet peas (you could just use thawed frozen peas if you cannot get young fresh peas), a chiffonade of ramp leaves and tangy, super fresh chevre, all from the farmer’s market. The dressing was a perfectly simple vinaigrette of balsamic vinegar, olive oil, dijon mustard, local honey, sea salt and Aleppo pepper flakes. (Freshly ground black pepper would be great, too.)

It went deliciously with the rest of our dinner–and I think that with the addition of some chopped up boiled egg and toasted black walnuts, it would make a great light lunch.

If only I had some leftover roasted beets to add to the salad–then it would have been perfect! (Not only because the beets would taste great with the asparagus, peas, red onions and greens, but because the color would have looked amazing in the salad. The red onions brought out the reddish violet highlights in the tips of the asparagus spears, and I can only imagine that the rubine translucence of beets would have brought them out even more.

One thing about using leftover roasted asparagus–if you used a solid fat like ghee or butter to roast the vegetable, be certain to warm your asparagus slightly in the microwave in order to melt the fat that is clinging to the spears just before you add it to the salad and toss it with the dressing. Otherwise, you risk having globs of cold ghee or butter in your salad which is just not very appealing.

If you used olive oil or canola oil–any oil that is liquid at room temperature, really–to roast your asparagus, you don’t need to worry about heat it up a bit before serving. Straight out of the fridge will work, though I think it tastes better if you bring it to room temperature before making the salad.

Spring Green Salad With Roasted Asparagus
Ingredients:

2 cups mixed leaf lettuces, washed, dried and torn into bite sized pieces
3 cups baby spinach leaves, washed and dried with any large stems removed
1 cup baby peas, shelled blanched, drained and chilled (or use thawed frozen peas)
1 1/2 cups roasted asparagus spears cut into 1″ lengths and brought to room temperature
1/2 cup red onion, cut into julienne
1/2 cup crumbled fresh goat cheese
1/4 cup chiffonade cut ramp leaves (or use green garlic leaves)
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
3/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
2 tablespoons honey
1/8 teaspoon salt
Aleppo pepper flakes or freshly grond black pepper to taste

Method

Toss the lettuces, spinach, peas, asparagus spears, onion, cheese and ramps in a large bowl.

Whisk together the remaining ingredients until an emulsion is formed. Drizzle as much dressing as you like over your salad and toss to combine.

Serve immediately.

Easy Every Day Vegetable Curry Anyone Can Make

Here is a great recipe for a vegetable curry that uses the bounty of the spring garden mixed with a plethora of delicious aromatics and spices and finished with creamy yogurt. It is quick and easy, and can be made by anyone out of a few easily available fresh and frozen vegetables, although, frankly, you can substitute any vegetables you prefer to make the curry.

The spices are easily available at either an Indian market or even a grocery store, and if you can’t find one or two of them, you can substitute with a different spice that you prefer. I didn’t add chilies to this dish, but you could if you wanted to, by adding them with the ground wet or dry spices. The basic techniques used to make this curry are malleable and adaptable, and allow the cook to customize the flavors to their own palates.

I used frozen peas for this curry, but you could use fresh ones if you like–just blanch them in boiling water until they are lightly cooked and turn brilliant kelly green, drain them and add them in the same point of the cooking process as you would the frozen ones.

You can use either portabello mushroom caps or fresh shiitake mushrooms in this curry, or even fresh button mushrooms. Or, if you are not a mushroom lover, leave them out entirely. The truth is though, you could use any kind of mushroom for it–morels would be lovely and they are in season now, so if you can find them, go for it. Just clean them out well–remember to cut them in half and dust any bugs or bits of dirt and leaf mold out of their interiors before you cook them.

Here, I call for you to cook the potatoes separately, then add them to the curry sauce. This way you can cook them ahead of time–perhaps you can cook extra potatoes for a recipe the night before, or you can cook them in a separate pot while the onions are browning.

You can also cook them in the curry sauce by adding water to the sauce–enough to cover the potatoes, and then lowering the heat, covering the pan and simmering until the potatoes are completely done. Then remove the lid, and allow the sauce to reduce until it will almost coat the back of a spoon. Then continue on with the recipe.

Finally–the pearl onions.

If you cannot get fresh ones at your farmer’s market or grocery store, you can get them frozen and use them that way–but still, brown them nicely in some hot ghee or canola oil before you cook them in the curry. Treating them this way brings out the sweetness in the pretty little alliums and gives them a lovely golden color that is very visually appealing.

Easy Every Day Vegetable Curry
Ingredients:

3 tablespoons canola oil or ghee
1/2 pound fresh pearl onions, trimmed and peeled or 1/2 pound frozen, thawed and drained
2 1/2 cups thinly sliced onions
1 teaspoon salt
2 1/2″ cube fresh ginger, peeled and ground into a paste
8 cloves garlic, peeled and ground into a paste
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
2 1/2 teaspoons coriander seeds
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
8 green cardamom pods
5 whole cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon ground sweet paprika
8 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced (if you use portabello caps, cut them into 1/2″ cubes)
1 pound new potatoes, well scrubbed, cooked, drained and cut into halves or quarters depending on how large they are
2 cups Greek style yogurt or regular yogurt, preferably full fat, divided
8 ounces frozen peas, thawed
1 1/2 cups water or vegetable broth
salt to taste
1 cup roughly chopped cilantro leaves

Method:

Heat oil or ghee in a heavy-bottomed, deep skillet or dutch oven and add the pearl onions. If you use the frozen ones, pat the surface of the onions dry before you add them to the pan or else the oil will sputter and spit itself out of the pan all over your stove and yourself.

Cook, stirring as needed, until the surface of the onions is compleely a deep golden brown. Remove with a slotted spoon and put into a bowl and set aside. Add the thinly sliced onions and sprinkle with salt, and cook stirring, until the onions are golden yellow in color. Add the ginger and garlic and continue cooking. While the onions, ginger and garlic are cooking, grind the spices, then add them all to the pan. cooking for a minute or two. Then add the mushrooms, and cook, stirring until they brown lightly and the onions are a deep reddish brown.

Add the cooked, drained potatoes, the browned pearl onions, one cup of the yogurt and one cup of the water or broth, reserving the other 1/2 cup of water to use as needed. Turn the heat down to low, and simmer, stirring as needed until the water cooks away and the sauce is quite thick, coating the back of a spoon.

Stir in the rest of the yogurt, the peas and salt to taste. If the curry sauce is too thick, thin with a little bit of the reserved 1/2 cup of water or broth.

Just before serving, stir in the cup of cilantro leaves.