Andyboy Cooks!

Lime Cheesecake topped w/ Lime Curd - A Daring Bakers Challenge!

The April 2009 challenge is hosted by Jenny from Jenny Bakes. She has chosen Abbey's Infamous Cheesecake as the challenge.

This month's challenge was, as you can see, cheesecake. I had never made one before but I love cheesecake and have wanted to make one for some time so this was a terrific opportunity. I decided to use a 6" springform pan as opposed to the standard 8" pan as I wanted to make a smaller but taller cake. This made me a little nervous, convincing myself that the centre of the cake would be undercooked, but I tacked on about ten minutes of extra cooking time and it came out beautifully. I was surprised at how light a homemade cheesecake is compared to the dense slices you get at a restaurant.

I'm a bit of a curd nut and I tend to make one whenever an opportunity presents itself. I decided to keep this Daring Bakers Challenge very simple, as the last two desserts that I made were fairly elaborate (by an amateurs standards, that is) and what better way than to make a simple lime cheesecake with a clean and delicious lime curd on top. The curd had a nice sour bite to it and contrasted very well with the creaminess of the cheesecake. As for the crust, you can see that it's a little thicker around the edges making it lean inward toward the middle. No big whoop. Just something to note for next time.

I had a ball making it and it was a big hit with the family. Thanks to Lisa and Ivonne over at the Daring Bakers for another terrific challenge!

Abbey's Infamous Cheesecake

Crust:
2 cups / 180 g graham cracker crumbs
1 stick / 4 oz butter, melted
2 tbsp. / 24 g sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Cheesecake:
3 sticks of cream cheese, 8 oz each (total of 24 oz) room temperature
1 cup / 210 g sugar
3 large eggs
1 cup / 8 oz heavy cream
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tbsp. vanilla extract (or the innards of a vanilla bean)
1 tbsp liqueur, optional, but choose what will work well with your cheesecake

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (Gas Mark 4 = 180C = Moderate heat). Begin to boil a large pot of water for the water bath.

2. Mix together the crust ingredients and press into your preferred pan. You can press the crust just into the bottom, or up the sides of the pan too - baker's choice. Set crust aside.

3. Combine cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of a stand-mixer (or in a large bowl if using a hand-mixer) and cream together until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, fully incorporating each before adding the next. Make sure to scrape down the bowl in between each egg. Add heavy cream, vanilla, lemon juice, and alcohol and blend until smooth and creamy.

4. Pour batter into prepared crust and tap the pan on the counter a few times to bring all air bubbles to the surface. Place pan into a larger pan and pour boiling water into the larger pan until halfway up the side of the cheesecake pan. If cheesecake pan is not airtight, cover bottom securely with foil before adding water.

5. Bake 45 to 55 minutes, until it is almost done - this can be hard to judge, but you're looking for the cake to hold together, but still have a lot of jiggle to it in the center. You don't want it to be completely firm at this stage. Close the oven door, turn the heat off, and let rest in the cooling oven for one hour. This lets the cake finish cooking and cool down gently enough so that it won't crack on the top. After one hour, remove cheesecake from oven and lift carefully out of water bath. Let it finish cooling on the counter, and then cover and put in the fridge to chill. Once fully chilled, it is ready to serve.

Pan note: The creator of this recipe used to use a springform pan, but no matter how well she wrapped the thing in tin foil, water would always seep in and make the crust soggy. Now she uses one of those 1-use foil "casserole" shaped pans from the grocery store. They're 8 or 9 inches wide and really deep, and best of all, water-tight. When it comes time to serve, just cut the foil away.

Prep notes: While the actual making of this cheesecake is a minimal time commitment, it does need to bake for almost an hour, cool in the oven for an hour, and chill overnight before it is served. Please plan accordingly!

Lime Curd

4 eggs
2/3 c. fresh lime juice
3/4 c. granulated sugar
6 tbsp. butter
2 tsp. finely grated lime zest

1) Whisk together first 4 ingredients in a small saucepan and cook over medium-low heat, whisking constantly for 12 minutes, or until thickened.  Take saucepan off the heat and stir in the lemon zest

2) Pour carefully through a wire mesh strainer and into a bowl.  Cover and refrigerate 2 hours.

 

The Top Chef Challenge results!

Here are the (belated) results of the Top Chef Challenge. Below are pics and thoughts from the participants!

AntB

First of all, I didn't follow the rules. 

I didn't feel like buying a bottle of port wine or gorgonzola cheese.  We were going to make a pie with feta later in the week so I used the stinky goat cheese.  I used a 3 dollar bottle of shiraz as my port substitute.  I didn't buy any beets and almost used the canned ones in my pantry - but figured the vinegar they were soaked in would mess with the sauce.  I also almost didn't buy the shitakes because they were sooo expensive, but found them by the pound and only got what I needed.  I also don't own a food processor and had to use my blender which creates another unique problem.  Nothing that can't be overcome though.

I suppose you can call my version the traditional white trash version.

My reduction sauce was more like cheap shiraz with nice herbs.  It was fun to make though and really pretty by the time I added the butter.  Oh, I didn't add a half a pound of butter either nor did I mount it.  Only about 2tbs and I threw it in.  I'm not sure what "mount" means in the cooking world, but in mine it doesn't involve butter.  Well, it could but not in this case.........

I also made herb roasted potatoes for the potatoes.  I don't have a top smoker in my stove unless something falls on the bottom and catches on fire.  I'm working with a Holiday model with a busted seal that causes my knobs to melt when it's on too long.

The steaks turned out well.  Mike said it was the best steak he'd had and then took it back to say "the best steak I've had at the house."  I wasn't sure what crusting was so I just patted the steaks with the mushroom mix before broiling.

All in all, it was good although I forgot to cook something green.  I was too wrapped up in everything else I suppose.

Phat Jimmy

Well, here it is. I think it probably would be better with the reduction, but I've never made one and the 3 quarts of port threw me for a loop.

Great idea, lots of fun. Never made anything like that. Excited for the next one and to see everyone elses.

 

Andyboy

When I picked this I kind of ripped through the recipe pretty quickly and I wish I had read it a little more carefully. It turns out that it is exactly what I didn't want to do in that it's expensive and very difficult. My bad - sorry gang.

The first thing I did was rewrite the recipe so that it could be made for two, not eight. That brought the amount of port down to about a half a bottle, or five bucks worth. Not bad. I decided to make the gorgonzola/mushroom crust in advance and then the port sauce, and when all of that was ready I fired up the potatoes and the steaks. Again, I missed that "smoker" nonsense for the potatoes so it was olive oil, salt and pepper and into the oven with them. Nice and simple. The steaks cooked up in the pan well; I think I may actually prefer that to grilling because it's easier to control the temperature so you can get the exact amount of doneness that you want. Also you can use the fond at the bottom to make a sauce (which I didn't need to here because I already had one).

Let me say that the whole meal was unbelievable. The sauce was ridiculous with all the different layers of flavour. Mine turned out to be very sweet, almost syrup-like, which I'm still not sure was supposed to be the case. I may have overcooked it a little bit. Regardless, it was incredible, and I may make it again for my lovely sister who is down here on vacation.

Thanks everybody who joined in and I'll be doing another challenge soon, although not a Top Chef challenge. The next will be selecting a basic recipe (ie. lasagna, pizza) and having everyone "get creative" with it.

AB

Vegetarian Chili

  

 

To be perfectly honest, this isn't really a vegetarian chili. At least I don't think it is. This is a modified vegetable stew that I've been making for a few years now. In that stew I use a bit of cumin, and this time out I found myself adding more, and then a little bit more, and then a few more pinches of cayenne, and finally some chili powder, and all of a sudden I had chili. I was really pleased with the result. It manages to have all of the depth of a well made chili without all of the weight (and fat) of ground beef. Don't get me wrong - I love a good hearty meat chili as much as anybody, but this is a nice change of pace.

Bear in mind that this really was the product of "adding a bit of this and a pinch of that" so the ingredient amounts are estimates. They should be pretty close though. Remember to season to YOUR taste. What might seem hot to me may be mild for you, and so on. Hope you like it!

Vegetarian Chili

2 tbsp olive oil

1 medium onion (chopped)
4 cloves garlic (minced)
1 large russet potato (diced)
2 cans corn (drained)
2 cans black beans (drained)
1 can diced tomatoes (28 oz)
1 can crushed tomatoes (28 oz)
3 cups chicken stock (low sodium)
1 cup chopped Italian parsley (chopped)
1 package frozen spinach (thawed and squeezed)
2 tbsp cumin
2 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp cayenne pepper
S&P to taste

 

 

Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onions and sweat for five minutes. Add the garlic and cook for one minute. Add the stock, tomatoes, corn, black beans, cumin, chili powder, cayenne, a tablespoon of salt and a teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper. Turn the heat up to high and stir until all the ingredients are well incorporated. Cover the pot and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer and cook for twenty minutes. Add the spinach (broken up) and Italian parsley and simmer for another five minutes. Remove from heat and add salt and pepper to taste. Serve with a dollop of sour cream.

 

When I was but a wee lad, my father used to take my sister and me to a Japanese restaurant in Toronto called Tanaka of Tokyo. It was a Benihana style restaurant where the chefs cook the food on a flat top grill that was built into your table. Now while the whizbang magic of the chef was terrific as were the entrees, the real treat for me was a small salad served before the meal that had an exotic, pink hued dressing on it. It was absolutely delicious and was completely foreign to anything else I had eaten as a kid. I've been chasing that recipe down since I started cooking more frequently and I finally came across it about six months ago. What a treat, and so easy to make. I highly recommend trying this one. The recipe is from About.com.

Ginger Salad Dressing


Ingredients:
1/2 cup soybean or canola oil
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar or white vinegar
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/3 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup chopped onion


Preparation:


Combine all ingredients in an electric blender. Pulse several times, until celery is very finely chopped. Serve with tossed salad. Makes about 1 1/2 cups.

I'm an oatmeal junkie. There I said it. My favorite breakfast is oatmeal, my favorite cookies are oatmeal, the list goes on. The only thing about people who make oatmeal for breakfast is that they don't know how to make it taste good. They know it's healthy and they eat it for the many benefits of it, but they don't know how to spruce it up without adding all kinds of sugar and other "bad" things to make it delicious. Well I'm here to tell you how, people! I've been tinkering with different oatmeal recipes for a long time now and this one is probably my favorite. It's very simple, very good for you and takes no time at all to make. Enjoy.

Cinnamon and Banana Oatmeal

1/2 cup of instant oatmeal
3/4 cup of water
3 pinches of cinnamon
1 pinch of nutmeg
6 packets of Splenda (less or more, depending on your taste)
1/2 banana, sliced
1 pinch of salt
1/4 cup Soy Milk (I prefer Vanilla for this)

Put all ingredients except for the soy milk in a microwave safe bowl, mix and then cook for 3.5 minutes. Remove and stir. Add soy milk and spinkle with cinnamon.

 

I've never made a pot roast before and I was very keen and a little nervous to try it out. The flavour was unbelievable, let me just say that. The richness created by the red wine, Dijon mustard and tomato paste is just wonderful. The most important thing I noticed was that a really lean cut of meat is needed for this. I used a four pound chuck roast which was tender but had a good deal of fat on it. By the end of the four hour cooking process there was a TON of rendered fat. Waaaay too much. With the olive oil used to sear the beef and cook the veggies you really shouldn't need much fat on the cut, if any at all. The other thing is that because this is such a rich dish, it should be served with some kind of acid to help cut through it and help clean the palette between bites. A nice salad with a simple vinaigrette would have really complimented this dish. I will definitely add that next time.

If you choose to make a gravy with the remaining fond and juices, make sure you drain plenty of the fat leaving only a few tablespoons. With the gravy I made, I found myself adding more of the tomatoe paste, the Dijon and the red wine to bring out the flavours and I'm really glad I did - it was really bland without it. I got the recipe from Cooking Closet and it really is a winner.

Pot Roast

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon oil
3-5 pound chuck roast
1 tablespoon oil
1 onion (chopped)
4 cloves garlic (chopped)
1 cup red wine
3 cups beef broth
4 sprigs of thyme
2 bay leaves
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons dijon mustard
salt and pepper to taste
4 carrots (peeled and cut into bite sized pieces)
8 "new" potatoes (cut in half)

Directions:
1. Heat the oil in a large oven proof pan.
2. Add the beef and brown on all sides and set aside.
3. Heat the oil in the same pan.
4. Add the onions and saute until tender, about 5-7 minutes.
5. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant, about a minute.
6. Add the red wine and deglaze the pan.
7. Add the beef broth, thyme, tomato paste, dijon mustard, salt and pepper and bring to a boil.
8. Add the roast, cover and cook in a preheated 325F oven until fork tender, about 3-5 hours.
9. Add the carrots and potatoes during the last 20 minutes of cooking.


Makes 8+ servings depending on the size of the roast

Sadly, my grandmother passed this past Saturday so I decided to have a night honouring her memory by cooking some of the dishes she used to make. I decided on Pot Roast for dins and Apple Pie for dessert (with a glass of tomato juice to start things off - I think it's an Irish thing). I found this recipe over at Fabulous Foods and it turned out really well. You may notice by the photo that my camera & photostudio lights are a bit on the fritz but I'm in the process of getting that repaired. I've also included a step by step photo instruction at the very bottom of the post (something I plan on doing for most recipes in the future). Try this apple pie recipe - you won't be disappointed!

Mile High Apple Pie

Ingredients:

Double recipe of basic pie dough
10 medium sized baking baking apples (most any variety with the exception of Macintosh will do), peeled, cored and sliced
2 tablespoons butter
2/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 egg, beaten

**Aluminum foil to prevent excessive browning

Instructions: Make pie dough. Set aside. (Click for recipe and instructions.)

Preheat oven to 375 F. Peel, core and slice the apples. Mix sugar and spices together. Pour sugar mixture over fruit and stir until well mixed and coated. Set aside.

Roll dough and line the bottom of a 9" pie pan. Roll out dough for top, and don't forget, with all those apples, you'll have more area to cover than with the average pie. Make it large!

Fill pie shell with apple mixture. Dot with pats of butter. Cover with top dough. Brush pie with beaten egg. Loosely cover pie with aluminum foil to prevent excessive browning and bake for twenty five minutes.

Remove foil and continue to bake for another twenty minutes or until nicely browned. Allow to cool at least 20 minutes before serving.

Hey everyone,

Sorry for the lack of posts as of late. I've been cooking a lot of the same things that I've already posted (pizza, pasta, crostata, frittata) and the one or two things that I've made haven't worked out too well. Plus my camera kicked the bucket so I'm looking around for a new one. I'm eyeballing this Canon Powershot - the price is certainly right and my last camera was a Canon and it was fantastic.

I'm going to be making a few things tomorrow so stay tuned. And make sure to sign up for the e-mail updates (right column) It'll let you know when a new post comes in!

Thanks,

AB

Japanese Ginger Salad Dressing

 

When I was but a wee lad, my father used to take my sister and me to a Japanese restaurant in Toronto called Tanaka of Tokyo. It was a Benihana style restaurant where the chefs cook the food on a flat top grill that was built into your table. Now while the whizbang magic of the chef was terrific as were the entrees, the real treat for me was a small salad served before the meal that had an exotic, pink hued dressing on it. It was absolutely delicious and was completely foreign to anything else I had eaten as a kid. I've been chasing that recipe down since I started cooking more frequently and I finally came across it about six months ago. What a treat, and so easy to make. I highly recommend trying this one. The recipe is from About.com.

Ginger Salad Dressing


Ingredients:
1/2 cup soybean or canola oil
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar or white vinegar
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/3 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup chopped onion


Preparation:


Combine all ingredients in an electric blender. Pulse several times, until celery is very finely chopped. Serve with tossed salad. Makes about 1 1/2 cups.

Cinnamon and Banana Oatmeal

I'm an oatmeal junkie. There I said it. My favorite breakfast is oatmeal, my favorite cookies are oatmeal, the list goes on. The only thing about people who make oatmeal for breakfast is that they don't know how to make it taste good. They know it's healthy and they eat it for the many benefits of it, but they don't know how to spruce it up without adding all kinds of sugar and other "bad" things to make it delicious. Well I'm here to tell you how, people! I've been tinkering with different oatmeal recipes for a long time now and this one is probably my favorite. It's very simple, very good for you and takes no time at all to make. Enjoy.

Cinnamon and Banana Oatmeal

1/2 cup of instant oatmeal
3/4 cup of water
3 pinches of cinnamon
1 pinch of nutmeg
6 packets of Splenda (less or more, depending on your taste)
1/2 banana, sliced
1 pinch of salt
1/4 cup Soy Milk (I prefer Vanilla for this)

Put all ingredients except for the soy milk in a microwave safe bowl, mix and then cook for 3.5 minutes. Remove and stir. Add soy milk and spinkle with cinnamon.

Pot Roast

 

I've never made a pot roast before and I was very keen and a little nervous to try it out. The flavour was unbelievable, let me just say that. The richness created by the red wine, Dijon mustard and tomato paste is just wonderful. The most important thing I noticed was that a really lean cut of meat is needed for this. I used a four pound chuck roast which was tender but had a good deal of fat on it. By the end of the four hour cooking process there was a TON of rendered fat. Waaaay too much. With the olive oil used to sear the beef and cook the veggies you really shouldn't need much fat on the cut, if any at all. The other thing is that because this is such a rich dish, it should be served with some kind of acid to help cut through it and help clean the palette between bites. A nice salad with a simple vinaigrette would have really complimented this dish. I will definitely add that next time.

If you choose to make a gravy with the remaining fond and juices, make sure you drain plenty of the fat leaving only a few tablespoons. With the gravy I made, I found myself adding more of the tomatoe paste, the Dijon and the red wine to bring out the flavours and I'm really glad I did - it was really bland without it. I got the recipe from Cooking Closet and it really is a winner.

Pot Roast

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon oil
3-5 pound chuck roast
1 tablespoon oil
1 onion (chopped)
4 cloves garlic (chopped)
1 cup red wine
3 cups beef broth
4 sprigs of thyme
2 bay leaves
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons dijon mustard
salt and pepper to taste
4 carrots (peeled and cut into bite sized pieces)
8 "new" potatoes (cut in half)

Directions:
1. Heat the oil in a large oven proof pan.
2. Add the beef and brown on all sides and set aside.
3. Heat the oil in the same pan.
4. Add the onions and saute until tender, about 5-7 minutes.
5. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant, about a minute.
6. Add the red wine and deglaze the pan.
7. Add the beef broth, thyme, tomato paste, dijon mustard, salt and pepper and bring to a boil.
8. Add the roast, cover and cook in a preheated 325F oven until fork tender, about 3-5 hours.
9. Add the carrots and potatoes during the last 20 minutes of cooking.


Makes 8+ servings depending on the size of the roast

Homestyle Apple Pie

Sadly, my grandmother passed this past Saturday so I decided to have a night honouring her memory by cooking some of the dishes she used to make. I decided on Pot Roast for dins and Apple Pie for dessert (with a glass of tomato juice to start things off - I think it's an Irish thing). I found this recipe over at Fabulous Foods and it turned out really well. You may notice by the photo that my camera & photostudio lights are a bit on the fritz but I'm in the process of getting that repaired. I've also included a step by step photo instruction at the very bottom of the post (something I plan on doing for most recipes in the future). Try this apple pie recipe - you won't be disappointed!

Mile High Apple Pie

Ingredients:

Double recipe of basic pie dough
10 medium sized baking baking apples (most any variety with the exception of Macintosh will do), peeled, cored and sliced
2 tablespoons butter
2/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 egg, beaten

**Aluminum foil to prevent excessive browning

Instructions: Make pie dough. Set aside. (Click for recipe and instructions.)

Preheat oven to 375 F. Peel, core and slice the apples. Mix sugar and spices together. Pour sugar mixture over fruit and stir until well mixed and coated. Set aside.

Roll dough and line the bottom of a 9" pie pan. Roll out dough for top, and don't forget, with all those apples, you'll have more area to cover than with the average pie. Make it large!

Fill pie shell with apple mixture. Dot with pats of butter. Cover with top dough. Brush pie with beaten egg. Loosely cover pie with aluminum foil to prevent excessive browning and bake for twenty five minutes.

Remove foil and continue to bake for another twenty minutes or until nicely browned. Allow to cool at least 20 minutes before serving.

Hey everyone,

Sorry for the lack of posts as of late. I've been cooking a lot of the same things that I've already posted (pizza, pasta, crostata, frittata) and the one or two things that I've made haven't worked out too well. Plus my camera kicked the bucket so I'm looking around for a new one. I'm eyeballing this Canon Powershot - the price is certainly right and my last camera was a Canon and it was fantastic.

I'm going to be making a few things tomorrow so stay tuned. And make sure to sign up for the e-mail updates (right column) It'll let you know when a new post comes in!

Thanks,

AB