white chocolate cheesecake w/ cherries and a mini-vacation

Happy August! I'm excited to see August here. July was a funky month for me and it was too HOT weatherwise. So I'm excited to see what August will bring me, in a positive way, and hopefully better/cooler weather. Before we get to this wonderful cheesecake I just want to let everyone know that I am taking a little break from blogging--a couple weeks at best. I'll still be around tweeting and poking around.
I know, just get to the cheesecake already!
First off, I think I've stressed to you all that I am one of those people that loves a thick double crust in my cheesecakes. For me, it's the best part. So as you'll notice the crust is thick. Duh!
We all know that cherries and white chocolate pair purrfectly together. So why not in a cheesecake--plus I'm pretty sure this cheesecake has been done before; no big news there. But the flavor of this cheesecake paired with the sour cherries is just amazing. Almost like a sweet creamy milkshake with a hint of sour cherries--that's how I would describe it best. And then there is the crust. Oh how I love my cheesecake crusts thick and full of flavor. Please see my cook notes on what to do with the crust the next time.
I'll be back in a couple weeks. Hope everyone has a good rest of the summer. Did anyone go away for vacation? If so, where? Love to hear about it. Any foodie adventures?

white chocolate cheesecake w/ cherries & double crust
from vanillasugarblog.com
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crust
12 oz. graham crackers, crushed fine
1 stick salted butter, melted
Tiny pinch of sea salt

cheesecake filling
4 - 8 oz. packages of cream cheese, room temp
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup heavy cream
9 oz. white chocolate, chopped (use high quality white chocolate-see cook notes)
4 large eggs AND 2 egg yolks
1 ts good quality vanilla extract

cook notes:This makes a lot of crust for the 10-inch pan, but I like to have it thick, so if you don’t like it thick you could probably halve it. But with the remaining leftover crust I just put it in a bag and freeze or make a mini cheesecake. There will also be leftover cheesecake batter—haven’t figured out how to scale it down yet. But with the leftover crust and batter you can easily make 2 mini cheesecakes if you have the mini springform pans. I do not have a mixer, I know, everyone always ask how I do it, but I do, been that way for decades. So I just use a food processer, works perfectly. Please use a high quality white chocolate, trust me it is worth it. Don’t use the Toll House white chips like I did once—they DO NOT melt, only turn into oil. Use a high quality ones like Lindt or Perugina. The next time I make this I think I would like to add in a pinch of cinnamon to the crust or even almond, just see what it would taste like.

Preheat your oven to 375°F.
In a measuring cup, crack open the eggs and egg yolks, set aside until ready to use.
Spray a 10-inch springform pan with non stick spray. In a food processor grind up the graham crackers into a fine crumb. In a bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, a pinch of salt, and the melted butter. Mix, then press into the bottom and partially up the sides of the springform pan. (I use a flat bottomed glass to press it in evenly). Recipe & photos by Dawn Finicane of vanillakitchen.blogspot.com
Note: there will be some crumbs leftover; I normally use more crumbs than the average cheesecake because I love a thick crumb.

Bake for 12 minutes, set aside and let cool. Reduce the oven heat to 325°F.
I used my food processor to make the cheesecake batter—I suppose you could use a mixer, but I don’t have one (I know, weird). With the food processor, mix the cream cheese until smooth and lump free. Add in the sugar, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Start on the white chocolate Ganache.
Bring the 1/2 cup of heavy cream to a gentle simmer over medium heat in a small sauce pan. Add in the white chocolate chunks and stir, keep stirring until the white chocolate is nice and melted. Once it looks like it’s just about melted, take off the heat, keep stirring a bit while letting it cool. Then add it to your cheesecake batter, slowly, by pouring it in with the food processor running. Once the white chocolate is combined then add in the eggs one at a time until all is mixed well. Then add in the vanilla extract.

baking:
Most people like to do a water bath for their cheesecake. I never do, I find all too annoying. But if you want to do this please feel free; it’s best to bake your cheesecake how ever you feel most comfortable.
I baked this cheesecake at 325°F for one hour then at 300°F for an additional 40 to 60 minutes or until the center is set. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely, then refrigerate for at least 6 hours.

cherry sauce:
Is nothing more than chopped up cherries (about ¾ lb to 1 lb of red or black cherries) with one freshly squeezed lemon, a few tablespoons of sugar (about 3 depending on how sweet or not sweet you like it); mix this in a sautee pan over low heat. Bring to a boil then add in about 1 tablespoon of sifted cornstarch to help thicken the sauce a bit. If you don’t sift the cornstarch you’ll get lumps in the sauce, not good. Sautee for about 10 minutes or so, until thick; remove from heat, let cool, then store in fridge to let it set up.

tomato, cheddar and walnut salad

I hate to sound like a broken record but I still am not cooking or baking. I mean cooking is down to the bare minimum if I can handle that. The humidity this summer in the NE is fierce! Every summer I love making my famous tomato pie, but I just can't turn that oven on lately. To satisfy my tomato pie craving I made a fabulous tomato salad filled with sharp cheddar, crispy walnuts, and a hint of dill (although I think tarragon might be interesting next time).
Something about tomatoes and cheese; they are the perfect pairing aren't they?

Cook Notes: the next time I make this I will use a hearty 12-grain bread, it went ok with the sourdough roll, but it really would pair better with nice, texture grain bread. Adding some fresh tarragon might be interesting next time too. The dill was good, but don't add in too much.

tomato, cheddar & walnut salad
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(no measurements added, since you can add as much or as little as you like)
ripe heirloom tomatoes, chopped 1-inch pieces
sharp white cheddar, chopped 1-inch pieces
toasted walnuts
hellman's mayo
fresh ground pepper (salt is really not needed)
fresh dill or tarragon (not too much)

Mix all together, refridgerate a bit then serve on your favorite bread or over lettuce.

egg salad w/ olives and sweet pepper relish

Has anyone been baking? I haven't. And lately I consider baking to be putting together a salad in this hot weather. Why? Because my body is baking while doing it. Heatwave indeed. I really don't mind the heat so much as the humidity we've gotten on the cape is brutal, like rainforest brutal you know? And I'm getting kind of tired of sleeping with A/C on; I miss those nice cool breezes at night.
So as of late we've been eating a lot of hummus rollups, salads, and sushi. I have not been eating ice cream as I had a bad cold and need to watch the dairy intake. But I have been enjoying those coconut milk ice creams by Turtle Mountain. Have you tried them? I was amazed at how much they tasted just like dairy and yet it's dairy free. My favorite is the chocolate/pb (of course, no surprise there).
So if you're like me these days and loathe turning the oven on, would rather stay in your bathing suit all day (yes all day morning to night just so you're prepared at a moments notice to jump in the pool or ocean). Well ok you have to turn the oven on for this one, to boil the eggs. This is a fast easy meal with my favorite way to eat: layers of flavor. Complete with black olives, sweet pepper relish, romaine lettuce all served on warm garlic Naan. It's also great with green olives and chopped pimentos too.
What do you like to put in your egg salad? Have you ever kicked it up a few notches?

pimento cheeseburger w/ tomato-balsamic reduction

Let's have a cheeseburger shall we? No no, I mean a real cheeseburger filled with lots of good stuff and layers of FLAVOR. You with me? Good. Because you're going to have to try this. I've never given you homework, and wouldn't think of giving you homework during the summer, but this is mandatory--you must make these. OK? They will not let you down.
I've never tried a pimento cheeseburger. I know, dumb.
Recently on the Food Network I saw bobby flay make pimento burgers, then literally a couple days later paula deen, and then I got curious and hungry, and figured it was a sign for me to make them already.  Bobby nor Paula didn't use a balsamic dressing, I just had to--the burgers, the cheese just went so well with the balsamic reduction.
Are pimento burgers a southern thing? I think so right?
Well they should be a northern thing too. Normally the pimento cheeseburger doesn't have this balsamic reduction, but I just wanted to add an extra layer of flavor, and I'm really glad I did--they blended perfectly. Let me share with you a couple of my cook notes.


Cook notes: I was going to add tomatoes to these but they would have made everything too watery. The pimento sauce isn't that thick and runs a bit when heated up.
Make sure to use a good sharp cheddar cheese.
I think adding a layer of crispy bacon would work well on this, but add it to the bottom of the burger not next to the sauce so the sauce still stands out. Use sweet onions on this not red onions; red onions are a bit overwhelming and the pimento sauce gets lost. Always toast your buns!
You know this already.


pimento cheeseburgers w/ tomato-balsamic reduction
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5 ounces good quality sharp yellow cheddar cheese, chopped fine
3 TB hellmans mayo
1 & 1/2 TB pimentos, chopped
1 & 1/2 TB grated sweet onion
1 TB worcestershire sauce
salt & pepper for the burgers only
(this should be enough sauce for 3-4 burgers)

In a bowl, combine cheese, mayonnaise, pimentos, grated onion, and worcestershire. Cover place in fridge till ready to use.
Season patties with salt and pepper. I like to use an 85% lean ground beef or chuck. Cook burgers the way you like them and when done top with the pimento cheese cover with a bowl and let cheese melt a bit. Serve on toasted onion rolls or ciabatta rolls, top with thinly sliced sweet onions, lettuce and some of the balsamic reduction.

tomato-balsamic reduction

1/4 cup of high quality balsamic vinegar
3- 4 TB ketchup

place in a sauce pan and reduce down over medium to low heat. you know its done when you have a nice thick syrup. this should take about 15 minutes or so.

reuben dip

Did you just ask if I happen to have a really good reuben dip for your summer parties and/or entertaining? Oh ok, I thought you had. Good, I have just the dip for you then. What a wild coincidence!
So you know I've told you I love my homemade ice creams with lots of stuff in them? And you know I love my cookies with tons of junk in them too. Well, I love my dips the same way--tons of stuff, and tons of flavors going on: A party in a dip.
So I'm proud to say I have this dip down to a science, a mere perfection of taste sensation. The flavor is spot on.
Cook notes: I found that using fried pastrami worked best; you could use fried corned beef as well. If you don't like using meat you can use just the cheese chunks and maybe some finely chopped veggies (red peppers, green peppers, cooked corn, etc.. would go very well). If you can, use round dark russian bread as it states in the recipe below. It really melds well with the flavor of the dip. On my first batch I used the dark bread, but on the second batch they had no more russian bread so I used sourdough. I highly recommend using the russian dark and/or marble breads for dipping as sourdough just doesn't quite cut it. Dig it.

reuben dip
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¾ lb. pastrami (fairly lean), finely chopped ½ inch pieces
Less than ¾ lb swiss cheese, finely chopped ½ inch pieces
Almost a ½ cup of yellow or sweet onion, diced finely
¼ cup ketchup
3 TB yellow mustard
¼ cup plus 2 TB sweet pepper relish (not dill)
4 TB hellmans mayo
2 TB creamy horseradish sauce
1 cup sour cream
8 ounces of cream cheese, room temp
A couple dashes of salt & pepper

1 12-inch round dark Russian bread, hollowed out and made into bread chunks
1 large rye bread, cut into chunks for dipping

I like to pan fry the chopped pastrami before adding it into the dip. Just gives it more flavor—this is of course optional but wonderful.
Place everything but the bread in a glass dish, mix well, taste and see if all is good; may have to add more sour cream or mayo. Recipe by dawn finicane. It’s best when the cream cheese is nice and soft, easier to mix.
Let this chill in the fridge at least a couple hours before serving.
When ready to serve place the dip inside the hollowed out Russian bread bowl, serve with the bread chunks on the side on a giant platter, then garnish with chopped fresh parsley or chives.