Sweet Potato Kahlua Swirl Cheesecake!

Sweet Potato Kahlua Swirl Cheesecake, all packed up and ready to go to 

Auntie Ruby's house for Thanksgiving Dinner.

Yes, there are quite a few pictures in this posting.  I couldn't help it.  I needed you to see this one from every angle, to see the surface, the sides, the crust up close, the interior goodness.   I don't know about you, but as far as I'm concerned these photos say more than I ever could...

I don't make this more than once or twice a year, for a special occasion... usually at Christmas or New Years, or, as is the case this time, for Thanksgiving Dinner.  Many years ago I used to make a cheesecake with pumpkin and kahlua.  This is a much different taste.  The squash-like flavor of pumpkin is not anywhere near as sweet or rich as sweet potato.  I played around with it until the sweetness and moisture balance was right and the following recipe is the result.

 

When it was time to serve up desserts, and our family partook in the first mouthful of this creamy rich pleasure, eyes closed, moans escaped, my name was called out.  It was good for me.   Ha!  I love a successful experiment.   The wedges of this cheesecake went so fast that I didn't get any.  I was happy that I'd made two....

...and that at the last minute, I'd decided to leave one at home.  Three days have past, and everyone who's passed through our doors has had a taste... and for now, this decadent treat, with its coffee liqueur infused swirls of cream cheese, the natural sweetness of sweet potato and vanilla, and its graham cracker-gingersnap cookie crust,  is all  but a memory.  You'll find this to be surprisingly not cloyingly sweet because the potatoes are allowed to carry that part of the flavor profile, with just enough sugar added to balance the chemistry.

There are two very basic things you'll need to know about making cheesecake.  You need a bain marie, and a 9 inch spring form pan.   A bain-marie is a french technique that loosely translates to mean a water bath.  Sometimes it's used to melt chocolate by setting the bowl of chocolate over a pot of hot water.  The other use, which you'll be doing here, is to place a pan of water on a rack in your oven below the rack your cheesecake will cook on.  The purpose of this is to maintain a moist environment in the oven so that the surface of your cheesecake will not dry out so much that it cracks.  Now, this is not a huge tragedy.  It will still taste the same if it cracks... well.... it might actually have a slightly less tender surface... but it will not ruin the cheesecake except for the esthetics, which in this case, I must say, is something worth preserving.  The cheesecake I decided to keep at home, was the first one I did, and I forgot to use a bain-marie, and there was an enormous crevice across the middle of it when I pulled it from the oven.  Again, not a tragedy, but not perfect.  The second cheesecake, as you can see had a much better appearance because I added the bain-marie to the oven.  

A springform pan is a pan made especially for baking cheesecakes and other types of breads and baked goods that are deep  and would be difficult to remove from the pan if the sides were not removeable.  A spring form pan has a base, and a removeable ring that clamps shut onto the base, then when your cake is done and you are ready to remove your cake, you simply release the clamp and voila!  The one I have is made by a german company called Oetker.   Amazon.com has one you can purchase here:

THE PLAYERS: (your grocery list)

Mashed Sweet Potatoes (Don't confuse these with yams. They have purplish burgundy skins and orange insides.  Anything else is NOT a sweet potato.  You'll need 2 cups of mashed sweet potatoes.  I don't list a number of these because it depends on how big your potatoes are.  Err on the side of having too much and save the extra to make sweet potato pancakes the next morning...Peel and cut them into large cubes to cook them faster in boiling water, then drain and mash and allow to cool completely before using.) Cream Cheese (For quicker preparation, get the whipped/spreadable cream cheese in tubs.  You'll need 24 ounces for one cheesecake) Graham Crackers (Find these in the cookie and cracker aisle.  You'll not use the entire box.  You'll need enough to make 1 cup  of  crumbs in a food processor.  Save the leftovers for s'mores..) Gingersnaps (Also in the cookie and cracker aisle.  You can find these in just about every American grocery store.  You can substitute another brand or similar ginger flavored crunchy cookie. You'll need enough to make 1 cup of  crumbs in a food processor.) Unsalted Butter (you'll need 1/4 cup for this recipe) Powdered Sugar (I try to make it a habit to buy organic, whenever possible but if you can't find it, conventional powdered or confectioner's sugar will do just fine for this purpose.  You'll need 1/4 cup for this recipe) Eggs (You'll need 6 eggs, go for organic and farm fresh if you can...) Vanilla Bean (You'll be using the inside of a vanilla bean in this recipe.  If you can't get one, then use 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract.   But I highly recommend using the bean...) Demerara Sugar (...or Turbinado Sugar... either will work.  You need 1 1/4 cup for this recipe. Regular granulated will work...) Ground Cinnamon, Ground Ginger, Whole Nutmeg (I buy this whole because it keeps its flavor better that way. You simply use a rasp to grate off as much as you'll need... 1/2 teaspoon for this recipe.) Kahlua Liqueur (Find this in any liqueur store or grocery with a liqueur department.  It's great for cold weather drinks by the fire.  A little in your coffee will warm things right up!  You'll need 1/2 cup for this recipe)

PREPARATION:

Cut your potatoes into large cubes, place in a large pot, add enough water to cover, boil rapidly until cubes are tender to the fork.  Drain, mash, and set aside to cool.

Preheat oven to 360 degrees.

In the large bowl of a food processor, add equal amounts of gingersnaps and graham crackers and pulverize until a grainy meal is formed.  There should be no large chunks. Make sure you have 2 cups of crumbs.

Mix in 1/4 cup of powdered sugar, and then 1/4 cup of unsalted butter.

Press this crumb, powdered sugar and butter mixture into the bottom of your springform pan, making sure to cover the entire bottom of pan, and pressing up the sides a bit. 

Gently put this crumb crust into the oven to bake for 5 minutes then remove and cool. 

While this is cooling make your filling.

Whip your cream cheese in a mixing bowl with an electric mixer until fluffy.

Add sugar and mix til combined. 

Scrape the inside of your vanilla bean into the bowl and mix until combined. 

Add eggs, one at a time with mixer going on medium speed.  Stopping to scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl with a spatula in between each egg.

Once all the eggs are combined with the cream cheese, transfer 1/2 of this mixture into a separate bowl and put aside.

Add 2 cups of mashed sweet potatoes, 1/2 cup of Kahlua liqueur, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon of ground ginger, and 1/4 teaspoon of fresh grated nutmeg to the remaining half of your cream cheese egg mixture.  

Mix until combined.

You should now have a cream cheese filling and a sweet potato filling in two separate bowls. 

You will now pour 1/2 of your cream cheese filling into the bottom of your crust in the spring form pan.  

Then pour 1/2 of your sweet potato filling on top of that and spread around gently so as not to disturb the previous layer. 

Then pour the other 1/2 of the cream cheese filling in and spread around gently.

Then the final layer of sweet potato filling goes in last.  

With a butter knife, gently drag through and lift, swirl and pull through the filling  to create a swirl pattern, being careful not to disturb the crust.

Place a pan of water on the lowest rack in your oven.

Place your cheesecake in the oven and bake, undisturbed for 45 minutes.  

Turn off oven and open door just a crack. 

Leave cheesecake in oven to cool for at least one hour before disturbing.  

After one hour, remove from oven and transfer to refrigerator to chill completely. 

When ready to serve, gently slide a butter knife between the cheesecake and the inside of your springform pan to separate it.  

Then unlatch the clamp of the springform pan.

With a firm metal pancake turner or spatula, go along to bottom of the cheesecake to gently release it from the base of the pan, then carefully slide the cheesecake onto a plate, platter, cake pedestal, etc... 

Serve chilled. 

Roasted Winter Vegetables

It wasn't until I had my child that I began to turn a corner in terms of how I felt about vegetables.  You could get me to eat almost anything raw.  But the only cooked vegetables I ever actually liked was green beans.  Perhaps it's because where my mother comes from, they cooked everything until there was no possibility of getting any sort of poisoning.  At the same time, unfortunately, all natural texture, color, fragrance, taste, and nutrients got  altered as well.  My mom loves to tell the story of how she'd find wads of soggy napkins full of spinach that I'd stuff in my pockets and smuggle out of the kitchen because I didn't want to eat it and I'd forget it was in the pocket and put the clothing in the dirty clothes hamper like that.

Anything other than legumes, I was never interested in eating if it was cooked.  Even the green beans, cooked in the same fashion as my grandmother cooked them, for hours, with a big piece of salt pork, long past when the heat sucked the green out of them, and they were more of a greyish green and if I remember correctly, slightly transparent!

There was a time in our historical past that there was the challenge of keeping foods fresh and safe to eat.   I believe that is where that long cooking technique comes from.  If you cook something long enough salmonella, ecoli, botulism, and other food-borne cooties would just surrender and die.  It also made it possible to perserve foods so they would last longer in the refrigerator.  Food was cooked in large batches on the weekend, and the same pot of beans, greens, or peas would be pulled out as a side dish every night for a week.  Crops were cooked then frozen and sometimes kept for months... or even longer... *horror music here* 

The nutrients were so thoroughly extracted from the vegetables by this long cooking that the leftover broth was often saved and drank.  They called this pot liquor.

Then I grew up, and at some point discovered that it wasn't that all those vegetables were on their own just generally disgusting.  It was their preparation that was so unappealing to me.  I've eaten foods from alll over the world, and learned that with most vegetables, fresh and not overcooking is the key to delicious flavor.

I'm telling you all of this to say that you too might find that you will like vegetables more if you learn how to cook them in ways that the flavor is still intact and in some instances, such as this recipe, enhanced by cooking techniques and the addition of some simple staple ingredients that you probably already have in your pantry.

Winter vegetables include squashes and root vegetables, basically.   I've seen recipes for roasted squash, and separately for roasted root vegetables, but I haven't seen one that combines them all.

This recipe is SO easy that you will be able to do this blindfolded by the time you make it a second time.  Even the kids loved these vegetables, because some elements like the carrots, butternut squash, and the beets are sweet.  I will leave the amounts open to your discretion depending on how many people you want this to feed.  Of course if you can, get your veggies fresh at the farmer's market!!!  There will be a world of difference in the flavor!!  If you're wondering why there's sweet potatoes, and yams on the ingredients, they are not the same thing.  Scroll over the link to see the difference.   Note also, that I've listed Olive Oil, not Extra Virgin Olive Oil.  It's different.  The extra virgin will have too much moisture in it, and your veggies will not caramelize and will instead be oily and soggy. 

THE PLAYERS: (your grocery list)

Turnips, Leeks, Beets, Rutabaga, Carrots, Parsnips, Butternut Squash, Sweet Potatoes, Pearl Onions, Yams, Thyme, Oregano, Rosemary, Olive Oil

PREPARATION:

Drop your pearl onions into a pot of boiling water for 3 minutes.  Not longer.  Drain.

To peel them, cut off a small bit of the root end, then squeeze the other end so the white pearl onion comes out of its skin. 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Cut the rest of your vegetables in 1 inch chunks.  Leave skin on everything except the Butternut squash.  

Add a generous amount of herbs and enough olive oil to be able to thoroughly coat all of your veggies.  

Mix everything together by tossing with large wooden spoons. 

Spread your veggie mixture onto cookie sheets or jelly roll pans... (anything flat with low sides) in a single layer.  You may have to use more than one depending on how much you're cooking.   Don't try to crowd your veggies onto one pan.  It's important for them to caramelize and that won't happen if they are piled on top of each other.  
Sprinkle a little salt and fresh ground pepper over everything and put it in the oven!

Allow to cook for 20 minutes (or until golden brown edges appear on the top).

Toss to turn over. 

Allow to cook for 20 minutes longer or until veggies are golden brown at the edges and tender to the fork. 

Remove and arrange on a platter.  If you like you can sprinkle pepitas over the top for a little extra salty crunch!

Eat while still sizzling hot!  

What To Do When You Cook Too Many Sweet Potatoes: Sweet Potato Oatmeal Pancakes

It's Thanksgiving morning.  Last night, the Austrian, the Pyrate, and I wrapped up our contribution to Thanksgiving Dinner.  We made two beautiful Sweet Potato Kahlua Swirl Cheesecakes, an Apple Persimmon Pie, and prepped a huge bowl of winter vegetables to be roasted this morning.   For the cheesecakes, the Pyrate peeled a heaping pile of sweet potatoes which turned out to be about double what I actually needed for the cakes.  So, this morning when we woke up, excited to watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, I had the great idea of making pancakes with some of the leftover mashed sweet potatoes.  And perhaps tomorrow we'll bake the rest with a pecan topping to have with leftover turkey we bring back from my Auntie Ruby's House.

This morning we got the winter vegetables in the oven, then I set about the business of making these absolutely delicious Sweet Potato Pancakes.   You can serve them up any time of year.  It doesn't take long to boil a couple of sweet potatoes and mash them, however you can also use candied yams from the can if you insist you don't have time for that step.

We whipped  these up in less than 30 minutes, and shortly we were piled into my bed in our pajamas watching the parade, plates in hand, and happy as can be.  A very nice moment.  These pancakes were such a hit in our house this morning, that we've decided to make them a Thanksgiving tradition in our house every year.  I love traditions!  So I'm excited to add this healthy sweet treat to ours! 
Serve these up with candied pecans and pure grade A maple syrup.

THE PLAYERS: (your grocery list)

Oat Flour (You'll need one cup and it's found in the same section as regular flour in the subsection where there are organic meals, and/or in the organic section of the grocery store.  Alternately, use the link above to order it online.)  Whole Wheat Flour  (Also one cup of this and it's found in the same section where regular flour is found.) Demerara Sugar (this natural sugar can be found in your baking section, turbinado is also good, but if you can't find either you can use plain granulated.  I used vanilla sugar I made by storing a used vanilla bean in an airtight container full of Demerara sugar) Baking Powder (also in baking goods section where the flour is)Nutmeg (I prefer to keep whole nutmeg nuts in an airtight jar in my spice pantry instead of the pre-ground kind.  You can find whole nutmeg in most stores, especially in international groceries and organic groceries.  When using this you simply use the fine side of a grater or a rasp to take from the nut what you need then replace the rest in the airtight container for use at another time.) Cinnamon (the ground assortment) Cloves (ground) Egg  (You'll need two large eggs) Orange Juice (pulp-free) Milk (1 cup of 2 %  reduced fat) Vegetable Oil (canola, peanut, or vegetable oil are fine...)Mashed Sweet Potatoes (You'll need 1/2 cup)

PREPARATION:

Mix all dry ingredients together:

1c oatmeal flour, 1c whole wheat flour, 1 tsp baking powder, 1 tbsp sugar, 1 tsp ground nutmeg, 1 tsp ground cloves

 In a separate bowl, whisk together all wet ingredients.

 2 eggs, 1 cup orange juice, 1 cup milk, 1 tbsp oil, 1/2 cup mashed sweet potatoes.
Heat your griddle, add a little peanut oil so your cakes don't stick.
Check your batter, it should pour easily from a ladle.  If it seems a bit thick, add more milk a few tablespoons at a time til it's a consistency you can pour onto your griddle, but not runny.
Pour batter onto hot griddle and spread a bit in a circular motion.  
Do not disturb your cakes until they are done on one side.  
You will know when they are done when you see air bubbles form and begin to burst on the surface, and the edges begin to look dry. 
Flip them over quickly with a griddle spatula (pancake turner).
Let them cook on the other side until brown and  the center of each cake feels slightly firm and no longer soft in the center to the touch. 
Transfer done pancakes to a dish and keep warm in an oven set at the lowest possible temperature until ready to serve.  
Serve with butter, syrup, and garnish with candied pecans. 

Mmm. Mmm. MMM.

Sunday Farmer's Market Brunch for Ten... Part One: Potato Leek Gratin

Happy Monday Everyone!!!

Let me preface anything I compose here with the following statement, I am not 100% myself today.  The Brig you all know is missing at least half of her energy.  I may ramble more than usual.  (you know I know how to ramble...)  It was a fantastic weekend.  Lots of consciousness altering spaces, and I'm not talking about the pharmaceutical sort.

One of the spaces I found myself in was a room of a couple hundred really smart people gathered for a conference to discuss the advancements made by the Human Genome Project that will effect something called the Medicalization of Race.  I took the Austrian and the Pyrate to this and it was an experience that for sure has imprinted some new data upon each of our individual consciences.   More about that another time.  I want to do a little research so I know a little better what I'm talking about.

My sister was also in town from Friday til Sunday night.  She lives in D.C. so we don't get to see each other much these days.  To have her home for a couple of days was definitely a treat.

 Potato Leek Gratin, Farmer's Market Quiche, Almondberry Tarte, Nectarine/Plum Pound Cake, Herb Infused Breakfast Meats.  Served on vintage, hand-painted, artistan signed plates from the Tonalo region of Mexico, 1940' s green Seneca Driftwood glasses, vintage Coorsite ball pitchers, crystal cake pedestals all from my collection.  All vintage wares come from my spelunking on ebay and in flea markets for a fraction of their worth. Shall I blog about my spelunking???(Ikea flutes bought on sale for less than $1 each... I have about 50 stored away for parties.)

On Sunday I invited some of  my sister's  best girlfriends (who have treated me just as much like a sister, as they treat my sister) over to my house for brunch.

The Austrian and I got up early for our Sunday morning trip to the farmers market.   I know I'm repeating myself but every single time we go there, my love of the experience is validated.  The perfume of the fresh cut herbs, the resplendant hues of sun-ripened fruits and vegetables.  Shaking the hand of the farmer who grew that bounty of color and flavor.  Having them look me in the eye and proclaim their goods are hormone, pesticide, herbicide, and wax free!   I enjoy that place so much.

This week I went looking for a farmer who always has delicious Italian sweet peppers in every color and size.  There were none.  They are out of season.  Something you will seldom hear in a supermarket in America.  Mass producing farms will produce almost anything year round and do all kinds of obscene things to force grow foods that should not in a natural world be growing during certain times of the year, or you'll find little stickers on the food that says it came from half way around the world, picked long before the sun was finished doing its work, coated for travel with waxy protective mediums that do not digest well in the human body.

Anyway, there were no Italian sweet peppers, I let out a disappointed moan, then let it go and snooped around his long tables full of other earthly treasures.   I came upon some cool stuff I'd never seen before such as Chinese Sweet Pea Greens... something you will probably NEVER see in a grocery store.  In fact the farmer selling them claimed he is the only one selling them in California, and will only have them for about a month.  As I was asking the farmer about their flavor and use, a little old Chinese woman leaned towards me, with her giant sunglasses and her visor cap, and kindly gave me a couple of easy recipes that she uses to cook them and told me about the regions of China where they are typically found in the cuisine.  Pea Greens are used in the same way other greens like kale or spinach are used.   Usually cooked quickly, and can be exchanged in recipes that call for any other greens.

The farmer gave me a leaf to taste. (because the crops are chemical free, that's something you can do... ) The little old lady beamed in anticipation of my reaction and when I expressed approval of the flavor, she clapped happily and patted me on the back and told me to take some home before they are gone!  Call me corny, but I love that.  It's not just about eating it's about feeling.  I bought two bunches and used them to make a quiche that was met with ooh's and aah's and moans of gastronomic pleasure... beneath it all, boosting the health of those consuming it without them having to think about it...without them having to comprimise pleasure.

I love that experience of absorption that happens so often at the farmer's market... where people are not only friendly, but happy to share, to help each other broaden their horizons.  Imagine that.  Broadening your horizons by simplifying the one thing you definitely do everyday without fail, if you are able.  You eat.  It's about narrowing the distance between the earth your food was produced in and your mouth, while simultaneously spreading your mind wide open so that you might find new dynamic ways of thinking about the pleasure of eating  and food's  influence over your health and nutrition. 
Some think that affluence is about being able to buy expensive cuts of meat in the grocer, and shopping at stores like Whole Foods and Gelson's.  It's not necessarily about how much you eat.  It's not even about being able to eat out at restaurants more.   However most affluent people I know, in fact, most non-American people I know would very much rather shop at a farmer's market, get high quality super-fresh food and learn how to prepare a meal fit for a king!

In addition to the Sweet Pea Greens, I got Red Potatoes, Red and Yellow Peppers, Eggs from a chicken farmer, Canadian Bacon from the German style Sausage peddler, 3 kinds of berries from the berry farmer, almond paste from the almond grower, dried unsulfured nectarines and tangerines, and pluot jam!  mmm. mmm. MMM.


Now, I know I've gone too far off on a tangent, so...
FORK IN THE ROAD:

Farmer's market treasures collaborate to make a knockout brunch for people you really dig!

Sunday brunch was almost exclusively brought to you and my house guests by way of the Santa Clarita Farmer's Market.  Below you'll find the first of five recipes.  The rest of the recipes will have their own post.  They'll be up today, I promise... Be patient!
 
Prepare this feast for your family or friends, and they will recognize the hidden ingredient is LOVE.
 POTATO LEEK GRATIN A LA BRIG

This is so easy and so undeniably delicious, you will want to eat the entire thing yourself.  But don't.  Save room for a little of everything from this delicious spread!  I should have said this to my brunch guests because they really did go through this dish like nobody's business!  
This takes about 10 minutes to put together and about 30 minutes in the oven.  That's it.  

THE PLAYERS  (your grocery list)
8 Large Red Potatoes  (where to find them??? anywhere!  but you know what I'm going to say here: FARMER'S MARKET-FARMER'S MARKET!!!) Extra Virgin Olive Oil (first press) 1 Leek (these cousins to the onion can be found everywhere produce is sold, be sure to separate and wash the layers well because they usually hold a lot of mud and dirt for the earth they have been plucked from) Fresh Herbs (this is flexible, but we used rosemary and oregano, you can also use dill, thyme, tarragon or most other herbs in whatever combination you like. you'll need about 1/4 cup chopped of each of two varieties or 1/2 cup total combined herbs)

Gruyere Cheese (this is a Swiss cheese that goes unbelievably well with potatoes and eggs.  remember that for your mental flavor pallete.  find it in any fine deli section where imported cheeses are sold.) Broth  (We used chicken broth, but you can use vegetable broth and it will be be very good as well, but be sure that either way you get organic and low sodium broth or stock)


PREPARATION:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees
Slice your potatoes in 1/8th inch slices and set aside. 
Peel back the green stalks on the leek to reveal the muddy sediment and wash your leek well and remove roots from end, and cut off wilted green ends of the stalk.
Slice your leek into thin slices, the entire thing and set aside.
Grate your Gruyer.  You'll need about 10 ounces (about 1 1/2 cup shredded) of cheese.  
Drizzle a bit of olive oil into the bottom of a square ceramic baking dish. 
Layer potatoes in the bottom of the dish.
Sprinkle about 1/4 of the cheese over the potatoes. 
Add your sliced leek in a layer.

Add another layer of potatoes. 
Add another 1/4 of the cheese. 
Now add all of the chopped herbs.
Add a final layer of remaining potatoes.
Drizzle with olive oil. 
Grind some fresh black pepper over the top. 
Pour just enough broth over the entire surface so the cheese is moistened, and so that the broth almost comes up to the top layer of potatoes. 
Put this in the oven to bake for 30 minutes and then check. 
The surface should be golden and bubbly, and the potatoes should be tender when you pierce them with a fork.  If they need a little longer don't fret, leave them in and check again in 5 minutes.

Serve hot.