New-York-Style Pumpkin Cheesecake

I love pumpkin.  It's fantastic.  And it's one of the few fruits/vegetables that we still view as seasonal.  I always get so excited for pumpkin season that I go overboard (just a little) and buy more than I'll eat right away.  Lucky me, pumpkin puree freezes well.  I wind up with a freezer full of pumpkin that I can use to satisfy pumpkin cravings out of season.  I came up with this recipe about this time last year as a way of doing just that.  I liked the idea of a pumpkin cheesecake, but all the recipes I found were, for lack of a better term, normal cheesecakes.  I grew up eating New York-style, with that delicious top layer.  (And I'm sure someone out there will read over this recipe and argue that even my recipe is not authentically New York-style.  To this person I say, "let's get bagels.")  The top layer has always been my favorite part of the cake, so I knew I had to include it in this recipe.  It's a little bit of a pain, because you need to use two different baking temperatures, but it is so worth it.

New York-Style Pumpkin Cheesecake
Crust:
1 1/2 C gingersnap crumbs
2 T sugar
pinch salt
1/2 C butter, melted

Cake:
2 blocks (16 oz total) cream cheese
3/4 C sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 Tbsp flour
2 C pumpkin puree
1/4 tsp cinnamon*
1/4 tsp ginger*
1/4 tsp allspice*
pinch clove*
*or substitute 1 tsp pumpkin spice if you'd rather

Topping:
1 C cream cheese
2 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp vanilla
pinch each of cinnamon, ginger, and allspice (or 1/4 tsp pumpkin spice)

Crust:
Combine the gingersnap crumbs, sugar, and salt, then add the butter.  Press the resultant mixture into the bottom of a springform pan.  Add more butter if necessary to achieve a cohesive mix.

Cake:
In a mixing bowl, combine 2 blocks of cream cheese, sugar, 2 eggs, and vanilla.  Beat 15 minutes (yes, all 15 minutes…  this is where I wish, every single time, that I had a stand-alone mixer).  Add in pumpkin puree, flour, remaining egg, and spices, and beat a few minutes more, until thoroughly combined.  Pour over crust, and bake at 375˚F for 40 minutes.

Topping:
Mix together topping ingredients, and pour over the cake.  Bake 5 minutes at 400˚F, until set.  To test done-ness, use a butter knife or a metal cake tester, NOT a toothpick.  (I received a cake tester from my mother-in-law, and I thought it was silly at the time.  It is now one of my favorite utensils.)

Chill the cake before serving.

I'll be honest, I was thrilled and surprised when this worked out as well as it did.  With the recipe being as finicky as it is (15 minutes), I wasn't sure how it would handle the pumpkin, or if there would be too much moisture.  But it turned out delicious, well-textured, and fit well into my springform.  The topping may need a little adjustment.  Maple or something, so that the spices blend a little better with the sour cream.  Maybe a dash of spiced rum instead of vanilla.  I'm not totally sure.  It's not an urgent need; the recipe still works deliciously without it.  I shared it with my bell choir, and everyone loved it, in spite of it being out of season.  

When pumpkin comes back in season, I'll try and make this again, with some adjustment to the topping.  Look for an update then.  For now, enjoy it as-is.

Almost Forgotten Fiesta Skillet

I'm dealing with a backlog of recipes/food.  I've got photos of food I made about a year ago, and just never posted, because I got caught up in… everything, I guess.  Anyhow, I've been posting them, and it's been pretty fun to revisit it all.  And then I got to this recipe.  I looked at the photos, and said aloud, "What IS that?!"  My husband glanced over and said, "Oh, hey.  That was really yummy.  You should make that again."  Still didn't answer my question, but I finally figured out where the recipe had come from: an issue of Taste of Home: Simple & Delicious.  I just had to figure out which issue.  Thanks to my aunt, I have quite a few.  I flipped through a couple of them, then pulled out another magazine to find a tab that I had placed on the page with the recipe so I could post it.  How clever.  Below follows the recipe as I made it.  I will note that it was submitted to the magazine by an Amber Willard.  I don't know you, but thanks, Ms. Willard!

Fiesta Beef and Noodle Skillet

3 1/2 C egg noodles

3/4 lb ground beef

1/2 onion

1 can nacho cheese soup 

1 C salsa

1/2 C water

1/2 tsp cumin*

1/2 tsp onion*

dash paprika*

salt and pepper to taste*

1 C shredded cheese

*substituted for 1 tsp taco seasoning in the original recipe: if you have that, use it

Bring salted water to a boil to cook the noodles according to package instructions.  While that's in the works, chop the onion, then brown the beef and onion in a skillet.  

Stir in the soup concentrate, salsa, water, and taco seasoning.

Drain the cooked noodles, then stir them into the meat mixture.  Cover it all with cheese (mm… cheese).  Remove from the heat and cover the pan until the cheese melts.  

Well, as I said in the introduction, my husband wanted to make this one again, it was that big a hit.  I liked it better the first time we made it.  It was a bit cheesier, because instead of using a can of cheese soup, I used about 2 cups of a concentrated queso soup that I had made from a powdered mix.  That soup also added some beans (very few, but some) to the mix, which were a nice little surprise when you got them.  But I think the biggest difference was that the first time I had a ton of cheese to put on top, and the second time, I had maybe half a cup leftover from something else.  Go with the full 1 C of cheese or more.  It just makes it that much more indulgent.

But this is a quick, delicious crowd-pleaser (or just a husband-pleaser in my case).  The leftovers store, freeze, and warm up very well. The recipe could also scale up easily if you needed it to.  I should probably also say that the original recipe also calls for a full pound of beef, but it works better for me to freeze beef in 3/4 lb. portions.