Mini New York Cheesecakes

Okay. I want to make dessert. I want to make a yummy dessert. No, strike that, I want to make a really great, turn someone into putty in your hands, yummy dessert. Wait, but it has to travel well and be easy to make. (Not asking for too much, am I?) The downside? There’s just two of us and how much dessert does anyone really want left over. And throwing away dessert is not an option.

Enter small batch baking and the genius of Christina over at Dessert for Two. She is my go-to site for this sort of thing. These Mini New York Style Cheesecakes were not just good … they were delicious … they were phenomenal. They were so simple to make, they can be thrown together at any short notice.

You know a recipe is successful when someone looks across the table at you, grinning from ear to ear, and the only word that could be mustered is ‘WOW’. And, yes, after that reaction, I will make these for you again and again.

I may experiment a little and instead of the sauce Christina made, cherries, or blueberries, or … well, the possibilities are endless!

This recipe makes 4 mini cheesecakes, using a regular cupcake pan.

• 6 ozs cream cheese, softened
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 C + 2 T sugar
• 1/2 t vanilla
• 1/2 t lemon juice
• 4 Nilla wafers (or other small cookies)

For the sauce:

• ¼ C sour cream
• 2 T brown sugar

Preheat oven to 375.

Add 4 paper cupcake liners to a cupcake/muffin pan.

Drop a cookie in each liner, flat side down.

NOTE: I used a cookie and a half. The Nilla wafer doesn’t quite fill the entire bottom, and I’m a crusty kind of gal (no comments). I also thought that a few smashed graham crackers with butter might work.

In a small bowl, beat together the cream cheese, egg, sugar, vanilla and lemon juice. Beat very well until combined.

NOTE: You are going to look at this batter and think it’s just not going to be enough or too much, but it’s the perfect amount!

Divide the mixture between the cups and bake for 15 minutes.

Let cakes cool completely, then refrigerate at least 4 hours.

NOTE: They’re a bit puffy when they come out, but as they cool they fall a bit.

When ready to serve, stir together the sour cream and brown sugar and pour on top of each cake.

NOTE: I zested a bit of lemon on top of each just to make them look pretty – not that they lasted long enough to be seen as pretty. Also, I removed them from the paper liners before serving. Good thing too! Can’t have anyone sitting at the table LICKING paper cupcake liners!

Pear, Blue Cheese & Walnut Tart

I saw this somewhere, I know not where, so if I have slighted you, mea culpa.

This is great with cocktails – oh, it would be so lovely with a glass of bourbon, sitting outside, watching the sunset. It was quite good, huddled against the rain with a glass of wine.

It’s really easy to put together. I imagine it would be great with apples as well. Oh, or cherries! I used a Kyocera handheld mandoline to slice the pears. I think they may have been a touch bit too thin, so I overlapped them to make them seem thicker. You don’t want to use more than one pear or make the slices to thick or the puff pastry will become soggy.

• 1 x 220g sheet of ready-made all butter puff pastry
• 1 large sweet pear, peeled and very thinly sliced
• 1/4 C blue cheese, cut or crumbled into pieces about the size of a hazelnut
• 1/4 C (scant) walnut halves
• 3 T salted butter

NOTE: I used a Bosc pear. I used a sweeter blue cheese as opposed to a more savory one. Use your judgment with the walnuts. You’d like one in every bite! Same with the blue cheese. I used slightly more than the 1/4 cup. Can’t help myself.

Preheat oven to 375

Using a sharp knife, score a line around the edge of the pastry sheet about 1 inch from the edge, be careful not to cut all the way through the dough.

Keeping inside the scoring line you just made, arrange the pear slices in one layer on top of the pastry. It may seem as though there isn’t enough pear there and you may want to add a lot more – DON’T. Hold your ground! Noting worse than soggy puff pastry!

Scatter the bits of blue cheese evenly over the pears, followed by the walnut halves. Dot the pieces the tart with bits of the salted butter.

Place in the oven and bake for 12 – 15 minutes until the pastry is golden and cooked through and the cheese melted. Serve hot or warm.

NOTE: Is wonderful alone with drinks or with a salad for lunch. Either way, this will be making many appearances in my kitchen!

Vidalia Onion & Bacon Pie

One of my favorite features of the Sunday New York Daily News is Relish Magazine. The cooking sections in the New York area papers have become seriously lacking, so when Relish came along a number of years ago, it was a welcome addition.

I don’t remember if I saw this recipe on their website or in the magazine, but I knew instantly that this was something that needed to be made.

It’s a little preparation bogged down, but the end result is certainly worth the time. A friend of mine made this as well, but the bacon on only half as there is a vegetarian in the house. Though my non-red meat eating sister will tell you bacon doesn’t count. It is its own food group.

I have already been thinking of different twists on this and know I will come back to it again and again.

Crust:

• Cooking spray
• 1/2  C cornmeal
• 1/2  C all-purpose flour
• 1  t baking powder
• 1/2  t salt
• 1 egg
• 2  T butter
• 2 to 4  T ice water

NOTE: The crust needed something more. Maybe a little more salt. Maybe a little sugar. Oh, maybe a kick of cayenne. But the cornmeal crust was wonderful. Perfect for filling with tomatoes and mozzarella and basil.

Filling:

• 1  T butter
• 3  medium Vidalia or sweet onions, slivered
• 2  eggs
• 1/2  C half-and-half
• 1/2  t salt
• 1/4  t freshly ground black pepper, plus more for top
• 1  C (4-ounces) shredded white Cheddar cheese
• 1/2  C corn kernels, fresh or frozen
• 4  slices thick, smoky-style bacon, cooked and chopped

NOTE: FOUR? Only FOUR? Now, you know that would never do! I cheated, I used a a couple more.  I silvered the onions by cutting each in half and the thinly slicing them. Cutting through the pie, the slivers are too long and difficult to cut while slicing and eating. Next time maybe the slivers need to be cut a bit – most likely AFTER caramelizing them.

To prepare crust, coat a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate with cooking spray

Place cornmeal, flour, baking powder and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a pastry cutter blade; pulse to combine. Add egg and butter; pulse until mixed. Add water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until a dough ball forms. This will form a sticky mass of dough. Press into pan. If the dough is too sticky, add a little cornmeal.

NOTE:  I used nearly 2 tablespoons of water to form a ball. But when I took it out of the food processor it was really sticky. Instead of putting the blade back in and getting the sticky mess back into the bowl, I sprinkled cornmeal over the top and that kept the dough from sticking to my hands.

Preheat oven to 350F.

To prepare filling, melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and sauté 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned. Drain if necessary.

NOTE: And – purely with an eye toward waste not want not  – I cooked the onions in the bacon fat.  I did still add the butter in – can you have enough butter or bacon? I don’t think so either!

Combine eggs, half-and-half, salt and pepper in a bowl. Whisk well. On bottom of pie, sprinkle half the shredded cheese. Top with corn kernels,  onions and bacon.

Pour egg mixture over top. Top with remaining cheese and freshly ground black pepper.

Bake 40 minutes, until top is set and browned.

NOTES: Before baking, I sprinkled the top with chopped scallions. Be careful not to over bake. The cheese gets a little too dense if it gets too brown. I think this would be nice with leeks as well.

This is great as a side dish for grilled chicken, alone with a big salad … or just by itself because you cannot stop eating it and are VERY impressed with your own creation!