Rice with Mushrooms, Artichokes and Chicken
Cooking time: 1 hour 45 minutes
Ingredients (serves 4):

* 4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
* 5 big red ripe tomatoes, chopped
* 2 small onions, chopped
* 1 green pepper, chopped
* 4 or 5 garlic cloves, chopped
* 2 cup mushrooms, chopped (divided) – I used button because I was trying to hide them, but any kind is fine.
* 3 Bay leaves, divided
* Salt
* Pinch of ground cumin
* Pinch of dried oregano
* 1 can artichoke hearts (not marinated)
* 4 cups chicken broth
* 1 pound chicken, cut into cubes
* 2 cups Short grain rice (I used Arborio)

Directions:

1. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large stockpot. Add tomatoes, onions, green pepper, garlic, 1 cup of mushrooms and 1 bay leaf. Season with salt, cumin and oregano. Simmer for 1 hour until vegetables are tender. Set aside.

2. Cut the chicken into cubes. I seasoned mine with a little salt and pepper and a bit of Penzey’s Salsa Salad Seasoning.

3. Add remaining 2 tablespoon of olive oil in a frying pan and put the chicken in the pan. Cook until it begins to brown.
4. Add artichokes, remaining 1 cup of mushrooms and remaining 2 bay leaves. Sauté until artichokes begin to turn golden.
5. Stir in 1 cup of chicken broth, making sure to scrape up all the yummy bits on the bottom of the pan.
6. Add about 1 cup of tomato mixture and stir to make sure the chicken and vegetables are coated in the mixture.

7. Add the rest of the chicken broth all at once and bring it to boil.
8. Add all the rice. Let boil for about 5 minutes on high heat.
9. Turn to low heat and boil for another 8 minutes (or until rice is a little softer than “al dente”)
10. Remove from heat and let the rice stand a couple of minutes.

I froze the leftover tomato mixture to use the next time I make this recipe (which will be very soon, I can tell you that much!) Doesn’t this look divine?? And hey, if my kid will eat it, it’s worth the effort!

The sacrifices I make for you people. Sheesh.

So this month’s Daring Cooks challenge was Chinese Dumplings/Potstickers and was brought to us by Jen at use real butter. I do love Potstickers, so I was excited to give it a try.

One of the requirements of this month’s challenge was that we were supposed to make our own dumpling wrappers by hand. Apparently they are so much more delicious than the ones you can purchase at the store. I found that this was a relatively simple process, believe it or not, and although my potstickers didn’t look as professional as I would have liked, I thought they turned out pretty nice. So here is the recipe. My notes are in bold.

Chinese Dumplings/Potstickers

Pork/Shrimp Filling:
1/2 lb (225g) raw shrimp, peeled, deveined, and coarsely chopped (I bought mine pre-peeled and deveined to save time. It was more expensive, but well worth it!)
1/2 lb (225g) ground pork
3 stalks green onions, minced
1/4 cup (55g) ginger root, minced (This has GOT to be a typo. It was WAY too much ginger for my taste. I would recommend going with 1-2 tablespoons MAX!)
1 cup (142g) water chestnuts, minced
1 tsp (5g) salt
3 tbsp (40g) sesame oil
2 tbsp (16g) corn starch

Dough:
4 cups (250g) all-purpose flour
1 cup (113g) warm water (I needed about 1/2 cup additional water to bring it to the consistency mentioned in the recipe.)
flour for worksurface

Dipping Sauce: (I tried this sauce but honestly, I liked mine dipped in just plain soy sauce.)
2 parts soy sauce
1 part vinegar (red wine or black)
a few drops of sesame oil
chili garlic paste (optional)
minced ginger (optional)
minced garlic (optional)
minced green onion (optional)
sugar (optional)

Combine all filling ingredients in a large mixing bowl and mix thoroughly (I mix by clean hand). Cover and refrigerate until ready to use (up to a day, but preferably within an hour or two).

Make the dough, Method 1: (This is the method that I used.) Place the flour in the work bowl of a food processor with the dough blade. Run the processor and pour the warm water in until incorporated. Pour the contents into a sturdy bowl or onto a work surface and knead until uniform and smooth. The dough should be firm and silky to the touch and not sticky. [Note: it’s better to have a moist dough and have to incorporate more flour than to have a dry and pilling dough and have to incorporate more water).

Make the dough, Method 2: In a large bowl mix flour with 1/4 cup of water and stir until water is absorbed. Continue adding water one teaspoon at a time and mixing thoroughly until dough pulls away from sides of bowl. We want a firm dough that is barely sticky to the touch.

Both dough methods: Knead the dough about twenty strokes then cover with a damp towel for 15 minutes. Take the dough and form a flattened dome. Cut into strips about 1 1/2 to 2 inches wide. Shape the strips into rounded long cylinders. On a floured surface, cut the strips into 3/4 inch pieces. Press palm down on each piece to form a flat circle (you can shape the corners in with your fingers). With a rolling pin, roll out a circular wrapper from each flat disc. Take care not to roll out too thin or the dumplings will break during cooking – about 1/16th inch. Leave the centers slightly thicker than the edges. Place a tablespoon of filling in the center of each wrapper and fold the dough in half, pleating the edges along one side. Keep all unused dough under damp cloth.

To boil: Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add dumplings to pot. Boil the dumplings until they float.

To steam: Place dumplings on a single layer of napa cabbage leaves or on a well-greased surface in a steamer basket with lid. Steam covered for about 6 minutes.

To pan fry (potstickers): Place dumplings in a frying pan with 2-3 tbsp of vegetable oil. Heat on high and fry for a few minutes until bottoms are golden. Add 1/2 cup water and cover. Cook until the water has boiled away and then uncover and reduce heat to medium or medium low. Let the dumplings cook for another 2 minutes then remove from heat and serve.

To freeze: Assemble dumplings on a baking sheet so they are not touching. It helps to rub the base of the dumpling in a little flour before setting on the baking sheet for ease of release. Freeze for 20-30 minutes until dumplings are no longer soft. Place in ziploc bag and freeze for up to a couple of months. Prepare per the above instructions, but allow extra time to ensure the filling is thoroughly cooked.

To serve: Serve dumplings or potstickers hot with your choice of dipping sauce combinations. Yum!!

On the cover, I wrote “How will Miss Butterfield spend her summer?” and tried to make it all cutesy with a lopsided bow:

Then inside, I pasted fun summer ideas along with a little envelope in which to slip the gift card into.

Here are the individual pages and the corresponding gift cards:

BARNES AND NOBLE

COLDSTONE CREAMERY

MEGAPLEX THEATERS

OLIVE GARDEN

BATH AND BODY WORKS

Isn’t this the most adorable idea? And the best part is that I can save these images on my computer, and in just a few minutes, duplicate this gift for next year’s teacher. And the one after that, and the one after that… Really, until I find another cuter idea, this will be my go-to teacher gift! So simple!

The May Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Linda of make life sweeter! and Courtney of Coco Cooks. They chose Apple Strudel from the recipe book Kaffeehaus: Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest and Prague by Rick Rodgers. APPLE STRUDEL, ya’ll!!! Oh, I was excited for this challenge.

Preparation time
Total: 2 hours 15 minutes – 3 hours 30 minutes

15-20 min to make dough
30-90 min to let dough rest/to prepare the filling
20-30 min to roll out and stretch dough
10 min to fill and roll dough
30 min to bake
30 min to cool

Apple Strudel
from “Kaffeehaus – Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest and Prague” by Rick Rodgers

2 tablespoons (30 ml) golden rum (I used vanilla rum)
3 tablespoons (45 ml) raisins
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon (80 g) sugar (I used vanilla sugar)
1/2 cup (1 stick / 115 g) unsalted butter, melted, divided
1 1/2 cups (350 ml) fresh bread crumbs (this took about 3 slices of bread for me, and I ground it in my Magic Bullet)
strudel dough (recipe below)
1/2 cup (120 ml, about 60 g) coarsely chopped walnuts (I didn’t want big chunks of walnuts, so I also ground them in my Magic Bullet)
2 pounds (900 g) tart cooking apples, peeled, cored and cut into ¼ inch-thick slices (use apples that hold their shape during baking) (I used Gala apples, and it took about 5 of them to make 2 pounds)

1. Mix the rum and raisins in a bowl.

Mix the cinnamon and sugar in another bowl.

2. Heat 3 tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet over medium-high. Add the breadcrumbs and cook whilst stirring until golden and toasted. This will take about 3 minutes. Let it cool completely.

3. Put the rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Line a large baking sheet with baking paper (parchment paper) (I used Silpat). Make the strudel dough as described below. Spread about 3 tablespoons of the remaining melted butter over the dough using your hands (a bristle brush could tear the dough, you could use a special feather pastry brush instead of your hands). Sprinkle the buttered dough with the bread crumbs. Spread the walnuts about 3 inches (8 cm) from the short edge of the dough in a 6-inch-(15cm)-wide strip. Mix the apples with the raisins (including the rum), and the cinnamon sugar. Spread the mixture over the walnuts.

4. Fold the short end of the dough onto the filling. Lift the tablecloth at the short end of the dough so that the strudel rolls onto itself. Transfer the strudel to the prepared baking sheet by lifting it. Curve it into a horseshoe to fit. Tuck the ends under the strudel. Brush the top with the remaining melted butter.

5. Bake the strudel for about 30 minutes or until it is deep golden brown. Cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing. Use a serrated knife and serve either warm or at room temperature. It is best on the day it is baked.

Strudel Dough
from “Kaffeehaus – Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest and Prague” by Rick Rodgers

1 1/3 cups (200 g) unbleached flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
7 tablespoons (105 ml) water, plus more if needed
2 tablespoons (30 ml) vegetable oil, plus additional for coating the dough
1/2 teaspoon cider vinegar

1. Combine the flour and salt in a stand-mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix the water, oil and vinegar in a measuring cup. Add the water/oil mixture to the flour with the mixer on low speed. You will get a soft dough. Make sure it is not too dry, add a little more water if necessary. Take the dough out of the mixer. Change to the dough hook. Put the dough ball back in the mixer. Let the dough knead on medium until you get a soft dough ball with a somewhat rough surface.

2. Take the dough out of the mixer and continue kneading by hand on an unfloured work surface. Knead for about 2 minutes. Pick up the dough and throw it down hard onto your working surface occasionally. Shape the dough into a ball and transfer it to a plate. Oil the top of the dough ball lightly. Cover the ball tightly with plastic wrap. Allow to stand for 30-90 minutes (longer is better).

3. It would be best if you have a work area that you can walk around on all sides like a 36 inch (90 cm) round table or a work surface of 23 x 38 inches (60 x 100 cm). Cover your working area with table cloth, dust it with flour and rub it into the fabric. Put your dough ball in the middle and roll it out as much as you can. Pick the dough up by holding it by an edge. This way the weight of the dough and gravity can help stretching it as it hangs. Using the back of your hands to gently stretch and pull the dough. You can use your forearms to support it.

4. The dough will become too large to hold. Put it on your work surface. Leave the thicker edge of the dough to hang over the edge of the table. Place your hands underneath the dough and stretch and pull the dough thinner using the backs of your hands. Stretch and pull the dough until it’s about 2 feet (60 cm) wide and 3 feet (90 cm) long, it will be tissue-thin by this time. Cut away the thick dough around the edges with scissors. The dough is now ready to be filled. (My dough only got as large as 2 feet by 1 1/2 feet, but it was tissue thin and worked out fine.)

This strudel was so delicious that it’s already gone. Well, half is in the freezer awaiting CCB’s next visit (because he said that if I didn’t save him some, he wasn’t taking me on our romantic trip to Stein Erickson Lodge at Deer Valley.) Lauren and I had a little bit of it, and the rest went to my sister Jen and my neighbor Naomi. Both of which now love me to pieces for sharing this delicious strudel with them. Jen had hers with a little vanilla bean ice cream, which I think made it even more delightful.

Don’t be intimidated by the dough stretching part. It really wasn’t as overwhelming as it sounds. And the end result was fabulous and well worth the effort!

The May Daring Cooks Challenge was hosted by Lisa of La Mia Cucina and Ivonne of Cream Puffs in Venice, who are the originators of the entire Daring Bakers phenomenon. They chose a Ricotta Gnocchi from Judy Rodgers’ The Zuni Cafe Cookbook.

The recipe seemed very straightforward, with the only technical difficulty coming in the formation of the gnocchi. But I remembered watching Lidia Bastianich’s technique for making gnocchi when I was watching PBS one Saturday morning, and I’ve always retained that little piece of insignificant knowledge hoping that it would come in handy someday. And here was my chance to put it to use!

Zuni Ricotta Gnocchi
Yield: Makes 40 to 48 gnocchi (serves 4 to 6)

Prep time: Step 1 will take 24 hours. Steps 2 through 4 will take approximately 1 hour.

Tips:
1. If you can find it, use fresh ricotta. As Judy Rodgers advises in her recipe, there is no substitute for fresh ricotta. It may be a bit more expensive, but it’s worth it.
2. Do not skip the draining step. Even if the fresh ricotta doesn’t look very wet, it is. Draining the ricotta will help your gnocchi tremendously.
3. When shaping your gnocchi, resist the urge to over handle them. It’s okay if they look a bit wrinkled or if they’re not perfectly smooth.
4. If you’re not freezing the gnocchi for later, cook them as soon as you can. If you let them sit around too long they may become a bit sticky.

Equipment required:
• Sieve
• Cheesecloth or paper towels
• Large mixing bowl
• Rubber spatula
• Tablespoon
• Baking dish or baking sheet
• Wax or parchment paper
• Small pot
• Large skillet
• Large pan or pot (very wide in diameter and at least 2 inches deep)

For the gnocchi:
1 pound (454 grams/16 ounces) fresh ricotta (2 cups)
2 large cold eggs, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon (½ ounce) unsalted butter
2 or 3 fresh sage leaves, or a few pinches of freshly grated nutmeg, or a few pinches of chopped lemon zest (all optional)
½ ounce Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated (about ¼ cup very lightly packed)
about ¼ teaspoon salt (a little more if using kosher salt)
all-purpose flour for forming the gnocchi

For the gnocchi sauce:
8 tablespoons (227 grams/1/4 pound/4 ounces) butter, sliced
2 teaspoons water

Step 1 (the day before you make the gnocchi): Preparing the ricotta. If the ricotta is too wet, your gnocchi will not form properly. In her cookbook, Judy Rodgers recommends checking the ricotta’s wetness. To test the ricotta, take a teaspoon or so and place it on a paper towel. If you notice a very large ring of dampness forming around the ricotta after a minute or so, then the ricotta is too wet. To remove some of the moisture, line a sieve with cheesecloth or paper towels and place the ricotta in the sieve. Cover it and let it drain for at least 8 hours and up to 24 hours in the refrigerator. Alternatively, you can wrap the ricotta carefully in cheesecloth (2 layers) and suspend it in your refrigerator for 8 to 24 hours with a bowl underneath to catch the water that’s released. Either way, it’s recommended that you do this step the day before you plan on making the gnocchi.

Step 2 (the day you plan on eating the gnocchi): Making the gnocchi dough. To make great gnocchi, the ricotta has to be fairly smooth. Place the drained ricotta in a large bowl and mash it as best as you can with a rubber spatula or a large spoon (it’s best to use a utensil with some flexibility here). As you mash the ricotta, if you noticed that you can still see curds, then press the ricotta through a strainer to smooth it out as much as possible. Add the lightly beaten eggs to the mashed ricotta. Melt the tablespoon of butter. As it melts, add in the sage if you’re using it. If not, just melt the butter and add it to the ricotta mixture. Add in any flavoring that you’re using (i.e., nutmeg, lemon zest, etc.). If you’re not using any particular flavoring, that’s fine. Add the Parmigiano-Reggiano and the salt. Beat all the ingredients together very well. You should end up with a soft and fluffy batter with no streaks (everything should be mixed in very well).

Step 3: Forming the gnocchi. Fill a small pot with water and bring to a boil. When it boils, salt the water generously and keep it at a simmer. You will use this water to test the first gnocchi that you make to ensure that it holds together and that your gnocchi batter isn’t too damp. In a large, shallow baking dish or on a sheet pan, make a bed of all-purpose flour that’s ½ an inch deep. With a spatula, scrape the ricotta mixture away from the sides of the bowl and form a large mass in the center of your bowl. Using a tablespoon, scoop up about 2 to 3 teaspoons of batter and then holding the spoon at an angle, use your finger tip to gently push the ball of dough from the spoon into the bed of flour. At this point you can either shake the dish or pan gently to ensure that the flour covers the gnocchi or use your fingers to very gently dust the gnocchi with flour. Gently pick up the gnocchi and cradle it in your hand rolling it to form it in an oval as best as you can, at no point should you squeeze it. What you’re looking for is an oval lump of sorts that’s dusted in flour and plump. Gently place your gnocchi in the simmering water. It will sink and then bob to the top. From the time that it bobs to the surface, you want to cook the gnocchi until it’s just firm. This could take 3 to 5 minutes. If your gnocchi begins to fall apart, this means that the ricotta cheese was probably still too wet. You can remedy this by beating a teaspoon of egg white into your gnocchi batter. If your gnocchi batter was fluffy but the sample comes out heavy, add a teaspoon of beaten egg to the batter and beat that in. Test a second gnocchi to ensure success. Form the rest of your gnocchi. You can put 4 to 6 gnocchi in the bed of flour at a time. But don’t overcrowd your bed of flour or you may damage your gnocchi as you coat them. Have a sheet pan ready to rest the formed gnocchi on. Line the sheet pan with wax or parchment paper and dust it with flour. You can cook the gnocchi right away, however, Judy Rodgers recommends storing them in the refrigerator for an hour prior to cooking to allow them to firm up.

Step 4: Cooking the gnocchi. Have a large skillet ready to go. Place the butter and water for the sauce in the skillet and set aside. In the largest pan or pot that you have (make sure it’s wide), bring at least 2 quarts of water to a boil (you can use as much as 3 quarts of water if your pot permits). You need a wide pot or pan so that your gnocchi won’t bump into each other and damage each other. Once the water is boiling, salt it generously. Drop the gnocchi into the water one by one. Once they float to the top, cook them for 3 to 5 minutes (as in the case with the test gnocchi). When the gnocchi float to the top, you can start your sauce while you wait for them to finish cooking. Place the skillet over medium heat and melt the butter. Swirl it gently a few times as it melts. As soon as it melts and is incorporated with the water, turn off the heat. Your gnocchi should be cooked by now. With a slotted spoon, remove the gnocchi from the boiling water and gently drop into the butter sauce. Carefully roll in the sauce until coated. Serve immediately.

Variations: For the gnocchi, you can flavor them however you wish. If you want to experiment by adding something to your gnocchi (i.e., caramelized onion, sundried tomato), feel free to do so. However, be forewarned, ricotta gnocchi are delicate and may not take well to elaborate additions.

Freezing the gnocchi: If you don’t want to cook your gnocchi right away or if you don’t want to cook all of them, you can make them and freeze them. Once they are formed and resting on the flour-dusted, lined tray, place them uncovered in the freezer. Leave them for several hours to freeze. Once frozen, place them in a plastic bag. Remove the air and seal the bag. Return to the freezer. To cook frozen gnocchi, remove them from the bag and place individually on a plate or on a tray. Place in the refrigerator to thaw completely. Cook as directed for fresh gnocchi.

Andi’s Gnocchi: I flavored my gnocchi batter with a little thyme and garlic. Because everything is better with a little garlic. When I formed the gnocchi, I rolled them off the tines of a fork like Lidia does, which made the traditional ridges.

While they chilled in the refrigerator, I caramelized some onions in a little bit of butter, then browned up some sausage and set it all aside. I made a traditional bechamel (white) sauce with milk and butter and melted a little Gorgonzola cheese in it. When the gnocchi were cooked, I added them to the Gorgonzola cream sauce instead of the butter sauce that the recipe called for, and gently tossed them with the caramelized onions and sausage. It was delicious, and even Lauren loved it! Not bad, considering all kids are supposed to hate blue cheese!

Awww, Daring Bakers… how did you KNOW that I was a cheesecake fiend??? I have been making cheesecakes for years, and have gotten it down to a science by now. I love the little tangy, creamy devils and I love to make them! In fact, there was even a time in my life when I had a little cheesecake business on the side. It was fun, all until that fateful Christmas when I had to make 25 white chocolate-peppermint cheesecakes in one week in my little home kitchen and that was enough for me. I hung up my shingle and vowed to only bake them for friends in the future.

So when I saw this challenge, I was stoked. I could surely come up with something insanely creative to tweak this recipe into a new realm. I could impress all the amazing Daring Bakers with my cheesecake expertise! Bwah hah hah haaaahhhhh!

And then I realized that I would be preparing said cheesecake in CCB’s tiny (read: apartment-sized) kitchen with his limited ingredients and tools. Like for instance, if I need fish sauce or saffron, Dude has it. But pure vanilla extract? Hah. Good luck finding that. Interestingly enough, he had a springform pan (I would never attempt to make a cheesecake without one), but didn’t have any sort of mixer. I guess because when you’re a guy, you can use a whisk to whip things into fluffy oblivion and it’s cool because you’re workin’ on the guns at the same time. But me? I’m a chick. I have zero upper body strength. I need a freakin’ KitchenAid, thankyouverymuch.

So I improvised with ingredients that CCB had in his kitchen. I used gingersnaps instead of graham crackers, Bailey’s Irish Cream liqueur instead of vanilla and when it came time to mix it all up, I whipped that batter until my arm was about to fall off. And you know what? It was delightful! It was an insanely smooth, tangy and sweet cheesecake that made our eyes roll back in our head.

Best of all? It was E-A-S-Y. Give this one a try, and I think you’ll agree.

Abbey’s Infamous Cheesecake

Crust:
2 cups / 180 g graham cracker crumbs (I used crushed gingersnaps, but they don’t absorb the butter as well as graham crackers, so you need to use a little less melted butter)
1 stick / 4 oz butter, melted
2 tbsp. / 24 g sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract (I omitted this, of course, partially because I was using gingersnaps and partially because CCB had none)

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) (again, I omitted this)
1 tbsp liqueur, optional, but choose what will work well with your cheesecake (I used 2 tbsp. of Bailey’s to make up for the vanilla and to give it a little extra flavor)

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. (I like a thicker crust on the bottom, so I don’t press it up the sides.) Set crust aside. (I decided to prebake mine for about 5-7 minutes, just to make it a little less soggy.)

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. (And this is where my right arm fell off!)

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. (My trick for using a water bath is to wrap the bottom of the springform pan securely with foil, then add another layer of foil in the opposite direction. If you press it really firm, and then place it into the larger pan BEFORE you slowly pour in the water, it will be water-tight. Be careful when pouring the water, though, don’t let it slosh into your cheesecake or get higher than the foil!)

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. (I like it to be set only on the outer 1/3 of the cake and still jiggly in the center 2/3. If you overbake it, it will also crack as it cools. Plus, you want it soft and creamy, not firm and tofu-like.) 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. (And if it cracks, so what? Spread some caramel on the top and no one will know!) 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!

Andi’s Caramel Topping

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup heavy cream

These measurements are only a suggestion. When I make homemade caramel sauce, I just dump stuff in and mix it until it looks right. I start by putting some sugar in a saucepan and mixing enough water in it to dissolve all the sugar. I don’t particularly like it to be very watery, but it needs to be thinner than a paste. Stir the sugar water over medium-high heat until the sugar starts to bubble. At this point, stop stirring and just gently swirl the pan as the syrup turns golden brown. If crystals start to develop on the sides of the pan, you can dip a basting brush into water and swish them back down into the syrup. Once it starts to change color, it will brown rather quickly, so keep an eye on it. When it gets to be a nice deep caramel color, remove it from the heat. At this point, I put the pan in my sink because when you add the cream, it will sputter and splash a lot and I don’t like picking hardened caramel off my counter tops. Slowly pour in the cream (again, watch out so you don’t get burned!) and whisk vigorously as you incorporate the cream. If the caramel is too thick, you can add a little more… or less, if you want a thicker caramel. It all depends on your taste. When I finished the caramel, I stirred in some toasted, chopped pecans and spooned the caramel sauce on the slices of cheesecake. YUM!!!

Baked Macaroni and Gouda with Sausage

1 pound macaroni
1 1/2 pounds uncooked sweet Italian sausages, casings removed
1 1/2 cups caramelized onions (2 large – see my NOTE)
1 quart whole milk
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
6 tablespoons flour
3/4 pound aged gouda cheese, grated (about 4 cups)
Salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the pasta until al dente, about 11 minutes. Meanwhile, heat a large heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and cook, stirring and breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon, until no longer pink, 3-4 minutes. Transfer the sausage to a large bowl and wipe the saucepan clean. Add the pasta and 1 cup caramelized onions to the sausage and stir to combine. In a medium saucepan or a microwave oven, heat the milk until steaming. Return the large saucepan to the stove, add the butter and melt over medium heat. Add the flour and cook, whisking constantly, for 3 minutes. Whisk in the hot milk, 1/4 cup at a time, and continue whisking until the sauce is smooth and thick and comes to a simmer. Add 2 1/2 cups cheese, remove from heat and whisk until the cheese is melted, about 2 minutes; season to taste with salt and pepper. Add the cheese sauce to the pasta mixture and stir to combine. Butter a 9 x 13″ baking dish and add the pasta mixture in an even layer. Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup caramelized onions and 1 1/2 cups cheese on top. Bake until golden and bubbling, about 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and let rest for 10 minutes before serving.

ANDI’S NOTE: This recipe doesn’t explain how to make caramelized onions, but they are very easy. You’ll want to start them before you begin the rest of the recipe, because they take around 30 minutes to properly caramelize. Start by thinly slicing both onions and set them aside. Melt 1 tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet, add the onions and toss in the butter/oil mixture. Sprinkle them with a little bit of salt and let them cook over medium-low heat for 25-30 minutes or however long it takes to get them all soft and golden brown. Make sure you stir them occasionally so they caramelize evenly and don’t burn. When you’re done, you can transfer them to a bowl and continue with the recipe by adding the sausage to the same skillet.