Cheesecake

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...It would be unfair to call the recipe a complete dud, but, boy, oh, boy, it sure comes close. The recipe was originally developed for Martha Stewart's website and I really expected more from it than was delivered. I wanted to try a few new desserts this week and the Silver Fox's birthday gave me the perfect excuse to experiment. We all know you get what you pay for. This cake, chosen for its ease of preparation, is the cook's corollary of that old…

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...Left to my own devices this cake never would have happened, but the Silver Fox made a request that I couldn't refuse. He loves cheesecake and was taken with the notion of one made with roasted strawberries. He had seen the cake on Martha Stewart's site and ask me to try it. He rarely makes such specific requests and I felt duty bound to give it a try. I must also admit to some curiosity about the combination of roasted strawberries with cream cheese…

My Thought for the Day can be found, here. If you like it, please let us know with an official thumbs up. From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I've been testing new recipes for Mother's Day and I've found a handful that I think are good enough to share with you. The cheesecake I'm featuring tonight is truly a keeper, but I must warn you that it is extraordinarily rich. The cake is not hard to make, but it is time consuming and, as these things go, expensive to make. That being said, if you…

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I wanted to get this recipe to you while culinary lavender is still available in markets. It was given to me a few weeks ago by a lavender grower of Viennese extraction. Her dessert is as lovely as she is, and it speaks to the wonderful richness of the country in which she spent her childhood. Like most pastry from the area, this is barely sweet and the use of lavender is so subtle that only a truly discerning palate could identify its presence without…

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...My family has been arriving in stages for our annual summer reunion and our older grandsons have been helping in the kitchen. They are both at an age where they love to cook and they've really started to master some of the simpler dishes that are our family favorites. Let me hasten to add, that the boys aren't terribly keen on the cheesecake I'm featuring today. They'll happily assist in making it, but when it comes to desserts, they are traditionalist…

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...Last week I came across a recipe for a 3 ingredient cake in Food and Wine magazine. It had been developed for them by Grace Parisi. The recipe was for an icebox cheesecake and as soon as I saw it, I knew I'd have to give it a try. I did make a few changes to the original recipe. In order to make it less one-note, I added a bit of almond extract, and, because I'm involved in an on-going war with molded desserts, I decided to use some gelatin to insure…

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...The combination of tangy cream cheese and raspberries is enough to make the angels sing. Add white chocolate to the mix and watch the gods descend Mt. Olympus to search for that mortal ambrosia called cheesecake. To understand my exuberance you have to taste the cake. I know, I know. You are absolutely right. It is ridiculously expensive and time consuming to make. While I can argue its merits, I can't deny it's a near perfect example of wretched…

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I hope you enjoy the holiday season as much as I do, because if all goes according to plan, I'll be featuring a seasonal recipes each day until Christmas actually arrives. The recipes I'll be sharing are associated with the Christmas season as it's celebrated in the United States and other countries that have strong holiday traditions that include special foods that are served with the Christmas feast. The first feature in the series is actually my…

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I love cheesecakes and over the years I've amassed an embarrassing number of recipes for them. As a young cook, I instantly recognized how easy they were to make, so they appeared with great regularity at my table. With the passage of time, however, my metabolism slowed, calories became a concern and I served them less frequently. That being said, I probably should fess up and tell you, that despite that, there is almost always a cheesecake in my…

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I've seen this pumpkin cheesecake floating through cyberspace for a while now and decided to make it as my contribution to a high-end bake sale that is held here at this time of year. Though not widely reviewed, those who tested the recipe gave it favorable reviews, and because of its seasonal ingredients, I thought it would be perfect for a sale held just before the Thanksgiving holiday. The cake, as envisioned by the recipe developer, had three…

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I'm going to begin the chocolate extravaganza with one of the easiest recipes I'll be featuring this week. It's not a flashy or rich dessert, but I decided to include it for those of you who will be baking for Valentines who are, or should be, dieting. This is by no means diet food, but the squares are definitely lighter than their full-fat cousins. The recipe was developed by Martha Stewart and it uses reduced fat dairy products and unsweetened cocoa…

Cheesecake is a sometimes treat in our home. We love it but can't justify the calories that it packs. It's my youngest daughters favorite dessert, so I did a test run of a new lower-fat version last evening. The recipe was developed by Gina De Palma and it comes from her book "Dolce Italiano: Desserts from the Babbo Kitchen." Her cake caught my eye because it uses Greek yogurt and mascarpone instead of cream cheese. Both products are available in low-fat versions, so I thought I'd give her…

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...If men climb mountains because they're there, is it fair to say that cooks try new recipes for the same reason? I suspect so. You all know I have a special weakness for cheesecake. It's been featured here over a dozen times and I'm still not ready to let it rest. When the recipe for this one appeared on my radar, my curiosity was piqued. I've used a slow cooker for many things, but never dreamed of using it to make a real dessert. This cheesecake…

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...This is not the best cheesecake you'll ever taste, but it certainly is delicious and very easy to make. If you entertain a lot, you'll want to keep this recipe in your dessert roster. The entire cake is made in the bowl of a food processor and it's ready for the oven in less than 30 minutes. It takes about 2 hours to bake and needs to be chilled for at least 6 hours before it is topped with a lovely ganache and served. The cake is quite handsome and it…

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I've been working with seasonal desserts this week. I was especially interested in those that can be made ahead of time and frozen. My focus has been on pumpkin and apple cheesecakes. The holidays are coming, and with them come a stream of visitors who need to be entertained in a gracious, yet easy, manner. I try to keep things simple and the freezer helps me do that. The cheesecakes fall into a dessert category that I use for unexpected guests. I like…

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...We've had lots of pasta this fall, so with my kitchen in Italian mode, it was only a matter of time before I remembered this cake and pulled the recipe from my files. This dessert is not to everyone's liking, and while I hate to admit it, I have dissenters in my own family. They grouse the entire time they're eating the cake, but because no one here is force fed, that always makes me smile. The cake does have an unusual texture. It's a cross between a…