Oma's Cheesecake

Most of my posts focus on simple and delicious dinnertime meals – that's pretty much the extent of my time in the kitchen.  But every once in a while I like to try my hand at baking.  Some people have a knack for it, some people don't.  Sometimes I can turn out something edible, and sometimes, well... let's just say I never shared my Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookies for a reason.

My grandmother turned 91 this year.  Oma (German for "grandma") used to cook the best German roast beef, dumplings and "curly" cabbage, and she'd always have a homemade dessert.  Crumble kuchen was a specialty, but I always loved her cheesecake.  I remember the first time I had restaurant cheesecake, I was so excited to taste it, thinking it must be just as good.  And I remember the disappoint when I tried it and it just didn't compare.

As Oma got older, her cooking and baking became more infrequent until finally one day she never stepped foot in the kitchen again.  A lot of her recipes have been lost over time, and some of them are in German shorthand that no one can understand. But recently I found her handwritten recipe for Cheese Cake. While it had a little bit of broken English, I was able to figure out most of it, and I decided nostalgically to try my hand at it.

I had no idea what I was getting myself into, but a couple of hours later, I had a cheesecake that looked just like Oma's!  But how would it taste?  I brought the cheesecake with me this past Easter weekend to have my family taste test it. Everyone had a piece and it got rave reviews!  My dad said it was perfect, and said it tasted just like hers.  Oma tried a piece for herself and she agreed!  Proud moment for me - maybe I can bake after all?

I wanted to make this recipe as close to her original as possible, which meant hunting down a German product called "Zwieback" for the crust.  (Zwieback looks just like Melba toast, so you could probably just use that, or regular graham cracker crust.)  My dad pointed me in the direction of a German import house to find the Zwieback, since they don't carry it at your neighborhood Giant Eagle.  Hansa Import Haus in Ohio City looks nondescript from the outside, but when you walk through the doors you are immersed in the Old World décor, polka music, and shelves and shelves of everything from authentic candies and snacks to cheeses and meats behind the deli counter.  It brought back memories of eating liverwurst soup and rye bread with butter that Oma used to draw diagonal lines through to make it look more fun when we were kids.

Here's what you'll need:

Crust:
34 Zwieback (1 ½ boxes)
1 ½ Tbsp. sugar
2 ½ Tbsp. butter

Filling:
5 eggs (at room temp.)
24 oz. cream cheese (at room temp.)
1 cup sugar
½ tsp. vanilla

Frosting:
1 ½ pints sour cream
½ cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

Here's how to make it (with my improvisations in italics):

Crust: Crush Zwieback between two wax paper sheets or grind through a meat grinder.  Since the food processor has been invented since this recipe was written, I chose to grind the Zwieback in a food processor.

In a mixing bowl, combine crushed Zwieback,  sugar and butter.  Mix and tab into 9 x 13 baking pan.

Filling: Cream cream cheese with a wooden spoon (or a hand mixer if your arm gets tired).  One at a time, add in the eggs. Then mix in the sugar and vanilla. 

Poor filling over the crust.  Bake in 300-degree oven for 50-60 minutes.  Take from oven and let rest for 5 minutes.  Turn up oven to 475 degrees.
 

Frosting: Mix sour cream with sugar and vanilla.  Spread over the cheesecake.  Bake at 475 degrees for 4-5 minutes.

Let cool and then chill in the refrigerator for at least a few hours – the longer, the better to let it set properly.

What to try next – hmm, maybe the dumplings? 

Have you ever restored an old family recipe?  How did it go?

Parmesan Crusted Pesto Grilled Cheese Sandwich

My new obsession is Pinterest. I actually joined the site about a year ago, but at the time I didn't really get it. Well, now I get it, and I love it. I have been collecting recipes to try on my "Eat, drink & be merry!" board. I recently pinned this recipe and decided it sounded simple enough.

Take a look at that link to see what it's supposed to look like, because my pictures don't seem to look like that! This recipe proved that not all recipes are as easy as they seem, but the final product doesn't have to be pretty to taste delicious.

 If you're looking for a twist on the classic grilled cheese, you've come to the right place. 

Here's what you'll need:

2 slices ciabatta or French bread (I used ciabatta)
1 tablespoon soft butter
2 slices mozzarella cheese
2 tablespoons basil pesto
1/3 cup finely shredded Parmesan cheese

Here's how to make it:

Spread the butter on the outside of each slice of bread.  Spread the basil pesto on the inside of each slice of bread.  Place the mozzarella slices on top of one pestoed inside piece of bread.  Place the other slice of bread on top of that.

 

Sprinkle Parmesan cheese on the outside of one side.

This is where it gets tricky.  Place the sandwich, cheese-side down in a medium-hot pan.  The recipe says to let it cook for about 2 minutes or until the cheese is crusty and golden brown. I found that it cooked pretty quickly and even stuck to the pan, so I didn't leave it on long before I sprinkled some cheese on the other side, flipped it over, and cooked it on the other side for another minute or so.

All in all, this was a very quick, delicious eat. It only took me about 10 minutes to make, and while it doesn't look all that special, it was a tasty mixture of flavors that satisfied my grilled cheese craving.

Four Cheese Macaroni and Cheese

My other half was out of town this week, so I took the opportunity to try some recipes I’ve recently come across that I knew he wouldn’t touch with a 10-foot pole.   

 

I’ve had the Allrecipes app on my phone for some time now (love the DinnerSpinner!), but I recently signed up to receive newsletters for recipe ideas from Allrecipes.com.  This site is great because for each recipe, you can change the servings amount for how many you actually need, and the ingredients list automatically reflects the new serving size.  I still haven’t figured out what a ¼ of an egg is, but it gives me a better idea of how much I need of everything. 

 

Going for easy and delicious, I decided to try a 4-cheese Mac & Cheese, adapted from this recipe on Allrecipes.com.

 

What you’ll need to get going (based on the original recipe, for 9 servings):  

1/2 (8 ounce) package elbow macaroni

1 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

1 cup shredded provolone cheese

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1 cup shredded Colby-Monterey Jack cheese

1 egg, beaten

1 cup milk 

For the record, there are like eleven billionty different kinds of cheese out there – not just type, but shredded, sliced, reduced fat, low-fat, etc. – and that's just the pre-packaged section!  But I must have missed the shredded provolone, because that's the one cheese I did not come across.  Alas, I got slices of provolone instead and it was a fun excuse to try my new Microplane® Paddle Grater, which I forgot I registered for and received almost a year ago!

I realize I probably could have bought a block of provolone, but I figured I wasn't going to need that much since I was cooking for one.  The grater still worked perfectly on the slices, shredding into delicious looking morsels that I wanted to just eat immediately.  (I refrained.)

How to make it:

Bring a medium saucepot full of water to a boil. Add salt for a bit of seasoning. Greg actually taught me that trick. Ha! He’s a part of this recipe even though he’s not going to eat it!

 

Anyway, add macaroni and cook for 8-10 minutes or your preference. Drain. 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a shallow baking dish. Add cheddar cheese, then a layer of macaroni, add provolone cheese, then another layer of macaroni, add mozzarella cheese, then the last layer of macaroni.  Add the Colby/Jack cheese. 

Beat egg and spread it over the top, then pour the milk over that. Don't add too much milk or it will end up runny. 

Bake for 20 minutes or until “bubbly and golden brown.” (Or longer if you added too much milk.)