Recipes

Some of you have asked for the Pumpkin Cheesecake and Chili Recipes that I made for my work's pot luck last week.  So here they are.  Be warned, the Cheesecake recipe is lengthy.  I have these in a word document as well, so if anyone would like that let me know and I can email it to you.

Wazzu Tailgate Chili

2 pounds ground beef

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 ½ cups chopped onions

2 tablespoons minced garlic

¼ cup chili powder

1 tablespoon cumin

1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper

1 orange bell pepper & 1 yellow bell pepper

1 large jalapeno, seeded & chopped

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 can (28 ounces) crushed tomatoes, undrained

1 can (14 ounces) zesty style diced tomatoes, undrained

1 can (14 ounces) ready to serve beef broth

12 ounces dark beer

1/3 cup tomato paste

1 ½ tablespoons honey

1 can dark red kidney beans, drained

1 can black beans, drained

1.      Brown ground beef in stockpot over medium heat for 8-10 minutes or until beef is no longer pink, breaking up into small crumbles.  Remove from stockpot with spoon and set aside.  Pour out any excess drippings.

2.      Heat oil in same stockpot over medium heat until hot.  Add onions and garlic; cook and stir 3-5 minutes or until onions are tender.  Add bell peppers & jalapeno; cook and stir 4-5 minutes or until peppers are tender.

3.      Return beef crumbles to stockpot.  Add chili powder, cumin, oregano, thyme and red pepper; cook and stir for 2-3 minutes.  Stir in crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, broth, beer, tomato paste, and honey.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 45 minutes.  Uncover stockpot and continue simmering for 30 minutes or until thickened to desired consistency, stirring occasionally.  Stir in bean; cook 5-10 minutes or until beans are heated through.  Season with salt & pepper as desired.

4.      Enjoy…you must say “Go Cougs” before eating  :)

 

Spiced Pumpkin Cheesecake

via Cook’s magazine Holiday Baking

Depending on the oven and the temperature of the ingredients, this cheesecake may bake about 15 minutes faster or slower than the instructions indicate.  Therefore, check the cake 1 ¼ hours into baking.  Although the cheesecake can be made up to 3 days in advance, the crust will begin to lose crispness after just 1 day.

Crust:

·         9 whole graham crackers, broken into large pieces

·         3 tablespoons sugar

·         ½ teaspoon ground ginger

·         ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

·         ¼ teaspoon ground cloves

·         6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Filling:

·         1 1/3 cups sugar

·         1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

·         ½ teaspoon ground ginger

·         ¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg (can use regular ground nutmeg)

·         ¼ teaspoon ground cloves

·         ¼ teaspoon allspice

·         ½ teaspoon salt

·         1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree (do not use already seasoned pumpkin filling)

·         1 ½ pounds (three 8 ounce packages) cream cheese, cut into 1 inch chunks, at room temperature

·         1 tablespoon vanilla extract

·         1 tablespoon lemon juice

·         5 large eggs, at room temperature

·         1 cup heavy cream

1.      For the crust: Adjust oven rack to lower middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees.  Spray bottom and sides of 9 inch springform pan evenly with nonstick cooking spray.  Place crackers, sugar and spices in food processor until evenly and finely ground, about fifteen 2-second pulses.  Transfer crumbs to medium bowl, drizzle melted butter over and mix with rubber spatula until evenly moistened.  Turn crumbs into prepared springform pan and spread into an even layer.  Using the bottom of a drinking glass or measuring cup, press crumbs evenly into pan.  Use soupspoon to press and smooth crumbs into the edges of the pan.  Bake until browned around the edges, about 15 minutes.  Cool on a wire rack until it is room temperature (about 30 minutes).  When cool, wrap outside of pan with two 18 inch square pieces of heavy duty foil.  Place into roasting pan (at least 2 inches deep).  * I wrapped the springform pan in foil AND placed it into a clear roasting bag in roasting pan to prevent any water from seeping into the cake*

2.      For the filling:  Bring 4 quarts of water to simmer in stockpot.  While crust is cooling, whisk sugar, spices, and salt in small bowl; set aside.  Line baking sheet with a triple layer of paper towels.  Spread the pumpkin puree into an even layer on the paper towels.  Cover the pumpkin with a second layer of paper towels and press firmly until paper towels are saturated.  Peel back top layer of towels and discard.  Grasp bottom of towels and fold pumpkin in half, Repeat and flip pumpkin onto baking sheet.  Pumpkin should be fairly dry.

3.      Place cream cheese in bowl of a standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment and beat at medium speed to break up and soften slightly, about 1 minute.  Scrape paddle and bottom & sides of bowl with rubber spatula.  Add about one third of sugar mixture and beat at medium low speed for about 1 minute.  Scrape bowl and add remaining sugar in two additions, scraping bowl after each addition.  Add pumpkin, vanilla and lemon juice and beat at medium speed until combined, about 45 seconds.  Scrape bowl.  Add 3 eggs and beat at medium low speed for about 1 minute or until incorporated. Scrape bowl.  Add remaining 2 eggs and beat at medium low speed until incorporated and scrape bowl again.  Add heavy cream and beat at low speed until combined, about 45 seconds.  Using rubber spatula, give final stir by hand. 

4.      Pour filling into springform pan and smooth surface with spatula.  Set roasting pan in oven and pour enough boiling water in roasting pan to come about halfway up sides of springform pan.  Bake until center of cake is slightly wobbly when pan is shaken and center of cake reads 150 degrees on instant read thermometer, about 1 ½ hours (see note at beginning of recipe).  Set roasting pan on wire rack and cool until water is warm, about 45 minutes.  Remove springform pan from water bath, discard foil, and set on wire rack; run paring knife around the inside edge of the pan to loosen sides of cake and cool until barely warm, about 3 hours.  Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate until cold, at least 4 hours or up to 3 days.

5.      To serve:  Remove sides of springform pan.  Slide thin metal spatula (or knife) between crust and pan bottom to loosen, then slide cake onto serving platter.  Let cheesecake stand at room temperature about 30 minutes before serving.  Best served with Brown Sugar & Bourbon Whip Cream – recipe below.

Brown Sugar & Bourbon Whipped Cream

·         1 cup heavy cream

·         ½ cup sour cream

·         1/3 cup packed light brown sugar

·         1/8 teaspoon salt

·         2 teaspoons bourbon

1.      In bowl of standing mixer, whisk heavy cream, sour cream, brown sugar and salt until combined.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve cheesecake, at least 4 hours or up to 24 hours, stirring once or twice during chilling to ensure that the sugar dissolves

2.      When ready to serve cheesecake, add bourbon and beat mixture at medium speed until small bubbles form around the edges, about 45 seconds.  Increase speed to high and continue to beat until fluffy and doubled in volume, about 1-2 minutes longer.   Spoon cream onto individual slices of cheesecake.