Mini Raspberry Swirl Cheesecakes

Posted by: Maggie

I'm kind of in disbelief that I haven't posted a cheesecake recipe on here yet.  It's one of my all time favorite desserts, especially types that have a fruit topping or swirl to cut the cheesecake's intense richness and sweetness.


I brought half of these into work, and one of my coworkers who isn't even into sweets went back for seconds and thirds.  Usually I'm pretty good at only trying one or two or whatever I make, but the few I have leftover are calling my name from the fridge.  So much for attempting to make portion controlled sweets!

These would also be a perfect Valentine's treat for your boyfriend, girlfriend, husband, wife, sister, landlord, hairdresser, electrician, plumber, dentist, or cat.  Actually, not that last one. ;)

Anyone have any fun Valentine's Day plans? Last year Valentine's Day was on a Sunday, and Jeff and I went out the following weekend (instead of that Saturday or Sunday) to CoCo Sala.  I actually really liked doing that, since we were able to avoid the crowds, and order from the regular menu instead of your typical overpriced Valentine's Day prix fixe.  We're going to PS7's this Saturday, which I'm pretty psyched about.  I think they'll still have their normal menu on Saturday.  I'm looking forward to trying them - they're a dressy place, but have mini-hot dogs as an appetizer, and cocktails made with Miller High Life.  In other words, straight up awesomeness.

Here's what you will need:

For the crust:
1½ cups graham cracker crumbs
4 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
3 tbsp. sugar

For the topping:
6 oz. fresh raspberries
2 tbsp. sugar

For the filling:
2 lbs. cream cheese, at room temperature
1½ cups sugar
Pinch of salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract
4 large eggs, at room temperature

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees, and line cupcake pans with paper liners (I got these awesome hot pink ones from Bake It Pretty in case you're wondering!)  In a small bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, and sugar, and stir until crumbs are thoroughly moistened. Press one tablespoon of the graham mixture into the bottom of each cupcake liner.  I used a shot glass to press it down - it was the perfect size.  Bake for 5 minutes, until just set and transfer to a cooling rack.

To make the raspberry puree, combine raspberries and sugar to a food processor, and pulse until completely smooth.  Pour puree through a fine mesh sieve to get rid of the seeds.

To make the cheesecake, beat the cream cheese on medium-high speed with an electric mixer until fluffy.  Blend in the sugar until smooth.  Mix in the salt and vanilla.  Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.

To assemble, spoon 3 tablespoons of the cheesecake batter over the crust in each cupcake liner.  Dot a ½ teaspoon of the raspberry puree in a few dots over the cheesecake filling.  Use a toothpick or a wooden skewer to lightly swirl and create a marbled effect.

Bake until the filling is set, about 22 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through baking.  Transfer to a wire cooling rack and let cool to room temperature.  Transfer to the refrigerator and let chill for at least 4 hours before serving.

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Irish Cheesy Beer Bake

Posted by: Annie

In my house, snow day and comfort food go hand in hand. That is how during last weeks snow day homemade mozzarella sticks, and macaroni cheese were consumed in the same sitting. My roommate told me that she saw this particular mac & cheese recipe on a Rachel Ray cook-off and when I heard it involved beer- I was sold. Unfortunately, white Irish cheddar was not to be found at my local grocery store, and in the snowy weather I was not going to attempt to drive to my favorite foodstore (I drive twenty minutes out of my way every weekend to grocery shop - that is how serious I am about my groceries), so regular white cheddar had to suffice. Nonetheless, the macaroni was creamy, had an awesome flavor and a bit of a bite!

What you will need:

2- 12oz bottles of an Irish lager beer

16 oz rotini pasta

6 T butter, divided

1 cup finely diced yellow onion

2 cloves minced garlic

1/4 c flour

2 cups half and half

12 oz grated White Irish Cheddar or regular white cheddar

8 oz grated Medium Cheddar

2 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

2 cups halved grape tomatoes

1 cup panko bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 3-quart baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.

In a large sauce pot, heat the beer and bring to a boil. Next, reduce the heat and simmer until the beer has reduced by half. Set aside.

 

In a separate pot cook pasta according to package directions.

 

In a large saute pan, melt butter over medium heat. Add in onions and cook until soft, approximately four minutes. Next, stir in the garlic and saute for an additional two minutes. Add in flour and whisk constantly for three minutes. Pour in the beer, half-and-half, and heat to a boil, once again consistently whisking. Lower the heat,  simmer and stir occasionally  until the sauce thickens. Reduce the heat to low and mix in the two cheeses; stir until melted and smooth. Mix in the salt, pepper and cayenne. Remove from heat and stir in the cooked pasta and tomato halves. Pour the pasta mixture into the prepared baking dish. 

 

In the microwave melt 2T butter. Mix with breadcrumbs and sprinkle over the pasta. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until the topping is golden brown. 

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Carrot Cake Cupcakes

Posted by: Annie

The other day I did a very dangerous thing- I went food shopping without a shopping list. I ended up with three bags of shredded carrots...and I had no recipe in mind. This led me to make a cupcake version of one of my favorite desserts- Carrot Cake. The original recipe called for raisins, but I left them out because I am not a huge fan of them in carrot cake. 

What you will need:

Cupcakes:

2 c sugar

1 1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 t vanilla extra

3 extra-large eggs

2 cups flour

2 t cinnamon

2 t baking soda

1 1/2 salt

3 cups grated carrots 

1 cup raisins 

1 cup chopped walnuts (1/2 cup extra for garnish)

Frosting:

3/4 lb cream cheese (room temperature)

1/2 pound unsalted butter (room temperature)

1 t vanilla extract

1 lb confectioners' sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl beat together sugar, oil and vanilla. Add the eggs, one at a time. In a separate large bowl, sift the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Slowly mix in half of the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Stir in the carrots, raisins, and walnuts to the dry ingredients and add to the batter. Mix well until combined. 

 

Line a muffin pan with liners and scoop batter into 22 muffin cups; each cup should be about 3/4 of the way full. For the first ten minutes bake the cupcakes at 400 degrees. Lower the temperature to 350 degrees and cook for an additional 30 minutes. Remove from cupcake pans and cool.

For the frosting, cream the cheese, butter and vanilla. Stir in the sugar and beat until the frosting is smooth. 

 

Frost cupcakes when cool, and garnish with walnuts if desired.