Monthly Archives: October 2011

Pumpkin Cheesecake

I admit that this wasn’t the first time I’ve made this Pumpkin Cheesecake.  The first time was about eight years ago and I remember two things vividly:  1) I went to the store to buy a springform pan and picked up the last one just as another guy was about to pick it up.  He wasn’t happy.  2) I left out the flour entirely.  It was good anyway.  If you like pumpkin cheesecake but don’t let yourself eat it because it’s too fattening, fret no more.

This is a lighter version to try.  I have to confess – I HATE fat-free cream cheese.  It feels like rubber, has an aftertaste, and seems like fake food.  But when it’s mixed together with either reduced-fat cream cheese or regular cream cheese, it blends in enough that you don’t really notice that it’s in there.  This recipe calls for both fat-free and 1/3 less-fat cream cheeses and when they are mixed together with the pumpkin, you’d never know the difference.  The crust is nothing more than butter and crushed reduced-fat vanilla wafers (if you want your home to smell good, throw vanilla wafers in the oven for an AMAZING aroma!)  My sister borrowed this recipe from me a long time ago and we both still talk about it.  It’s THAT good!

The ingredients:

Mix together crushed vanilla wafers and melted better and pat into a springform pan.  Bake at 400 degrees and cool.

Cream together the cream cheeses until well blended.

Add in sugars, flour, salt, spices, and vanilla.  Add in the eggs, one at a time, then the pumpkin.

Pour into the springform pan over cooled crust and bake at 325 degrees.

Allow to cool and top with whipped cream, if you so desire.

Additions:  None

Omissions:  None

Substitutions:  None

Overall Rating:  Love It

Source:  Cooking Light Magazine

Pumpkin-Ricotta Stuffed Shells

Any day now, one of our national channels will be showing the classic animated special, It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.  It seems only fitting that I break out my pumpkin recipes this week (if you don’t like pumpkin, you may want to check back next week!) in honor of this seasonal favorite.  My first recipe is the savory Pumpkin-Ricotta Stuffed Shells.

Jumbo shells are filled with pumpkin, ricotta, cheese, and fresh herbs and baked in tomato sauce.  These shells are SO good!  The woodsy sage in the ricotta mixture blends well with the pumpkin and the basil provides a freshness to the whole dish.   Stuffed shells sometimes seem more work than they are worth but if you use a storage or freezer bag to stuff the shells, the whole process will be much easier.

The ingredients:

First, cook the shells and set aside to cool.  Drizzle with a little bit of olive oil.

In a bowl, mix together ricotta, pumpkin, cheese, sage, basil, egg, garlic, salt, and pepper.

Fill the shells with with pumpkin-ricotta mixture.

Top with more cheese and bake shells in a thin layer of tomato sauce at 350ºF.

Additions:  None

Omissions:  None

Substitutions:

  • Parmesan cheese for pecorino-romano

Overall Rating:  Love It

Source:  Cooking Light Magazine

South Beach Tea

We’ve had a couple of days of over 80°F this week so I’m taking a break from fall and breaking out a summery cocktail, South Beach Tea.  This is a simple, refreshing cocktail and one you will probably like if you have an affinity for mango-iced tea.  Store-bought iced tea is mixed with mango-flavored vodka and lemon-lime soda.  Mix the ingredients together and serve with a twist of lemon if you feel so inclined.  Tasty!

Additions:  None

Omissions:  None

Substitutions:

  • Diet iced tea
  • Diet lemon-lime soda

Overall Rating:  Love It

Source:  Three Olives Vodka Website

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