Soggy Cheesecake Crust

Hi Leslie - sorry that your cheesecake crust comes out soggy. It may be that water leaks into the seams of the springform pan. You can line the bottom with tin foil (overhang it), then attach the side, then take the overhanging part and crumple it to try to seal all the edges. That may help.

On the other hand — it may be the recipe. It’s important to bake the crust for at least 10 minutes in a preheated 350 degree oven. Then let it cool. Then fill it.

Another trick you can try — add some ground nuts to the crumbs. Nuts always crisp up nicely and stay crispy better than crumbs do.

Another tip: bake the crust for 10 minutes, brush it with an egg wash (beat an egg with a small amount of water) and bake for another 3-4 minutes.

And another: let the crust cool, then layer on a thin layer of melted chocolate, jam, lemon curd or the like. This adds a flavor dimension of course, but it also helps keep the crust crispy.

After sitting in the fridge, even after all that, eventually cheesecake crust will become soggy just from the moisture in the cheese. But the tips above will help get you a better crust at least at the beginning.

Soggy Cheese Cake

The one time I tried to make a cheese cake using a springform pan, I had a soggy bottom and soggy crust.  Was it because the water from the water bath leaked into the pan?

submitted by Leslie leslie@sussmail.com

Cheese sauce that breaks

I use a variety of cheeses when I make macaroni and cheese and, although  it tastes good, every time it comes out of the oven, the cheese sauce has broken.  I once read that using condensed milk would address this problem.  Do you know if that works?  Also, why does my sauce break?

submitted by Grandma Bubby

Hello Grandma Bubby! Sorry about your Mac and Cheese. If your grandchildren are like mine, they love this dish and they can be very particular about it.

Here are some tips for you, to help keep your Mac and Cheese sauce from separating:

1: evaporated milk and UNSWEETENED condensed milk (most of the condensed milk we see in the supermarket is sweetened) have stabilizers added, so it helps keep the sauce ingredients together.

2: same goes for American cheese; adding a bit of American cheese to the mix can stabilize the sauce too.

3: or use whole milk (rather than skim) because fat serves as a stabilizer.

4: use young cheeses such as asiago, non-aged cheddar, havarti, muenster, non-aged gouda, and so on. These have more water content than aged, older, drier cheeses and melt more easily, keeping the mixture stable.

5: shred or grate the cheese so that it melts more easily when you add it to the hot white sauce. Only add a little at a time and mix it in thoroughly before adding more. If you add cheese all at once there’s more of a tendency for the sauce to separate.

6: it’s good to use more than cheddar, as you do, because cheddar alone can be grainy.

I hope this helps. Let me know!

Packaged Bread

It’s happened. Packaged wheat bread passed packaged white bread in total dollar sales (year to year July 2009-2010), according to Nielson Co. It seems a lot of people are looking for healthier foods, and the focus on heart health, whole grains, fiber intake and better carbs has made effective inroads even into the old fashioned packaged sliced bread market.

Which is all fine. Tuna salad or sliced turkey on multi-grain has more flavor, and is more pleasantly chewy than the same sandwich made with soft white bread. For children who won’t eat meat, peanut butter on whole wheat is more nutritious than on white bread. And there are so many varieties of whole-wheat and multi-grain breads, it makes for more interesting sandwich combinations than there ever were.

But I grew up on Wonder Bread, the package with the red, yellow and blue balloons, the one that helped build strong bodies 8 ways, and then, just a few years later, miracle of miracles, helped build strong bodies in 12 ways.

Everyone I’ve ever met who knew the wonders of Wonder Bread knows that, nutrition aside, there was no better slice for certain kinds of sandwiches. My favorite, from the good old — or were they bad? — days, was the fried salami sandwich. My mother bought Hebrew National salami, sliced it really thin and fried the pieces to a crisp. She slathered the Wonder bread with French’s yellow mustard, tucked the salami slices in between and that was that.

The meat was leathery and hot, the bread luxuriously soft, the culinary equivalent of a baby’s “blankie.” When I picked the sandwich up and took the first bite, the heat — plus any of the meat’s remaining juices — plus the pressure from my fingers, made it all into a slippery mess. Yellow blotches splotched my hands, which probably reeked of meaty-garlic.

But, boy were those good!

And so too the Grilled Cheese, yes, so much better for you on whole wheat, but when made with Wonder bread, a true —- well, wonder. Soft, slithery in my throat. The better to gobble milk by.

I used to love tomato sandwiches on Wonder Bread too, but I have to say, after I tried hearty, bakery white put together with summer tomatoes and a dab of mayonnaise, I realized Wonder Bread’s limitations even for some of my favorites.

It’s good that Americans are waking up to the value of whole grains and seeking out more nutritious sliced bread. I do. My children do.

But I can say, if I ever decide to make myself a fried salami sandwich, it will be on Wonder white, complete with French’s yellow mustard.

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Leftovers Vinaigrette

Leftovers Vinaigrette. It’s my go-to dinner when I’m too tired to cook and have lots of stuff in the fridge.

My daughter Meredith, her husband Greg and their two kids, Zivia and Nina, were here for a few days. Everyone likes something else to eat and, like my mother before me, I try to please them all. Chicken for Mer. Mac and Cheese for Zivia. Hard cooked eggs for Nina. Steak for Greg, Ed and me.

We had a little of each left, all wrapped up in different pieces of plastic wrap.

There were also steamed sugar snaps and roasted carrots and parsnips in sandwich baggies, marinated artichokes and olives in deli containers.

There’s always a lettuce, an avocado and a few tomatoes in the bin.

I decided against including the hummus and whitefish salad. Too thick and viscous for salad.

I chopped everything up and put it into two big wooden bowls, some of each ingredient in each. That took about 10 minutes. Splashed a really good Pugliese olive oil over everything then poured in a big dose of red wine vinegar. Mixed each of them around with two big spoons.

Voila! Dinner. Yum.

And everything is gone from the larder.

I can start afresh tomorrow after I get a good night’s sleep.

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When I Judged a Cheesecake Contest

I was once a judge at a cheesecake contest. It was at a cookware shop in Darien, Connecticut, and each of us, three judges in all, were given clipboards with survey sheets for cakes numbered 1 through 50.

50 cakes!! How much we would actually be eating by taking 50 bites, one from each cake??

The shop owners reassured us that there were only 32 cakes to sample.

Only 32???

There were tall cakes, fat cakes, plain cakes and glitzy ones. One, covered in mounds of white chocolate curls and festooned with pink satin ribbon, looked too gorgeous to cut.

One cake was already cut. The contestant’s husband had taken a piece for himself, not realizing it was for a contest.

The garlic-and-herb flavored savory cheesecake (with bread crumb crust and tomato rose garnish) was the biggest surprise. We started there.

We tasted New York Cheesecakes, Italian style ricotta cheesecakes, nut-filled cheesecakes, cherry covered ones and a couple topped with glazed or chocolate-dipped strawberries. In between each taste we drank sparkling water.

We tasted all 32 and each finished 3 liters of water.

The white-chocolate fancy cake was terrible, an overload of sugar and no cheese flavor. But it got a special “most beautiful” prize.

The cut cake was very good, but out of 32 entries there were three excellent tasting-looking cheesecakes that were clear winners.

It’s really difficult to be a judge at a local food contest. When the contestants and their families started to file into the store just before the winners were to be announcedwe realized how hard everyone worked and how eager they were for us to like their recipes.

And yet, we could only choose three. First place, by a lot, was Leslie Sutton’s chocolate and vanilla layered cheesecake enveloped in a chocolate cookie crust. It was capped with a thin, sweet-and-tangy sour cream icing cover and decorated with dark chocolate leaves and a white chocolate swan. The cake’s delicate beauty was matched by an exquisite flavor.

We announced the winners, prizes were given and then it was all over but the Alka Seltzer.

Leslie, wherever you are now, thank you and you should know that this is still my favorite. And so, on National Cheesecake Day, I am sending this recipe out to any readers who might want to try your recipe for the best cheesecake I ever tasted.

Leslie Sutton’s Layered Cheesecake

Crumb crust:

• 1-3/4 cups chocolate wafer crumbs
• 5 tablespoons melted sweet butter
• Mix the crumbs and butter until all the crumbs have been coated. Butter the sides of a 9-1/2 inch springform pan. Press the crumbs onto the bottom and sides of the pan. Set aside.

Cake:

• 3 8-ounce packages cream cheese
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup dairy sour cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 7 ounces melted semisweet chocolate
• topping
• garnish: chocolate leaves, swan, etc. optional

Topping:

• 2 cups dairy sour cream
• 1/4 cup sugar

Mix sour cream and sugar. Use as a topping for cheesecake.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Beat the cheese, sugar and salt together (use a mixer set at medium) until smooth, creamy and well-blended. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Add the sour cream and vanilla extract and blend thoroughly. Pour half the batter into the springform pan. Add the melted chocolate to the remaining batter, bend thoroughly and slowly pour the chocolate batter on top of the vanilla layer. Bake the cake for 40 minutes. Remove the cake from the oven and let it sit for 15 minutes. Reset the oven to 450 degrees. Pour the topping over the cake. Return the cake to the 450 degree oven and bake for 10 minutes. Remove the cake from the oven and let cool to room temperature. Remove the sides of the pan and refrigerate cake until well chilled. Garnish with chocolate leaves, swan, etc, of your choice.

Makes one cake

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Grandma’s Macaroni and Cheese

"Like Grandma Made" — according to database research firm Innova Market Insights, those are the right words, right up there with "home made" and "homestyle," that appeal these days when it comes to food.

Grandma food conjures up memories of old fashioned comfort and Grandma indulgences. Our favorite dishes plus big hugs.

I know my own grandma was a world class cook. No one made Kraft dinner as good as she did. She didn’t mix the orange cheese powder with milk like you’re supposed to. She just sprinkled it over the buttered macaroni, where it only partially melted, so you could actually feel the cheese particles on your teeth, a pleasantly gritty contrast to the soft noodles and rich, oozing butter.

It’s the way I made Kraft Dinner for my own kids.

But I have to say, for my grandchildren I make Macaroni and Cheese from scratch, so what I give them isn’t like what my grandma made, but maybe someday they will cook it and be able to say that my recipe is just like grandma made. Here it is:

Grandma’s Macaroni and Cheese

• 1-1/2 cups elbow macaroni
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2-1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 cups milk, preferably whole milk
• 1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste
• freshly grated black pepper to taste
• pinch freshly grated nutmeg, optional
• 3 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese or mix of cheddar and American cheeses

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cook the elbows in lightly salted boiling water until it is al dente — almost done, but still firm. Drain and set aside. While the macaroni is cooking, heat the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. When the butter has melted and looks foamy, add the flour, turn the heat to low and whisk the ingredients to combine them smoothly. Cook for 1-2 minutes. Gradually add the milk and stir constantly for 3-4 minutes or until a smooth, thick sauce has formed. Stir in salt, pepper and nutmeg. Add 2 cups of the cheese and continue to cook, stirring with a wooden spoon (so you can get into the corners of the pan) until the cheese has melted and the sauce is smooth. Pour the sauce over the cooked elbows and toss to coat the macaroni with the sauce. Place the macaroni in a baking dish. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the cheese on top is melted and bubbly.

Makes 4 servings

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Egg cream, Pasadena/Bronx-style

As a New York transplant to California (well nigh 40 years now!), I’ve never lost my craving for thirst-quenching egg creams.  Though I don’t have them often, and never make them at home (the pleasure is ordering them at the lunch counter), on a hot California day I’ve been known to have TWO with my BLT at the local luncheonette! Made correctly, they have a nice kind of salty ”bite” and seem to go down very quickly! But Gilly’s link to the article on egg creams had a recipe that I take issue with. In it, Bonni Lee Brown writes that her father, a luncheonette owner, made eggcreams by pouring 1/2 inch of milk in a cola glass, then the seltzer, mixing to foam it up. She has the chocolate syrup poured in last, gently down the side of the glass.  Where I grew up, Smitty’s Pelham Parkway luncheonette on Lydig Avenue poured at least 1/4 inch Fox’s U-Bet in first, then 1/2 inch (or 3/4”) milk, then the seltzer, and then stirred.  It foamed just fine.  Maybe this is just a cultural difference (mine were made in the Bronx, Bonni Lee’s were made in Brooklyn!)?  When we arrived in Southern California, I was delighted to discover a great old-fashioned luncheonette in South Pasadena called The Pharmacy, just 15 minutes away from our Pasadena home. Happily, they offered egg creams!  The first one I had there was a disappointment… too much seltzer, not chocolat-y enough.  I asked the kid at the counter how he made it. He described the system approximately as Bonni Lee Brown transcribed it.  I asked him if he could make me one MY way, while I watched. He agreed, and (perhaps there was more chocolate syrup?), it was perfect!  Sadly (or maybe it’s “healthily”?), my grandchildren are not fond of sweets, and even less fond of chocolate.  I’m on a mission to re-educate them a little! — Carol

Submitted by Carol Selkin (carol_selkin@sbcglobal.net):

Carol — I am thrilled you guys have egg creams out in Pasadena. I do agree with you — egg creams have to be made in this order: chocolate syrup, then milk mixed in to make a dark chocolate milk, then the seltzer! The Bronx version wins!!

But ohmyohmyohmy — egg creams were a specialty in Jewish neighborhoods, though not necessarily a Jewish drink in themselves and you have them with BLTs!!!!

Good genes, definitely.

http://whatscookingamerica.net/History/NYEggCreamHistory.htm

submitted by gillyf

The Classic Egg Cream

My granddaughter Lila tried an egg cream for the first time and declared it a winner! Good genes? Smart kid?

Whatever, there’s now another generation to appreciate the finer things of life.

Does everyone know about egg creams? No. Not these days, when you can only find this fabulous drink in a select few places. But when I was growing up egg creams were the pride of New York, especially in the outer boroughs. You could get one in a candy store on almost every block. Who would choose a coke when you could have one of these rich, chocolatey, fizzy sodas with a thick head of cappuccino-like foam on top?

Seems to me that when baseball’s New York Giants and Brooklyn Dodgers left New York and folks started leaving the city for the suburbs, it signaled the end of the egg cream heyday.

But at least we had them, back in the day. Outside New York if you asked for an egg cream they didn’t know what you were talking about. I went to college in Evanston, Illinois and the first time I went to the local diner I asked for one. The waitress said “huh?” The guy behind the counter said “huh?” They did have a beverage called a chocolate phosphate, essentially chocolate syrup and club soda. I asked them to make a chocolate phosphate for me but please add 1/2 cup milk. From that time on they referred to me as the student who wanted the weird chocolate phosphate.

They did try, but it wasn’t the real thing anyway. An authentic egg cream has to be made with seltzer from a real seltzer bottle and with Fox’s U-Bet, not just any old brand.

I’m not sure if Lila’s egg cream was made with Fox’s U-Bet, and besides, the formula has changed. It’s no longer the old Fox’s U-Bet.

But at least she knows about egg creams and likes them, which I do find lovely.

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