One last post of 2010

As 2010 draws to a close, I can't help but notice that it's been a pretty good year. Sure, no one cured cancer, or global warming but overall, I feel good about life in general. I also cooked some awesome things this year, one of which was a goat cheese cheesecake for my friend Becky who is deathly allergic to cow's milk.


I think my friends could tell you that I am very accommodating to people's food allergies. It makes me feel like I'm in my own version of Iron Chef: Allergy edition (people could also tell you that I am not so accommodating to picky eaters. If you're not eating something for no reason, I have no patience for that and you can't come to my house for dinner). So when Meredith made this cheesecake a few months back, I thought immediately, oooh, I can make this for Becky.

My one thought about this recipe is that it had the consistency of a souffle rather than a cheesecake. But Meredith told me it's because I forgot to chill it for four hours first. Whoops.

Goat Cheese Cheesecake - adapted from here

Butter and granulated sugar for the cake pan (or oil if butter makes you break out in hives)
Graham Cracker Crumbs and a light tasting oil - for a crust
11 ounces fresh goat cheese, at room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Grated zest of 1 lemon
1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
6 large eggs, separated
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 pint blackberries (about 1 cup) (I skipped these)
1 pint raspberries (about 2 cups)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Press some graham cracker crumbs into the bottom of a 9 inch springform pan. Drizzle olive oil on top and bake for about 10 minutes. Let cool.


Put the goat cheese, sugar, vanilla, lemon zest, and lemon juice in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat until smooth.


Mmmmm, cheese.

Stir in the egg yolks two at a time, mixing well after each addition. Mix in the flour until incorporated. If you're at your mom's house and don't have access to a stand mixer, use a hand mixer instead. It'll be fine.


Put the egg whites in another mixer bowl, fit the mixer with the whip attachment, and whip on medium speed until soft peaks form.


Using a spatula, gently fold the egg whites into the goat cheese mixture. I used to be totally afraid of folding egg whites. Now I have confidence and these egg whites folded appropriately. Woo!


Spread the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool to room temperature.


To serve, run a knife around the inside edge of the pan to loosen the cake, invert a platter on top of the pan, and then invert the plate and pan together. Lift off the pan (or, you know, just take the springy part off the springform pan).


Top with the berries and serve. Chill to get the consistency all creamy like a cheesecake. If you don't, it's still good.


It's a great option for those who can't have milk! Happy super belated birthday, Becky and have a happy new year everybody! See you in 2011.

I love cheese

One thing that gets looked over on Thanksgiving is appetizers. I love appetizers, especially the kind that gets passed on a little tray. I think that's cute and elegant at the same time. This would be a great recipe to make for holiday parties (hint, hint). My blog is so functional.

I got this recipe from Gourmet - gotta love it.

Pecan Goat Cheese Balls

1 cup pecans
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 (11-oz) log soft goat cheese
1 teaspoon minced rosemary
1 teaspoon coriander seeds, crushed with side of a large knife, then chopped (or, you know, ground coriander. That's what I used)
About 50 to 60 large flat-leaf parsley leaves

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Toss the pecans with butter, sugar and 1/2 tsp salt. Toast them in the oven for 8-10 minutes. Careful not to burn them. Then it's no good.


2. Pulse the pecans in a food processor. My mom doesn't have one of those, so I used her blender. It was not perfect, but one must make do.


3. Mix the goat cheese with the rosemary and coriander and 1/2 tsp pepper.


4. Roll the cheese mixture into little balls, using your palms. You want each ball to have about a tsp of mixture in it. Mine were a little too big. You want them to be one bite, not two (at least, I did). I had pictures of this - but my computer won't process them correctly. Oh well.

Then roll them in the pecan mixture and roll them between your palms again.


That's pretty much it. Spear each one with a toothpick and put them on top of the parsley leaves. I don't normally do things like that, but I figured, hey, why not? It's Thanksgiving. They were really good. Nice and creamy with a crunch outside...yum.