Monday, March 26, 2012

Cheesecake with lemon curd


This is unbelievably good. If you need a dessert for Easter festivities - make this!

I started off with Tyler Florence´s Ultimate Cheesecake. He adds a Warm Lemon Blueberry Topping, but of course I had to make changes.

Ingredients
Crust:

2 cups finely ground graham crackers (about 30 squares)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 stick unsalted butter, melted

Filling:

1 pound cream cheese, 2 (8-ounce) blocks, softened
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 pint sour cream
1 lemon, zested
1 dash vanilla extract


Directions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

In a mixing bowl, combine the ingredients with a fork until evenly moistened. Lightly coat the bottom and sides of an 8-inch springform pan with non-stick cooking spray.

Pour the crumbs into the pan and, using the bottom of a measuring cup or the smooth bottom of a glass, press the crumbs down into the base and 1-inch up the sides. Refrigerate for 5 minutes.

For the Filling:

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese on low speed for 1 minute until smooth and free of any lumps. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, and continue to beat slowly until combined. Gradually add sugar and beat until creamy, for 1 to 2 minutes.

Add sour cream, lemon zest, and vanilla. Periodically scrape down the sides of the bowl and the beaters. The batter should be well-mixed but not overbeaten. Pour the filling into the crust-lined pan and smooth the top with a spatula.

Set the cheesecake pan on a large piece of aluminum foil and fold up the sides around it. Place the cake pan in a large roasting pan. Pour boiling water into the roasting pan until the water is about halfway up the sides of the cheesecake pan; the foil will keep the water from seeping into the cheesecake. Bake for 45 minutes. The cheesecake should still jiggle (it will firm up after chilling), so be careful not to overcook. Let cool in pan for 30 minutes. Chill in the refrigerator, loosely covered, for at least 4 hours. Loosen the cheesecake from the sides of the pan by running a thin metal spatula around the inside rim. Unmold and transfer to a cake plate. Using a spatula spread a layer of Warm Lemon Blueberry topping over the surface.

Slice the cheesecake with a thin, non-serrated knife that has been dipped in hot water. Wipe dry after each cut.


I used 2/3 crumbs from some cookies that are a staple over here for kids and breakfasts and 1/3 actual graham crackers which my dear friend W brought for me from Germany and omitted the cinnamon. I haven´t seen graham crackers around so I don´t know when I´ll have more. I also used a larger spring form pan, since my smaller one has the pin missing from the hinge.

Then, I miscalculated the amount of sour cream I had in the house. Who knew that a pint was actually 2 whole cups! I only had one, so I threw in some extra cream cheese and then remembered I´d bought whipping cream around Christmas time for possible use. It was a little past its expiration, but I bravely remixed the milk fats back in with the liquid and tasted it and it was fine.

I carefully wrapped 2 pieces of foil around the bottom and discovered that the pan wouldn´t fit into any of the roasting pans I had. So I used a pizza tin, which certainly didn´t come up halfway, but would have to serve for the bain marie.

The thing rose like a souffle. Having read the comments about under cooking on Tyler´s recipe, I turned off the oven after 50 minutes and just left it to cool for a couple of hours.

Turned out that the foil was full of water anyway, despite my efforts. The cheesecake receeded back to normal proportions and went into the refrigerator to cool.


Then I turned to the lemon curd. Where has lemon curd been all my life?? My word - this stuff is summer in a jar. It´s tangy, lemony, sweet and sour heaven!

After checking the usual cookbooks and online sources, I went with a recipe from Taste.com.au because the quantity was a little more manageable.

Makes

1 1/2 cups

Ingredients

2 eggs, plus 2 egg yolks
3/4 cup (165g) caster sugar
1/3 cup (80g) chilled unsalted butter
Zest and juice of 2 lemons

Add above ingredients to your shopping list

Method

Whisk whole eggs, yolks and sugar in a saucepan until smooth, then place pan over a low heat. Add the butter, juice and zest and whisk continuously until thickened. Strain through a sieve into a sterilised jar. Lemon curd keeps, covered, in the fridge for 2 weeks.

It filled a quart jar about 3/4´s full and didn´t last the weekend let alone 2 weeks.

The comments on the cheesecake also include people saying it was too lemony, but I couldn´t detect much, if any, lemon at all. The curd is the perfect counterpoint to the rich sweetness of the cheesecake. A triumph.

I have resolved to plant lemon trees - lots of lemon trees at the ruin.

Thursday, March 22, 2012

Dulce de Leche and Goatmilk

Soap.


I have to say I´ve been using this one in the shower for the last week and it is great! Lovely rich lather and a subtle caramel sugar scent. Very pleased with this one. Wish it had gone a darker color, but will just have to try adding more DdL in the next batch.

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Vicente Ansola

Saw his work featured on TVG - he´s just won a a Hasselblad prize for his photography around A Pontenova and its inhabitants. They have a lovely, evocative, magical realism about them.









Images reproduced with his gracious permission. His website is here (MUSIC warning).

Monday, March 12, 2012

Knitting


Yes, your eyes do not deceive you - those are cables!!


Went to California to see my Mom and she AGAIN showed me how to knit. I am hopeful that this time it actually stuck. We knitted, purled, played with cables and spacing, cast on, cast off. She sent me home with needles and this sampler piece, to remind me that it could be done. In short, she did everything a Mom could. Now it´s up to me to practice and figure out how to fix my own mistakes (she is fab at that).

And I bought a book. . .

Who knows what might be next! Maybe pillow cases.


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Or a chunky throw.


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Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Juliette de Bairacli Levy

I ran across a recommendation for this woman´s herbal books on a permaculture forum. There is a DVD of her life and work called Juliette of the Herbs. Looks very interesting.



Juliette of the Herbs is a beautifully filmed lyrical portrait of the life and work of Juliette de Bairacli Levy: world renowned herbalist, author, breeder of Afghan hounds, friend of the Gypsies, traveller in search of herbal wisdom and the pioneer of holistic veterinary medicine.

For more than 60 years Juliette has lived with the Gypsies, nomads and peasants of the world, learning the healing arts from these peoples who live close to nature. Juliette's well-loved and now classic herbals for animals and for children have been a vital inspiration for the present day herbal renaissance and holistic animal care community. Now 85 years of age, Juliette's extraordinary life story is as colourful and as exciting as her tremendous wealth of herbal knowledge.

Filmed on location with Juliette and her Afghan hound in Greece, Spain, France, Portugal, Switzerland, England and America, and interwoven with Juliette's vast collection of archival photographs, together with scenes of Gypsies dancing and Bedouins with their herds, Juliette of the Herbs is an inspiring portrait of a remarkable healer.

Two books available from Amazon UK that look especially interesting to me (but there are a number of others too):



Sunday, March 4, 2012

La Arribada


Source


In fourteen hundred ninety-two
Columbus sailed the ocean blue. . .



Source


The beautiful coastal city of Baiona is celebrating ¨La Arribada¨ or the anniversary of the return of the Pinta with news of the discovery of the New World in 1493.


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There is a medieval fair, crafts, food in the historic center. A replica of the Pinta is at anchor in the port.


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Can´t wait until we´re up there to see these things in person.

A really lovely blog entry from 2010 with more great pics.

Pics from La Voz de Galicia.



For the rest of the poem.

Friday, March 2, 2012

Osso Buco


Still experimenting with my Xmas slow cooker.

Used the recipe from Fine Cooking here.

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
Four 1-1/2- to 2-inch-thick veal shanks (about 2-1/2 lb.)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 Tbs. unsalted butter
1 cup dry white wine
One 14-1/2-oz. can diced tomatoes
3/4 cup lower-salt chicken broth
1 small red onion, chopped (1-1/2 cups)
1 medium carrot, peeled and cut into
1/4-inch-thick rounds (1/2 cup)
1 stalk celery, chopped (1/2 cup)
5 sprigs fresh thyme
3 Tbs. finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 Tbs. finely grated lemon zest
1 large clove garlic, minced (1 tsp.)

Put the flour in a wide, shallow dish. Season the veal shanks all over with salt and pepper and dredge in the flour; shake off the excess flour.

Heat a 12-inch skillet over medium heat. Add the butter, and when it foams, add the shanks to the skillet. Cook until golden, turning once, about 10 minutes. Transfer the shanks to a slow cooker.

Add the wine to the skillet. Scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the skillet and pour the contents of the skillet into the slow cooker. Add the tomatoes and their juices, chicken broth, onion, carrot, celery, and thyme. Cover and cook on low heat for 6 to 8 hours—the meat will be very tender and almost falling off the bone.

Transfer the shanks to a platter and cover with foil to keep warm. Pour the sauce from the slow cooker into a large skillet. Simmer over medium heat until reduced to about 2 cups, 10 to 15 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the parsley, lemon zest, and garlic to make a gremolata. Serve the veal shanks topped with the sauce and the gremolata.

I browned the meat with olive oil, used red wine and added some garlic to the cooker. The shanks fell apart during cooking, so if plate presentation is important to you, tie them together first. I served with garlic mashed potatoes. We especially enjoyed the accompanying gremolata, which was new to me. It lent a lovely tangy accent to the dish. I wonder what else it could be sprinkled on to good effect.