I must say, this cheesecake is the creamiest and the smoothest – texture wise, but my margarita version has quite a bite!

Abbey’s Infamous Cheesecake (Margarita Flavored):

crust:
2 cups / 180 g graham cracker crumbs
1 stick / 4 oz butter, melted
1 tbsp. / 24 g sugar
1 tbsp kosher salt

cheesecake:
3 sticks of cream cheese, 8 oz each (total of 24 oz) room temperature
1 cup / 210 g sugar
3 large eggs
1 cup / 8 oz heavy cream
1 tbsp. lime juice
zest of 1 lime
1 tbsp tequila (I prefer 1800)
1 tbsp gran marnier

Margarita Curd Topping:
1/3 cup margarita (however you like to make them – alcohol included!)
2 large eggs
1 egg yolk
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons unsalted butter , cut into 1/2-inch cubes and chilled
1 tbsp heavy cream
pinch of salt

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (Gas Mark 4 = 180C = Moderate heat). Begin to boil a large pot of water for the water bath.

2. Mix together the crust ingredients and press into your preferred pan. You can press the crust just into the bottom, or up the sides of the pan too – baker’s choice. Set crust aside. (If using a springform, set the bottom of the pan into and pull it up around the sides leaving the top open to fill with the filling. This keeps the water out and your crust from getting soggy!)

3. Combine cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of a stand-mixer (or in a large bowl if using a hand-mixer) and cream together until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, fully incorporating each before adding the next. Make sure to scrape down the bowl in between each egg. Add heavy cream, lime juice, lime zest, and alcohol and blend until smooth and creamy. (I actually ended up adding approximately another tablespoon or two of the alcohol and it didn’t mess with the recipe too much, if anything I think it helped keep it smooth and silky instead of that crumbly-ish sandy-ish texture.)

4. Pour batter into prepared crust and tap the pan on the counter a few times to bring all air bubbles to the surface. Place pan into a larger pan and pour boiling water into the larger pan until halfway up the side of the cheesecake pan. If cheesecake pan is not airtight, cover bottom securely with foil before adding water.

5. Bake 45 to 55 minutes, until it is almost done – this can be hard to judge, but you’re looking for the cake to hold together, but still have a lot of jiggle to it in the center. You don’t want it to be completely firm at this stage. Close the oven door, turn the heat off, and let rest in the cooling oven for one hour. This lets the cake finish cooking and cool down gently enough so that it won’t crack on the top. After one hour, remove cheesecake from oven and lift carefully out of water bath. Let it finish cooling on the counter, and then cover and put in the fridge to chill.

6. While the cheesecake is cooling, make the margarita curd. Heat the margarita in a small non-reactive saucepan over med heat until steaming (but NOT boiling!!!!). Whisk the eggs and yolk in a bowl, then slowly whiskin the sugar.

7. Whisking constantly, slowly pour in the hot margarita mix into the eggs (this is tricky, but you can do it!). Return the mixture back into the pan head over medium, stirring constantly (SERIOUSLY!) until the mixture is thick enough to cling to the spoon, about 3 mins.

8. Remove the pan and slowly stir the butter in one piece at a time, not adding more butter until each individual piece has melted/disappeared. Really, you have to do this, it sucks, I know. Then stir in the cream and salt, and pour through a fine mesh strainer. If the curd is still warm, cover with saran wrap (so it doesn’t get a skin) and cool in the refrigerator.

9. De-pan the cheese cake, top with the curd and enjoy!

(PS I apologize to the daring bakers for posting this two days late! I’m still trying to figure out where everything is in the forum!)

I hope everyone goes and watches it as it looks interesting and informative and will hopefully teach the nation about where they’re food really comes from. The reviews promise it not to be one of those shock movies that tells you to stop eating meat, and buy organic, so you don’t destroy the world. Instead it pushes the viewers to start a revolution concerning where they’re food, organic or not, vegan or meat eater, really comes from, the factory farm.

For more information visit websites on the movie:
http://robertkennerfilms.com/films/files/detail.php?id=8
http://www.participantmedia.com/films/coming_soon/foodinc.php
http://www.takepart.com/foodinc/

For those in Ohio it should be playing at the Athens International Film Festival but they still have last years info on the website.

(This video may be offensive to some people, jsyk.)

Peanut butter and jelly is my standby lunchtime staple. I don’t even really like peanut butter. I just eat it because its easy to make, and peanut butter and jelly don’t go bad if you don’t eat it the same day you make it. Sometimes the bread can get a little soggy if you use a really wet jelly, but that’s about it.

I could give you some spiffy peanut butter and jelly cookies, or bread, or cake, but I think I’m going to leave it simple and pure to the original this time.

This was the first time I used my decorating tips and semi-professional techniques. I think it turned out pretty well. The cake is lemon with lemon curd filling (really tasty). Then covered with insanely sweet buttercream. I actually haven’t tasted the cake itself, I made it for someone else so it is currently sitting in a cake box on the counter. I have tasted all the leftover crumbs and trimmings though!

I know, its insane! The brightness, the colors, the craziness!!!

But I kind of like it even though its crazy. I’d have to say its pretty good considering it is the first time I have ever decorated a cake with decorating tips. Up to this point all I had done was slap some frosting on stuff and spike it with a knife or trace designs into it with a spoon or something.

Woot! Maybe I’ll should try something simpler next time.

I have no idea how to make these things, so no recipe today, but I have found some interesting information on them! The most recognized brands are Cheeto’s, which everyone has heard of, and Wise’s Cheez Doodles. Essentially they are puffed proccesd cheese flavored snacks. While I’m not sure how natural they are, they are tasty. (I personally prefer the smaller really crunchy kind rather than the thicker puffier ones.)

The craziest thing I found that someone has done with cheese doodles is this story. Someone took thousands upon thousands of cheese doodles, and filled someone else’s office with them.

Looking at the pictures makes me hungry.

If you’re bored at work and need something to do, you can always design a doodle. Or just build a sculpture with them:

I thought about going over the 1001 and one ways to make a margarita, frozen, on the rocks, the type of tequila to use, should you use triple sec, cointreau or gran marnier (we usually use 1800 tequila and gran marnier on the rocks).

Instead this past weekend I made Smitten Kitchen’s Margarita Cookies and margarita cheesecake. You read that right, I made margarita flavored cheese cake. With real alcohol and limes.

Originally I was going to make a traditional baked cheesecake with limes and a margarita curd topping, but that takes too long. Instead I converted my peppermint cheesecake recipe which is faster and no-bake (which means all the alcohol stays in the dessert).

Crust Ingredients:
Vanilla Wafers (as needed 1-2 cups crushed)
Butter or margarine, melted (as needed)
1-2 Tablespoons of salt
Filling Ingredients:
1 envelope (or 1 tbsp) unflavored gelatin
1/4 cup margarita (or margarita mixer)
16-oz cream cheese (must be room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
2/3 cup margarita
zest from 2 limes
1 cup whipping cream
1 9-inch round spring-form pan.
Margarita Curd Topping:
1/3 cup margarita
2 large eggs
1 large egg yolk
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons unsalted butter , cut into 1/2-inch cubes and chilled
1 tablespoon heavy cream
pinch table salt

Directions:

(Start with making the margarita curd if you are in a hurry.)

Crush cookies into crumbs using a food processor, or ziplock baggie and a rolling pin. Create a mixture of 1-2 tablespoons of melted butter and 1 tablespoon of salt to 1 cup of crumbs.

Increase the amount if needed to cover the bottom of the springform pan. Press mixture into the bottom of the pan and bake at 350 degrees F for 10 minutes. Cool.

Soften gelatin in 1/4 cup of margarita (or mixer), then heat on low until dissolved.

Combine cream cheese and sugar, mixing until well blended. Add in the dissolved gelatin. Gradually mix in the margarita, and lime zest and mix until smooth.

Whip the whipping cream. Fold in the whipped cream. Pour over the crust and refrigerate until firm.

While the cheesecake is chilling, or before making the cheesecake, prepare the margarita curd (there aren’t any pictures of this process because it moves quickly and I only have so many hands!).

Heat 1/3 cup margarita until hot but not boiling. There should be steam coming off of the drink but not bubbling. Whisk together the 2 eggs and 1 egg yolk, then thoroughly wisk in the sugar. While whisking constantly, mix in the hot margarita. Pour the mixture back into the pot and heat on the stove stirring constantly with a wooden spoon until the mixture is thick, and almost pudding-like, but not quite.

Take the mixture off the heat, and stir in the cubed butter. When that is melted, stir in the cream and salt. Move to a clean bowl and cover with plastic wrap, making sure the wrap touches the curd (so it doesn’t get an icky film). Move to the refrigerator and allow to cool completely before topping the cheesecake.

When ready to serve, pour the chilled margarita curd over the cheesecake, slice and eat!