Great Cheesecake Debate

You know how some cheesecake recipes call for a hot-water-bath under the springform pan, and some don't? I wanted to find out which method produced a superior cheesecake, so I invited some friends over for an Italian dinner . . . and followed it up with a taste test. As I wanted to keep things informal, I didn't present two duplicate cakes. Instead, I made one chocolate and one vanilla. The vanilla one had a hot-water bath during the baking time. I served up a piece of both to my guests, then casually asked which one they liked better and which was creamier.

The result: it is all a matter of taste. The hot-water-bath did give the vanilla cheesecake a slightly more "custardy" soft texture, and about half the guests considered this creamier, while, strangely. the other half thought the more solid texture had a creamier, more satisfying result. Personally, I like the non-water bath, which is convenient, because I can skip some steps when I make cheesecake in the future!

Bonus tip: Always line your springform pan with parchment paper. It will both help you to unmold your cheesecakes, and also help greatly when it comes time to clean up!

C is for Cookie

Two things happened to me today. I got an envelope of coupons in the mail from General Mills highlighting Pilsbury's new Simply . . . Cookie Dough. Imagine, last minute cookies without corn syrup. One of the coupons is for a free package which is AWESOME!

Then, I opened up my e-mail, and there was an e-mail from Nestle Toll House, and I was thinking -- wow! How much cookie goodness can can you get in one day? Only, the Toll House e-mail was a recall notice. Now, it's very responsible of them to voluntarily recall the dough, becasue the FDA has a sample that tested positive for e-coli. That has to be hard, considering everything already going in with the economy.

The recall is not going to stop me from going to get the free Pilsbury cookies, or from eating the Nestle Toll House product once they get everything straightened out. But one thing caught my attention: Nestle is asking everybody to remind thier friends and family not to eat raw cookie dough.

I have a confession to make. I totally eat raw cookie dough, especially when I've made it myself. I always wind up licking my fingers after I shape the cookies, so I figure I might as well eat one. Or two. I've never gotten sick from it . . . though, it doesn't help the waistline any. I can't be the only one who does this. Otherwise, where would cookie dough ice cream have come from? Tell me I'm not the only one.

When I make cookies from scratch, what I do is double the recipe and bake them all. Then I store the extras in the freezer. When unexpected company drops by, it's a minute and twenty seconds in the microwave, and they're almost as good as fresh-baked. I don't know if that's any safer than freezing the uncooked dough, which freezers afety guides say you can do.

Feed the bloggers

After all, everybody's got to eat.

But seriously, here's where I'm going to talk about cooking, restaurants and all things food related.

Just so you know, there will be no mushrooms or anchovies on this blog. But there will be extra cheese and onions.