Yes, that's right. My mother said it was a pumpkin cheesecake. She lied because she thought no one would eat it if they knew it was actually sweet potatoes. Well, strike that. She knew certain people - namely my two sisters - wouldn't try it if they knew. Trust me - it's good. Not only that, but it has a lot fewer calories than most cheesecakes, and it looks to me like it could easily be adapted for other flavours (lemon, chocolate, strawberry, raspberry, etc.)

Pecan/Graham Cracker Crust

1/4 - 1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 1/4 cups fine graham cracker crumbs
2 Tablespoons sugar
5 Tablespoons melted butter

Whirl the pecans in a blender until finely ground - you should have 1/4 cup when finished. In a bowl, mix pecans, graham cracker crumbs, sugar and butter until blended. Put mixture into the bottom of a 9-inch Springform cheesecake pan and press mixture evenly on the bottom of the pan.

Maple Cream

3/4 cup whipping cream
1/4 cup maple syrup

In a bowl with mixer on high, beat whipping cream until stiff peaks form. On low speed, add in maple syrup just until blended. Serve immediately with cheesecake (or just remember to beat it again if you have to put it back in the fridge for later use)

Cheesecake

2 dark orange-fleshed sweet potatoes (1 and 1/4 to 1 and 1/2 lbs. total)
1 Tablspoon melted butter
2 teaspoons lemon juice
3 8 ounce packages cream cheese (regular or light) at room temperature
3/4 granulated sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
4 large eggs
1/4 cup whipping cream
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

Preheat over to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Peel sweet potatoes and cut in half lengthwise. Place in a 9-by-13 inch baking pan and brush with melted butter. Bake until potatoes are soft when pressed, 45 to 55 minutes.

Prepare crust (see recipe above).

Scrape any charred spots off baked potatoes, then cut potatoes into chunks. Whirl in a food processor and mash in a bowl with lemon juice until smooth. Reserve 1 cup and save any extra for another use.

Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. In a bowl with mixer on high, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Gradually beat in granulated sugar and brown sugar, scraping down sides of the bowl occasionally, until mixture is well blended and smooth. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until completely blended. Add the 1 cup of sweet potatoes, the whipping cream, sour cream, maple syrup, and spices. Mix on low speed until well blended.

Wrap bottom of cheesecake pan with heavy-duty foil, pressing it up the sides. Pour batter over crust. Put cheesecake pan in a 12-by-15 inch roasting pan at least 2 inches deep. Set pans in oven and pour enough boiling water into roasting pan to come halfway up sides of cheesecake pan.

Bake until cake barely jiggles in the center when gently shaken, about 55 minutes. Remove pans from oven. Lift cheesecake pan from roasting pan and let cool completely on a rack about 1 hour, then chill until cold, at least 1 and 1/2 hours, or up to 3 days (cover once completely cold).

Before serving, remove cake from pan. Pipe dollops of maple cream onto cake - serve extra cream at the table with the cake.

According to the book it came from, the cake serves 12-16. One serving has 418 calories, 252 calories from fat, 6.3 grams of protein, 28 grams fat (16 grams saturated fat), 38 grams carbs, 1 gram fiber, and 239 milligrams sodium.

When you consider the calories in most cheesecakes, this one's not bad at all, and you could use light cream cheese which would drop those numbers slightly. You might even be able to use sour cream or plain yogurt instead of the heavy whipping cream, too.

To change the flavor of the recipe from sweet potato to something else, be aware that you will need to change or remove the spices and the syrups. jinzi would know more about this than me!

Tags: cooking, recipe

Thanks to everyone who posted a recipe. They will be saved and used, I assure you. I figured that, since it was Thanksgiving and since I was being brave, I might as well go all-out. So, here's the recipe I used, followed by how it turned out, etc.

First, the Pastry (this recipe makes a single crust)

1 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
Large pinch sea salt
8 Tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
5-6 Tablespoons chilled water

Place flour and salt in a food processor and process to mix. cut the butter in chunks and add to the flour. Process, using pulses, until the butter is incorporated into the flour and the mixture looks like coarse cornmeal. With the food processor running, add the water and process briefly, using pulses, just until the pastry begins to hold together. Turn the pastry out onto a floured work surface and gather into a ball. Makes enough dough for a 10 and 1/2 inch tart pan.

OK, first of all, I didn't use a food processor and I used regular salt and probably about 1/2 teaspoon. I didn't measure, just poured it into my hand until I thought "Yeah, that's about right" and tossed it in. Second, both my and my mother's pastry cutters disappeared at some point in the last year. I started with the butter knife method, then - being a clever gal - suddenly thought that my hand potato-masher would probably be dandy at this...and it was! It took all 6 Tbsp of water, but remember that I live in the freaking desert where the very air sucks the moisture out of you. I started with 4 Tbsp, then added the other two when it became apparent it was still too dry to come together

Now, the actual Quiche itself.

6 large eggs
2/3 cup heavy cream or creme fraiche
1 cup milk
8 ounces Gruyere
Nutmeg, optional

Roll out pastry to fit a 10 and 1/2 inch glass or metal pie plate. Crimp edges, poke bottom with a fork and place the pastry in the freezer for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.

Line the pastry with aluminum foil and pastry weights and bake in the bottom third of the oven until the pastry is golden at the edges, about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven - remove pastry weights and aluminum foil and return to the ovven until bottom is golden, an additional 5 minutes. Remove from oven and reserve.

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, cream, and milk until thoroughly blended. Season with salt and pepper, then add the cheese and stir until well mixed. Turn the mixture into the baked pastry. Sprinkle the top with nutmeg if desired and bake in the center of the oven until the filling is golden and puffed, and is completely baked through, about 30 minutes. To test for doneness, shake the quiche - if it is solid without a pool of uncooked filling in the center, it is done. You can also stick a sharp knife into the center of the filling and if it comes out clean, the quiche is done.

Remove from the oven and serve immediately.

Right. I made some additions to the recipe, namely some carmelized onions and sauteed mushrooms. I did a small package of white button mushrooms, and about three large shitake mushrooms, and then two small yellow onions. I did them separately, and kept them in separate bowls until it was time to put them in the pastry. I also used 2/3 cup creme fraiche and then 1 cup of heavy cream (so it was particularly rich).

I used the only pie plate I had available, which wasn't really big enough and so I couldn't even put in all of the mixture. First, I did a layer of the onions in the bottom of the pastry, then added a layer of mushrooms on top of that, and then proceeded to add in the mixture. I then sprinkled the rest of the onions and more mushrooms (I probably used about 2/3 of the total mushrooms and all of the onions) on the top and into the oven it went.

Holy cow, does it puff up! I swear, it looked like a souffle! I wouldn't recommend the shaking method of testing doneness - because the top had done while there was still uncooked filling underneath. I know, because I was using the knife method.

Now, my issues - I need to get a thermometer for the oven because I think it heats cool - now I need to know how much cooler. I haven't done any real cooking in the oven since we moved in (no reason to) so this was my first time really using it. It took a LOT longer to get the pastry itself baked, and then it took about 40 minutes to get the filling to cook instead of 30. The top edges of the crust got a little too done in that time - so edge protectors or just some foil wraps are needed to prevent that. I think if it had cooked in the time stated in the recipe, it would have been fine.

The taste was marvelous, and the crust (with the exception of the slightly overdone edges) was excellent, too. The quiche does deflate soon after (I'd say...within 5-10 minutes) being removed from the oven.

Tags: cooking, food, recipe

Am reposting this since it would be great for Thanksgiving, and it's soooooo easy (and sooooo good)!

4 cups cut-up unpeeled apples (approx. 4 large apples)
2 cups raw cranberries
1 cup sugar

Topping:

1 stick butter or margarine, melted
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup flour
2 cups granola or quick oats
3/4 tsp salt**

**I found I didn't like the addition of the salt, but then I am notoriously not found of "salty" things so you may prefer it with the salt, whereas I prefer it without.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a 2 quart casserole dish. Mix fruit and sugar together in a bowl, then put into the greased dish. Combine topping ingredients and sprinkle over fruit. Bake for one hour. Allow to stand before serving. Works well hot, room temp, or cold (and re-heated works, too).

You wouldn't think something so simple could taste so damn good, but I tell you, it was close to orgasmic, especially with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream on top. Right out of the oven, it was so good, we couldn't stop "sampling" it before the meal. Also, I like a lot of topping, and found it didn't hurt the recipe at all to make more of the topping. I also didn't precisely measure the fruit - just kinda did my own thing, and it turned out just fine

Tags: cooking, recipe

With two sisters who are vegetarians, I'd like to make a quiche for Thanksgiving so they have at least some kind of protein entree to eat.

My mother made a quiche once, and it was a complete disaster. It was runny and fell apart - general overall nastiness. I'd like to avoid this, if possible.

Does anyone out there have a decent recipe for quiche? Remember, they are vegetarians, so no meat. They like cheese, and mushrooms, they don't like peppers of any kind...any help would be appreciated. someone told me to just make it crustless and I suppose I could do that, if it came right down to it - because I'm told it's the crust that usually comes out icky.

Tags: cooking, recipe