Chocolate Carmel Cheesecake

This is now my go-to cheesecake! I love the short ingredient list, but you should be warned that it takes forever to make the caramel from scratch (but well worth the wait!).

 adapted from The Gourmet Cookbook
Crumb Crust:
1 1/2 C finely ground chocolate wafers (I used Oreos)
5 TB butter, melted
1/3 C sugar
1/8 tsp salt

Invert bottom of springform pan, then lock on side and butter pan. Stir all ingredients in a bowl. Press into bottom and 1 inch up sides of buttered pan. Fill immediately or refrigerate for up to 2 hours.

Filling:
1 C of sugar
3/4 C heavy cream
8 ounces good bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped (confession: I used semisweet chocolate chips-it was what I had...)
1/2 C sour cream
3 (8 ounce) packages of cream cheese, softened
4 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract

Place rack in middle of oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook sugar in a dry heavy 3 1/2-to 4-quart sauce pan over moderately low heat, stirring slowly with a fork, until melted and pale golden. Continue to cook caramel, without stirring, swirling pan occasionally, until deep golden.

Immediately remove from heat and carefully add heavy cream (mixture will vigorously steam and caramel will harden). Cook over moderately-low heat, stirring constantly, until caramel is dissolved. Remove from heat and whisk in chocolate until smooth. Stir in sour cream.


Beat cream cheese in a large bowl with an electric mixer at high speed until fluffy. Reduce speed to low and mix in chocolate mixture. Add eggs one at at time, mixing well after each addition, and scraping the sides of bowl with a spatula as needed. Mix in vanilla.


Put springform pan with crust on a baking sheet with sides, to catch any drips. Pour filling into crust. bake until cake is set 3 inches from edges but center is still slightly wobbly, about 55 minutes.

Run a thin knife around the edge of the cake to loosen it, then cool completely in springform pan on a rack (cake will continue to set as it cools). Refrigerate cake, loosely covered, for at least 6 hours. Remove side of pan, transfer to a plate and bring to room temperature before serving.

Summer Pasta Salad

Pasta Salad with Chicken, Raisins, and Almonds

What a perfect summer salad--I had all the ingredients already in my pantry (and the boys cleaned their plates...).
Adapted From FOOD Everyday Light by Martha Stewart
Serves 4
2 TB unblanched almonds
1 Lb boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
about 3-4 C low-fat buttermilk
coarse salt and pepper
8 ounces whole-wheat penne or other short pasta shape
1 C plain low-fat yogurt (I used low fat mayo)
1/2 C golden raisins ( I used brown, what I had in pantry)
1/2 C coarsely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 TB finely grated lemon zest, plus 2 TB fresh lemon juice

1. Preheat oven to 350. Place chicken in a 13 X 9 casserole dish. Salt and pepper. Generously pour buttermilk over chicken so that it covers sides of chicken. Bake for about 20 minutes, until chicken is cooked. (this is a great way to cook chicken to use in any salad--will always come out moist!) About halfway through baking chicken, spread almonds on a rimmed baking sheet; toast in oven until darkened, tossing once or twice, 10-12 minutes. Let cool, then coarsely chop.

2. Remove chicken from dish and shred or chop into bite size pieces.

3. Meanwhile, in a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta until al dente according to package directions. Reserve 1/4 C pasta water. Drain pasta, then rinse under cool water to stop the cooking. Drain well.

4. In a large bowl, stir together pasta, chicken, yogurt, raisins, parsley, almonds, and lemon zest and juice. Thin sauce with reserved pasta water if necessary. Season with salt and pepper. Salad can be covered and refrigerated up to 1 day. Serve chilled or at room temperature.