Pumpkin Cheesecake

I don't know about you, but I love Thanksgiving! All the wonderful food that pleases every sense: the smells of a homemade feast; the earthy fall colors spread on the table; all the different textures of the food, from creamy mashed potatoes to the crunchy onions on top of the green bean casserole; the diverse tastes, from tangy cranberry sauce to savory stuffing; and, from the kitchen, the sounds of cooks preparing. For me, the joy of this day is all in the preparation, but not this year.

My house most certainly cannot accommodate more than four people eating at a time, so for practicality's and convenience's sake, the boyfriend and I went up to Jacksonville for a dinner with his family. I was wholeheartedly disappointed that I wouldn't be able to cook, but I found a way around this. I just made a few desserts to bring with!

I usually like to make holidays as quiet and relaxing as possible. I revel in laziness and thoroughly enjoy down time. Which is why I have no idea what possessed me to try to bake two desserts before leaving for Jacksonville.

To set the stage of the last few days, let me start with what led up to the actual preparation of food. Wednesday was my last day of work for the week, which I was totally pumped for. I loathe my job, and the promise of a four-day weekend looming just hours out of my grasp made the work day seem sludgy. But freedom came at last! I was done! But I had to get to an appointment to do some tattoo work a mere hour after work, and still get some lunch in the meantime. So I rushed home, got some lunch, and showed up at my tattoo artist's parlor and got some shading done on my arm, which took about an hour.

For those who have never been inclined to modify their bodies, getting tattooed is not only painful, but draining. The adrenaline rush just leaves you feeling weak and tired, and so usually when I get tattooed, I just sit around the rest of the day to recover.

But not today. I had desserts to make. Silly me. I walk home from the tattoo parlor and sit for an hour with a friend who stopped by, then go to the supermarket, then shower, then clean the kitchen, and then bake. I didn't even get both of them done, but by 11:30pm, I could barely stand up any longer, so I called it quits. This meant I had to get up fairly early to finish a tart because we had to leave for Jacksonville at 11:00am. So on not very much sleep at all, I finished the tart, drove an hour and a half, had family time, drove the hour and a half back in the same day, and then finally got to crash.

So now that I'm recovered from a very hectic Thanksgiving, I took the time to just sit on my front porch with some leftover pumpkin cheesecake and some chai tea and relax in this warm, sunny Florida late November afternoon.




And I know there's no owl trinket, but the plate has birds on it, so there. Recipe below.

Ingredients:

1 package cinnamon graham crackers
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup sugar

4 8-oz packages cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 15-oz can pumpkin
4 eggs
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp clove
1/4 tsp allspice

Directions:

You will need a 10-inch springform pan, large-sized tin foil, and a large baking dish that is wide enough to fit the springform pan into.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line the bottom and sides of the springform pan with foil to make a water-tight seal. (This is why I buy the wide tin foil instead of the normal 12-inch wide foil, because it is easier to wrap the pan in.)

In a medium-sized bowl, crush graham crackers until no large chunks remain. Mix in sugar and melted butter. Pour into bottom of springform pan and press down with your hands to create a crust. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until it is lightly browned. Cool on a cooling rack.

Raise the temperature of the oven to 375 degrees.

In a large bowl, beat on high the cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add in eggs, vanilla, cinnamon, allspice, clove, nutmeg and pumpkin. Beat until the mixture is very smooth.

Pour on top of crust in springform pan. Place the springform pan in the baking dish and pour water in the baking dish until the water reaches up 1 inch on the sides of the pan. Bake for one and a half to two hours, or until the sides of the cake look set and the middle shakes slightly when the pan is moved.

Remove from the baking dish and then take off the foil. Chill overnight, or at least eight hours. Serve chilled.

Hope you all had a relaxing holiday! Questions and comments always appreciated.