Drewski's Hot Rod Kitchen

I decided that it was the perfect time to try my hand at a baked cheesecake. I had the wine/cheese party (above) coming up and I certainly didn't need an entire cheesecake in my frig. Although I would love every bite, I'm sure my scale would not. So here was my chance to bake one and share it for an event.

I chose a raspberry cheesecake recipe from Cooking Pleasures magazine. It was pretty easy, although I didn't have any raspberry jam. I cheated and put a bit of black currant jam on the bottom - which didn't spread well. So then I gave that up and just poured the cheese mixture on top. I paid attention to every cheesecake tip sheet out there and took it out of the oven when it was still a little jiggly. I'm proud to say it came out perfectly and was a hit.

Raspberry Cheesecake

CRUST
1 (5.3-oz.) pkg. pure butter shortbread cookies, crushed (about 1 1/4 cups)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup raspberry preserves, melted

CHEESECAKE
1 (10-oz.) pkg. frozen raspberries, thawed
3 (8-oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 eggs

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Wrap outside of 9-inch springform pan with heavy-duty foil. Combine crushed cookies and melted butter in small bowl; press into bottom of pan. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until slightly darker in color. Cool slightly; gently spread preserves over crust.

2. Puree thawed raspberries in food processor or blender until smooth. Strain through medium strainer, pressing with spatula to remove seeds. Reserve 1/2 cup puree. (Save remaining puree for another use.)

3. Beat cream cheese and 1/2 cup butter at medium-low speed until smooth. Beat in sugar and flour just until blended. Beat in sour cream, reserved raspberry puree and lemon juice. Beat in eggs one at a time. Pour over crust.

4. Place springform pan in large shallow pan. Add enough hot tap water to come halfway up sides of springform pan. Bake 40 to 45 minutes or until edges are puffed and top is dry to the touch. Center should move slightly when pan is tapped but should not ripple as if liquid. Remove cake from water bath; remove foil. Cool completely on wire rack. Refrigerate overnight.

5. Garnish with raspberries. Store in refrigerator.

16 servings

Spicy Feta Spread

When it comes to semi-fast food restaurants, Daphne's Greek Cafe was one of my favorites. I like Greek food and to have a store nearby that had good, made-to-order food items, like gyros and Greek salads, was great. Then the midtown location suddenly closed. Such a disappointment.

One of my favorite items there was their Fire Feta. It was a spicy hot feta cheese mixture that they put on sandwiches and salads. I always ordered my items with it and even bought take-out tubs of it for home. I'd make my own Spicy Chicken Salad at home. When Poor Girl saw me buying the tubs at $5 a pop, she made a good point - why not  just make your own? Then with the store closing, it became a necessity.

I then found a video recipe for Volcano Feta. But my first attempt to make the recipe was pretty  miserable. It didn't mix well and was very clumpy. That's when I took out the food processor. My successful version tastes great and is a creamy spread. The creaminess actually makes my version a much better one to use for a party dip with pita bread (instead of hummus) or as a sandwich spread.

When I use it on my salad, I turn it into a dressing by mixing a big spoonful with some flax seed oil (healthier) and lemon juice.


16 oz. of feta cheese in block form (not pre-crumbled)
4 oz of sun dried tomatoes
4 oz of roasted red peppers
1 T red pepper flakes
1 t freshly ground pepper
2 large cloves of garlic

Throw all the ingredients into a food processor. Also pour some of the oil from the jars of tomatoes and peppers (if you use store bought). Just note that you want to keep enough oil in the jars to cover the leftovers that you'll be keeping for next time. Process the ingredients until smooth. Add more red pepper to taste depending on how spicy you like it.


Feta Cheese- جبنة فيتا

Who knew making ricotta cheese was so easy?! All you need is milk and, in this recipe, buttermilk. The recipe I used is from 101 Cookbooks. I chose it because I didn't want to get all complicated with adding lemon or vinegar like some recipes call for. This just called for a gallon of whole milk and a quart of buttermilk.


You heat the milks until they reach 175 degrees. That is when the curds form so that you can separate them from the liquid whey.


I scooped them into a cheesecloth that I had folded in layers over a colander.


Then I hung the whole thing up so that as much liquid as possible would drain away. And here is the final product...