Today is Halloween. A monumental day in my life and it has nothing to do with the actual Halloween holiday. On October 31st 2002, I had surgery to remove the bone tumor from my leg. In a surgeon's world, he will declare your surgery day as the day you become cancer free. In an oncologist's world, he will declare your last chemo as the day you become cancer free. So the actual title of this date is up in the air, but 8 years ago today I had the malignant fibrous histiocytoma sarcoma removed from my left femur - forever changing my life. Ironic that I am on crutches after having a similar surgery 8 years later? I think not.
There honestly has not been a lot coming out of my kitchen lately. Moving around on crutches is not the easiest thing to do, and my friends have been over the top awesome, and have been providing me with meals throughout the week. I've become slightly familiar with DiningIn.com and have ordered a few things in. The best thing about DiningIn.com? The ability to order a Portillo's Italian beef sandwich with cheese fries and have it delivered right to your door - with only a small delivery fee.
My friend Amy has been coming over on a weekly basis to keep me company on Fridays. We've had a great time piddling around in the kitchen, crutching to Starbucks, and I've been helping with just a bit of wedding planning for her. Amy made a really cute note for the lasagna that she brought over.
Our friends Lindsay and Alex came over for dinner one night. Lindsay make Chicken Tikka Masala with garlic Naan bread - and it was a perfect fall meal. I'm beyond lucky to have such great family and friends in my life.
Last week I made a pumpkin pie. It can't believe that I'm saying this, but this pumpkin pie is actually the first pie that I've ever made. I'm not a huge pie fan in general. My first choice for pie would be Ben's famous bourbon pecan pie. He makes it every year for Thanksgiving and he always brings me a few extra pieces that I can keep in my freezer and they don't last that long! My second choice for pie would be pumpkin. I would consider it a healthy sort of pie, smells of savory cinnamon, and the filling just melts in your mouth. Well, now that you think of it, banana cream pie sounds really good too. My birthday tradition was to always have a Baskin Robins turtle pie as my birthday dessert. Do you know that very few Baskin Robins make turtle pie anymore? Ok....so maybe I sort of like pie. Let me put it this way, if you asked me what I wanted as my one dessert if I were stranded on a deserted island, pie would not be the first choice. I don't even know what my first choice would be, but pie wouldn't be it. I happened to be very hooked on caramel apples from Julie Ann's right now. If you are ever coming to my apartment, and want to bring me a little something, bring me one of these apples!
Last week was pumpkin pie. This week is pumpkin cheesecake. It probably goes without saying, that I love having Andy around to help me eat up all of these things coming out of my kitchen. Andy is also good at eating leftovers. Where I am more into the eating something different day after day, Andy could eat leftovers for days and days in a row. Just like the pumpkin pie, this is the first time that I have ever made a cheesecake. Ben was always the cheesecake maker in the family. To say it is his speciality, would be a slight understatement. We all looked forward to seeing what kind of cheesecake he was going to make for the Thanksgiving holiday.
While paroozing the recipes on my Epicurious App, I found one for a pumpkin cheesecake with a gingersnap crust and a marshmallow topping one that had great reviews. The thing that caught my eye with this recipe was the marshmallow topping. Andy is crazy for marshmallows. He can eat them straight out of the bag. Me on the other hand, unless the marshmallow is in a sauce or a Rice Krispie treat, I'm not going to be eating it.
If I'm being honest, this cheesecake is REALLY good. The filling is creamy and simply just screams fall. I love the cinnamon and ginger flavors as they pair so well with the pumpkin and the spiciness of the gingersnap crust is perfect. If I had to make one adjustment, I would serve the marshmallow sauce fresh, instead of making it ahead of time. My sauce because a little more "frosting-like" instead of "whip cream like". Either way, it's really good.
I attempted to bake the cheesecake in a water bath and let me emphasize that attempted is the key word here. I didn't have a roasting pan big enough to fit my cheesecake pan in, so I went to plan B. I thought maybe a cookie sheet would work. I put just a bit of water in the cookie sheet, and set the cheesecake pan on top. Well the water evaporated in no time, so the term water bath didn't really apply for this situation. My cheesecake had a few cracks when it came out of the oven, but the marshmallow topping covered these minor imperfections perfectly.
Pumpkin Cheesecake with Marshmallow Topping
For crust:- Nonstick vegetable oil spray
- 2 cups gingersnap cookie crumbs (about 9 ounces)
- 1 cup pecans (about 3 1/2 ounces)
- 1/4 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons chopped crystallized ginger
- 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
For filling:- 4 8-ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 1 15-ounce can pure pumpkin
- 5 large eggs
- 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons vanilla
For topping:- 2 cups mini marshmallows
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup sour cream
Crust:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray 9-inch-diameter springform pan with 2 3/4-inch-high sides with nonstick spray. Grind cookie crumbs, pecans, brown sugar, and ginger in processor until nuts are finely ground. Add butter; using on/off turns, process to blend. Transfer mixture to prepared pan; press onto bottom and 2 inches up sides of pan. Bake crust until set and lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Cool completely.
Filling:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese and sugar in large bowl until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in pumpkin. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating on low speed to incorporate each addition. Add flour, spices, and salt; beat just to blend. Beat in vanilla. Transfer filling to cooled crust. Bake until filling is just set in center and edges begin to crack (filling will move slightly when pan is gently shaken), about 1 hour 20 minutes. Cool 1 hour. Run knife around sides of pan to release crust. Chill cheesecake uncovered in pan overnight.
Topping:
Stir marshmallows and milk in medium saucepan over low heat until marshmallows are melted. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and salt. Cool marshmallow mixture to room temperature, stirring occasionally.
Add sour cream to marshmallow mixture; fold gently just to blend. Pour topping over cheesecake and spread evenly, leaving 1/2 inch uncovered around edges. Chill to set topping, at least 1 hour. DO AHEAD: Cheesecake can be made 1 day ahead. Keep chilled.
