So instead I spent my day surrounded by food of some sort or another.
I woke up this morning and made a chocolate swirl cheesecake. The recipe is below. I have spent a few years making this cheesecake, and I learned the recipe from my Dad. My parents have admitted that I now make it better than he does which was quite flattering because my Dad is an amazing cook and I love almost everything he makes.
Chocolate Swirl Cheesecake
Ingredients:
Crust:
1 pack cinnamon graham crackers (you can get gluten free ones but they aren't very good. I just don't eat the crust)
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
6-8 tsp. melted butter
Filling:
3 packs cream cheese (at room temperature)
1 cup sugar
3 Tbsp. flour (I use white rice flour to make it gluten free)
3 eggs (at room temperature)
2 Tbsp. heavy cream
2 tsp. vanilla.
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate melted (1 cup if you want just a chocolate cheesecake)
Topping:
3/4 cup sour cream
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 Tbsp. sugar
Directions:
Crust:
Crush the graham crackers finely. Mix with sugar and cinnamon. Add butter and work together with hands to form a semi-moist consistency that will stick together. Press into a spring form pan, going half an inch up the sides.
Filling:
-Preheat over to 300 degrees with a water bath (9x13 pan half filled with water) on the lower level of the oven (this helps prevent cracking).
-Beat cream cheese until smooth.
-Add sugar and flour. Beat until fluffy.
-Add eggs, one at a time mixing well in between.
-Beat in vanilla and cream.
- If making without chocolate just pour it into the crust now. If doing a chocolate swirl: melt chocolate and add half of the batter into the chocolate and mix well. Now layer each type on the pan. I usually just put a cup or two of each type in and make layers. Occasionally evening it out with a spatula. If you want to just make it a chocolate cheesecake add the melted chocolate with the sugar and flour step.
- Bake 60-65 minutes. Remove and cool on a rack 10 minutes.
- Run a small spatula or knife between the sides of the cake and the pan to loosen.
- Put topping on the cheesecake (see below) while it is still hot (within 15 minutes of when it comes out of the oven).
Topping:
Mix all ingredients together until smooth. Spread over the top of the cheesecake while it is hot. Chill the cheesecake before serving (best done in the morning for the evening or over night).
As you can see it goes quickly!!!
After finishing the cheesecake I actually got ready for the rest of my day. Every little actions really ended up having to do with food. I got lunch with my lovely friend Meghan. It's her birthday today and she wanted Chipotle for lunch so we went there and talked for a while. It was quite nice to be out of the house and seeing her.
When I got home I had to start cooking dinner. Tonight was my first of what will be monthly dinner parties with friends. As part of my 25 before 25 list I will be hosting dinner for my friends once a month. Since I will be moving soon this had to be done this weekend if it was going to happen in September. I wanted to make something that I could also eat for left overs this week. It's been kind of cold lately and I was a bit homesick so I made Khorese Lubia, an Iranian stew that my Dad always makes, and rice cooked the Iranian way. We also had salad, bread, and wine! It was quite enjoyable. It felt good to cook for people and welcome them into my house. Plus it finally gave me a way to see friends despite being in pain (which was almost as bad as last night). I spent a good deal of time in the kitchen but it was relaxing and a total labor of love! So here are the recipes. Sorry no pictures. We dove right in once it was done and I forgot to take any. I will try to get some of my leftovers later this week.
Iranian Style Rice
Directions:
-Take 2-4 cups of long grain, parboiled rice, not instant!!! (I used 4 cups of rice and fed 10 people with it and had a little left over). Rinse it 3-5 times in warm water. This helps to get some of the extra starch out.
-Soak the rice in cold, salted water for at least 3 hours.
-Drain the rice and add it to boiling water (it needs to be a hard rolling boil).
-Cook 10 minutes in the boiling water (until a grain of rice is squeezed between your fingers will flatten but stay together).
-Drain the rice, and rinse it with cold water to cool it down.
-Add 6 tablespoons of butter and 3 tablespoons of cold water to the pan and let it melt.
-Add the rice, making a mound. Put a double layer of paper towel between the top and the pot. This makes sure the moisture stays in. Don't open the lid once you've done this until the rice is done.
-Cook 8-10 minutes on medium-high and then rotate the pan 180 degrees and cook another 8-10 minutes. This will form what is called Tadig (pronounced ta-deek). It is a crunchy layer of rice! During this time you will hear popping and crackling but that is normal.
-Lower the heat to med-low and cook for an hour. This steams the rice and makes it really moist!!
Khorese Lubia:
Ingredients:
4 Tbsp butter
1 lb. Stew meat
1 large onion
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 cups water
3-4 tsp. lemon juice
1/2 small can of tomato paste
2- 15 1/2 oz cans of french style green beans
Directions:
-Brown meat, onions, salt, pepper, and cinnamon in the butter. Cook thoroughly.
-Add water and lemon juice (Start with 3 tsp. of lemon juice and check for flavor towards the end of cooking).
-Simmer for 2 hours.
-About 30 minutes before serving add the tomato paste. Bring back to a boil in order to break up the tomato paste. Reduce back to a simmer.
-10 minutes before serving add the green beans (drain the water out of the can first) and heat until everything is warmed through.
-Serve over rice and enjoy!
It was a long day and a lot of time spent in the kitchen but it was totally worth it. My friends came over and we enjoyed a good meal, played a game, and just talked for a while. I felt good knowing that I could give something back to my friends, and they seemed to enjoy it as well. I'm looking forward to next month. Not sure what I will make, but I'm sure I'll figure it out.
Tomorrow I'm back to school to work, and to grad school. I'm only working 5 hours a day at school now so that will hopefully be a good change. We are still waiting to hear from the apartment complex we applied to but hopefully all will go through there and I will be moving this coming weekend. With that being said I need to clean my room and pack up my life this week!!
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