Cheesecake

This recipe is not one of those that can be whipped together quickly. Instead, it is a time-consuming process that is worth it. There are many types of cheesecakes, and this one is a New York style cheesecake. It uses both cream cheese and sour cream and is baked for some time resulting in a fluffy and rich cake.

When you make this cheesecake, you need to use a springform pan. When baking, the cake will rise up and seem to nearly overflow. But, when you leave the cake in the turned-off oven, the cake settles, but is still higher than standard cake pans. So using a standard cake pan will leave you will a mess in your oven. You could top this cake with fruit or whipped cream, but it is so delicious on its own.

Cheesecake 

• Graham Cracker crumbs
• 1 pound small curd cottage cheese
• 2 8 oz. packages cream cheese
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 4 eggs, slightly beaten
• 1/3 cup corn starch
• 2 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1 pint sour cream

Grease a 9 inch springform pan; dust with graham cracker crumbs. Sieve cottage cheese into a large mixing bowl. Add softened cream cheese. Beat at high speed with an electric mixer until well-blended and creamy. Continue beating at high speed and blend in sugar, then eggs. Reduce speed to low. Add corn starch, lemon juice, and vanilla. Beat until blended. Add melted butter and sour cream. Blend at low speed. Pour into the prepared pan. Bake at 325 for an hour and ten minutes. Turn off oven. Let cake stand in the oven for two hours. Remove and cook completely. Chill. Remove sides of pan. Enjoy!

La Strata

This recipe is easy to make and delicious. I vaguely recall this recipe from when I was a kid because of the cottage cheese, which I did not like on its own then. I do like cottage cheese now, so I like this recipe even more now. This recipe includes the use of many items that you might have around the kitchen, so it should be quick to throw together for a great meal.

Strata is a layered casserole dish. Often strata recipes include eggs and are served as breakfast dishes. Not this one. This dish is a hearty lunch or dinner recipe. When I made this strata, I did not include the mushrooms.

La Strata 

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1/4 cup minced onion
• 1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
• 1 tsp. basil
• 1 tsp. chopped parsley
• 1/4 tsp. oregano
• dash garlic salt
• 1 4 oz. can mushrooms, drained
• 1 10 oz. frozen spinach, thawed and well-drained
• 8 oz. cottage cheese
• 4 oz. shredded mozzarella

Saute ground beef and onions until onions are tender and meat is browned. Add tomato sauce, basil, parsley, oregano, garlic salt, pepper, and mushrooms. In a bowl, combine spinach and cottage cheese. Arrange in layers: spinach mx, meat mix, then mozzarella. Repeat layering, ending with cheese. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes until hot and bubbly. Enjoy!

Committee Cake

Why is this recipe called Committee Cake? I don't know. But the cake is delicious. When I made this cake, Mom tried it and remembered making it but did not remember where she found the recipe. This cake is dense and has a slightly crunchy texture due to the addition of cornmeal.

When I made this cake, it did not rise as much as I expected. And the chopped chocolate seemed to have sunk to the bottom rather than distributed throughout the cake. The recipe calls for chocolate frosting, but does not give the ingredients. So I made a standard chocolate frosting that turned out to nicely complement the cake.

Committee Cake 

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 cup corn meal
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 cup milk
• 6 ounces chocolate chips, finely chopped

Chocolate frosting

• 1/2 cup butter
• 2/3 cup cocoa
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 tsp. vanilla

Cake: Beat the butter with the sugars until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla, beat well. Mix and sift together the corn meal, salt, and baking powder. Add dry ingredients alternately with milk in two additions and mix well after each addition. Stir in chopped chocolate. Pour into a well greased 13x9 pan. Bake at 350 for 40 to 45 minutes. Cool before frosting.

Frosting: Melt butter. Stir in cocoa. Alternate adding powdered sugar and milk. Add in vanilla. Mix until spreading consistency. Add additional milk if needed. Spread the frosting on cake. Enjoy!