So, if you can’t get a photograph of some food item you have made before the food item has almost disappeared, the food item might have turned out well.

The cheesecake, while not up to being a real food model, turned out very well.

Here is the recipe…

Total ingredients
3 oz. (7 whole) graham crackers
3 oz chopped pecans
1.75 C. sugar
4 tbl. Unsalted Butter
4 eggs
1.5 lbs Phil. Cream Cheese (3 larger boxes) softened
9 tbl. (4.5 oz) half-n-half
1 pint sour cream
1 tea. vanilla

Notes:

• Soften the cream cheese a hour or two before you start. If you forget, it’s not a deal breaker, but it will be harder to incorporate into the main batter.
• Some people bake a cheese cake in a water bath, I don’t. But I do put a METAL
  pan of water in the oven under the cake while it bakes.
• In the topping, I have been known to substitute a few tabl. Of either Amaretto or
  Baileys Iris Cream instead of vanilla
• Use a 9” springform pan

Crust:
3 oz. (7 whole) graham crackers
3 oz. chopped pecans
.25 C. sugar
4 tbl. Unsalted butter

Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Pulse crackers and chopped pecans in food processor until evenly and finely ground. Transfer crumbs to bowl and drizzle melted butter over, and mix with rubber spatula until evenly moistened. Turn crumbs into springform pan and spread evenly in one layer. Use a flat bottomed glass or ramekin to press down and evenly flatten crumbs. Use a spoon around the edges if needed. Bake for about 15 minutes, pull out, and cool on wire rack while making the filling.

Filling:
4 eggs
.75 C. sugar
1.5 lbs Phil. Cream Cheese (3 large Packages)
9 tbl. (4.5 oz) half and half

Toss softened cream cheese into stand mixer and beat till even more soft and spread around the bowl. Toss in sugar and let run some more. Then toss in eggs. Then toss in half and half and mix on medium or medium high till everything comes together into a smooth batter. Pour mixture into springform pan and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Turn oven off. Cool cake in oven for 45 minutes. Pull cake out and cool for 30 minutes.

Topping:
1 pint sour cream
.75 C. sugar
1 tea. vanilla

Mix all together and pour on top of cake. Bake at 450 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes. Cool.

Then chill in refrigerator for a few hours.

Recipe and permission to share it here thanks to Ken. Thanks!<–!>

I used salted butter and greased the sides of the pan with butter after baking the crust. This tip, from Joy of Cooking, lets the cooling cake pull away from the sides of the pan easily as it contracts in order to prevent cracking.

A favorite weekend breakfast. It is so quick and easy and open to many variations. A little sweet, but not too sweet. Also, there is textural and flavor variety! The edges are crisp and delicate, while the bottom is soft and rich and eggy. I’ve made a variation of this in a 9×13 glass baking pan and it works ok. I prefer the skillet result, though.

This recipe was adapted from Real Simple magazine, where they suggest spreading the pancake with 1/2 cup jam or preserves before dusting with sugar. That seems a bit much sugar for me, but a light slather of lemon or lime curd could be divine. What sounds best to me is a pile of fresh fruit in the center, and maybe some lightly sweetened whipped cream. A light drizzle of maple syrup in lieu of the sugar would also be quite tasty.

I’ve made a savory version of this for lunch/dinner before. Leave out the vanilla and add a clove of minced garlic and about 3 tablespoons minced onion to the batter. Also add a bit of pepper and maybe a touch of some spices that would complement whatever else you were serving. I usually made it to subsitute for an authentic flatbread to serve with Indian dishes.

• 3 large eggs
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 milk
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons butter
• lemon juice
• confectioner’s sugar

• preheat oven to 400°F
• in a bowl or large measuring cup, whisk eggs until combined
• add flour and whisk until egg/flour mixture is smooth. it gets kind of satisfyingly pasty.
• add milk, salt, and vanilla. blend to incorporate
• put the butter in a 12-inch cast iron skillet
• when oven is heated, put the skillet in the oven and leave it there until the butter is melted
• take the skillet out of the oven, quickly swish the butter around to cover the bottom. then, quickly pour in the batter and return the skillet to the oven
• bake 15-20 minutes, until the pancake is puffed up and the edges are nicely browned.
• drizzle with lemon juice and dust with confectioner’s sugar