New York Cheesecake with Strawberry Sauce

Despite being well known amongst my friends and family for making all sorts of cheesecakes, I realized that I have never made the most traditional type: New York Cheesecake. Sure, I've made variations of it, but never a true New York Cheesecake. I decided that I would remedy that by making it for my birthday this year when my family came over to celebrate.

Normally when it comes to making cheesecake for family gatherings I use an 11" pan, my biggest one, and 2 lbs of cream cheese. This recipe used a 9" pan and 3 lbs of cream cheese. Not only that, but it also used 7 whole eggs and 2 egg yolks in addition to sour cream. As you can imagine, the resulting cake was super rich and extremely tall. In fact, when I was pouring the batter into the pan I was afraid of how full it was so I scooped about two cups out and made them into mini cheesecakes.

In my opinion, the perfect New York cheesecake is always accompanied by a fresh fruit sauce and the

classic is always strawberry. I have to admit that once I poured it onto the cake, the sauce kind of made it look sloppy because the strawberries had somewhat discolored and were breaking down. However the taste more than made up for it because it was delicious!

The cake was well received by my family and I was happy to cross such an iconic cake off my list. I don't know if I will repeat the recipe,  because it is truly an extremely rich cake, but I would definitely recommend it for its ease and simplicity.

New York Cheesecake

For the crust:

• 1 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 2½ tbsp unsalted butter, melted
• 1½ tbsp sugar

Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl and then transfer to a 9" springform pan. Gently press down all along the bottom and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 8 minutes. Set aside to cool.

For the cheesecake:

• 3 lbs (6 blocks) cream cheese, room temperature
• 1½ cups sugar
• 7 large eggs + 2 egg yolks
• 1 cups sour cream
• ½ tsp salt
• Zest of one lemon

1. Beat the cream cheese on medium-high speed for about a minute, until smooth.
2. Beat in the sugar and salt and then the sour cream. Scape down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
3. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, at low speed. Beat in the lemon zest and continue mixing until everything is combined.
4. Pour the mixture into the cooled springform pan and bake for 60 minutes at 325 degrees Fahrenheit using a hot water bath or by placing a pan of hot water on the lowest rack beneath the cake.
5. Without opening the oven door, turn off the oven and leave the cake to cool for 2½-3 hours inside the oven. Afterward, remove from the oven and cool to room temperature before refrigerating for at least 4 hours, though preferably overnight.

For the strawberry sauce:

• 2 lbs fresh strawberries, cut into halves or quarters
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 cup water

1. Combine the strawberries, sugar, and water in a saucepan and heat over medium heat until the berries start to break down. 
2. Reduce the heat to a simmer and continue cooking for another 15-20 minutes while the sauce thickens. 
3. Remove from the heat and allow to cool before straining strawberries and spooning over top of the cheesecake. 
4. Optional: the leftover liquid strawberry sauce can be served on the side to pour over individual slices.

Strawberry Balsamic Salad

After returning from Whistler my family came over a couple of weeks ago to celebrate my birthday at home. Most of the food we made consisted of old time favorites but with my burning desire to always try something new I thought to make a different salad than usual. As spring is in the air I thought to take advantage of all the fresh fruit now appearing in grocery stores.

This salad was quite simple: it featured spinach, blueberries, goat cheese, roasted beets and candied pecans. It was tied together through a sweet but tangy strawberry balsamic vinaigrette. I think that there are a variety of ingredients that could be put in the salad but I decided to go for blueberries and beets because I really love them. Also candying the pecans gave them a great crunch and added the necessary amount of texture to the salad.

Note: I will post the recipe for the salad dressing and how to make candied pecans. The rest of the ingredients can be chosen based on what you have/what is in season.

Strawberry Balsamic Vinaigrette
Note: This is more than enough dressing for one large salad. I drizzled some on the salad and served the rest on the side for those who wanted extra.

• 1 lb fresh strawberries
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1-2 tsp water
• Pinch of salt
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1-2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• Optional: 1 tbsp poppy seeds

1. Remove the stems from the strawberries and cut in half.
2. In a small pot, combine the strawberries, sugar, salt, and water. Heat over medium heat until the strawberries begin to soften and release their juices.
3. Blend the strawberries until they are smooth and then strain the mixture through a fine mesh sieve to separate the seeds.
4. Allow the strawberry puree to cool then whisk together with the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and poppy seeds. Add some extra salt and pepper to taste.

Candied Pecans

• 2 cups pecan halves
• 4 tbsp brown sugar
• 4 tbsp (¼ cup) unsalted butter, cut into pieces

1. In a large pan, roast the pecans for about two minutes, until they start to soften and become fragrant.
2. Add the butter pieces and stir so all the nuts are well coated.
3. Add the brown sugar and keep stirring so that the nuts do not burn. Continue lightly frying for about 3-5 minutes, until all of the butter has melted and the sugar has caramelized.
4. Pour out the nuts on a parchment paper-lined plate and allow them to cool for 10 minutes so that the sugar can set.