Cheesecake Receives Fan Mail

Here is one of the emails I've received about Cedar Woman's Aztec Chocolate Cheesecake:

Thank you for your e-mail as I was HOPING to get in touch with you to say I LOVED Cedar Woman! I left a review on Amazon... AND... I made the Aztec Chocolate Cheesecake! WOW!!! It disappeared like magic when I shared it at work! :)

Thank you for sharing such a wonderful book with recipes! I have had requests for more cheesecake! When asked for the recipe, I directed my friends to your lovely story Cedar Woman! :) (It's why I like Diane Mott Davidson books - the recipes that WORK!!) 

Are you planning on more stores in this vein? I loved learning about the Lakota culture... the story was soooo beautiful! I hope you will write more with more recipes! :) 

Well... I just HAD to let you know that you touched my heart and my husband & friends' stomachs! :)

Sincerely yours,

Julie

Chocolaty and rich, with a kick of heat at the last, this cheesecake carries a mouthful of flavor. With each bite, the flavors and nuances of this delicious cake rise, like an elevator, on the palate. A great idea for that special someone on Valentine's Day.

  

Cedar Woman's Aztec Chocolate Cheesecake

12 oz. Semi Sweet Chocolate, finely chopped

1/3 cup Kahlua

1 Tablespoon water

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 pounds cream cheese, at room temperature

1 3/4 cups sugar

1 teaspoon Mexican cinnamon (you can substitute what it is in your pantry)

1 teaspoon cayenne

4 large eggs

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 325   F. Lightly butter an 9-inch round spring form pan that is at least 2 inches deep.  In a heavy pot, melt the chocolate with the Kaluah, water and vanilla. When melted, remove from the heat and let stand until cool.  In a large mixing bowl,  using  a  handheld  electric  mixer  at  medium  speed,  beat  cream cheese until smooth.

Combine sugar with cinnamon and cayenne.  Add to cream cheese.  Add eggs, one at a time.  Beat in the cooled chocolate. Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan.

Bake in the preheated oven until the top edges of the cheesecake are puffed and golden brown, about 1 hour 15 minutes. Let the cake cool in the pan for 30 minutes. Run a sharp knife around the inside of the pan to release the cheesecake from the sides (if they haven't already pulled away during the cooling process). Remove the sides of the spring form, cover the cake with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes before serving. Bring to room temperature before serving, or eat cold.  Makes 8 servings.

A little story: When my son was 13, he had to create an invention for the science fair at school. My husband was often gone for weeks at a time, and so I asked his teacher if a recipe would qualify. "Of course!" she assured, so we set about creating this amazing cheesecake.

It won a ribbon, and I got five offers of $50 a piece if I would make the cheesecake for various families at the science fair. Not bad for a school science fair project!

Other recipes can be found in:

 

Click Here for eBook

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Introducing Chopped Junior Champion Daniel Kligmann

Published in http://www.distefanocheese.com/#!Daniel-Kligmann-winner-of-Chopped-Jr-is-our-Chef-of-the-Month-for-January/c23wm/568827840cf236d40395d33d 

I had the great pleasure to interview this young man in July of last year. I thought perhaps you all would enjoy meeting this wonderful, young chef.

Meet Daniel Kliggman, Chopped Junior Champion, Season One, Episode Four.

Salt Lake Catering Company

www.saltlakecateringcompany.com

(801) 688-1341

info@saltlakecateringcompany.com

You can watch the Chopped Jr. episode by clicking here.

Chopped Jr. Thanksgiving

What was your favorite part about being on Chopped Jr. ?

Winning! It was so much fun to meet the other competitors and cook with people who are equally as talented as I am. It was also great to meet the celebrity chefs Geoffrey Zakarian, Martha Stewart and Chris Santos. I have admired them and watched their shows for years. It was a 12 hour day and it was hard, but it was cool to see how they put together all the video they shot and how they told the story.

We hear that Martha Stewart loved your entrée! What happened?

In the entrée round I cooked smoked turkey brussel sprout chowder, and when I brought it to the judges Martha Stewart called it stellar and she loved it. So much so, that I was told that when the round was over and we had a catered lunch, instead of eating that she ate the leftover soup that was in my pan. When I heard that happened I was so excited because it was a dish I made in 30 minutes out of weird ingredients, and again, I mean, Martha Stewart called *my* food stellar!

You have a catering company at the age of 15. What is that like?

It's a lot of fun! With school and the catering company it is difficult sometimes, but I really love doing it. We have to limit the number of events. But every job we do, our clients are very happy and I take pride in a job well done. My brother Jake and I are young, he is only 21, but our older brother who owned it first passed it to us almost 2 years ago when he left to go be a missionary pastor in the Philippines. We worked together for awhile before he left, so we had a pretty good idea of how to do it all. He still advises us when we need it. I just love being a chef!

What do you plan do to next?

Well I am only 15 so I plan to graduate from high school first. Later on I will decide which culinary school I want to go to. In the meantime I am going to continue to grow my catering company and see where the road takes me.

I will be bringing you that amazing recipe that Martha Stewart loved so much soon, courtesy of Daniel, but in the meantime, here is a great favorite chicken kabob recipe used in his catering service just in time for your Fourth of July cookout!

1 cup soy sauce
2 cloves of garlic
2 T minced fresh ginger
2 cups of pineapple juice

Take 6 chicken breasts and slice lengthwise into 1/2 inch thick strips.
Put in a bowl and marinate 1 hour in the fridge.

Boil remaining marinade for 1 minute. Thread lengthwise onto skewers and broil 3 minutes on each side, brushing with remaining marinade until done and caramelized. Sprinkle with finely chopped green onion to serve.

On a personal note. I have spoken to this young man, and if our youth is the hope of our future, our future is looking very bright. An exceptional human being, Daniel believes in service to others and has a moral code and work ethic found in men three times his age. I'm proud to say that I know Daniel Kligmann.

Apple Harvest Soup

'Tis the season - for delicious, hearty, rib-sticking soups, and this one fits the bill.

I developed this recipe thirty years ago, and pretty much forgot about it. Mark has never been one for soup, and so I dedicated my culinary time to building a catalog of dishes he would enjoy.

When we adopted our son Christopher, I began to experiment again with soups and remembered this one.

This is a bowl-scraping, spoon-sucking dish if ever I've tasted one. The flavors are warm and rich with a kiss of apple. Born from an old recipe for Mulligatawny soup.

MULLIGATAWNY SOUP HISTORY

Mulligatawny is the Anglicized version of the Tamil (a southern Indian Dravidian language) words for "pepper water" or "pepper broth." It became popular with the British stationed in India (employees of the East India Company) during colonial times, during the late 18th century and later.  When they returned home, they brought the recipe back with them to England, and to other members of the Commonwealth, especially Australia.

It was a rich curried soup originally made with peppers, hence the name.  It has changed to suit differing tastes in Western culture, and has gone through many variations at various times and places.  It is usually based on a chicken stock (also mutton or vegetable stock) and curry, with cream , pieces of chicken, onion, celery, apples and almonds and garnished with rice. The cream was very likely, originally coconut milk.

Vegetarian versions may contain lentils, tomatoes, cucumbers, apples, rice and fresh coconut.  I am told that Australians like to add tomatoes and bacon.  Yogurt is sometimes used instead of cream or coconut milk. Today Mulligatawny bears little resemblance to the original.

It is still one of my favorite soups, in many, if not all of it's forms. Freshly grated or ground spices and herbs make a world of difference when making any curry, and Mulligatawny soup is no exception. So take the time to do it right and you will be well rewarded.  It can be made as a mild curried soup, or it can be made to live up to its name "pepper water."

http://www.foodreference.com/html/artmuligatawny.html

So here is my version, which is included in my soon to be released cook book Our Family  Table -
A collection of Recipes of Family and Friends Adopted Through Love

 Apple Harvest Soup

6 cups chicken broth
4 medium carrots, scrubbed and sliced
2 medium carrots, scrubbed
4 stalks of celery, washed and sliced
2 stalks of celery, washed
1 bunch (about six stems with leaves) parsley, chopped
1 bunch (about six stems) parsley
2 large tomatoes cut in half
3 cups diced, cooked chicken
2 large onions
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter or 4 tablespoons olive oil
1 box Stouffer’s Harvest Apples
5 teaspoons curry powder
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon pepper
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
¼ cup sifted all-purpose flour


Broth

Making your own broth is not only very simple, incredibly economical, and it makes your house smell incredible:

Into a large pot, combine the 2 medium whole carrots,  the 2 whole stalks of celery, 1 large onion unpeeled (it adds a golden color and flavor to keep the paper on) the 2 tomatoes, 3 large chicken breasts or chicken thighs or mix, bone in and six sprigs of parsley, stems and all.

Combine with 8 cups of water and bring to a slow simmer. Skim off scum as it forms. Cook for approximately two hours. Do not add salt at this time!

While the broth is simmering, prepare the carrots and celery. Place in a saucepan.

One hour into simmering the broth, remove the chicken and set aside to cool.

When broth is done, remove vegetables and parsley from broth and discard. If you wish, you can pour your broth through a sieve, but it isn’t necessary, especially if you skimmed during cooking.

Add broth to saucepan of vegetables to cover (about three cups) and simmer until almost tender, approximately 15 minutes.

In another large pot sauté chopped onions until translucent, approximately five minutes. Add curry powder and red pepper flakes and sauté one minute. Add flour and stir, incorporating all of the flour into the onions and cook two minutes. Add broth from the other large pot slowly, about two cups at a time and stir, when soup begins to thicken, add remaining broth. Add cooked vegetables AND the broth in the saucepan to the soup pot. Stir. Cover and simmer 15 minutes.

Microwave Stouffer’s apples three minutes, add to pot. Shred cooled chicken and add as well. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add parsley and cook approximately three minutes, reserving some for garnish.

Enjoy!

Note: if you don’t want to use Stouffer’s Harvest apples, peel, core and slice two Granny Smith Apples and sauté with the onions.