A new toy!

I've wanted a Kitchen Aid mixer for a long time. I've dreamed about the beautiful shiny appliance sitting on my counter, like a piece of artwork - a sculpture really. I dream that when I'm old, I'll treasure it like a trusted and faithful friend, a companion in my lifelong quest to eat well.

I finally bought one on a whim the other day (if you can call wanting it for 7 years a whim...) when I was aimlessly shopping on Amazon. I picked the chrome finish, then anxiously awaited its arrival.

Two days later, I pulled it out of its box and admired it. Wanting to put it to use right away, I perused the contents of my fridge, trying to think of something to make without having to go to the store.

I decided to improvise and make a cheesecake loosely based on another recipe I had. I had a half a box of gingersnaps in the pantry, so I decided to use them for the crust rather than the usual graham crackers (which I didn't have). And I've made this with fresh blueberries in the past, but strawberries would have to do today. And I thought a lemon would be a nice touch.

To make the crust, I whizzed about 50 gingersnaps (I even counted for you...) in my Cuisinart, then mixed them with a whole stick (but who's counting?) of melted butter. I pressed it into the bottom of a 10-inch springform. I then washed, dried, stemmed, and chopped a pound of fresh strawberries, laying them over the crust in the pan. Finally, I zested one lemon over the top of the strawberries, then laid the lemon aside. I stuck the pan in the fridge to chill while I made the filling.

I threw 2 blocks (1 lb) of room-temp Philadelphia cream cheese (full-fat variety and all!) into the silver bowl of my new toy. I added a 1/2 cup of sugar, 1/4 tsp salt, 2 eggs plus one yolk, and the juice of the zested lemon. With great anticipation, I started the mixer and let it do its beautiful work. Easy, easy, peasy.

I dumped the cream cheese mixture over the top of the fruit in the pan, spreading it to cover evenly. I baked it at 375 degrees for 25 minutes.

While it was heating, I mixed 1 cup of sour cream with a dollop of vanilla. After the cheesecake was done, I increased the oven heat to 450, poured the sour cream topping over it, and baked it an additional 5 minutes. I then removed it from the oven and let it cool on the counter until I could chill it in the fridge.

This improvised recipe turned out quite nicely (especially according to Mr. M, who still has not claimed personal responsibility for the entire half of the cheesecake that was missing when I came home from work.) Though I like cheesecake of any kind, my preference definitely tends toward the more creamy and soft ones instead of the drier, cake-y ones, and this one definitely fits the bill. Enjoy!