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Pumpkin Cheesecake, Bourbon Whipped Cream + GIVEAWAY

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It’s November and the sun has been missing from the south for almost 2 weeks, so we’re just moving on and celebrating the Thanksgiving countdown with a vengence.  We’ve been talking about sides and vegetables and I love them all, but I’m in need of some sunshine and sugar because this time change early darkness business and the constant gloomy doomy rain is an absolute buzzkill.

To be fair, the sun did come out for a bit yesterday.  I felt like a vampire coming out of my cave when the bright light hit my face.  I cowered, cringed, and covered my eyes.  I couldn’t find my sunglasses because it had been so long they ended up in the dark scary place in the bottom of my bag with stale gum and used tissues. Don’t judge me.

 

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So I made you a cheesecake!  A pumpkin one with a bourbon boozy whipped cream and just for kicks and giggles I made a ginger snap crust!  Whaaat?  And this pumpkin cheesecake is not for the faint of heart – it’s like 6 inches tall.  Ok, that may be an exaggeration and it might be closer to 3.74 inches. Either way, it’s a hot mess over the top ginormous pumpkin cheesecake totally appropriate for a holiday party.  DO IT!

 

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And it would hardly be a holiday party without some swag, so a bunch of my blogger buddies and I got together to bring you this giveaway.  Dudes!  It’s a $650 AMAZON GIFT CARD!   Booyah!  Think of all the awesome stuff you can get at Amazon with $650!

 

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We like to have fun on this here website, but on a serious note I’d like to add a reminder that today is Veteran’s Day.  Thank and be thankful for your service members.  And since this is an Amazon giveaway, I’ll let you know in case you didn’t, that if you go in through Smile.Amazon.com, you can choose a charity and Amazon will contribute a portion of the proceeds from your sale to the charity you choose.  Mine is the Wounded Warrior Project.

 

Use the Rafflecopter below the recipe to enter and get a kick start on your holiday shopping!  The giveaway runs for two weeks and ends on November 25 to residents of the US, UK, and Canada. Good luck, y’all! (CLOSED)

 

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Pumpkin Cheesecake with Ginger Snap Crust and Bourbon Whipped Cream

Ingredients

For the Crust

  • about 1/2 box ginger snap cookies
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 stick butter melted

For the Cheesecake

  • 5 8 ounce packages cream cheese softened
  • 1 cup packed brown sugar
  • 2/3 cup confectioner's sugar
  • 1/4 cup flour sifted
  • 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste
  • 1 cup pure pumpkin puree
  • 6 eggs at room temperature

Additional Items

  • Heavy duty aluminum foil
  • Spring form pan
  • Large roasting pan
  • Large teapot or measuring cup for boiled water

For the Whipped Cream

  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1 tablespoon bourbon I used Maker's Mark

Instructions

  1. Wrap 2 sheets of heavy duty aluminum foil tightly around a spring form pan
  2. Using a food processor, pulse gingersnaps until they become fairly fine crumbs
  3. Transfer to a mixing bowl, add sugar and melted butter, and stir to combine and all crumbs are evenly coated
  4. Transfer to the spring form pan, using hands press across bottom and up the sides
  5. Set aside
  6. Add the cream cheese to a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment
  7. Beat cream cheese on low until fluffy, 2-3 minutes
  8. Combine brown sugar and confectioner's sugar in a bowl, sift in flour
  9. With the mixer still running on low, add the sugar - flour mix to cream cheese a little at a time
  10. Add vanilla bean paste and pumpkin, scrape down sides if necessary
  11. Add eggs, one at a time, making sure each is incorporated before adding the next
  12. Turn of mixer, remove bowl, and tap on counter several times to remove air pockets, set aside for 20 minutes or so
  13. Preheat oven to 350
  14. Put the prepared spring form in the large roasting pan
  15. Transfer batter to the prepared spring form pan
  16. Boil about 6-8 cups water in a teapot or in the microwave in a measuring cup that can pour safely
  17. Put the pan on the oven rack
  18. Pour boiling water in the roasting pan, halfway up the sides of the spring form pan, careful not to splash the water on the cheesecake (or yourself)
  19. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes
  20. Reduce heat to 325 and bake an additional 60 minutes
  21. Turn off oven, leave door open halfway with the cheesecake still inside for 30 minutes
  22. Remove from oven and cool completely
  23. Refrigerate overnight

For the Whipped Cream

  1. Chill metal bowl and whisk of stand mixer in freezer for 20-30 minutes
  2. Combine cream, sugar, and bourbon in the bowl and attach whisk to stand mixer
  3. Start on low so you don't splash, whip and increase to medium until soft peaks form

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Here are all my cool friends that brought you this giveaway!

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Roasted Butternut Squash, Pumpkin, and Carrot Soup

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Have I ever told you how back in high school a nun almost busted me for smoking behind the school?

 

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Yeah.  I didn’t think so.  Sorry, Mom!  I don’t think I ever told you either!  Ummm…. probably because I valued my life?

 

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True story.  I went to this very small Catholic high school in the middle of nowhere.  Seriously, there was a total of 39 kids in my graduating class. And there wasn’t a lot to do in this little place, so you can imagine how we had to make our own fun.

 

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This little school clearly trusted us too much.  We had a senior lounge down in the basement by the cafeteria.  It had couches, a television, and a coke machine.  We were allowed to hang out there during lunch and study hall.  SENIORS ONLY!  It was totally isolated in the afternoon which just opened the door to teenage shenanigans. We used to sneak out all the time.  Most of us had cars, so we would all jump in someone’s car and take off to scandalous places like Wendy’s, the pizza joint or the corner store. Although the corner store is where we bought our smokes.

 

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Right.  I was confessing about smoking.  So, my friend Mary Beth and I were hanging out in the senior lounge.  And because high school is soooooo dang hard we decided we needed a smoke break.  There wasn’t enough time before our next class to actually get in the car, fire up a couple of Virginia Slims menthol foot-longs, drive around the block, and head back to school.

 

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Well, of course we did the next best thing.  We snuck out the back door of the cafeteria, fired up the foot-longs, leaned our tired selves against the building in our plaid skirts, cardigans, knee socks, and penny loafers, and blew out a plume of smoke in satisfaction.  Ahhhhhh!

Then the door opened.

 

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Fortunately, we had the good sense to be on the side of the door that hid us behind it as it opened. And thank goodness that Sister Celeste was about 100 years old and kind of….well, old?  We saw her black habit peek out the door, sniff the air, give a hmmp, and go back inside.  You can imagine the relief we felt.

 

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Ahhhh.  High school.  There’s just something about the fall, pumpkins and butternuts, football season, and cooler weather that just sends me back in time to the days of innocence (ok not so innocent?) and carefree comfort of having no responsibilities.  The perfect time of year for silly memories and comforting soup.

 

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P.S. Dont’t judge me.  Y’all will be glad to know that I no longer smoke Virginia Slims foot-longs or any other carcinogen.

 

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Soup Draft

Ingredients

  • 2 small pie pumpkins
  • 1 butternut squash
  • 3-4 large carrots
  • 2 onions
  • 3-4 tablespoons olive oil
  • 4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
  • 3-4 cups water
  • 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
  • 1 teaspoon ginger
  • salt and white pepper to taste
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1 cups heavy cream plus another 1/4 cup or so for serving
  • pistachios and sour cream to garnish optional

 

 

 

 

Blueberry Mousse Shooters

by 56 Comments

Blueberry Mousse

 

Dontcha just love purple?  And blueberries?  Gah and mouse?

 

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I actually made these about 2 weeks ago when Lisa came over to brew some beer.  Yes.  We FINALLY  found some time to brew some dang beer!  Thank goodness, because our kegerator is sadly and embarrassingly empty, but for one lonely little bit of cider.

 

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Let me tell you that it was pretty stinking hot.  For some reason I thought it was a brilliant idea to make a brisket stew.  There’s nothing like a hot bowl of heavy, meaty, stew on a lovely 100 degree super humid Charlotte afternoon after you have been standing outside over a hot brew kettle on a propane burner.

 

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Don’t be judging me.  I’m very proud of that run on sentence.

 

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At least I had the good sense to make some blueberry mouse shooters for a refreshing finish to a hot (but productive!) day of brewing.  It happens every now and then.

 

Recipe from Food & Wine

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Blueberry Mousse

Ingredients

  • 1 cup blueberries plus a hand full extra for garnish
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • Zest and juice of one lemon
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 8 ounce block of cream cheese at room temperature
  • 1 cup heavy cream cold
  • chopped pistachios for garnish optional

Instructions

  1. Chill the bowl and whisk of a stand mixer in the freezer
  2. Combine 1 cup of blueberries, lemon juice and zest, and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat and smash together with the back of a spoon or a potato masher
  3. When mixture reaches a simmer, continue to cook, stirring often, until sort of thick and syrupy
  4. Remove from heat, transfer to the bowl of a food processor, and cool completely
  5. When blueberry mixture is cooled, add the sour cream and cream cheese to the food processor and puree with blueberries until smooth
  6. Add heavy cream to the chilled bowl of a stand mixer, attach whisk, and beat on medium high until soft peaks form.
  7. Fold the whipped cream into the berry mixture until well combined
  8. Transfer the mousse to a zip top bag and cut a small piece of the corner completely off
  9. Pipe mousse into small dessert cups or shooter glasses, cover and chill for at least an hour or overnight
  10. Garnish with blueberries and chopped pistachios, if desired

Note: I ordered a package of small 5.1 ounce plastic disposable shooter type cups from Amazon after Jennifer gave me her July issue of Food & Wine and I saw this recipe.

Pumpkin Soup

by 13 Comments

It snowed again.  We didn’t get the 10 inches that was predicted, but we got a few.  It was enough to make me want flannel PJ’s, blankets, a fire in the fireplace, and soup.

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I know it’s not the usual time of year for pumpkin, but who cares?  I can have pumpkin in August if I want.  Who says pumpkin is just for Fall?   Pumpkin is one of my absolute faves and I cook with it all year long.  I mean, after all, Libby’s is kind enough to put it in a can and sell it to me year round, so I should be grateful and use it, right?

 

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So anyway, I made pumpkin soup.  In February.

 

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I love it regardless of the time of year.  I hope you do too!

 

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Pumpkin Soup

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 4 tablespoons butter divided
  • 1 medium onion diced
  • 3 garlic cloves minced
  • 1 piece of fresh ginger 1-1 1/2 inch, grated
  • 1 16 ounce can pure pureed pumpkin not pie filling
  • 3 cups chicken stock reduced sodium
  • 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream

Instructions

  1. Melt 3 tablespoons of butter and the olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat
  2. Add onions and cook until almost translucent, 3-4 minutes
  3. Add garlic and cook for another minute
  4. Add ginger and cook while stirring for another minute, until all are soft
  5. Add pumpkin and chicken stock, stirring to combine
  6. Add spices
  7. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer about 30 minutes
  8. Adjust seasoning, if necessary
  9. Stir in heavy cream and 1 tablespoon of butter
  10. Remove bay leaves
  11. Using an immersion blender, blend until relatively smooth. You can use a regular blender or food processor if you don't have an immersion blender, but you will probably want to blend only a couple of coups at a time
  12. Serve in individual bowls. Add another tablespoon of heavy cream on top and swirl with a spoon

Recipe Notes

If you are feeling ambitious, a garnish of candied pumpkin seeds or pistachios would be nice

Update: I added “remove bay leaves” to the recipe.  Don’t forget to remove them before blending like I did!!