Cherry Cheesecake

By Elizabeth Morgan

Looking for the perfect dessert to bring for Thanksgiving dinner or a deliciously sweet treat to impress an important date? Then a cherry cheesecake is your answer. This simple yet intricately flavorful cheesecake is great for both a big family lunch fest and a romantic dinner, especially with a light sparkling wine.

And no, forget about buying the cherry cheesecake. Why don’t you make one instead? With the right tools and this simple how-to, you’ll be able to put together a scrumptious cherry cheesecake in no time.

For the crust, you will need a cup of graham cracker crumbs, sugar (about three to four tablespoons is enough), and some melted butter. To make the cheesecake, you will need softened cream cheese and about three to four medium-sized eggs (both the eggs and the cream cheese should be at room temperature). You will also need about fifteen ounces of chilled, cherry pie-filling, sugar, and vanilla extract.

Now that you have all the ingredients on hand, you can start by making the crust. Mix together the graham cracker crumbs, the melted butter and the sugar, and then force the mixture down into the bottom of a spring-form pan. Pop this in the oven and bake it at about 350 degrees for ten to twelve minutes.

While baking, go right on to making the cake. It’s a good idea to use an electric mixer to blend together the cream cheese, the eggs (remember to drop them in one by one), and then the vanilla and sugar. Once you get a firm consistency, bake it at about 450 degrees for ten minutes. Then, adjust the temperature to about 25 degrees lower and go on baking for another forty minutes.

You can then carefully take the cake off the pan and let the cake cool. Pop it in the refrigerator overnight (or for at least nine to twelve hours). Finally, generously spread the cherry filling over the cake.

Cheeseburger Cake

Recipe by: Prizewinning

Serves: 10 Servings

Ingredients:

1 lb Ground beef

1 c Chopped onion

1 cn Diced green chiles; 4-oz.

2 c Bisquick® baking mix

1/2 c Mayonnaise

1/2 c Catsup

2 tb Mustard

2 ts Seasoned salt

1 Egg

8 oz American or Cheddar cheese

2 tb Sesame seeds

Instructions:

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Brown ground beef and onion in skillet. Drain off

excess fat. Mix ground beef, onion and all remaining ingredients except

cheese and sesame seeds. Spread half of batter in greased 9-inch springform

pan. Lay cheese slices on batter and cover with remaining batter. Sprinkle

with sesame seeds. Bake until edges are brown and pull away from side of

pan, 35 to 40 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes; loosen edge. Serves 10 to 12.

High Altitude Directions (3500 to 6500 ft.): No adjustments are necessary.

Formatted by Lynn Thomas dcqp82a@prodigy.com. Source: Prizewinning Recipes

by You from Bisquick. Lynn's notes: Made this 2-10-98; omitted the salt,

next time I'll use garlic and chopped green and red peppers to be cooked in

with the beef. A good recipe, easy to make and could be made in a pie plate

instead of a springform pan.

Cheese Crusted Chicken with Cream

Recipe By : The Best of Sunset - Page 118

Serves: 4 Servings

Ingredients:

4 lb Broiler-Fryer Chicken

1 tb Butter -- melted

5 oz Gruyere Cheese -- shredded

1 tb Dijon Mustard

3/4 c Whipping Cream

Watercress Sprigs -- for

Garnish

Instructions:

Remove chicken neck and giblets; reserve for other uses. Pull off and

discard lumps of fat. Rinse chicken inside and out, then pat dry. Brush

skin with butter. Place chicken, breast up, on a rack in a 12- by 15-inch

roasting pan. Roast, uncovered, in a 375 degree oven until a meat

thermometer inserted in thickest part of thigh (not touching bone)

registers 185 degrees, or until meat at thighbone is no longer pink (cut to

test), about 1 hour. Using poultry shears or a knife, cut chicken into

quarters. Arrange pieces, skin side up and slightly apart, in a shallow

ovenproof serving dish (use a 9-by 13-inch rectangular or 12- to 15-inch

oval dish). Sprinkle with 3/4 cup of the cheese. Return to oven and turn

off heat. Skim and discard fat from pan drippings. Stir in mustard and 3/4

cup of the cream; bring to a boil over high heat and boil, stirring, until

shiny bubbles form 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat, add remaining 1/2 cup

of cheese, and stir until cheese is melted and sauce is smooth (if

necessary, thin sauce with a little more cream). Keep sauce warm. Broil

chicken 4 to 5 inches below heat until cheese is bubbly, about 1 minute.

Pour sauce around chicken; garnish with watercress.