The Homemade Cake

Straightforward and simple, that’s what life should be. And since food is part of that flowing existence we tend to call life, I will present a beautiful recipe. No big story on how I got it, or who made it famous, just good food and a glass of wine!!

Ricotta Cheesecake

Ingredients:
4 cups homemade ricotta cheese (or store bought)
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp orange juice
Salt
4 large eggs
Cooking spray
2 cups chopped walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts

Procedure:
Preheat oven to 350F
To prepare cake, place first 5 ingredients in a bowl and beat for 2 minutes on medium.
Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Pour batter in to 10 inch spring form pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350F for 1 hour or until cheesecake center barely moves when pan is touched. Remove cake from oven, run blade around edge of cake, remove ring and cover with chopped nuts.
Button crust is optional.
Mine was just ½ cup Ritz, ½ cup Marias , 1 egg, ½ cup butter, mix with hands. Pat on bottom of pan, blind bake for about 5 minutes.

School and some thoughts!

School season officially started this Monday. I have been stressing out over, classes, schedules, and job commitments and of course all the money costs related to school, especially culinary school. F Y I there is lab fees, tools, uniform, etc.
Did I also mention that I joined a gym, have been job hunting, and recently started going to a church group, try fitting that around friends, family and some free time… there is just not enough hours in a day!!
But, alas I have made some free time to post in my lovely blog and describe to you how my days are going so far... yesterday I had my internship class, super fun just introductions and some basic instructions. Today, Quantity took the spotlight… here they’ll teach us about food manufacturing and portioning. Tomorrow (I’m very exited) it’s Baking and Pastry, and Thursday, I’ll have International Food, here we prepare food for actual customers! And at night I have Menu/Layout.
So, you can all feel pity for me at my busy schedule I have three classes at another college that include Small Business, Marketing, and ServSafe Foods. 24 units in total…
And to celebrate all this, I need to share to home recipes that can’t be made in a commercial kitchen; because the crock-pot is not commercial.
Bon Appetit!

Cran-Apple Risotto

Ingredients
1/4 cup butter
3 little apples (diced)
½ dried cranberries
1 1/2 t cinnamon
1/8 t nutmeg
1/4 t kosher salt
1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
4 tbsp Splenda
4 cups rice milk

Procedure
Use a 4 qt round crock-pot
Set the crock to high and add the butter, let it melt
Add the rice to the butter, and stir it around to coat it.
Add the apples, and spices. Stir in the rice milk
Let it cook on high for 3-5 hours or on low for 6 or so.

Banana- Chocolate Pudding

Ingredients:
1 ¾ cup self rising flour
6tbsp butter
2 ripe bananas
6tbsp caster sugar
1 ¼ cups milk
1 egg (beaten)
2/3 cup chocolate chips

Procedure:
1. Grease and line the base of a 4 cup pudding basin
Put an inverted saucer in this bottom of the ceramic pot and pour 1 inch of hot water. Turn on to high.
2. Sift flour into a large mixing bowl, and rub in butter until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. In a separate place mash bananas, then stir into the flour and butter mixture. Add the sugar and mix.
3. In a clean bowl, add the milk and eggs, then beat into the banana chopped chocolate and spoon in to the prepare pudding basin. Cover with a double thickness of buttered foil and place in the ceramic cooking pot. Pour enough boiling water around the basin to come just over half up the sides.
4. Cover the pot, cook for 3-4 hours, or until the pudding is risen and toothpick inserted comes out clean.