Brie Cheesecake with Bitter Chocolate

          I'm not a baker, I hate teaspoons, I hate waiting, and my cookies are apt to turn into biscuits. Because of this, rather than try to work from the "baking basics" upward, I decided to go after the top-of-the-line desserts, the big cheeses so to speak.

          After learning an excellent plain cheesecake recipe though, I wasn't content; it just wasn't interesting enough. Then one day it occurred to me that Brie is a dessert cheese, so I set upon putting it in a cheesecake! After checking to see if anyone else had done this, I was impressed with this recipe, and then adapted it. I took out the white chocolate because I personally find it cloying and I decided to garnish with dark chocolate to contrast the cake and simplify the flavor palate. I also added more Brie because I wanted it to take the spotlight. Last, this recipe is crustless, which I think is pretty brilliant idea. Also, I don't add berries to the cake because one: they tend to dominate the flavor and two: everyone does berries. So know that you know all that, I hope you love this unconventional and elegant cheesecake recipe!

                      Ingredients:                      Equipment Needed: 

                         -24 oz Cream Cheese                  -2 Mixing Bowls

                         -About 16 oz Brie                        -Large Baking Pan

                         -1 Cup Sugar                              -Electric Mixer

                         -2 tsp Vanilla Extract                 -Aluminum Foil (optional)

                         -Pinch of Salt                              -Paring Knife                  

                         -5 Eggs               

                         -Quality Dark Chocolate


Preparation/Cook Time: 1 Hour 30 Minutes

Serves: 8-12

Difficulty Rank: Takes Some Work

          So all of the ingredients are fairly easy to find. Basically 24 oz of cream cheese is 3 of the little boxes, or about 1 and 1/2 pounds. You will need about a pound of Brie, which was 2 wedges for me; the rind/skin needs to be removed from the Brie before mixing it. As for the chocolate, I got a bar of it at Trader Joe's. The primary thing to keep in mind is to make sure all the ingredients are room temperature before starting; I even had to heat the Brie up slightly to get it to mix smoothly. The most important step is to mix the two cheeses separately before blending them together. This is because they have different consistencies that won't blend right out of the box.

Tips to Prevent Cracking:
-Let the cake cool for at least 2 hours at room temperature before putting it in the fridge; this prevents it from contracting too fast and cracking.
-Once the eggs are in the batter, do not over-beat it because too much air in the batter will cause the cake to crack as the air expands from the oven heat.
-Butter the sides of the pan generously so that the cake can separate easily.
-Use a water bath if you can, this helps the temperature stay even around the cake.
-Bake at a low temperature so that the cake cooks evenly; think of how grilling chicken too hot causes the outside to burn while the inside stay raw, this is the same case with baking too hot.
-I have not tried this method yet, but if you can't use a water bath, I have heard adding a spoon of cornstarch into the batter will  help prevent cracking.

In-a-nutshell Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 300 F or 150 C.
2. Blend Brie(de-rinded) and Cream Cheese separately until smooth. Then blend together.
3. Add sugar, vanilla, salt then blend.
4. Blend while adding eggs one at a time.
5. Butter springform pan and wrap in foil.
6. Pour in mixture.
7. Place in "water bath".
8. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes.
9. When done, let cool for 2 hours then chill in fridge overnight.
10. Garnish cake with chocolate shavings.

Detailed Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 300 Fahrenheit or 150 Celsius.

2. Take the room temperature cheeses and blend each one in its own bowl until smooth; then mix the two together. This is because if you try placing them together at first, the Brie will stay in chunks. Make sure the white skin is removed from the Brie.

3. Add 3/4 to 1 cup sugar based on how sweet you like it; then add 1-2 tsp of vanilla based on your preference. Last throw in a pinch of salt and blend together.

4. While blending at a low speed, at 5 eggs one at a time so that they mix evenly.

5. Once the mixture is done, butter or oil the inside of your springform pan. Mine is not very good so I crammed butter in the cracks to help repel water that might leak in. I also wrapped foil around my pan to help keep water out, although if you have a good quality pan you won't need to do this.

6. Once the pan is prepared, pour in the cheesecake mixture, don't worry that there is no crust, it will taste better without it.

5. Buttering the Pan.                  7. Pan inside "water bath".

7. Place the pan into a larger baking dish and fill that dish with hot water about halfway up the springform pan. This "water bath" will help the cheesecake cook evenly and prevent it from cracking, basically find any larger pan that has depth to create the water bath.

8. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, the cake should be slightly jiggly in the center but mostly set.

9. Once you take the cake out remove it from the water bath and let it cool for 2 hours* before chilling it in the fridge overnight.

*If you put it in the fridge sooner, the sudden temperature change will cause the cake to contract too fast and it will crack.

10. The next day, garnish it with chocolate shavings and sea salt. You can make chocolate shavings by taking a paring knife and pulling it against the bar (just be careful not to cut yourself!). If you want longer shavings, place the bar in a warm oven for 10 seconds and then try again.

  Brie Shavings from Chopping the Bar.          Brie Shavings from Peeling Warmed Bar.

Chive & Sourcream Mashed Potatoes

          Fall should be in MA any time now, we're just waiting for the trees to catch on that summer's over. Regardless, it's time to start getting that repertoire of comfort foods prepped back into action. While this recipe for mashed potatoes is far from healthy, it's undeniably decadent and delicious. I generally look at this dish as a holiday one, which is why I don't skimp on the "bad for you" ingredients.

                        Ingredients:                 Equipment Needed: 

                         -3 Large Potatoes                  -Knife + Cutting Board

                         -1 Cup Heavy Cream             -Large Pot

                         -1 Cup Sour Cream                -Potato Peeler (Optional)

                         -1 Stick of Butter                    -Potato Masher

                         -Chives                                -Stirring Spoon                   

                         -Salt                

                         -Pepper

Preparation/Cook Time: 30 Minutes

Serves: 4-6

Difficulty Rank: Easy Peasy

          Mashed Potatoes are pretty basic, there are a lot of variations, but in essence, most recipes have the same idea: add some form of dairy, and perhaps something from the onion family. I chose heavy cream over milk to make the texture smoother and I chose sour cream to add a secondary dimension the the flavor. The reason I chose chives is because they offer a pleasant bite, also, I think garlic is a bit of a cliche ingredient. The focus of my version is to really showcase that "Umami" flavor that is the hallmark of great mashed potatoes, but you can change any of the ingredients at your leisure.


          I don't think it matters greatly what kind of potatoes you use, I used Yukon Gold. Also, if you are feeling lazy, you can skip peeling the potatoes and just serve "smashed potatoes" instead. As for the measurements, it truthfully doesn't matter if you have more or less of the creams, just add them until you like the taste. Be careful with the salt though, add just enough to bring out the flavors, but not so much that it is the first thing people think about when describing the taste. Other than that, have fun making this incredibly easy dish.

In-a-nutshell Directions:

1. Boil water in a pot.

2. Peel potatoes while waiting. (Optional)

3. Cut potatoes into smallish pieces.

4. Carefully place cut potatoes in boiling water.

5. When soft, about 10-15 minutes, drain water out.

6. Mash potatoes.

7. Add butter, creams and salt to taste.

8. Mince and add chives.

Detailed Directions:

1. Fill a pot about halfway or so with water, enough to immerse all the potatoes after they are cut.

       2. A Potato "Eye"                                4. Carefully dropping Potatoes.

2. While you are waiting for the water to boil, peel the potatoes, unless of course you would prefer to serve "smashed potatoes" which have the skin on. Also take the "eyes" out of the potatoes if they are sprouted or green*.
*This is because the green or sprouted eyes are slightly toxic.

3. Once you have prepped the potatoes, cut them into small cubes. About one-by-one inch or so. Cutting them smaller makes them finish cooking faster.


4. Once the water is at a rolling boil, carefully drop the potatoes into the water; don't be a dummy like me and plop them in carelessly or you will get splashed by burning water.

5. After about 10-15 minutes the potatoes should be done; you can check them by fishing out a piece and poking a fork into it, if the fork goes through easily, they are done.

6. After draining the water from the pot, put the cooked potatoes back in the pot and mash them.

7. Once they are mashed blend in the butter, and creams and then add salt to taste.


8. Finally, chop the chives finely and garnish the potatoes with them along with a crackle of pepper and you're done!