Peanut Butter & Chocolate Cheesecake

Because Reese's is trademarked.  And, strictly speaking, I'm not using anything Reese's in it.

This is what I made for Pi Day (March 14th), and was primarily to use up some chocolate cookie crumbs I had in the freezer from a previous pie crust.  For this crust, you can use chocolate grahams, Oreos, or any other plain hard chocolate cookie you like.  These were Kedem chocolate tea biscuits.  I saw Reese's Oreos recently, but those may be special edition.

This recipe is an adaptation of my blender cheesecake.  I didn't want to clean peanut butter out of the blender and made it in the stand mixer.  Or, you can make this with a hand beater.  I'm going ahead and posting the 1/3 version for a 6" springform.  Triple everything if you're making this in a 10".  I bought all those smaller pans when 6" cakes were a thing, and I still prefer to bake smaller cakes.  You don't have to wait for a huge party that way.

*1/2 C chocolate cookie crumbs
3 Tb butter, melted
*8 oz cream cheese, softened
*1/2 C plain Greek yogurt
*1/3 C creamy peanut butter
1/3 C sugar (1/4 for less sweet)
2 eggs, room temperature 
2 tsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp vanilla
*1/4 C semisweet chocolate chips
*2 Tb cream or whole milk

1.  Preheat oven to 350º.  Line a 6" springform pan with parchment paper, if desired.

2.  In a small bowl, combine cookie crumbs and butter.  Actual butter works better than margarine because it will harden more firmly.  Press into the bottom of the springform.  I did an especially good job this time, so I took a photo.  Bake 10 minutes, before it starts to look darker.  Set aside while you mix the cake.

3.  Cream together cream cheese and yogurt until smooth.  Add peanut butter and sugar and beat again.  Scrape down the sides.  Add eggs, which will make the mixture a little broken and soupy at first.  Last, beat in cornstarch and vanilla.  Scrape down again, checking the bottom of the bowl, and beat another minute.  Everything should be well mixed at this point.  If still broken or clumpy, continue to beat.  While this is happening, boil about a quart of water.

4.  Wrap springform in foil and place in a baking dish.  Pour filling into the springform, and place on the baking rack.  Carefully pour boiling water into the baking dish surrounding the cake pan, until it comes up about an inch on the sides.

5.  Bake 45 minutes, then check for doneness.  Cake should be mostly set when jiggled.  It's ok if it cracked or gets a little browned.  Check at 5 minute increments if too wet.

6.  Once cake is done, turn off oven.  Leave it in the oven with the door shut for 30 minutes.  Then open the door a crack and let it sit another 30 minutes.  This slow cooling is to reduce the chance of it collapsing.  Once cool enough to handle without oven mitts, remove it from the oven and let it sit until room temperature.  Only then, move on to the next step.

7.  Melt chips in the milk, either on a double boiler or in the microwave at 20 second intervals.  Stir until smooth into a ganache.  Spread onto cake, then chill until firm, at least 2 hours and preferably 4.   I made too much ganache and froze it in ice cube trays for later.  I'll either make it into truffles or stir into hot milk to make hot chocolate.

8,  When ready to serve, run a knife around the edge to loosen the cake, then pop the spring.  You'll notice I did the reverse in the photos, and I think it would have looked better if I had glazed it in the pan.  If you lined the bottom, you may be able to slide it off the bottom plate.  If not, it isn't worth the risk.  Just serve it on the springform's bottom on a platter.  If you've planned ahead, decorate with Reese's cups, whipped cream, or another garnish.

Serves 6-8

Difficulty rating  :-0

Tomato and Chicken Soup with Barley

After all the elaborate dishes on Purim, the next thing I made was soup.  This started with finding a can of tomato sauce slightly past its date and evolved into an ingredient-clearing powerhouse.  Because that's what soups do.

I got out all the ingredients I planned to use, but hadn't decided on the flavor profile.  It came as I was reaching for herbs and spices.  I've been cooking almost exclusively Mediterranean and Middle Eastern flavors for a few months.  Decided to go French with this one, which is a Mediterranean country.  Tend to forget that.

I decided ahead of time that I wanted more chicken than just the can I had left and simmered up two chicken thighs to shred, which also left me with bone broth.  Once that cooled, I had a topping of chicken fat to use for cooking the onions.  I had planned to use olive oil, but here was some free rendered fat.

*1/2 C dry pearl barley
2 Tb olive oil or *chicken fat
*1 C diced onion
*1/2 small cabbage, thinly sliced (about 1/2 pound)
1 rib celery, diced (or *1 Tb dried leaves)
*1 15 oz can tomato sauce
*1 quart chicken broth
2 large carrots, peeled and sliced, or *1 15 oz can, drained
*2 cans or 4 cups shredded cooked chicken 
*1 tsp dry tarragon
1/4 C chopped parsley, or *1 Tb dried
*1/2 tsp thyme
salt and pepper to taste

1.  Barley takes a while to cook.  Up to 24 hours before, rinse barley and place in a saucepan with 2 C water.  Bring to a low boil.  Cover, reduce heat to a simmer, and cook until split and soft, about 30 minutes.  Drain.  Refrigerate if a do-ahead.

2.  Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium heat.  Add diced onion and celery.  Cook until it starts to soften, then add cabbage.  Cover and cook until the cabbage is wilted, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3.  Add tomato sauce, broth, chicken, carrots, tarragon, parsley, and thyme.  Bring to a simmer for 5 minutes.  Taste, then add salt and pepper as needed.  Every broth is different.

4.  Finish by adding barley.  Stir and bring the pot back up to temp.  Serve hot.  Leftovers will be thicker, as the barley will continue to soak up the liquids.

Serves 4 as a main, 6-8 as a starter

Difficulty rating  :)

Farro-Stuffed Onions

This was the most elaborate dish on Purim, so I've saved it for last.  Filling, prep the onions, sauce.  This sort of took me all day, but only because I would do one step, run off and do something else, go back to it for a minute, wash dishes, etc.  Then I got the whole thing assembled and stuck it back in the fridge while I went out to deliver mishloach manot.

This is very similar to the quinoa-stuffed onions I made about a year ago.  Some day I will make them with meat, like you're supposed to.  Ground meat prices are still high enough that I'm considering getting the grinder attachment for the Kitchen Aid.  At about $2 a pound more to get a basic cut ground, I would break even in about a year.  Less, if I ground up an entire turkey.  $6 a pound?  Yes, grinding meat is drama and cleaning up is even worse.  I will have to decide where my priorities lie.

I'm calling two of these a serving, and that's how I plated it for the photos.  With all the dishes I made, I only had one per meal.  It counted as a carb and half a vegan protein.  If you're serving it as a side, you can get away with one per person and a couple of spares for seconds.

For the onions

*1/2 C dry farro
2 onions
*1/2 C chopped walnuts
*1 clove garlic, minced
*2 Tb fresh parsley or 2 tsp dried
*1/2 tsp dried mint
*2 Tb currants
1/4 tsp each allspice, oregano, and pepper
1/2 tsp salt
*1 Tb tomato paste
*1 Tb pomegranate molasses
1 Tb olive oil

For the sauce

*1 C tomato sauce
1/2 C hot water
*1 Tb pomegranate molasses
1 Tb olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

1.  In a small saucepan, bring farro and about 2 cups water to a boil.  Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes.  It should be softened but still chewy.  Drain and set aside.

2.  While the farro is cooking, bring a larger saucepan to a boil with about four inches of water in it.  Cut tops and bottoms off of the onions and peel.  Cut once top to bottom into the core, keeping the onion intact.  Set in the boiling water and cook until the onions start to open up, about 10 minutes.  Drain and allow to cool slightly.  Peel off the layers gently.  You should get 4-6 large ones per onion.  The cores may be saved for other uses.  I put one in with the lima beans and diced the other for the freezer.

3.  Add remaining filling ingredients to the par-cooked farro.  Stir to combine.  In a separate bowl, combine sauce ingredients.  If baking right away, preheat oven to 375º.

4.  Spoon about a quarter cup of sauce into the bottom of an 8x8 casserole.  Set an onion layer on a work surface.  Spoon about 2-3 tablespoons of filling onto one side.  Allow the onion to roll itself up around the filling.  Place seam-side down in the pan.  Repeat with all the onion layers and filling.

5.  Pour remaining sauce over the onions.  Cover tightly with foil.  Bake 45 minutes, for the farro to finish cooking.  Remove foil, baste with the sauce, and roast another 15 minutes for the sauce to reduce.  Serve hot.

Serves 4-8

Difficulty rating  :)

Lima Bean & Dill Purée

This Turkish dish is supposed to be made with fava beans.  I tried, I really did.  No dried, no fresh, no frozen.  I was not about to go shopping in Little Persia during Ramadan.  And then the whole Iran thing happened and streets are closed for demonstrations anyway.  So, dried lima beans was my solution.

As a result, I'm making a couple of changes.  The main one is that fava beans apparently cook way faster than limas.  The other change is that my limas did not seem capable of thickening.  I could have made it like a lima version of vichyssoise, and may do that at a later date, but that wasn't what I was going for.  Cornstarch to the rescue.  The rest of the recipe is very similar to the one on Aegean Delight.

The result was what I was expecting.  This is a high protein, high fiber appetizer.  It's light, mildly flavored, and not difficult to make.  Just time consuming.

1 C dry lima beans
*1 small onion, chopped
*2 garlic cloves, minced
*1 Tb lemon juice
1/4 tsp lemon zest
1/4 tsp white pepper
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tb cornstarch
olive oil for the pan
*Fresh dill or dill weed to taste

1.  The night before, soak the beans in 4 cups of water.

2.  Sometime in the morning, drain the beans.  For a very smooth purée, remove the skins.  They should slip right off.  It doesn't have to be tedious; zone out and enjoy the five minutes.  I did it before draining, so I could see the skins when they floated to the surface.

3.  Return the peeled beans to the pot.  Add 1-1/2 C water, the chopped onion, garlic, lemon juice and zest, pepper, and salt.

4.  Bring mixture to a low boil over medium heat.  Boil for 5 minutes, then lower the heat and simmer, covered, until the beans turn to mush.  This could take 1-1/2 to 2 hours.  Remove from heat and let rest 10 minutes.

5.  Stir 1 Tb water together with the cornstarch to make a slurry.  Set aside.  Oil whatever pan you're using to chill the paste.  I did four ramekins.  You could make this in an 8x8 if you're planning to serve slices.  Mine was in use at the time.

 

6.  Pour purée back into saucepan.  If desired, stir in 1/2 tsp of dill now.  Add cornstarch slurry and stir to combine, then turn on the heat again.  Bring mixture to a boil, stirring constantly, and cook until thickened, about two minutes.

7.  Pour into prepared pan or ramekins.  Chill at least 4 hours.

8.  When ready to serve, either slice and plate or turn out onto a serving platter.  Can also be served in individual cups.  Garnish with fresh dill and more olive oil.

Difficulty rating  π

Charred Cabbage with Tahini Dressing

I made a lot of dishes for Purim, but most of them were as easy as this one.  This was the last, and went in while baking the stuffed onions.  It's technically a cooked salad.  If you want to serve it as a proper vegetable side, I would double this and give everyone a quarter cabbage.  Or just buy a bigger one.

I forget where I first saw this idea, probably Rainbow Plant Life.  I couldn't find it again, so the dressing and seasonings are my own.  In a highly seasoned meal, this was a nice, mellow flavor.

1/2 small (1 lb) cabbage
2 Tb olive oil
celery salt, pepper, and paprika to taste
*2 Tb tahini
*2 Tb lemon juice
1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 Tb hot water
pinch of salt

1.  Remove the outer leaves of the cabbage, cut it in half through the core, and store the other half for another use within a few days.

2.  Preheat oven to 375º and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Cut the cabbage in half again through the core, and once more to get 1/8 wedges.

3.  Lay the wedges on their sides on the baking sheet.  Drizzle with some oil, then sprinkle with salt, pepper, and paprika.  Rub it in, flip the wedges, and repeat on the other side.

4.  Roast 20 minutes, flip, and roast again until the surface of the cabbage is browned and a fork easily pierces the core.

5.  While the cabbage is roasting, whisk together the tahini, lemon juice, garlic powder, salt, and hot water until smooth.  Drizzle in a bit of olive oil if desired.

6.  To serve, carefully transfer the wedges to a serving plate so they don't fall apart.  Drizzle with the tahini dressing, then serve any remaining on the side.  Best served hot or warm.

Difficulty rating  π

Dried-Fig Pastry Filling

One of the pantry items I'm trying to use up is a bag of dried figs that aren't as good as the brand I usually buy.  Probably why they were half price.  I've never made hamantaschen with fig filling before.  Sounded like something I would enjoy.

The recipes I researched all looked a lot like the one I used for the fig cookie bars, so I fussed with a double batch of that.  It killed off half the bag of figs in a few minutes.

It's going to look like there isn't enough sugar in this for a jam.  Figs are excessively sweet, especially dried ones.  The orange juice and nutmeg are in here to cut that sweetness a bit and bring a floral touch.  You can't taste the nutmeg.  If you can, you overdid it.

Quick note that this is not a canning recipe.  There isn't enough acid and it is far too dense.  You can freeze it for longer storage.

*8 oz dried figs
1/2 C water, more if figs are especially dry
*1 Tb honey
*2 Tb orange juice
dash nutmeg

1.  Remove any stems from the figs and chop into small pieces.  Place in a saucepan with  water, honey, orange juice, and nutmeg.

2.  Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to a simmer.  Cook until the water is absorbed, about 20 minutes.

3.  Purée the mixture, either in a good blender or food processor.  If desired, add more water for a thinner texture.

4.  Use immediately, or store in the refrigerator for up to a week.  Freeze for longer storage.

Difficulty rating  π

Sumac Onions

Pickles of all sorts play a large role in Mediterranean and Middle Eastern menus.  These onions sounded like a very easy condiment to add to my repertoire.

Sumac is easier to find than I expected.  The first time I used it, I expected to have to go to an ethnic grocery store.  It's cheaper there, but Sprouts has it in their bulk spices.  For how little I use, that's sufficient.  It makes its way into a dish three or four times a year.

This is very simple.   Make a quick dressing, slice up an onion, toss it in the dressing.  Refrigerate a few hours for flavors to meld, and you're good to go.  I bet this tastes great on burgers.  It could get tossed into pasta salads.  I had it as a palate cleanser, which is really what pickles are for.  I added balsamic to some of the leftovers so they would last longer in the fridge, and that version may make its way onto the Seder table.

1 red onion
*2 tsp ground sumac
*1 Tb lemon juice
1 Tb olive oil
*about 1/4 C chopped parsley
1/4 tsp salt

1.  In a bowl, whisk together the sumac, lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and parsley.

2.  Peel and thinly slice the onion.  A mandoline is great for this, but I just did it by hand.

3.  Toss the sliced onion in the dressing.  Refrigerate in a non-reactive container until ready to use.  I recommend metal or glass.  Onion tends to stink up plastic.  Serve chilled or room temperature.

Difficulty rating  π

Ramadan Pidesi

Purim is during Ramadan this year and I'm having a Turkish theme, so I decided to give this bread a try.  It isn't vegan, but neither am I.  I just do a vegan Purim (aside from the hamantaschen) as a way to honor Esther's choices.  Some traditions encourage you to eat meat on the holiday.  It's a variable observance.

These fall somewhere between naan and focaccia.  It's a no-knead bread that can be used as a side or sliced open for sandwiches.  It can be made large, about 10" across, or individual size.  I'm making a half batch into four single servings that are kind of on the small side.  I hate dividing an egg in half.

I'm not a huge fan of the flavor of no-knead bread, but this one has a shorter fermentation time than the kind that has to rest overnight.  After reading several, I settled on Unicorns in the Kitchen's recipe, with some adaptations in ingredients and technique from other versions.  The only big deviation I've made is that I'm out of sesame seeds and have never bought nigella seeds.  Substituted poppy, which is very much not authentic.

1/4 C 100ºF milk
1/4 C 100ºF water
1 Tb olive oil
1/2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp yeast
1 egg, beaten
1-1/2 C bread flour, plus more as needed
1 Tb plain yogurt
1 tsp water
sesame and/or nigella seeds for decorating

1.  Stir together milk, water, oil, sugar, and yeast.  Allow to rest until foamy, about 5 minutes.  Reserve 1 Tb of beaten egg for the egg wash and add the rest to the wet mixture.

2.  Stir together flour and salt.  Add wet mixture and stir together into a shaggy dough, about 3-4 minutes.  It's going to be more like a thick batter than bread dough.  Cover and set in a warm place to rise until doubled, about 45 minutes.

3.  Wet hands and pull at the edges of the dough.  Fold into the middle.  Pull and fold 8-12 times to build a little gluten structure.  If it is still a puddle, add a couple of tablespoons of flour and pull-and-fold again.  Divide into 4 pieces by weight, round into balls, and let rest on a floured surface for 20 minutes.

4.  Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper or by scattering cornmeal on it.  Or both.  Pat down each dough ball into a circle 1/2" thick and set on the baking sheet.  Mix together remaining egg, yogurt, and water into a thick glaze.

5.  Dip your fingers into the glaze.  To make the classic design, press down with the fingertips to make a rim around the edges.  Then make lines across the surface to indent the diamond pattern.  The egg wash should be all over the pides.

6.  Sprinkle the breads with seeds and allow to rest and rise while you preheat the oven to 425º.  Bake 15-18 minutes.  Start checking after 12, since every oven is different.  After ten, I set my timer for another 8, and they came out too dark.  My oven is probably best for 15.  They should be golden and puffed, with the indented pattern visible.  They will be soft and pliable.

7.  Allow to cool on a rack.  Serve room temperature or slightly warm.

Difficulty rating  :-0

Purim 2026

I don't usually make such an elaborate spread for Purim.  Ok, yes I do, but it doesn't always get its own post.  We're still on the Festive Cooking chapter, so I'm going for it.

I've been watching a lot of Turkish cooking channels.  Because it's Ramadan, some of those are showcasing iftar spreads of ten or more dishes for that person's turn to host.  I had to keep reminding myself I was cooking for one person.  Yes, leftovers for three more days, but only four meals total.  I narrowed it down to a reasonable amount of food and calories.  Really, each dish is appetizer-sized and meant to be enjoyed as part of a larger meal.  Once I get to the actual posts I will put in those notes.

What really surprised me was how little this cost.  Because I based it on items on hand and kept it close to vegan, it was a whopping $3 for a small cabbage and a couple of onions.  If you costed out everything, it was probably $20.  That's still a very good deal for such an elaborate production.

Ramadan Pidesi

Farro-Stuffed Onions

Lima Bean Purée

Charred Cabbage with Tahini Dressing

Sumac Onions

Hamantaschen with Fig Filling

These recipes are not being posted in order.  I'm doing hard (the bread), all the easy ones, and then the multi-part stuffed onions.  I'll try to remember to link all of them once they're posted.  And yes, I have noticed that there are a lot of onions in this meal.  Not seeing a problem with that.

All my good intentions to start Passover cleaning fell victim to life stuff.  I've done two of the tasks, meaning I'm three weeks behind and will have to clean on work days.  I am not skipping renting a carpet cleaner again this year.  I can rest the day after Seder.

Mishloach Manot

I'm trying to follow more Jewish traditions that we didn't embrace when I was growing up.  It was an excessively Reform childhood.  I've learned far more about the religion as an adult than I did in Sunday School, because it wasn't reinforced at home.  Same Temple, but I'm getting a different experience from it by guiding my own involvement.

One of these traditions is mishloach manot, gift baskets given on Purim.  I made one in Sunday School decades ago, but didn't fully understand the concept.  I remember it feeling unfair that I'd spent a day putting one together and then had to give it to someone.

I received one from the Temple this year that was a branded tote bag holding stickers, a coloring book and crayons, sour patch gummies, hamantaschen, and some fliers for upcoming events.  Not showing it because the temple's name is all over everything.  Just giving you an idea of things that can go in one.

You're supposed to include two items of food and possibly a drink.  Other items can include pretty much anything, like the Temple's toys.  It can have any theme, or no theme at all.

Before I knew they were handing out those, I had already come up with what I wanted to do.  It's afternoon tea themed, of course.  I picked up some springtime mugs at Dollar Tree.  Each one got two tea bags, a stevia packet, a mini spoon, napkins, one piece of fudge, and two hamantaschen.  I secured it with wrapping tissue and a ribbon.

Maybe I'll make more next year, now that I've started a tradition.  It was fairly low stress and stuff I make or have on hand anyway.  Making the effort was the important part.