Easter Eve

Easter Eve Festivities

Pumpkin Cheesecake

1         Graham Cracker Crust (I'm Lazy)

Filling

4

packages (8 oz each) cream cheese, softened

1 1/2

cups granulated sugar

4

eggs

1

cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)

2

teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

3/4

teaspoon ground cardamom

Vanilla (I use about a 5 second drop)

Spiced Caramel-Rum Sauce

1/3

cup packed brown sugar

1/3

cup light or dark corn syrup

2

tablespoons butter or margarine

1/3

cup whipping cream

1

tablespoon spiced rum or 1/4 teaspoon rum extract

Garnish

Sweetened whipped cream, if desired

Preheat Oven to 300 degrees.  In large bowl, beat cream cheese and granulated sugar with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add in vanilla to taste.  Beat in eggs, one at a time, just until blended. Spoon 3 cups of the mixture onto crust; spread evenly. 

To remaining cream cheese mixture, add pumpkin, pumpkin pie spice and cardamom; mix with wire whisk until smooth. 

Spoon over mixture in pan

  

Bake 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 hour 25 minutes or until edge of cheesecake is set at least 2 inches from edge of pan but center of cheesecake still jiggles slightly when moved. Run small metal spatula around edge of pan to loosen cheesecake. Turn oven off; open oven door at least 4 inches. Let cheesecake remain in oven 30 minutes. Cool in pan on cooling rack 30 minutes. Cover loosely; refrigerate at least 6 hours but no longer than 24 hours.

 

In small saucepan, heat brown sugar, corn syrup and 2 tablespoons butter to boiling over medium-low heat, stirring constantly. Boil 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Stir in whipping cream; heat to boiling. Remove from heat; stir in rum. Cool until warm.

• Just before serving, run small metal spatula around edge of pan; carefully remove side of pan. Top individual slices with warm sauce and a dollop of whipped cream. Cover and refrigerate any remaining cheesecake.

Sauteed Chilean Sea Bass

• Ingredients 
• 1 cup all purpose flour for dredging, seasoned with salt and pepper
• 1 1/2 to 2 pounds Chilean Sea Bass fillets
• 4 tablespoons butter/olive oil combination
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 1 tablespoon butter, softened
• 2 tablespoons drained capers

Place flour for dredging in a shallow bowl. Coat each fillet with seasoned flour and shake off excess. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes

 Add butter/olive oil combination to pan.

  

Add the fillets, without crowding. Increase heat to high and saute, shaking the pan from time to time, until the bottom of the fish is nicely browned, about 3 minutes. 

Turn and brown the other side.  

Deglaze the pan with white wine. Cook, stirring over high heat until reduced by about one-third.

 Stir in remaining butter and drained capers.

Peach & Radish Spring Salad

This is super Easy to make!  The inspiration came from a salad I had at South City Kitchen in Atlanta, GA.  First time I tried radishes or peaches!  I saw they had the ingredients at The Fresh Market so I figured it would be a nice addition to my rich Chilean Sea Bass entree.  

1 bag of watercress

1 bushel of radishes (diced)

2 peaches (diced)

1/2 cup of feta cheese

light salad dressing (I used balsamic spray)

Add together with dressing on the side!

This is the only picture I got the didn't come out blurry of the Chilean Sea Bass...I only got to take one or two because there was no way my family was holding off eating it for me to take pictures!

Bon Apetit!

Grilled Flank Steak with Chimichurri Sauce

Grilled Flank Steak with Chimichurri Sauce

Ingredients:
1 piece Flat Iron Steak, 1 1/2 - 2 pounds
1 T Steak Rub (I used Montreal Rub)

Chimichurri Sauce Ingredients:
1/2 cup finely chopped cilantro leaves (about 1 cup before chopping)
1/2 cup finely chopped flat leaf parsley leaves (about 1 cup before chopping)
2 T minced garlic
3 T fresh lemon juice
2 tsp. red wine vinegar
1 tsp. Aleppo pepper flakes (or use a smaller amount of cayenne pepper if you can't find Aleppo pepper)
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 cup olive oil

1)  Take the steak out of the refrigerator at least 30 minutes before cooking, rub with steak rub, and let it 

come to room temperature. 

2)  Wash cilantro leaves and parsley leaves and dry with paper towel or spin dry in salad spinner. Finely chop the cilantro, parsley, and garlic.

3)  Put ingredients into a bowl and add lemon juice, red wine vinegar, Cayenne pepper and cumin and stir to combine.  Then stir in olive oil until mixture is well blended.

4)  Let sit at room temperature at least 15 minutes before serving.

5)  To cook steak, preheat gas or charcoal grill to medium-high heat.  Put steak on grill at an angle. After about 3-4 minutes, or when you see nice grill marks starting, rotate 45 degrees and cook 3-4 minutes more on first side.

6)  Turn steak over and cook on the second side until the meat is done to your liking. (I cooked my steak just under 12 minutes total for medium rare, but cooking time will depend on the heat of your grill, the temperature of the meat, and even the weather.

7)  When meat is done to your liking, remove from grill and let rest for 5 minutes, then cut into thin slices across the grain. Serve hot, with Chimichurri sauce spooned over.

Bon Apetit!