Summer - Picnics - Cookouts -...often require sharing our 'BEST' -

and this is one from our family that I want to share with YOU.   

Bruce is my brother-in-law, chef extraordinaire.  He introduced this to our family and it has become a tradition.  It takes some doing, but is REALLY good!  I might add that to get the most juice from a lemon, I poke it once, and put in microwave for 30'.  A mixer that 'does it's own thing' is indispensable.  For $10 at an auction, I picked up a 'vintage' Oster Kitchen Center (in Avocado Green) - just like the one I had in 'early marriage' years - though that one was Harvest Gold...that works GREAT.  It has a blender and meat grinder to boot. Works far, far better than my $$$ KitchenAid Mixer imho.   Combine my Oster Mixer  with my Food Processor to chop up the cookies, and I'm set to go!  For catching the excess butter that will drip out of the pan - I just make a 'tray' of aluminum foil. 

Here's a picture of my wonderful vintage mixer hard at work - with the food processor in the back.  The center picture shows how I smoosh those delicious crumbs out in the pan - and do my best to follow Bruce's hint of working diligently to NOT have the crust too thick at the edge of the bottom and sides. 

I've also included a picture of my (dirty, I know) oven with my foil 'tray'.  Do NOT forgo this step!!!  You'll smell up the entire house with burnt butter if you don't.  I 'empty' this tray of butter during the cooling 20 period in the middle of the recipe.  Also - when you take the cheese cake out after the initial baking, go ahead and set up the temp to 400 degrees so it is ready when you put it back in for the last 10 minutes with the gooey sour cream/sugar/vanilla topping. 

Bruce’s Cheesecake Recipe

CRUST:

2 Cups crushed SHORTBREAD COOKIES (we usually use Salerno or Lorna Doone - I use Keebler.  )

½ Cup sliced ALMONDS  (buy a bag and freeze the rest for next time!)

½ Cup SUGAR

1/3 Cup BUTTER (melted)

Mix together and press into bottom and sides of a spring form pan

FILLING:

Beat 2 pkgs 8 oz CREAM CHEESE until fluffy. 

Add in 3 EGGS one at a time (IMPORTANT!). 

Add 1 can EAGLE BRAND CONDENSED MILK and

¼ Cup LEMON JUICE – fresh squeezed – not the bottle kind!!!

Mix well, pour into crust and bake in preheated 300 degree oven 50-55 minutes – or until set in the center

Cool 20 minutes

Turn oven to 400 degrees

Mix 8 oz SOUR CREAM with 1 tsp VANILLA and ½ Cup SUGAR.  Spread on cake and bake 10 minutes

Cool before serving!

Notes:

• You need to have a spring form pan to bake this in – if you don’t have one, buy one!  You can use either an 8” or 9” size pan – does not matter but we use a 9” pan.
• Before you beat the cream cheese, set it out and let it get room temperature.  That way you won’t have lumps – it beats better when not cold.
• When you make the crust, the key is to get it spread out thin around the bottom of the pan and up the sides.  Squish it in the bottom of the pan then push up the sides little by little.  Keep working it up the sides and don’t let the edge from the bottom to the sides get too thick.  And don’t try leaving out the almonds!!!!
• Put a cookie sheet or something on the shelf underneath the spring form pan – it tends to “leak” butter when baking a little bit which then burns on the bottom of oven.  Yuck!  Save yourself the time of cleaning the oven later by “catching” the butter drips on a cookie sheet on the shelf below the pan – do not put the spring form pan on the cookie sheet.  Each should be on its own shelf.
• Use quality ingredients – buy Philadelphia cream cheese (not some generic brand), squeeze a lemon to get the lemon juice (no seeds!!!) and not bottled lemon juice, quality shortbread cookies, etc.   These are the things that make it yummy!!!!!
• Do not bake more than one cheesecake at a time – they don’t turn out the same!