Recipe: Thanksgiving Pumpkin Cheesecake

Pumpkin is seasonal. Yepp, you heard me. That stuff you buy in cans… not a substitute. Also, very important, don’t try canning that stuff at home. The FDA and USDA really, really, will have a fit if you try – mashed pumpkin tends to trap and develop some nasty bugs when canned, professional canners beat this by subjecting the mash to such a regiment of torture, it tastes and feels really meh! when used. So don’t. Use pumpkin when it’s in season and don’t when it’s not. Your palate and the environment will thank you.

Pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving, that’s about as American as … well, pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving. But, hey, why don’t we dial it up a notch and make it even more American, turning our American Pumpkin Pie into a Very Very American Pumpkin Cheesecake. Oh, and if you followed the Pie vs. Cake debate – Cheesecake is pie, don’t let the name fool you.

Step One – Cook a Pumpkin:

We’ll need the actual meat off our pumpkin. For that, first buy a pie pumpkin. Pie pumpkins are smaller (about 6 inches in diameter) than the massive globs you find anywhere. Those are great for carving, not so great for cooking or baking. Wash the exterior, then cut the pumpkin in half. With an ice-cream scoop (also known as “disher”) or a medium sized spoon, scoop out the seeds and the dangly, twisty, stuff. Set aside the seeds. Now you should have two pumpkin halves with meat intact.

Whatcha know, our trusty microwave is good for more than just softening butter. Cut the two halves to size if you have to, always remove the stem, then place the pieces individually into a microwave safe dish, pour some water into the dish, cover, and microwave on high for about 15 minutes. Check for doneness (that is “softness”), and keep cooking in 3-minute increments until you’re satisfied. Repeat (now you have a better idea about times) with the other pieces.

While the pieces are cooking, use a spoon to separate the meat from the skin. Thanks to the wonders of heat-induced sugar breakdown, that should be very, very, simple. Just hold on the skin and pull, it should come off clean in large chunks.

Put all those chunks into a bowl.

When you’re done cooking and skinning, check for water. Bigger pumpkins (more watery, less sugar-y) tend to sweat quite a bit of it. That’s why we don’t use them (among other things), but if you must… wait for 30 minutes, then strain off the water.

Now we puree. When done set aside, cover, and remove to a cold, dark, place. Your fridge works well :)

Step Two – Bake a Pie:

• 2 cups of fresh cooked pumpkin
• 3 8-oz packages of cream cheese, at room temperature. Fat-free works, but … hey, it’s Thanksgiving!
• 2 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 7 eggs
• Graham cracker pie crust in a 10 inch diameter, 3 inch deep springform cheesecake pan. Unbaked. You didn’t think I wouldn’t tell you how to do that, now, did you? :)
• Salt TT
• 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 2 cups evaporated milk

Graham Cracker crust is easy. Just mix 3 parts of graham crackers (by volume) with 1 part of melted butter. Crush the crackers in a zip-top bag until they’re finely crushed, then measure the packed size.

Special Treat: From Chef Kayce comes this idea:

i like to use one part chopped pecans to two parts graham in my pumpkin cheesecake crust… i also add the pumpkin pie spices to it b/c they get all toasty and nom.

If you do that, go a little lower on the other seasonings.

You can eyeball it, most of the time. Wait for about 5 minutes, add a little bit of water, not much (about 1 1/2 tbsp), in increments and keep stirring. You should now have a nice and doughy mixture. Spread that into the pan, move to the fridge.

I’ll write about a home-made Graham cracker substitute soon, I hope.

And we assemble.

1. First a cream cheese layer, keeps the moisture from invading our crust (which has been in the fridge for about 20 mintes, I hope): Mix the cream cheese with 1 cup of sugar and the vanilla extract. Use a blender or a spoon. I use a KitchenAid[tm] blender, I am not crazy. When the whole mishpoke is nice and smooth, slowly add 4 eggs. Beat them in. Done.
2. Pour that on top of the pie crust. Back in the fridge we go.
3. Mix pumpkin puree, 1 cup of sugar, evaporated milk, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger.
4. Slowly mix in 3 eggs. It helps if you lightly beat them by hand first and fold them in, instead of adding them to the mixer. But you can, just saying, s’all.
5. Now gently pour the mixture on top of the cream cheese layer. GENTLY, y’hear? Don’t stir, don’t worry about floatage and stirrage. Just gently, slowly, pour.
6. In an oven, pre-heated to 350 degrees, we make our cheesecake’s home for about 70 minutes. Funny things will happen, like creamcheese bubbling to the top and all, but that’s OK and wanted.
7. After it’s all firmed up a little, give or take 10 minutes around the allotted time, remove and let cool a little. Then, for added value, move to the fridge. Two hours or so, once it’s all really firm and moist, remove or leave, you’re ready to serve.

If anyone asks, no, this is not the Cheesecake Factory recipe. That one’s mostly chemistry on top of a chemically enhanced cheesecake mixture on top of a chemically enhanced crust. Ours tastes better, is healthier, and doesn’t cost $5 a piece.

Goot eatin’.

One last thing, if I may. This blog has and will always be about food. Period. Food is good. When I talk politics, I talk politics of food, its making, its eating, that stuff. But there’s one thing, I believe and know we all can agree upon – this Thanksgiving, please join me in giving thanks to the men and women in uniform here and abroad. Police officers, EMT, Firefighters, Soldiers, they all serve for their own reasons, but they all serve us. Heck, if you make a pumpin pie, why not make two and drive one down to your local EMT or Fire station? Happy Thanksgiving everyone!