thanksgiving and the aftermath

yesterday was thanksgiving! my favorite holiday of the year - it's all about being with friends and family and enjoying a good meal. nothing more, nothing less.

as we've done many times in the past, we went to the gill's home in pasadena to celebrate. our family was in charge of desserts and I decided to make a pumpkin cheesecake with dulce de leche sauce. recipe is courtesy of epicurious.com but, as usual, I made my own twist. for the crust, I bought crispy oatmeal chocolate chip cookies from trader joe's - I could have done without the chocolate, but TJ's doesn't sell just plain oatmeal cookies and I didn't want to go to two stores.

I need to work on my presentation skills...it doesn't look to appetizing, but it was - I promise! I started to make the swirly design with the caramel and it didn't look good, so I just spread it around.
















Crust

• 1 1/2 cups ground gingersnap cookies (or oatmeal)
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted

Filling

• 4 8-ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 2/3 cups sugar
• 1 1can solid pack pumpkin
• 9 tablespoons whipping cream
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground allspice
• 4 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon (about) purchased caramel sauce (subbed for homemade dulce de leche sauce)
• 1 tbsp flour

Preparation

For Crust: Preheat oven to 350°F. Finely grind ground cookies in processor. Add melted butter and blend until combined. Press crust mixture onto bottom and up sides of 9-inch-diameter springform pan with 2 3/4-inch-high sides.

For Filling: Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese and sugar in large bowl until light. Transfer 3/4 cup mixture to small bowl; cover tightly and refrigerate to use for topping. Add pumpkin, 4 tablespoons whipping cream, ground cinnamon and ground allspice to mixture in large bowl and beat until well combined. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating just until combined. Pour filling into crust (filling will almost fill pan). Bake until cheesecake puffs, top browns and center moves only slightly when pan is shaken, about 1 hour. Transfer cheesecake to rack and cool 10 minutes. Run small sharp knife around cake pan sides to loosen cheesecake. Cool. Cover tightly and refrigerate overnight.

Bring remaining 3/4 cup cream cheese mixture to room temperature. Add remaining 5 tablespoons whipping cream to cream cheese mixture and stir to combine. Press down firmly on edges of cheesecake to even thickness. Pour cream cheese mixture over cheesecake, spreading evenly. Spoon caramel sauce in lines over cream cheese mixture. Using tip of knife, swirl caramel sauce into cream cheese mixture. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)
Release pan sides from cheesecake.

hope everyone had a great thanksgiving!