Happy Birthday to my sister. I cooked a delicious cheesecake for her birthday. My house smells so good I might actually have trouble sleeping tonight. I keep thinking about how good the cheesecake will taste.

This is the first cheesecake I ever made.  I borrowed the recipe from Chef John of the Food Wishes blog. I followed the instructions exactly and decided to document my efforts. You can find the recipe on his web site.

Add 18 graham crackers and mash it down into very small bits

Add 3-4 tablespoons of melted butter to the graham crackers and stir well

Firmly press the graham cracker crust into a 9 inch spring form pan

Add the Flour, Sour Cream and Vanilla Extract, then stir

In a new bowl, add cream cheese, sugar and combine well

Add some milk and eggs, then lightly stir again making sure to not over-stir the batter

Add a teaspoon each of lemon and orange zest then stir that in. I squirted myself in the eye several times. Ouch.

Pour the batter into the pan and give it the “ol tappa tappa” – as Chef John says

Set it on a baking sheet and put it in the oven on 350 for 1 hour, then turn the oven off and let the cheesecake completely cool in the oven for 3-4 hours or until the oven is about room temperature. Then transfer it to the fridge to cool.

It came out of the oven in near perfect condition with only a minor crack in the middle.

It will be served with a cherry sauce.

Today I made a hamburger that tastes so good.

I started by mashing the peppercorns with a rolling pin. I don’t have a pepper mill so this is the next best way to accomplish the task.

I then sprinkled a bit of kosher salt and freshly cracked peppercorns on both sides of the patty.

I heated the pan to medium and sprinkled with my favorite cooking oil.

Lay the patty into the pan and cover it with a lid or something. (a better way is to use a tall pot with a lid to keep the grease from splattering everywhere) I should note that the patty should be at room temperature before you put it in the pan. This will allow it to cook faster and more evenly. If it gets a little smokey then turn down your heat a little.

While the patty is sitting there, move the pan around so you can get the oil all around the patty. This will also help it cook more evenly. Use more oil if needed. The beef I normally use is very lean. If using a fatty beef, then I suggest very little or no oil.

Cook it for 5 minutes on each side and no longer. Don’t forget to keep it covered.  At this time, preheat the oven to 400 degrees and put an aluminum pan or foil on the oven rack. When the hamburger has been seared for 5 minutes on both sides, immediately use tongs to transfer the patty to the hot oven to finish cooking for 10-12 minutes.

I should note that I will sometimes chop and saute half an onion while pan frying the patties so i can combine it with the sauce. The onion is a perfect complement to the sauce.

Instead of onions, you can also use mushrooms. This is one of my favorite ingredients.

Meanwhile, it will take just a few minutes to make the peppercorn sauce. The bits leftover in the pan will be a main ingredient in the sauce. Pour out any extra oil, but leave everything else in the pan. (If cooking a steak, its best to do this step last while the steak is resting.)

Crack some more peppercorns. Just a few pinches worth.

Pour about 2 oz of brandy into the hot pan. Keep stirring until the alcohol has evaporated out. It should only take about 20 seconds or so. Add some cream, cracked peppercorns and a pinch of salt. Let it come to a boil while stirring often, then immediately take it off the heat. I used only a little amount of cream; enough to cover the bottom of the pan, maybe more. The sauce will thicken very fast. You can add a couple pads of butter to thin it out and that will also add more flavor, but I like to watch my cholesterol – even at my young age.

I wanted my sauce to be a little thick because I am using it as a condiment. Normally I would add more cream to thin it out so I can pour it on or let my patties  marinate in the sauce for a little while.

I take the hamburgers out after about 10-12 minutes in the oven. This will ensure it is well done in the middle. Let the burgers rest in a bowl or something for about 5 minutes. The temperature in the burger will continue to rise for a short period and some juices will will come out. This is normal.

After the sauce is finished and the burgers are resting, I toasted some sesame seed buns.

I scoop up some of that delicious peppercorn sauce and lather my buns.

Time for the meat. Boy does that look soooooo gooood!

More of that good American beef.

Here is a glamour shot of my patty striking a pose.

I ate the first burger so fast and forgot to take a picture. I added some spicy mustard and the rest is history.

That’s all for now.

This is a chili recipe I made today. It’s so000 delicious.

Serves 6-8 people.

3 tsp chili powder
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp garlic powder or 1 clove minced
1 tsp oregano
2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp coarse pepper
2 lbs super lean ground beef
1/2 onion, diced
1 bell pepper, diced
2 14.5 oz cans diced tomatoes
3 8 oz can tomato sauce
2 16 oz cans kidney beans, drained
1 27 oz can pinto beans, drained

Brown the ground beef in a pot. Mash the beef into small granular bits like taco bell does it while you are cooking it on medium-high. Stir often to ensure no burning.
(Its better to use a big pot than a skillet so you don’t make a splattering mess)
Put all ingredients into a 6 quart crock pot, stir well and cook on HIGH for 3 hours.
That is 160 degrees for 3 hours.

When finished, the beef will be more tender. Transfer the chili to a few small pans to cool quickly, then store in the fridge in one container.  This will provide 2 meals a day for 3 days.

Here are some pictures

I have eaten a lot of beef stew in my life and always wanted to make my own. I thought I could make a better stew and so I decided to get a crockpot and figure it out. It took me a couple months to fine tune it. The result is absolutely delicious. Better than any beef stew I ever tasted.

- One spoonful and you’ll say HOLY COW! this is good!

* Serves 6-8 hungry people

4 celery stalks – cut to half inch pieces
5 carrot stalks – peeled and cut to half inch pieces
1/2 onion – sliced

6-7 medium-sized potatoes – peeled and divided into thirds.

2 large (or 4 medium-sized) peeled tomatoes quartered.
6oz can of tomato paste

1 tsp Emerils Original Essence seasoning
1 tsp Louisiana Cajun Seasoning
1 tbsp Folgers regular instant coffee
1/2 cup All purpose flour
1 tsp course ground black pepper
1 beef bouillon cube
2 bay leaves
1 tsp garlic powder or 1 minced clove of garlic (optional)

3 lbs lean beef cut into 1 inch cubes

1 32oz container of Swanson beef broth
(99% fat free – no dilution needed)

1.5 cups water

Instructions:
* First, put the celery, carrots, onions, peeled tomatoes and potatoes in the 6-quart crock pot.
* In a big bowl, pour in the beef broth, tomato paste, then mix in all dry ingredients and stir well with a whisk.
* Lightly sear the meat in a skillet with olive oil on medium-high heat.
* Put the meat in the cooker on top of everything, then slowly pour the liquid on top.
* Try to poke down everything so that its mostly immersed in the liquid. (Do not add anymore liquid)
* Cook for 8-9 hours on LOW.
* Store in a few shallow pans to cool quickly, then store in fridge for up to three days (two meals a day). Cooling quickly will keep the veggies from getting too soft.

* No extra salt was needed in this recipe because the beef broth and other ingredients already have it.

* Using only beef bouillon cubes is not recommended in my recipe as it contains too much salt which quickly denatures some of the ingredients faster than others.

I like to make this at night just before bedtime so it will be ready when I wake up.

Cost (in 2011): $21 for carrots, celery, meat, canned peeled tomatoes, tomato paste, potatoes, broth, and onion. Other ingredients/seasonings not included in price.