pumpkin cheesecake

i will admit it, i have never met a cheesecake that i did not like but this one is a favorite. four stars from me. i have made it for at least 20 years and it has never failed me.

crust:

1 cup gingersnap cookie crumbs
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

butter bottom and sides of a 9 inch spring form pan. pour in cookie crumbs and rotate so they adhere to bottom of pan. set aside

crumb crust

filling: all ingredients should be at room temperature

3 8-ounce packages cream cheese
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup light brown sugar
6 eggs
1 16-ounce can pumpkin
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 cup heavy cream

preheat oven to 325 degrees. in an electric mixer beat together cream cheese and sugars. Add one egg at a time. add pumpkin, cream and spices. mix for 3 minutes and pour into prepared crust very gently.

 bake for approximately 1 hour and 35 minutes or until the filling is set. remove from oven and sprinkle with the pecan topping. return cake to oven and turn oven off ,leaving the cake in the oven until it cools, at least 45 minutes

pecan topping:
1 cup toasted,chopped pecans
6 tablespoons butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar

saute pecans in a tiny bit of butter till they are lightly browned

chop pecans and add to sugar and butter

 stir ingredients and sprinkle on top of cheesecake. topping is thick but be sure to cover entire surface of the cheesecake. the topping will melt and then harden when it is cool.


the baked and cooled cheesecake



enjoy!!!!

easy pulled pork

sometimes i am lucky enough to get my son to smoke a couple of pork butts for me. it really makes great pulled pork. this is my easy way to make it . it really tastes pretty good. this meal was for 15 people and we had plenty left over. as you can see in the picture below, the meat filled the crock pot.

cut up a pork loin to fit in the pot. pour 1 beer, 1/2 bottle of barbecue sauce, 1 teaspoon cajun seasoning, 1/2 teaspoon adobo seasoning. cover and cook 8-10 hours in the crock pot. sometimes i start it at bedtime and deal with it in the morning.

pork loin, beer, barbecue sauce and seasonings

remove the meat and strain the juices and reserve. discard any fat that remains and either pull the pork apart with your hands or use 2 forks to shred it.

pork shredded with 2 forks

 place the pork back in the crock pot on warm. add 2 cups of the reserved liquid. i always skim off the fat. add additional barbecue sauce. the amount will depend on the amount of meat and taste. i added the rest of the bottle to this batch. it was not heavy with sauce. i always serve the sauce on the side for the sandwiches.

cole slaw

whats a pulled pork sandwich with out slaw. i like mine right on the top. this slaw was made with ready shredded cabbage that i bought in the store. i make my own dressing out of hellman's light mayo, sugar, vinegar, salt and pepper. this time i cheated. i used the saved juice from my homemade bread and butter pickles and the light mayo. i don't like a heavy mayo on slaw so it was about half  juice and half mayo.



read to eat?

the pork was moist and tender. the slow cooking and added juices do make a difference. try it and enjoy!