Limoncello Cheesecake Squares

Perfect Pairing: Almond biscotti

Recently I was invited to participate in a cooking club.  I didn’t have to think twice, that sort of thing is totally up my alley.  It is organized by a friendly neighbor I met at a block party.  We spent all of ten minutes together at the party, but I am so glad she thought to include me on this fun activity! 

For each meeting of the cooking club the members are assigned a course and a theme.  The first ever cooking club gathering had an Italian theme, and I was assigned dessert.  I immediately started researching because my knowledge of Italian desserts taps out at tiramisu, and I didn’t want to bring that.  Too obvious, right? 

It just made sense to search through Giada’s library of desserts.  I trust her and love her style of cooking.  I came across this Limoncello Cheesecake recipe and knew it would be perfect. 

Instead of the traditional graham cracker crust this one is made with biscotti.  Brilliant!!  I used Nonni’s original biscotti and it worked really well.  I loved the almond flavor in the crust.  The cheesecake is flavored with lemon zest and limoncello.  I am now in the market for cocktail recipes using limoncello since I have a bottle hanging out in the cabinet.  Another Italian nod is using ricotta in the base. 

I pretty much followed Giada’s recipe, but I do have a few comments.  I made the dessert in an 11x7 inch baking dish rather than a 9x9.  I just thought that seemed really small.  The recipe calls for 8 oz of biscotti.  The Nonni’s comes in 5.52 oz packages, so I bought two.  After some fancy math I ended up using 13 cookies for the crust.  The recipe recommends draining the ricotta.  I did this by letting it hang out in a strainer for about 15 minutes.  It is really important to process the ricotta for a long time in the food processor to remove the grainy texture.  Final note, I used light cream cheese and it was perfect.  Every little bit helps, right?

Everyone at the dinner party loved this recipe.  I will definitely make these again, even if it is not an Italian theme.

One year ago on Perfecting the Pairing:  Arugula and Parmesan Stuffed Potatoes

Two years ago on Perfecting the Pairing:  Cucumber Sandwiches
 

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Cherry Cheesecake

Perfect Pairing:  Valentine’s Day

I believe I have already mentioned once or twenty times how cute my nieces and nephews are.  I may be biased but I think everyone can agree on their cuteness. 

I was lucky enough to spend part of my Cabo vacation with my brother, sister-in-law, and niece, Lilla.  Oh my goodness is that child precious.  I can’t even count how many people stopped by our lounge chairs to comment on her adorableness.  That little peanut never stopped smiling and was happy to sit and play with a plastic cup or a pair of sunglasses. 

Here are just a few shots of the little darling in Mexico.

Playing with her daddy in the ocean.  I love this picture.

Grandma and Lilla on the beach.

Grandpa entertaining the peanut.  Check out those cheeks!

Lilla and me at The Sand Bar beach restaurant.

A great family photo of Jon, Kelly, and Lilla.  Notice the manly camo diaper bag.

The whole group.

I spent the day after our return with my other brother and his sweet family.  We watched the Super Bowl, but the main entertainment was the pajama dance party.  Check out this video…

Those kids had some moves!  When it was time for bed the oldest said… “I just wanna dance!”

We enjoyed standard Super Bowl fare like pizza and buffalo chicken dip, and I made a cherry cheesecake for dessert.  This dessert was easy and really delicious.  I love the addition of almond flavoring.  The kids gave it their seal of approval!

The Perfect Pairing for this cheesecake is Valentine’s Day.  The contrast of red and white is so pretty and festive.  If you are making a meal for your honey this would be a great way to top it off.  I think any sweetheart would appreciate this sweet dessert!

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