tasting memories

Photo by Scott Bartolomei Edmonds.

New York City terrified me when we first moved here nine years ago. Everything about the city was overwhelming: the noise, smelly streets (it was August after all), tall buildings, signs everywhere and everyone on a mission. I wanted to hide out in the tiny studio apartment where we had landed. I didn't want to open the curtains, poke my head out the window, or step outside. Scott would have to drag me out of the apartment those first few weeks after we arrived.

What got me over this deep need to hide? Well... it was doughnuts. I was flipping through a Time Out New York and a page caught my eye. It was their eating out page and it pictured Isabella Rossellini. She was talking about her favorite ice cream place. Right next to this feature there was a tiny little paragraph on a place called the Doughnut Plant. This little place in the Lower East Side was taking something as common as fried dough and making it a fine food item. The promise of a doughnut with fresh raspberry glaze, Valrhona chocolate or vanilla bean glaze was the motivation I needed to plan my first expedition into the city.

Doughnuts are not my favorite thing. They are delicious, but they have never been an item I sought out. So far, my favorite doughnut experiences consisted of a few early Fall Sunday mornings when my dad would drive us to an apple farm in upstate New York to get fresh apple cider and apple cider doughnuts. Oh, and then there were those times when my grandma would take me shopping with her to K-mart. The K-mart in Ponce, Puerto Rico had one of those cool doughnut fryers that would mechanically drop rings of dough into hot oil. I loved watching the frying dough get golden as it was carried through the oil and onto a conveyor belt cooling rack - all without the aid of a human being. This machine was truly amazing and the hot doughnuts in a little paper bag were such a treat.

I started planning my trip to the Doughnut Plant by consulting city maps, transit maps and writing the directions, phone numbers, etc. on my notebook. I found a bus that would take me fairly close to it and that Saturday morning, I gathered up all my courage, enlisted Angelica as my expedition partner and we embarked on the quest of the perfect doughnut. Of course Angelica and I got lost. It was an adventure. We walked through Sarah Roosevelt Park on the edge of Chinatown where young men played a fierce game of basketball, the aging practiced tai chi, men played chess, birds were kept in cages and children ran, screamed and laughed in the playground. There was a great concentration of activity for such a small space. We eventually found the Doughnut Plant. Thankfully they still had some doughnuts left! They were the best I ever tasted and well worth the trip.

This was my introduction to the city. A very simple challenge: to taste the city's best doughnuts. Most days I still want to hide in my apartment, draw all the blinds and ignore the noise, the energy, the people, but only in New York City can something so simple and ordinary be made into an extraordinary food experience. That is what keeps me coming back for more.

Anagama woodfired plate by Roger Baumann. Photo by Scott Bartolomei Edmonds.

This pumpkin cheesecake has been a family favorite for years. The crust has a gingery gooey bite, the pumpkin cheesecake filling is perfectly balanced and not too sweet and then it's topped with a slightly sweet and tangy sour cream topping. It's the kind of treat that makes you glad you saved a little bit of room for dessert.

If you want to make this cheesecake, I would recommend making it a day in advance as it tastes better over time and you will not want it competing with your turkey and other fixings for oven space the day of the event.

The recipe was originally published by Food & Wine Magazine many years ago in their Thanksgiving dessert feature. Thankfully, I had clipped this recipe as it seems that it is not available at foodandwine.com.

And on a personal note: I am so grateful to our friends who have supported and encouraged me to keep writing during this challenging year. Thank you friends, and Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

Pumpkin Cheesecake

2 cups gingersnap crumb (from about 1/2 pound cookies)
1/3 cup melted unsalted butter
3 8-ounce packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 15-ounce can pumpkin puree
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
2 cups sour cream, at room temperature

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9 1/2 or 10 inch springform pan and coat lightly with flour. In a medium bowl, toss the gingersnap crumbs with the melted butter until evenly moistened. Press the crumbs into the bottom and 1 inch up the side of the prepared pan. Bake for about 12 minutes, or until the crust begins to color. Let the crust cool. Reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees.

2. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Beat in 3/4 cup of the granulated sugar and the brown sugar, then beat in the eggs in 3 additions until the mixture is thoroughly combined, scraping down the side of the bowl occasionally.

3. In a medium bowl, combine the pumpkin puree and heavy cream with 1 teaspoon of the vanilla and the cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg. Add to the cream cheese mixture and beat until combined, scraping the bowl a few times.

4. Wrap foil loosely around the bottom and up the side of the springform pan. Pour the cheesecake batter into the prepared pan and set it in a large baking dish or roasting pan. Place in the middle of the oven and pour 1 inch of hot water into the baking dish. Bake the cheesecake for about 70 minutes, or until the edges are firm and the center of the cheesecake is still slightly shaky.

5. In a small bowl, combine the sour cream with the remaining 1/4 cup of granulated sugar and 2 teaspoons of vanilla. Remove the cheesecake from the water bath and pour on the sour cream topping. Gently tap the pan to spread the topping, and continue baking the cheesecake for 10 more minutes.

6. Transfer the cheesecake to a rack and let cool for 1 hour. Remove the foil and the side of the pan and refrigerate the cheesecake for at least 4 hours or overnight.

Makes 16 servings.

The day after Thanksgiving marks the beginning of leftover turkey dishes. From pot pies and turkey sandwiches to turkey soup - by the end of this weekend we will have had our fill of roasted turkey for the year.

This recipe is my offering to this post-Thanksgiving tradition of leftover turkey preparation: turkey empanadillas (empanadillas de pavo). It's a savory Latin dish that gives turkey leftovers a Puerto Rican twist. Turkey empanadillas are half moon pastry pockets that are stuffed with a savory filling of shredded turkey, olives, raisins and cilantro. Unlike their fried cousins traditionally sold in cuchifrito stands around the island, these pastry pockets are baked.

Making the empanadilla pastry from scratch yields the best results, but if you are as tired as I am after days of preparation and cooking for the Thanksgiving feast, then use frozen empanadilla pastry disks from your local grocer.

If you like this empanadilla recipe, you may also like baked beef empanadillas.

Turkey Empanadillas (Empanadillas de Pavo)
2 cups cooked turkey meat, shredded
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 medium onion, diced
1/4 green bell pepper, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup tomato sauce
1/2 cup turkey broth
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 packet Sazón annatto seasoning
1/4 cup sliced pimento-stuffed green olives
1/4 cup chopped raisins
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
salt to taste
12 empanadilla pastry disks, thawed (pre-made or homemade)
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup oil

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. In a medium heavy skillet over medium heat, heat the oil, then add the onion and cook until they begin getting glassy. Add the bell pepper and garlic and cook until fragrant. Do not allow them to brown.

3. Add the cumin and allspice and stir until well incorporated. Add the tomato sauce, broth, annatto seasoning and raisins and bring to a simmer. Add the shredded turkey and continue cooking until all the liquids have been incorporated into the mixture. Turn the heat off and add the olives, cilantro and season to taste. Set aside to cool.

4. Prepare your work surface to assemble the empanadillas by having the following handy: empanadilla pastry disks, baking sheet, fork, bowl of water, and the cooled filling.

5. Place a disk on your work surface and add 2 to 3 tablespoons filling. Moisten edges of disk with water and fold over to form a semicircle. Crimp the edge with a fork, turn over and crimp the edges with a fork again. Set the empanadilla in the cookie sheet and repeat.

6. Brush the empanadillas with oil and bake for 20 minutes or until golden.

Makes 12 empanadillas.