White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake

Cheesecake is one of those versatile desserts that can be dressed up in so many ways.  Blame it on The Cheesecake Factory if you want, but it seems everywhere you go there are 5+ flavors of this dessert on the menu.  You can add some simple fruit, pumpkin flavoring for fall, your favorite candy bar, or (in this case) some white chocolate and raspberry.

I also know that cheesecakes can be somewhat intimidating.  They were for me anyhow.  I always worry about them over baking, or worse, cracking.  One great simple remedy for this is to cook the cheesecake in a water bath.  Wrap some tin foil around a springform pan to prevent water from seeping into the pan, and then place the entire pan in a larger pan filled with hot water.  *Make sure to add hot water to the larger pan, or else the first 30 minutes of baking will do nothing but heat that water.

White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake
2 cups crushed oreos
1 1/4 tbsp sugar
1/4 cup butter melted
1 8oz jar seedless raspberry preserves
2 cups white chocolate chips
1/2 cup half and half
3 8oz packages cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Add first three ingredients to bowl and mix well to combine.  Use hands to press mixture into bottom of 9 inch springform pan. *Make sure to wrap aluminum foil around pan first in preparation for water bath.

Crushing up the oreos.  No need to get double stuff.

Oreo mixture evenly distributed in springform pan.

Empty raspberry preserves into saucepan and set over medium high heat.  Heat until melted completely. *You can also make a syrup out of fresh raspberries, but preserves or jam works just as well if you're in a pinch and want to save some time.

Place white chocolate chips and half and half in heat proof bowl and microwave in 25 second increments until completely melted, stirring in between microwaving.

In large bowl mix cream cheese and 1/2 cup sugar until smooth.

Add eggs one at a time, mixing after each addition.   Blend in vanilla and melted white chocolate/half and half mixture.  

Hey there little buddy

Pour half of batter into prepared springform pan.  Evenly drizzle half of melted preserves on top.  Pour remaining batter into pan and top with rest of preserves.  Use a toothpick to create desired swirl pattern.

I didn't swirl it exactly how I would have liked...this sort of looks like splatter painting.

Place springform pan into water bath.  Bake for approximately 55 minutes or until center is set.  Turn off oven and open oven door.  Let cake cool for 1 hour, then place in refrigerator for 4 hours, or overnight.

Down for the count in the water bath...

Look who found some batter lingering on a spoon :)

Sadly my only shot of the finished product....it all got sliced and eaten, which I guess

is a good thing...

What's your favorite type of cheesecake?

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Red velvet cake is such a southern classic.  I remember growing up that it was always my mom's favorite.  My grandmother would ask her every year what cake she wanted for her birthday and she would always say red velvet.

One thing a lot of people don't know (unless of course you're around when it's made) is that red velvet cake is really just a chocolate buttermilk cake with a lot of red food coloring.  But somehow that red color makes it taste so much better.  

I made these cupcakes for a coworker's birthday.  There has been a lot of debate at the office as to whether cupcakes or cake trumps the list for birthday celebrations.  Cupcakes are great because they're the perfect serving size, and yet, somehow, you don't feel bad going back to seconds or thirds.  Cake is great because it's more moist due to being surrounded by all of the icing.

I have a classic, go to red velvet recipe, but this time I decided to try out a new one.  I read over a red velvet cake recipe comparison on The Way the Cookie Crumbles and settled on this recipe.

Red Velvet Cupcakes
2 1/2 C cake flour
1 1/2 C sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 1/2 C vegetable oil
1 C buttermilk
2 tbsp red food coloring
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp white distilled vinegar

For the frosting:
12 oz cream cheese, softened
12 oz unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3 C confectioners sugar

The lineup

For the cake.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Sift together flour, sugar, baking soda, cocoa and salt in medium bowl.  Beat eggs, oil, buttermilk, food coloring, vanilla and vinegar in electric mixer until well combined.  Slowly add dry ingredients and beat until smooth, about 2 minutes.

Ready, set....

Go!

Divide batter among lightly greased cupcake liners.  Bake 15-20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

I wasn't trying to splatter paint...the batter was runny

Don't worry, it fluffs up!

For the frosting:  Beat cream cheese, butter and vanilla until well combined.  Add confectioners sugar and beat until light and fluffy, approximately 5-7 minutes.  Use favorite decorator tip to frost cooled cupcakes.

All lined up

And ready for you to eat :)

Look at that gorgeous, rich red color.  Yum!

In my opinion the cake part of these cupcakes was phenomenal!  The only slight disappointment was the frosting.  I'm used to a rich cream cheese frosting, and due to the high ratio of butter this frosting was more of a buttercream.  In the future I'll definitely use more cream cheese and less butter.

Up next:  more cake!  I have two coworkers with upcoming birthdays and they have requested 1) a classic yellow cake with chocolate frosting, and 2) an italian cream cake with cream cheese frosting.

Stay tuned!  I'll try not to be so sketchy....new posts are a comin'!

Friday Links

I'm not sure if this will be a weekly thing, or more of a fill in when I find some nice posts I want to share with everyone....we'll see.  I have a terrible habits of having to check certain food blogs every.single.day religiously, waiting for the blogger to post new recipes.  And most importantly, new recipes with delicious looking pictures that make me want something like a big slab of chocolate cake at 9 AM.

So here we go!  Today's link theme is appetizers.  Everyone is always searching for the perfect appetizer recipe, so here are a few of my all time faves.  Enjoy!

The first is from The Pioneer Woman Cooks (LOVE her!).  This is a Pineapple Mango Salsa, and is a nice fresh alternative to your traditional tomato based salsas out there.  Pair this with a Skinny Girl Margarita and you've got yourself a meal.  Well, almost.

Next is Goat Cheese Bruschetta from Pink Parsley Catering.  I love goat cheese because of how tangy it is.  It really gives the bruschetta a wonderful flavor.  This appetizer is filling, but still light.

This one was a new one for me.  Cream cheese stuffed, bacon wrapped jalapenos from Brown Eyed Baker.  Bacon makes everything better, and with cream cheese you can make anything taste amazing, so I can't wait to try these!

Last but not least, I must include a something on the sweet side.  I used to eat cookie dough by the spoonful when I was younger (and still do), so I had a small panic attack when I found this recipe.  This is a Cookie Dough Dip by How Sweet It Is.  How yummy does that look?  Pair it with some animal crackers or Teddy Grahams and you're good to go.

What appetizer recipe are you dying to try?  Let me know and I'll try to feature it.

Last, but not least I have some news....I'M ENGAGED!  Hopefully I'll be able to take some time over the next 10 months to really up my skills in the kitchen so the hubby doesn't starve :)  That also means that I'll probably feature wedding cake or food on here a bit as well.

I'll be making red velvet cupcakes this weekend for a coworker's birthday, so stay tuned for the post on those yummy little cups of love.

Happy Friday!

Queso Blanco

White queso dip is one of my favorite things about Mexican restaurants.  It seems I always end up eating 4 meals worth of chips and dip before the actual meal I ordered ever makes it to the table.  I've tried similar canned versions but they never measure up.

This version from Annie's Eats is simply phenomenal, and the best part is that it's quick and easy to whip up.  It takes maybe 10 minutes to make, and then you can stick it in a crock pot to keep it warm for your guests.

Queso Blanco Dip
*yields approximately 2 Cups
1 tbsp vegetable or canola oil
1/4 C onion, finely chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped
12 oz white American cheese, finely shredded
4 oz Monterey Jack cheese, finely shredded
1/4-2/3 C milk
1 tomato, seeded and finely diced
1 tbsp cilantro, finely minced

Heat oil in saucepan over medium high heat.  Add onion and jalapeno, and cook until tender, about 5 minutes.  Make sure to stir occasionally.  Reduce heat to medium low.  Add shredded cheeses and about 1/4 C milk.  Whisk until melted, making sure to not let mixture burn.  Add tomato and cilantro.  Add more milk to achieve desired consistency.  Transfer mixture to warm bowl (or crock pot) and serve immediately.

*I had 1 other dish on the stove and 2 others in the oven while I was making this, so unfortunately I didn't get a great picture.  So sorry!  Head to Annie's Eats to get a glimpse....

Foodbuzz Featured Publisher

I have some exciting news.....Confections of the Cody Kitchen is now part of the Foodbuzz Featured Publisher program!!!  Foodbuzz is a food blogging community that I am so happy to now be a part of.  Learn more about Foodbuzz here.

In other news, I will be continuing to post some of the recipes I mentioned last week.  Southwestern egg rolls, meatball sliders and queso dip will all be making an appearance on here in the very near future.  I am leaving for the beach tomorrow but will try to update the blog at least twice while I am gone.  I'm also sure that some of the yummy seafood I eat will serve as an inspiration for future posts :)

Cheers!

Spicy Lemon Garlic Shrimp

Seafood is my absolute favorite, especially shrimp!  This dish is a slightly different take on shrimp scampi and couldn't be easier.  Prep takes about 5 minutes and then you simply plop these beauties on a plate after they take a short nap in the oven.

This recipe came from The Pioneer Woman Cooks, so of course I knew it would be amazing!  Just make sure to leave the shells on to lock in the flavor.

Spicy Lemon Garlic Shrimp
2 lbs raw Shrimp, deveined, shells on (I used frozen)
2 Sticks Unsalted Butter, cut into pieces
1 tsp Kosher Salt
4 Cloves Garlic, Minced
1/4 C Fresh Parsley
1/2 tsp Crushed Red Pepper
1 Lemon

Preheat oven to 375 F.  Place shrimp in single layer on baking sheet.  (Mine went straight out of the freezer bag to the pan)  Scatter pats of butter evenly over shrimp.  Sprinkle with salt, garlic, parsley and red pepper.  Cut lemon in half and squeeze juice over shrimp.

Butter makes everything better

Bake until shrimp is opaque, 20-25 minutes.

Make sure to pour all of the yummy buttery mixture back over the shrimp when you plate them.  

Mmmmmm

Cowboy Caviar

Chips and salsa is great, but sometimes you want to take things up a notch.  This cowboy caviar is basically a more substantial salsa which incorporates a few more flavors.  Of course there are tomatoes, but there are also black eyed peas and corn.  What you get is an incredibly "fresh" tasting salsa that is both healthy and addicting.

Probably my favorite thing about cowboy caviar is that it can be made a day before, and honestly probably tastes better this way because then the flavors really have time to meld.

Grab a big bag of tostitos and enjoy!

Cowboy Caviar
2 (15.8 oz) cans black eyed peas, drained and rinsed
2 medium jalapenos, seeded and minced
1 small onion, diced
1/2 green bell pepper, seeded and diced
1/4 C chopped fresh cilantro
1 (15.8 oz) can corn
3 pints cherry tomatoes, diced (canned diced tomatoes may also be used)
6 tbsp red wine vinegar
6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dried oregano
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin

Combine all ingredients and refrigerate at least 2 hours prior to serving.  Adjust seasoning to taste.

Yep, that's it! The most time consuming part is cutting up the vegetables.

You can also play around with the ingredients if you wish, adding red bell peppers or avocado for instance.  There really is no "wrong" way to make this.

What's your favorite item to pair with chips?