Stress Relief

The Boy came home from a meeting at church to find me in the kitchen. He thought it was odd, because our Dallas Mavericks were in the midst of a tough battle against the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals.

What are you doing? he asked.

Baking, I said.

I can see that, he noted. But why?

Because it's too stressful to watch the game, I replied.

That's right. It was too stressful to watch the basketball game (talk about a nail biter!), so I baked a cheesecake instead. I followed a recipe given to me in a cookbook presented to me during a particularly fun Hayley bridal shower in 1999 - The Kitchen is the Heart of the Home. My good friend, Mel, put the cookbook together with recipes contributed by the shower guests. The cheesecake recipe was contributed by her mom, Trudy.

Cheesecake for Sunday

• 3/4 c milk
• 2 t vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 1 c sugar
• 1/2 c Bisquick
• 2 8-oz pkgs cream cheese, cubed

Blend milk, vanilla, eggs, sugar and Bisquick on high for one minute. Add cubed cream cheese; blend on high for two minutes. Pour into greased 9" pie plate. bake at 250F for 40-45 minutes, until center is set. Cool.

Delicious!

Notes based on my experience:

• Use vanilla bean paste instead of vanilla to give your cheesecake a richer flavor.
• I baked my cake in a 10" springform pan. I think it would have been even better in an 8" springform pan, creating a taller, denser cake.
• I debated spreading the bottom of the pan with Oreo cookie crumbs prior to baking. I didn't. But I did put some crumbs next to a slice of the cake to try. It was yummy. Definitely should have followed my Oreo instincts.

Thanks, Mel and Trudy!!