Fresh Organic YuzuToday is a day for baking, cooking and visiting. I will update photos as the day goes on.
I have two dedicated cheesecake lovers in my house. Today, I will indulge their passion. But first, a little reminiscence from the decade from whence the recipe came. But, right now, I need the music on……
Back in the 1970s and well before I was married, I began collecting recipes in earnest. Of course, this was a tradition I got from my dear Mom who was a dedicated recipe collector and cookbook reader. To this day, I maintain many spiral notebooks, recipe boxes and files filled with hand written and clipped recipes. I return to them over and over, remembering something I once made or saved, and pour through the piles and pages until I can find just the right one.
After college and while I was working in the corporate world, I inevitably came across people who shared my interest in good food and memorable recipes. We shared our favorites amongst each other. After all these years I continue to make several of these, each time remembering fondly those times from way back when.
Four recipes have endured in my mind particularly (as Lady Mary would say) and I return to them again and again with the fondest of memories. Bob Fleming’s Swiss Cheese Chicken, Mona Fomuke’s Apricot Chicken, Earl Peyroux’s Pork Chops with Apples by way of Barbara Halaburda and most notably and always requested, Francine Alcorn’s Jewish Cheesecake.
Today, as I prepare our table for Christmas, I will be making Francine’s Cheesecake. This year, I will adapt it just a smidge to take advantage of those heady Yuzu I happened upon at the Saturday Santa Barbara Farmer’s Market. They were priced at $10 a pound but, I couldn’t resist as jeez, who comes upon fresh Yuzu at their Farmer’s Market? Their rarity from where I come from combined with memories with yuzu-flavored treats I’ve had in my travels made them irresistible. I wanted to try them myself in my kitchen. I will use their zest and reduce their juice in hopes of coming up with exactly the right essence of fruit. And, I’ll play around with some little decoration at my whim.
But first back to today, I have a cake to make to take to a party. I also have a request from my daughter for Grandma’s Taralli. I hope it will be a fun day in the kitchen.
But back to that cheesecake. My friend Francine was of Italian and Polish ancestry. Over the years she gifted me with a few foolproof recipes. This one remains my husband’s all time favorite. My son loves cheesecake and so, I will make this for them. I still have the index card upon which she wrote the recipe back in the 1970s.
This is a terrific classic cheesecake that I think everyone will love. Give it a try. You can top it today with sugared cranberries and some little green sprigs if you don’t have your own yuzu. Of course you can use other citrus fruits that are in your market. If I were to make another one, I’d use the prized and abundant Satsuma Mandarins that are weighing down a couple of trees outside my door.
Francine Alcorn’s Jewish Cheesecake