Recipe: Pumpkin Chocolate Cheesecake Bars

Pumpkin Chocolate Cheesecake Bars
Photo: BHG.com

I've got two words for you: pumpkin porn. I mean, just look at the photo to the right. Can't you just imagine taking a sinful bite of one of those pumpkin chocolate cheesecake bars? They smell like autumn, look like they have a prominent place on TasteSpotting, and taste like heaven.

Heaven, then, must be located in the Test Kitchen of Better Homes and Gardens, where this incredible recipe came from. And a part of the magazine's "41 Pumpkin Recipes" feature, there's 40 more where this came from. Think pumpkin praline muffins, holiday pumpkin soup, spiced pumpkin butter and pumpkin latte coffee cake. It's really the whole enchilada... assuming said enchilada is filled with roasted pumpkin and topped with cumin pepitas.

I simply couldn't resist sharing and hopefully, neither can you. Enjoy.

Pumpkin Chocolate Cheesecake Bars
Recipe adapted from BHG.com
Makes: 24 to 36 servings
Yield: 24 to 36 bars
Timing: Prep 25 mins | Bake 325°F 55 mins | Cool 30 mins | Chill 3 hrs

• 1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup butter, melted
• 2 8 ounce packages cream cheese, softened
• 1 3/4 cups sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 6 ounces semisweet chocolate, cut up, or 1 cup semisweet chocolate pieces
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 1/4 cups sour cream
• 1/4 cup sugar
• Grated fresh nutmeg
• Milk chocolate or semisweet chocolate curls

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Lightly grease a 13x9x2-inch baking pan; set aside. In a medium bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs and 1/4 cup sugar. Stir in the 1/3 cup melted butter. Press mixture evenly into bottom of the prepared baking pan; set aside.

2. In a large bowl, combine cream cheese and the 1-3/4 cups sugar. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, beating on low speed after each addition just until combined. Beat in pumpkin, pumpkin pie spice, vanilla, and salt on low speed just until combined. Remove 1-1/4 cups of the mixture.

3. In a small heavy saucepan, combine the 6 ounces chocolate and the 2 tablespoons butter. Cook and stir over low heat until melted. Whisk chocolate mixture into the 1-1/4 cups pumpkin mixture. Pour over crust, spreading evenly. Bake for 15 minutes.

4. Carefully pour the remaining pumpkin mixture over baked chocolate layer, spreading evenly. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes more or until filling is puffed and center is set. Cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes.

5. In a small bowl, combine sour cream and 1/4 cup sugar. Gently spread over cookies. Cool completely. Cover and chill for at least 3 hours. Cut into bars. Before serving, sprinkle with nutmeg and/or chocolate curls.

Storing leftovers: Place in a single layer in an airtight container; cover. Store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Do not freeze.

Give Thanks: Chocolate-Glazed Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake

Chocolate-Glazed Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake

Thanksgiving is right around the corner, a wonderfully gluttonous day during which Americans will consume nearly three times their recommended daily calorie count. Sure, plates will be piled high with the usual suspects -- slices of roasted turkey, heaping mounds of stuffing, fluffy mashed potatoes swimming in gravy -- but what about dessert? While pumpkin, apple and pecan pies are the most popular Thanksgiving pie flavors, who says you can't kick dessert up a notch?

Dress up that classic apple pie with a generous drizzle of caramel. Add a shot of bourbon to your tried-and-true pecan pie to give it an adult twist. Or better yet, serve guests this Chocolate-Glazed Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake. Rich, creamy and altogether dreamy, it's a Thanksgiving dessert guaranteed to disappear.

CHOCOLATE-GLAZED PUMPKIN PIE CHEESECAKE
Recipe adapted from Better Homes and Gardens

INGREDIENTS:

• Nonstick cooking spray
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 1 1/2 cups finely crushed chocolate wafer cookies (about 24 cookies)
• 1 8 ounce package cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 15 ounce can pumpkin
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup chopped dark chocolate
• 1/3 cup whipping cream
• 2 ounces milk chocolate pieces or white baking pieces (about 1/3 cup), melted (optional)

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly coat a 9-inch pie plate with cooking spray. In a medium bowl toss together butter and crushed chocolate wafer cookies. Spread into pie plate; press evenly onto bottom and up sides. Bake for 5 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

2. In a large bowl beat cream cheese and sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed until combined. Add eggs, one at a time, beating on low speed after each addition just until combined. Stir in pumpkin, vanilla, pumpkin pie spice, and salt. Pour pumpkin mixture into baked crust.

3. Bake about 40 minutes more or until mixture is slightly puffed around edges and just set in center. Cool on a wire rack for 1 hour.

4. In a small microwave-safe bowl combine dark chocolate and cream. Microwave on 100 percent power (high) for 30 seconds to 1 minute; stir until smooth. Let stand for 15 minutes. Pour chocolate mixture over the cooled pie, spreading evenly. Chill, uncovered, for 1 hour. Cover and chill for 2 to 24 hours more. If desired, drizzle with milk chocolate.

Starting Tomorrow: 10 Days of Thanksgiving Recipes

Starting Tomorrow: 10 Days of Thanksgiving Recipes!
Photo: BonAppetit

Thanksgiving -- the veritable Super Bowl of foodie holidays -- is right around the corner. If you haven't started planning your Turkey Day menu, it's time to get serious. Think about it: In only 10 days (yikes!!) a flock of friends and family who put the "fun" in dysfunctional will descend upon your home. Worse yet, they'll be jet-lagged. Not to mention very, very hungry. You need to be prepared.

Luckily, I've done some legwork for you. You see, I have a small family -- we cap out at nine people total -- but it's my dream to cook and feed an army on Thanksgiving. Hence why I've spent the last few weeks researching some of the best Thanksgiving recipes from cookbooks and cooking sites the world over. If I could make all of them, I would. But I can't. That's where you come in. Over the next 10 days, I'll share a dish-by-dish Thanksgiving recipe guide including stuffing, sides, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, gravy, dessert and the show-stopper itself: The Turkey. 

Put on your elastic-waisted pants and get ready for a Thanksgiving recipe rumble. See you tomorrow.

10 Days of Thanksgiving: Let's Talk Turkey

This Thanksgiving, Bird is the Word.
Photo: LA Times

No matter how much menu planning you do, a successful Thanksgiving meal really comes down to one thing: The Turkey. No, I'm not talking about the uncle who drinks too much Wild Turkey and acts like one. I'm talking about the pièce de résistance, the show-stopper, the whole enchilada: The BIRD. 

Whether your turkey is fresh, free-range, frozen, brined, smoked, grilled, fried or roasted, here are five ways to make sure your bird gets your guests' ultimate seal of approval: an empty plate.

DAY #1 OF THANKSGIVING RECIPES: LETS TALK TURKEY

1. SMOKE AND BRINED (pictured above, right)
Los Angeles Chef Quinn Hatfield told the Los Angeles Times he brines his turkey for 36 hours in a mixture of water, brown sugar, salt, peppercorns, crushed garlic cloves, rosemary and thyme. After the allotted 36 hours, the turkey air dries for at least an hour before being smoked in Hatfield's Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker. Smoke the turkey at 300-325 degrees until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees (about one hour for every four pounds of turkey).

Grilled Turkey with Toasted Fennel and Coriander
Photo: BonAppetit.com

2. GRILLED TURKEY WITH TOASTED FENNEL AND CORIANDER (pictured, left)
This bird gets rubbed down in a mixture of toasted fennel seeds, coriander seeds, peppercorns and coarse salt before being grilled on a bed of carrots, celery, parsnips, onion and thyme.

3. CITRUS-MARINATED TURKEY
Jose Garces contributed this turkey recipe to Food and Wine, preparing it in the same style as a traditional Yucatán dish called cochinita pibil, a slow-roasted pork marinated in citrus and annatto paste (made from achiote seeds, the condiment adds an orange hue to foods). Brining and marinating the bird make it especially succulent.

4. TUSCAN-STYLE TURKEY ALLA PORCHETTA

Turkey Alla Porchetta
Photo: MarthaStewart.com

This Italian-style turkey (pictured, right) gets its inspiration from Porchetta, a tightly-rolled deboned pork roast and stuffed with garlic, rosemary, fennel and other wild herbs. This turkey version is rolled in paper-thin slices of prosciutto, giving it extra moisture and decadence.

5. TOM COLICCHIO'S HERB BUTTER TURKEY
The Top Chef host's extra-moist turkey gets a flavor boost from herbed butter applied in copious amounts under the turkey's skin. While the turkey oven roasts and the butter melts, your house will be filled with the amazing aroma of thyme, tarragon, rosemary and sage.

10 Days of Thanksgiving: The Gravy Train

Take Your Thanksgiving Gravy From Good to Great
Photo: Arbiter.com

In my opinion, nothing makes or breaks a Thanksgiving meal faster than the quality of the gravy. Think about it: you've just finished piling your Thanksgiving plate high with moist turkey, hearty stuffing, fluffy mashed potatoes and creamy green bean casserole when you get to the gravy boat. Without thinking, you liberally douse everything on said plate with gravy, expecting it to be the veritable cherry on top of your Thanksgiving sundae.

If that gravy is bad -- tasteless, chalky and lukewarm -- you've just tainted your once-a-year Thanksgiving meal. But, if that gravy is great, it boosts the flavor of everything on your plate. A good gravy base should be rich, velvety smooth and slightly salty with flavors reminiscent of drippings left behind from a perfectly-cooked turkey. Dress it up or down creatively; throw in crispy pancetta, liven it up with fresh herbs or keep it simple with white pepper and plenty of stock. Here are five recipes to make sure your gravy makes the grade.

1. PANCETTA-SAGE GRAVY
Salty Italian bacon flavors both the turkey and the gravy. Does it get any better?

2. PORT GRAVY
A touch of tawny Port wine adds some elegance to a classic gravy. Keep it simple by sticking to pan juices, turkey stock, flour, butter and 1/2 cup of tawny Port. Add salt and pepper to taste.

3. TURKEY GIBLET GRAVY
Gravy doesn't get more classic than this. Take the time to make the perfect gravy base by making your own turkey giblet stock. Cook down the turkey neck and backbone with vegetables and herbs, then thicken it up with potato starch and flour. Fresh rosemary, sage and thyme add the final touches.

4. MUSHROOM GRAVY
Porcini mushrooms, rosemary, thyme and Italian parsley give this gravy an earthy flavor and hearty texture. And that added hint of flavor your guests just can't put their finger on? A hint of fresh mint.


5. RIESLING GRAVY 
This sweet-meets-salty gravy is the perfect accompaniment to a Maple-glazed turkey. A cup of Riesling wine gives adds a slight sweetness to the turkey-based stock, while red and green grapes cook down for texture.

10 Days of Thanksgiving Recipes: All Things Mashed

Perfect Mashed Potatoes
Photos: Food Network

Everyone's family seems to have a special mashed potato recipe. Some would-be potato mashers keep it simple, relying on a traditional hand mixer to mash butter and milk into steamy Russets. Some get technical, using a potato ricer to ensure their mash is silky smooth and lump-free. Finally, some get gourmet, opting for out-of-the-box (or burlap bag?) bases and combinations. No longer is the Russet the norm; sweet potatoes, parsnips, apples, and even cauliflower are often masquerading as the mash of choice, filled with every spice and creative topping combo known to man. However your family prepares them, here are five recipes to make sure whatever you mash holds it weight.

1. PERFECT MASHED POTATOES
The perfect mashed potatoes aren't actually mashed. The key is using a potato ricer (which looks like a giant garlic press). This gadget gently breaks the potatoes into tiny, flaky pieces (rather than smashing them into a gluey mass), creating just the right texture. Your left with light, fluffy, perfect potatoes.

Bourbon-Walnut Sweet Potato Mash
Photo: BonAppetit

2. BOURBON-WALNUT SWEET POTATO MASH
Cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg and maple syrup set the base for this autumnal mash. A splash or bourbon and chopped, toasted walnuts make it complete.

3. BAKED MASHED POTATOES WITH PARMESAN CHEESE AND BREAD CRUMBS
An Italian twist on classic mashed potatoes, this baked mash gets its a savory, crisp topping from the combination of Parmesan cheese and toasted bread crumbs.

4. GARLIC MASHED POTATOES
The potatoes are cooked along with a whole head of garlic, adding a rich, savory dimension to this essential Thanksgiving side dish. To make your mashed potatoes even more luxurious, substitute half-and-half for the milk in this recipe.

Blue Cheese-Walnut Mashed Potatoes
Part of Food Network's 50 Mashed Potato Recipes
Photo: FoodNetwork

5. PARSNIP-APPLE MASH
Transform humble parsnips into a luxurious alternative to mashed potatoes. When pureed, simmered apples and parsnips take on a dense, silky texture. This recipe can be prepared up to two days in advance of Thanksgiving and reheated before serving.

BONUS: 50 MASHED POTATO RECIPES FROM FOOD NETWORK MAGAZINE
Choose from 50 simple additions to a traditional mashed potato base including cheddar bacon, pancetta rosemary, Tex-Mex, crispy garlic, golden saffron and many more.

10 Days of Thanksgiving: Eat Your Vegetables!

Creamy Mustard Greens with Fried Shallots
Photo: FoodandWineVege

Vegetables might be the red-headed stepchild of Thanksgiving, but I'm here to stick up for good ole' greens. Sure, they're overlooked during the holiday but it's not they're fault. How do they stand a chance on a day dedicated to stuffing yourself with as many carbs as you shoved into that 12-lb turkey?

If vegetables have any chance of holiday redemption, these five recipes will do the trick. From spicy Brussels sprouts with fried capers to baked acorn squash with chestnuts, apples and leeks, these dishes run the gamut from healthy to indulgent. The one thing they all have in common? You can bet your guests will be begging for seconds.

1. CREAMY MUSTARD GREENS WITH FRIED SHALLOTS
Crisp fried shallots are a terrific contrast to creamy greens, especially when they're stirred in and sprinkled on top.


2. SPICY BRUSSELS SPROUTS WITH FRIED CAPERS
This quick recipe for piquant brussels will save precious time this Thanksgiving, without sacrificing on taste.

3. BAKED ACORN SQUASH WITH CHESTNUTS, APPLES AND LEEKS
Halved acorn squash make perfect single-serving bowls. These make a great vegetarian main course for any winter holiday, but they're also a festive accompaniment to turkey, ham or roast goose.

Roasted Carrots, Parsnips and Shallots
Photo: MarthaStewart

4. BROCCOLI RABE WITH GARLIC AND ALMONDS
Boiling the broccoli rabe beforehand reduces its bitterness. Toss in the pan with sauteed garlic and almonds to reheat.


5. ROASTED CARROTS, PARSNIPS AND SHALLOTS
Carrots, parsnips, and shallots become rich and sweet when roasted in a hot oven. Here, the vegetables are served with a tart relish of green olives, parsley, mint, and white-wine vinegar.