Heavenly Cheesecake

1	cup vanilla wafer, chocolate wafer, graham cracker or gingersnap cookie crumbs
2	tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
3	packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened
1/2	cup sugar
3	eggs
1	teaspoon vanilla
1	bag (12 ounces) white baking chips, (2 cups), melted
1/2	cup half-and-half
	Cut-up fresh strawberries, if desired
	Fresh mint leaf, if desired

1Heat oven to 325°F. Mix cookie crumbs and butter in small bowl. Press evenly in bottom of springform pan, 10x3 or 9x3 inches. Refrigerate while preparing filling.
2Beat cream cheese in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Gradually beat in sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Beat in vanilla, melted baking chips and half-and-half until blended. Pour over crust; smooth top.

Bake 55 to 60 minutes or until center is set; cool 15 minutes. Run metal spatula around side of cheesecake to loosen. Cover and refrigerate at least 8 hours, but no longer than 48 hours. Remove side of pan. Top cheesecake with strawberries. Garnish with mint leaves. Store covered in refrigerator.

Lemon Tart Tested Recipe	Printer Friendly Page

This beautiful Lemon Tart consists of a buttery shortbread crust, a creamy smooth lemon filling made with fresh lemon juice, sugar, and cream cheese, all covered with lovely swirls of whipped cream. Now, if you serve this tart the day it is made the tart's crust will be nice and crisp and you will taste the full tanginess of the lemon filling. Absolutely lovely. But if you store the tart in the refrigerator overnight, the shortbread crust will soften a little and the flavor of the lemon filling will mellow slightly, so all the textures and flavors of the tart seem to blend together. Again, absolutely lovely.

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Crust: Grease with butter, or spray with a nonstick vegetable cooking spray, an 8 - 9 inch (20 - 23 cm) tart pan with a removable bottom.

In your food processor, place the flour, sugar, and salt and process to combine. Add the butter and pulse until the pastry starts to come together and form clumps. Place the pastry in the prepared tart pan and, using your fingertips, evenly press the pastry onto the bottom and up the sides of the pan. (Can use the back of a spoon to smooth the surface of the pastry.) Pierce the bottom of the crust with the tines of a fork. (This will prevent the pastry crust from puffing up while it bakes.) Cover and place the pastry crust in the freezer for 15 minutes to chill. (This will help prevent the crust from shrinking while it bakes.)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven.

When the pastry is completely chilled, place the tart pan on a larger baking pan and bake until the crust is golden brown, about 13 - 15 minutes. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool while you make the filling.

Reduce the over temp to 350 degrees (177 degrees C).

Filling: In a food processor or electric mixer, place the cream cheese and process until smooth. Add sugar and process until incorporated. Add eggs, one at a time, and process until thoroughly combined. Add remaining ingredients and process until well blended and smooth. Pour filling into pre baked tart shell and bake for approximately 25 - 30 minutesor until filling is set. Transfer tart to a wire rack to cool and then cover and refrigerate until well chilled, at least an hour.

Topping: Put mixing bowl and whisk in the freezer for 15 minutes. Beat the whipping cream and powdered sugar until stiff peaks form. Transfer the whipped cream to a pastry bag fitted with star tip (#4B), and pipestars over the entire surface of the tart.

Refrigerate until serving time.

Serves 6 - 8 people.

Sources:

Bon Appetit Magazine

Davidson, Alan. The Oxford Companion to Food. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999.

Root, Waverley, Food. New York: A Fireside Book, 1980.

Visser, Margaret, Much Depends on Dinner. New York: Grove Press, 1986.

Whiteman, Kate, The New Guide to Fruit. New York: Lorenz Books, 1999.