Lemon Alfredo Pasta

Another sunday, another round of Home-cooked Horror nights. This evening, my friends descended on my place to enjoy a tasty, home-cooked vegetarian meal and a viewing of Carrie and The Signal. (If you haven't seen The Signal, by the way, and you like horror movies, I heartily recommend it. It was a laugh-riot, gory masterpiece.) Anywho, dinner.

Lemon Alfredo Pasta

(makes ~8 servings)

16 oz whole wheat spaghetti

4 tbsp olive oil

light cream cheese

juice and zest of 2 large lemons

1 bag full frozen peas, steamed

1/2 cup toasted pine nuts

salt, to taste

4 shakes garlic powder

1/2 cup water

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain it. 

Warm cream cheese, oil, and 2 tbsp lemon juice in a large saucepan over low heat until all melted. Add 1/2 cup of water (about 2 tbsp at a time) until the consistency is something you like. :) Try to keep it from being too thick. Add peas, pine nuts, lemon zest, garlic powder, and salt. Stir until well-combined. Add pasta to the sauce; stir to coat. 

Australia Day

Australia Day is the official national day of Australia. This holiday, celebrated annually on January 26th, commemorates the arrival of the First Fleet at Sydney Cove in 1788, the hoisting of the British flag there, and the proclamation of British sovereignty over the eastern seaboard of Australia (thanks wikipedia).


I do not know much about Australia besides the following facts: it has some of the deadliest creatures on earth, it's the home of the best shiraz in the world (thanks to all that great volcanic soil), they have kangaroos, and my longtime net pal Yuhan lives there.


So, in honor of this national holiday, I asked Yuhan (who happens to be a kitchen guru in his own right) to jot down one of his favorite recipes for me to share with you all today. Here it is: 


[translations available in brackets]

Strawberry Cheesecake

Ingredients:

500g Cream Cheese

300 ml Cream

3 Eggs

250g Plain Biscuits

125g Butter, melted

Sponge Finger Biscuits

1 Punnet Strawberries [approximately 1 pint]

Dash of Sherry (or other fortified wine)

1/4 cup water

1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice

90g Icing Sugar

4 Tsp Sugar

Optional:

Ginger Snap Biscuits

Pecans

Lots of other berries

First make a Strawberry Syrup:

Halve/Quarter some of the larger strawberries (you will use them for presentation later). Place them in a saucepan. Add Sugar, Water and Sherry. Boil for a few minutes, leave it to cool.

Crumb Biscuits for the cheesecake base (digestive biscuits are great for this).

OPTION: crush some ginger snaps and pecans and add them to the mix.

Mix the biscuit crumbs with melted mutter. Press the mixture into the base of a medium spring base tin - put it into the fridge to harden.

Whisk cream cheese, cream, lemon juice, eggs and icing sugar until smooth.

Take the strawberries out of the syrup and place them on the cake base. 

OPTION: add extra berries at this stage - blueberries work well here.

Pour half of the cheese mixture into the pan.

Dip sponge finger biscuits into the syrup and place them on top of the cake mix (they should rest on top of the cooked strawberries). 

Mix the remaining syrup with the cheese mixture for colour and pour over the sponge biscuits.

Bake the cake @ 210 degrees Celsius [410 F] for 10 minutes, and then @160 degrees Celsius [320 F] for 45 minutes.

Note: The sponge finger biscuits are not essential, but give the cake another layer of texture and support the cake structure itself. It is possible to use other biscuits (like ginger snaps), but sponge fingers will hold their shape better due to their thickness. If using a different biscuit (or not using the sponge layer at all) the cake may still be custard-like in the centre after baking. In this case, place it in the fridge to set before serving.

Serving suggestions: dust with icing sugar and garnish cake slices with fresh mint.