There is more to New York City and Philadelphia than cheesecake and cheesesteaks, but don't tell that to the U.S. Senate.
The most powerful elected representatives from both New York and Pennsylvania have made a polite World Series food wager on the eve of the baseball match-up. If the Phillies win, Sens. Arlen Specter and Bob Casey will get New York cheesecake. If the Yankees win, Sens. Chuck Schumer and Kristen Gillibrand get Philly cheesesteaks.
What cliché and unoriginal choices, especially since both those old standbys can be found in the food court of any American mall. They don't accurately reflect the soul of either city. What two foods best sum up these two complex metropolises?
The Brooklyn, N.Y., cheesecake institution Junior's, founded in downtown Brooklyn in 1950, prides itself as "New York's Best Cheesecake," but it's now scrambling to clean up its reputation after photographs posted on the Internet over the weekend show some rodents enjoying a snack in the bakery's window display.
In the U.S., many rich cheeses like Brie, Camembert and triple crèmes like Pierre Robert are too buttery and lack a distinctive kick of flavor. St Pat, on the other hand, provides a sensational surprise to the palate with a sweet, nutty vegetal taste reminiscent of artichokes. Tucking into a luxuriously creamy half-pound wheel of St Pat is like partaking of a springtime cheesecake.
As we head into October, the color palette on grocery store shelves is changing. The foodie world is getting increasingly orange and fragrant as pumpkin season hits and the myriad of insanely good pumpkin-themed foods hit center stage. But instead of carving or pie, have you ever tried a pumpkin cheesecake?
Above, Judy Parks runs through the ins and outs of a good pumpkin cheesecake and shows you how to whip it up. It's not only a great run-down of the recipe, but also a great general how-to. She offers tips on mixing, baking, and serving to get the perfect cheesecake.
Note: This recipe calls for canned pumpkin. If you'd prefer to use fresh, go here to see how to prepare your fresh pumpkin for the substitution.
Soft-serve gets a makeover at upscale ice cream joints. Think spiced cantaloupe topping, balsalmic cherries, a "creamsicle" of white nectarine granita and jasmine tea soft-serve.
The Slow Food movement plans a Labor Day Slow Food Nation festival, to be the "Woodstock" of food festivals. Hope they bring more porta-potties than the original.
The Rutgers Tomato Project brings back the Jersey tomato.
The Minimalist does a no-bake summer cheesecake with blueberries.
I'm not married, so I spend a lot of time thinking about my wedding cake-to-be. I often thumb through Martha's book on wedding cakes on the floor of Barnes & Noble, and I can't pass a window full of them without gazing longingly. They're just so beautiful.
In all of this fantasizing, it's never occurred to me to think about having a cake made out of something other than cake. Like, for example, cheese. But apparently cheese cakes are becoming trendy in countries like New Zealand -- layers and layers of gorgeous, decorated cheese. Has anyone ever actually witnessed or tasted one of these? Would you consider having one?
When registering for those kitchen supplies before getting married, make sure that you aren't picking out things that are just going to sit in the box or in storage.
When it comes to cheesecake, as long as you go for the creamiest cheese you can find, you can use any number of cheeses.
You'll find barbecue potato chips, a flag platter and a salad server in the shape of a potted plant in the Market Basket.
Paying attention to the eye appeal of a salad will increase the likelihood that it will get devoured.
My friends make fun of me because I find the internet hilarious. I can't help it. I love LOLcats, Rickrolling, and, of course, The FAIL Blog (and FAIL Dogs). For those unfamiliar with the FAIL trend, it's basically when people find funny pictures of things not working as planned, and then label them "FAIL."
Reading The FAIL Blog has me thinking about all of my personal food FAILS, and how funny FAILS can be when they happen to you. The blog has some pretty awesome food pictures, such as this Salad FAIL, this Vending FAIL and this Dogfood FAIL. One of my favorite cooking blogs, Jumbo Empanadas, also wrote a FAIL post about a strawberry cheesecake -- though it certainly didn't look like a FAIL to me.
I think my biggest cooking FAIL was an attempt to make a cauliflower mash with beautiful purple and yellow cauliflower. Somehow, I thought that I could make it wasabi flavored because you can do that with normal mashed potatoes. I was very wrong, and they turned out disgusting. Please, make me feel less badly: share your FAIL food experiences with us.
The first time I had Yumpkins (pumpkin cheesecake bars with a poundcake crust) was my freshman year of college, at a parents' weekend reception held in my residence hall. My friend Amber made them as her contribution to the dessert buffet that we served up to accompany the student/parent talent show (I realize it sounds dorky, but it was really very fun). The Yumpkins made such an impression on my mom that she asked Amber for the recipe.
Back in the summer, my mom sent me a bunch of recipes from the three-ring notebook she's been accumulating for nearly 40 years. The printed out recipe from Amber was included in the envelope, along with a note saying that Amber's mother often serves them with whipped cream, but that she find them rich enough just on their own. The recipe is after the jump.
Cheesecake is one of those foods that people feel strongly about, tending to either love the rich, creamy texture or hate it. I Love Cheesecake is, clearly, a book for those in the former camp. The book is actually the second edition of a formerly published book called Cheesecake Extraordinaire, but with a catchier title and some new mouthwatering photography.
The cheesecakes in the book are divided up by flavors and there are several recipes in each subdivision. For example, there are beverage-based cheesecakes, caramel cheesecakes and even guilt-free cheesecakes - and each short chapter is sure to present you with more flavor options in that category than any other dessert cookbook because there are more than 250 pages packed with cream-cheesy goodness.
Bear in mind that cheesecake can be more dangerous than it looks where your waistline is concerned, so no matter how tempting Black Forest Cheesecake, Orange Carrot Cheesecake, Chocolate Fantasy Cheesecake and Bananas Foster Cheesecake sound, it is best to space out these recipes with some of the lighter ones, like Light Lime Cheesecake and Low Calorie American Cheesecake.
The Cheesecake Factory is not known for serving health food. In fact, their giant portions can turn even healthy fare into things that you should think twice before eating. Many concerned with calories will ask their waiter to put half of the portion into a to-go box at the same time that the main course is served, which prevents the diner from overeating their pasta, salad, etc. The main thing to avoid there, unless you're not giving the least thought to what you eat, is the cheesecake. Although tasty, their massive pieces often have more than half of your daily calorie requirements. CSPI wrote, in their Nutrition Action Healthletter this month, that the Cheesecake Factory Godiva Cheesecake (pictured) has 1,000 calories and 41 grams of "bad" saturated fat. Unfortunately, they didn't enlighten the readers as to how much fat in total is in the cheesecake, but they did provide a colorful analogy to help picture just how bad it is: "it's like ordering a Pizza hut Personal Pan Pepperoni Pizza - topped with 10 pats of butter - after dinner."
Yum.
If you're willing to toss your diet out the window for a few days (or want to share with a large crowd), you can order this cheesecake online. For a healthier cheesecake, try a veganversion or stick to a bite-sized tart that will give you portion control.
I'm not married, so I spend a lot of time thinking about my wedding cake-to-be. I often thumb through 
My friends make fun of me because I find the internet hilarious. I can't help it. I love 
The first time I had Yumpkins (pumpkin cheesecake bars with a poundcake crust) was my freshman year of college, at a parents' weekend reception held in my residence hall. My friend Amber made them as her contribution to the dessert buffet that we served up to accompany the student/parent talent show (I realize it sounds dorky, but it was really very fun). The Yumpkins made such an impression on my mom that she asked Amber for the recipe. 
If you're going to buy a dwarf Key lime tree for your dad, 
The 
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