Pumpkin Pie Swirl Cheesecake

Thanksgiving is a week away for Canadians, so I have been in the kitchen working on a lovely dessert to bring to dinner at my SIL’s place. Pumpkin anything is always a hit with our combined families.

Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake recipe from Kraft Foods, adapted by me to split one cheesecake batch into three smaller tort batches so I could play with crusts and toppings. I made two graham crust and a chocolate cookie crust versions. Two are marbled, one is not.

I use a 7″ tort pan and bake each one for 30 minutes at 325 degrees, rest it for another 30 minutes on top of a bowl to release the side of the pan, and then chill for at least 4 hours before serving.

Baking desserts in thin tort pans is especially helpful if you’re looking for a way to make a thin version of a thick, dense sweet cake, or just bake a smaller version of the same tasty traditional cheesecake you love. I find breaking up full size cake or pie recipes into torts size versions is also an economical way of stretching my materials and patience over several holiday meals we attend at multiple home every year.

I don’t have hours to mess around in the kitchen baking everything in one shot like I used to, so when I’m pressed for time I can easy prep enough for all three torts and either bin the portions I don’t use then, or bake all three and freeze the extras.

This recipe is perfect for time challenged people! And the hostess will still think you spent gobs of time baking just for her dinner. Shh. I won’t tell her if you don’t. 😉

Many women will love the manageable size and portion control, but there might be people (mostly the men from my brotherly experience) who will complain about the small, wafer thin size of your tort, so be prepared to tell them you were taking your cues from the sophisticated European bakers who understand desserts aren’t the main attraction, the company you share them with is!

Toppings: Coarsely chopped pecans, fresh whipped cream that’s been sweetened with a hint of flavour, or both. Baker’s choice, really.

Over the weekend, I woke up with an incredible hunger for pulled pork sliders for breakfast. So, knowing that I have some pulled pork already defrosted, I dumped half a jar of basil tomato sauce into a pot and put the pulled pork in with it to heat it all through. While that was, hopefully, not burning, I grated some marble cheese and defrosted some slider buns I had kicked around the freezer.

I made tons. More than we could have humanly consumed in one sitting so we tossed around some ideas of what to use it for later in the day. One idea made DH’s eyes bug out: pulled pork enchiladas. Dinner idea done!

Super easy to throw together (five minutes) and only need 30 minutes in the oven to heat through, these enchiladas were basically a no-brainer.

Pulled Pork Enchiladas

Pulled Pork Enchiladas

Each tortilla had about 1/4 cup of the pulled pork in pasta sauce placed on the bottom 1/3 portion, and then (if you like or have it) a small handful of marble cheese, and them rolled up and placed seam side down in a lightly sprayed metal pan to bake. Over top, I added the last half of the basil tomato sauce and topped it with enough marble cheese to leave a nice cheese layer.

Pan of Pulled Pork Enchiladas

I baked these enchiladas covered with foil at 375 degrees for the first 25 minutes, and uncovered under the broiler for the last 5 minutes till the cheese bubbled and browned a bit. After they came out of the oven, I topped the enchiladas with cut up some bunching onions and flat leaf parsley from my garden, and served them with very healthy dollops of sour cream on the side. Heaven.

Try this today and you’ll agree with me, this is the easiest and tastiest enchiladas you’ll ever make at home. Recipe for the Pulled Pork and the basic Enchiladas came from Every Day Food.

Using the Every Day Food recipe for Flounder With Onion-Tomato Ragout as my template, I made lovely and flavourful white fish dish.

I swapped out the vinegar for freshly squeezed lemon juice all over the fish while it was cooking in the pan, and a bit more on top of it all after it was plated to ensure maximum brightness.

This is a keeper. Simple, fast and tasty. You can’t ask for more on a busy weeknight when you’re pressed for time and your belly is rumbling. 🙂

Final thought: chunk this up as is and throw it into warmed up tortillas for instant fish tacos.

Ricotta-Spinach Stuffed Chicken, from the Every Day Food recipe collection, served with roasted carrots, onions and baby potatoes, and with a side Caesar topped with fresh dressing and shaved Parmesan cheese.