The foodie mom, deconstructed!: Pumpkin cheesecake, deconstructed!

Friday, November 22, 2013

Pumpkin cheesecake, deconstructed!

Several years ago, I hosted Thanksgiving dinner for my family. I had worked hard on the meal, especially the desserts. In addition to a pumpkin pie and assorted sweet breads, I purchased a pumpkin pie cheesecake. It was expensive, but I couldn’t wait to try it!

My family arrived with a surprise guest, my sister’s golden lab. My sister treated that dog as if it was human, and he received a full Thanksgiving dinner that day. Unfortunately, that included the entire pumpkin cheesecake! While we were eating, Rusty grabbed the pie off the counter, and devoured half before anyone could stop him. My sister pulled it out of his mouth, wiped it off, and said, “We can still eat half!” Not likely!

I think of that cheesecake every Thanksgiving. It has been replaced with a no-bake pumpkin cheesecake. It takes about 15 minutes to make, and less time to consume. I figure if another dog ever grabs it off the kitchen counter, I can easily make another!

Easy pumpkin cheesecake

8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature

4-8 oz. frozen whipped topping, thawed

1 c. canned pumpkin puree

½ c. brown sugar

½ tsp. pumpkin pie spice

¼ c. + 1 TB. chopped pecans

¼ c. + 1 TB. chopped semi-sweet chocolate chips

Graham cracker pie crust

Blend the cream cheese, pumpkin puree, brown sugar, and pumpkin pie spice. Fold in the whipped topping and taste. If desired, add more whipped topping. Sprinkle the mixture with ¼ cup of the ground pecans and chocolate chips. Using a knife, swirl into the mixture and pour into the pie crust. If desired top the pie with any remaining whipped topping. Sprinkle the remaining nuts and chocolate chips on top.

Cover and refrigerate overnight. For a twist, serve with a drizzle of caramel sauce!

Easy pumpkin cheesecake, deconstructed

8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature

>Fat alert: Cream cheese is high in fat. If fat is a dietary concern, try a light or fat-free cream cheese.

4-8 oz. frozen whipped topping, thawed

>Fat alert: Whipped topping can be high in fat, but light and fat-free versions are available. Check the labels carefully.

>Health alert: Whipped topping is high in sugar. If sugar is a dietary concern, choose a reduced or sugar-free version. Again, check the labels carefully

>Health alert: Not all whipped topping is dairy-free. If dairy products are a dietary concern, check the labels carefully.

1 c. canned pumpkin puree

>Health alert: Some canned pumpkin products contain significant amounts of sugar. Check the labels carefully.

½ c. brown sugar

>Health alert: If sugar is a dietary concern, any sugar replacement may be used.

½ tsp. pumpkin pie spice

¼ c. + 1 TB. chopped pecans

>Health alert: If nuts are a dietary concern, they can be eliminated.

¼ c. + 1 TB. chopped semi-sweet chocolate chips

>Health alert: Chocolate chips can be high in sugar. Reduced or no-sugar options are available. (Check out the no-sugar chips at Nuts.com.) Chocolate chips can also be replaced with cocoa nibs. However, cocoa nibs are very high in fat!

Graham cracker pie crust

>Fat alert: Some prepared graham cracker pie crusts contain significant amounts of fat. If fat is a dietary concern, check the label carefully. Some low-fat versions are available. In the alternative, make your own with a reduced amount of fat.

>Health alert: Some prepared graham cracker pie crusts contain significant amounts of sugar. If sugar is a dietary concern, check the label carefully. Some reduced sugar or sugar-free versions are available. In the alternative, make your own without sugar.

(Follow the instructions above.)

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My mission...

It's official! Home-cooked meals can extend your life up to 20 years. The trick, however, is to cook foods that are good for you!

In the past year, I have been on a mission to lower the fat and sugar in my family’s meals. My experimentation with substitute ingredients has not always been successful, and sometimes, the results have been downright awful! Throughout it all, I have learned a valuable lesson: Sometimes, there just is no substitute for the real thing!

During the Cold War and the implementation of the space program, many foods and ingredients were reduced to powder. (Remember Tang?) Add water, shake, and you have a form of sustenance. And while those products may have indeed allowed us to survive while hunkered down in a fall-out shelter during a nuclear attack, or during a trip into space, many clearly could not be used during normal times as substitute ingredients. They just tasted incredibly bad, and pretty much ruined the recipes I tried to incorporate them into!

Of course, at the core of my research were sugar substitutes. I quickly learned that sugar provides a unique and satisfying texture to many baked goods. Some of the sugar substitutes simply did not. Quite a few baked desserts wound up in the trash can! But when used in other ways, for example, in soups or sauces, sugar substitutes offered more positive results.

While I played in my kitchen laboratory, that old mantra, “It’s about portion size, stupid!” kept playing in my head! It was dismissed when I realized that sometimes, I simply want to indulge! I cannot, and will not, deny my love for French Silk pie, Pain au chocolat, and other luscious desserts and pastries!, Do I have the willpower to limit portion size? Sure. But when I indulge in my gastronomic pleasures, I don’t want to think about portion size, calories, or fat or sugar content. I just want to enjoy.

I am convinced I can sacrifice fat or sugar in other dishes to make up for the damage inflicted by my ultimate pleasures. So I began to deconstruct my recipes: Identifying ingredients that may be of concern, and finding acceptable alternatives. While this is not a new approach, it ties into my belief that good cooks experiment! Ultimately, however, it is up to you to determine what tastes good, and what flavors and ingredients are unnecessary. No two palates are the same. When deconstructing recipes, I followed three basic tenets: Food must taste good. Food must look good. And food must never have the texture of dog food!

The best approach to following my recipes? Begin by trying the original. That will allow you to clearly evaluate the impact of suggested substitutions. I welcome your reactions and suggestions when trying substitutions I have suggested. My only request is that you actually try the alternative, and report the results, good or bad!

Who is the Foodie Mom?

Jane Kaiser has been cooking for her family since she was 10, when she was shipped off to a cooking class after she politely declined her mother's offer of charm school. She refined those skills while cooking and entertaining for her family, and worshiping at the altar of the Food Network.

In another life, Jane was an attorney and journalist. She has provided writing services to a wide range of organizations, including law firms, accounting firms, healthcare and insurance organizations, Fortune 500 corporations, and civic/trade organizations.

She is the author of a book on public relations and marketing, and has also written for such publications as the Minneapolis Star, the Kenosha News, Twin Cities Magazine, Virginia Lawyers Weekly,Illinois Legal Times, Wisconsin Opinions and the Wisconsin Law Journal.

Jane holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in journalism and education from the University of Minnesota, and a law degree from St. Louis University.