Author: CrazyNatey

Many people have tasted my cheesecake, and many people say it’s awesome.  This is the recipe I use.  The recipe for the crust is very much estimated.  You may end up with extra crust mix…  I do, however, know the right proportions.  I know the recipe below is not quite a normal recipe.  It takes a bit of learning to make these just right, and I use some of my own terminology.  So… here it is.. published online for all to see and use and make and enjoy.  My Cheese-cup-cakes.

There’s a golden ratio to all of this recipe.  For all of it you will want to follow these rules:

Filling: 1 8oz block of cream cheese =  1/4 cup sugar = 1 egg + splash of vanilla ( I honestly don’t know how much vanilla I use… it’s like an eighth of a teaspoon or something like that)
Crust: 1 cup graham cracker crumbs = 1/2 cup sugar = 1 tsp cinnamon = 5 Tbsp butter

Crust:

• 3 cups Graham Cracker Crumbs
• 1 1/2 Cups Sugar
• 3 Tsp Cinnamon
• 15 Tbsp Butter

Mix the graham cracker crumbs, cinnamon, and sugar in a bowl.  Make sure they are well mixed.  Melt the butter and pour it into the bowl with the cinnamon, crumbs and sugar.  Mix well until the crust clumps together.  Take two cupcake pans, the kind that make 12 cakes per pan, and line them with papers.  Put a heaping Tbsp of the crust mixture into each liner and press it down with your fingers.  Set aside.

Filling:

• 4 8oz blocks of Cream Cheese (Philadelphia brand is all I ever use, generic brand will get all clumpy and weird..)
• 1 cup sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 tsp vanilla

Soften the cream cheese first, that will make it easier to blend.  In a large mixing bowl put all of the cream cheese and all 4 eggs, then mix with a hand mixer on medium speed until well blended.  Lower the hand mixer to low speed and while mixing on low, slowly pour in the sugar.  It is important that the mixer is on low, and that you add the sugar slowly, about a quarter of a cup at a time.  Once the sugar is blended in you can increase the mixer speed to high speed.  Continue mixing until the mixture folds over like silk.  It’s hard to say in words what this should look like, but you should know it when you see it.  The cheese mixture should be free of lumps.  (This is why I use Philadelphia brand cream cheese…  every other brand I’ve tried always ends up lumpy)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Take the cupcake pans and spoon about 2 Tbsp of the cheese filling mixture into each of the cupcakes.  Don’t worry about spreading them smooth, if you made the filling right it will settle as they cook.  Place the pans in the oven and cook for 8 – 12 minutes.  As they cook you will see the filling  bubble up, when it looks like it is a bubble about ready to burst, they are ready.  Pull them out of the oven and let them cool on the stove-top for 15 – 20 minutes.  Transfer them to a flat cookie sheet and put them in the refrigerator to cool for another 2+ hours.

I recently moved from New Mexico to Texas.  Since moving out here I’ve been really missing real Mexican food.  Well not real Mexican food, but New Mexican food; I understand that there’s a difference.  I’ve been fortunate enough to find places locally to buy red and green chile.  It took me a while to make a red chile sauce that reminds me of my favorite places to eat in New Mexico, but I think I’ve done it.  So here it is, my take on an authentic New Mexican Red Chile sauce.

• 6 dried Guajillo peppers
• 6 dried red New Mexico red chile peppers.
• 5 dried Chile de Arbol peppers.  (These add to the spiciness, so use more or less according to your taste)
• 2 cloves garlic (Chopped)
• 1 medium white onion (Chopped)
• 1/2 tbsp of salt
• 1/2 tbsp of pepper
• 1/2 tbsp celery flakes
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 8 cups of Water
• 3/4 cup of cold water
• 2 tbsp corn starch

Remove the stems from all of the peppers, slice them open and remove the seeds.  Tear the peppers into smaller pieces and add them to a large pot.  Add in the peppers, half of the garlic, half of the onion, salt, pepper, celery flakes, and cumin.  Put the 8 cups of water in a large pot and heat it up until it boils then lower it to a simmer.  Let this simmer on the stove until it reduces to about half of where you started (About 1-1.5 hours), stirring occasionally.  When everything has reduced, pour everything into a blender, then add in the other half of the garlic and onion.  Be very careful of this next step.  The heat and steam produced from the mix will want to pop the top off of your blender.  So blend it slowly, increasing speed gradually hold the top down tight.  A blender with a locking lid would be preferred.  Leave the blender on low-medium speed for about 5 – 10 minutes.  Once you’ve reached the desired speed you should be able to leave it alone while you wait.

Pour the chile mixture back into the pot heating it on medium.  In another small mixing bowl, mix the cold water and corn starch until the corn starch is well blended and chunk free.  Pour this in with the chile mixture and stir well.  Heat the chile on at a very low simmer stirring frequently. Let this reduce until it reaches your desired thickness.  Then it’s done.

Yield: 4 – 5 cups.

PS: To pick the best peppers look for ones that are not too dry.  They should be leathery without any dust or mold on them and should not crack when you bend them.