What I’m Thankful For… and Cranberry Goat Cheese Cheesecake

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

We had a Friendsgiving, followed by a Thanksgiving dinner at our house, some Black Friday shopping and then another dinner at the in-laws’ house.

I’m finally starting to recuperate and catch up on work from the busyness of the long weekend, and am already looking forward to the next few weeks – full of holiday parties, restaurant events and seeing old friends again.

It’s been a whirlwind of a year, but I have lots to be thankful for this year:

Friends

Family

Our “kids”

Good food and cooking this weekend without the thought of having to write up a recipe and blog for each dish. Following recipes from other bloggers and enjoying the food with friends & family has been a nice change from the usual process of recipe development –> cooking –> styling –> photographing –> editing –> blogging

and Staying Busy

I guess I should be thankful for what I ask for (#99). I’ve been working on menu designs for a local farm-to-table restaurant, which has been fun, even though I do get super hungry while working (post on this restaurant will be up on Friday!).  And I’ve been having a great time filming videos and shooting products for Doggy Baby.

It’s been wonderful falling in love with my job all over again.

Don’t forget to go comment on this blog post! I will be picking and sending out a little gifty to someone next week!

Okay, so maybe I did actually end up blogging about a recipe. But this cheesecake is just way too yummy to keep all to myself.  And it is perfect for the holiday season:

Cranberry Goat Cheese Cheesecake (8-10 servings)
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup rolled oats
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 – 8oz packs cream cheese, room temperature
12 oz goat cheese, room temperature
zest from 1 lemon
juice from 1/2 of a lemon
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 cups fresh cranberries
zest from 1 lemon
2 tablespoons water
1/4 cup dry red wine
1/2 cup agave nectar

Let’s Bake:
Preheat the oven to 400˚F. Mix the graham cracker crumbs, rolled oats and butter in a mixing bowl. Press the graham cracker mixture onto the bottom of a 9″ springform pan. Place the pan on a cookie sheet and bake until the crust is golden brown, about 8-10 minutes. Remove the springform pan from the oven and let cool on a wire rack.

Reduce the the oven temperature to 325˚F. For the cheesecake filling, mix the cream cheese, goat cheese, lemon zest, lemon juice and vanilla together using a stand mixer or electric hand mixer, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Slowly mix in the sugar until mixture is well blended. Then add the eggs, one by one, and beat until the cheesecake batter is creamy.

Pour the cheesecake batter into the springform pan, on top of the graham cracker crust. Bake in the oven until the sides of the cheesecake look set and the center is still slightly jiggly, about 50-60 minutes. The cheesecake will finish setting as it cools.

Let the cheesecake cool in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or overnight.

For the topping, combine the fresh cranberries, lemon zest, water, red wine and agave nectar in a saucepan. Mix to combine the ingredients, then bring the mixture to a boil, then cover & let simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until most of the cranberries have “popped.” Remove the saucepan from the heat and let the cranberry topping cool to room temperature.

To serve, top the cheesecake with the cranberry topping.