Lou we're off on a tangent here but my absolute to go to recipe for chocolate ice cream is from Cafe Pasqual's in Santa Fe. The cookbook is by Katherine Kagel but the recipe below is from epicurious. It's so good I make it anually for a friend as his birthday gift - his request. It's Mexican Chocolate Ice cream and it has pequins in it (YUMMMMM!!) I have a Cuisinart Ice Cream maker so not sure how it would work with the KA Here you go * 9 ounces fine-quality bittersweet chocolate * 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped * 2 cups heavy cream * 1 cup milk * 6 large egg yolks * 1/3 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar * 2 teaspoons cinnamon * 2 tablespoons Kahlú * 1/2 teaspoons crumbled pequín chilies* (wear rubber gloves) * 1/2 cup blanched whole almonds, toasted, cooled, and chopped * *available at some specialty stores Preparation In a metal bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water melt 6 ounces of the bittersweet chocolate, chopped, and the unsweetened chocolate, stirring until the mixture is smooth, and remove the bowl from the heat. In a heavy saucepan combine the cream and the milk and bring the mixture just to a boil. In a bowl whisk together the egg yolks and the brown sugar, add the cream mixture in a stream, whisking, and pour the mixture back into the pan. Cook the custard over moderately low heat, stirring, until it registers 170°F. on a candy thermometer, strain it through a fine sieve set over another bowl, and whisk in the melted chocolate, the cinnamon, and the Kahlúa. Let the mixture cool completely and freeze it in an ice-cream freezer according to the manufacturer's instructions, adding the remaining 3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped fine, the crumbled chilies, and the almonds during the last few minutes of freezing time. Let me know if you need pequins. I can put some in the mail for you, that is if you can mail hazardous material ;-) I love Ghiardelli's bittersweet so always use that and Whole Foods has bulk unsweetened chocolate. It's made by one of the big companies but the name escapes me right now.

Oh boy!!!! Linda, if your recipe makes about 5 dozen, I better cut ours in half! DS's full recipe calls for 3 POUNDS of cream cheese! He was afraid of the cone shape of the mini muffin tins. He took two years of baking and pastry in high school but has only done a little since graduation, as he couldn't get a job doing it. Needless to say, he's out of practice and unsure of changing things so drastically. These are pretty special people to us. I first met him when I was working for a car dealership. He was our district rep. He would come to the area and about mid week would be our turn for his visit. He would say "Wanna go out tonight?" Answer was always "You bet!" DH, who was my BF at the time, worked afternoon shift. We would go meet him for his lunch, our supper, have a few drinks together after DH went back to work, go back to the motel & call his wife. I only knew her by phone for 3 years! The first time I met her in person, it was like meeting my mother and best friend all in one. We have all been "family" since I first met him at work. They will do anything for anyone. We have a parking spot for the motor home in thier driveway, with an electric outlet, anytime we want to go to Michigan. We will take it up for the weekend when we go for the party in June. There isn't anything I can think of to buy them, but I can contribute to their special day. And of course, there will be willing hands available to help them set up and tear down! Thanks for the advice. I will certainly be experimenting before June! Besides, making them this size will MAYBE keep me from eating too much of it. I can put most of them in the freezer and nibble as the craving hits without having to over eat such a rich cheesecake. If we make one the usual way, I eat until I almost get sick on it, because it makes so much. I have cut the recipe in half, and if I don't want to make the crust, I can cheat and buy an extral large ready made graham crust, which will just hold a half recipe. Tami

Lou's Cheesecake - Light and Fluffy Ingredients: 6 eggs- Separated 2 Packs of Philadelphia Cream Cheese ( 16 0zs. ) 1 cup of Vanilla Ice Cream 1 ¼ cups of Sugar 1 stick of Butter = ¼ lb. ( softened ) 1 Tablespoon of Lemon Juice 6 tablespoons of Orange Juice and grate fine, the (rind)skin of 1 orange 1 teaspoon of Vanilla flavor 2 heaping Tablespoons of Flour ¼ cup of Cornstarch Add into a large bowl, 6 egg yolks, cream cheese, ¾ cup of sugar, Vanilla Ice Cream, Lemon Juice, Orange juice, Grated orange skin, Butter, Vanilla and Flour. Beat until creamy smooth, about 3 to 4 minutes, with a hand mixer. In another bowl, beat the egg whites ; with clean beaters, until they hold soft peaks and then add remaining ½ cup of Sugar, one tablespoon at a time, at Medium speed, for 1 minute. Increase the speed for 2 to 3 minutes ,or until whites hold stiff peaks. add this to the cheese Batter 1/3 at a time, folding easily but thoroughly. I oiled a 9 in. x 12 in. SS pan and dusted it with flour, or you can use your favorite pie shell mix, poured the batter into it and leveled it slightly by shaking. I placed this SS pan into a slightly larger pan, filled with water about ¾ inches deep. This was put into the 325 Deg. preheated oven , on the middle shelf and baked about 55 to 60 minutes or until the top is a light Golden light Tan. Turn off the oven but leave the cake in until it cools down a little. It will settle and be slightly recessed upon cooling. When cool, cover the top with plastic wrap and refrigerate, for at least 1 hour. Cover the top with a fruit pie mix or Strawberry or Cherry preserves Cut the large pieces of fruit smaller. Can be refrigerated for at least 3 days.

Homey - I almost never post on this forum but I'll help you out. Ricotta can make a great cheesecake. You can simply bake ricotta actually, and don't even call it a "cake". The texture will not be smooth like with Philadelphia Cream Cheese. You can use a crust that's kind of a pate sucree - mix together some butter, flour and sugar and add an egg or two. Can incorporate crushed nuts of some sort if you want. Bake it a bit before putting in the filling - many people don't do that but they should. Matter of fact, do that with the graham cracker crust too - if you put a wet filling on an unbaked crust, the crust will never quite cook right. But be careful - it will burn fast so watch it. When you're making a cheesecake, what you're really making is a custard. You thicken a custard with eggs. When the temp gets hot enough to change the proteins of the eggs, they solidify and that's why your custard hardens. Exactly the same thing you do with flan, etc. So when you cook it, don't leave it in the oven until it's completely done. Take it out or stop cooking it when the center is still kind of gooey - the internal temp of the custard will finish the cooking itself. If you cook until done completely, you'll end up with an overcooked cheesecake and it won't be smooth. You don't have to use Philadelphia cream cheese obviously, and the better the cheese, the better the finished product. You can actually make your own and it will be delicious. Get some good yogurt, or make your own yogurt, and strain it well. That's essentially cream cheese - the commercial version adds a lot of starch and stabilizers, but the original is very common in the Middle East, Greece, and France. Whatever you use, if you whip the batter and incorporate a lot of air, you'll end up with a kind of souffle that will rise and sink, so it's better to mix by hand or with minimal help from the food processor or whatever else you're using. As always, don't worry about specific measurements in your cooking. As a rule of thumb, if you use those 8 oz packages of cheese, use one egg per package and a tablespoon of sugar. If you like it sweeter, use a bit more sugar or honey or maple syrup or whatever. Also add a pinch of salt and maybe a few drops of vanilla. From there, you can go anywhere. When they're in season, I add blueberries or raspberries or strawberries, etc. Or peaches, which are wonderful. You can put in a food processor or put in chunks. For the holidays, add pumpkin - baked not canned because it's less watery, and add some cinnamon, cloves, ginger, etc. Or dice up a jalapeno really fine and incorporate that. Or burnt butter or a banana or melted chocolate or peanut butter. You don't need a "recipe" for any of those - just add what you feel will work. It's the ratio of liquid to egg and the cooking time that is going to make the difference in your final product. You don't need to add sour cream, and I wouldn't. Or you can make a savory cheesecake - forego the sugar and add chunks of blue cheese, mushrooms, herbs, or whatever. It's essentially a kind of quiche at that point. What you should NOT do is use condensed milk. That's way too sweet and has a grainy texture that's horrid. If you want something similar, make dulce de leche or confiture du lait - you can do it in a crock pot. Use about 1/2 cup of sugar for every 2 cups of milk and add about a quarter spoon of salt. Bring to a boil and then turn the heat down way low and simmer until it's reduced to a fraction of what it was. You decide how thick you want it. Good luck and happy baking!