I have the perfect use for leftover dulce de leche, not that there's any left over here ever. Put dulce de leche into a dish. get a spoon. Sit down, eat a spoonful, have a sip of hot tea or coffee. Wait a second. Repeat. That looks delicious, Ann. Annie

What a Thanksgiving! dS2 left today to drive back up north to college, dd and boyfriend left Thursday evening to back to their homes and jobs, Auntie left yesterday afternoon, still have MIL and DS1 and his gf. DH and his mom are tending the bonfire, DS and GF are playing tennis and I am taking a break in the library :-). We took MIL who has advancing dementia to local ballet school matinee performance of the Nutcracker today and she LOVED it, much to our surprise and delight! Biggest excitement--- daughter's boyfriend asked DH for our permission to ask her to marry him! We are keeping quiet as he plans to do this in a few weeks and we don't want spoil the surprise! We could not be happier as the young man is exactly who we would order as a SIL and he is truly devoted to our girl. Tired of cooking and serving, that's for sure! Mtn, I realized -- finally-- that I used a 9.5" springform pan instead of a 9" or 8", which is why it looked so flat. It was still delicious, though, and the apple pie from our local Methodist youth group was fantastic! And do you know, I am sending people home with their gingerbread house kits. We were having such a good time talking and visiting that the afternoon sped by with no need for a planned indoor activity! We will save ours for Christmas Eve when my nephews are staying over. Chibimimi, you are a veritable pioneer! I cannot imagine cooking over an open fire and really admire you for not giving in and running to the nearest restaurant. Bbstx, wine was definitely involved! We had a Viognier and a Beaujolais for our turkey dinner, and shooters of hot wassail spiked with spiced rum in mini christmas mugs. Let's just say it was pretty cheerful oPattyxlynn, what a great idea for a dessert/snack---- caramelized apple chips----and I'll bet your apple cinnamon loaves were delicious! I am often dubious of the photos I see on Pinterest.......they look like the product of a craft room staff, not a single harried individual with a pair of scissors and a roll of ribbon. Happy Thanksgiving to all!!

We liked Lou's cheesecake, too! I love NY cheesecake, too, this was a little different. Marilyn had two recipes that were also very good. EAST COAST CHEESECAKE (danain) 1 2/3 cup graham cracker crumbs 1/4 cup sugar 1/3 cup butter, melted 5 (8 oz. pkgs.) cream cheese, room temperature 13/4 cup sugar 3 tablespoons flour 5 large eggs, room temperature 2 large egg yolks, room temperature 1/3 cup sour cream, room temperature 1 teaspoon vanilla Coat the inside of a spring form pan with shortening. Combine crumbs, ¼ cup sugar and butter in and press on sides and bottom of pan; refrigerate. Preheat oven to 500°. Beat together cream cheese, 1¾ cups sugar and flour with an electric mixer until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time beating on low speed until incorporated, scraping bowl between additions. Mix in sour cream and vanilla. Pour mixture into prepared pan. Pan will be completely full. Make a water bath: Wrap foil around the outside of filled pan. Place pan in a larger baking dish and pour hot water in the baking dish to come half way up the sides of the spring form pan. Bake in the middle of the oven for 10 minutes at 500° then reduce heat to 200° and continue to bake without opening oven door for 1 hour. Check cake. It should be very brown on top. Continue to bake until slightly wobbly when pan is gently shaken, about another 35 minutes. Remove from oven and run a knife around top edge of cake to loosen. Cool cake completely in spring form pan on a rack at room temperature, about 3 hours. Refrigerate cake covered loosely with wax paper for at least 6 hours. Remove side of pan and bring to room temperature before serving. Will keep for approximately 2 weeks refrigerated. notes - For 1/2 recipe bake in a 7" spring form pan for 10 minutes at 500° then about 50 minutes at 200°. HOLLYWOOD TWO-TONE CHEESECAKE (danain) CRUST: 11/4 cup graham cracker crumbs 1/4 cup sugar 1/4 cup butter, melted PART 1: 1 pound cream cheese; softened 1/2 cup sugar 3 eggs; room temperature 3/4 teaspoon vanilla PART 2: 2 cups sour cream; room temperature 1/4 cup sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla Combine crust ingredients thoroughly. Grease 9-inch round pan with shortening (or use a spring form pan). Cover sides of pan with 1 cup having it come up 1-inch from the top of pan. Press remaining in bottom. Refrigerate while preparing part 1. Combine part 1 ingredients with electric mixer until smooth (beat 2 to 3 minutes). Spread into pan. Bake at 375° for 20 minutes. Remove from oven, place on rack; stand at room temperature 15 minutes. Raise oven temperature to 475°. About 2 minutes before 15 minutes standing time is up, prepare second part of filling. With a spoon mix part 2 ingredients until well blended. Pour over 1st part, starting from side to center, spread evenly and gently. Bake at 475° about 10 minutes. Let stand at room temperature on rack for 5 to 6 hours before releasing from pan. Loosen crumbs on sides of pan allowing them to drop on edge of cake. Remove cake carefully or serve from pan. Do not cut until the following day. Cover with waxed paper and store in coldest part of refrigerator for 12 hours or longer. Keeps 3 to 4 days. Cake is about 1¼-inch high. Tip: When baking cake, place a pan of hot water under cake on lower rack. This will prevent cake from cracking.

Now that I think of it, I have made this recipe many times and it could probably fit under a broad definition of a cheesecake. I'll include it for your research, Jim. [Sorry these directions are so long but my stepfather used to make this with just a list of ingredients on a scrap of paper. I finally got him to write down the instructions. There are easier versions of this that don't involve cooking the cheese mixture but this one comes out so creamy that it's worth the extra step.] PASKA (Ukrainian Easter Cheese) 1 1/2 cups sugar 7 egg yolks 2 1/4 lb. dry curd cottage cheese 1 1/2 cups heavy cream 1/2 tsp. salt 1/2 cup blanched almonds, chopped fine 1/2 cup chopped candied or dried fruits 1 - 2 Tbs. liqueur Grated rind of 1/2 lemon 15 Tbs. soft butter 2 tsp. vanilla Scrub a 6 inch clay pot (measured across the top) thoroughly with a brush and soap and water. Rinse inside and out with hot running water; wipe dry and bake in a 300 degree oven for an hour or until thoroughly dry. Let the cheese, butter, egg yolks stand covered at room temperature for 2 hours. Mix fruits with liqueur. Place sugar and yolks in a mixing bowl; beat until light and lemon colored. Set aside. Break up cheese. Put half in the container of an electric blender. Add half the yolk mixture; blend at low speed until smooth. Scald the heavy cream; add half to blender. Blend until smooth. Empty into a saucepan. Repeat with the remaining yolk mixture, cheese and cream. Add salt and mix. Heat the mixture over low heat, stirring, until it thickens slightly. Do not allow it to boil. Remove from heat; add fruit, nuts and lemon rind. Put the mixture in a cool spot until it is completely cool. Place butter in a mixing bowl; beat until soft, fluffy and pale. This will take several minutes. Using a rubber spatula, stir and fold this into the cooled mixture. Add vanilla. The mixture should be very well blended. The flower pot must be thoroughly cooled before using. Cut off a large length of cheesecloth, rinse in cold water and squeeze until it is almost dry. Line the flower pot with a double layer of the damp cheesecloth. Allow the cheesecloth to extend way over the edges of the flower pot. Place the pot on a rack over a shallow pan. Pour in the paska mixture. Fold edges of the cheesecloth over top. Cover top with foil. Fit a small saucepan into the top of flower pot and weight down to press on mixture. Place in refrigerator for at least 24 hours. Whey will drain into the shallow pan. Run a knife around between cheesecloth and flower pot to loosen paska; open up cheesecloth to expose the top of the paska. Put serving plate on the top and gently turn over; ease paska out. Carefully remove cheesecloth. Garnish with fresh or glazed fruits. Cut in small wedges. Serves 16.