welcome fall

As many others have said, fall is my favorite time of the year. I love when it starts to cool down and I finally get to bust out my cozy sweaters. I know those of you in Utah haven't been able to do this yet due to the random heat wave you're experiencing, but it's cooled off out here on the east coast and I am loving it.

I've always heard that smell is the strongest sense tied to memory and I have to say, I thinks it's true. As soon as September hit I began burning my pumpkin candels and I've already made one round of my favorite pumpkin cookies. The other day I was walking down the street and among many of the random smells I caught a wiff of one that reminded me of all the burning ditches out in Lewiston. This may not be a fall smell to most, but I always new fall was coming when all the farmer's started to burn their ditch banks. There are a few things that I miss about fall in the country. I miss the corn fields, and I love when all the stalks have dried out and every one puts them on their porches for decoration. I miss the carved jack'o lanterns, the trick or treaters running up and down the sidewalks, in fact, I miss the whole ring the doorbell and give out candy part too. I miss my mom's cheesy purple halloween lights on the front porch, putting out all the Halloween candy at the store and I even miss raking all the leaves, jumping in them and then raking them back up again.

But being in the city has it's advantages too. I love walking every where I go and feeling the cool fresh air. It's sometimes sad when you have the convenience of a car that you just jump into and go, you miss out on experiencing the fall air. I love the New England falls. I love all the trees in central park that change this time of year. And I love how all the stores are already preping for the crazy Christmas shoppers

But my favorite thing about fall is everything pumpkin. I love pumpkin pie, pumpkin ice cream, pumpkin soup, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin pancakes and even pumpkin pasta, but most of all ... I LOVE pumpkin cheesecake, especially when it's from Cheesecake Factory. So I was so excited when I found this recipe from Taste and Tell and thought that all of you fall lovers out there might enjoy it too. I'm going to make it this weekend while I'm listening to conference. What's better then having a piece of pumpkin cheesecake while listening to the words of our prophet and his apostles?



Happy Fall!

The Cheesecake Factory Pumpkin Cheesecake
adapted from RecipeZaar

1-1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
5 tablespoons butter, melted
1 cup sugar, plus 1 tablespoon sugar
3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup canned pumpkin
3 eggs
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon allspice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Make the crust by combining the graham cracker crumbs with the melted butter and 1 tbsp sugar in a medium bowl. Stir well enough to coat all of the crumbs with the butter, but not so much as to turn the mixture into paste.

Put foil partway up the outside part of an 8-inch springform pan. Press the crumbs onto the bottom and about two-thirds of the way up the sides of the springform pan. You don't want the crust to form all of the way up the back of each slice of cheesecake. Bake the crust for 5 minutes, then set aside until you are ready to fill it.

In a large mixing bowl combine the cream cheese, 1 cup sugar, and vanilla. Mix with an electric mixer until smooth. Add the pumpkin, eggs, cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice and continue beating until smooth and creamy. Pour the filling into the pan. Bake for 60-70 minutes. The top will turn a bit darker at this point. Remove from the oven and allow the cheesecake to cool.

When the cheesecake has come to room temperature, put it into the refrigerator.

Caramel Sauce
from Good Eats 'n Sweet Treats who got it from Culinary Concoctions by Peabody who got it from Baking: From My Home to Yours

2 cups sugar
1/2 cup water
1-1/2 tbsp light corn syrup
2/3 cup heavy cream
2 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature

Put the sugar, water and corn syrup in a medium heavy bottomed saucepan, stir just to combine the ingredients and then put the pan over medium-high heat. Heat, without stirring , until the caramel turns deep amber., 5-10 minutes. Lower the heat a bit and, standing back from the saucepan add the cream and butter. When the spatters are less vehement, stir to calm down the caramel and dissolve any lumps.