I had the overwhelming urge to make a New York cheesecake. Deliciously dense but dry, and not too sweet.  I have rarely had a knock-out cheesecake down here in Austin (with the exception of Patty Townsend’s heavenly one).
But, hey, that’s not what Austin is known for!

All of the hard work is done now, and the cheesecake is cooling in the oven with the door open for another hour. Then it needs to go in the fridge to chill. I hope the kitchen gods smile favorably on me, and it turns out well!

As I gathered what I needed to make the cake, I worried…would my ancient mixer get the job done? I keep thinking about buying a new hand-mixer since the avocado green one I have is from my wedding shower in NY in 1970. It was a gift from my mother-in-law and grandmother-in-law, and they are both gone now. Sentimental? Yes. And, although it is older than my grown son, and a bit worn and ugly, I hadn’t been able to throw it out.

I was right to worry: it barely made it through two pounds of cream-cheese.  It wouldn’t speed up (couldn’t is more like it) and it smelled like it was going to short-out and catch fire at any moment. “Please, baby, make it through this part, I can do the rest by hand. C’mon, baby, please!”

Looking on Amazon, and I have found a sleek Cuisinart 3-speed, in a Kermit-the-Frog lime green. And it has the new whisk-style beaters.
Maybe I’ll get it as an homage. I wonder if it too will last 44 years?

XO Donna