Lately, I have been dreaming about my grandmother's cheesecake. I know
everyone thinks their grandma makes the BEST (insert delicous food
here), but there are few things MY grandmother was an expert at and
cheesecake was one of them. For a while she had altered her recipe and
was making cheesecake cupcakes. They were little individual-sized cakes
with graham cracker crusts and topped with fresh fruit compote, like
strawberries, blueberries, or my personal favorite- raspberries. YUM!
Every Thanksgiving I looked forward to dessert, and not because of the
pumpkin pie, but because I knew we would have a fresh, homemade
cheesecake waiting on the table (although the very best of both worlds
is a pumpkin cheesecake!). Unfortunately, since my grandfather's stroke
we had to move them into an assisted living home and she doesn't have
access to a normal kitchen the way she used to. This means now the days
of Nana's homemade cheesecakes are just about over. I have been looking
for some places that have a comparable cheesecake, but of course, no
matter how delicious it is (or how cliché it sounds), it will always be
missing that special ingredient that only a Grandmother can bring— love.
It's funny though because no matter how many compliments it received, or
how truly rich, creamy, and delicious her cakes always turned out, Nana
would always find a way to downplay its awesomeness. If the cake came
out with a tiny crack in the middle, it was ugly, imperfect, and nothing
special. I am a firm believer that while pretty food has its place,
comfort foods are all about the yummy tastes and warm feelings. Those
are two things that Nana's cheesecake had in excess. I am hoping she
will be able to impart some of her baking wisdom on me so that her
cheesecake can live on through the generations!
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment