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10/19/2017 12:01 AMDoes it make you crazy that Halloween candy was on the shelves in August and, in mid-October, the stores are already showing lawn reindeer?
Yeah, me too.
But it’s not too soon to think about Christmas presents. I dream that someone will buy me an Instant Pot for the holidays! But, who am I kidding?
I want that Instant Pot now.
I can get it on Amazon this very minute and, with Amazon Prime, the shipping is free!
But as I’m about to click, click, click, I remember, of course, that the holidays, early or otherwise, aren’t just about me. I send the Instant Pot to my oldest granddaughter for her birthday. She is a second-year medical student. She and her roommates have little time, and Lily is a good cook. She will let me know whether I should get one for myself.
For Christmas, each of my grandchildren will also get cookbooks, and over the next few weeks, I will decide which cookbooks I will buy for them. My first choice so far is Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough’s latest (of 30!) called All-Time Favorite Sheet Cakes and Slab Pies. But don’t wait for the holidays, get a copy for yourself now. These recipes will make you Santa Claus during the holidays. All use a half-sheet pan (13- by 18-inches) and each pie or cake will feed about 16 or 24 people. Here is just one of the 100 recipes in this wonderful book.
Key Lyme Cheesecake with Oat Crumble
From All-Time Favorite Sheet Cakes and Slab Pies, St. Martin’s Press, New York, 2017
For the crumble crust and topping
Ingredients:
24 tablespoons (3 sticks) cool unsalted butter cut into
small chunks, plus additional for the sheet pan
3 ½ cups all-purpose flour
3 ½ cups rolled oats
1 ½ cups granulated white sugar
1 ½ cups light brown sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 large egg white at room temperature
Generously butter the inside of a 13- by 18-inch lipped sheet pan.
Using a handheld mixer or a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the flour, nuts, both sugars, baking powder and salt in a large bowl at medium speed until uniform, about 1 minute.
Add butter chunks and beat at medium-low speed until well blended, about 4 minutes. Add egg white and beat at medium speed until mixture can hold together like dry oatmeal cookie dough when squeezed, less than 1 minute.
Scoop 6 cups of the mixture into the prepared sheet pan using clean, dry fingers to press the mixture into an even crust across the bottom, even to the corners, but not up the side of the pan.
For the cheesecake
Ingredients:
1 pound full-fat cream cheese, softened to room temperature
1 14-ounce can full-fat sweetened condensed milk
1 cup fresh lime juice (I use Key lime juice, available in
most supermarkets)
⅓ cup granulated white sugar
6 large egg yolks, at room temperature
Position rack in center of the oven. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
Put cream cheese, condensed milk, lime juice, sugar, and egg yolks in a large food processor or blender. Cover and process or blend until smooth. Pour this mixture onto the prepared crust in an even layer.
Squeeze small portions of the remaining crumble mixture into little oblongs, then crumble these into little stones and pebble across the filing.
Baked until browned and set with a slight jiggle to the center of the pan, about 30 minutes. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for at least 1 hour before cutting into squares.
Lee White has been a food editor and restaurant reviewer for more than 25 years. You can email her at leeawhite@aol.com.