Happy Monday to you! Canadian Thanksgiving here at home, Columbus day in the US and what I think is a regular Monday in the rest of the world. I have a special post for you today. Not only do I have a thanksgiving recap from the zesty in laws on Saturday night I have a cheesecake that Sister in Law zesty made that will blow your mind. Do you get excited about food like I do? When I saw the spring form pan makes it way to the table at around 7:36pm Atlantic time on Saturday night, I may have gotten a few chills down my back with excitement. Spring form in my simple mind means cheesecake. Cheesecake means HOLY YUM.

This was know exception.  Pumpkin Marble Cheesecake! Yeah I know  – ridiculous.  I could not wait to sink my fork into this piece of work.  But give me a minute and I will tell you how she made it.  She altered the recipe slightly from all recipes and the details are below.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 Cups crushed gingersnap cookies
• 1/2 Cup finely chopped pecans
• 1/3 Cup butter, melted
• 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• 3/4 Cup white sugar, divided
• 1 Tsp. vanilla extract
• 3 eggs
• 1 Cup canned pumpkin
• 3/4 Tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/4 Tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1/4 Tsp. ground cloves
• 1/4 Tsp. allspice

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). In a medium bowl, mix together the crushed gingersnap cookies, pecans, and butter. Press into the bottom, and about 1 inch up the sides of a 9 inch springform pan. Bake crust 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Set aside to cool.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together the cream cheese, 1/2 cup sugar, and vanilla just until smooth. Mix in eggs one at a time, blending well after each. Set aside 1 cup of the mixture and place in the fridge.
3. Blend 1/4 cup sugar, pumpkin, cinnamon, and nutmeg into the remaining mixture.
4. Spread the pumpkin flavored batter into the crust, and drop the plain batter by spoonfuls onto the top.
5. Swirl with a knife to create a marbled effect.
6. Bake 55 minutes in the preheated oven, or until filling is set. Run a knife around the edge of the pan.
7. Allow to cool before removing pan rim.
8. Chill for at least 4 hours before serving.
9. ENJOY!

This is my small portion.... do note the butter tart pie that was also amazing! Maybe I will share that later on this week for you to try.

Zesty Tip: Zesty in law did mention that putting the extra one cup of mixture aside in the fridge was something she would do again.  Also remember with spring form pans and cheesecake, always wait until the cake has cooled before removing.  makes life easier.

OK, so as you can see that was delicious… and I realize I started backwards with the dinner recap.  But that is OK.  I am going to do a picture recap of the entire meal right now so you can enjoy in all it’s beauty.  I will start off with a picture of the menu so you can related to the pictures.  If you want any recipes just let me know in the comments and I will get them for you.

As you can see, this is no ordinary turkey dinner that you would have on Thanksgiving. This is high end folks and I know that I am super lucky to be part of this so bear with me and get thru this masterpiece.

Brussels prior to plating. This could win an award for taste

Parsnips prior to hitting the wood oven

rumbling beets getting ready for the big dance

A little stuffing.... oh dear I can feel my pants getting tight again

Caramelized onions that you could add to whatever you wanted.

An action pea shot... before the bacon.

Honestly, these brussel sprouts! Unbelievable!

WOW, as I review these pictures, I am hungry again and think back to how amazing this dinner was.  I am actually going to make some chocolate chip pancakes for the kiddos here now and than maybe do some house work before heading to Momma Zesty’s for another turkey day.

Have a great day wherever you are in the world and I will come back on Wednesday for more excitement.

Take care

zesty

Download my Free Recipe Book: Simply Zesty

Hi Zesty Readers, I am Mellissa from A Fit and Spicy Life and am very excited to be doing a guest post while Zesty is out of town. I thought I would share one of my fall favorites made with ingredients that are in season now and spices that really complement those flavors! Since this soup has a lot of chopping I use a Chopper or Food Processor to get the onions and apples the same size, to save time and to stop a few tears.

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 tsp curry powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp cayenne
• Pinch red pepper flakes
• 3 apples, cored and chopped
• 15-oz can pumpkin puree
• 2 2/3 cups low-sodium chicken broth (veggie broth can be substituted)
• 2/3 cup water
• 1 tsp cane sugar

Directions

1. Pour oil into large saucepan and place over medium heat.
2. Add onion, garlic, curry, cumin and cayenne.
3. Saute, stirring often until onion is soft.



4. Stir in apples, pumpkin, broth, water and sugar.



5. Bring to boil, cover and reduce heat to low.
6. Simmer for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally.
7. Puree soup in a food processor or with a hand blender, to achieve desired consistency.
8. Just before serving, return to pot on low heat.
9. ENJOY!!

Thanks so much Melissa (fit and spicy life) for a great recipe.  This is definitely the time of year for curry and pumpkin.  I love the combination of flavors and will be trying this for sure.  I hope you have a great Thursday and talk soon.

Take care

zesty

Download my Free Recipe Book: Simply Zesty

Welcome everyone and happy Tuesday! I am very excited to share a guest post with you by Tina from Carrots and Cake. If you have not done so already, I suggest you drop over and pay Tina a visit. Her blog is really informative and very upbeat. It really is a great find and definitely one to bookmark.

Follow along below and make your own Pumpkin Coconut Bars.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup canned pumpkin
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour*
• 1/2 cup white flour
• 1 cup brown sugar (I used 1/2 cup of Splenda brown sugar)
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 tbsp canola oil
• 1/2 cup chopped dates
• 1/2 cup shredded coconut
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts

*I used 1/2 cup of whole wheat and 1/2 cup of regular white flour for this recipe. The bars were tasty, but pretty dense. I recommend using 1 cup of white flour and nixing the whole wheat flour all together.

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine pumpkin, brown sugar, vanilla, and oil, then mix in flour (both kinds) and baking powder.
3. Stir in dates, coconut, and walnuts to mixture.
4. Coat 8X8 baking pan with cooking spray and spread mixture evenly in pan (photo below).
5. Bake for 15-18 minutes at 350 degrees until batter is mostly firm.
6. Top with additional coconut shavings and cook for another 8-10 minutes on 450 degrees until coconut begins to brown.
7. Let cool for 10-15 minutes, and the cut into bars (mine were
   approximately 2″ X 2″).

Here’s the mixture before going into the oven…

… and here’s the final product, piping-hot with golden-brown shredded
coconut on top.

I hope everybody enjoyed the guest post from Tina.  Feel free to comment and tell us what you think of these yummy coconut pumpkin bars.  Have a great day!

Zesty

Download my Free Recipe Book: Simply Zesty