Cheesecake

• Ingredients

  (all available at LaVerde's--in much larger quantities, of course)
  • 2- 8oz packages of cream cheese (any variety will do)
  • 1/2 cup regular granulated sugar (sugar and spice make everything nice)
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (you can get drunk off of this stuff; it's 70 proof)
  • 2 eggs (any size or quality)
  • 1 9" prepackaged graham cracker crust (Keebler makes some good ones)

   

• Utensils

  • 1 large mixing spoon or whisk
  • 1 large mixing bowl (Tupperware works great...just make sure it's big enough!)
  • 1 oven
  • 1 refrigerator
  • 1 set measuring cups and spoons
  • 1 knife, 1 fork, & 1 plate (for eating on--of course, your friends will have to bring their own...hey, you baked it...)

   

• Directions:

1. Let the cream cheese stand in room temperature for about an hour to allow it to soften.
   If you want to speed up the process, unwrap the cheese completely into a microwave safe bowl and nuke it for 5 minutes at half power.
2. Now, with the cheese softened in the mixing bowl, add the sugar and vanilla and mix throughly. (This is when having softened cream cheese is good--the mixture would be too hard otherwise.)
3. With the cheese mixed, add one egg, stirring until well blended.
4. Then add the other egg (don't add the shell, though!), and mix until the entire mixture is smooth (or your arm is about to fall off).
5. Pour the cheese mixture into the crust (remove the clear plastic lid, leaving the crust in the pie tin.)
6. Preheat the oven to 350 F.
7. Place the cake in the middle rack, baking for 50 minutes or until the center is almost set and the sides are a light brown.
8. Remove from the oven and let cook for at least an hour.
9. Replace the plastic cover on the pie, and refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight.
10. Before serving, you can also add a cherry or strawberry pie topping.
11. A strawberry topping can be made by microwaving 1/2 cup of frozen strawberries with a 1/4 cup of sugar for 1 minute on high power.

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