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Half A Cooking Disaster Is Worth Doing Again

Photo by LYNN KESSEL

For a dessert that's delightfully different, try this creamy cheesecake glazed with orange habanero sauce. It's a perfect combination.

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By Lynn Kessel, Tribune Correspondent

The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 12, 2008

This past summer, I turned a cooking casualty into a culinary opportunity - and a cheesecake everyone loved.

Often tempted to try unusual ingredients for creativity's sake, I've found the results can often flop like an overcooked souffle, as in this case. My sister, a fine cook I might add, swore the recipe she e-mailed me was a keeper.

She got it half right.

The recipe was for salmon tacos drizzled with orange-habanero hot sauce, a Bobby Flay classic. Blue corn taco shells are filled with a combination of salmon and crunchy spicy slaw dressed with mayo and lime juice. It sounded a little odd to me, but I was game.

Janet had never steered me wrong.

A week later, I made the tacos - a not-so-good version rather than the keeper. My taco filling was a milky, flavorless fiasco. I don't know what happened.

But, oh, the floral orange sauce on top was a delightfully hot surprise. And I was left with several cups of the fiery stuff. I wondered how I could use it so it wouldn't go to waste.

It would be delicious over any simple grilled chicken, fish or pork dish, I thought.

Then it dawned on me that it might pair well with my old standby recipe for cheesecake. It seemed to me a perfect combo - tangy orange and creamy vanilla. It made me think of a Creamsicle.

A short leap from there and I was preparing my easy cheesecake dessert. The recipe yields enough for two pies, so one can be used now and one stored in the freezer to pull out and enjoy later.

The secret to the sauce? A small habanero pepper plunked into a pot of fresh, orange juice and then reduced.

A caution, though. This is one hot pepper! The habanero is the second-hottest pepper in the world. By comparison, it has 10 times the heat of a typical jalapeno.

Obviously, my pot of reduced hot sauce had to be used sparingly, so I only added one tablespoon to a cup of store-bought orange marmalade. I tasted it and then added one more teaspoon. Voila ... a nice balance of heat and sweetness.

Call it the "Goldilocks method" of estimating: start with too little; then keep adding. The result will almost inevitably be just right.

Because of its potency, I had plenty of sauce left over. So I distributed the remaining reduction into an ice cube tray, and after freezing I stored the cubes in a freezer bag.

A final note about peppers and heat: when your mouth feels the burn, don't reach for water. It won't help. Instead, reach for a dairy product such as milk, yogurt or cottage cheese. My favorite remedy? Cheesecake.

On another note, area residents who can't afford to prepare their own traditional Thanksgiving dinners need not go without this year, thanks to the South Shore's Big Give.

Meals will be served from 11 a.m. at Beanie's Family Sports Grill in Ruskin. If you'd like to help, cash donations may be dropped off at the following locations:

• South Shore Gallery, 447 Apollo Beach Blvd., Apollo Beach.

• Ruskin Chamber of Commerce, 315 U.S. 41 S., Ruskin.

• Beanie's, 2002 U.S. 41 S., Ruskin.

Checks should be made payable to South Hillsborough Community Cupboard.

ORANGE-HABANERO GLAZED CHEESECAKE

Cake

2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese

1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

3 eggs

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup lemon juice

2 ready-to-use graham cracker pie crusts or you can make your own.

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Beat cream cheese until fluffy. Beat in condensed milk, eggs and salt, until smooth. Stir in lemon juice. Pour into prepared pans.

Bake 30 to 40 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly touched. Cool to room temperature. Chill. When ready to serve drizzle with sauce.

Yields 2 pies.

Sauce

6 cups fresh orange juice

1 habanero chile

1 cup orange marmalade

Salt

Place orange juice and the habanero in a medium non-reactive saucepan. If you want a hotter sauce, cut a slit into the habanero before placing in the pot.

Cook over high heat until reduced to half, stirring occasionally. Remove the habanero.

When cooled, add one or two tablespoons to one cup of orange marmalade. Store in the refrigerator until ready to drizzle over cheesecake.

Lynn Kessel can be reached at lkessel@mac.com or P.O. Box 913, Ruskin FL 33575-0913. For more of her recipes, visit southshore .tbo.com and enter the search words: Lynn Kessel. Readers are encouraged to send in their favorite recipes, comments and suggest

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