S3 E32 Lemon Blueberry Cheescake Bars

Lemon, blueberries, cheesecake in a nut crust...what's not to like?

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:13

Hello and welcome to Perfectly Seasoned, the podcast about all things culinary. I'm your personal chef Greg Strom. Today on Perfectly Seasoned Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake Bars. Stay tuned. Okay, hello everyone. Today on Perfectly Seasoned, we are making lemon blueberry cheesecake bars. I actually discovered this recipe on a website called Bake or Break. And it's just as written, it's perfect, just as it is in my mind, and it comes out the same each time I make it, and it is my go-to dessert. Joining me today is Cindy Carter, otherwise known as my sister. Hello, Cindy.

SPEAKER_02 1:17

Hello, big brother.

SPEAKER_01 1:20

I must also say that I asked her to try this recipe because she is a fan of lemon desserts. Any lemon dessert.

SPEAKER_02 1:29

Yep.

SPEAKER_01 1:30

So, well, before we get started, uh we have to have a full disclosure here. I'm going to ask you, did you follow this recipe exactly as written and as instructed?

SPEAKER_02 1:42

Yes, I did.

SPEAKER_01 1:44

All right. That's what I like to hear. Uh so let's just start with the ingredients. Had you ever made a crust like this before? This crust is with flour, nuts, brown sugar, and butter.

SPEAKER_02 2:01

No, but it was delicious. I love the pecans, the toasted pecans. I've never toasted pecans, so I had to look up how to do that. But I love what the flavor of the toasted pecans gives the crust. It's so good.

SPEAKER_01 2:19

You can actually use, she does actually say you can use other nuts. I've used walnuts, I've used pecans, I've used uh hazelnuts, cashews, almonds. But you have to make sure Yeah. Well, you if you use any of the really, really hard nuts like that, you have to really make sure that they're best done with a food processor because they have to be really fine.

SPEAKER_02 2:44

Oh.

SPEAKER_01 2:45

Yeah. Otherwise Is that what you did?

SPEAKER_02 2:47

Is that what you did to the pecans too? Did you use a food processor?

SPEAKER_01 2:51

Uh no, I actually pecans are soft enough. I can actually just use a knife to to just really chop them very finely. I have used the food processor, but you know, it's easier to wash a knife than it is a food processor. So now the filling is blueberry jam, 24 ounces, that's three bricks of cream cheese at room temperature, and then a cup of sugar, uh, three large eggs, and then two tablespoons of lemon juice, a tablespoon of lemon zest, and a teaspoon of vanilla extract. How did you do the lemon zest this time?

SPEAKER_02 3:32

Well, that's one thing that I didn't I didn't have lemons at the time the time I made this because I didn't realize that you decided to do lemon zest instead of using all the juice, as you noted in your recipe. And the next time, I will definitely make this again because I love it. This was an easy recipe to make. Well, and they're so good, but I would use the lemon zest the next time for sure. I bet that really makes a difference.

SPEAKER_01 4:00

Well, if you look at the recipe, it does say it says two tablespoons of lemon juice, and underneath it it says one tablespoon of lemon zest.

SPEAKER_02 4:10

Oh, I thought that was what you changed, in it, because you liked the taste of the lemon zest.

SPEAKER_01 4:15

No, that's part of the recipe. That's part of the recipe.

SPEAKER_02 4:18

Oh. Oh, my mistake. But definitely I would use because when when I looked up the the recipe before you had sent that to me, I thought it said like three tablespoons of lemon juice. And I thought, well, okay, that'll work because I don't have a lemon, but I definitely get lemon juice next time.

SPEAKER_01 4:40

If you didn't have a lemon, did you use bottled lemon juice?

SPEAKER_02 4:44

I had real lemon juice, yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 4:47

Oh, and it's ending.

SPEAKER_02 4:54

It was really good, but I would use the real the lemons. I didn't have lemons, so well, but I will definitely do the lemon zest for sure.

SPEAKER_01 5:04

Well, just let me just tell you one thing. Do you remember me taught telling you the French term for all things in place, mise en plus, where you check the recipe and you put everything out in front of you before you start the recipe?

SPEAKER_02 5:16

Yeah. Yes.

SPEAKER_01 5:18

Yeah, okay. Well, I hate to say I told you so, but Yeah, I know.

SPEAKER_02 5:24

But you told me so. Yeah, there's a take it, well taken.

SPEAKER_01 5:29

Yeah, there's a reason. There is a reason that this is part of the c the Misenplas is part of the culinary lexicon, is because if you if you don't have the the ingredients, you're wasting time because you you know you uh that either you either stop and then go buy it, or you take your chances and not use it and see what happens.

SPEAKER_02 5:53

So when you do the lemon juice, you squeeze the lemon juice from real from lemons. Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_01 5:59

Is that what you're yeah, yeah. You'll never find a green plastic lime or a yellow lemon in my refrigerator.

SPEAKER_02 6:10

This was this was bottled. Yeah, it was bottled lemon juice. So yeah.

SPEAKER_01 6:15

Well, I am going to say this. One thing is now I've also done this with using orange marmalade.

SPEAKER_02 6:23

Ooh.

SPEAKER_01 6:24

And instead of lemon juice and lemon zest, I use orange juice and orange zest.

SPEAKER_02 6:32

Oh. Ooh, I'll bet that's good. It is.

SPEAKER_01 6:36

It is. So that that's one thing. But this recipe as it is, it's really it's a perfect recipe. What did you think about the baking time? Did were you concerned about that at all?

SPEAKER_02 6:49

Yeah, the baking time, I'm I it might be my oven because if you remember, the first recipe that I made with for your podcast was a lemon dessert, also. And I thought I baked it too long, but it might be my oven because it was brown around the edges. And so when I cut it to cut into to pieces or into bars, I just cut around the edge, and of course I ate that, and it was delicious.

SPEAKER_01 7:18

Well, I can tell you it is probably your oven because you don't have, I'm sure you you don't have a convection oven, do you?

SPEAKER_02 7:26

No. So I thought I'd do like maybe 30 to 35 minutes in my oven and watch it to see if that makes the difference. So, because I definitely will make this again. Well, I don't know. I have to make it again. This was this with this time. I did the 40 to 45, as the recipe calls for. And it it was just a little, it was brown just around the edges. And the crust wasn't too done or anything. But it was done.

SPEAKER_01 7:53

The most important question is did it get done in the center?

SPEAKER_02 7:57

Uh-huh. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 7:58

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 7:59

So then very, very good.

SPEAKER_01 8:00

Yeah, then that's the I would probably take it to 40 minutes uh in Europe and and try it that way. Because as long as as long as the center is done, it will it will set up once it's I need to remember that because you said it continues to cook a little, correct? Yeah, it continues to cook anywhere from eight to ten degrees. So yeah, you can pull it. If it says 30 to 40, what is it? It's uh the recipe says 40 to 45 minutes. So if you if you split the difference and put it in there for 42 minutes, you'll be fine. You'll be fine.

SPEAKER_02 8:36

Well, it it still was really good. I shared them with my girlfriend, and she's the one I also shared the other desserts with, and she said, Wow, they're really good.

SPEAKER_01 8:49

Well, good.

SPEAKER_02 8:51

So it's it's a it is an easy recipe to make. It's it just was I'm like, wow, this is pretty cool. I definitely would make it again. One thing that I happened to think of as far as like, now I love the nuts in the crust, but I thought, well, gee, if you take it somewhere where people might have nut allergies, is it possible also to do this recipe without nuts, or will that change the texture of the well you'd have to it would change the texture of the crust because it's ba it is a nut crust.

SPEAKER_01 9:23

You'd have to make a completely different crust.

SPEAKER_02 9:27

Well, for me, I oh man, it was my crust for sure. I love it.

SPEAKER_01 9:32

Well, you you could make a shortbread crust with it.

SPEAKER_02 9:37

Oh, that's yeah.

SPEAKER_01 9:39

But it wouldn't, but there no nuts. Because the part of the well, that's part of the flavor profile also are the nuts.

SPEAKER_02 9:48

So oh man, you're not kidding. I could really taste that did something to that crust. I'm like, oh wow, I love these.

SPEAKER_01 9:56

Well, it's primarily a nut crust. It is primarily a nut crust. It hasn't doesn't have that much flour in it. It's it only has what is it, one and a half cups of flour.

SPEAKER_02 10:06

So I well, I was just curious because I thought, well, what if people have nut allergies? Luckily I don't, and a lot of people don't, but it just was something that hit me, you know.

SPEAKER_01 10:16

Yeah. Anyone with nut allergies. Anybody who has nut allergies, I don't invite to my house.

SPEAKER_02 10:28

Well, that's a good point. You make like a shortbread crust.

SPEAKER_01 10:31

No, you but you could absolutely make a shortbread crust in in place of the nut. But the next time I uh next time you do it, try to you you use exactly the same measurements for the orange juice and the orange zest. And you but you use the only difference is you instead of blueberry preserves, you use orange marmalade.

SPEAKER_02 10:55

I would have to have you write down exact uh you're excellent at just cooking without having measurements. I'm not so I would have to have you give me the measurements on that to try that.

SPEAKER_01 11:06

You use the very same recipe. Oh, okay. And the only thing is, instead of blueberry preserves, you you would use orange marmalade. Instead of two tablespoons of lemon juice, you use two tablespoons of orange juice.

SPEAKER_02 11:21

Oh, okay, I see. Oh, that sounds really good.

SPEAKER_01 11:25

Yeah, it's a nice, it's nice, it's a nice change.

SPEAKER_02 11:29

So for me, I love the nut crust, and that's what I will use, always use. I it just was wonderful. And when I mixed the the inside, once I got everything together and put that in the in the oven, I must confess I was licking the bowl clean.

SPEAKER_01 11:48

Well, that's another thing. You technically can use just one bowl. You use a large bowl because the first thing you do is you put the crust together, and once you put press that into the into the pan, you just wipe the bowl out and you use the same bowl to make the filling. You only just dirty one bowl. So that's another reason.

SPEAKER_02 12:09

That's one thing, believe it or not. I noticed. I went, wow, this makes it even easier because I don't I just have to use one bowl. I did notice that. I'm like, oh, that's pretty cool. Well, so um, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 12:22

It's all about efficiency. It's all about efficiency. Yeah, no, I'm serious, serious. Cooking, it there's a lot of efficiency that goes into it because there's a lot of time wasted. And well, for example, like I'm joking uh before about not having your ingredients, but that's the that's what I'm talking about. The efficiency of having everything in front of you, and you can actually take an inventory at that time. Well, no, I don't have this, so before I go any further, let me make sure that I have all of my ingredients because cooking is is it's about efficiency because you know what it was like when mom used to make dinner and everything always came together at the same time. Well, that's efficiency. That's efficiency. And right, yeah, so it's the same way when you're starting to put a recipe together, you have to have uh everything in place so that you can be it's it efficiency of time to be able to get this done. And it also the the the more you do that, the more you don't have to have a recipe. After a few times of having everything in place, you know what goes in, then the next time you do it, you you'll be able to do it without even using a recipe because you've done it, but the efficiency uh so that's another reason.

SPEAKER_02 13:41

Well, I definitely, as far as the lemon, I definitely will use lemon, real lemons the next time because the first dessert had that with lemon zest, and I I there's a difference for sure. It really makes a difference in the flavor.

SPEAKER_01 13:57

And now that you have your new lemon zester.

SPEAKER_02 14:01

Yes, I know. Thank you to you. I'm anxious to use it.

SPEAKER_01 14:08

Well, it's you know, there again, you have to have the right tool to do the right job.

SPEAKER_02 14:13

Well, that first dessert that called for lemon zest, I went and bought this one at this, I got it at the grocery store. Even then, I think I shared on your podcast. I had an awful time. It just it's like I had to put some muscle into it. The one I had just didn't work very well. When I saw you zesting with the one that you sent to me, I'm like, oh my gosh, that looks like 20 times easier than the one that I had.

SPEAKER_01 14:44

Today's word efficiency. So well, listen, now it's it's time for wine o'clock. So I have to get Cynthia, our resident Somalia, on the line here, and she's going to tell us what to pair with this. I know for me, I would use champagne, but I don't know what she's going to choose. But thanks again for volunteering to do this recipe. And I I'm going to be sending you some, I'm getting ready for next season already, and I'm going to have some more other recipes other than desserts for you to try.

SPEAKER_02 15:20

Uh-oh. Uh-oh.

SPEAKER_01 15:22

So until next time, uh we'll we'll uh we'll talk, we'll talk soon. And uh, I hope you enjoy your new lemon zester.

SPEAKER_02 15:37

Oh, I will. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 15:41

Yeah, yeah. Okay, I'll talk to you later and let's head over to Cynthia. It's wine o'clock.

SPEAKER_02 15:48

All right.

SPEAKER_01 15:48

Bye.

SPEAKER_02 15:50

Bye.

SPEAKER_01 15:51

Hello, Cynthia. Welcome back. I was curious as to what you would pair with this. I know what I I serve with this. I and we've talked about this before. I have a love of good champagne. So for me, bubbles always work.

SPEAKER_00 16:10

And and you are a smart man for that. I agree with you. I would absolutely have a champagne, a prosecco, a kava, all of the above with this.

SPEAKER_01 16:22

As far as uh the components of this dessert, there's toasted pecans or toasted walnuts. Does does that have any effect on what you might choose for this?

SPEAKER_00 16:37

I do have another idea. So what I do want to say though is the chemistry here. It can confuse people and even me at times, you know, especially not having had this dessert. But here's one rule that you can put in your back pocket. The primary rule for pairing sweetness and wine is that the wine should be as sweet as or sweeter than the dish. So if the food, if the food is sweeter than the wine, then the wine will taste maybe bitter or astringent. It won't taste how it how it fit, basically. Sweetness in the wine balances the spice, salty, acidity in the dishes. So with yeah, that's a good tip. So, you know, when in doubt, just go sweeter. So, for example, if you want to emphasize a toasted pecan crust, for example, then maybe choose a nutty, caramel-toned honey port, a Taylor flaggate, for example, would be an excellent choice of something like that. Um, if you're having something like a dense cheesecake, go with the saute or a sweet late harvest Riesling, because those wines offer honey and apricot, and that will really pull out in the cheesecake. And then there's always Moscato Dusty. So that is kind of a slightly sweet, fizzy, lighter option that will pair well with the fruit and the blueberries without overpowering the lemons. And then, of course, our favorite bubbles, the high acidity there, and the bubbles cut through the rich and the fatty cream cheese, and then complements the lemon. Bubbles go with everything from dessert to fried chicken to pizza to you know, oysters to everything. Cheerios, Wheaties, Cheerios, yeah, whatever you want, orange juice. So, yeah, so just remember that rule the wine could be as sweet as or sweeter than the dish. So, probably most of our listeners are going to go with sweeter than the dish. You know, because sometimes you you just are not completely sure, and it's kind of hard to tell if you're you know unsure with wine and what's the sweetness and what's the sweetness in this dessert, go with something slightly sweeter than and home run.

SPEAKER_01 19:10

All right. As always, spot on. That's really great in the great information and fantastic suggestion. So if you have any questions about today's recipes or if you would like to be a guest home cook on Perfectly Seasoned, just email me at infotesilvershef.net. And I'd like to thank my sister Cindy once again. I always enjoy having her on the podcast. And of course, Cynthia, what can I say? I I I'm just running out of superlatives here. So once again, thanks. Thanks for providing us with today's pairing choices. And you can always listen to perfectly seasoned on my website, thesilvershef.net, my Facebook page, Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Pandora, Spotify, Amazon Music, or wherever you get your podcasts. And this is your personal chef, Greg Strom, thanking you for joining us today on Perfectly Seasoned. And remember to eat fresh, may the fork be with you, and may all your days be perfectly seasoned!