Strawberry-Topped Phyllo Cheesecake (Recipe)

In my last Friday's Fave Five post, I mentioned the dessert that I made when my husband and I celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary last month.  Cheesecake is not my favorite dessert, but this one was so good that I wanted to share the recipe.

The original recipe is from Athens Foods, the manufacturer of the phyllo I used.  The changes I made are noted in brackets.

FRUIT-TOPPED PHYLLO CHEESECAKE

Ingredients

8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons milk
20 sheets Athens® Fillo Dough (9”x14”), thawed
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 cup fresh or frozen strawberries, thawed [2 cups fresh strawberries]
1 cup fresh or frozen raspberries, thawed [omitted]
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon cornstarch
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon Grand Marnier [water]

In a large bowl, with mixer at low speed, beat cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, egg, lemon juice and milk, until smooth.

Lightly butter a 9” pie plate.  Cut a 10” circle out of wax paper to use as a pattern.  Fold the pattern in half and use this as a guide to cut through 20 phyllo sheets.  Overlap the sheets of phyllo (using curved edges of phyllo to fit along sides of pan), brushing each sheet with melted butter as you cover the bottom and sides of the pan.  [See Note below.]  Spread cream cheese mixture over the top layer of phyllo.

Bake in preheated 350ºF oven for about 30 minutes or until center is set.  Let cool 15 minutes.

While cheesecake is baking, make topping.  In a medium saucepan, combine berries and sugar.  Cook over medium heat, stirring, until mixture is hot.  In small bowl, dissolve cornstarch in water and Grand Marnier.  Stir cornstarch mixture into berries.  Cook over medium heat, stirring, about 2 minutes or until mixture is thick.  Remove from heat and let cool.  Spread berry mixture over cooled cheesecake.

Serve cool or chilled.

Yield: 10 servings [not if you cut slices like the one pictured above]

Note:  I misunderstood the directions for cutting the phyllo, and I used the 10" circle of wax paper without folding it.  As a result, my phyllo was cut into 10" with two flat sides (because the sheets are only 9" wide).  It turned out fine, but not exactly as the recipe creator intended.

Like Sweet Potato Pie (Book Review)

Witness as Shiloh’s new life in Virginia crumbles around her. The house she inherited from her mother is much more than a place to live—it represents Shiloh’s changed life and what little financial security she has. But her half sister is contesting their mother’s will and the IRS is threatening to take it for back taxes. She’s also discovering God’s ideal when it comes to love and romance. When Mr. Right shows up will she recognize God’s hand or let circumstances and prejudices blind her heart to the love of her life?

Since I hadn't read Southern-Fried Sushi, the first book in this series by Jennifer Rogers Spinola, I wasn't sure how easy it would be to pick up the story.  I needn't have worried:  aside from a few times when I had to flip back to remember who a character was, I caught right up to speed.

Shiloh is a new Christian, thrown into a situation that she would not have chosen.  She is surrounded by friends who support and encourage her, but problems keep cropping up:  she has back taxes to pay, her ex-fiance shows up, and she keeps getting tangled up in sticky situations along the way.  As Shiloh words it,

Why in the world did Jesus make things so hard?  If you read some of the gospel tracts out there, you'd think utopia dawned the moment you said yes--and everything after that swirled in butterflies and roses.

Ha!  I got nettles and wasps.

Even with these challenges in Shiloh's life, Like Sweet Potato Pie is a light, fun, quick read.  I enjoyed it, and I hope you will, too!

For more information, visit the Barbour Publishing page for Like Sweet Potato Pie or the website of author Jennifer Rogers Spinola.

Title: Like Sweet Potato Pie
Author: Jennifer Rogers Spinola
Publisher: Barbour Books (March 1, 2012)
ISBN-13: 978-1616263652


Disclosure: I received an e-copy of this book, at no cost to me, for review purposes. I was not required to write a positive review, and all opinions in this post are my own. Thanks to Barbour Publishing and NetGalley for the opportunity. The link immediately preceding this disclosure is my Amazon affiliate link. If you click through the link and complete a purchase, I will receive a small commission. Thanks for your support!

Friday's Fave Five - February 24

Whew! It's been a rough week ... actually, life has been challenging for quite a while ... but we have some definite highlights!

1. This news is more than a week old, but I am still rejoicing:  A few weeks ago I had my first mammogram since I finished radiation therapy.  The doctor found no indication of any problem at all.  Wonderful news, for sure!
2. This week my husband and I celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary.  It seems as though we've been through a lot in these fifteen years, but we're still standing together.
3. We went out for our anniversary dinner, but we came home for dessert:  a variation on this fruit-topped phyllo cheesecake.  Sooo good.  I'll try to post more photos and details next week.
   
4. My Bible study group has been especially good in recent weeks.  I think we're learning more and, at the same time, having more fun.
5. Peace.  Thursday had the potential to be a stressful day, full of sudden changes of plans and such.  But I kept on praying, and the day was more peaceful than most "normal" days.
   
   
   The LORD gives strength to his people;
   the LORD blesses his people with peace.
   Psalm 29:11, NIV

What were the best parts of your week?  Visit Susanne for more Friday's Fave Five.

"Heart Your Cart" with Welch's

As you probably know, February is American Heart Month.  Can we talk for a minute about heart-healthy food choices?

A recent study* revealed that two-thirds of Americans recognize salmon, olive oil, red wine, or oatmeal as heart-healthy foods--yet only a fraction of us purchase these items monthly.

I'm not surprised to read that knowing which foods are healthy doesn't necessarily equate to consuming those foods!  Like many others, I tend to think that heart-healthy foods are too costly or too time-consuming to prepare.

The good news is that Welch's grape juice can help "heart your cart."  Made with Concord grapes and no added sugar, each 4-ounce serving of Welch's 100% Grape Juice counts as one serving of fruit.  I think it's a great go-to treat:  keeping Welch's grape juice on hand would definitely help me bypass the junk food when I'm craving something sweet.

Links for more information:

• Grape Science (chemistry, nutrition, and health benefits of grapes)
• Reward Your Heart (coupons, heart health, and sweepstakes)
• Welch's on Twitter
• Welch's on Facebook 

*Porter Novelli Styles survey of more than 4,000 Americans, conducted on behalf of Welch’s

Click to enlarge

Disclosure: Welch's provided me with product for review purposes and product information for this post. All opinions in this post are my own.

Grapes/heart image credit:  Image: Sailom / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Cottonelle Clean Care: Grocery Gift Card Giveaway (Closed)

Cottonelle has been around for a long time, and you might think that nothing new could be said about it.  However, you might change your mind after you hear about the new spin that Kleenex has put on it.

Cottonelle Clean Care is the same product you might know, except that it's been improved with the addition of extra-absorbent ripples and 30 percent more strength when wet.

For even more fun, Cottonelle has introduced these fun roll covers, designed by Jonathan Adler.  One of these would certainly add a splash of color to our pastel powder room!  To get your own, while supplies last, purchase an 18-pack of Cottonelle at a participating SuperValu store and pick up a free roll cover in-store.  If you have no local SuperValu store, don't despair:  you don't have to miss out.  You can get a roll cover free (pay just $1.99 shipping) with the purchase of a specially marked package of Cottonelle, or purchase one online at Cottonelle.com ($3.99 including shipping).

L-R: Chevron Pink, Barjello Blue, Clover Green

To help spread the word about these new developments, Cottonelle is going to give one lucky reader a prize pack that's both fun and useful:

• A $25 gift card valid at SuperValu supermarkets (ACME^®, ALBERTSONS^®, CUB^®, FARM FRESH^®, HORNBACHER'S^®, JEWEL-OSCO^®, SHAW'S/STAR MARKET^®, SHOP ‘N SAVE^® and SHOPPERS^®)
• A Cottonelle roll cover
• A 4-pack of Cottonelle toilet tissue

Would you like to win?


This giveaway is closed.

Here's how to enter:  Leave a comment with your answer to this question:  If you were one of the Cottonelle roll covers, which would you be ... and why?  Your answer can be short or long, silly or serious (but must be family-friendly).  Be sure to leave a way for me to contact you.  Limit 1 entry by this method.  This must be done in order to qualify for extra entries.

Here's how you can earn additional entries (please leave one comment per entry):

• 'Like' Cottonelle on Facebook.  Leave a comment here with your Facebook name. (1 entry)
• Share the link to this giveaway post on Facebook.  Leave a comment here with a link to your post. (1 entry)
• Comment on a non-giveaway post on my blog, and mention the post in a comment on this post. (1 entry per comment; limit 3 total)

More details: Open to residents of USA, age 18 or older. Giveaway ends 2/29/12 at noon (Eastern time). Winner will be chosen by the random number generator at Random.org and will be notified by email.  Winner must claim prize within 48 hours, or another winner will be chosen.  Prize will be fulfilled by Cottonelle. Void where prohibited.

Disclosure:  I received product and a gift card, at no cost to me, for review purposes.  I was not required to write a positive review, and all opinions in this post are my own.