DAY Recipe

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 425°F.

Mix Amaretto and vinegar in a 13- by 9-inch baking dish. Put pears, cut sides down, in dish.

Roast pears 15 minutes. Add water and roast until pears are tender but still hold their shape, 8 to 10 minutes more.

Arrange pears, cut sides up, on a platter and spoon pan juices over them. Sprinkle with half of cookie crumbs, then baste with pan juices. Sprinkle with remaining crumbs and serve warm or at room temperature.

DIRECTIONS

Bring apple juice, sugar, zest, and spices to a boil in a 2-quart saucepan, stirring until sugar is dissolved, and simmer 5 minutes. Add butter, pears, and dried fruit and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until pears are tender, about 25 minutes. Pour liquid through a sieve into another saucepan and boil until reduced to ‚ cup. Pour liquid back over fruit and stir in Calvados and lemon juice.

Serve warm or at room temperature.Cooks’ note:
• Compote keeps, covered and chilled,1 week.

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350°F.
Make crust:
Pulse flour, sugar, salt, and butter in a food processor until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add yolk, vanilla, and lemon juice and pulse just until mixture begins to form a dough. Spread dough with a small offset spatula or back of a spoon over buttered bottom of a 24-centimeter springform pan and prick all over with a fork. Chill 30 minutes.

Bake crust in a shallow baking pan (to catch drips) in middle of oven until golden brown, about 25 minutes, and cool on a rack.

Increase temperature to 375°F.

Make filling and bake cake:
Discard liquid and cheesecloth and force drained ricotta through sieve into bowl. Beat yolks and sugar with an electric mixer until thick and pale, then beat in ricotta, flour, and zests. Beat whites with salt in another bowl until they hold soft peaks, and fold into ricotta mixture.

Butter side of springform pan and pour filling over crust (pan will be completely full). Bake in baking pan in middle of oven until cake is puffed and golden and a tester inserted 1 inch from center comes out clean, about 1 hour.

Run a knife around top edge of cake to loosen and cool completely in springform pan on rack. Chill, loosely covered, at least 4 hours. Remove side of pan and transfer cake to a plate. Bring to room temperature before serving.

Cooks’ note:
• Cheesecake keeps, covered and chilled, 3 days.

DIRECTIONS

Make crumb crust with gingersnaps instead of graham crackers as directed in separate recipe. Preheat oven to 550°F.

Beat together cream cheese, sugar, and flour with an electric mixer until smooth and add whole eggs, 1 at a time, then vanilla, beating on low speed until each ingredient is incorporated and scraping down bowl between additions. Transfer 2 1/2 cups filling to another bowl and beat yolks, spices, and pumpkin into remaining filling until smooth.

Put springform pan with crust in a shallow baking pan. Pour half of pumpkin filling into crust, then half of plain. Repeat procedure with remaining fillings (springform pan will be completely full), drizzling the plain so that some of pumpkin filling is still visible. Gently swirl a small spoon once through batters in a figure-eight pattern without touching crust. Bake in baking pan (to catch drips) in middle of oven 12 minutes, or until puffed. Reduce temperature to 200°F and bake 30 minutes (do not open oven). Dome a piece of lightly oiled foil over cake and continue baking until mostly firm (center will still be slightly wobbly when pan is gently shaken), about 1 hour more.

Run a knife around top edge of cake to loosen and cool completely in springform pan on a rack. Chill, loosely covered, at least 6 hours. Remove side of pan and transfer cake to a plate. Bring to room temperature before serving.

Cooks’ note:• Cheesecake keeps, covered and chilled, 1 week.

DIRECTIONS

Make crumb crust as directed in separate recipe. Preheat oven to 550°F.

Beat together cream cheese, sugar, flour, and zests with an electric mixer until smooth. Add eggs and yolks, 1 at a time, then vanilla, beating on low speed until each ingredient is incorporated and scraping down bowl between additions.

Put springform pan with crust in a shallow baking pan. Pour filling into crust (springform pan will be completely full) and bake in baking pan (to catch drips) in middle of oven 12 minutes, or until puffed. Reduce temperature to 200°F and continue baking until cake is mostly firm (center will still be slightly wobbly when pan is gently shaken), about 1 hour more.

Run a knife around top edge of cake to loosen and cool completely in springform pan on a rack. Chill cake, loosely covered, at least 6 hours. Remove side of pan and transfer cake to a plate. Bring to room temperature before serving.

Cooks’ note:
@èeesecake keeps, covered and chilled, 2 weeks.