Cheesecake

Many blogs, including those I faithfully follow, always include recipes. And included in those recipes are usually 19-100 pictures documenting the step by step process necessary to make such delectables. Can I just be honest? Those drive me nuts. I tire of the endless scrolling past the slue of pictures just to get to the recipe. This is just me. I'm sure many people thoroughly enjoy the step by step for the beautiful art found in the angles and light showcasing the food. Or maybe some people aren't too experienced at cooking and find the pictures helpful so they can recreate the recipe themselves. I'm neither of those. Though I must admit, in starting a blog, I almost feel pressured that if I want to be successful or liked in the blogging world, I better dust off my camera and make up a good recipe to document for the world. Obviously I don't feel pressured enough because it ain't happening folks.

What I will do though, is tell you how I make a perfectly imperfect cheesecake. None of that no-bake sillyness, the baked in a springform pan kind!

It starts with spending 10 minutes trying to determine if 10-12 graham crackers means whole crackers or half, then throw your decided amount into a food processor. Add some melted butter and process until all crackers are moist. Press into a spring form pan and notice how dry your crust looks but decide you're too lazy to put it back in the food processor to add more butter. Place it in the fridge to cool.

Place two blocks of room temperature cream cheese in the cleaned food processor until it's smooth. Then add the vanilla and eggs. Promptly realize you were supposed to cream in the sugar before the vanilla and egg so add it at this time. Once smooth, add in the rest of your eggs. Pour mixture into your pan and notice how it hardly fills the pan. Re-read the recipe and realize that it was supposed to be two pounds of cream cheese, not two blocks.

Remove that third block you happen to have sitting in the fridge and decide you're too lazy to go to the store to buy a fourth. Place cream cheese in the microwave on defrost, remove and add to processor. Add in a little sugar (got it right this time), then a little vanilla, then another egg. Add this mixture to the mixture already in your pan and try to combine without destroying your dry crust.

Wrap bottom and sides of pan in your last remaining sheet of tin foil and place in a shallow broiler pan because you don't have a deep roasting pan like the recipe calls for.

Place this whole contraption in a 325 degree oven and then fill the broiler pan with water (while praying that it doesn't overflow the short sides of the small piece of tin foil you had to work with). Bake for one hour then turn the oven off and let it sit in there another hour.

Remove and let it come almost to room temperature (not entirely though because going to bed is more important). Place it in the fridge with saran wrap on top and let it chill for at least 8 hours.

When you're ready to serve, run a knife around the edge of the pan and then remove the side piece that I have no idea the name of. Place on serving plates and top with store-bought topping your choice.

Enjoy the oohs and ahhs of your guests because they have no idea how imperfect your process was to create this seemingly perfect masterpiece.

Leftovers beautifully presented in a plastic tub. 'Cuz that's how I roll.

See folks, imperfect works. It's quite perfect actually. We're all perfectly imperfect so stop worrying about having it all together and offer to the world what you have to give. God designed you perfectly with a purpose. He doesn't ask you to have it all together for Him or for other people. He wants you just as you are and He can do amazing things with your life if you let Him.