Teaching with technology

Published by admin on Wed, 01/09/2019 - 12:11pm
Weiser Signal American's chef Keith Bryant's prepares an almond cheesecake
By: 
Keith Bryant
With the advent of online teaching and all the things we can do now with technology, this Christmas the gift I gave my granddaughters was the gift of experience and knowledge.   
 My daughter had two daughters of her own and they live in Ohio. One of them is really into a cooking and baking stage and the other one had burned through a few sd cards on her phone taking pictures. Having a little knowledge in both presented the opportunity to teach them.   
 Bring on the internet. I sent them assignments to follow this year. My Kaylee, the chef, got the same baking book that I received for my birthday, as well as a springform pan.  
 I gave her the first assignment which was an Amaretto cheesecake.  What is hard is the judging part, but Sharon offered to be the judge on my end and her mother would critic on her end. 
 She was super excited to take on the projects and I even went as far as to create a video (more for me to learn) for her to follow. Jan. 15 is the deadline, but I just wanted to get mine done, just in case I messed up. I will have to keep you up to date as the project progresses.
 Emmy on the other hand is my photographer.  I sent her a camera and a computer. Her mother will install the programs she needs to learn on. I sent her a coupon book for 30-minute sessions with me on Sundays when I am home.   
 We are using Skype to communicate and that way we can look at each others computer screens at the same time. She has already used her camera to photograph her dog Tank which is a great dane lab mix.   
 I am really looking forward to this year and hope to bond a little more with my granddaughters.  Give this recipe a try it was fun to make.
Almond cheesecake with amaretto crust
Ingredients
1/4 cup almonds, toasted sliced (or slivered)
2 tablespoons sugar
3/4 cup amaretti cookie, crumbs* (I couldn’t find these so I made from scratch)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
FILLING
1¾ cups sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt
18 ounces cream cheese, softened
6 eggs, separated
1 (16 ounce) container sour cream
1¼ teaspoons almond extract
1 teaspoon vanilla
Directions
 Heat oven to 325 degrees F. Wrap foil around outside of 9½- or 10-inch springform pan to prevent leaks while baking. In food processor, combine toasted almonds and 2 tablespoons sugar; pulse until finely chopped. Add amaretti crumbs and melted butter; pulse to mix. Press crumb mixture
evenly over bottom of pan. Set aside.
 In medium bowl, combine 1½ cups of the sugar, flour and salt; set aside. In large bowl, beat cream cheese on medium speed until smooth and creamy. Add sugar mixture; beat until smooth.
 In medium bowl, lightly whisk egg yolks. Add egg yolks, sour cream, almond extract and vanilla to cream cheese mixture. Beat on medium-low speed just until well blended and smooth, scraping down bowl occasionally.
 In large bowl, beat egg whites until foamy. Slowly add remaining ¼ cup sugar, beating until soft peaks form. Gently fold whites into cream cheese mixture; pour into springform pan. Place springform pan in large, shallow roasting pan or broiler pan. Fill with enough hot water to come halfway up sides of springform pan.
 Bake 1 hour and 5 minutes or until edges are puffed and top looks dull and is dry to the touch. Center should be less set than edges and will move when pan is tapped. It should not ripple as if liquid. Turn oven off; leave cheesecake in oven with door closed 30 minutes.
 Remove from oven. Let stand in water bath 1 hour. Remove from water bath; cool completely on wire rack. Refrigerate at least 4 hours; cover and store in refrigerator.

 

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Signal American

18 E. Idaho St.
Weiser, ID 83672
PH: (208) 549-1717
FAX: (208) 549-1718
 

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