Picture it-- a trim suburban house on a subtropical Miami street. The lawn is manicured, the landscaping precise and attractive.
Inside this structure, four very different women share a home. Indeed, they are so different, one from the other, that viewers of the sitcom often wonder how they manage to avoid maiming each other.
Back in St. Olaf, Rose Nylund grew up, more or less, retaining, however, a remarkable childlike innocence, even though her housemates may have a different name for it.
Blanche Devereaux, the superannuated southern belle who owns the house, likes men. Boy does she like men. In fact, she loves men. Whenever she can.
Dorothy Sbornak, a savvy, caustic Brooklyn expatriate, is the only divorcee in the group. The others are widows. Stan, Dorothy's ex-husband, hangs around the house much of the time.
Sophia Petillo, Dorothy's mother, who calls Stan a "yutz" is the fourth resident of the house. Sophia is a mean old woman, but she is sharp.
As different as these housemates are, one strong common bond that they seem to have is their love for cheesecake. Cheesecake is the ultimate comfort food in that little house, and they consume it frantically, in times of crisis. There are many such times of crisis, too.
Now, even though this is a vegetarian column, and milk and cheese are animal products, nobody has to die that we may have them.
So, with apologies to my vegan friends, and gratitude to the Golden Girls -- who inspired them -- here are four Golden Cheesecake recipes for August.
Rose's Fruitcake Cheesecake
- 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup margarine, melted
- 4 packages, (8 oz each) softened cream cheese
- Additional 1 1/3 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 4 eggs
- 1 can (21 oz) mixed fruit
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 pint slice strawberries
- 1 cup sliced peaches
Heat oven to 325 degrees F. Mix cracker crumbs, 1/4 cup sugar, and the margarine. Press evenly in the bottom of a square pan (9x9x2) and refrigerate until firm.
Beat cream cheese in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Gradually beat in the 12 1/3 cups of sugar and the vanilla until smooth. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Pour over crust.
Bake 55 or 65 minutes or until set. Turn off oven; cool in oven 15 minutes with door open. Remove from oven. Cool 30 minutes. Cover and refrigerate for at least 8 hours.
Combine mixed fruit, lemon juice, strawberries and peaches. Cut cheesecake into serving pieces; serve with fruit mixture. Cover and refrigerate any remaining dessert.
- Yields: 12 servings
- Preparation Time: Prepare the day before you wish to serve this.
Blanche's Southern Pecan Cheesecake
- 8 ounces chocolate cookies
- 1/4 cup margarine
- 2 1/2 (8oz) packages cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 3 eggs
- 2 tablespoons whipping cream
- Caramel or chocolate topping
- 1 cup chopped, toasted pecans
Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees F.
Place cookies in a resealable plastic bag. Squeeze out excess air. Seal bag tightly. Roll over cookies with a rolling pin until finely crushed.
Combine cookie crumbs and margarine in a medium bowl. Press onto bottom of a 9-inch spring form pan.
Beat the cream cheese in a large bowl until creamy. Add sugar, flour, salt, and vanilla. Mix well. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Blend in cream. Pour over crust. Bake 10 minutes.
Reduce oven heat to 200 degrees F. Continue baking 35 or 40 minutes or until set. Loosen cake from rim of pan. Cool before removing rim of pan.
Prepare topping. Drizzle over cheesecake. Refrigerate cheesecake. Sprinkle with pecans just before serving.
Caramel topping: Combine 7 oz caramels and 1/3 cup of whipping cream in a small saucepan. Stir over low heat until smooth.
Chocolate topping: Combine 4 oz semi-sweet chocolate, 1 tsp margarine, and 3 tablespoons of whipping cream in a small saucepan. Stir over low heat until smooth.
- Yields: One 9-inch cheesecake
- Preparation Time: Prepare the day before you wish to serve this.
Dorothy's Double Chocolate Cheesecake
- 16 chocolate sandwich cookies
- 1/4 cup margarine, melted
- 3 packages (8 oz each) softened cream cheese
- 1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
- 3 eggs
- 1 pkg (12 oz) semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted and cooled
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- topping
- Additional chocolate sandwich cookies for garnish
Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
Place cookies in blender or processor. Process until finely crushed.
Combine cookie crumbs and margarine in a medium bowl. Mix well. Press onto bottom of a 9-inch spring form pan. Set aside.
Beat together cream cheese and milk in a large bowl until well blended. Beat in eggs. Blend in chocolate and vanilla. Pour over crust.
Bake 1 hour and 10 minutes. Loosen cake from rim of pan. Cool before removing rim of pan.
Spread topping over cheesecake. Chill.
Let cheesecake stand at room temperature for 30 minutes before serving. Garnish, if desired.
- 1/3 cup margarine, softened
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 6 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted
Beat together margarine and powdered sugar in a small bowl until light and fluffy. Add the melted chocolate. Mix until well blended.
- Yields: Makes one 9-inch cheesecake
- Preparation Time: Prepare the day before you wish to serve this.
Sophia's Sour Lime Cheesecake
- 2 packages (8oz each) cream cheese, softened
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 1 teaspoon grated lime peel
- 2 eggs
- 1 ready-to-use graham cracker crust (9-inch)
Mix cream cheese, sugar, juice, lime peel and eggs at medium speed with electric mixer until blended.
Pour into crust.
Bake at 350 degrees F for 40 minutes, or until center is almost set. Cool. Refrigerate 3 hours or overnight.
- Yields: One 9-inch cheesecake
- Preparation Time: Prepare the day before you wish to serve this.