Ode to Grandma's

Grandma's are great people. Even the cranky ones who don't let you sit on the furniture or the slightly kooky ones who talk to their cats too much are great. Grandma's indulge in whims, and make some of the best food ever.

Currently, my grandma is fighting a battle for her life that she is likely to lose in the next few days. She is older and has a hard life, so this isn't a surprise but doesn't mean it isn't sad. As with most things in my life when I think about the happy times with my grandma I am reminded of food. There are a number of things that stand out for me when I think back on our shared culinary memories...

Strawberries that we used to go pick at Jackson's Farms in Campville. We would walk there and pick about 4 quarts and she would clean them up and put them in a big yellow Pyrex bowl that all grandma's had and sprinkle them with a little sugar for me.

We used to make zucchini bread every summer. At least 150 loaves of it, while I was with her...she made even more than that though. Everyone we knew would give her pounds and pounds of their home grown zucchini and with a grinder that was likely her grandmothers we would grind down the zucchini and drain off the liquid and put it into the spicy moist quick bread mixture that she was known for. She made some loaves with candied fruit (blah!) and the rest with nuts. The house smelled of zucchini bread for days on end, and I got to eat slices of it warm from the oven with a little bit of butter. Pure heaven.

I have only recently begun to appreciate her peanut butter cookies. Most kids are more into chocolate chip or something frosted and covered with sprinkles and I was one of those kids. Peanut butter cookies weren't sexy so they weren't a big deal to me. But now I wish I could have one of her peanutty warm from the oven cookies that had the traditional crosshatch design from a fork on the top. I have the recipe but of course they will never taste the same.

And then there was the cheesecake. There was some debate (not in my mind) that it wasn't her recipe. Another relative claimed that it was "her" recipe....well, if you never make it and nobody ever asks you to make it I don't think you get to claim it....

The cheesecake was my grandma's command performance. She didn't just make it to have around. It was special. It was a pricey little number to pull together and it took 24 hours to be fully set. Family and friends would give my grandma a brown grocery bag of cream cheese and sour cream and ask her to make them one to take to work or to a friend. It was that special.

Her cheesecake wasn't a round New York Style confection covered in cherries or strawberries. She made hers in a 13x9 yellow Pyrex pan. It had a graham cracker crust and a sour cream topping. To me there will never be another cheesecake as good. In honor of my grandma I want to share her recipe here....I would love to see some of your grandma's recipes too.

Sour Cream Topped Cheesecake by Velma Sansky

Crust:
2 Cups Graham Cracker Crumbs
3/4 Stick Melted Butter
1/4 Cup Sugar

Cheesecake Layer:
3 8oz Packages of Cream Cheese-softened
4 Eggs
3/4 Cup Sugar
1 Teaspoon Vanilla

Sour Cream Layer:
1 Pint Sour Cream
1/2 Cup Sugar
1 Teaspoon Vanilla

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix together all crust ingredients and press into a 13x9 pan that has been lightly sprayed with cooking spray.

Combine all ingredients for cream cheese layer and pour into crust. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes. Let sit for 10 minutes.

Mix together all ingredients for sour cream layer, pour over cream cheese mixture and bake an additional 10 minutes.

Turn oven off and open door pulling rack out slightly. This should help the cheesecake to cook more gradually and reduce the instances of cracking.

Cover cooked cheesecake with foil and chill at least 12 hours to allow it to completely set before serving.

**You can use low fat cream cheese and sour cream with excellent results. Stay away from fat free products. It will be a disappointment.