State-by-State Baking :: New York Cheesecake

I'm so behind in posting the recipes the girls have been creating for their State-by-State Geography Study!  We have decided that our goal for the current school year is to complete 25 states and then move on to the remaining 25 next year.   We still have quite a few to go, to even accomplish that, but they have been making progress!  If only I could keep up with the actual blog posts! ;)   I will be back soon with the Dogwood Bark the girls made for the Easter season and the state of North Carolina,  Johnny Cakes for their American Revolution Unit Study and the state of Rhode Island, and the amazingly delicous Pancakes with the best Maple Syrup ever for  the state of Vermont.  

For the state of New York, the 11th State to join the Union, the girls read E is for Empire: A New York Alphabet and then completed their Notebook Pages. 

New York Notebooking Pages
by Twinkle Toes (L) and Chiquita (R)

"G is for glistening Garnet,
Grab your garden tools.
and we'll head up to Gore Mountain,
for New York's State's official jewel."

  ~ E is for Empire: A New York Alphabet

The girls had such a hard time deciding what to make for New York.  First they thought they would make potato chips, which were invented in 1853 in New York.  Then they decided to make Garnet Jello Jigglers since a carpenter from Le Roy, New York invented Jello.  But, ultimately, the girls decided to make New York Cheesecake, using this recipe, for Mother's Day!  Next time (maybe for Father's Day?) we want to try an Oreo crust and perhaps follow Barbara's directions.

New York Cheesecake

Ingredients:

15 graham crackers, crushed
2 tablespoons butter, melted

4 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese
1 1/2 cups white sugar
3/4 cup milk
4 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup all-purpose flour

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9 inch springform pan.  In a medium bowl, mix graham cracker crumbs with melted butter. Press onto bottom of springform pan.

In a large bowl, mix cream cheese with sugar until smooth. Blend in milk, and then mix in the eggs one at a time, mixing just enough to incorporate. Mix in sour cream, vanilla and flour until smooth. 

(Over mixing will cause the cheesecake to crack... I am fairly certain ours was over mixed!)

Pour filling into prepared crust.

Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour. Turn the oven off, and let cake cool in oven with the door closed for 5 to 6 hours; this prevents cracking. (which, as you can see, we didn't do...) Chill in refrigerator until serving.

The girl's decided to cover the crack top our cheesecake with whipped cream and a strawberry heart for Mother's Day.  

We also enjoyed some cherry topping with the cheesecake as well. Since it was Mother's Day, I did have a piece, and it was delicious.  Thankfully I think Bud is finally starting to outgrow his sensitivity to dairy!

Resources we used for this State Study:

E is for Empire: A New York Alphabet

E is for Empire Teacher's Guide (pdf)

New York's Notebooking Page from United States Maps
United States Coloring Book (Dover)
State Birds and Flowers Coloring Book (Dover)
The United States Cookbook: Fabulous Foods and Fascinating Facts From All 50 States

Other Posts of Interest: 

State-by-State Scrapbook
State-by-State Scrapbook :: New York (coming soon) 

State-by-State Baking :: Virginia's George Washington Cherry Turnovers

It's been a few weeks since the girls made this recipe, back before their Daddy left for training and they came down with that awful virus and then pneumonia.  At that point our State-to-State Baking came to a stop for the time being.   Hopefully we will be able to get back to spending some extra time in the kitchen after Easter. 

The girls really enjoyed studying Virginia and were wishing they could visit.   Especially since that is where half of their cousins live!  The girls read O is for Old Dominion: A Virginia Alphabet and then completed their Notebook Pages. 

Virginia Notebooking Pages
by Twinkle Toes (L) and Chiquita (R)

"G is for George Washington,
a leader very smart.
He was one of those who told King George,
"It's time for us to part."

  ~ O is for Old Dominion: A Virginia Alphabet

The girls decided to make George Washington's Cherry Turnovers, since apparently they were a favorite of his.  These were incredibly easy to make (at least in 2012!), and delicious, or so I was told.

George Washington's Cherry Turnovers

Ingredients:

1 Package of Frozen Puff Pastry (2 sheets)
1 Can of Cherry Pie Filling
1 Egg

Directions:

Unfold the thawed puff pastry sheets and cut into 4 squares each.

Fill each square with about 2 Tbsp of the cherry pie filling.

Fold over the pastry dough and seal with fingers.

Beat egg and add a tsp of water to make egg wash, then brush top of pastry with the egg wash.

Bake at 375 until golden brown and allow pastries to cool.  Enjoy!

Following Virginia... only 40 more states to go!  :/  

Resources we used for this State Study:

O is for Old Dominion: A Virginia Alphabet

O is for Old Dominion Teacher's Guide (pdf)

Virginia's Notebooking Page from United States Maps
United States Coloring Book (Dover)
State Birds and Flowers Coloring Book (Dover)
The United States Cookbook: Fabulous Foods and Fascinating Facts From All 50 States

Other Posts of Interest: 

State-by-State Scrapbook
State-by-State Scrapbook :: Virginia

State-by-State Baking :: Maryland Crab Cakes

The 7th state to join the Union was the state of Maryland.  A while back the girls studied this state with the help of B is for Blue Crab: A Maryland Alphabet and then completed their Notebook Pages. 

Maryland Notebooking Pages
by Twinkle Toes (L) and Chiquita (R)

Inspired by The United States Cookbook: Fabulous Foods and Fascinating Facts From All 50 States the girls decided to make Crab Cakes, however we opted to try another of Barbara's recipes instead of the recipe in our cookbook.  We have yet to try a recipe from Barbara that we didn't love, and this one wasn't any different!  They were AMAZING!!!  

"B is for Blue Crabs
that swim in the Chesapeake Bay.
Males are called Jimmys and females Sallys.
That's what the fishermen say."

  ~ B is for Blue Crab: A Maryland Alphabet

Maryland Crab Cakes

(original recipe here)

Ingredients:

½ pound of jumbo lump crabmeat

½ pound lump crab meat, shells removed

2 T. mayonnaise

1 T. Guldens brown mustard

dash of Worcestershire Sauce

dash of Tabasco

1 T. Italian parsley, chopped

1 T. scallions, chopped

pinch of kosher salt

pinch of white pepper

1 whole egg

dash of lemon juice

1/3 cup (plain) breadcrumbs

4 T. vegetable oil (or butter or, even better, butter/oil combination)

Combine all ingredients, except crab meat.

Stir in crab meat; let mixture sit 24 (6 to 8) hours in refrigerator.

Form into 4 oz. crab cakes (I used an ice cream scoop)

Sautée cakes for 2 minutes on each side (or until golden brown) in oil.

Dijon Sauce:

1/4 c. Dijon mustard

1/2 c. Sour cream

1/2 c. Mayonnaise

1 tbsp. white wine

1/4 tsp. mustard powder

Mix mustard, sour cream and mayo.

Add dry mustard and white wine.

Stir to combine and refrigerate until ready to use.

While I fried the Crab Cakes the girls did an excellent job setting the table. 

Oh wow, did they turn out yummy!   Everyone loved the Crab Cakes and even Snuggles agreed to taste them! We hope to make them again but, with how expensive crab is, I'm sure they will end up just being a very occasional special treat.    It was to be Daddy's last dinner at home for three weeks, and a Friday night, so it ended up being the perfect timing!   

Following Maryland we read P is for Palmetto: A South Carolina Alphabet.... but we've already covered that one, as well as New Hampshire.  I'll be back with pictures from Virginia next! 

Resources we used for this State Study:

B is for Blue Crab: A Maryland Alphabet

B is for Blue Crab Teacher's Guide (pdf)

Maryland's Notebooking Page from United States Maps
United States Coloring Book (Dover)
State Birds and Flowers Coloring Book (Dover)
The United States Cookbook: Fabulous Foods and Fascinating Facts From All 50 States

Other Posts of Interest: 

State-by-State Scrapbook
State-by-State Scrapbook :: Maryland

State-by-State Baking :: New Hampshire Apple Tea Cake

Are you all completely sick of our "State-by-State Baking" posts this week?  I promise I will blog about something other than geography and food soon!

The girls have been making great progress this week, catching up on some recipes to go along with the states they have been studying over the winter.   They've already completed a recipe for Virginia (I just need to upload the pictures) and will be making Crab Cakes for Maryland on Friday.   We just need to decide on (and make) recipes for New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Kentucky to be all caught up...  We have a couple ideas, but would love some suggestions from anyone that lives there, or is familiar with any great recipes specific to those states!

Anyhow, back to New Hampshire...  New Hampshire, originally one of the thirteen colonies, "created" the new nation by becoming the 9th state on June 21, 1788, meeting the requirement for nine states to ratify the Constitution!  The girls studied this state with the help of G is for Granite: A New Hampshire Alphabet and then completed their Notebook Pages.

New Hampshire Notebooking Pages

by Twinkle Toes (L) and Chiquita (R)

To go along with our South Carolina Butterflies and Tea, the girls decided to make an Apple Tea Cake, recalling the apple orchards that were planted by the early settlers in New Hampshire.  As we enjoyed our tea and cake, we read the poem "After Apple Picking" which was written by American poet, Robert Frost in 1914.

"F is for Robert Frost
Frost is a poet of countryside things:
stone walls and hay rakes, 
stoneboats and snowflakes, 
orchards and woods where the ovenbird sings. "

  ~ G is for Granite: A New Hampshire Alphabet

New Hampshire Apple Tea Cake

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 cup flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 apple, cored and thinly sliced
• extra sugar
• nutmeg

Directions:

1. Cream butter and sugar and then add egg, beating well. 
2. Add flour, baking powder and salt, alternating with milk and mix until light and fluffy.  
3. Pour mixture into a greased and lined cake tin.  
4. Place apple slices decoratively on top of cake and sprinkle with the extra sugar and some nutmeg.
5. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes.  (Ours took longer since we used a smaller pan, making the cake deeper.)
6. Remove from pan and cool on tray.  

Resources we used for this State Study:

G is for Granite: A New Hampshire Alphabet
G is for Granite Teacher's Guide (pdf)
New Hampshire's Notebooking Page from United States Maps
United States Coloring Book (Dover)
State Birds and Flowers Coloring Book (Dover)
The United States Cookbook: Fabulous Foods and Fascinating Facts From All 50 States

Other Posts of Interest: 

State-by-State Scrapbook
State-by-State Scrapbook :: New Hampshire

State-by-State Baking :: South Carolina's Butterfly Fruit Snack

We skipped over our Maryland Crab Cakes, since we decided to save them for our meatless meal this coming Friday (though it will hardly be a sacrifice!), and made a fun snack for the 8th state to join the Union, the state of South Carolina.  The girls studied this state with the help of P is for Palmetto: A South Carolina Alphabet and then completed their Notebook Pages. 

South Carolina Notebooking Pages
by Twinkle Toes (L) and Chiquita (R)

"E is for the Eastern tiger swallowtail,
a colorful butterfly to see.
Flying from flower to flower,
flitting and soaring, wild and carefree."

  ~ P is for Palmetto: A South Carolina Alphabet

Inspired by these Orange Slice Butterflies, the girls created some fruit Eastern Tiger Swallowtails, the official butterfly of the state of South Carolina.  These were so fun and easy to make.  Since the Butterfly is one of the Easter Symbols, I think we will be making these again, sometime during the 50 days of Easter.  They are pretty self explanatory, but here are the directions:

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Fruit Butterflies

Ingredients:

Oranges
Blueberries or Purple Grapes
Toothpicks

Directions:

Slice the oranges, trimming off the ends, into 4 slices each.  Cut each orange slice into quarters.

String the blueberries onto toothpicks, covering the toothpick, creating the body of the butterfly.  Insert and center a toothpick horizontally through the middle blueberry.  Add one orange slice to each end of the toothpick, creating the butterfly's wings.

Arrange the finished butterfly fruit snacks on a platter.  Enjoy!

Since the first commercial tea farm in the United States was in Summerville, South Carolina, we also made some tea to go along with the Butterflies for our afternoon snack.  

"Polly put the kettle on, 

we'll all have tea.

South Carolina's favorite drink

Tea begins with T."

Following South Carolina is the 9th state with... G is for Granite: A New Hampshire Alphabet!  I'll be back soon with pictures of the girls' New Hampshire Apple Tea Cake that they made to go along with their South Carolina tea!

Resources we used for this State Study:

P is for Palmetto: A South Carolina Alphabet

P is for Palmetto Teacher's Guide (pdf)

South Carolina's Notebooking Page from United States Maps
United States Coloring Book (Dover)
State Birds and Flowers Coloring Book (Dover)
The United States Cookbook: Fabulous Foods and Fascinating Facts From All 50 States

Other Posts of Interest: 

State-by-State Scrapbook
State-by-State Scrapbook :: South Carolina

State-by-State Baking :: Massachusetts' Boston Baked Beans and Bouncy Basketball Treats

The 6th state to join the Union was the state of Massachusetts.  The girls studied this state with the help of M is for Mayflower: A Massachusetts Alphabet and then completed their Notebook Pages. 

Massachusetts Notebooking Pages

by Twinkle Toes (L) and Chiquita (R)

Inspired by The United States Cookbook: Fabulous Foods and Fascinating Facts From All 50 States the girls decided to make Boston Baked Beans for with our Sunday dinner:

"Early colonists learned to make baked beans from their Native American neighbors. Native Americans flavored the beans with bear meat and maple syrup. The colonists substituted salt pork for the bear meat and molasses for the maple syrup.  Baked beans on Saturday night became a Massachusetts food tradition in colonial times.  The tradition started because Puritans were not allowed to work on Sunday, so beans were cooked on Saturday and served for Sunday's dinner as well.  Some women who were not so crazy about beans served them only on Sunday."

We had a few children, Chiquita included, that were not so crazy about these beans.  Maybe if we would have cut back on the onion...

Boston Baked Beans

Ingredients:

1 medium onion

vegetable cooking spray (we used coconut oil spray)

2 16-ounce cans navy beans

1 15-ounce can pinto beans

1/3 cup ketchup

3 tablespoons brown sugar

2 tablespoons molasses

1 tablespoon spicy brown mustard

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400˚F. 

Remove the skin from the onion.  On the cutting board, cut the onion into quarters and chop with Food Chopper.   

Yep... Chopping that sweet onion might make you cry!  Chiquita wasn't going to take any chances, like her big sister, and ran off to grab her sunglasses.  :)

Spray a saute pan with cooking spray.  Heat the pan over medium heat.  

Add the onions and saute until soft, about 5 minutes. 

Open the 3 cans of beans.  Put the beans in the colander in the sink and rinse them under cold, running water.   (Twinkle Toes was super excited to successfully open a can for the first time!)

In the casserole, stir together the onions, beans, ketchup, brown sugar, molasses, and mustard.  

Cover and bake for 30 minutes until the mixture is bubbly.  

"B's the sound that can be found in 
Boston town and Bunker Hill,
and bouncy, bouncy Basketball, 
played first in Springfield -
What a thrill!"

  ~ M is for Mayflower: A Massachusetts Alphabet

To go along with our Beans and Burgers, the girls also made an extra treat, inspired by some Basketball Cupcakes,  using mini Reese's Peanut Butter Cups instead of the cupcakes:

Bouncy Basketball Treats

Ingredients:

Mini Peanut Butter Cups

Peanut Butter Cookies (at least 3" diameter)
Cream Cheese Frosting
Orange Decorator's Gel
Mini Basketball Chocolates

For each basket, trim the cookie flush with the wrapper's edges, if needed. Unwrap the peanut butter cup and pipe a ring of decorators' gel around the edge. (We forgot to do this last step. Oops!) 

For the backboard, frost half of a cookie, then add decorators' gel details. Keeping the cookie flat, dab frosting where the basket will go and gently press the peanut butter cup in place.

Use another dab of frosting to secure a chocolate basketball. Let the treats set for at least a half hour before standing them up. (We stood ours up right away and didn't have a problem.)

Our next state is Maryland and B is for Blue Crab: A Maryland Alphabet.  We are all looking forward to the Crab Cakes the girls will be making sometime this week.  Yum!!! 

Resources we used for this State Study:

M is for Mayflower: A Massachusetts Alphabet

M is for Mayflower Teacher's Guide (pdf)

Massachusetts' Notebooking Page from United States Maps
United States Coloring Book (Dover)
State Birds and Flowers Coloring Book (Dover)
The United States Cookbook: Fabulous Foods and Fascinating Facts From All 50 States

Other Posts of Interest: 

State-by-State Scrapbook
State-by-State Scrapbook :: Massachusetts

State-by-State Baking :: Connecticut's Red Robin Hamburgers

It has been a long time since the girls have made any recipes to go along with their United States Geography Study this year.   We got off to a great start in the fall, making Delaware Peach Crumble, Pennsylvania Hershey's Chocolate Breakfast Cake, and a New Jersey and Georgia inspired lunch, but then I hit my third trimester and due to a number of extra pregnancy challenges the first things to go were the weekly State-by-State Baking with the girls and all the fun Little Saints Pre-school Activities for Snuggles.  The girls continued studying the various States (in the order they joined the Union) and I promised them that after the baby was a couple months old we would go back and review each state and catch up on their baking.

Well, our little Bud will be 3 months old next week (on the feast of St. Joseph), everyone is starting to recover from the flu, and summer will be here in no time.  Sooo, if we hope to finish at least half the States this year, we had better get busy.   The girls agreed, and were more than excited!  :)

We started with a recipe for Connecticut today, along with a couple for Massachusetts (I'll post about those next), and hope to make quite a few more this coming week, before their Daddy leaves for training next weekend.  I guess we will see how it goes!

Anyhow, the 5th state to join the Union was the state of Connecticut.  The girls studied this state with the help of N is for Nutmeg: A Connecticut Alphabet and then completed their Notebook Pages. 

Connecticut Notebooking Pages

Inspired by The United States Cookbook: Fabulous Foods and Fascinating Facts From All 50 States the girls decided to make Hamburgers:

"The hamburger was probably first made and sold in New Haven in 1900.  The owner of Louis' Lunch made hamburgers from the trimmings of steak used in steak sandwiches.  He served the hamburgers on a plate with onions and home fries.   When a customer was in a rush, he asked the owner to put the hamburger between two pieces of bread so he could get going.  Even in 1900 there was a need for fast food!"

"A is for American Robin, 
a lovely little fellow.
He sings a pretty tune, 
musical and mellow."

  ~ N is for Nutmeg: A Connecticut Alphabet

And with the state bird being the American Robin... we had to go with a "Red Robin" inspired burger, right?!?   We used the following recipe for Teriyaki Burgers from Bless Us O Lord. (Thank you Barbara!)  Everyone LOVED the burgers and we will definitely be making them again!

Connecticut's Red Robin Hamburgers

Ingredients:

8 - 1/3 pound frozen hamburger patties

Marinade:
1-3/4 c. water
1 c. soy sauce
1 c. light brown sugar
1/2 t. onion powder (we substituted 1/2 tbs. onion flakes)
1/2 t. garlic powder

8 canned pineapple slices
8 slices cheddar cheese
8 sesame seed hamburger buns
mayonnaise
8 tomato slices
8 iceberg lettuce leaves

Directions:

Begin by preparing the marinade and defrosting the hamburger patties.



Combine all marinade ingredients in a small saucepan over medium-high heat; bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes, or until sauce thickens. Cover and refrigerate at least 30 minutes.

Place burgers in a baking dish or a large storage container. Baste with marinade; flip and baste the other side (be sure to reserve some marinade for the pineapple slices). Cover container and refrigerate 4-12 hours. Place pineapple slices in a separate container with the remaining marinade, cover and chill.

(Ask  Daddy to...) Preheat grill to medium heat. Cook hamburgers 3 to 5 minutes per side, or to desired doneness. When you flip the burgers, add the pineapple to grill and cook until the grill marks show, turning once. About 1 minute before the burgers are done, place a slice of cheese on top of each patty to melt.

Thank you Daddy! 

Spread mayonnaise on the top and bottom of each bun.

Place hamburger patty on bottom bun and top with a tomato slice and a grilled pineapple slice on each. Cover with a lettuce leaf and place top bun on sandwich.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

We also picked up some "Circus" animal crackers, to go along with our burgers, for Mr. Phineas T. Barnum, of Barnum & Bailey fame, a leading citizen in his hometown of Bridgeport, Connecticut:

"B is for Mister Barnum, 

and his animals and clowns.

He started a traveling circus, 

for kids in all the towns."

Up next... M is for Mayflower: A Massachusetts Alphabet!

Resources we used for this State Study:

N is for Nutmeg: A Connecticut Alphabet

N is for Nutmeg Teacher's Guide (pdf)

Connecticut's Notebooking Page from United States Maps
United States Coloring Book (Dover)
State Birds and Flowers Coloring Book (Dover)
The United States Cookbook: Fabulous Foods and Fascinating Facts From All 50 States

Other Posts of Interest: 

State-by-State Scrapbook
State-by-State Scrapbook :: Connecticut