A Night from "Bon Appetite"

Being at the end of May, I knew it was going to be any day that I would get my new issue of “Bon Appétit” in the mail. It came on Friday, before I was scheduled to work all weekend. So I was very excited Sunday, when I ended up with a little more free time than I had planned (long story), to spend some quiet time looking through the magazine for some new inspiration. This is the summer grilling issue so I knew there would be some really great finds. Lots of the dishes sounded delicious, but in particular the Shrimp and Andouille Skewers stood out first. I made a mental note. Then, as I kept turning the pages I came across something that just sounded too scrumptious for words, Dulce de Leche Cheesecake Bars. No sooner than I had finished reading that title I knew I had fallen in love and that I must have this delicacy! Unfortunately, I was confined to “bed rest” under close watch by my caring yet militant husband. This menu would have to wait until tomorrow. In the meantime, I laid out my plan in detail and got the OK from the Boss that this menu was a “Go”. For anyone who knows Brandon, you know the dessert was a tough sell, HA!


So after dreaming about the cheesecake all night, Monday morning finally rolls around and I can hit the grocery store and get the last minute ingredients for my little menu with a Spanish flair. The cheesecake called for store-bought Dulce de Leche sauce. Ok, that’s fine, but I’m not messing around here. I wanted to make my own, which is really quite simple.

Dulce de Leche is a milk caramel sauce, made from caramelizing the sugars in the milk. All you need to do is take a can of sweetened condensed milk, crack two holes in the top for vents and, put it in a saucepan of simmering water. The water should leave about a ¼ in clearance from the top of the can. Let this simmer for 3 hours or so until the desired coloring is reached. You will probably have to add more water during the cooking time. Now, you’re probably thinking if the milk is in the can, how am I supposed to tell if it’s the right color? Well, yes you will have that dilemma. I let it simmer for 2 hours and found that the bottom of the can was more caramelized than the top. If you run into this situation you can pour the milk into a bowl set over a saucepan of boiling water, aka a double boiler, and slowly heat it until it does reach the desired color. You can also go this route from the very beginning and it should take about 40-50 minutes or so. A third option is to pour the sweetened condensed milk into a pie plate, cover it with foil and, place it in a 350ºF oven for about 40 minutes or until desired coloring is achieved. You may find that it’s just easier to start out with one of the other two options than play the guessing game. As a side note, the longer you cook the sauce, the more caramelized, and the thicker the consistency.

So, back to the recipe. It’s really just a standard graham cracker crust and cheesecake filling with the addition of some of the cooled dulce de leche. Once the cake has you mix some of the dulce de leche with a little cream and warm it in the microwave to a pourable consistency and pour it over the top of the cheesecake. I chose, instead of doing bars, to use a spring form pan to make more of a traditional cheesecake. Everything turned out fine, except that I had enough of all the parts left over to make some skimpier bars in a 9x9 pan. An 8x8 probably would have been a better choice, but that was too difficult to reach at the time. As a finishing touch to the cheesecakes, you sprinkle some fleur de sel on top which really sends the cake overboard delicious.

I guess I should mention that the Shrimp and Andouille skewers were also very delicious and oh so simple. You just skewer some nice big shrimp (16/20), sliced Andouille sausage, cherry tomatoes, and red onion. Then, glaze the skewers with a marinade of smoked paprika, sherry vinegar, garlic, red pepper flakes, thyme and olive oil and grill them off. Smoked paprika, or Pimentón Dulce, is very Spanish and you should be able to find it in the regular grocery store. I know Spice Islands offers it.

These skewers are so quick and easy and really perfect for a picnic or camping. I would recommend leaving enough space in between the different skewer components so that everything can cook properly. The sausage should be a kind that is already cooked so you’re really only getting some marks on it. If you are using bamboo skewers make sure to soak them in water for about 30 minutes before grilling so that they don’t just burn up on the grill. I served them with a simple side salad and some roasted potatoes sprinkled with the smoked paprika.

I would highly recommend this menu as the skewers are so light and delicious that they don’t weigh you down from what you’re really going for, the Dulce de Leche Cheesecake! And trust me, this cheesecake is so rich and filling, you don’t want anything getting in your way. It really was the perfect ending to the meal. I didn’t feel that it was too sweet, which I had worried about. It was creamy and smooth with a perfect touch of salt to round out the complete flavor. I would only recommend having one piece, however, because as bad as you want seconds, you will find it to be a bad idea. Just hold on to that will power and wait until tomorrow for another piece!