Tortilla Espanola and Cheesecake

Last night I had a great friend over for dinner and made Tortilla Espanlo and *attempted* to make cheesecake.  I say attempted since the large quantity of ale I consumed aided in a few kitchen mishaps; one being I accidentally turned the oven off half-way through cooking the cheesecake.  I checked it three times before finally realizing why it was STILL liquidy in the center after having baked it for an hour and a half.  The other being that I didn't read the directions all the way through before starting the cheesecake.  If I had, I would have realized it needed to sit for 8 hours before finished!  Needless to say, I finally had a piece 10 minutes ago and it was delicious :)  My dear friend, on the other hand, had to settle for just dinner and wine.

Tortilla Espanola
1-1/2 pounds potatoes, quartered and then thinly sliced
4 scallions, coarsely chopped
1 bunch leafy greens such as Swiss chard, collards, kale, spinach, cut into strips (I used collards)
1Tb lemon juice
6 eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 pound Havarti or other mild cheese, coarsely chopped

Black pepper
Extra-virgin olive oil
Garlic
Red pepper flakes
Sea salt

Add olive oil to oven-proof pan and brown the potatoes on high heat.  Turn heat to medium and cook until softened.  Remove potatoes and add scallions to pan.  Sautee until soft, then add potatoes back.  Mix lightly and season with salt (I also added dill).  Pour the eggs, lightly beaten, over the veggies, top with cheese and put in the oven at 400* for 15 minutes.

While the tortilla is cooking, make the greens.  Add olive oil to large pan on high heat.  Add half the greens and cook until wilted, then add the other half and cook until bright green (about 3 minutes).  Add garlic, pepper, salt, and lemon juice.

By the time the greens are cooked through, the tortilla should be done.  Pull it out and let cool a few minutes.  Then flip it over onto a platter and eat!


For dessert I was craving cheesecake after reading the April/May issue of Fine Cooking. 

Ginger snaps
3 8-oz packages of cream cheese, room temp
1C ricotta cheese, room temp
Salt
Sugar
Vanilla
4 eggs, room temp
Butter

Crush the ginger snaps to make 2 cups of cookie crumbs, mix with 3Tb sugar, and then mix with 7Tb melted butter.  Press into a springform pan, up the edges too, and cook at 350* for 10 minutes.  Cool completely on wire rack.

In mixer, mix cream cheese, ricotta, 2Tb flour, and a pinch of salt on medium until light a fluffy.  Make sure there are no lumps.  Add 1 1/4 C sugar and beat till smooth.  Add 1Tb vanilla, blending for 30 seconds.  Then add eggs one at a time, mixing until just blended (don't over mix).

Pour into crust and cook at 300* for 1 hour.  Edges will be puffed and center will be moist.  Cool completely on rack, then cover and refrigerate overnight (at least 8 hours).  Top with your favorite stuff and eat!