PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE WITH GINGERSNAP CRUST

I make this every year for the holidays, always to rave reviews. One year my husband dropped it on the floor and they still ate it.

Crust

• 1 1/2 cups ground gingersnap cookies
• 1 1/2 cups pecans (about 6 ounces)
• 1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted

Filling

• 4 8-ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 2/3 cups sugar
• 1 1/2 cups canned solid pack pumpkin
• 9 tablespoons whipping cream
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground allspice
• 4 large eggs

• 1 tablespoon (about) purchased caramel sauce

For Crust:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Finely grind ground cookies, pecans and sugar in processor. Add melted butter and blend until combined. Press crust mixture onto bottom and up sides of 9-inch-diameter spring-form pan with 2 3/4-inch-high sides. 

For Filling:
Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese and sugar in large bowl until light. Transfer 3/4 cup mixture to small bowl; cover tightly and refrigerate to use for topping. Add pumpkin, 4 tablespoons whipping cream, ground cinnamon and ground allspice to mixture in large bowl and beat until well combined. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating just until combined. Pour filling into crust (filling will almost fill pan). Bake until cheesecake puffs, top browns and center moves only slightly when pan is shaken, about 1 hour 15 minutes. Transfer cheesecake to rack and cool 10 minutes. Run small sharp knife around cake pan sides to loosen cheesecake. Cool. Cover tightly and refrigerate overnight. 

Bring remaining 3/4 cup cream cheese mixture to room temperature. Add remaining 5 tablespoons whipping cream to cream cheese mixture and stir to combine. Press down firmly on edges of cheesecake to even thickness. Pour cream cheese mixture over cheesecake, spreading evenly. Spoon caramel sauce in lines over cream cheese mixture. Using tip of knife, swirl caramel sauce into cream cheese mixture. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.) 

Release pan sides from cheesecake. Cut and serve.

HOT ARTICHOKE DIP

1 (15 oz.) can of artichoke hearts

1 c. Parmesan cheese

1 c. mayonnaise

8 oz. cream cheese

Drain then chop up artichokes. Mix all ingredients together. Put into a 9" baking pan and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour, stirring at mid-point.

ROASTED GRAPES AND SAUSAGE

• 2 large yellow onions, halved and slivered
• 2 cups black grapes (Concord, Globe, or any other ripe black variety -I use whatever is on sale or whatever looks the best), rinsed well
• Extra-virgin olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• 4 to 8 sweet Italian sausages (1 or 2 sausages per person), cut into bite-sized pieces

Preheat oven to 375°F. 

In a large roasting pan or skillet mix the slivered onion and grapes together with your hands. Drizzle some oil over them and sprinkle with several generous pinches of salt and pepper. Mix again and spread out the mixture evenly. Nestle the sausages in the onion-grape layer, but don't let them be completely covered. 

Put the pan in the oven and roast for 30 to 40 minutes, until the onions have cooked down considerably, the grapes are soft, and the sausages are plump and browned on top, even a little bit crusty. Pierce one of the largest pieces of sausage. They are ready when the juices run clear. Spoon a bed of onions and grapes onto a serving platter or individual plates, top with the sausages, and serve.