Tag Archives: Cheese

Watermelon salad

Home Cooking, , , ,

Name: Natasha Naidoo
Class Year: 2012
Country of Residence: Netherlands

Why is this recipe great? What’s its backstory? 

Since graduating from Mount Holyoke I’ve had the great privilege of living all over the world—Kenya, Thailand, the UK, California, and now the Netherlands. One of the things that makes warm weather officially feel like summer is this watermelon salad. No matter where I am on the planet, when I bite into that sweet, tart, watermelon with just a hint of cheese to round it off, I know that summer is here. Perfect for a languishing pick-nick in the sun, a quick evening meal, or a refreshing post-workout treat, this salad gently whispers ‘home is where the heart is, and right now your heart is loving this tricolour delight!’

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Limoncello Ricotta Cake

Haute Cuisine, , , , , , ,

Name: Emily Arnold
Class Year: 2012
Country of Residence: United States

Why is this recipe great? What’s its backstory? 

My friend and I both enjoy cooking and we always have lofty ideas of cooking together but they rarely pan out.  I found this recipe a couple days before her birthday (November 2019) and sent it to her to which she agreed it looked delicious.  End of story right?  Well no because I really wanted to try it but I didn’t need to eat a whole cake by myself.  So for her birthday I bought her a bottle of limoncello.  She labelled said bottle “Don’t Drink” so her husband wouldn’t drink it. 

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Cheesecake with Fresh Berries

Home Cooking, , , , , , ,

Name: Silvia Maulini*
Class Year: 1980
Country of Residence: The Netherlands

* Silvia is one of this competition’s judges, so this recipe will not be considered – it’s simply delicious, and needs to be shared!

Why is this recipe great? What’s its backstory? 

I have always found most (American) cheesecake recipes rather daunting and alarmingly rich in fats and cream. A few years ago, my daughters and granddaughters gave me a wonderful new cookbook by Cees Holtkamp, whose patisserie in the center of Amsterdam is a true monument to high quality pastries and cakes. His simple, not exceedingly fat and apparently foolproof recipe for cheesecake immediately caught my attention. It seemed too easy to be true, but Cees’ cheesecake turned out to be amazing and it has now become a classic at our family birthday celebrations. This is the cake that has been requested by all family members for our first physical gathering after the lockdown period: I can’t wait to bake a few of them!

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