Spaghetti Squash Fritters or Pancakes

1 Medium Spaghetti Squash (cooked and shredded)
1 teaspoon Kosher Salt or Coarse Sea Salt
1/8 teaspoon Nutmeg (grated)
1 1/2 tablepsoons chopped Fresh Sage plus whole leaves for garnish
1 Scallion (green and white parts) thinly sliced on the bias
2 teaspoons Garlic (minced)
1/2 teaspoon Freshly ground Pepper
4 oz Bleu Cheese (coarsely chopped or crumbled)
Zest of 1 Orange
1 Large Egg
3 tablsepoons All-Purpose Flour
Canola Oil for deep frying

step 1

Cut squash in half and remove seeds. Roast on foil-lined half sheet pan in a preheated 400 degree oven for 45 minutes. Let cool. With a fork scrape squash to remove long strands and place on a towel.

step 2

Wrap the spaghetti squash in a kitchen towel and wring as much liquid out of it as possible, discarding the liquid.

step 3

In a medium bowl, combine the squash spaghetti, sage, grated nutmeg, scallion, garlic, pepper, bleu cheese, and all but 1 teaspoon of the orange zest. Stir in the egg and flour and mix well until combined.

step 4

Add the canola oil to a large shallow pan -- you want about 1/4 inch, or enough so that when all the fritters are in the pan, the oil comes halfway up their sides. Place the pan over medium-high heat. Oil should be heated to 360-370 degrees for frying.

step 5

Form fritters by hand or using a 1/4 cup measure, and fry them in the hot oil in batches. Cook until the fritters are golden brown on each side, 4 to 6 minutes. After the fritters have cooked for a couple minutes add some fresh sage leaves, but be careful because they will pop. Fry sage leaves for a couple minutes and remove with fritters. Drain fried fritters on paper towels.

step 6

Transfer the fritters to plates and garnish with reserved orange zest, fried sage leaves, and some coarse sea salt or kosher salt.

Maple Cheesecake with Carmelized Pears

 

 

 

 

 

For crust

• twenty-four 5- by 2 1/2-inch graham crackers
• 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup pure maple syrup (preferably Grade B; see note, above)

For filling

• four 8-ounce packages cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup pure maple syrup (preferably Grade B)
• 4 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup heavy cream

For sour cream topping

• 1 pint sout cream
• 3 tbsp. sugar
• 1/2  tsp. maple extract 

For carmelized pears

• 2 ripe, but still firm bosc pears
• 8 tbsp. maple syrup

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400° F.

Make crust:
In a food processor finely grind graham crackers (you will have about 3 1/2 cups). Melt butter. In a large bowl stir together graham cracker crumbs, butter, and maple syrup and press evenly into bottom and up side of a 10-inch springform pan. Wrap bottom and side of pan with 2 layers of heavy-duty foil to avoid leakage.   Bake crust for 8 minutes.  Remove from oven and turn temperature down to 325°.  Cool cheesecake for 20 minutes and prepare filling.

Make filling:
In bowl of a standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment or in a food processor beat cream cheese on low speed, scraping down side of bowl occasionally, until smooth. Add syrup and eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla and cream and beat until just combined. Pour filling into crust and bake in bain marie in middle of oven 1-1/2 hour (cake will not be set in center but will set as it chills).

Add sour cream topping:
Turn oven temperature up to 450° F.

Remove cheesecake from bain marie.  In a small bowl, mix sour cream, sugar and maple extract together.  Spread evenly over cheesecake and bake for 5 minutes.

Cool cake in pan on a rack for at least 1 hour until completely cook.  Chill cake, covered, at least 8 hours and up to 4 days.

Prepare carmelized pears:

Leave oven temperature at 450° F.
With mandolin (I use the Kyrocera with ceramic blade set on 3.0 slicer) carefully slice the pears (skin on) trying to produce slices that are pear-shaped.  Place the slices on a sheet pan lined with parchment that had been sprayed with Pam.  Brush 4 tbsp. of maple syrup onto the pears.  Roast in oven for 20 minutes.  Remove the sheet pan from oven and turn heat up to broil.  Brush the pears again with another 4 tbsp. of maple syrup and place pan until broiler for about 4 minutes.  Let broil for 1 minute and then, check every 30 seconds or so and turn pan to ensure that pears are browning and not burning.  Let cool. To serve, arrange pear slices, overlapping slightly, on cheesecake.

I placed the pear slices on the cheesecake about 6 hours before it was served.  I would not recommend decorating the cake with the pears any longer than that because I think the sour cream topping would eventually interact and desolve the carmelization.