Blueberry and White Chocolate Cheescake and a piano

Pure and simple to make, Blueberry Cheesecake is one of the tastiest cheesecakes to come out of my kitchen. This was a last minute recipe, I had no intention of making dessert on this evening; however, I had some blueberries left in the fridge, a cup of Ricotta that I didn't want to go bad, and two packages of cream cheese that was just lying around for spreading on toast or bagels. Checking the pantry, I noticed what was left over from a package of white chocolate chips. Eureka! Why not do a cheesecake? And that's how it all started.

It was cold outside and a fog was settling in over the river, slowly fading the city lights and obscuring all but the pillars of the bridges as they disappeared into the dark and still water. As I watched the city becoming obscured before me, I tickled the ivory keys of the piano, hoping the scene would provide the inspiration to compose a new song. Nope! It was cheesecake night and the song would have to wait, remembering what I found waiting for me in the kitchen.

I pulled myself away from the piano and gathered all the ingredients I needed from the fridge and pantry and proceeded to compose with food. It was late and a fleeting thought crossed my mind, "do I really want to undertake this endeavor at 11:00 at night?" I was at the point of no return, all the parts of the puzzle lay before me on the kitchen counter top ...

The 2 packages of cream cheese
The cup of Ricotta cheese
The two eggs
The 1/2 cup of heavy cream
The cup of fresh blueberries
The 2/3 cup of white chocolate chips
The 3 tablespoons of flour
The 1/3 cup of sugar
The tablespoon of vanilla extract
The package of ready made pie crust

...It would have taken me as much time to change my mind and put all the ingredients away as it would to prepare the cheesecake. And so I continued.

I preheated the oven to 450 and grabbed an 8 or 9 inch spring form pan. At this point, one inch doesn't make a hell of a lot of difference, I thought. I sprayed the sides and bottom of the pan with baker's spray; however, you probably would use some butter. Either way would work fine. Then I got into arts and crafts and cut a circle the size of the pan bottom out of a sheet of parchment paper and sprayed that as well. I laid it on the bottom of the pan. I then rolled out one sheet of the ready made pie crust and carefully set it in the pan, certain to make sure the bottom was well covered as were the sides. I then placed the pan in the oven for about 12 minutes.

While the pie crust was baking, I placed all the ingredients, except the blueberries, into a large bowl and using a hand mixer, began to blend everything together until smooth. Using a spatula, I carefully folded the blueberries into the mixture making sure they were evening mixed throughout. I set the the bowl aside and checked the oven to see the progress of my crust. It was time to remove it and allow it to cool.

I reduced the oven temperature to 350. Once the crust was cooled, which took about 15 minutes, I slowly poured the cheesecake mixture into the pie crust, making sure the bottom was evenly covered. I grabbed a sheet of foil and covered the outside bottom and sides of the pan and returned it back to the oven. It was going to bake for about 60 minutes until ready. I knew that I would need to check back at about 45 minutes to see the progress to make sure it was not burning. But everything was going to be OK.

I now had an hour to myself to do as I pleased. I returned to the piano and looking out the window, noticed the city had disappeared altogether in that thick blanket of fog. I turned my focus back to the piano and began writing my song, as the aroma of Blueberry and White Chocolate Cheesecake slowly began pervading the room.