I didn't have a springform pan, so corningware had to do. This doesn't really matter unless you want to show off your cake. The springform pan has a removable edge so that the cake is just sitting on a bottom, but in this case I was more concerned with eating the cake rather than looking at it.
Fun fact: if you want your cream cheese to be nice and smooth and easily mixable, but it's still cold from the fridge, simply place in a bowl in the microwave for 25-30 seconds! It's so creamy after this that it's a lot easier to deal with.
Ok, pumpkins. Did I buy pureed pumpkin in a can? Of course not. Pie pumpkins were on sale 2/$3! How could I resist? Anyway, here are the steps for coring/pureeing pumpkin yourself! It's not hard, but the first part is time-consuming.
1) You've got to remove all that slime and seeds inside. Gross, but whatever, right? To do this get a SHARP knife and score a cut around the stem of the pumpkin. Make this wider than you think, because remember you have to get your hands all up in there. Remove the cap. Then use a giant spoon/your fingers to remove all the sticky mess that's inside, and put in a bowl. If you've got a compost, put this in; if not, place in some grocery bags and toss.
2) You've got most of the stringiness out, but there's still some left! What to do? Now you cut the pumpkin into long curved slices, like people do with melons. It doesn't matter how big these are, because you're going to boil them anyway. After these are in nice manageable chunks, use a paring knife to remove any excess slime until you have clean slices of pumpkin.
3) Now the waiting game! Boil a big pot of water (like for spaghetti) filled 3/4 of the way. Then once boiling add the pumpkin slices. If there are too many, do NOT fill up the pot anyway! You can displace the water and have it spurt onto you (ouch!) or you'll have a bunch of slices at the top of the pot that don't end up boiling. Just do two batches. Then you wait...occasionally stir the pumpkin around, and test with a fork. If they're very mashy and the fork goes right down to the skin, you're done!
4) Dump the water/pumpkin into a colander (strainer) and wait until they are cool enough to handle. Then peel off the skin. If you can't, they're not quite done yet (sorry!). Once that's done, put all the pumpkin into a giant bowl and mash! You can do this with a potato masher, a large fork, a spoon, or even your hands if you want. However, a potato masher works best.
You're done! You now have pumpkin puree. If you have more than you need, always freeze the remainder to use later!
After that the recipe is pretty simple....mix ingredients and bake! However, always keep in mind that if eggs are used, NEVER add anything that's hot to the mix! Wait until it's cool or you'll start to cook your eggs...and no one wants chunks of cooked egg in their cheesecake. Voila--you're done! Impress your friends! Also keep in mind that some people who don't like pumpkin pie may like this instead....so it's a great alternative at Thanksgiving!
That looks amazing!!!
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