So, I have a birthday next week.

I should probably start ignoring my birthday eventually. I could pretend that it doesn’t really exist when it rolls around each October, like clockwork. Perhaps I should become the type of woman who always lies about my age, always pretending to be five, then six, then seven years younger than I really am.

The simple truth is that I kind of like my birthday. And also, I’m a terrible liar, so lying about my age just isn’t an option.

I didn’t have lots of birthday parties when I was growing up, but the day was always acknowledged in some special way. And, while my dad would tell me that my birthday is really no big deal, to get over it already, I can’t help but feel a little special on that one day each year.

I have never worn a shiny, bejeweled tiara on my birthday, but I usually feel like I’m wearing one. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with feeling like Queen of the Day, at least one day each year. We should all feel that way some times – well, lots of times, really.

So, while my birthday next week isn’t a milestone birthday – I’ll be 39 – I think I’ll still enjoy the day.

Because, really, isn’t every birthday a milestone?

I’m just thrilled to be alive. I’m happy and healthy, doing work I love, spending my days with a family I adore, and knowing I have friends who are always there for me. Those are the milestones I’ll be celebrating next week.

Yield: Serves 10-12.

Pumpkin Cheesecake

My key to a perfectly un-cracked cheesecake is using a waterbath and letting the cheesecake hang out in the oven with the door cracked for a little while when it's done cooking. I describe the process in the recipe here.

This is not an overly sweet cheesecake. While it looks rich and heavy, it certainly doesn't taste like it. Which can be dangerous to the hips, of course, so consider yourself warned.

Ingredients:

For Crust:
8 ounces gingersnaps, finely ground in food processor
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
Pinch kosher salt

For Cheesecake:
32 ounces cream cheese (4 eight-ounce packages), softened
3/4 cup light brown sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Directions:

Make crust:

1. Place rack in the middle of oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter the sides and bottom of a 9-inch springform pan. Place a round of parchment in the bottom of the pan and butter the parchment.

2. Stir together the finely ground gingersnaps, melted butter, and salt in a bowl until well combined. Wrap your fingers in plastic wrap and press the crumbs onto the bottom and approx 1 1/2 inches up the sides of springform pan.

3. Bake for 10 minutes, then cool completely on a rack. Once cooled, place on a large sheet of heavy duty aluminum foil and wrap sides of pan in preparation for baking in a water bath. Set aside.

Make filling:

1. Decrease oven temperature to 325 degrees. Place a kettle or pot of water on to boil.

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer (or using a large bowl and an electric mixer) beat cream cheese and light brown sugar at medium high speed, 3 to 5 minutes, until fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each egg addition. Scrape down sides of bowl as necessary. Add vanilla, pumpkin puree, spices, and salt, and beat at low speed until smooth. Pour into cooled crust.

3. Place foil-wrapped filled springform pan into a roasting pan. Carefully pour the hot water into the roasting pan and around the wrapped springform pan, taking care not to splash the cheesecake. Place roasting pan in oven and bake for about 1 hour, until the cake is puffy around edges but still trembles slightly in the middle when pan is shaken gently. Turn off oven, crack oven door, and let the cheesecake sit in oven for about 1 hour. Remove pan from oven, carefully lift out of waterbath, and let cool completely on a rack.

4. Chill, loosely covered, at least 8 hours prior to serving. When ready to serve, run a blunt knife around edge of cheesecake to loosen it from springform pan and remove sides of pan.

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Day one of the Skills Development Boot Camp at the Culinary Institute of America was topped off by a wonderful meal at Escoffier, the fine dining restaurant at the Hyde Park campus. The three-course meal was served to us by culinary students, and our main server was graduating from the CIA the following day. Later, I drove back to Winnie’s house, over the winding roads through the Hudson River valley, in the dark and through the rain, my mind playing back a highlight reel of the day. My shoulders were tight, filled with tension. I was physically and mentally exhausted but I also felt a sense of exhilaration.

I slept hard that night and I awoke at 5 am, wide awake and ready to spend the day cooking.

Day two of boot camp started off in a very similar way to day one, with the exception that I knew exactly where to park and I showed up in chef’s whites. We had breakfast in the massive dining room in Roth Hall, which used to serve as the chapel when the CIA campus was a Jesuit seminary. We ate as a group, seated at a long dining table alongside culinary students and their instructors. Unlike the day before, this morning we didn’t make the mistake of sitting at the professor’s table.

I had wondered why we had so many stares from the culinary students at breakfast that morning before.

Demonstration on how to truss a chicken prior to roasting.

Rolling fresh egg pasta.

Chef Bruno lectured to us for an hour on dry heat cooking methods, this time without fats and oils. We learned details about moist-heat cooking methods – such as braising and poaching. And, like the day before, we reviewed the recipes we’d be making that morning. Unlike the day before, though, I wasn’t overwhelmed by the tasks ahead. We had all done our homework – we’d read the recipes the night before, or in the morning at breakfast. Latoya and Rose and I formulated a game plan. We knew what steps should be done first, what parts we could make ahead, and what components of the recipes needed to be saved for the last minute, just prior to service.

We were given a break before heading into the kitchen at 8:30, but none of us took it. We went straight into the kitchen and started gathering ingredients and pots and pans.

We were ready to cook.

Gathering around Chef Bruno for a demonstration.

My group, Group 2, was assigned to prepare grilled lamb chops, creamy polenta, ratatouille, and vanilla ice cream. Working as a team, we divided duties and got to work. The ice cream had to be made first since it needed time to chill prior to serving. The polenta could be made ahead then kept warm prior to serving. Unlike the usual method for stove top polenta, Chef Bruno suggested we transfer it to the oven instead. The ratatouille required lots of chopping, but despite the long ingredient list, it was a simple recipe to make and could be made ahead. The lamb had to be grilled shortly before serving, but because there were so many lamb chops, we could finish them off in the oven after searing them on the grill.

And, my what a grill. I’ve never used a grill before – I have this mental block to using that piece of equipment, and I always defer to my husband. After working with the professional kitchen grill, which was so hot that I was worried my eyebrows would be singed off, I am no longer scared of the backyard Weber.

Latoya and the vanilla ice cream - and one of the teaching assistants.

The time allotted to us was the same as the day before – 8:30 to 12:30 – but we worked with a rhythm that we didn’t have the day before. I did not have those same feelings of being overwhelmed and in over my head. I felt comfortable with the time, comfortable with my group. We worked together well, and we finished with plenty of time to spare. We had time to step out of the kitchen for little water breaks or bathroom breaks. We had time to pull out our cameras and time to chat with Chef and his teaching assistants. When the time came to plate our dish, we were ready, and it was a success.

Ratatouille. I fully intend to make this again.

I went into the boot camp experience with an open mind and no set expectations. I just wanted to learn something new. I wanted to brush up on my knife skills, and hopefully learn some basic cooking techniques in the process. Everything I know about cooking has come from reading and practicing on my own, and I’ve never felt comfortable with my skills as a cook. I wanted to improve those skills and maybe gain some confidence along the way.

Grilled lamb chops, creamy polenta, ratatouille.

I came away from those two days with a whole new appreciation for what it takes to work in a professional kitchen. Besides the simple logistics of maneuvering in that space and using the equipment effectively and without injury, I learned about cooking as a team. For a home cook who is used to cooking alone, team cooking was a challenge for me that first day. I’m so used to doing everything, that having someone to divide the tasks with was actually harder than I expected. We found our groove on day two, but it took practice and effort.

Mastering the timing of meal preparation – understanding what can be made ahead and what needs to be cooked at the last minute – was also an unexpected bit of wisdom that I gleaned. Timing is crucial in a professional kitchen, and only after having to obey that timing do I have a better understanding of what it takes to achieve it.

But the most important thing I took home with me – besides the gorgeous set of starter knives, the white chef’s jacket (now stained with lord knows what), and sore legs – was the knowledge that I’m actually pretty good in the kitchen. I can hold my own and not make a fool of myself. Along with improved knife skills, I found confidence on day two.

By God, I can cook.

Latoya, Rose, yours truly, and Chef Bruno