Mini Key Lime Cheesecakes

I have the attention span of a five year old…after they have devoured all of their Halloween candy. It’s sad really because there are times when said short attention span gets the better of me. Just recently, while driving, I got distracted by my Blackberry and missed a turn. And by distracted, I mean I was busy taking a picture of me driving in my mother’s Miata…so I could post it on Facebook (disclaimer: I was at a stop light, so it wasn’t like I was barreling down the streets of Georgia with one hand on the wheel and the other on my Blackberry trying to strike a pose).

My attention span only gets shorter when a nifty new gadget or piece of gear is in my general vicinity (and by general vicinity I mean within a ten mile radius because I can sniff out new techie things like a police dog sniffing out cocaine at an airport in Miami circa 1983). So it really shouldn’t come as a surprise that when I set out to make these mini key lime cheesecakes for our New Year’s Eve celebration, my new baby kept distracting me. Sure, this is the same camera model I had earlier in the year. But I just now got around to replacing the one that had to be sent back due to a defective flash. And this time I actually read the owner’s manual from cover to cover…and discovered you can control the camera from your LAPTOP!!! I don’t need no stinkin’ camera remote, I have my Macbook! Wait, where was I going with this post????

Oh yeah, I was explaining how I got distracted from my intent to make these lovely little cheesecakes. Well, I have obviously digressed…shocking, I know. Nonetheless, I was supposed to start making these cheesecakes around 8, but didn’t actually get started until almost 10. But the ease of the recipe meant no real damage would be done to my sleep time. In fact, Deb has come up with one of the easiest cheesecake recipes I have ever come across (and I’m a girl that knows her cheesecake recipes – so head over to Smitten Kitchen stat for this one)! Because I decided to make these at the last minute, I didn’t have time to buy the mini cheesecake pans Deb recommended, so I used these great little mini tart pans that also have a removable bottom. I also changed up the crust by using Pecan Sandies (I used roughly half a full bag of the cookies or if you have a kitchen scale, seven ounces) instead of graham crackers.

While making the cheesecakes, I uhmmm, yeah kind of got distracted and overwhipped the cream cheese (how could I not take a few minutes to watch two idiot newlyweds select a God awful house on House Hunters???). I panicked because the batter ended up being a bit runny and I poured (what I thought was) too much in the first two tart pans. But all was not lost as the filling firmed up quite nicely during baking and even more after being refrigerated overnight.

If you like key lime pie but are ambivalent about cheesecakes, this is the dessert for you. The key lime is tart enough to overrule what some consider the overly sweet taste of a regular cheesecake. And that runny batter? It resulted in a more pie like consistency instead of the usually dense and rich filling common of cheesecakes. The fact that these came out tasting good is a testament to Deb’s recipe because my attention span just wasn’t with me that night.

On a side note, I want to thank all of you who have stopped by my little blog over the last year. I’m still new at this blogging thing, but have been priviledged to meet some wonderful people through it and have made some amazing food because of it. A new love of photography was born and an old love affair with my kitchen was rekindled. When I look back at the first few posts of Adventures in Shaw, I laugh because I had no clue what I wanted to say on this blog. But somehow I found my footing and my voice and by some miracle, people listened. I was moved beyond words at the outpouring of sympathy when I lost my darling Diva and was amazed that people I never physically met cared enough to send words of encouragement. For that, I am humbled and inspired to (and yes, I am sadly using an Emeril phrase here…forgive me but it’s appropriate) kick it up a notch in the new year (this includes a whole new look debuting shortly)! So now I’m off to ring in 2009 with good food and even better company! I hope you’re lucky enough to do the same. Have a Happy New Year everyone!