Marbled Pumpkin Cheesecake

So last night I went to dinner at Lucy's apartment. Since I have been using my toaster oven EVERYDAY I of course knew I had to bake something. While hanging out at Bed last weekend, Audrey excitedly asked me if I knew how to make pumpkin cheesecake. Since I knew Audrey was going to be at dinner too and I have an uncontrollable need to please people (and cuz it sounded yummy) I decided to make pumpkin cheesecake.

I found THIS recipe online, which sounded easy enough. The only problem is that I couldn't find canned pumpkin at either Carrefour or the imported food store. So I bought a small pumpkin and figured "Hey! How hard could it be to make pumpkin puree?"

It actually wasn't too bad, just time consuming. First I cut it in half and scooped out the yucks. (I went through the extra effort to pick out the seeds to make toasted pumpkin seeds but I got distracted by a friend and they ended up burning. :-( )
Next I brushed a little butter on the flesh, covered each half with foil and put them in my oven for about an hour.
After that I scooped out the now tender pumpkin meat. A little time in a blender (that I borrowed from Chris and Becky) and I was looking at fresh pumpkin puree!
After that I just followed the recipe (although I used a pre-made graham cracker crust since I already had one). And I ended up with a pretty tasty fall themed cheesecake.
Lucy and Audrey (and Audrey's boyfriend and Lucy's roommate) LOVED it. I think it tasted extra good with a cup of coffee.

-Stephanie

P.S. When did my China blog turn into a cooking and crafting diary?