Make something foolproof, and the world will hand you a better fool.

For weeks now, I've been planning what I was going to bake for my designated Thanksgiving task: dessert. By request, of course. I've scoured my favorite baking sites, looking for the item(s) that would be tasty, look difficult without too much work on my part, and that everyone would like. Surprisingly, I quickly found what I was looking for, and decided to make PW's Pumpkin Pecan Caramel cheesecake with a Gingersnap crust, and CM's White-Chocolate Ribbon Pumpkin Bundt cake with Maple Glaze. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. Plus, for an added bonus, I figured that the cheesecake was foolproof, since PW so kindly lays out in pictures step-by-step explanations on how to make the delectable cheesecake.

Make something foolproof, and you'll find a better fool, right?

So last night was the night to make the cheesecake. I have been slowly accumulating the necessary ingredients for a few weeks now, in order to not blow my grocery budget out of proportion. I assembled all the ingredients on the counter in front of me, and got to work.

Step 1: Crush the gingersnaps in a food processor, or large Ziplock bag, mix with chopped pecans, brown sugar, and melted butter.

Psh. No problem. And since my motto is, "I'm not lazy, I'm efficient!" I decided to go with the Ziplock route in order to avoid washing another dish. Halfway through the crushing process, I discover that my heavy-duty Hefty Zip-lock bag has a hole in it, thus getting gingersnap crumbs all over my counter. No big deal. But because I went to a sustainably-conscious school, I hate to waste another plastic, non-biodegradable bag, so I resort to the food processor route.

Now, I've never used a food processor in my life. Frankly, it looked like too much work to put together and clean. But I needed those gingersnap crumbs, darn it! I pulled it out of the cupboard and set it on the counter. Looked simple enough: put the bowl and blade on the stand, dump in the food, screw on the lid and push the 'On' button. Hmmm, the 'On' button isn't working. Maybe the 'Pulse' button? Hmm, still not working. Maybe this outlet doesn't work. So I moved it over to the other side of the kitchen and repeated the same steps as before. Still not working. Well this processor looks as old as the hills, so maybe it's broken? Or maybe there's a safey 'On' switch on the bottom or something. After inspecting the mahcine for a few minutes, I finally realize that all of the little components have to line up just right in order for the machine to turn on. Oops. And after that, it works like a charm -- not only do I get my finely-ground gingersnaps, but finely-ground pecans as well! Mix in the brown sugar and melted butter, and press into a springform pan. Hmm, it looks a little more crumbly on the bottom than I'm used to, but I followed the recipe and it's sticking to the sides, so it shouldn't really matter. Let chill for 30 minutes. Life is goooooooooood, and I am a kitchen Master.
After the crust is sufficiently chilled, I took it out, and following PW's instructions, drizzled some caramel ice cream topping on the bottom of the crust. Pour in the pumpkin filling, and stick in the oven. Mission accomplished!
While the cheesecake was baking, the instructions said that your house should be starting to smell "heavenly." Mine was starting to smell a bit "smoky." I wandered into the kitchen to check the cheesecake's progress, and could see a fine plume of smoke coming from the oven's exhaust vents. I cracked the door open, and a whole wave of smoke billows out. What the #$%(&#$ hell!?!?!? I'm not sure WHAT my grandma cooked last in our oven, but there is some kind of liquid on the bottom that is causing some major smokage. I quickly opened the windows and doors, grabbed a dishtowel and started fanning out the kitchen, praying that the smoke detectors wouldn't go off. I repeated this process about 5 more times before the oven timer went off. When I opened the oven door one last time, I noticed that something was dripping off the pan, onto the bottom of the oven. That's when it hit me: That caramel sauce? The cheap stuff that I got at WinCo? And the crust that didn't look packed-in enough? AND THE FREAKIN' SPRING FORM PAN THAT LEAKS?!?!?! Yes, I now have liquid carmel on the bottom of my oven, and burnt on to boot. Which should make the cake and rolls I have to bake tonight a really fun process.
Hope my family doesn't mind their desserts with a bit of a smokey...er, rustic, aftertaste. Yeah, we'll call it rustic.
Or we'll be making a last-minute jaunt to Costco for one of their apple pies.

Happy Thanksgiving!