Potluck 2/4: Our cup runneth over

Oh my, have I been tardy with my updating. Sorry! Before I host potluck tonight, I figured I should at least get one February post in. So here goes - potluck night, February 4th.

The lovely Nicole hosted, in the house where Thursday potlucks began. And there was more food than I could begin to describe here. Nicole made biryani and tandoori chicken. Aditya contributed spicy, flavorful Indian potato cakes, the proper name of which I do not know. Carlos brought a chickpea curry, and Lana contributed chocolate-chip cookie bars. I am leaving out a lot of stuff, but I will blame that on putting off posting this, for which I have already apologized.

Where are the recipes for all these fabulous (and often Indian) dishes? Not here, unfortunately - although I love Indian food dearly, it is not my strong point in the kitchen. So let's get on to the desserts, shall we? I've already mentioned Lana's cookie bars, and I brought a simple chocolate bread pudding. I used Martha Stewart's recipe, and added some cardamom, because I wanted something a little more than the one-note chocolate taste. I was lucky enough to get to take a bit of it home, leftover, and it provided a few late night, and I'll admit, breakfast-time snacks.

But the killer dessert wasn't mine - it was Katie's (Nicole's undergraduate assistant). She made a dessert that combines two already wonderful things: sopapilla and cheesecake. You heard me right: sopapilla cheesecake (pictured above, on the left).

Sopapilla Cheesecake
from allrecipes.com

Ingredients

1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened
1 cup + 1/2 cup sugar (divided)
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 (8 oz) packages refrigerated crescent rolls
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 tsp ground cinnamon

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and prepare a 9x13 in baking dish with cooking spray OR preheat to 375 degrees F and prepare 9 in springform pan with cooking spray.
2. Beat the cream cheese with 1 cup of the sugar and the vanilla extract in a bowl until smooth; set aside.
3. Unroll the cans of crescent roll dough, and use a rolling pin to shape each sheet into 9x13 inch rectangles and press one sheet into the bottom of the 9x13 baking dish OR place crescent triangles from one can into bottom of the springform pan so they cover the bottom and some of the sides.
4. Evenly spread the cream cheese mixture into the pan, then cover with the remaining crescent dough, and brush with melted butter.
5. Stir together 1/2 cup of sugar with the cinnamon in a small bowl, and sprinkle evenly over the top of the cheesecake.
6. Bake until the crescent dough has puffed and turned golden brown, about 30 minutes. Allow to cool 10 minutes before serving.
7. Think it's the best cheesecake you've ever tasted.

Thanks for a good potluck, Nicole and company!