When dating my now husband one of the first things I learned about my mother in law during the holidays is that she does not cook. A complete blow to my plans of week long family binging I wondered if I could ever make it through the shared holidays without drowning in my tears of where's the ham, where's the potatoes, dear Lord where's the stuffed celery? I'd be a martyr before I ate pre-made lasagna or meatloaf for the holidays. My family would laugh, they would send me food texts of the fifth plate of green bean casserole and smoked turkey, or the whole chocolate pudding pie they were about to consume three states away. I just wasn't going to have it.
The solution to all of this came up fast, and call me a control freak, but I decided to make the entire meal which I didn't mind doing. My way or the highway! Except there was this one little thing my husband asked for, his mother's cheesecake. "What?!? She doesn't cook." I asked. Apparently she had one trick up her sleeve, a cheesecake recipe that had been handed down for generations on a little printed index card. I was skeptical to say the least, but when the holidays came, and the marathon of eating commenced, and in the last mile I tried her cheesecake. I became silenced and fell into a happy coma of sheer and utter surprise. My mother in law made something that I will pass down in my family. The women that doesn't cook just added to my recipe inbox.
See photos online at http://www.sundayspentcooking.com/blog/recipe/lafoodblog/2015/5/20/mama-lindas-raspberry-cheesecake —Haley Musial
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