There was a dessert on our menu that went back a long way.

My earliest memories of it were at my aunt Ella’s house, my mother’s sister. That’s where I had it first, and that’s where it lived, at least in my mind.

Everyone called it a blueberry cheesecake.

It wasn’t really a cheesecake.

It was more like a tart. Flaky crust, baked in the oven, filled with blueberries and sour cream, all of it going in together. The sour cream wasn’t something you added after. It baked right in with the fruit and set as it cooked, giving it that slightly tangy, almost custard-like layer that held everything together.

Required listening: The Cheesecake Song.

It had its own thing going on. Not too sweet. A little sharp. Different.

And every time we had family gatherings, it showed up.

So when I put it on the menu at the supper club, I didn’t overthink it. I called it Ella’s cheesecake.

That made sense to me.

Then my mother saw the menu.

And I get the call.

“What are you doing?”

I knew right away.

“This is my recipe.”

She’s laughing, but not really. You know that tone. There’s humour in it, but there’s also a point being made.

I said, “Mom, I remember having it at Ella’s. That’s where it came from for me.”

And she says, “Yes, because I made it for her. I used to make it all the time. Then I stopped, and she kept making it. So it became hers. But it came from me.”

Now we’re getting into family history.

So I did what you do. I said, “Okay, okay, okay.”

Because at the end of the day, you don’t win that argument. And more importantly, you don’t want to.

So the name changed.

It went from Ella’s cheesecake to Nina and Ella’s family cheesecake.

That felt right.

It kept the memory of where I experienced it, and it respected where it came from.

And honestly, that’s what this dessert always was.

Not just something you ate.

Something that got passed around, shared, slightly reassigned over time, until it belonged to everyone.

The Recipe

Before you start

Preheat your oven to 350°F.
Use a round springform pan and butter it generously.

The base

• 1½ cups flour
• ½ cup white sugar
• ½ cup butter, room temperature
• 1½ teaspoons baking powder
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix everything together until it’s crumbly.

Press it into the bottom of the pan to form an even crust.

The blueberries

Add 1 to 2 packages of frozen blueberries directly over the crust.

No need to thaw them.

The sour cream layer

In another bowl, mix:

• 2 cups sour cream
• 2 egg yolks
• ½ cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix until smooth, then pour it over the blueberries.

This is what makes it. The sour cream bakes right into the fruit and sets in the oven. It’s not a topping, it becomes part of the cake.

Bake

Bake at 350°F for about 1 hour.

Let it cool before slicing. It needs time to set.

Call it blueberry cheesecake if you want.

It never really was.

My food, my kitchen, my dinner & nightclub. Good times.

When summer shows up, my cooking changes.

Once the sun starts beating down and the evenings stretch longer, I spend a lot more time outside. I’ll fire up the barbecue, bring a plate upstairs, and sit out on the rooftop patio while the sun is still warm on the table.

That’s when this hot sauce usually makes an appearance.

I make a batch of pineapple habanero hot sauce every summer and keep it in the fridge. Once it’s there, it starts showing up on just about everything that comes off the grill. Chicken, shrimp, grilled vegetables, tacos, even the occasional burger. If it comes off the barbecue, chances are a few drops of this end up on it.

It’s sweet from the pineapple, bright from the lime, and then the habanero comes in and reminds you who’s in charge.

And the best part is it takes almost no time to make.

Pineapple Habanero Hot Sauce

Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: about 10 minutes
Total time: 15 minutes
Makes: about 2 cups

Ingredients

• 2–3 habanero peppers
• ½ ripe pineapple
• ½ onion
• 1 cup water
• ⅔ cup white vinegar
• Juice of 1 lime
• 8 slices fresh ginger (about a ½-inch piece)
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1¼ teaspoons salt
• ¼ teaspoon dried marjoram
• ⅛ teaspoon ground cumin

Instructions

Start by slicing the pineapple, onion, ginger, and the habaneros. If you want to tame the heat a little, remove the seeds and the white pith from the peppers.

In a saucepan, add the onion, pineapple, habaneros, ginger, and the cup of water. Bring it to a gentle simmer and let it cook for a couple of minutes until everything starts to soften.

Add the sugar and salt, then keep simmering until the onions and peppers are tender, usually another five to ten minutes.

Transfer everything to a blender. Add the vinegar, lime juice, marjoram, and cumin.

Blend until smooth.

Let it cool, taste it, and adjust the seasoning if you want a little more salt or sugar.

Then pour it into hot sauce bottles or a mason jar and keep it in the fridge.

A Couple Notes

If you want the sauce milder, remove the seeds and pith from the habaneros before cooking.

A small funnel helps if you’re filling bottles, but a jar works perfectly.

If you don’t have marjoram, oregano works just fine.

A Few Questions That Always Come Up

How long does it last in the fridge?
A few weeks easily. The vinegar helps preserve it.

Can I use a different vinegar?
Yes. Apple cider vinegar works well and adds a slightly deeper flavor.

What if I don’t have marjoram?
Just substitute oregano or leave it out entirely.

Most summer evenings, when the barbecue’s still warm and the sun is hitting the rooftop patio, this bottle is sitting somewhere on the table.

A couple drops and suddenly whatever came off the grill wakes right up.

Sweet pineapple first.

Then the heat.

After that, it’s hard not to reach for it again on the next bite.