Cheesesteaks & Cheesecakes: A Yankees-Phillies World Series Party

The World Series is winding down, with Yankees and Phillies duking it out for baseball’s bragging rights. Although my household isn’t particularly invested in the outcome -- my husband is a diehard Detroit Tigers fan, and let’s just say that my team hasn’t been to the World Series since 1945 -- I can’t resist the opportunity to sit on the couch for hours watching sports. To play up the rivalry, I’m passing on various nightlife attractions and planning a World Series-themed dinner party. One of the best things about baseball is its unpretentious, all-American traditions, so this is not the time to impress guests with a gourmet menu. Instead, I’ll be serving fare from the competing cities. Nothing says Phillies like, well, Philly cheesesteak sandwiches, and New York cheesecake is a crowd-pleaser no matter where the sports allegiances stand.

Because nothing goes with baseball better than beer, I’m scouring the booze aisle for Yuengling, a lager crafted at the nation’s oldest brewery in Pottsville, Pennsylvania, and suds from Brooklyn Brewery. (True, a beer from Brooklyn isn’t quite the same as one from the Bronx, but I do love the company’s I.P.A.) To channel the City of Brotherly Love’s favorite street food, sauté slices of onion and green bell pepper in an oiled cast-iron skillet. Once they’re caramelized, move them to the side and sauté thin slices of steak (such as rib-eye) until they’re partly pink in the center. Scoop the goods onto a high-quality soft roll and top with cheese. Cheesecake, like an adorable Buttercup Bake Shop mini, is a lactose-intolerant gal’s worst nightmare and dream come true all at the same time. Do NYC’s signature dessert right with a homemade one. Below is a recipe for my grandma’s cheesecake, which always disappears quickly at Christmastime.

Grandma Hawkins’s Cheesecake

Crust
● 1 cup graham cracker crumbs
● 3 tbl sugar
● 3 tbl melted butter
Combine ingredients and press into the bottom of a 9” springform pan. Bake at 325˚ for 10 minutes. Remove and let cool.

Filling
● 3 8 oz packages softened full-fat cream cheese
● 3/4 cup sugar
● 1 tbl fresh lemon juice
● 1 tsp grated lemon rind.
● 3 eggs
Combine the above, withholding the eggs. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing really well after each addition. Pour the mixture into the crust and bake at 300˚ for 55 minutes.

Topping
● 1 cup full-fat sour cream
● 2 tbl sugar
● 1 tsp vanilla
Combine ingredients and carefully spread the mixture over the cheesecake. Bake another 10 minutes at 300˚. Cool and serve with strawberries, then stay away from the scale!

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