RSJ’s Prime 10 Meals of 2025 | Life

Scroll down for chocolate cheesecake recipe

These days I spend about 4 months a 12 months abroad working with my Yonderlust Travel enterprise. I host roughly 250 company yearly throughout about 10 journeys (5 within the spring and 5 within the fall). Every a kind of meals is totally different and memorable in its personal method. I may fill 50 spots with the meals we share over there. I’m together with solely two on this 12 months’s record.

Honorable point out: Tapeo, Barcelona / King’s Day, Amsterdam

Truth be informed, most meals on a Yonderlust journey may qualify for a listing like this, and I by no means need to take them with no consideration. In March I took the Yonderlusters to dine with my good friend Chef Dani Rueda at Tapeo in Barcelona. His Spanish ribs are the best on the planet—full cease.

Then there was King’s Day in Amsterdam. I rented a ship and the Yonderlusters and I cruised the canals. Imagine Mardi Gras on the water, everybody wearing orange, and town at full quantity. Lunch was nothing greater than a boxed meal, however this record is about experiences, and that day on the water was one I received’t neglect.

10. “Ya Gotta Eat” Meals

My good friend and manufacturing associate Drew Wootton and I launched a podcast this 12 months referred to as Ya Gotta Eat. At press time, we’re seven episodes in. The concept is straightforward: attention-grabbing folks, all walks of life, and everybody has restricted time. But everybody has to eat, so we sit down over a meal — in a location of their selecting — for an hour and speak about life. Every certainly one of these meals has been compelling to this point. Look us up wherever you get your podcasts.

In another 12 months, these would have landed simply behind a high-ranking household meal. I used to be roasted by the Mississippi Press Association in September, and two months later, my hometown gave me its highest honor. I couldn’t inform you a factor about what was served at both dinner, however the experiences themselves have been singular and deeply significant. I’ll at all times be honored and grateful for each.

Anytime I can get each of my youngsters across the identical desk today is an efficient day. Add prolonged household, and it’s a straightforward decide. Almost all of the meals got here from Loblolly Bakery out of our vacation grab-and-go part. My son put that cash I spent on his culinary schooling to work and cooked the turkey and made the gravy. He additionally made his brown butter mashed potatoes — so good they ended up in my new cookbook. For the document, they deserved it.

7. Emeril’s, New Orleans

I noticed this one coming a few years out. I first met EJ Lagasse when he was a youngster working a summer season at Emeril’s Coastal within the Panhandle. Even then, he spoke like a mature, well-adjusted, targeted and dedicated 40-year-old man.

After my first meal on the reimagined Emeril’s, I wrote that it was not solely the most effective restaurant in New Orleans, however the most effective restaurant within the South. EJ’s meals sits only a fraction of a notch beneath the most effective meals I’ve had at The French Laundry and Per Se.

In November, the Michelin gods confirmed my early impressions and awarded Emeril’s two stars — the one two-star restaurant within the South, and EJ is the youngest chef ever to do it. My fourth meal there got here this summer season with buddies. If you haven’t been, it must be subsequent in your record.

6. Shere, Surrey Hills (with Holleman)

We had a couple of days off between teams in Ireland and Tuscany and ducked into London to unwind. Our daughter had by no means been, so she flew over to satisfy us. After a while within the metropolis, she wished a style of the quaint countryside.

Some research led us to Shere within the Surrey Hills — a captivating and picturesque village straight out of central casting. Turns out it actually was: The Holiday, Four Weddings and a Funeral, Bridget Jones had all been filmed there. We had cream tea mid-morning, a stunning lunch, poked by outlets, then headed again to London. When she stated, “I could live here,” I knew I’d nailed it.

5. Ninth Wave, Isle of Mull, Scotland

There are meals, after which there are journeys disguised as meals. The Ninth Wave on Scotland’s Isle of Mull is firmly the latter. Reaching it requires a ship throughout a darkish loch, an extended trip on a single-lane highway, and a willingness to be misplaced with out a information. That remoteness is the purpose. 

Run by Carla and John Lamont since 2009, the restaurant is formed completely by place. John catches the lobster and fish every morning. Carla grows the herbs, greens and heirloom vegetation outdoors the door, cures and smokes on-site, and cooks with a confidence born of journey and deep respect for the island. Each course unfolds like a narrative — native seafood and venison layered with international influences, defined table-side by Carla herself. Open solely 5 months a 12 months, The Ninth Wave has grow to be a vacation spot folks cross oceans to succeed in. Shared with buddies, it felt private, uncommon, and unforgettable collectively.

4. Scotland Farewell Dinner, Historic Prestonfield Golf Club, Edinburgh

I’ve now hosted two Yonderlust excursions in Scotland. This September, my spouse and I flew over early with buddies and spent per week roaming that exceptional nation. On the ultimate evening, your complete group wearing formal Scottish apparel — sure, kilts, and don’t knock it till you strive it — and sat all the way down to a memorable dinner. The meals was good. The firm was even higher.

When I go to a metropolis, I’ve a much-researched to-visit record of eating places and I often solely hit a restaurant as soon as. Fallow related to me like no different place has in years. I went again the subsequent day. Then once more, the next morning. I additionally visited their sister restaurant, Roe.

In another 12 months — one with out so many significant household meals — this is able to have topped the record. It felt just like the house owners of Fallow sat down and stated, “Let’s build a restaurant just for Robert.”

2. Dinner with Harrison at Maple & Ash, Chicago

When my son got here to me as a youngster saying he wished to enter the restaurant enterprise, I made him a deal: 4 years of faculty, two years on the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park — for my part, the Harvard of cooking colleges — and at the least two years working for different folks.

Last January, six years into that plan, he headed to Chicago to begin that ultimate stretch. Our final dinner earlier than leaving him was at Maple & Ash. The bone marrow butter alone is definitely worth the reservation.

But the satisfaction I felt watching my son commit himself totally to this business eclipsed something that got here out of the kitchen.

1. My Daughter’s Wedding, Longleaf Plantation

I gave my spouse and daughter a price range. They blew well beyond it — and by the tip of the weekend, it didn’t matter one bit. Every greenback was value it.

My staff at Purple Parrot Catering knocked it out of the park. Kerrin Hightower, our queen of desserts at Loblolly Bakery, created one thing stunning. After 37 years of catering each form of occasion conceivable, this was — by far — the top.

As grand and distinctive because the reception was, the lunch the subsequent day — with the bridal social gathering and some shut relations after all of the mud had settled — might have been probably the most particular meal of your complete weekend. And of the 12 months.

Chef Linda Roderick has been by my facet by these cookbooks for over 20 years, and there’s nobody I’d quite have guiding me by a cheesecake recipe. She’s a grasp of the craft—regular, exacting, and at all times aiming for perfection. This wealthy, decadent chocolate cheesecake is not any exception.

It’s all about stability. The deep, {smooth} chocolate filling meets a crisp, barely salty crust for an ideal chunk each time. Ensure your cream cheese is at room temperature earlier than mixing—in any other case, you’ll find yourself with lumps. And while you soften the chocolate, give it time to chill barely earlier than mixing it into the batter, so that you don’t find yourself with curdled filling. It’s definitely worth the persistence, each time.

A couple of methods can elevate this recipe to a different stage: chilling the dough in a single day for a richer taste, utilizing a water tub to make sure an ultra-smooth texture, and letting the cheesecake relaxation for at the least 24 hours earlier than serving for the most effective taste.

8 full-sized graham crackers

6 tablespoons salted butter, melted

Place the graham crackers and Oreos in a meals processor. Pulse till advantageous crumbs type. Place the crumbs in a mixing bowl, drizzle with the melted butter, and blend properly.

Pour the crust combination right into a 9-inch springform pan. Starting within the heart, press the crust firmly, transferring extra crumbs towards the periphery. Firmly press the remaining crust up the edges of the pan.

Place the pan on a baking sheet and bake for 8 minutes. Remove from the oven and cut back the temperature to 300°F.

1 1/2 kilos cream cheese, room temperature

1/4 cup mild brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

8 ounces darkish chocolate, melted and cooled

1/4 cup cocoa powder, sifted

4 massive eggs, room temperature

2 egg yolks, room temperature

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Place the cream cheese within the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the paddle attachment, beat on excessive for 1 minute. Scrape the edges and backside of the bowl with a rubber spatula and repeat the method 3 times.

Add the sugars and salt. Beat on excessive, scraping the bowl each minute, for 3 minutes.

Add the melted chocolate and cocoa powder and blend properly.

Lower the mixer pace and add the eggs and egg yolks one after the other, making certain every one is totally included earlier than including the subsequent. Scrape down the edges to make sure no massive items of cream cheese stay.

Add the cream and vanilla and beat till {smooth}.

Pour the filling into the crust and place on the middle rack of the oven. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, till the middle jiggles barely when the sting of the pan is tapped.

Using a Water Bath: Wrap the springform pan in heavy-duty foil and place it in a bigger baking dish. Pour scorching water into the baking dish till it reaches midway up the edges of the springform pan. This helps forestall cracking and creates a silkier texture.

Remove the cheesecake from the oven and let it cool for two hours at room temperature.

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Bring the cream to a boil in a small skillet. Remove from warmth and stir within the chocolate chips. Once all of the chips have melted, pour evenly excessive of the cheesecake.

Cover calmly with plastic wrap and refrigerate in a single day earlier than serving.

Using the Right Technique: When reducing, dip your knife in scorching water and wipe it clear between every slice for pristine cuts.

Refining the Texture and Flavor: Cheesecake at all times tastes higher a day or two after baking, as soon as the flavors have had time to meld. For the richest taste, make at the least at some point prematurely.

1. Add Depth to the Crust: Incorporate 1/4 cup finely floor espresso beans to the crust combination for a refined espresso observe that enhances the chocolate.
2. Layered Ganache Topping: Add a second layer of darkish chocolate ganache earlier than making use of the ultimate whipped cream topping. This further layer offers depth and a shiny end.
3. Salted Caramel Drizzle: Drizzle salted caramel sauce over the completed cheesecake earlier than serving for a contrasting observe of sweetness and salt.
4. Infused Heavy Cream: For the filling, infuse the heavy cream with crushed espresso beans or cinnamon sticks earlier than mixing it into the batter.
5. Enhanced Cocoa Flavor: Adding a teaspoon of immediate espresso powder to the filling can deepen the chocolate taste with out making it style like espresso.