No trick to this treat: Simple cheesecake is a hit for Halloween

Of all the holidays, I think that Halloween has to be the best. Not necessarily the most meaningful but the most enjoyable. There's no Christmas shopping to bankrupt you, and no Thanksgiving dinner with the in-laws to endure. Just carefree, childlike, make-believe fun. And Halloween in Virginia City is all about fun.

There is a comprehensive list of all the special events at visitvirginiacitynv.com, but just to give you a taste here's some highlights.

Things get started with a costume parade on C street beginning at 5 p.m. Saturday. There's the Historic Fourth Ward School at the south end of town hosting the Haunted School House from 6 to 9 p.m., or you might want to spend the night at St. Mary's Art Center, one of the many paranormal hot spots in town. No shortage of ghost stories here.

The V&T will run that day with the last train out of Carson City at 4:30 and a special Ghost Train on the upper end of the line that evening.

Most of the bars will have live music and costume parties, and for the children there will be "safe trick or treating" at all the businesses in town.

My trick-or-treating days were spent in suburban Chicago where there were 63 kids between our block and the one facing us. As a result Halloween was more of a block party with people serving hot chocolate and sloppy joes on their porches in addition to handing out candy. You might get something weird like an apple or an orange, but nothing that would require you to have your treats tested or

X-rayed for foreign objects.

Probably the worst thing that would happen to us was having to choose between good and evil. Let me explain.

At school we were given these little milk cartons to take with us trick or treating, and were intended for collecting money for UNICEF, the world help organization of the time. Inevitably some twisted adult would try to participate in our character development by making us choose between the candy or the money.

My brother and I, having been raised as good Christians, knew that we would certainly burn in Hell if we put ourselves before the needy. So we would opt for the money, feign gratitude, and hurry off to the next house secure in the belief that our little souls were safe. And praying that we wouldn't be tested again.

Our recipe for today was inspired by the Almond Joy candy bar, much prized in our day. As kids still do I'm sure, there was an exchange rate for candy. The Almond Joy was worth a couple of Tootsie Rolls and at least four or five peanut butter taffies. The apples and oranges had no value at all.

As far as I can tell, the original version of this cheesecake appeared in a 1998 issue of Bon Appetite although I "acquired" it from a place I worked in Lake Tahoe, and it turns up in different places on the Internet with everyone taking credit. Because I prefer a lighter filling, we altered the amount of cream cheese by substituting one cup of sour cream for 8 ounces of cheese. If you like your cheese cake dense, use four -8-ounce packages of cream cheese and omit the sour cream.

The other difference is the cool down period in the oven. Cheesecakes tend to puff up or souffle when you cook them. The more rapidly they cool, the more they collapse and subsequently become more dense. Thirty minutes to an hour in the oven while its off slows down the fall and gives you a lighter filling.

So don't just settle for a haunted house when you can have an entire town. Come on up, and experience Halloween in Virginia City.

• Brian Shaw and his wife Ardie own Cafe Del Rio in Virginia City.

Serves 10-12

Crust

11⁄2cups graham cracker crumbs

11⁄2 cups sweetened flaked coconut, toasted

1⁄2 cup sliced almonds, toasted

1⁄4 cup sugar

1⁄2 cup butter, melted

In a food processor, grind the graham cracker crumbs, coconut, almonds and sugar until course. Add the melted butter and pulse to combine. Press the crust into a 9-inch springform pan working it about an inch and a half up the sides. Place the prepared pan on a cookie sheet and bake at 375 for about 10 to 12 minutes. It should be fragrant and beginning to brown. Allow to cool. Reduce oven temperature to 300.

Filling

11⁄2 pounds cream cheese

1 cup sugar

4 large eggs

1 cup sour cream

1 tablespoon coconut extract

1 cup sweetened flaked coconut, toasted

1 cup sliced almonds, toasted

In an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and sugar until smooth and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time beating until blended after each addition. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the coconut extract and sour cream and beat to combine. Fold in the coconut and the almonds. Pour into prepared pan and bake until set but still a little jiggly - about 75 minutes. Turn off the oven and let the cake rest for about 45 minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely.

Chocolate Glaze

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

3⁄4 cup whipping cream

11⁄2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine all the ingredients in a small sauce pan and warm over low heat, stirring until smooth. Allow the chocolate to cool a little but still be a pouring consistency. Pour over the cooled cake and spread evenly. Refrigerate overnight. Unmold by running a small, hot, dry knife around the inside of the pan before releasing the springform. Use a hot, dry knife to cut into 10 or 12 servings.