My First Cheesecake

At work, we have a reward program for selling a certain loan product. The more booked, the more 'perq points' you get. I had 11 points and that was holding for a while so i thought i'd cash in. I SOOOO wanted a kitchen aid mixer but it was 20 points. I tried lobbying for other's loose points until i found out you can't transfer. Oh well. I ended up with a cuisinart hand mixer (in pink for breast cancer). It was only 4 points! (I got a digital picture frame with my other 7 points)
I had to make SOMETHING to try it out, so i decided it was time for me to venture in the cheesecake realm. I've done plenty of cookies and breads, but never a cheesecake. Plus, i hadn't even taken the spring form pans out of the box from the wedding. Kill 2 birds with 1 stone. :)
I settled on an espresso cheesecake. It called for a hazelnut crust and i didn't feel like buying hazelnuts, so i created a chocolate graham cracker crust with Almond Extract. (YUM!) I brewed my own fresh espresso and used fresh lemon. My mixer was great! So what if i had to hold it with my hand, it's still better than NO Cheesecake, right?
WELL.... it turned out pretty good for my first time! I didn't read the directions all the way, so i forgot to put it in a water bath as it instructed. So stupid me put it in one with 20 minutes to spare and it fell. No problem, just a gob of chocolate whipped cream and BLAM! good as new. I must admit, the crust was pretty darn de-lish-ous. The next one will be even better!