Karen,
I made the cheesecake on the weekend for mother's day. Put some halved stawberries around the edge and twelve on top to mark each peice. My parents and I and one of my friends all really enjoyed it. I'm still enjoying a peice each day (those peices really are big!).

I made the cheesecake in a water bath. Is that maybe why it turned out more like a set style rather than a baked style? It seems to me that baked cheesecakes are a bit drier and firmer than the one I made and I prefer them like the baked.

I'm going to make another one this week for my birthday on thursday. Should I skip the water bath or bake it at a higher temperature? I did set it at 500 like you said and then turned it down to 200 ( or what ever the recipe said). I was thinking of baking it at 300 instead of 200. What do you think?

Thanks for being such a great resouce on this site!