Help me!!!

There is something I've wanted to make for years now and for a variety of reasons I have yet to take it on, Cheesecake.  I can boil down this (inexcusable) avoidance into a series or bullets:

1. I didn't have a springform pan.  I now have a springform pan and so this excuse has been a load of shit since Christmas. 
2. My mother's cheesecake recipe is the best in the world and she won't share it.  How do you try and tackle the best, especially when the best belongs to your mother?  The answer is you look in the mirror, grab your genitals, and say "Stop being a wuss and make a goddamn cheesecake."
3. Without the best recipe, I am left to search for one.  This is not a problem in and of itself, but it leads to this post's rant and purpose.

New York style cheesecake should be UGLY.  It should be cracked all over the top, inconsistently brown, and just appear unattractive.  That is why people started putting unnecessary toppings on them; it was because they would sell more of them and not because they tasted better.  If anything, toppings made cheesecakes sickeningly sweet, distracting the tastebuds from the beautiful simplicity of the rich and dense cheesecake.  Any and every cheesecake I have ever had that was uniform and attractive tasted like crap.  They were greasy, flavourless, and were a waste of my time, money, and use of my mouth.  

So with that, I am asking you all to provide your recipe suggestions in the comments of this post.  I am currently considering the following, and would love feedback or thoughts from y'all.

http://www.simplyscratch.com/2011/10/new-york-style-cheesecake.html

For the love of god, HELP ME MAKE A HIDEOUSLY DELICIOUS CAKE!!!!

Soft Pretzel Freak Out

There are certain things I've baked that, before starting, made me very nervous.  They are things that seem impossible to make at home simply because they are so widely available everywhere.  My self-defeating logic is that if it's simple to make, people would do it and I had not heard of anyone making soft pretzels before.  Then again, I'd never heard of anyone making pop tarts before either.

I went with old reliable for this one, aka Smitten Kitchen.  Her recipes are easy to follow and seem less daunting than other recipe blogs I've found.  To say that this is my favorite would be an understatement.  Her blog and approach is what spurred me starting my own online account of my baking.  Suffice it to say, I highly recommend her.

I started by making the dough, which was easy enough.  I thought it was pretty dry when I get it ready to set for an hour, but my fears (why do I always get so freaked out?) were unwarranted as the dough came out perfectly.  After following all the steps, I started working the 16 pieces of dough.  That was difficult simply because I had to rub my hands together with the dough for what felt like a god damn hour.  16 soft pretzels.  What the hell was I thinking?  I have got to start halving recipes for Christ's sake!

The part that also made me nervous was the poaching of the pretzels, which I had no idea was what made them pretzel-y.  Just some baking soda and sugar in boiling water, reduce to a simmer is what turns bread into ballpark style soft pretzels!  I put salt on half the batch and cinnamon sugar on the other (unfortunately I went too easy on the sugar).

They turned out AWESOME!  My neighbor and our guests that night loved them and we all ended up eating about 3 a pieces.  Again, why the hell did I make 16 soft pretzels?!

To summarize, Smitten Kitchen is the shit, soft pretzels at boiled, and use more sugar.  Nomnomnomnom!