When my husband and I first started dating we were regulars at a restaurant in Millwood, New York where the owner made the best ricotta cheesecake I’d ever tasted. I never had the nerve to ask him for the recipe—some things are just not done—but I was determined to try to make it at home. So, I began with a recipe from a trusted source, Nick Malgieri, and played with the ingredients and the method until I came up with this, which is the closest I’ve come to the original. It’s delicate and light: a perfectly simple yet elegant finale for just about any dinner menu.