Sweets for the Sweet

 

 

 

 

 

Friday is Valentines Day and although many women like to be wined and dined I prefer to stay at home and fix my husbands favorite meal and dessert.  After all it was just last week that we went out to dinner twice because of my birthday and call me crazy but I think that Valentine's Day is also for him. 

So here is a recipe for Cheesecake that I adapted to make into a Chocolate Amaretto Cheesecake that my husband adores and my hips grow another 3 inches just looking at. 

This Cheesecake is also a non-baking cheesecake so if you've any fear about cracks in your cheesecake this will aleve all those fears.  There is some cooking involved but it involves on top of the stove rather than in the stove.  So let's get cooking.......

First you will want to make a graham cracker crust and you'll also want to have a 9-inch spring form pan. 

So to make the graham cracker crust you'll need....wait for it....graham crackers. 

There a few schools of thought on the graham crackers...some people do somewhat of a cookie base by baking something like a sugar cookie base or some people do vanilla wafers and some people do something that resembles an actual cake base.  Me, I like the graham cracker crust...but you are free to do what ever crust you desire.                                                                                                           

As you can see in the above picture I have put 1 sleeve of the graham crackers in a bag and I have used a rolling pin to smash them into teeny tiny pieces.  You can also use a food processor to do this and I have done it that way in the past but sometimes I just like the act of smashing all those graham crackers the old fashioned way. 

I've also found that 1 sleeve of crackers adds up to about 1 1/4 cups of graham crackers which is just perfect for a 9 inch spring form pan with enough to go about 1/2 way up the sides.  So add a little sugar to your mixture and some melted butter and put it in your pan.

 Evenly distribute it as well as you can.

 Here's how I like to get it nice and smooth and even.  I use one of my metal measuring cups....the 1 cup measure to be exact.  It fits nicely into the curved surface of the pan and does a fine job of taking the extra crumbs up the side as well. 

See...all finished and a nice job to boot.  Now put this in the fridge and lets get to the best part of this dessert and that's the cheesecake mixture. 

So here we have the beginnings of the only "cooked" part of this recipe.  You need 2 envelopes of unflavored gelatin, some sugar, some salt, 3 egg yolks and a cup of whole milk. 

You want to beat the milk and egg yolks together really, really well.  Then you want to put the envelopes of gelatin, the sugar and the salt in a saucepan. 

When the egg yolks and milk are mixed really well together,add it to the dry ingredients in the saucepan and mix it really well.   

Then put it on the stove over medium heat and cook until it thickens and it coats a spoon so that you can draw a line through it and the line stays there. 

Yep, that's ready....now set that aside to cool and lets get to the other part.  

Take 3 packages of cream cheese...that's 3 - 8 oz. packages and put them in the bowl of a standing mixer.  It's best to let the cream cheese come to room temperature and I actually let it sit out over night to make sure that it stays nice and creamy. 

Then add 1 teaspoon of almond extract and mix that in really well.  Then add about 1/3 of Amaretto Liquore.  This just happens to be my favorite brand of Amaretto and I really think that it tastes better than the one that is advertised on the T.V.  and cheaper as well.  But taste is subjective so use what you like to drink.  Mix this very well scraping down the sides of the bowl often.   

Once all is mixed together you want to put this in the fridge until the mixture begins to mound up. 

Now remember that you had 3 egg yolks....well there were 3 egg whites that went with them and you are going to take a mixer and start beating them till they get frothy.  Then you will slowly add 1/4 cup of sugar very slowly and beat until you get stiff peaks. 

Once the egg whites are stiff and the mixture that's in the fridge has begun to mound you can add the egg whites and 1 cup of sour cream to the mixture until it's all incorporated.  And you are ready to begin assembling. 

 

 

I take a small bowl and fill it with some chocolate chips...semi-sweet, bittersweet, milk chocolate...what ever floats your boat.  The above picture did not turn out as well as I had intended....I think the flash went off and so it's a little hard to tell that that is a small bowl with chocolate chips in it.  I'm using semi-sweet chips here. 

I carefully microwave them and then put the small bowl in a larger bowl of boiling hot water to keep them melted and dripable (is that a real word?).

Anyway, start by putting as much or as little of chocolate on the base of the crust.  Then put your cheesecake mixture.  

Continue to layer the chocolate in drips and drabs with either a spoon or a fork in between the layers of the cheesecake mixture.  So you have graham cracker crust, some chocolate dribbles, cheesecake mixture, chocolate dribbles, cheesecake mixture until you are done.  This particular recipe will completely fill up a 9 inch spring form pan.  You can put it in a larger pan if you like it will just not be as thick.  It's all in how you want the dessert to look. 

 

So here's the recipe:

Chocolate Amaretto Cheesecake

GRAHAM CRACKER CRUST

1 sleeve of graham crackers pulverized

2 `1/2 tablespoons sugar

6 1/2 to 6 3/4 tablespoons butter melted

 

CHEESECAKE FILLING

2 envelopes unflavored gelatin

3/4 cup sugar

1/3 teaspoon salt

3 egg yolks

1 cup milk

3 pkg. (8 oz. size) cream cheese (at room temp.)

2 teaspoon almond extract

1/3 cup Ammaretto Liquore

3 egg whites (at room temp.)

1/4 cup sugar

1 cup sour cream (8 oz.)

semi-sweet chocolate chips...or bittersweet or milk chocolate

 

Make graham cracker crust: in a small bowl, combine crumbs, 2 tablespoons sugar and the butter; mix well with fork.  With back of spoon or measuring cup press the mixture evenly on the bottom of and up the sides of a 9 inch spring form pan.  Put into the refrigerator.

 

In a small heavy saucepan, combine gelatin, 3/4 cup sugar and the salt.  n small bowl, with wire whisk, beat egg yolks with milk until smooth, gradually stir into gelatin mixture, mix well.  Cook over medium heat, stirring until gelatin is dissolved and custard is thickened slightly (should form a coating on metal spoon) about 5 minutes.  Remove from heat and cool for about 10 minutes.  In large bowl, with electric mixer at medium speed, beat cream cheese, almond extract and the Amaretto.  Beat until smooth about 3 minutes.  Slowly add cooled custard, beating at low speed just to blend. 

 

Set mixture in the fridge or in a bowl of ice to chill, stirring occasionally, until mixture mounds when lifted with spoon.  Meanwhile, at medium speed and using clean beaters, beat egg whites until soft peaks form when beater is slowly raised.  Gradually add 1/4 cup sugar, beating until stiff peaks form.  Add beaten egg whites and sour cream to cheese mixture; beat at low speed just until smooth.   

Pour some semi-sweet chocolate chips in a small bowl and microwave in 10 second increments until completely melted.

 

Now drizzle melted chocolate on crust, layer the cheesecake mixture then chocolate until done. 

Refrigerate until firm and well chilled at least 4 hours or overnight. 

Enjoy.

 

 

Sliding Doors

Ouch, that hurts. 
This is my truck and it got hit last night on the way home from dinner.  Let me start at the beginning.

So this week was my birthday and if you've read this blog for a little while you will also remember that it is also my sister's birthday.  We were born on the same day but 5 years apart.  I love sharing a birthday with her and we have our little rituals that we perform for no one but ourselves and we think we are both very clever...but I digress. 

We made a plan to celebrate together on Friday night at first and then at the last minute we changed it to Saturday night.  Sliding doors.

We first thought that we'd go eat one place and then changed our minds and went to another....sliding doors. 

Bob and I discussed taking the 4-Runner but then changed our minds and took the Dodge Truck....sliding doors.

Dinner was great, it was my husband and I, Chick and her husband and my dad.  Older brother and his wife were invited but didn't attend and that's just fine. 

So Bob and I are on the way home and we decide to get some ice cream and we're going to stop at an Austin institution "Amy's Ice Cream" but we miss the exit and decide to go on to another ice cream place that serves 31 Flavors.  Sliding doors.

We are about 10 to 12 miles from home and we're stopped at a red light...there are several cars in front of us and we are chatting away like normal.  Just as the light changes to green we are hit from behind. 

Ice Cream goes all over the cab of the truck, Bob's cap and glasses are thrown into the back seat and we are for but an instant stunned....what just happened?  We look at each other and I say..."We've been hit". 

Bob immediately gets out of the vehicle and I search for the hazard lights.  The woman who hit us is crying and telling us how sorry she is.  Bob tries to console her...it's an accident, that's why we have insurance etc....

He comes back to the truck and reaches for his cell phone and makes the call to 911. 

Police are there fairly quickly and we assure them that we are fine...a bit shook up but fine so no ambulance is needed. 

We know that there is damage....ABS light on dash will not go out as well as emergency brake light. Not to mention the back bumper and tailgate.   It will all be fixed and if one of us is hurt in the next couple of days we will certainly have it checked out as we both know that sometimes these things take a couple of days to appear. 

And today I'm actually more shook up about it than I was last night, must be adreline that keeps us going.....

So here's my thinking.....what if we'd decided to go on Friday night instead of Sat...would this still have happened?  What if we'd decided on the original restaurant?  What if we'd taken the 4-Runner instead of the Dodge?  What if  we'd stopped at the original ice cream place or the light had not changed when it did?  So many questions you can ask yourself all day long..sliding doors......

We will wait and see how my husband feels in the morning and take it from there about wether to see the Dr. or not.  I think he should be checked out regardless but he's a tough guy and it's hard to get him to see a Dr. for any reason unless bone or guts are showing. 

It could have been so much worse, but it wasn't and for that I am thankful and that's just more sliding doors. 

Tiramisu

I am way behind on posts and I know that I promised this recipe a while ago so I will post this now and hopefully catch up a little later.  Life sometimes just gets in the way. 

This particular recipe I got off the Food Network Website about 5 or 6 years ago.  I took a chance with it and it turned out to be delicious.  I've had a lot of compliments on it when I have served it and there is always the "wow" factor when you just take the extra time to make it purdy. 

Now here's a little warning just in case......there are raw eggs in this so if you have any problems with that then don't make this recipe.  Enough said. 

So let's assemble our ingredients.  You'll nedd 4 eggs....2 seperated and two whole.  12 tablespoons sugar, 500 grams of mascarpone cheese, 1 cup heavy whipping cream, pinch of salt, 10 tablespoons Marsala (optional), 2 cups espresso, plus more if needed, 1 large package Lady Fingers (4 sleeves of 12 biscuits), and 1 whole cup chopped semisweet chocolate. 


First thing you want to do is place 2 eggs and 2 whole egg yolks in an electric mixer bowl and add 8 tablespoons of sugar.  With whisk attachment beat until the mixture forms a good ribbon (should have nearly soft peaks).  Once the correct consistency is achieved, whisk in the Mascarpone cheese. 

 

Now in a separate bowl, whip the cream along with 2 tablespoons sugar and a pinch of salt.

Whip until hard peaks form (careful you don't whip it into butter), add the whipped cream to the egg/mascarpone mixture and beat until smooth, adding approximately 2 tablespoons Marsala if you are adding the Marsala.

 

 

 In a seperate bowl, pour the hot espresso and add 2 tablespoons sugar and 8 tablespoons Marsala.

 

Assembly:  One at a time, quickly dip each biscuit in the espresso mixture and then place on the bottom of a 9 x 13 glass baking pan or a trifle bowl like I have.  Continue until have have an entire layer of biscuits on the bottom of the pan. (Note:  dip quickly or biscuits will become soggy.)

Using a spatula spread half of the mascarpone cream over the biscuits. Note: ( The spatuala will work fine if you are working in a flat pan but I have found that if I put the mascarpone/egg mixture in a piping bag it works much better for the trifle bowl).   Repeat the process above to make a second layer.  This should fill the pan.

TADA!!!  Aint it purdy.....
Refrigerate 8 to 10 hours or overnight.  Grate the chocolate over the top and inbetween the layers if desired. 

Recipe:
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
12 tablespoons sugar
500 grams mascarpone
1 cup heavy whipping cream
pinch of salt
10 tablespoons Marsala (optional)
2 cups espresso, plus more if needed
1 large package Lady Fingers ( 4 sleeves of 12 biscuits)
1 whole cup chopped semisweet chocolate

Place the 2 eggs and 2 whole egg yolks in an electric mixer bowl and add approximately 8 tablespoons of sugar.  With whisk attachment beat until the mixture forms a good ribbon (should nearly have soft peaks).  Once the correct consistency is achieved, whisk in the Mascarpone cheese.  In a separate bowl, whip the cream along with 2 tablespoons sugar and a pinch of salt.

One hard peaks form, add the whipped cream to the egg/Mascarpone mixture and beat until smooth, adding approximately 2 tablespoons Marsala.

In a separate bowl, pour the hot espresso and add 2 tablespoons sugar and 8 tablespoons Marsala.

Assembly:  One at a time, quickly dip each biscuit in the espresso mixture and then place on the bottom of a 9 x 13 glass baking pan.  Continue until you have an entire layer of biscuits on the bottom of the pan. Dip quickly or they will become soggy.

Using a spatula spread half of the mascarpone cream over the biscuits.  Repeat the process above to make a second layer.  This should fill the pan.  (I can get 3 layers in the trifle bowl).

Refrigerate 8 to 10 hours or overnight.  Grate the chocolate over the top.  

R.I.P. Pepper

It came to me that every time I lose a dog they take a piece of my heart with them, and every new dog who comes into my life gifts me with a piece of their heart.  If I live long enough all the components of my heart will be dog, and I will become as generous and loving as they are.

Annoymous

This sweet baby came into our lives almost 17 years ago.  We had lost our beloved Bosco who was a Fox Terrier at 18 and our dog Libby needed some company.  We've almost always had 2 dogs and even at one time we had 3 dogs.  Working full time jobs back in the day we always felt like the dogs were company for one another and therefore got into less trouble.  For us...it worked.  No chewed shoes or furniture and easy peasy housetraining.  So when Bosco died we felt like we needed a companion for Libby. 
We waited all of about 3 months before we decided to start looking and I had decided that I wanted a Schipperkee.  Don't ask me why except that it just seemed like a good size and the breed seemed to have the personality that appealed to me.  In the past we've adopted shelter dogs and they have been terrific but this time I wanted to go with a particular breed.
Schipperkee (pronounced Skipper-Key) is a breed from Belgium.  Schipperkee is supposed to translate as "Little Captain". They were bred as watchdogs for the barges.  Supposedly in the beginning the dogs had full length tails but they kept falling off their patrol watch walkway and into the water so it was decided that the tail be docked and that is how you will find the dogs today. 
I can certainly attest to the fact that she was a water dog.  She LOVED to swim and when she was younger we took her down to the river all the time to swim.  In fact one summer she swam so much that she actually got swimmers ear and had to have drops applied to her ears before and after a swim.  She would stay in the water so long and we often felt she would swim until she'd collapse.  We never let it go that far but she did love to swim...hated a bath but loved the river. 
Pepper has a few alias', she was known as "The Peepster", "Schipperkee" and also "Black Dog".  I loved her deeply and will miss her forever but I've known for a while now that her time on this earth was coming to an end. 
The last couple of nights were extremely peaceful for her.  In the past 6 months or so she would often get me up to take her outside so that she could go to the bathroom.  Then there were the couple of times that I woke up to a surprise in the morning where she had pooped in her sleep.  Fortunately for me she'd been sleeping on her special bed that was centered on a shower curtain "just in case".   Worked really well as you can just hose off the shower curtain and replace it with another one while you wash the one that had the accident on it. 
I knew that something was up when she wouldn't eat.  She always had a good appetite so for her to be off her food was a considerable clue. 
I just knew that I would know when she was ready to go and I saw that look in her eye today.  I had always hoped that she would pass quietly in her sleep and when that didn't happen and I saw the look in her eyes today I knew that it was time.
My husband felt that it would be best for me to stay at the house while he took her to the vets and as it turned out she almost passed before he actually got to the vets. 
She simply closed her eyes and then the Dr. administered the shot.  She never even flinched when the Dr. inserted the needle into her leg.  It was peaceful.  I am at peace in knowing that I did the right thing.  It hurts a lot right now and will hurt for a while but I know that time will heal this wound. 
She was a great dog and I loved her deeply.

When God had made
 the earth and sky,
 the flowers and the trees,
 He then made all the animals
 the fish, the birds and bees 
 And when at last He'd finished
not one was quite the same.
He said I'll walk this
world of mine
and give each one a name.
And so He traveled
far and wide
and everywhere He went,
a little creature followed Him
until its strength was spent.
When all were named
upon the Earth
and in the Sky and Sea, the little
creature said
"Dear Lord, there's no name left for me."
Kindly the Father said to it
"I've left you to the end.
I've turned my own name
back to front
and called you, DOG, my friend."

Author Unknown

Tucson AZ. or bust

Not the best picture I must admit but I thought about this much too late as the stewardesses were telling everyone that they had to turn off their electronic devices.  But if you look at the tower it does spell out Tucson.

I took a little trip last week to visit my best friend of 40 years.  She and her husband had recently moved to Tucson, AZ. after spending 37 years in Las Vegas, NV.  They needed a change of pace after suffering an unconsolable loss.  I lost my mother but she lost her dad, a child and her only brother in a matter of about 18 months.  I can't even begin to imagine how one deals with that kind of loss.  I told her as soon as they were settled and I could break away...I would and I did. 

I left on a Wednesday and returned on a Tuesday and had the best time doing nothing but spending time with my best friend from High School.  Oh, we did a little sightseeing but the important thing for me and for her was to just spend some quality time together, talking, cooking, crying, eating, drinking and laughing. 

There is really not a lot to say about the trip other than I think that we were both able to open up about our losses and cry openly without feeling that we were a burden to one another.

This is what the countryside looked like...her house is about where those clouds are casting a shadow on the land below.  She also had an incredible view from her backyard.  You are looking right at those mountains and somehow it's an incredible peaceful thing. 

It was wonderful to get away but it was also good to get back home and make sure that all was well here.  My dog Pepper is having some age related health issues and I'm not sure that she will make the year.  So it was good to see that she was not any worse for the wear. 

Next Spring, Candy will come to visit me and maybe Bob and I can make a trip out there in the fall.
Whatever happens I know that we will enjoy it.

Update on my Father

Last week I accompanied my father to his PET scan.  The scan is pretty much a walk in the park but it gives us a little bit of quality time together.  We always go out to lunch which he loves and I love it because I know that he's eaten at least one good meal.  It's not that he can't cook, cause he can, but for him it's trouble so he'll do something easy instead of what is really good for him.

We had our follow-up yesterday with the Dr. and here is what is going on.  
There are two spots in the groin area that are lit up...that means that there is "activity" and that means he is out of remission.  It's not that his current treatment is not working...it's just not working as well as it has and so we have to change his treatment.

The Dr. wants him to have a bone marrow scan on the 7th of Oct.  If they find the cancer in his bone marrow then they want to do a new chemo treatment and then he'll go back to the Retuxan.  But instead of his Retuxan treatment being 4 treatments every 6 months he'll probably go to 1 treatment every 2 months or every other month.  That is still to be determined.  But this is all in hopes that they can once again get on top of this cancer. 

If they don't find any cancer in his bone marrow then they just want to do radiation.  No problem with that except that my father does not want to do radiation.  And that is because he is pretty sure that my mother's health really started to go downhill after her radiation treatment.  And it would be with the same Dr. who treated my mother and I tend to want to agree with him.  It's his life after all and he does have a right to decide how he wants to be treated. I think that he'd much rather (regardless of the outcome) just do the chemo and Retuxan. 

He's understandably disappointed in his results.  We had gotten use to "no changes" and so you sort of forget that he's sick other than his physical appearance.  And by that I mean weight.  He's pretty skinny and I think he would look better with about 15 more pounds on him and he agrees.  It's just hard for him to put on weight.  If I only had that problem. 

So that's where we stand right now.  I'm going to hope that the cancer has not spread to his bone marrow...I think there is a good chance that it hasn't because all his blood work looks good.  His Dr. actually said, if someone looked at his blood work they wouldn't be able to tell that he had cancer at all.   So fingers crossed, that this all turns out better than we anticipate.  Onward....

Cold Oven Poundcake w/ Apple, Pear and Plum Compote

Let me just start this post by saying that I am not much of a cake eating person.  For my birthday for as long as I can remember I have always asked for pie...Lemon Meringue Pie to be exact.  My mother just made the best and as good as a cook that I am, I have not been able to replicate the dessert.  I make a pretty good one but not as good as hers.  I think it has to do more with who you are making it for rather than who is making it.  So the love I cannot replicate but the ingredients I can.  Deep thoughts for a Wednesday afternoon. 
So why a cake and why a poundcake.  Heaven only knows, I just thought that it sounded good and I wanted to give it a shot.  I saw this on Trisha Yearwood's Food Network show.
I've made poundcakes before but this started with a cold oven and I was curious to see how it would all turn out. 
Poundcake takes its name from its classic recipe, which includes 1 lb. each of butter, sugar, eggs and flour; in France, the same cake is known as quatre-quarts, for "four quarters," because each of the four ingredients makes up a quarter of the batter.  There's your lesson for the day. 
So let's assemble our ingredients:

So we have flour, sugar, eggs, butter, whipping cream (although I had 1/2 & 1/2) and Vanilla extract and I happened to use Vanilla Paste.

You also want to grease and flour the bottom, sides and tube of a 9 inch tube cake pan.

So take the butter and sugar and put them in the mixer and cream them until smooth.

The above picture does not show the mixture smooth but it's in the process and because I'm not an expert at this...I'm not always thinking about pictures and text going together....forgive me.

Then you start to add the eggs.  One at a time mixing well after each addition.

See all the eggs are added and the mixture is relatively smooth. 

Now you start to add the flour and the cream alternately, beginning and ending with the flour.

Then add the vanilla.

Pour into the tube pan and put in the oven.

TA-DA!!!  Isn't it lovely.   Now I realize that this post is called Cold Oven Poundcake w/ Apple, Pear and Plum Compote but I somehow wigged out and completely forgot to take pictures of the making of the compote so you'll have to use your imagination there but trust me when I say this...it's excellent and the perfect compliment to the cake.   Was that just the longest run-on sentence ever?  Yes, I think it was.  So here's the recipe.

COLD OVEN POUNDCAKE
*1 cup (2 sticks) butter, at room temperature
3 cups sugar
6 large eggs, at room temperature
3 cups all purpose flour, sifted
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS:
Do not preheat the oven.  Grease and flour the bottom, sides and tube of a 9-inch tube cake pan. 

Cream the butter and sugar until smooth.  Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition, but do not overbeat.  Se the mixer on slow speed and stir in the flour and cream alternately, beginning and ending with the flour.  Add the vanilla and stir well.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and put the cake in a cold oven.  Set the oven temperature to 325 degrees F.  Begin timing now and bake the cake for 1 hour and 15 minutes.  Test of doneness by inserting a toothpick in the center of the cake.  The toothpick should be clean when it is removed.  Cool in the pan for 30 minutes, then turn out onto a rack to continue cooling.
*this recipe does not specify salted or unsalted butter.  I always have unsalted butter in my kitchen and that's what I used. 

APPLE, PEAR AND PLUM COMPOTE

2 cups peeled Granny Smith apples, cut into 1-inch cubes (about 2 medium apples)
2 cups peeled ripe firm pears, cut into 1-inch cubes (about 2 medium pears)
2 cups unpeeled diced plums (about 3 large plums)
1/4 cup honey
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

DIRECTIONS;
In a large pot, combine the apples, pears, plums, 1/2 cup water, the honey, vanilla and cinnamon.  Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, cover and cook for 30 minutes.
Remove the lid and continue cooking until the syrup is reduced and the fruit is tender, another 30 minutes.  Cool completely, cover and store in the fridge until ready to serve.  Serve alone or on cake or with just ice cream.  It's delish...trust me.