Holidays

Marble Cheesecake – Yum!

/ still a dreamer / 8 Comments

And now for a lighter – and more delicious – topic. (Vs. my last post, that is.)

MarbleCheesecakeSlice2Easter brings with it an invitation to the home of a friend and her family, and that means one thing for me … baking a delicious treat. Considering something that both adults and children might like isn’t always easy, and as I pored over yet-to-be-made recipes, I realized that many of them were more sophisticated in flavors than youngsters would like. So I hit my tried and true recipe box.

MarbleCheesecakeInPan2I came up with a marble cheesecake, and was happy to later learn that cheesecake is my friend’s husband’s all time favorite dessert. The original recipe calls for a crust made from dark chocolate wafers, but I like a traditional graham cracker crust made with butter just as well.

Above, the one slice I took home — as my host loved it so much, I left the rest there for him! Above right, fresh out of the oven with the crack that always appears.

I’ve had this recipe for so long I have no idea where I originally found it, and therefore cannot provide a link. So here it is below. Pretty easy to make and not for the cholesterol-conscious. Happy baking!

Marble Cheesecake

Bake at 350 for 1 hour and 10 minutes

Crust:
18 chocolate wafers, crushed (1 cup)
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
Or: make traditional graham cracker crust. Just as good!

Filling:
6 squares semisweet chocolate
3 pkgs (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened
1/2 c. sugar
3 eggs
1 container – 16 oz. – sour cream
1 tsp. vanilla

1. Make crust: Combine chocolate crumbs, butter and cinnamon in a small bowl. Press over bottom of 9” springform pan and chill.
2. Make filling: Melt chocolate over hot water; remove from heat, reserve.
3. Beat cream cheese with sugar in a large bowl with electric mixer `til fluffy.
4. Beat in eggs one at a time until well-blended. Blend in sour cream and vanilla until smooth.
5. Combine the melted chocolate with 1-1/2 cups of the cheese batter in a small bowl and blend thoroughly.
6. Pour 2-1/2 cups of the plain batter into chilled crust; place 1/4 cup chocolate batter on top pf plain batter. Cover with remaining plain batter.
7. Drop remaining chocolate batter by spoonfuls and pull a spatula through in swirls to marbleize.
8. Bake in a moderate over – 350 – for 1 hour and 10 minutes, Turn oven off and leave cake in oven for another hour. Remove to wire rack to cool. Refrigerate overnight. Enjoy!

Note: Top will crack and sink slightly.

p.s. I always wrap the bottom portion of the pan with aluminum foil, so the butter doesn’t drip onto the oven and burn.

Food-ish Thoughts for the New Year

/ still a dreamer / 2 Comments

I am not really one for New Year’s resolutions, but Christmas baking has me thinking of more than one thing I’d like to commit to in the upcoming year. For one, I really would like to cook and/or bake on a more regular basis. I love good, home-cooked food or from-scratch breads, cookies or desserts.

CheddarBiscuits2

Take one of the items I baked for Christmas – quite simple – old-fashioned baking powder biscuits. With the addition of a good quality, extra-sharp cheddar, they became even better. This was not a major investment in time, and just reminded me that simple or more complex dishes of all kinds are not always that time-consuming. Good food is a gift we can give ourselves, (and others.) Why not make/find a little more time? Seems like something worth giving a try …

p.s. As I was lightly kneading the dough I started wondering what I’d use to cut the biscuits, and then remembered what I had … the biscuit cutter my Mom used to use when I was growing up. Perfect!

Light in the Dark

/ still a dreamer / 6 Comments

“Better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.”  ~Chinese Proverb

BodaCrystalSnowballs2There is something about candlelight … it soothes the soul and gentles the world. Many years ago I was given a pair of Boda crystal ice balls as a gift. To this day, they are one of my favorite ways to enjoy candlelight. They sit on an oak washstand, not far from where I work, and the other afternoon, I turned and noticed the late day sun angling in the open door, lighting them brilliantly. I thought to photograph them in this daytime crystalline sparkle. But then, of course, I had to photograph one later with a lit tealight glowing from within the “ice.”

BodaSnowball-Lit2It’s amazing at times how something so utterly simple – yet beautiful – can catch not just the eye, but something of the spirit. The Boda people really had quite the idea when they designed and created these. They are captivating, truly looking like balls of melting ice.

“There are two ways of spreading light; to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.”  ~Edith Wharton

And then there’s the soft glow of a pillar. Most mornings, early,  I do my best to journal and/or read something of an inspirational nature before “starting” the day. It doesn’t always work out that way, but I give it my best shot. It’s still dark at that hour, and lately, I’ve taken to lighting a pillar candle on the coffee table/toy chest. It glows softly from within and is ever so calming.

“Keep your flame lit, and you will never feel darkness.”  ~J. Parker

GlowingCandle2As Christmas approaches and as Hannukah, the Festival of Lights, comes to a close … as the Solstice draws near … it is all about light … the light from without and the light within. All celebrate the miracle and wonder of light, in all cultures and religions, throughout time.

“Never fear shadows. They simply mean there’s a light shining somewhere nearby.” ~Ruth E. Renkel

Enjoy the light, wheresoever you may find it. And be sure to glow your most wonderful, glorious self.

“We are each gifted in a unique and important way. It is our privilege and our adventure to discover our own special light.”  ~Evelyn Dunbar