"Orange You Glad I Made This?"

I have officially stumbled upon the MOST AMAZING RECIPE FOR CHEESECAKE EVER CREATED! I'm talking...the Cheesecake Factory should probably beg the lady who created this for the rights to it...it is TOO GOOD!

What is this magical recipe you may ask? Orange White Chocolate Cheesecake from Taste of Home! I made this recipe last weekend to take to my parents' yearly picnic/cookout with their "Old Fart Bible Study Group" at church. And yes, that's what they call themselves sometimes...so I'm not being mean. Anyway, this dessert was seriously GONE in less than 10 minutes. It was BEAUTIFUL so everyone wanted to try it...and they all just RAVED about how wonderful it was. I must admit...it was the best cheesecake I've ever had!

I went out and bought a springform pan from Bed Bath and Beyond to do this Cheesecake. I had never used one before. I was rather shocked when the bottom dropped out while I was playing with it. I didn't know the thing came apart! I brought it home and made the dreaded crust. I...HATE...MAKING...CRUSTS! MOST crust recipies I've tried I normally have to double to get enough coverage of the pan. I was happy that this one had PLENTY of crust mixture to go around...but I just do not understand how to make the sides thick enough to stand up....yet without falling apart! Everytime I added more crust mixture to thicken the sides...the whole side fell down. Finally I got it to stick enough and was as thick as it was going to get...so I was happy. I popped it in the oven and then let it cool for a few hours while we went to dinner and to The Fresh Market!

Anyway...after I came back home I made the cheesecake filling itself. I used my Mom's KitchenAid Stand Mixer that I stole (Okay, maybe I didn't STEAL it. I BORROWED it. But she just doesn't know that I'm never giving it back!) to mix up all of the ingredients. I LOVE THIS MIXER. It makes life much easier, let me tell you! Can you believe that my mother only used it twice in the few years she's had it? I've only had it a few weeks and I've already used it like 5 times! Now I want to buy all of the accessories! It made the process so much easier! I very quickly whipped it all together and poured it into my crust and stuck it in the oven for an hour and 10 minutes. I took it out and LOOK HOW TALL IT GOT? I was shocked at the big tumor in the middle. I kept hoping that the middle would fall so that it would be a lot easier to add the frosting! (I know...since when does somebody want their cake to FALL?)

I let the cake sit and come to room temperature for two hours and then took it out of the springform pan and trimmed the sides of the crust down so it would look even and nice! I think it makes the Cheesecake look so much more "clean". The uneven sides annoyed me!

I then mixed the topping and spread it on top of the cheesecake. It gave the Cheesecake a wonderful glazed look after baking it for 6 minutes and popping it in the fridge for an hour to harden. (This picture was taken before putting it in the fridge.) This topping is what gives the Cheesecake it's orange flavor. There's NOTHING orange in the actual Cheesecake filling...just the topping! It makes the Cheesecake more light and refreshing!

After letting the topping harden for an hour I took the Cheesecake out of the fridge and decorated it with the mandarin orange segments. What a BEAUTIFUL addition! I then put it in my "cake carrier" and popped it back in the fridge overnight (the recipe says for at least 4 hours...but after all the waiting for this Cheesecake off and on....it was bed time for me!).

Overall, this was a BEAUTIFUL Cheesecake and it tasted JUST as good as it looked...if not BETTER! The filling itself was very fluffy and the topping made it refreshing and light almost. This will definitely be something I'll make again when I have A LOT OF TIME...and want to impress people!

***UPDATE*** I almost forgot the MOST important part! Well, at least to me! It the process of moving the cheesecake from the sheet pan under the spring form pan that the recipe calls for...my knuckle scraped the 450 degree pan and BAM...a blister. I nice big one too! This has inspired me to include an injury/mishap list on my blog. Please look for it and any updates to it...it is located on the right side of the page under the purple "about me" box! Enjoy seeing what a klutz I can be!

Hershey's Chocolate World!

Casey and I ventured to MD this weekend to see my good friend Lauren get married and to visit my Uncle Michael and his family. Therefore...no time to cook! Although, I did manage to make some Berry Shortbread Dreams last weekend to take to my parents' house for the holiday. I also took the leftovers with me to work and they were a big hit. They were very good...but the icing was WAY too "almondy" for my liking. The cookie itself was very good...but I think there was way too much almond extract in the icing drizzle. Here's a pic of the cookies (I forgot to take pics during the process because I didn't think I'd be using it for my blog).

While we were in MD, we decided to venture up to PA to see Hershey's Chocolate World! The weather was HORRIBLE and it made the drive up there quite interesting...but we got there and back in one piece. Chocolate World was...neat. I definitely would not go see it a second time, but it was a cool experience. We went on a little "ride" that showed us everything, like where the beans come from and the different flavors in the products, the machinery Hershey uses to produce their products and a lot of fun other stuff. It was pretty cool to learn how it all works! There was also a HUGE candy shop where you could get any type of candy Hershey produces and almost any kind of paraphernalia you could dream of.

And this would be the section to skip if you get grossed out easily. I'm going to share a little "TMI". While in Hershey's Chocolate World...my body proved the link between women and chocolate. I am the girl who has never been "regular" and hardly EVER gets my "time of the month." Well friends, "Aunt Flo" appeared right then and there in the middle of Chocolate World...as if the chocolate gods themselves had summoned her. WEIRD, huh?

We got off of the "ride" and this lady asked us if she could ask us some questions. We said sure...and she wanted to know what kind of candy we had bought or consumed in the last year. She then wanted to know if Casey could be a "taste tester" for her. He jumped at the opportunity! (Can you believe it...my picky-butt husband???) Anyway, he tasted two different types of candy that he told me was apparently a new kind of Jolly Rancher...but with a starburst consistency. He really enjoyed the first one and HATED the second. He had to take a questionnaire about his preferences. It was pretty cool!

While at Chocolate World we also took the "Chocolate Tasting Adventure" where we got to taste different types of chocolate and describe each. Each had a different level of cacao. We learned how the levels of cacao influences the taste, "sound" and smell of each of the chocolates. I must admit when they weren't trying to make things "cute and family friendly" it was pretty interesting.

We left Chocolate World and headed to the Hershey museum where we learned about the life of Mr. Hershey. I was not impressed...but I think Casey thought it was interesting. I thought the coolest part was in the gift shop where they had a MASSIVE amount of Chocolate Recipe Books! I went through a few and they were pretty awesome. There's no use buying one though...because Casey isn't a huge chocolate fan!

By the time we were done with Mr. Hershey's life we headed to The Hotel Hershey for dinner at Harvest. I got a Salmon Burger (it was pretty dry actually) and then I wanted to get something SUPER chocolately for dessert (I mean...c'mon....I'm in HERSHEY, PA!). I then ordered the "All About Chocolate"...and it was AWESOME! The description is, "Five layers of rich moist Devils Food Cake are filled with creamy chocolate mousseline of dark chocolate, milk chocolate, white chocolate and chocolate ganache frosted with a dark chocolate glaze. Every chocolate lovers dream come true." Isn't it pretty? It tastes as good as it looks!

I was also very impressed about the streetlamps in Hershey. They were SO VERY COOL! Every other lamp was a wrapped Hershey kiss...and then the others were the chocolate kiss. HOW AWESOME IS THAT?

Anyway, other than Hershey...we went to Lauren's wedding and also "stalked" Frank (the creator of Postsecret) by visiting his mailbox and taking pictures! We didn't really get to see a lot of my family while we were there...they were busy and we were too! But, I know that we'll see them again soon so it's okay. I can't wait to spend more time with them!

To see a few more pics of our trip to MD, Lauren's wedding, Hershey's Chocolate World and Frank's (the Postsecret creator) mailbox...go HERE.

Mission Impoachable???

Ever since seeing the movie, "Julie & Julia" I knew I wanted to try my hand at poaching an egg. I decided this week that today would be the day! I combed through different recipes including a poached egg and decided that I would try my hand at eggs benedict. Neither Casey or I have ever had eggs benedict, but I've always wanted to try it. I went to foodnetwork.com to try and find a good recipe. I looked through each recipe and finally selected this one because it seemed to have the best reviews for hollandaise sauce. Most were rated as "too eggy" or "too buttery". This one had wonderful reviews, so I printed it out and headed to the store!

Can you believe that only these few ingredients can produce eggs benedict with hollandaise sauce? I thought it would be a lot more!

I started off by "browning" the canadian bacon. I could only find this presliced/prepackaged canadian bacon...and I chose the sweet maple because I love the extra taste of maple in my breakfast foods. It was DELICIOUS!

Next I started making the hollandaise sauce. First you whisk the lemon juice and the egg yolks vigorously until they double in size. WHEW! Talk about sore arms! Then you transfer the liquid into a double boiler and slowly whisk in the melted butter. Once it is incorporated you vigorously whisk again until the sauce thickens and doubles in size again. Good Lord...my poor arm! lol. But, it turned out well...and I was psyched.

Next, on to POACHING EGGS! *dun dun dun* I was VERY intimidated about the process so I watched this video of Alton Brown poaching eggs quite a few times. I followed his instructions exactly (except the part about the water being 190 degrees exactly...because I didn't think I had a thermometer to use). The first batch turned out well I thought, but then Casey mentioned that he had a meat thermometer, so I did the process a second time just so I could make sure that the eggs were fully cooked! I'm a little scared about food poisoning since I had it once my Junior year of college and thought I was going to DIE (thanks to the Panera on Jefferson for that...ugh!). Anyway, the second time worked just as well as the first...but I felt a little better about eating the eggs this time since I knew the water was at the exact temperature! These pictures are actually of the first batch...I forgot to take a picture of the second batch before I made the eggs benedict!

I popped the english muffins in the toaster really quickly and then assembled the eggs benedict! I felt like my hollandaise sauce might've gotten a little thick while I was poaching the eggs...but it still worked. I spooned it over the eggs and VOILA...EGGS BENEDICT! I was so proud! Isn't it pretty? My very first try at poaching eggs and I did it! HOORAY! And you want to know the very best part? CASEY ATE IT! My pickybutt husband actually ATE IT! I just knew that he was going to hate it and I would've gone to all that trouble for nothing! But he surprised me and I'm very happy that he ate it! YAY!

Casey's Birthday Banana Cream Pie!

My husband's 29th birthday is today (yeah...he's old. KIDDING!). I started asking him a few days ago what kind of "birthday cake" he wanted and gave him a while to think. He reports to me yesterday that he wants a banana cream pie for his birthday! Having never made a cream pie anything before I instructed him to find me a recipe while I made the week's shopping list.

Casey came back with this recipe for Banana Cream Pie!

You start off making the pie crust with graham crackers, butter and a little water. This is all well and good....until you go to mush it in the pie pan and realize that the crumb mixture barely covers the bottom...and I do mean BARELY. The recipe says to mush the crumb mixture a half inch up the sides! Well, to do that it would take a miracle...or more ingredients. So, after my second batch I finally get sides to my crust and can thicken the bottom crust a little since you could read a newspaper through it from the first batch alone! I popped it in the oven for 10 minutes and TA-DA!

The next step was very infuriating! I went through 3 packs of unflavored gelatin to get it to dissolve correctly. Basically you added a pack of unflavored gelatin powder to 3 tbsp of boiling water and stir to dissolve. Easier said than done might I add! All I kept getting was a big clumpy mess. No matter which way I tried it, it was a disaster! Finally after throwing a mini-fit I got it dissolved enough...or ran out of patience. One or the other...and I'll let you guess which.

Casey helped make the "pudding" part of the pie while I was throwing my mini-fit, and he did a good job! It turned out perfectly and I guarantee I would've never lasted "stirring for 10 minutes, constantly." Aren't husbands great? While he finished the pudding mixture and let it cool slightly I decided to get fancy with the banana slices in the bottom of my pie! While nobody but you will see it...I decided it was the thought that counts, right?

We then poured the mixture over the bananas and let it sit in the fridge and harden for 3 hours! After hardening I made the "whipped cream mixture" to decorate the cake. To get enough to decorate around the sides of the cake and make a few decorations I had to TRIPLE the ingredients! (Is it just me or did the recipe writer smoke a little somethin' before writing all of this mess down?)

Don't judge me on my lack of "piping" skills. This is the first time I've used my new Pampered Chef "Easy Accent Decorator." And while my piping skills OBVIOUSLY need some work, I have to say the use of this tool was rather "easy" to use and I got the hang of it rather quickly. Next time I promise I'll try to make it not look so horrible...but then again...this blog is about being a klutz, so you get to see my failures as well! Aren't you lucky?

We let it sit overnight...because Casey wasn't allowed to eat his birthday "cake" until today! Anyway, I sliced it up...and it was...okay. I think my bananas should've been a little more ripe. They were quite tart! Other than that, I think it worked quite well...if only because Casey actually ate it!

Anyway, it was a nice little adventure...just challenging enough without having the urge to pull out my hair. I'll try to make anything once for my wonderful husband...and I'll even try making this one again! I LOVE YOU HONEY....HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Here Souffle, Gone Tomorrow!

Last week, my husband Casey and I were watching Alton Brown's "Good Eats" on Food Network. (Casey is addicted to this show and I find it very entertaining!) This show was about "bubbles", and Alton was making a cheese souffle. Casey mentioned that he had never had one and I figured, hey...this looks complicated enough, lets see if I can make one!

We looked up the recipe for Alton's Cheese Souffle online and went to find a souffle dish and all the ingredients!

I laid out all the ingredients and got to work!

It was a little hard to get the cheese to melt over no heat like the recipe said...so I cheated and put it over heat and we finally got it to melt! HOORAY! I had also never had to separate egg yolks and whites, so that was quite special. I got the hang of it after the first one though...it took some skill.

We poured the mixture in the prepared souffle dish and popped it in the oven...waiting anxiously to see how horribly I had screwed this up. After 30 or so minutes I peeked in the oven and IT ACTUALLY WORKED!!! I was pretty shocked....if you can't tell. Just look at how tall it got! I was SO PROUD!

We took it out and it fell just a little, which it was supposed to do. It looked just like it was supposed to, I didn't screw it up! Nothing I make EVER looks like the picture! Isn't it pretty?

Here's a pic after we sliced it up! I have had a souffle before so I knew what to expect, but I'm not the biggest fan ever of sharp cheddar cheese so it wasn't my favorite. Casey was okay with the souffle itself, but we want to try another one WITHOUT the sharp cheddar cheese. It's a little "sharp" for us. hahaha. Anyway, I want to make another! Anybody have any recipes for me?

Welcome to My Blog!

I have been inspired by my friend Amanda and the movie Julie & Julia to start my own "food/cooking blog". I invite you, whoever the heck you are, to share in my culinary adventures!

Over the past year I have been trying more new and exciting "culinary creations" that I've either thought up by myself or seen on TV/in magazines/found online. Please feel free to suggest recipes for me to try! I don't promise many successes, because I am quite a klutz...hence the blog name. If there is something within a 12 mile radius...I will find it and trip over it. I am always finding new ways to injure myself.

Since I have recently acquired a new "big girl job", I'm rather exhausted when I return home each day. My goal is to share with you one dish a week that I feel is at or above my level of cooking. I promise to share EVERYTHING with you: my opinions, reviews, questions, comments, accidents and disasters. When I get the chance, recipes and pictures will be included.

Here are some pictures of a few "culinary creations" I have made in the past year. A big thanks to my amazing husband for helping in the creation of each of these dishes, cleaning my messes and of course helping to eat the food!

Amanda's French Toast

Chocolate Strawberry Short Cake

Crepe w/ Blueberry Sauce

Blueberry Cream Cheese Braided Loaf

Seafood Roulade w/ Homemade Herb Butter (and Parmesean Couscous)