Cheesecake in California

I started making this cheesecake in Kansas.

And then I woke up in California.

I swear.

It happened just that fast.

Life happens and a year goes by and sometimes ya gotta stop and eat some cheesecake. Take a bite and reflect on the year. It's a bit salty sweet, no? Because in a year, I:

Danced, got kicked out of a bar, got married, drank in Mexico, celebrated graduations and weddings and fights against cancer, made a cheesecake for the first time, sang karaoke, went hippie at a DMB concert, moved to California (still in shock), saw a meteor shower and thanked God for all these sweet moments of 2015.

So make this cake. Cuz damnit, it was a good year. And if it wasn't your year, let this keyboard send light to you through my fingertips. And start 2016 with a new recipe.

And you'll have the satisfaction of making what seems like a really confusing cake. I mean, you bake it, eat it cold and it's made with cheese.

Hrrmmm...

Let's get into it shall we?

You'll need these ingredients....

Cheesecake

Graham cracker crust
1 ½ cups graham cracker crumbs
½ cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
5 Tbsp melted unsalted butter

Filling
4 8 oz. packages cream cheese, softened
1 2/3 cups sugar
3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
4 eggs
2 egg yolks
1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup sour cream

And you'll need a spring form pan to bake in. Preheat oven to 325°.

Stock up on blocks of cream cheese. You'll need like, a gajillion for this cake. (Just kidding, you'll need four!)

Measure out one and a half cups of graham cracker crumbs.

Plus a half cup of brown sugar.

One heaping teaspoon of vanilla.

And a whole stick o' butter, melted! 

Toss together in a bowl.

And mix'er up!

I sprayed my spring form pan with cooking oil, but I don't think it needs it. If you have a Calphalon pan you're in good hands. Dude, is there anything better than a pan that you can take the sides off of? 

Pat down the crust mixture with your hand so that there's an even layer along the bottom and halfway up the sides.

Admire my nails.

It look like dis. Now for the filling.

The filling is best mixed with a handheld mixer, like this one from KitchenAid. 

Make sure the cream cheese is soft so you don't break your mixer. I leave the cream cheese out for thirty minutes before I need it. If you forget, you can also zap it in the microwave. It does the trick!

Add a shizznit of sugar! Or 1 2/3 cups of the stuff.

Three tablespoons of flour.

1/4 teaspoon of salt.

Combine, shake yer booty, mix while listening to your playlist mix.

Zee eggs! Add four whole eggs plus two egg yolks. 

It's very, no, extremely important to mix in the eggs one at a time. And don't over mix! Mix until just combined after each egg. 

Eggsellent! (Yeaahh...woof.)

Save the egg whites for a healthy omelette and eat while the cheesecake bakes so you don't feel so guilty for devouring the whole thing later that evening.

One egg...

Whipped.

Repeat until all eggs are in the batter.

Add a 1/4 cup of sour cream.

And 1 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla extract.

Mix until just combined. It's a beautiful thing, no?

We will do a water bath for the cheesecake. Yes, it needs its own hot tub. This prevents cracking on top and will create a smooth surface when finished. Prepare your spring form pan by wrapping the bottom in aluminum foil and place in a baking pan with deeper sides.

Like mine.

Except less crappy and rusty. Heh.

Pour the batter into the pan. Dreamy and creamy, oh my!

Smooth out the top with a knife or spatula.

Place the pan into a 325° oven and add water into the baking pan until it's just about halfway up the side of the spring form pan.

Bake for 90 minutes.

Let it completely cool. I usually let it sit on the counter for an hour before putting it in the fridge. I know what you're thinking:

Daayyummm! It take a long time to make this stupid thing! But trust me.

It's not stupid. It's stupidly delicious.

Add a fruit topping, hot fudge, caramel or eat it straight up. You'll be the envy of all your baking friends. (Note: I said baking, not baked. Ahem.)

Clean Slate

I drank way too much on New Year's Eve.

I am never not drinking again.

You see, when you reunite with some of your closest sorority sisters (ahem, yep, I was one of 'em) it's easy to miscount the number of drinks one might consume in a few hours. I went from an educated 25-year-old working woman to a newbie college student at her first college party in a matter of seconds.

We started doing robot poses.

It got weird.

So the next day, after letting go of any shred of hope that I might be able to function, I rolled around in my cheetah robe and thanked God for my boyfriend and his willingness the night before to buy Jimmy John's after narrowly escaping a pick-pocketer.

Like I said.

It got weird.

I decided to lay low for a couple of days and then grabbed the leftover salmon lox in my fridge and had a brilliant idea. A new year calls for a new recipe.

Smoked Salmon Dip

You'll need....
8 oz. block of cream cheese, softened
3 oz. of smoked salmon
1 tsp. capers
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. dill
Juice from half of a lemon
Couple dashes of Tabasco

I used my Ninja for this but a food processor or even a fork will do!

Add the cream cheese to the Ninja. It will need to be softened. I grabbed mine straight out of the fridge and popped it in the microwave for 20 seconds and it worked perfectly.

Isn't the color of salmon so beautiful? I have found the best lox at Costco but of course, living in the Midwest we don't have a ton of options for this type of delicate fish!

Squeeze a half of a lemon into the mix.

Couple of dashes of Tabasco. I used 3-4 dashes. It's the cajun in me.

About one teaspoon of dried dill. Give or take. You can't go wrong with dill and salmon.

Couple of dashes of Worcestershire.

If you haven't tried capers, you have not lived! They taste like mini pickles. My little sis lives off these things. Capers also make an appearance in my dad's chicken scallipini -- so devine!

I put in about one teaspoon of capers. You may add as much as you'd like.

Let the blades work through the cream cheese mixture...

Blend until the dip looks pink in color. Wouldn't this be fun for one of those color-themed parties? I heard about these "white" parties where all the food is white and you have to dress in white. I wonder if all the people are white, too? In that case, I'm not sure how many pink people there are in the world that would come to my pink party.

I digress.

And then I digest. 

Spread these on your favorite cracker. I had buttery club crackers but tablewater crackers, veggies or your favorite bagel would be heavenly.

May you have a great start to your new year and remember: Dip. Don't drink! (Too much.)

Baby's Gotta Brand New Job! And Jalapeno Chicken Bites!

I've been working at an advertising agency for the past year and have experienced the in's and out's of working under high amounts of pressure, stress and was able to assist and complete more than 150 individual marketing materials (no, this is not me publicizing my resume - you can find that on LinkedIn!). And from it all, I learned just a little bit more about myself.

I value my personal time. Amen.

My positivity towards my coworkers goes around and comes back around.

I can control my sensitivity when it comes to business - hey, this industry gives you a thick skin!

And I couldn't have survived this past year without the love and support from the people I worked with, my friends, my family and my loving boyfriend. They've all experienced this journey with me. I knew the time had come to move on when I realized I was being consumed, trapped under the constant pressure to perform.

I put my name out there and 3 weeks later I landed a brand new job! I am so relieved at having found the new place, getting settled and reaching a new potential - once again focused on those dreams I've never left sight of. You might be wondering if I'm still in the advertising world. In a way, yes. I'm still in the creative department and still pushing out marketing pieces but working in an independent marketing organization. A.K.A the hours aren't crazy any more but still focused on creating unique materials for clients.

Now, enough with work because I want to share an easy recipe perfect for a small party or heck, pile these little guys up and make a meal out of it. They're addicting!

Jalapeno Chicken Bites

You'll need....
- Chicken breasts (2-3 depending on who's chowin' down)
- Cream cheese
- Cheddar cheese (grated)
- Jalapenos (finely diced)
- 4-5 slices of bacon
- Butter
- Vegetable oil

Take some chicken breast and slice it thinly and cut into strips.

Salt and pepper on both sides and add about 1 tbs. of cream cheese to the middle.

Next, take some jalapenos and dice it up. I used 1 fresh jalapenos but in the end, it didn't pack a lot of heat. I would recommend the sliced jalapenos from the jar - dice those for something a little spicier.

Add jalapenos on top of the cream cheese.

I did 2 versions, one without cheddar and one with. Believe me, cheddar also makes everything better.






















We all agree, bacon just makes everything better. Cut one slice of bacon in half, lay the chicken with cream cheese and jalapenos on top of bacon, and roll the thing into a ball. Secure with a toothpick.

Get a skillet on medium to high heat. Add a love of butter and vegetable oil (about 2 tbs.) and get it poppin'!

Get your bites ready to go and fry them up in the pan, turning the pieces about every 2-3 minutes until chicken is cooked through and browned on top. The cheese will start to ooze out but don't worry, this is the goodness every master chef must be patient with.

I served this with a little ranch but having them plain is equally satisfying. Bring these to your next social gathering and I promise you won't have any leftovers!