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Saturday, February 9, 2013

It's Time To Get Those Seeds Started

As many of you already know, on of my hobbies is gardening. I grow mostly veggies and herbs, but I also grow flowers.....so the bees have something to eat too.

I am pro "Grow Your Own" and anti "GMO"!

And for the first time I am promoting another bloggers page. I really do like her and she is running a contest in conjunction with The Botanical Interests Seeds. Here's a link to the contest, I really do hope you join in and best of luck.

http://onlysometimesclever.wordpress.com/2013/02/06/just-grow-it-big-seed-giveaway-from-botanical-interests/comment-page-6/#comment-34349

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

White Chocolate Cheesecake with Dark Chocolate Drizzled Raspberries

I thought about good and evil when I made this cheesecake. So good for my taste buds, so bad for my diet.
I thought about light and dark. White chocolate and just a hint of dark chocolate.
I thought about Heaven and Hell. That creamy bliss and the pounds tomorrow.

Mostly I thought about Valentines Day.....A day for love and lovers. A day when you look at your best friend and say, "I love you". A day when your best friend looks at you with that sparkle in their eye and repeats to you, "I love you too". And what goes better with a romantic dinner than cheesecake laden with white chocolate, red raspberries and just a hint of deep dark chocolate.


This is a small recipe. Perfect for just the two of you and a little left over for tomorrow. It makes 6 lovely slices. If you want a larger cheesecake you can double the recipe and not have any problems.
First gather all your ingredients. There are only three ingredients for the crust.

Graham crackers, butter and sugar.

Next comes the filling.
Cream cheese, eggs, sugar, almond extract and white chocolate.

Finally the garnish. Fresh raspberries and dark chocolate.

The Recipe.
Crust

4 Whole graham crackers
1 Tablespoons of sugar
2 Tablespoons of butter (Melted)

Method: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a food processor combine the graham crackers and sugar. Pulse until fine crumbs, then add the melted butter and pulse until well mixed.

Press the graham cracker mixture into the bottom of an 8 inch, or smaller, spring form pan. A smaller diameter pan will yield a thicker cheesecake and may need a little longer baking time. But only by a few minutes. This is the smallest size spring form pan I have right now, but I'm planning on getting a 6 inch pan soon. Set aside your crust.

Filling
2 8 Ounce packages cream cheese (softened to room temperature)
3 Tablespoons sugar
1 Teaspoon almond extract
2 Large eggs, lightly beaten
4 Ounces white chocolate melted and cooled

Method: Melt the white chocolate in the microwave for about 30 seconds, stir and continue heating in the microwave, stirring every 15 seconds until white chocolate is smooth and creamy. Set aside.  In a mixing bowl combine the cream cheese and sugar at low speed until well blended. Add the almond extract and eggs. Mix just until combined. Add the white chocolate and mix gently by hand until well incorporated. Do not over mix your batter once you add the eggs, it will give your cheese cake a grainy texture. Pour over graham cracker crust, place on a cookie sheet and bake for about 40 minutes or just until the center is almost set. It will look fallen in the middle and jiggle a little when you move the baking sheet.

 

 


Remove the cheesecake from the baking pan and put it on a rack to cool for about 10 minutes then run a knife around the edges to loosen the cheesecake. Unlatch the spring form pan and remove the outer ring. Let cool. After the cheesecake has cooled place it in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.

Garnish with a few raspberries and one ounce of melted dark chocolate.
 

Refrigerate any leftovers......if there are any.

HAVE A WONDERFUL VALENTINES DAY