Chit Chat & Hodgepodge
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| Photo borrowed from marthastewart.com |
Years ago, Ruby Tuesday had a Triple Chocolate Cheesecake on their menu which we absolutely LOVED. Like all restaurants, they got the bright idea to change-up their menu doing away with this dessert. Crazy, isn’t it?
This isn’t the first time a restaurant has gone stupid on us and certainly won’t be the last.Thinking about that Triple Chocolate Cheesecake got my cravings stirring. Why did I have even go there? I guess thinking about upcoming anniversary is the major prompter. I wanted to make a classic New York style cheesecake, but my DH knew I wanted a chocolate one and encouraged me to make one.Giddy with excitement to find a recipe, this is the one I found…
- 1 package (9 ounces) chocolate wafer cookies
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 4 bars (8 ounces each) cream cheese, room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup sour cream
- 8 ounces semisweet chocolate, melted
- Chocolate Ganache, for topping
Directions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Assemble a 9-inch spring-form pan with the raised side of the bottom facing down.
- In a food processor, pulse cookies until finely ground. Add butter, and pulse to moisten. Transfer to prepared pan, and press crumbs firmly and evenly into the bottom. Place pan on a rimmed baking sheet; bake 10 minutes, and set aside.
- Wipe out bowl and blade of food processor. Add cream cheese, sugar, and salt; blend until smooth. With motor running, add eggs, sour cream, and finally chocolate; blend filling until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.
- Pour filling into crust, and bake just until set, 1 hour. Turn oven off, and let cheesecake sit 1 hour in oven, without opening (this helps prevent cracking).
- Run a thin knife around the edge of the pan (this helps prevent cracking, too); leave in pan, and cool completely on wire rack. Cover loosely and refrigerate, at least 6 hours or up to overnight.
- Prepare Chocolate Ganache. Unmold cheesecake. Spread ganache in center of cheesecake; let set before serving.
The verdict…this recipe turned out to be a bit of a disappointment. *sigh* It’s simply not chocolaty enough to suit our my taste buds. Have you made a cheesecake like this before? If so, is yours really chocolaty? Share your secret!
1. How many students were in your high school graduating class? Did you know most, if not all of them? In between my junior and senior year of high school, I got married and moved to Tennessee. I graduated here. That being said, the only kids I knew in my senior class were those in my Home room – not many! However, in my old class…the ones I grew up with…in rural West Virginia I knew a lot of those kids. Today, if most of them walked up to me I’m sure I wouldn’t know them at first sight. My graduating class was 1980. 32-years has a way of making you forgetful. As for how many were in my graduating class….deer staring into the headlights look…I dunno!
3. Pickles-love ’em or loathe ’em? If its love what’s something you eat that needs a pickle?
Dill is my favorite, but I like Bread & Butter pickles, too. Some of the best pickles I ever had were home-made. My SIL’s grandmother made some excellent bread & butter pickles. Yum!
4. What’s a stereotype you seem to perpetuate without meaning to?
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| Nerds! |
A couple of weeks ago, we watched Revenge of the Nerds on Netflix. My first thought is, “Okay, this is going to be really stupid.” It turned out to be a funny movie, but definitely not a family friendly flick to watch with small kids.
5. Ever been horse back riding? If so is it something you enjoy? If not, do you have any interest? Did you watch the Kentucky Derby? Will you be watching the last leg of the Triple Crown this weekend? I sat on a horse once and that’s all it took. I think horses are beautiful creatures, especially from afar where the flies and stench can’t reach you. I don’t know if the smell is common of all horses or not, but I’d say the flies are. If that’s not bad enough the horse frightened med. Of course, I was just wee girl when someone put on that beast’s back. I felt like I had mounted on a Trojan horse. I didn’t know what a Trojan horse was all those years ago, but what I’m getting at is how enormous that animal seemed to me. I wouldn’t be afraid today of horses, but I wouldn’t like being around them because of the flies and stench. As for the Kentucky Derby, I don’t have plans to watch it.
6. What’s your favorite ‘wedding’ movie? This one stumped me at first. Wedding movies is not our kind of movies to watch, but then I recall we re-watched Father of the Bride after DD#2 got married. We rented this movie shortly after her birth and it tore us up too bad to enjoy. You know the whole growing up, moving away thing ripped our hearts out. It didn’t help I was still reeling from post-pregnancy hormones, but what about my DH? Well, he was just being a darling sweet daddy who didn’t even want to begin thinking about his little girls getting married.
7. What is one ‘tourist attraction’ in the USA that you’d like to see in person?
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| See more Grand Canyon Photos |
It would have to be the Grand Canyon. My BFF as a child went to Arizona, and I remember thinking how cool that would have been to see. That summer, I believe she & her family traveled several places out west and all I could think of was, “WOW!” Maybe, someday I’ll have my chance to see some of nature’s spectacular out west, too.
8. Insert your own random thought here.
Wanna give you the heads up for a chance to win a free copy of an interactive iPad book for children. Interested? If so, check out my post: Review & Giveaway: Elfishki and the Giant Cake Interactive iPad Book.
Let’s walk over to Patrice’s for ….
- If you wear a hat, what kind is it mostly likely to be? The only time I wear a hat is when I’m in the sun a lot and it usually is a ball cap.
- Do you wear perfume or cologne (ever)? Perfume or parfume
- What’s your favorite snack while watching movies or television? Seasoned popcorn, usually white cheddar.
- What’s the last gift you purchased or made? Yesterday, I ordered some flowers for my grandma’s birthday.
- Please finish this sentence. Before summer is over I hope I’ve lost these haunting 10 pounds!
8 Comments
Judy SheldonWalker
Goodness, there were so many questions, I have to go back and look again. You are competing with a basketball game in the next room. Hubby is hoh and watches it at full volume.
I love dark chocolate, so I love a rich chocolate flavor. So maybe that’s where my mind is on chocolate!! lol
The Henry Crew!
I lived 45 minutes away from the Grand Canyon when my DH and I were going to college and starting our married years – what an absolutely gorgeous place! You definitely have to come out west – there’s nothing like it! 🙂
Debbie Huffaker
I refuse to list how many pounds I need to loose!!! I could only hope for ONLY ten!! :'(
Sherri
Everybody wants to lose weight! Me Too! Now that my only baby is 16 I may have a harder time watching Father of the Bride…We’re planning for college now & I can barely talk about it without crying. Have a great week :o)
Joyce
You maried young!! We always get a little teary eyed watching Father of the Bride too…maybe that’s why I like it. It really hits home.
Have a great day!
Cathy Kennedy
I was young. Even when we watched Father of the Bride after ours got married, I still teared up. It’s hard to believe our little girls are young women now. Oh yeah, I just noticed your husband grew up in the foothills of the Smoky’s. That’s so cool!
Marti
The Grand Canyon is spectacular, especially in winter. But seeing it at sunrise and sunset on any day of the year is a sight you will never forget.
Cathy Kennedy
I believe if we are even given the opportunity to travel out west then it would be in the cooler months. The landscape there is so different from what we’re use to, but I just gotta see it in my lifetime. All the photos I’ve ever seen have captivated me.