Tuesday, December 29, 2009

TWD—Low and Lush Chocolate Cheesecake and Christmas Stuff

The presents are all unwrapped and WELL played with (we were snowed-in from a blizzard since Christmas Eve.  Things got a little stir crazy around here.  Now there’s a lot of snow outside and it’s cold!  I’ve had a cold, too, so I haven’t felt the greatest, but YAY for Christmas!

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The night the blizzard came, with lots of wind, a ton of snow blew right up to our front door.  It was about three feet right outside the door!

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My poor little snowman was so cold out there! ;)

Because of the blizzard, this was the first Christmas in 7-8 years that our friend, Bob, was not able to join us Christmas morning as he always comes over before the boys wake up to join in the festivities.  People were getting stuck just trying to get on or off our street.  So we had Bob on the Web Cam while everyone opened their presents.  It was as if he were there.  The boys had fun opening a present, then going over to the computer to show it to Bob.DSCF1420-1

Oh, I could show you the many, many pictures I took of each presents that was opened, but that could get long and probably a little boring for you, so here’s one shot with all four boys and Kevin in it.  Christmas in a nutshell.

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Okay, I can’t help myself, one more picture.  This is because I actually got a picture of Scottie smiling and happy about something and that just doesn’t seem to happen a lot.  Kevin got him a practice pad (drum) that he is really excited about.  Scott plays drums on anything and EVERYTHING just with his fingers.  He is taking some piano lessons so he can then start taking drum lessons and in school.  (The schools here won’t let the kids start drums until they’ve had some piano lessons.)  Anyway, I like this picture and then there’s Sam, showing Bob some candy that was in his stocking.  I switched the camera to video mode and was trying to get Scott to play a little on the drums, but he got embarrassed knowing he was on film and wouldn’t do it!

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And on that note, I took down ALL the Christmas decorations and tree today (Monday).  That may be a record for me on how quickly I’ve taken down the holiday.  Why?  Because SAM has been driving me nuts ruining so many ornaments!  I was tired of it.  Any ornaments or decorations he could get his hands on, he’d secretly destroy.  Then I’d find it later, ruined.  Sigh!  So I put it all away.  Bye, Christmas, see you again before we know it!

Now why am I here?  OH, yes, Tuesday’s With Dorie!  Sorry, if I don’t take those little sidetracks, I can’t get everything I want blogged!  Low and Lush Chocolate Cheesecake—this last recipe of 2009 was chosen by The Tea Lady from Tea and Scones.  Get this—I followed the recipe exactly.  I know, I know, what is wrong with me?  Well, I’ve been sick, so sue me.  jk

Okay, not quite exactly.  I left the cinnamon out of the crust.   Oooh, rebel.   Then, I didn’t take very good pictures (even though I have a new camera!).  But here you go.

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This was not my favorite cheesecake.  I didn’t think it was chocolaty enough.  The crust was very crumbly.  Kevin (yes, he actually ate some of this!) and I decided the cheesecake was almost too dense.  We must be light and fluffy kind of cheesecake people.

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Kevin liked it more than I thought he did, but he didn’t tell me that until AFTER, I decided to play around with it a bit and I think he was a little disappointed that I didn’t save more of it for him.  I took scoops of the cheesecake and made them into balls.  Then I melted some caramels and some chocolate and dipped the balls in the caramel, then the chocolate, then sprinkled some with chopped pecans and some with toffee bits.

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There.  That’s more chocolaty cheesecake!

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Oh, now before you go thinking, “There you go again, Katrina, really kicking it up.”  Wait.  Let me tell you a few things.  Oh, yes, the cheesecake truffles are good.  All two of them that I made that turned out nicely.  You see, did you know that if you get even a drop of caramel or something else in melted Chocolate Almond Bark, it will seize up on you?  Yep, it will.  I learnt that doing these.  First a little dip in the caramel, then a little dip right in to the chocolate.  By the second one, the chocolate was hardening up!  So I nuked it again.  Didn’t help.  Stir, stir, stir, nuke, stir.  Nope.   Quick do something so you don’t waste all that chocolate (It was really only 2-3 ounces)!  So I stirred some more caramel into it, dumped in a bunch of toffee bits and pecans and made little chocolate candies.

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So for the rest of the cheesecake truffles (I only made about 10 of them!), I melted some nice Ghiradelli chocolate and from then on out, I drizzled caramel over them, then chocolate and sprinkled on the crunch.  And I didn’t take any other pictures of them.  Lesson?  Almond Bark is great for dipping things, I prefer it for most things, like all the Pepperidge Farms Pretzel Fish, mini Nutter Butters, Oreos, animal crackers, Ritz crackers, Teddy Grahams, etc. that I dipped for the holidays, just don’t use it right after dipping another liquid.  Just sayin’.

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So, thanks for the cheesecake pick, Tea Lady.  Kevin was a little bummed that I threw out the rest of the cheesecake.  I really thought he didn’t like it as much as he decided that he did!  So there you have it.  A long, long post just to tell you about a little cheesecake!  You can get the recipe for the cheesecake at Tea and Scones and check out all the other TWD blogs for their Low and Lush Chocolate Cheesecakes!  Happy New Year everyone!

34 comments:

Lisa Ernst said...

Chocolate cheesecake truffles -- great save for something that wasn't originally "chocolatey" enough. I would want to kick it up too, so I can appreciate your creative efforts on this front. BTW, Anna recently tried a new chocolate chip cookie recipe that looks especially good, with a high chocolate chip to batter ratio. No doubt you've seen it. I can't wait to try that one.

mike said...

It looks perfect! Same here though..needed more of a chocolate boost, IMO! But those truffles - how creative! Love all the "variations" you do - I can barely pull off the main recipe! You've inspired me to de-decorate before the end of the week... but at least the boys enjoyed the tree while it was up!

Soy*Baby said...

Looks like you had a wonderful Christmas and all that snow looks cold but nice. Your cheesecake looks good and I bet those truffles were wonderful. I'm going to have to make some truffles. Yummy. Great pictures.

Jacque said...

Looks like it was a great Christmas!

Your cheesecake looks like it came out nice, anyway. I wasn't in love with it either. There are too many other flavors I like.

Hindy said...

Cheesecake truffles - wow! If I wasn't already sugar overloaded...
I knew as soon as I tasted the batter that I had to double the chocolate. It was really good.
Glad your family had a fun Christmas even with the blizzard!

Anonymous said...

The texture of that cheesecake looks incredibly smooth! Maybe it's more of a milk chocolate cheesecake? I don't know... I think I'd like it. Unfortunately I too am completely overloaded from sweets.
I'm way behind on my blogging, and it's already time to go back to work. :-(

Julie C said...

Threw OUT the cheesecake??!! Hello! We have a four-wheel drive - could've driven over to take it off your hands, so to speak. But that's okay - we can't afford it anyway.
I think your cheesecake looked perfect! And what fantastic creativity with all that chocolate. Fabulous!

Valerie said...

I haven't had much time to blog or read blogs lately and finally got to come here for a visit. I see I've missed LOTS of yummies! Those cheesecake truffles look so delish!!!!

Kerstin said...

Looks like you had the perfect Christmas celebration :) Your truffles look amazing!!

Anonymous said...

Love the snow pictures! And the bon bons! And the cheesecake looks great too. Happy New Year!

Melissa said...

I'm with you on the cheesecake - not chocolatey enough and too dense! I'm so glad you had a good Christmas. The snow looks pretty!

Leslie said...

Cheesecake truffles? Great save! I was meh on this one. Give me chocolate or give me cheesecake but don't confuse my taste buds I guess.

Susan said...

Oh my! The chocolate cheesecake truffles look so good! I will have to try those. Looks like a fun Christmas, even with all the snow. We had a white Christmas here in Virginia and I was so happy! (I'm an upstate NY gal and miss snow at Christmas!)

Welcome to our crazy blessed life said...

Yum! The truffles sound so good! I am making this tonight but like you have had a cold. Boo. Hope you feel better soon!

Clumbsy Cookie said...

That was a lot of dipping eh Katrina! And a lot of snow!!! I don't think I could get used to living in a place with so many snow!!! Only maybe if you fed me cheesecake truffles everyday, ahahahah! Happy new year my dear!!!

Anonymous said...

I would love to be in the kitchen with you when you're doing all of your transformations with your baking! The truffles were such a good idea, though I never would have known that the melted bark would seize up.

Your husband better learn to speak up if he likes something! I threw out some "experimental" fudge and my husband was like WHAT? You threw it out?

Kayte said...

I knew you would be kicking things up over here even now. I haven't made anything in the dessert category all week, and hope that I get my mojo back this coming week. Too soon to tell. All your efforts look so great...you are making things very difficult for your future daughters-in-law you know! They will always hear from their husbands how great their mom's cooking is!

Unplanned Cooking said...

Such fabulous treats! Looks as if you got as much snow as we did. There's something sweet about being snowed in on Christmas.

Donna-FFW said...

Perfect idea to use them for truffles. Great way to save the dessert!! Your Christmas looks like it was just lovely. The boys looked so happy.

Megan said...

Cheesecake truffles? And you didn't tell me this BEFORE?! How could you?!

I love that idea more than cheesecake in a crust - because the filling is the best part.

TeaLady said...

Sorry this one didn't do it for you. But you managed to pull the rabbit out of the hat with those truffles - sorta...

Thanks for baking along with me this week.

(And I would love snow here, but maybe not QUITE that much....)

Mimi said...

I guess that is what you call a storm! It appears that you had a wonderful Christmas. Your cheesecake and variations look fun. I just could muster the energy make another dessert this week.
Katrina, Happy New Year to you all!
Mimi

Jamie said...

Mmmm those desserts look divine. I miss TwD, I just cannot find the time! Happy New Year!

Unknown said...

I love the chocolate covered stuff! Looks like y'all had a good Christmas. Just in case you didn't see...the s'more bars are totally finger friendly!

Pamela said...

My goodness, everything looks SO, SO GOOD! Loved the Christmas pics and I think it's great that you were able to have Bob there in some manner. How fun for the boys! Hope you have a wonderful new year!

LilSis said...

It looks like it was a great Christmas, even if you were snowed in. We didn't get near that much snow when we were in Chicago but I'm still glad to be back in California!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

JMay said...

What a lovely family you have! :-)

Such a cute blog, glad I stumbled upon it.


xo.

Gourmified said...

K-I guess for me, it was fantastic...like I Said, though, most of the bittersweet recipes are TOO chocolaty for me. This was perfect! What a crazy snow storm, too..isn't it fun when wind is added into the mix...haaa! Happy New Year!

Anonymous said...

I don't usually leave comments about food,but as you were describing what you were doing my mouth started to water and my stomach was rumbling for chocolate. I could almost taste it. The cheesecake looked good to me from the beginning and then you kept going on and on. Enough already.I'm glad I'm not there to be your taster.At least I'm saving calories. Yummy,yummy

Lisa said...

Kat, the holidays at your house look like so much fun, especially wall those boys, and of course, your goodies. Every time i pop in, I'm amazed at all the baking you've done and want to leave a comment on everything I missed SO, I'm going to kill all of that with one line, for now..YUMMY, DELICIOUS, MOUTH WATERING, CUTE BOYS! LOL Happy New Year to you and the family!

Teanna said...

You always make such fun stuff with your food! I loved the cheesecake, but yes, it was very dense! The truffles are awesome! I hope you had a wonderful Christmas!

Anonymous said...

Sick of the snow and now the cold. Poor Bob, I feel his pain. I loved the cheesecake a little too much. I think I should stay away from cheesecake truffles. yum.

Unknown said...

Great idea to convert them into truffles! They look and sound soo much better!

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