Italy Meets the South

One night while trying to figure out what to have for dinner, I remembered seeing a new twist on an old classic. Allow me to introduce to you chicken fried steak parmesan.

If you head on over to this page on my blog, you'll find the recipe for the chicken fried steak. After you've made the steaks, you just do like you would for chicken parmesan. I'll be honest, when I made this meal, I had completely forgotten about already giving you the recipe for chicken fried steak. Since I won't be giving you a recipe for this one, I'm going to super nice and give you a second post this evening with an actual recipe (how's that for coming back to the blogging world?).

This meal was pretty good and definitely different. I'll certainly make it again, but next time I'll use a different sauce. The marinara that we usually buy is no longer being sold at any grocery stores near me, and the one I bought in place of it just wasn't as good as I had hoped. To mix things up just a little, I also covered two of the steaks with alfredo instead of marinara (my sister doesn't care for red sauce so I tried to make some special just for her). Those ones were really fantastic! Who would have guessed that chicken fried steak and alfredo would go so well together?

Happy Birthday to Me!

Yesterday was my quarter century birthday! Before you ask any questions let me answer them. No, I don't feel any older. Yes, I made my own birthday cake. No, it wasn't a layer cake. And yes, it had alcohol in it. Did I cover everything? Great!

I started my hatch day by participating in a 5k that just happened to go past my apartment (I was sorely tempted to just head back to bed when I ran by, but that was because I was just sore). I then purchased a fun purse from Target, visited my favorite used book store, and accompanied my sister to her hair appointment. My mom grilled some BBQ chicken and made baked potatoes, corn, and broccoli with cheese sauce. But none of that is why you're here. You're here for this killer recipe for the cheesecake I made. What do you get when you add chocolate and my favorite stout beer? Guinness Chocolate Cheesecake!!! I also served mine some Irish cream whipped cream (I was a little too liberal with the Bailey's so mine didn't get as stiff as I would have liked, but it still tasted good).

I know what you must be thinking. "Beer? In cheesecake? Are you crazy?!?" Only slightly mad, but that's neither here nor there. I was sitting at my desk at work on Friday thinking that my mom probably wouldn't think about making a cake since she was still trying to figure out what to make for dinner. So I sat wondering what I'd really want for my cake when I remembered this cheesecake that I had made with less than satisfactory results. "I bet I could make it better this time," I thought to myself. S-U-C-C-E-S-S!!! I was so right. There wasn't a crack on that bad boy, and it tasted so decadent and luscious. You don't really taste the beer, it's just there to add another level to the flavor. I definitely suggest using the best chocolate that you can find (unfortunately, I bought mine at Wal Mart, but Ghiradelli is a tasty alternative to some of the cheaper varieties around). Here's my gift to you. Enjoy!

Guinness Chocolate Cheesecake

Recipe from All Recipes, adapted by me

1 cup crushed chocolate cookies (I used chocolate Teddy Grahams)
1/4 cup butter, softened (I melted mine instead of just using softened)
2 tablespoons white sugar
1/4 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder

3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup white sugar
3 eggs
1/2 pound semisweet chocolate chips
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1 cup sour cream
1 pinch salt
3/4 cup Irish stout beer (e.g. Guinness®)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract (I used homemade vanilla from the stash I made over the summer)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Combine the crushed cookies, butter, 2 tablespoons sugar, and cocoa in a small bowl; mix; press into the bottom of a 9-in springform pan.
2. Place the cream cheese in a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer set to low speed until smooth. While beating, slowly add 1 cup sugar and then the eggs, one at a time. Continue beating until smooth.
3. Combine the chocolate chips and heavy cream in a microwave-safe bowl. Heat in the microwave until the chocolate is completely melted, stirring every 30 seconds. Beat the chocolate into the cream cheese mixture. Add the sour cream, salt, beer, and vanilla; blend until smooth. Pour the mixture over the crust. Place the pan into a large, deep baking dish. Fill the dish with water to cover the bottom half of the springform pan (be sure to cover the bottom and sides of the springform with tinfoil to keep the water out).
4. Bake the cheesecake in the water bath in the preheated oven for 45 minutes; turn oven off; leave the cheesecake in the oven with oven door slightly ajar another 45 minutes; remove from oven. Run a knife along the edge of the cheesecake to loosen from pan. Chill in refrigerator at least 4 hours.

Update

Sorry for the lack of posts again guys. My laptop is still out of commission which makes it difficult to post and impossible to get pictures put up. I have been documenting and taking pictures of the recipes I've been trying out so that once the laptop is running again I can start posting again. Tomorrow is my birthday so I hope to borrow my sister's laptop or maybe even my dad's desktop so I can post a special recipe. No promises though (I gave up on those after my last post). Anyway, have a happy weekend if I can't convince my family to take pity on me.

Heavy Heart and a Promise

I seem to need to make apologies often on here for my lack of posting. Last weekend when I was sick, my laptop decided it was no longer going to do as I wished and decided to take a long holiday. This had made it nigh on impossible to post any photos (I know other people know of sneaky ways to get around this, but sadly I just haven't had the energy).

Add on top of that the phone call I received last night followed by the text message I got this morning. My great-uncle passed away. I can't say that I'm not deeply affected by this, but I also can't lie that it's a big relief. Uncle Bobby has been living with cancer and congestive heart failure for the past few years. Recently, he had been a great amounts of pain that left him with little no energy. A few days ago, he was given a couple of days to a couple of weeks. My grandparents (Nana and Papa) were going to fly from California to New York to be with him until his time was up. All of this was given to me second-hand by my mother so forgive me if the details are a bit off. My mom's cousin told my uncle that he needed to hold on for just a couple more days, that his brother was coming to see him. "Joey's coming?" he asked. When my mom's cousin answered in the affirmative and that he would be there Saturday, he simply responded, "Then I can go home on Sunday."

I think that him knowing that his brother was coming was enough comfort for him that he was able to slip softly away without having to deal with anymore pain. Not only am I grieving for him now that he's gone, but I'm also grieving for Papa who didn't get the chance to say his final farewell. I've kicking myself all day for not getting the chance to know him better like I should have. That's where my promise comes in. I never want to spend another moment regretting something that I could have changed just by being a bit more proactive. I want to be able to look back on my life and say that I lived and loved with as much passion and as little regret as I could. I'll be back with a recipe this weekend even if it means that I have to drag my fanny to the local library with my memory card to get it to you. With that, I leave you with a tribute to Uncle Bobby. Semper fidelis!!!

Amazing Grace

Jam Exchange: What I Received

About a month ago I told you guys about the jam exchange Stephchows so graciously hosted. I shared what I sent and sat in eager anticipation wanting to know who had gotten my name and needing to know what kind of jam would be gracing my fridge (for however brief a time it would last).

Imagine my delight when I received my package at work a week ago, and tucked inside was two very unique flavors. Courtesy of Beantown Baker, I am now the proud owner of a jar of Vanilla Peach Bourbon jam and a jar of Rhubarb-Raspberry jam. My coworker and I opened them immediately and each had a spoonful of the two. I must say, both are absolutely splendid! When i got home, I pulled out a piece of wheat bread and cut it in half them smeared a good deal of each jam, one on either side. The rhubarb-raspberry tasted like a slice of pink lemonade, if pink lemonade was solid. The vanilla peach was a bit overwhelmed by the whole grains in the bread, but I know exactly which jam I'll be reaching for this weekend when I make scones...

Thanks again, Steph, for hosting, and Beantown Baker for some truly remarkable jam (her recipe for the vanilla peach bourbon can be found here).