Black Forest Cheesecake

I work with a woman who requests this on her birthday, I haven't made it for her in a few years, but I did this year! There really aren't many people I would spend this amount of time on, but she deserves it.

Happy Birthday Monica!

Monica "made" me have a very, very small slice, and laughed and said it was hardly even worth cutting because it was so small. She then enjoyed it throughout the day, stashed it in her mini fridge and then hauled it home after work. 


It's fun to make things people enjoy so much.


Unfortunately now my family wants one, but they will probably opt for a regular lemony cheesecake with shortbread crust instead of graham cracker.


I have been making this cheesecake recipe for over 25 years!

Give it a try, it really is rich and stunning.


First, you use chocolate, lot's of it!

BLACK FOREST CHEESECAKE

~ 1985 favorite retro-dessert (Bon Appetit)

Cherry Topping:

1 lb. (thawed) frozen unsweetened cherries

1/4 cup kirsh

1/4 cup Morello cherry syrup (or sour cherry syrup)

Chocolate Crust:

8 12 oz. chocolate wafer cookies

6 Tbsp. (3/4 stick) well-chilled butter, cut into 12-in. pieces

Chocolate Filling:

1 1/2 cups whipping cream

12 oz. coarsely chopped semisweet chocolate

16 oz. (room temperature) cream cheese

3/4 cup sugar

4 (room temperature) eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup chilled whipping cream

2 Tbsp. sugar

1 Tbsp. kirsch

Chocolate curls

For topping: Soak undrained cherries and kirsch in small bowl 6 hours.Thoroughly drain cherries in strainer set over medium bow, shaking occasionally, at least 2 hours. Reserve liquid. Add enoughMorello cherry syrup to cherry liquid to measure 1 cup. Pour 6 Tbsp. into heavy skillet (reserve remaining liquid for filling). Halve cherries and add to skillet. Boil until syrup is thickened and mixture resembles preserves, about 6 minutes. (Can prepare 2 days ahead and chill).

For crust: Generously butter 9-in. springform pan. Finely crush cookies (on/off turns) in processor. Cut in butter (on/off turns) until mixture begins to gather together. Press crumbs into bottom of pan and up sides to 3/4 in. from top (should be no cracks). Refrigerate crust for at least 30 minutes.

For filling: Preheat oven to 325º. Heat 1 1/2 cups cream with chocolate in heavy medium saucepan over low heat until chocolate melts, stirring constantly. Cool 10 minutes. Beat cream with 3/4 cup sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs, one at at time until combined. Beat in chocolate mixture, then remaining 10 tablespoons cherry liquid and vanilla. Pour into crust. Bake until outer 2 inches of cake are firm but center still moves slightly, about 1 1/4 hours (top may crack). Cool completely on rack. Top pan with paper towels and cover tightly with foil. Refrigerate 1-2 days.

Remove foil, discard paper towel and pan sides of cake. Spread cherry topping over cake. Beat remaining 1 cup cream with 2 Tbsp. sugar and kirsh to peaks. Spoon onto center of cake. Top with chocolate curls. (Can be prepared 2 hours ahead and refrigerated.). Let stand at room temperature for 15 minutes before serving. (12-14 servings)

Here is the cheesecake without the topping.

Buffalo Chicken Salad

I LOVE buffalo chicken wings! I rarely eat them though, I understand that there really isn't much worse than that for a lean, healthy body (unless you eat a meal at the Cheesecake Factory)

What exactly do I like so much about it? The chicken and the hot sauce and blue cheese. So the other day I read this recipe from Jenny Grothe of Recipes for Gals in Figure and Bodybuilding (but anyone can use her recipes). I follow her on facebook, she always has interesting sounding recipes, some are winners, some are not.

She recently posted the following recipe for Buffalo Chicken Salad. I will give you her recipe, then explain how  I altered it for my delicious lunch!

Easy Hot Buffalo Chicken Salad

by Recipes for Gals in Figure and Bodybuilding

 Makes 1 salad

 Ingredients:

• 3 tbs VOSKOS nonfat Greek Yogurt
• 1 tbs Frank's Red Hot Buffalo Wing Sauce
• 10 sprays Ranch Salad Spritzer or 1/2 tsp ranch dip mix
• 3 oz cooked and sliced chicken breast
• 3/4 cup diced celery
• 1/4 cup sliced baby carrots
• 1 1/2 cups thinly sliced romaine

Directions:

Combine spray, wing sauce, and Greek yogurt. Add in remaining ingredients and toss. Serve!

Nutrition:

• Calories 181
• Calories from Fat 20.6
• Total Fat 2.29g
• Cholesterol 55.95mg
• Sodium 635.1mg
• Total Carbohydrate 14.73g
• Dietary Fiber 3.76g
• Sugars 8.49g
• Protein 27.29g

So, what did I change? I had no carrots so I used more celery. I don't care for ranch, I like blue cheese, so I used 1 Tbsp of Marie's Lite Chunky Blue Cheese. It added some calories, but this meal is so low, I can afford it.

1 Tbsp of the dressing has the following:
35 calories
3.5 grams fat
145 mg sodium
.5 gram carbs
.5 gram protein

I also doubled the Franks Hot Sauce...I like it hot!

For a meal with additional carbs add 1/2 cup kidney beans, they will be great!

Cheesecake Factory

"R" and I were heading out for a little shopping and we needed lunch first. I picked her up at the club and off we went to Valley Fair with our first stop the Cheesecake Factory in the mall.

I had never set foot in one before, but I had heard the name countless times. I think it must be the most popular place for Figure competitors immediately after a competition.

I had a copy of the nutritional facts in my hand and I was astounded by the calories in their foods. 

I needed protein and some greens, and a little carbs too, shouldn't be difficult but the Cheesecake Factory is an evil, evil empire.

Don't get me wrong, I had a great lunch and a fun time with "R" but only because she and I are wise to their tricks and we know how to select a healthy meal.

We were seated and a young, college age waiter come over and started to tell us about the specials. 

Waiter: "We have cream of chick" 

Kristy: "No" I said, "No cream, thanks", so he went on 

Waiter: "Breaded and fried...."

Kristy: "No, no fried. I know what I would like. What is in your Chicken Caesar salad?'

Waiter: Romaine, chicken, Parmesan, creamy garlic Caesar dressing..."

Kristy: "Chicken breast right?"

Waiter: "Yes, chicken breast"

Kristy: "I would like romaine lettuce, chicken breast, Parmesan cheese on the side, no croutons, no dressing"

Waiter: "Oh, right, I forgot the croutons.."

R: "I will have the same"

Waiter: "I'll bring the bread"

Kristy: "No bread, thanks"

Waiter: "Looks like I have some healthy eaters today!"

Most people think a salad is healthy, most salads are anything but healthy. In the link below you can see Cheesecake Factory's nutrition charts, the Chicken Caesar is 976 calories, that is almost half my daily caloric intake. They show the saturated fat, but not all the fat....

Cheesecake Factory Nutrition

The calories and fat are coming from the salad dressing and the croutons, a bit from the cheese but dry cheeses are low calorie and not a huge cause of concern. So that is why I told him to leave them off.

He delivered the salad dressing on the side in two gravy boats, it appeared to have been about 1/3 cup each!  On top of that, their food is served on serving platters, the portions should be illegal.

Unfortunately is it quite clear by looking around that many of the patrons frequent this place often.

I brought my own dressing (I was prepared). This is great dressing, low cal and wonderful flavor.

Here is the back, and in case you cannot read it, the nutrition is as follows:

1 Tbsp

15 calories

1 gram fat

115 grams sodium

1 gram carbs

1 gram sugar

1 gram protein

You can see my salad at the very top, and my container that I transported the dressing in. It made a great salad, and a healthy one as opposed to the impostor they attempted to serve me.

As we ate the waiter came back, rested his hand on my shoulder and asked how everything was, "R" and I both froze. "Fine, thanks, everything is great" I said.

'What was that?" R asked..."I have no idea, I have never been touched by  waitstaff at a restaurant before..." It made the entire event even more surreal.

He came back with the bill and said based on what we ordered, he knew that dessert was out of the question.

Not only was he cute, but darn smart too!