It Is what it is

I am so far behind on the times...its kinda sad.  So last weekend when we were in Tahoe, we went to Harrah's to blow some scratch, and on the way out I wanted my yearly treat.  I very very rarely go to Starbucks, but when I do it is around this time of year.  I go and get my Spiced Pumpkin Latte, then in a couple of weeks I will go and get my Peppermint Latte. then end it with an Eggnog Latte. 

SO....The nice little girl behind the counter asked me if I would like a Salted Carmel Latte...I said no thank you, and she looked at me like I had horns, and I had asked her if her soul was for sale.  WTH??  Two weeks ago, my mom gave me a Salted Carmel candy, ( Mrs JellyMan found it before I remembered it and devoured it )....what the heck is up with Salted Carmel?  I asked Mrs. JellyMan and she just got this vacant look on her face and was like mmmmmmm Salted Carmel.  So...I went to work.  I need to get down to the bottom of this phenomenon.  I have searched the all mighty search engine Google, and it seems that I am way far behind.  So I decided to make Salted Carmel Cheesecake today, along with all of the other things that I am cooking.

Mrs JellyMan has made a Pinterest page just for cheesecakes.  I started there.  I found what i thought was a good Salted Carmel Cheesecake recipe....then I printed it out, and took the midgets to the store.   In looking at the directions....alot was desired.  It Kinda sorta didn't make sense, so I winged it.  I used their Carmel recipe, but that was just about it. 

The problem that i have, is when I make something, its hard to take it to work, and send it with Mrs. JellyMan.  So....I got creative.

Oh Yeah, We're rolling cup cake style!  ( Notice that they are PINK!! and have PINK ribbon? )

I wanted to go simple with the crust.  I was trying to come up with something that would not mess with the Salted Carmel flavor, so we went with Vanilla Wafers.  ( The recipe actually called for it, but I was unable to figure out if it needed 32 2 ounce wafers, or 32/2 ounces of wafers, or 3 1/2 ounces of wafers.  So...I winged it and dumped in half a box, with a stick melted butter. 
I processed them in the food processor till all of the big chunks were gone, then pulsed in the melted butter.

Cheesecake was fairly straight forward.

YUM!!

Since we are going to cover them, I did not do the water bath method, I just baked them as they were.  They came out a bit cracked!

I let these cool, and moved off to Carmel.  I have never made my own Carmel.  Grandma made it every year for Christmas, and could probably do it with one hand tied behind her back.  Actually...if she would have tried it today it would probably have gotten ruined.  It was a close 49er game....very few things would ever mess with her coolness....a close 49er game is pretty much the only thing!

SO...Off to Carmel!

Pretty Straight forward.  Except....Castor Sugar?  I was like wow...wth?  So...Out came great almighty Google.  WHEW!!  Ultra fine sugar!  I so was not looking forward to towing the midgets around looking for something weird!

Carmel was Ultra fine sugar, water, and heavy cream.

I really do not like working with sugar like this.  Its like liquid Napalm!  So I made my Carmel, and something dawned on me.  How can you tell if it is amber, in a BLACK pan.  Note To Self: I need so get some silver Non Non Stick pans.  So after much sweat, fear of burning sugar into my pans, and the potty dance, I was done.  Let it cool a bit, and topped the cheesecakes!

Okay..so I can only see a half picture.  Lets just say the camera phone I was using leaves alot to be desired!

So in all, a very productive day.  Made cheesecakes, and a soup for the freezer.  Umm no, I am not telling you what it is now.  I have to have something to blog about later don't I?  Yes, you do have to wait!

Busy work week ended, and another busy week on tap starting tomorrow.  Onky a couple of weeks until my supposed good friend comes back from Maternity leave...and maybe my days will go back to normal, and I can actually cook during the week, and maybe have some energy to blog. 

Catch ya later!

There is something rotten in Santa Rosa while I am in tahoe

I am the master of ignoration! Like that word, I just made it up! So, if something bothers me I rant and I am done. After that it is no longer an issue to me. I read a Facebook post last night at dinner, that blew my mind. Something so hateful, something so bothersome I haven't been able to put it away. I am working from my iPhone as my galaxy tab which was purchased especially to use the blogger app..I digress....I may have many typos.

SO. I know there are mean and hurtfull people in this world. It's a given. But this just hurt me so deep, and the fact that this person shares my blood hurts even worse. What is one of the things that every woman dreads? No, not my corny come ons.....breast cancer. You are probably trying to figure out where I am going with this.

So....I saw a Facebook post below;
You know what charity I am getting REALLY WORN OUT OF? Breast Cancer, yes PINK - Shut the hell up!! You know who "WHINES" about it the most? The women who have had " enhancement " surgery. Tired of, sick of it, shut the hell up.

He then follows it up with

Clearly this is unpopular say whatever I don't care.

My dad would tell me to ignore stupid people. I normally do a good job. This has stuck in me so deep it's made me sick. I don't think there is anyone out there who does not know someone who has been affected. I know people both living and dead. I know people that he is related to who have been afflicted. One dead, one alive.

Normally my blog is filled with witty Bantor, food, happy things. I have tried to stay off of the soapbox. I don't want to bother people with my point of view, because it is mine and mine alone. I don't want to be one of those guys who harps. So please bear with me for a bit.

I have talked about old people and what they have to offer. My grandmother Pauline died when I was young. She was an amazing cook. She took most of her recipes to the grave with her. My dad taught me a few....but he took most to the grave with him as well. My dads sister had a double mastectomy, she lived. She sent an email out asking for Pink yoplait tops for the codes you can enter to have them donate to to breast cancer research. One of my mothers closest friends died from breast cancer. It does not just affect the afflicted, it will affect all of us. You don't realize what something means to you until it's gone.

Almost done I swear!

I will never say someone does not have the right to say something. We are all granted that freedom in this country. But god has given us all fitters, and brains. Please use both. Don't make yourself look like an ass.

So....onto better things! We have eaten some of the best food the last couple of nights! Great Italian tonight, yesterday was in and out for lunch, and some of the best carnitas I have ever eaten! Sorry Dad, these were better than yours! We found this little hole in the wall Mexican food joint on the wrong side of the tracks up here, and it was the best!!

I plan to come home refreshed, and ready to roll. Speaking of rolling....time to throw Mrs JellyMan under the bus. So, we are winding our way up the hill, on the nice twisty turney turns, tires screeching and she is like hah did I almost make u throw up? Then she gets green and announces she has to blow chunks! =) priceless!!

Some like it hot!

Today was actually a good day!  I love Pandora!  Pandora radio is the best thing since cheesecake!  If you look at my play list and you don't know me...you will just shake your head and call me a weirdo.  If you do know me......then having 4 different Phineas and Ferb stations probably wouldn't surprise you.  I mean come on, that's GREAT music!  S.I.M.P..... I GOT SQUIRRELS IN MY PANTS.....Today's gonna be a great day....Gitchi Gitchi Goo .  I mean yeah...it is a cartoon...but its a GREAT CARTOON!!!

Okay, enough about Cartoons.  We got bigger fish to fry.  See, the thing of it is, I wanna talk about this cheesecake that I am making!  Hah!  I got your attention didn't i?  So yeah, cheesecake!  Its a new recipe.  Mrs. JellyMan is always looking for new stuff for me to make.  She is a Google Whiz!  I bet she could even find Jimmy Hoffa if she would just ask the all mighty search engine!  But she wont....we will keep thinking that he is buried at the Meadowland. 

SO yeah, we have a new recipe.  She wanted me to make it for something, so I figured I would make it for people at work.  They always seem to like my cooking, at least they say its better than the food in the cafeteria.  You know, you can only eat so many cups of plastic pudding in plastic cups.  ( it really looks like something that came out of the midget Pigmy's play kitchen ).

This Cheesecake blends alot of my favorite spices.  I love Cinnamon.  I could eat it all day long!  Cinnamon Sugar on white buttered toast.....Yeah that was the best thing at Grandma's house!!  Cayenne Pepper.  I love to use that in my rubs.  It brings such a nice mellow heat into things like Pork and Chicken!  So with the recipe that Mrs. JellyMan so kindly searched for, I decided to treat my co workers with some of my culinary delights.  Tomorrow we have big wigs coming, so I figured a big dose of sugar in the form of a JellyManKelly cheesecake would be appreciated.

The recipe called for a brownie crust.  Okay...so I get off work at 5:45....home made brownie crust just wont cut it this time.  So I went with the next best thing!

So, the crust as you may now know was made of brownies.  Make it per the box directions, add your Cinnamon, and Cayenne pepper, and pour into your spring form pan and bake!  Oh by the way, you may want to make 2.  Because the smell in your house will drive you NUTS!  I would have probably eaten some but we were having a talk with Midget Pygmy #2 about the theft of erasers from class...ummm yeah.  No fun!

So, your brownie crust has cooled off.  Put a kettle of hot water on, wrap your spring form pan in HEAVY DUTY foil ( if you buy the BIG LONG roll of heavy duty foil, it will cover the bottom of your pan very nicely, and keep ALL water out during the water bath.

Mix your cheesecake per the directions, and pour that bad boy mixture into the spring form pan with the huge brownie in it.  Place your foil wrapped spring form pan into your bigger pan filled with the boiling water, and plop into the oven.  Well...better not plop it in, then you can sue me, and I don't have deep pockets like MCD's.  You might get 27 cents and some pocket lint...and I have kids...so you really don't know what that pocket lint is made of!!

Bake it for 65 Minutes, and WHAM!!

MMMMM looks good, smells good, I think my co workers will eat it all up!  I love bringing food in for my co workers.  I think it makes up for all of the time I throw things at them, make fun of baldy, brandish sharpened plastic utensils...its like pay back.  They take what I give them, and they know they will be given treats!

I am sure glad my lovely wifey gave me this recipe so I can make it for people to brighten their day.  I must be a good cook, because there is never any left over to take home.  Funny how that happens.  

As the seasons change, my cooking does as well.  Especially my desert making.  Now that I have an oven that will cook over 350 degree's, you can expect alot of new and exciting dishes coming your way. 

Okay...time to come clean.  I am hoping Mrs. JellyMan will only read about half of this, and then get disgusted with me.  This recipe was supposed to be made for her birthday....all night I have been telling her that it was for work....yeah i know I am a stinker.  But.....if Mrs. JellyMan is still reading this then.....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!  And the below video is just for you, since you like to post it on every one's page!!

Click me PLEASE!!!

Oh Yeah...you may want to know how to make it.  We found it on ( Yeah I said we )
a block called BunsInMyOven, and you can find it by going to the below link.

Mexican Brownie Cheesecake