Pineapple Cheesecake

In order to become the ultimate cheesecake master I must, quite naturally, try as many variations as possible. This week's special is pure ricotta delight with pineapple topping. It tastes best in two days ... as all cheesecakes do. 

You'll need:

Base:

• 100g graham crackers
• 4 spoons melted butter

Filling:

•  500g ricotta
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 2 eggs
• 2 table spoons vanilla extract
• zest from 1 lemon

 Topping:

• 500g can pineapple (both the syrup and pineapple are needed)
• 3 table spoons sugar
• 2 table spoons corn starch
• juice from 1/2 lemon

1) Mix all the ingredients from the filling section.

2) Prepare your baking form - smear it with butter and use about two finely ground crackers to cover the buttered areas. Combine the rest of the crackers (use chunks of your favorite size) with the rest of the butter and cover the bottom of your pan. It should create a very thin layer. 

3) Pour your filling in the form and put it in the oven four about 40 minutes (depends on your form, I have a 28cm cake form so the layer of the cake is thin and is ready after less time) at 180°C.

4) Meanwhile, prepare your topping. Pulse the pineapple in a blender so that it is almost puree-like. Take the syrup from the can and the lemon, pour in the starch with sugar (if you want it to be nice yellow like the pineapple, use white sugar; if you are OK with discoloration, use brown sugar like I did) and put it on the cooker. Once it starts boiling, you should turn off the heat and just stir till it thickens. Set aside to cool down. After an hour or so, add in the pineapple.

5) Pour the topping on a slightly cooled cake and let it settle for at least a day. Cheesecakes taste best even later (like, day 2 or 3) but who can wait that long!

Caramel Cupcakes

Whenever I don't know what to bake I just take my plain (vanilla) cupcake recipe and add something to it so that I don't bore my family to death. So I thought these would be in the "meh" category because even though I am a big cupcake or muffin enthusiast, my family don't think anything can beat cheesecakes and they just eat their fill of muffins but never say they want to eat them all. I don't get it because I find muffins and cupcakes the best breakfast food but whatever...

This time, however, the cupcakes disappeared instantaneously and there were fights over who would have the honor to polish off the last one. So get your stuff ready, maybe this is the best cupcake ever. It's super sweet (reduce the sugar if you don't like too sweet desserts) and it has a moist core which no one can resist.

You'll need (15 pieces):

Batter:

• 300g flour (I used half plain, half spelt)
• 150g butter
• 3 eggs
• 150g sugar 
• 1 tea spoon baking powder
• 200ml milk
• 15 pieces of soft caramel candy or fudge or whatever name it has in your store 

Topping:

• 40g vanilla pudding powder
• 250ml milk
• 100g sugar
• 250g room temperature butter
• caramel fudge pieces for decoration

1) Starting with the cream so that it has time to cool, you have to prepare the pudding. Bring the powder with milk to a boil and then just stir till it gets very thick. Let it cool down a little and then add the sugar and butter till it's well blended and smooth. Put it in the fridge.

2) Combine all the ingredients for the batter except the candy. Pour a table spoon of the batter into each of your muffin cups (or whatever amount you need for a half of the muffin) and then put one piece of candy in each cup. Follow by covering it with another spoonful of the batter. The cups should be filled to 3/4 since the batter will rise. 

3) Bake for about 15 minutes at 180°C.

4) When the muffins are cooled down, you can take your cream and cover their tops. It's up to you how you do it. Finish with sprinkling some fudge on it and you'll be done.

P. C. Cast: Hidden

I was browsing my bookshelves to grab something new when I came across a series I haven't finished. I didn't remember why so I ordered a couple of books I had left to read and started reading them. Now I know why  I haven't finished the series.

See, it's not that the books are bad. They are not. As far as the teenager romance/action goes they are pretty entertaining. The problem is me growing up. There are 12 books in the series. I discovered them when I was in the target group and read them throughout my high school. Then  I went to university and stopped reading it because the teenager problems were no longer my concern and I couldn't identify with the characters anymore. I mean, sure it takes a lot of time to write a book but if you are planning to write series for young target group make it shorter so that your readers don't abandon you. See, that doesn't happen in adult fiction. Once adult, you are one for a loooong time and thus the readers stay with the author. But not in teenager fiction.

Anyway, I wanted my series complete so as I've already said, I bought the remaining parts and set myself a goal - to finish them, that's what's all about (and on that note I bought a couple of more books from the series I need to finish, too). And it got me angry once again because the covers changed - sure the format is still the same but from pretty matte black covers with intricate shiny lacing and a decent touch of color it changed into this shitty colorful ugliness. I really think publishing houses act contradictory to their purpose - they should try to keep their readers not to make them furious.

So, the start was rough because it took me some time adjusting - not having seen the books in a while took its toll on my memory - I just couldn't recall some characters and I had no idea what they were supposed to do. But I soon got accustomed to it and the story (roughly) came back to me. And really if  I were a teenager again I would still like it.

It has cheesy clumsy romance in it, it has know-it-all teenagers, it has the battle of good and evil, it has changing characters (yup, you never know who's gonna change teams) so it really is good fiction for youngsters. 

GENRE: teenage action/ romance

FANGS OUT: well-written, well-developed
FANGS RETRACTING: time is of the essence
TOTAL SCORE:

Saffron Risotto

This recipe is a surprising favorite of my family. I'm surrounded by meat eaters who avoid meatless dishes like plague so it is a small victory of mine when I make them eat something without a piece of meat in it and not make them fell "empty".

Ingredients (4 servings):

• 700ml veggie stock (or chicken ... if you insist on the meat flavor)
• 80g and 120g butter
• 3 small onions (shallots preferably)
• 2 pinch saffron
• 400g risotto rice
• 150ml white wine (Chardonnay works best for me)
• 150g parmesan (or grana padano)
• basil or something green to decorate it with

1) Take 80g of butter, chopped shallots and a pinch of saffron and combine it well on a saucepan. Let it fry a little till it's nice yellow and golden. 

2) Add all the rice in the pan and mix it well. 

3) Pour in the wine and let it evaporate. That's an important step. You don't want it to swim in the wine, you just want a nice touch of it on your palate, trust me. And no, cheap wine doesn't belong here. 

4) When the liquid is gone, you can start adding the stock. One scoop at a time. You always pour in a little and when the rice makes it disappear, you know you can add more. When you run out of stock and your rice is al dente, you can turn off the heat. 

5) Add the rest of the butter and cheese (you can leave some cheese shavings for decoration). Mix it well. 

6) The cheese makes the rice stick together so that the risotto won't be as "runny" as most of them. All you need to do now is to serve it. Take some saffron, cheese and basil and decorate it. 

Jill Myles: My Fair Succubi

I wanted to rant about the never-ending series again but I just found out this book is the last but one in the series. That is nice to know. It gives the right amount of commitment. Not too short to cry you will never see your favorite characters again, but not too long to actually start to hate them.

The series tell a story about a very mundane museum worker whose thrill is ... ehm... old things. And suddenly she is brought over to a different world which change her appearance to become a succubus (yup, that's exactly what you think it is) and on the top of it all she is torn between two very sexy males - both fallen angels. One can be awake only during the day and one who turned to the dark side for the cookies and became a vampire so he can be awake only at night. That sounds ok as far as the relationships in menage a troix go, right? The two dudes can never meet - ok, they can but only for a very short period of time, so it sounds safe.

Add in some really pissed off vampire queens, tricky archangels and very old secrets which bring nice twists and you have a quite relaxing read. If you don't catch on fire during those hot scenes which are abundant in the book - well, why put in succubi if you don't plan on telling what their purpose is.

GENRE: can't decide between romance, action and porn

FANGS OUT: inventive
FANGS RETRACTING: personally I'd appreciate more action and twists
TOTAL SCORE:

Green Lips

You can probably guess I am no stranger to loud colors on my face given the fact I've been trying to find the ultimate red color. But red is still kinda normal even when bold. 

I see tons of colors on people's eyes but only a few on their lips. That got me thinking. Why the heck shouldn't I be able to put something "unusual" on my lips instead of on my eyelids? It's still on my face, right? 

One minute on-line at Makeup Revolution store brought all those thoughts to life. A couple of days later a package with ALL the colors of the rainbow arrived and I could start experimenting with lip colors. I like the dark green Serpent probably the most so I naturally wanted to go out in this one. It even had the same shade as my tartan shirt so there was no excuse not to wear it. 

All I needed was the occasion. See, I'm from a small town and people here are not used to eccentricities. They must get weirdness in small doses otherwise their brain circuits will melt or something like that. Plus, I'm not sure my employer would take it easy - there is nothing about a dress or make-up code mentioned in my contract but you never know...

Thankfully, April Fool's Day arrived and even though I don't really like this day I chose to fully embrace it this year so that I could wear my lipstick proudly and not be suspected of enjoying it. Honestly, the people at work kept staring, then I could see the wheels in their heads spinning as if to ask me or not only to finally utter: "Oh, it's the April Fool's. You are prepared for that." Yeah... So I blamed the Day for it even thought I was secretly enjoying myself wearing the color I truly want. 

The kids' reactions were also interesting. The reactions varied from "I like green, it's my favorite color." (the kindergarten bunch) through "OhmygodI'mscaredIwillpassout." (the 4th graders) to "Wow, it's really chic. Weird, but pretty." (the teenagers). 

So, since nobody had a real meltdown, I decided to incorporate these "weird" colors into my life more often. I will keep finding special days as excuses and it will become so frequent that people will stop asking and staring. It will become a norm. 

Easter Hatchings

You will love this DIY because you don't do it yourself at all :-)= All you need to be good at is shopping. So, if you have a very talented friend (http://osobni-loutky.cz/), you will obtain decadent evil-looking "Easter" eggs. I thought they would make a lovely Easter decoration but they look so good it would be a pity not to stare at them all year round.  So I think they will become a permanent sight in our living room.

Anyway, apart from the obvious you need a glass bowl of sorts and roasted coffee beans. Yup, the evil chicks have been brewing in the lowest pits of hell, so naturally, they smell of sulfur. Coffee serves as great odor neutralizer, therefore you want it. I mean, if you don't want your home to smell like coffee then you have to wait it out - the smell will fade eventually. Or you can replace it with sand or something. But it won't be as badass as the coffee beans, I can assure you. 

So take your bowl, fill it with coffee beans and gently plant in the eggs. Easy, beautifully decadent and nice-smelling! What more could you possibly want?!

MaryJanice Davidson: Undead and Uneasy

You know how I always mention those infamous obnoxious heroines? This is it. We have one right here. Imagine a former model suddenly getting her position as one of the most powerful beings on the planet - the Queen of all Vampires. And instead of conquering evil to ensure world peace or something as noble as that, her ultimate goal is to conquer all evil which comes between her and her shoes.

So, this book isn't the first one with Betsy so I've known her for some time. And every time I buy yet another installment in the series I hope she will have at least a little change at heart and will become more likable.

She's faced out-of-this-world evil, acquired servants of questionable origins who love her and yet she refuses to change. I'm not saying her bitchy remarks are all the time boring, they are funny in fact, but every once in a while one can appreciate a depth in character which is missing here.

But like I said, if it was truly terrible I wouldn't be returning to these books. I always forget I hate the main character and buy a new book in the series because the bitchy protagonist aside, they are funny and entertaining. You know I like to turn my brain off so this is exactly what I need. Or what you need. Take it on the beach with you and you won't regret. 

GENRE: funny romance

FANGS OUT: humorous
FANGS RETRACTING: the protagonist doesn't do anything for the reader to like her
TOTAL SCORE:

Black Forest Cake

I've seen this one so many times on numerous cooking shows or in magazines that I had to give it a shot. It looked so pretty. Yup, I tend to be vain when it comes to food, no need to deny it.

I knew it would never beat the ultimate chocolate cake which I will post in the future but I just had to try it to boast. So, there are several recipes I'd seen but I decided on trying the alcohol-free version.

You'll need: 

• 700ml jar of sour cherries (keep a cup of the liquid)

• 50g melted butter
• 60g flour
• 40g cocoa powder
• 4 eggs
• 130g sugar

• 600ml heavy cream (40% fat)
• 2 tea spoon vanilla extract
• 30g sugar

1) Preheat your oven to 180°C, prepare your cake pan by buttering it or by using baking paper.

2) Whisk the eggs with the sugar and then place it over simmering water and keep whisking till luke warm. Then take it from there and with the use of electric mixer beat it till it thickens. Then try to sift in the dry ingredients one third at a time while folding the whole stuff (folding, not mixing, you want it light-textured). At the end add the melted butter, pour the mixture in the cake pan, tap it to get rid of the bubbles and put it in the oven for about 30 minutes.

3) Take the cool heavy cream and add the sugar and vanilla in it. Stir till combined and then beat till creates stiff peaks.

4) When the cake is cool, you can cut it in half so that you have two layers now.

5) Pour a bit of the excess cherry sauce on each half of the cake so that it is moist but not drenched.

6) Now assembly-> cake, 1/2 whipped cream, cherries, cake, the second half of whipped cream, cherries which are left from the dense third layer.

7) You can also decorate with real cherries (but where the heck am I supposed to find them in winter?!) and chocolate shavings.