Happy Food Coma!

Er...I mean, Happy Easter! Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday full of blessings and good food! In the past Luke and I have spent Easter with our families in Ohio, but seeing as how we're driving to Ohio this coming weekend, we decided to spend the day with some friends here.

Our friends Scott and Jess provided an amazing spread of food for the day, and I'm salivating just thinking about it again. The menu included: Lamb kabobs with tzatziki sauce, beef tenderloin, ham, cheesy potatoes, corn souffle, deviled eggs, and grilled veggies. YUM.

I brought the desserts, which were my first attempts at New York Cheesecake and Rum cake with the recipes that my mom uses. Let me just say that 1. I had no idea how much work goes into these...not quite as easy as cake out of a box, 2. I had no idea how expensive fresh vanilla beans were, and 3. I had no idea how UNhealthy these cakes were (hence, why they taste so good).

I did a test run of the cheesecake recipe on Wednesday, and it was, shall we say... less than successful. It wasn't terrible, but it wasn't nearly as good as it should have been. This is unfortunate for the folks at my office who ate the test cheesecake.

The second attempt was almost perfect. Rich, creamy, vanilla-y decadence. Upon Luke's request, I added a layer of white chocolate and strawberries on top of the cheesecake. The rum cake was fairly simple in comparison, but man was it tasty. I highly recommend both of these recipes.

 

 Without further adieu:

The Cheesecake Recipe (without white chocolate and strawberry topping):

Ingredients

• 1 cup graham cracker crumbs
• 2 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar, plus 1 1/2 cups
• 2 1/2 pounds cream cheese, softened
• 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 5 eggs
• 2 egg yolks
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped from inside of pod and reserved

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Butter the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan. In a mixing bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs, butter, and 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar and mix well. Press onto bottom of springform pan and bake until golden, about 8 minutes. Set aside to cool. When completely cooled, butter the sides of the pan.

Lower oven temperature to 350 degrees F.

In a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer, combine cream cheese, 1 1/2 cups sugar and vanilla and beat until light and creamy. Add the flour, then the eggs and yolks 1 at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add the sour cream, vanilla bean seeds and mix until smooth. Pour mixture into prepared pan. Wrap the pan in foil and place in a roasting pan. Fill the roasting with enough hot water to come half way up the sides of the pan. Bake for 1 1/2 hours.

Transfer cake to a cooling rack and let cool 

And...

The Rumcake Recipe:

1 cup chopped pecans
1 pkg. yellow cake mix
1 small pkg. vanilla instant pudding mix
4 eggs
1/2 cup cold water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup Myers or dark rum

Grease and flour a Bundt cake pan. Sprinkle half of the nuts over the bottom of pan. Combine all remaining ingredients and remaining nuts. Pour batter into pan over nuts.

Bake for 50 minutes at 325°F.

Cool and then invert onto plate; prick top of cake with a fork.

Glaze:

1 stick butter
1/4 cup water
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup rum

Melt butter in a saucepan. Stir in water and sugar. Boil for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; cool slightly and then stir in rum.

Mix well and drizzle glaze over cake. This makes a large amount, so use scant measurements for the glaze.

Cake improves with age.

An Afternoon with Mozart

Last weekend our Department Chair and I took a group of students to the Michigan Opera Theatre in Detroit. I sported a giant mini-van, equipped with homemade Funfetti cupcakes for the road trip, extra paper towels, and a few other supplies that any parent/teacher should have in their Swagger Wagon.One of the students immediately asked if it was my car, and my response was, "Heck no! I'm not old enough to have a minivan!" And that's when I realized I was old enough to have a minivan, and I cried a little inside.

The multiple hours of driving to and from Detroit made for a very long day, but it was worth every minute. We have some very generous alumni who now work for MOT and not only gave us extremely discounted tickets, but also provided us lunch, a tour of the opera house, and an inside The Actor's Studio-esque session with the cast.

The Group (apparently I'm the only one who missed the memo about taking off our coats)

We all know that Detroit is perhaps not the most thriving city in the U.S., and that you're more likely to see tumbleweeds blowing down the main roads than cars, but seeing the Detroit Opera House for the first time was magnificent. There is such a history in that building (as in the rest of the city), and they've managed to create and maintain a gorgeous, acoustically perfect venue that any city would be proud to have.

I've grown up on stage, have seen many back stages and dressing rooms, and now work for 2 organizations that allow me to continue to be on/around stages regularly. Even so,  I was gawking like a kid in a candy shop when they showed us all of the cool behind the scenes areas: multiple floors of dressing rooms, a costume shop that has provided not only for many operas and Broadway tours, but also many motion pictures. Fun Fact - Neil Patrick Harris just recently did several days of film shooting on the very stage we stood on! I won't bore you with the rest of the tour details or the details from our Q&A with the cast, but I'll just say the professional opera world is very cool - in a nerdy musical geek sort of way, of course.

Tour: On stage

Tour: Backstage...headdresses for one of the Three Ladies

The performance of Mozart's Magic Flute was absolutely wonderful. We've all heard the Queen of the Night aria (whether you realize it or not) and as a soprano I tense up with nervous anticipation when those high F's are coming up, but this soprano sailed through them with ease and confidence. I only wish I could hit those notes, but let's be real - it's not going to happen. The actor playing Papageno was hilarious, and when we met him afterward it was clear that he wasn't doing much acting; he's naturally a loud, funny guy with a big Texas accent, belt buckle, and cowboy boots.

The day was a success, the students loved the experience, especially those who were seeing an opera for the first time, and I had a great time "working," if you can call it work. And now, I'm looking forward to another opera in the future, perhaps Detroit, maybe Chicago, who knows.

One of the views from the opera house - Comerica Park Baseball Stadium

Another view of downtown Detroit from the opera house

You know you're getting old when...

1. You get excited about having your carpets cleaned:

You know that sudden twinge of energy and happiness you begin to feel when winter is on the verge of spring? Well, just wait until the day when it’s finally in the 60’s, sunny and beautiful outside, and some carpet cleaning genius rolls up to your house with his big van o’ vacuums and magic cleaning potion. Your dingy, dog smelly, stuffy winter germ-infested carpets are suddenly white, fluffy, fresh and ready to take on the world! I feel like Spring has officially begun in the Woochie household* – windows are open, carpets look new, and the old sterile feeling of winter has been sucked up by the heavy-duty steam cleaning monster. (Enter bright light from heaven and choir of angels singing a major chord on “ah”…aaaand scene.)

2. You get excited about new mulch:

For the past few years we’ve gone with brown wood mulch, and have only planted annuals in our landscaping (dumb). Last year, we got smart and started planting some perennials, and this year we switched to a new, deeper red mulch – which I have been skeptical about in the past, but I’m a fan of currently. Hopefully our plants will just pop up when they’re supposed to, and our landscaping work this Spring will be done!

3. You get excited about having your own herb garden:

I’ve been wanting my own vegetable garden for quite some time, but I know very well that I won’t give it the attention it needs to keep it alive, and we keep our yellow lab in the back yard on nice days – so the garden wouldn’t last long without building a wall of sorts around it. I’ve decided to assuage my garden desires by just growing some potted herbs instead. This idea of fresh herbs had never occurred to me until I moved to India, and found out that I could just go pick leaves off the plant outside my window and throw it in my dinner! Cool, right!? Ok, give me a break I was in college – to me, using fresh ingredients meant squeezing the jalapeno that Papa John’s gives you onto your pizza before you eat it.

So anyway, we’re going to try some simple, staple herbs for this summer: organic basil, cilantro, parsley, and oregano. Even more exciting – I found a really cool stone pot (that would have gone for probably $60 at Lowes) for $12 at Marshalls. Decorating and bargain shopping success! Don’t even get me started on Marshalls/TJ Maxx…I love these stores. They have the best random housewares, kitchen gadgets, brand name clothes, and more for so cheap…Take, for instance, my new Michael Kors business/casual work capris for only $20?…what’s not to love!?

Ok focus, Kris, focus. Back to the post.

4. You get excited about a “Food Saver”

My mom and dad came up to visit us a couple weeks ago, and brought along with them an amazing device called a “food saver.” This thing vacuum seals your food, so that when you buy products in bulk, you can divide it into meal-size portions, vacuum seal it, and throw it in the freezer. Et voila! It lasts for months and comes out as fresh as ever! It’s great! Our Sam’s club membership has been well worth the investment, because we have found that we can get 3 times as much food for the same price as getting it from a grocery store. Right now we have enough meats and cheeses to last us for months, all stored neatly in little meal-sized packets. Also, I can now start cooking in bulk, and freezing for later. The possibilities are endless!

So yes, all of these domestic ventures may seem mundane to the naked eye…but after several months of  hibernating by the fireplace in my sweatpants, I am ready for some spring cleaning and home-improvement action! Woo Spring! 

*Some of Luke's friends combined both of our last names to refer to both of us at once. Thus, many friends call us "Woochie." It sounds like something out of Star Wars, I know.

Girl Scout Cookies: 1 Jillian Michaels: 0

Yep. I suck. I have fizzled out on Jillian Michaels yet again. I just get so bored doing the same thing over and over again! Luke and I have been tinkering with P90X…doing a couple different workouts here and there, but not keeping a regular schedule. How do you stay motivated!?!?

On a more successful note, I have been trying to eat somewhat healthier these days. I’ve never been a calorie counter, but one day recently, I decided to count the calories I ate in one day – and to my surprise it was about 1100 calories! With the exception of a few nights out at restaurants, I’ve found it unexpectedly easy to maintain this average, which is well below the “2000 calories a day” rule. Now, is it easy to go above and beyond 1100? Oh yes…just throw in a couple margaritas, some girl scout cookies, a decadently fried appetizer at your establishment of choice, a slice of mom's delicious homemade cheesecake…and bam. Back to being a fatty-bo-batty. Why does it have to taste so good???  

I have no intention of going on a diet – I love food too much. Not to mention you just gain all the weight back as soon as your diet is over. So here’s to just sticking to healthier eating habits and hopefully shedding some gross winter layers before it gets warm.

Anyone have any good healthy food recipes? I’m always looking for new dinner ideas!