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 I had some friends over for dinner last night and it was awesome. It was a simple affair; pizza, salads, crackers with cheese and chocolate cheesecake. The cheesecake was the best thing on the menu. I spent hours deciding what to make because I wanted to make something easy but very yummy. I also didn’t want something that might not turn out so well, so after lots of thought I settled on chocolate cheesecake. I looked at a couple of recipes but most of them needed ingredients I didn’t have like drozen whip and things like that. Not being someone who follows recipes exactly as they are, I had to add toffee bits and walnutes to give it some crunch. It was a hit, and my crowd is a tough one, cheesecake is a favorite but it is usually regular cheesecake with strawberry or berry topping.
Chocolate Oreo Base
- 32 Oreros
- 1 stick of butter
You can’t have chocolate cheesecake without a chocolate base. I used Oreos but you can make a regular base using Digestive biscuits if you like and add some cocoa powder. Crush them and add the melted butter and press into a spring form pan. You can crush them in a food processor or just put them all in a plastic bag and smash them with a rolling pin or something. I like using a food processor because washing it is less work than smashing them, I am lazy like that, plus you get a more uniform texture. I used an 8 inch pan because honestly, that’s the only one I own, but I think a 9 inch pan would have worked better. Press the mixture up against the sides as well because it looks much cooler that way. You can always use less cookies and butter for a thinner base. Put it in the refrigerator until it is nice and firm. I left it for 4 hours, because I had to go do some shopping, but from experience, the longer you leave it the better.
Filling
- 2 packages of 8 oz Philadelphia cream cheese
- 1/4 cup granulates sugar
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons on milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 8 oz of chocolate
- Walnuts
- Toffee
Beat the cream cheese, sugar, milk and vanilla until the sugar has been disolved into the mixture and it’s nice and fluffy. I have a small hand mixer which is not really made for this kind of thing, but I make it do the job, a stand mixer would be awesome, actually a lovely cool pink Kitchen Aid mixer would be a dream, but I will keep on dreaming, I don’t have the space to store it and they’re quite expensive.
Melt the chocolate in the microwave or on a double burner. I just put it in the microwave on high for 40 seconds, gave it a stir and it was perfect.
Add the chocolate to the mix, just wait a few minutes for the chocolate to cool first. Once it’s all mixed, drop in the walnuts and toffee. I just chopped them roughly. I also got 2 packages of chewy toffees, the kind that have 6 or seven bits in them and quartered them so they would be small. You could also use a Mars bar or anything else you like actually. Fold everything in evenly and spoon into the pan over the base. It should be nice and thick and even out the top. Decorate it with the remaining toffee or eat it, do whatever you like, but I like a good looking cheesecake, because I think it it doesn’t look good I won’t eat it. Pop it into the fridge. Now you can lick the spoon and the bowl if you like, yes, I lick the stuff, isn’t that why we make stuff in the first place?
Invite friends over, because good things are meant to be shared. You could of course eat it all yourself, but don’t blame me if you get high on the sugar and go running around like a crazy monkey, but if you do, please ask someone to take pictures and post them on facebook.
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 After writing the last post about things you need in the kitchen, I started thinking about ingredients which I always keep in my pantry and fridge so that I can make a meal.
- Flour. Flour is amazing and wonderful. Really it is. Need to thicken soup? Bake cookies? Make pizza? Bake a cake? Make pie?
- Frozen Veggies. Fresh vegetables and greens are great but they spoil quickly and we’re trying to eat more healthy foods so I buy the frozen veggies and keep them in the freezer all the time. I add them to rice, meat and even make them on their own. I also oven bake fries for a quick snack or instead of regular carbs like rice and pasta. The secret is to bake them at low temperatures and on the middle rack in the oven so they crisp evenly without burning, just as yummy as deep fried ones but much less fat.
- Eggs. Need to make a quick meal? Don’t have time? Make an omelet, add some diced tomatoes, onions, bell peppers, mushroom, whatever you like and presto, everyone is happy and full.
- Canned Beans. Red Kidney Beans are my favorite. Another great healthy protein powered meal in a jiffy. Throw in some bell peppers, add spices and some tomato paste and you’ve got a colorful, tasty and satisfying meal in minutes.
- Cocoa. It’s cold, make some hot chocolate or make brownies. I like to make sure my guests have something to eat when they come over for tea or coffee so I keep cocoa so I can whip something up.
- Spices. I absolutely love spices; cinnamon, ginger, black pepper, cayenne pepper, curry, everything goes. They add so much to food.
- Fresh and dried Herbs. Fresh herbs are great but you need to use them quickly so dried ones work almost as well in most dishes. Thyme, basil and mint are the basic three.
- Tomato Paste. Yes, fresh tomatoes are better but again this way I can always have some stored.
- Garlic in a jar. Do you really think I am going to buy fresh garlic and crush it?
- Olive Oil. Great in salads and most middle eastern dishes. I love Extra Virgin olive oil, the aroma and the taste.
There are of course so many other ingredients that rarely go missing in our home like milk, yeast, yogurt, rice, pasta, sugar, salt and pepper but basically if you want to make homecooked meals you need to be prepared. We used to eat out a lot and order in too but now we just go out and have a nice meal every week or two and cook everything else at home. We feel great and are definitely healthier. We try to buy fresh fruit as much as we can too because Lil Miss Bite Mommy likes bananas, apples and pears and we try to expose her to as much fruit and veggies as her little hands can hold and chew.
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Yes, shocking as it may sound I do cook. My sister said “eh dah manti bete3rafi ahoh” her exact words. For some reason I do not look like the cooking type. I do enjoy cooking I just hate doing the dishes later. Around the kitchen I follow no one’s rules, I just add stuff and hope it turns out great. El mohem, my poor husband loves el messa2a3a but because I didn’t like eggplants and had never actually tasted it, I just never made it. This ramadan I decided I could make him some. I checked out the recipes for information, bought eggplants, called my mom to ask her about it and entered the kitchen. He loved, and I loved it too.
 My Moussaka And because I am in a good mood here is my moussaka recipe for dummies (aka the easy way) this makes 3-4 servings.
Ingredients:
4 medium sized eggplants.
1/4 kg ground beeg
1 onion
2 tablespoons of tomato paste
4 tablespoons of olive oil (extra virgin olive oil)
Dried basil
2 handfulls of mozzarella cheese.
3 jalapeno peppers
1 green pepper
Spices: salt, pepper, ginger and cinnamon.
How-to
Mince the meat, in a saucepan add the ground beef and onions after you have peeled and diced them. Add some salt, pepper, half a teaspoon of ginger and a touch of cinnamon to the mix and wait till it all becomes brown and the meat is cooked. Turn the heat off and put it aside.
Peel the eggplants and slice them 1 cm thick. Brush the slices with olive oil and saute them in a frying pan until both sides have been browned.
In an oven dish layer half of the slices at the bottom of the dish. Add the minced meat as the second layer. Slice the jalapenos into little rings after you have removed the seeds. Sprinkle them on the meat. In another saucepan add the remaining olive oil, the tomato paste, basil and half a cup of water, lower the heat until it simmers. Add the sauce on the meat and cover with the remaining slices of eggplants. Add the mozzarella cheese and garnish with slices of green pepper.
Preheat the oven at 270 degrees and put the dish in. It takes around 30 minutes in the oven but that depends on the size of your dish and your oven, so check it after 20 minutes just in case.
Enjoy your meal!
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