Nothing Says Love More Than...

 I have always loved Valentine's Day. It didn't matter if I was five years old with paper princess valentine's cards, a teenager with no hopes of a boyfriend, or a girl head-over-heels. Valentine's Day is all about love, of all kinds.

I fell in love the moment I stepped into Anna Shea Chocolates and Lounge last weekend. I could have spent all day there and emptied my bank account. This place is a chocolate lover's dream. For now, though, I'll focus on my first trip to the lounge where I was treated to a hand dipped chocolate covered strawberry and Red Velvet hot chocolate.

The whole place was ready for Valentine's day - since it was the weekend before the celebration of chocolate, reds, pinks, and fluffy love. My jaw practically dropped when we were brought a plate with these two large strawberries dipped in chocolate and decorated with silver and gold hearts and swirls. Not only that, but my red velvet hot chocolate came in this adorable cupcake mug. Being the cupcake fanatic I am, I wanted to walk out of the store with it. (of course I didn't though! I'm not a thief!)



The chocolate covered strawberries were almost too beautiful to bite into. We sat beside the glass window in the lounge where you can watch their chocolatiers creating the chocolates and baked goods as you ate. It was behind that glass, not that long ago, that those strawberries were just being dipped and decorated. It has a very sophisticated feel to it, knowing that as you take that first succulent bite. Oh and it was succulent. The strawberries were still juicy and fresh beneath that thick layer of chocolate coating. The chocolate was solid, making me nervous about breaking into and biting it, but it wasn't too thick to overwhelm the strawberry itself. The nice fact was that it felt fresh and not like it had been hardened, frozen, and kept around for quite a while. The chocolate was solid, but I didn't actually break my teeth biting down on it. It was more like a solid piece of chocolate outside the sweet berry. Not to mention the designs made it practically a work of art.

Let's not forget the real surprise out of this adventure though: the red velvet hot chocolate.
First off, I have never, ever had red velvet hot chocolate. I needed to try it. It was a Valentine's special, since red velvet is always the biggest seller and real heart of the baked goods when it comes to Valentine's day (I mean it combines cake, a bit of cocoa, and that bright festive red color, it's just perfect).

I was surprised how nice the flavors melded together though. It wasn't strange, like some of the reactions I got when I told people about it. It was like drinking hot cocoa, but it had this great rich, velvety flavor that blended alongside the actual chocolate. I couldn't get over the pink whipped cream either - it was a great touch to add to the red velvet touch. At one point while sipping I got a little marshmallow, which I didn't know was in there at first, and thought to myself "A red velvet marshmallow?!" It was blended so well with the hot chocolate and the red velvet flavoring that I was truly impressed. The whipped cream wasn't overwhelming either - like it can be in frappuccino or a milkshake. Instead it was a creamy, smooth texture that cooled the warm drink and created this great combination of flavors on your tongue.

I was in chocolate heaven at Anna Shea's Chocolates and Lounge. I'll write about them again, but be sure to check them out for fun and festive treats such as these. The red velvet hot chocolate may have to wait until next Valentine's, but it was my favorite treat this Valentine's Day. Let me know what your favorite Valentine's or holiday treat is so I can try it out.

- Mollie

Sweet Sugary Love

Dear blog,

I sincerely apologize for not having been to see you or write to you recently. It has caused much anguish in my heart that I've been laboring over papers, essays, tests, and books rather than mixing together sugars, butter, flour, and creating something delicious to write to you about. Or even having time to go out and eat a delicious dessert. Instead I have been hard at work, stuffing spoonfuls of cookies and cream ice cream into my face in my moments of chocolate cravings.

But, the good news is I have something fun to write about.

Although it was quite a while away now, I baked delicious cheesecake for Valentine's day. When I found the recipe I knew it was perfect, especially with the heart shaped pans I have. So, although it's almost a month late, revel in the delicious cheesecake goodness.

Double Decker Oreo Cheesecake

Ready in about 6 hours. So prepare ahead of time.
Difficulty: 3   - Not so hard preparation, but there is a knowledge in baking Cheesecake that I had no grasp of when I started.

First off, be smarter than I was. Go here and read Allrecipes.com article on making Cheesecake. It will give you all the tips and tricks that I didn't have. This means you will not have cracks in your cheesecake, you will not idle near it worriedly as I did, and the edges will not be a little crispier than you expected. I had a few problems since my pan sizes were different than they were, which led me to be edgy and leave it in longer than I needed since I wasn't sure how to check for Cheesecake. The thermometer is so clever it didn't even cross my mind. So be sure to read up just to keep your cheesecake beautiful and soft.

Now, the Ingredients:

• 1 package of Oreo Chocolate Sandwich Cookies. (try not to eat most of them if you are making the whole 16 serving recipe, it was hard for me)
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 4 packages of 8 oz Cream Cheese, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup sour cream
• 4 eggs
• 4 squares (1 oz) Semi-sweet chocolate, melted

Now remember if you're a little health conscious, like me, you can use reduced fat cream cheese and sour cream and margarine. It's still just as delicious. So don't worry about eating a few extra slices.

You begin by heating the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. This is where you should also get your pan ready, whether it be springform, cupcake, regular cake, or heart-shaped. While I just greased mine up with baking spray, I like the idea of lining it with parchment paper, it may make for a lot less of a mess in the end. Especially with this multi-layered cheesecake. In addition, if you are using a springform or anything that might let water seep into it, cover the outside with the tinfoil to keep water from getting in and ruining the texture of your cake.

Now is the fun part. Whip out your food processor (this was the first time I got to use mine!), throw about 30 cookies in there, and grind until fine. I really enjoyed this part. Perhaps a little too much. Then add the butter (either in your processor or another bowl) and mix well. This will be your crust so carefully press into the bottom of your pan, covering each part equally. They recommend a 13x9 for this recipe, so be sure you do conversions to make sure you don't have too much extra crust like I did - unless you enjoy eating cookie crumbs and having them fall into your blouse. oops!

In a large bowl, beat all your cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla together until well blended. Add in the sour cream and mix it all up. Add your eggs one at a time, beating after each one until just blended. Over beating, which I have often done, will let more air into your batter causing for a higher chance of cracks on the surface.

Then we deviate from the recipe a little. I enjoy reading the comments on each recipe on allrecipes, because they will always clue you into little slip ups in the overall structure. Here you should split the cheesecake batter in half. In one half of the batter stir in the melted chocolate. Hopefully you split it in half exactly so it's not too chocolately (where you can always add more plain batter) or not chocolatey enough (where you're just sad). Pour the chocolate batter into the cheesecake pan first, spreading it across the pan. Then pour the regular batter on top of the chocolate batter. This is a lot easier to spread on top of another batter because of the softness it has without the thick chocolate. Then have fun sprinkling the remaining cookies on top, either by crumbling them with your hands or chopping them up.

Now comes the meticulous part. Place your cheesecake pan into another pan (whatever it fits in that has high sides) and use a teakettle - or some other kind of pouring device that won't get the liquid into your cheesecake - to pour hot water in the outer pan. Then bake for 45 minutes or until the center is 'set'. I'm not 100% sure what set should mean, but I know it shouldn't be too brown and it shouldn't be still that soft batter. It will be 160-165 degrees F. if you are smart and use a thermometer. If you aren't smart and don't have one (like me) then you can use a small knife in the center, like a cake, to see if it comes out clean.

After baking it will need to cool completely. After that run a knife around the edges to keep it from sticking, like most of mine did, and let it refrigerate for around 4 hours. I dug in too fast, but if you look to the right at that beauty, how could you resist?
Okay, so it's not that beautiful. The edges are a little more brown because I didn't adjust the time exactly for my smaller pan, the top is a bit cracked since I didn't put it in a water bath, BUT it was still yummy. The cookies, chocolate, and cheesecake layers all blended together nicely and I couldn't resist eating it every day for dessert for quite a few days.

All in all, it was a good learning experience. Cheesecake does take a lot more thought than just following a simple recipe and throwing stuff together. I think I like it that way. Maybe I'll try it again soon.

But, until then, I still have lots of papers and work to do. Stress baking or stress eating will commence soon.
Don't worry. I'll tell you all about it.

- Mollie