A Sweet Dedication to a Sweet Woman

Hello all.

I want to apologize for my absence over the past several weeks. My beautiful grandmother had been admitted to hospice two weeks ago and passed away peacefully last week; so I’ve been mentally and emotionally out of sorts the past few days. Hell, I’ll be honest. I’m devastated.

The one thing I will always remember about my grandma is that she had a serious sweet tooth. (At least I know where I got it from). She was known to turn down dinner because she either wasn’t hungry or didn’t want to put on extra pounds; but the minute she found out there was dessert, she always managed to have her plate ready. I want to dedicate this blog post in her memory.

When I moved, I promised myself I was going to learn to bake more. I normally hate baking. The only time you would ever see me playing with dough and flour is around Christmas time, when my sister and I would bake the ten different kinds of cookies that were expected for our holiday table. Included in the cookie fiasco was my grandma’s favorite: cinnamon rugelach – which she simply called the little twists. I never liked them but she would suck them down like someone was trying to take them from her. Needless to say, I still plain on making them this year….among other things.

She also loved cheesecake.

My mom is usually the cheesecake baker in our house. The thought of it has always made me nervous, so therefore I left that dessert in her hands. However, now that I’m on my own, I gathered enough strength to try it. In the latest issue of FoodNetwork magazine, I found a recipe for a white chocolate cranberry cheesecake. Everything about it sounded right. So I thought “why the Hell not? I’m gonna go for it.” Though you can always go the easy route and buy pre-crushed grahams for the crust and already made cranberry compote, I decided to make things from scratch so it would keep me and my mind busy longer.

I would tell you step-by-step how I did it, but I figured just posting the recipe I used would be much easier 🙂 I will say, though, that my dumb a$$ forgot to buy and orange for the juice and zest needed in the compote…so I just omitted it. It tasted just fine without it, really.

The Compote

Of course my cake didn’t come out as picture perfect as the magazine….but it was damn good

Complete with remaining white chocolate chips

I was definitely pleased with the outcome, considering this was my first cheesecake attempt. I’m sure my mother would be proud…too bad the cake won’t last long enough for her to try any. 😛

Anyway, this one’s for you, Grandma. I hope you’re proud. I love and miss you always. xoxoxoxo

R.I.P.

December 28, 1923 – November 5, 2013