Double-Chocolate Cheesecake

Good Tuesday morning!

The Gallery Pics include photos from the basketball game last night, AND lunch yesterday with four of my friends from my "law firm" days. I'm trying very hard to add pictures other than basketball... but it's going to be difficult until the actual holidays are upon us. Hang in there! Thanksgiving and Christmas are almost here!

RANDOMNESS - One of my favorite things about the first of November is the mail delivery of the Christmas magazines. Yesterday I received Martha Stewart Living in the mail, and it is absolutely lovely. If you've known me for two minutes, you know exactly which page I look for first... the Calendar. Martha has a very busy December because... well, because she's Martha.

Let's compare, shall we?

Martha's Calendar - December 5

* Collect long-lasting berries, and use for decorating wreaths
* Guest appearance on The Simpsons Christmas episode

Belinda's Calendar - December 5

* Shake artificial Christmas wreaths, and vacuum up all artificial berries which fall off said wreath
* Watch Martha on The Simpsons Christmas episode

Martha's Calendar - December 6

* Set doormats and towels by doors for snow-covered shoes

Belinda's Calendar - December 6

* Set new bottle of Febreeze in foyer to spray on shoes, gym bags and various friends and neighborhood kids which might stop by

Martha's Calendar - December 7

* Hang wreaths
* String lights along hedges and on trees
* Make new tree skirt for this year's tree

Belinda's Calendar - December 7
* Hide my movable wicker "pre-lit" deer between the wall and toilet
* Laugh as people go to use the restroom and find deer hiding behind wall
* Listen as Roxie lectures me again about having a rather large outside lawn decoration INSIDE and hiding it all over the house during the holidays
* Carefully place wrapped gifts on worn spots of old Christmas tree skirt

Martha's Calendar - December 8

* Work out
* Apply deer repellent to rhododendrons and roses

Belinda's Calendar - December 8

* ZUMBA, Baby
* Walk/run to my van with a baseball bat because the badger and/or wolverine living in my retaining wall shrubbery now has a family
* Google badger repellent and discover there is no such thing

You'll notice I didn't share the things going on the week before Christmas. It was too depressing for us mere mortals.

Double-Chocolate Cheesecake

Since I'm celebrating all things "Martha" today, I'll share a recipe from the Christmas magazine. This isn't a Martha Stewart recipe. It is a Philadelphia Cream Cheese recipe featured in her magazine. I will be making it this week, and I'll let you know how it turns out. (However, with FOUR packages of cream cheese, we all know there is no way this cheesecake could be anything BUT delicious! Am I right?)

You will need the following:

18 Oreos (crushed)
2 tablespoons butter (melted)
4 packages (8 ounces each) Philly Cream Cheese (softened)
1 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon vanilla
8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate (melted, slightly cooled)
4 eggs
1/2 cup blueberries
1 tablespoon powdered sugar

1. Heat oven to 325 degrees.

2. Mix cookie crumbs and butter. Press onto bottom of 9" springform pan. Bake 10 minutes.

3. Beat cream cheese, granulated sugar, flour and vanilla with a mixer until well blended.

4. Add melted chocolate. Mix well.

5. Add eggs (1 at a time). Mix on low speed after each just until blended.

6. Pour over crust.

7. Bake 55 minutes to 1 hour or until center is ALMOST set.

8. Run knife around rim of pan to loosen cake before removing rim.

9. Refrigerate 4 hours.

10. Top with berries just before serving. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

I've broken the rule a little. This recipe has more than five ingredients and more than three or four steps. However, the majority of the steps are SUPER EASY. Also, I will be using strawberries instead of blueberries for the berry topping, I think. We shall see.

If you only buy one magazine this season, this is the one to purchase. Beautiful.

Have a terrific Tuesday. Whatever you do today, do it with excellence... even if it is laundry or mopping or running errands. Wednesday's Wisdom is profound. The Tradition is life changing, and the Randomness is a must read.

That's a lot to live up to, isn't it? Way too much pressure. Let's just say, I'll have some Wisdom to share (from someone else, of course), a Seasonal Tradition and some Randomness on Wednesday... so please plan to visit.

Take care, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.

Sincerely,

The Enchanting Belinda