Candy Cane Cheesecake

We had our annual Christmas potluck at work yesterday, and I decided to bring a Christmas-y dessert. I found this recipe online, and it turned out beautifully. The mint flavour was very subtle, and the crushed candy canes on top were very pretty. Plus, it tasted delicious.



picture from www.kraft.ca

Ingredients

• 1 cup graham crumbs
• 3/4 cup plus 3 Tbsp. sugar, divided
• 3 Tbsp. butter, melted
• 5 squares white chocolate, divided
• 3 pkg.cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 tsp. peppermint extract
• 3 eggs
• 1 tub Cool Whip, thawed
• 1/2 cup crushed candy canes

  Directions

• Preheat oven to 325.
• Mix crumbs, 3 Tbsp. sugar and butter; press onto bottom of 9-inch springform pan. Bake 10 min.
• Melt 4 chocolate squares as directed on package. Beat cream cheese and remaining sugar in large bowl with mixer until well blended. Add melted chocolate and extract; mix well. Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing on low speed after each just until blended; pour over crust.
• Bake 45 to 50 min. or until centre is almost set. Run knife around rim of pan to loosen cake; cool before removing rim. Refrigerate 4 hours. Grate remaining chocolate square. Top cheesecake with Cool Whip, crushed candy and grated chocolate just before serving.

NOTE: I used a food processor to crush the candy canes. You don't really want any big chunks, because that texture doesn't match the smoothness of the cheesecake.

Dog Sledding

I was cleaning out my inbox today and came across some pictures from my dog-sledding adventure my parents and I took last December when they were up visiting us.

I should probably mention that it absolutely killed Dad that his dog team rode BEHIND ours all the way to the halfway point. I could hear him killing himself behind me, hollering at those dogs and calling out all sorts of commands he made up that he thought sounded encouraging. I am sure the dogs had no sweet clue what he wanted them to do.

When it was time to turn around and head back to town, Dad innocently suggested we might want to switch dog teams "just to see" if the issue was dog- or captain-related.

Me and my captain Scott



Mom, you've never looked better



Scott and I in the lead, and Mom & Dad bringing up the rear

Only Mom would wear a pink scarf and lipstick while dog-sledding

The Toughest Kids I Know

Growing up, snow days were probably the best days of the year. Sometimes you would wake-up only to turn on the radio and hear that school was cancelled. Other days, your Mom would sneak in and whisper "school's cancelled". As a kid, sweeter words were never spoken.

These days, snow days are harder to come by on the east coast. Some genius came up with the idea to open schools, but to leave it up to parents to determine how to get their kids there. I mean, the roads are bad enough that a bus carrying 40 kids can't make it, but let's clog up the slushy streets with 40 frantic parents trying to get their cranky-ass kid to school and still make it to work on time. That there's a brilliant idea.

Now, what amazes me about the north is that school here never closes. Never. We sort of avoid the whole messiness that the east coast gets with slush, freezing rain, high winds and all that loveliness. Yellowknife goes from summer to winter overnight. So six straight months of winter make people pretty hearty.

The people that amaze me most are the kids. A few weeks ago Brent and I were driving to work. Our route takes us right past an elementary school. It was 8:30am, pitch black outside, -42 degrees, and there were kids swinging on the playground. This particular school happens to be right across the street from where I work, and every day at lunch time the kids go outside to play. Everyday, all winter long. And winter her means the temperature is below  zero for six straight months. Imagine telling a teacher in Nova Scotia that they had outdoor lunch duty on a day when the temperature was -40.

Ugly, yet functional

The difference is that people here have the gear to survive the outdoors in winter. The right clothing, hats, mitts, boots and all that. But with the proper clothing comes two hefty price tags: your sense of style, and the literal price tag. Outdoor gear is freaking expensive ($600 for the right jacket) and ugly as hell. It is not uncommon to see Yellowknifers go to a fancy restaurant, and strip off their snow pants right at their table.

Check out this website for more pics of people venturing out in the freezing cold (-49): http://lifeintheknife.com/yellowknife-and-the-dettah-ice-road-in-february/

Cinnamon Rolls

I can't believe it has taken me this long to put up this recipe. These are the yummiest cinnamon rolls I have ever eaten. One day at work, my coworkers and I spent almost an entire lunch break discussing cinnamon rolls. You may think this sounds crazy, but here is a list of topics that came out of our discussion:

1. Should they be topped with cream cheese icing, or a glaze? (Duh! Cream cheese icing all the way)
2. Doughy buns or biscuit-y buns (I prefer my buns masculine, plump, and perky)
3. How much cinnamon is too much?
4. Can we, mere mortals of the baking world, ever re-create Cinnabon's near-perfect offering? Probably not.
5. Do raisins have any business being in a cinnamon bun? My personal preference is for raisins to stick to what they do best...oatmeal cookies.

I do find these buns a little tricky to make, and I think the key is ensuring the warmed milk is not too hot or else it will start to cook the dough during the rising process.

Cinnamon Rolls (adapted from Michael Smith's Recipe)

Ingredients

Dough:

• 1 cup milk (do not use skim)
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 5 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 ounce package instant yeast
• 4 eggs

Filling:

• 1 stick butter, softened
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

Icing:

• 1 package cream cheese, room temperature
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

Dough:

1. Gently warm the milk, butter, brown sugar, vanilla and salt in a small pot. Don’t bring to a simmer; warm just enough to melt the butter.
2. Measure half of the flour ( 2 1/2 cups) into the bowl of your stand mixer along with the yeast.
3. Add the warm milk and melted butter mixture to the flour and beat with your paddle attachment until smooth.
4. Add the eggs 1 at a time, beating until smooth before proceeding. Switch to a dough hook and add the remaining flour.
5. Remove and knead until a soft dough forms that is no longer sticky to the touch, about 5 minutes.
6. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover and let rest in a warm place until dough doubles in size. This could take as long as 2 hours.

Filling:

1. Stir all ingredients together in a mixing bowl.
2. Once the dough has risen, knock it down and let it rest for a few minutes.
3. Flour your work surface, the dough, your hands and a rolling pin. Roll out the dough into a long rectangle shape, about 18 x 12 inches, with the long side facing you.
4. Evenly spread the cinnamon filling all over the top of the dough, leaving 1 or 2 inches uncovered along the top edge. Leaving a border helps the dough stick together when you form the roll.
5. Roll into a long, tight, cigar-shaped log from the covered long edge to the uncovered long edge. Brush the outside of the log with oil or melted butter.
6. Slice the dough log into 12 or 16 sections. Turn each on its side and position evenly in a lightly oiled 15- x 10-inch baking pan.
7. Rest, uncovered, until the dough doubles in size once again and the rolls swell into each other, filling the pan.
8. Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 350°F (180°C).
9. When the dough has risen a second time, bake for 30 minutes.

Icing:

1. When the cinnamon rolls have cooled enough to handle, beat together the icing ingredients and spread all over the rolls. Serve immediately!

Maggie's 2nd Birthday

We had Maggie's birthday party at the local gymnastics club yesterday. Here are some pics of the super-fun day.

Why getting married means extra work at the holidays

It is true that as relationships change, certain aspects of that relationship change over time. It is not always an easy evolution to follow, but one day you wake up and think to yourself, "When did it become okay for my husband to buy me tampons?"

Another role that changes hands is that of the official "gift-buyer" in the family. When a couple begins dating, the lines are clearly established. He buys for his family, and you buy for yours. Fast-forward a few years and suddenly you are buying for every member of both families except for one...yourself. How does this happen? And why do we let it happen?

It dawned on me this past week as I was mailing out Christmas parcels, and making sure Brent's grandmother and sister-in-law and sister's daughter had gifts, that at one point this was his job. What I am struggling with is whether or not he shied away from the responsibility, or whether I just assumed his side of the family when I began shopping for my own.

Now, don't get me wrong. I love Brent's family, and everyone in it. I love buying them gifts that I think they will enjoy and all that. But men shouldn't be allowed to get stressed out when they have one person to buy for. One. Uno. Une. That's it. This year I bought presents for 27 people, and those are just the ones I can remember off the top of my head. There may be more that I have forgotten because my mind if frazzled from BUYING PRESENTS FOR 27 PEOPLE!

My theory is that this happens when finances become combined. Prior to that, there is no way that all of the gifts are coming out of your pot of money. So maybe that is the secret. Keep everything separate, and the gifts purchasing remains separate as well.