A Gift Years in the Making

My parents arrived this past Wednesday toting a mystery duffle bag containing a present they told me that they had, but needed to give to me in person. I had no idea what they could be talking about when they first told me about it, and even less when presented with a large soft duffel bag. Inside was something we'd been talking about for so long that I despaired that it would ever get done, and also something that will require some explanation for those of you who haven't known me too long: a t-shirt quilt made from Hard Rock Cafe t-shirts.

I've been collecting Hard Rock Cafe t-shirts since I was a teenager. I'm not sure what city my first one was from, but I've been marking my travels by purchasing the "city shirt" in any city where there's a restaurant. You can't get this shirt on the Internet and it always blends rock 'n roll motifs with landmarks or famous aspects of the city. I particularly love my Madrid shirt with a rock interpretation of Picasso's Guernica painting (see it here) and the Barcelona shirt with "tiled" images inspired by architect Antoni Gaudi's buildings in the city (particularly the Parc Güell). Another cool one was the 25th anniversary shirt marking 25 years in business, which I got at the original restaurant in London. Is HRC the best restaurant? No. It's food is roughly like TGI Friday's. But the shirts are a unique souvenir, and sometimes when you've been abroad for while, the HRC provides exactly the island of American-ness you crave. (Not to mention a hamburger done right, which does not involve frying in olive oil - I'm looking at you, Italy)

My good friends Veronica and Ellie both have one or more t-shirt quilts made from shirts they wore in high school or college that remind them of fun memories, but don't really need to be worn anymore. You take the shirts, cut a square out of the front or back and then put them in a big grid with fabric in between and on the back. It's a simple concept that nevertheless demands some time, attention, and sewing skills, of which my mom has the most of the latter and less of the two former.

Just when I thought I might outsource it to Veronica's mom, Dad's longtime coworker, Lorra Ewy (pronounced A-vee) mentioned that she needed a new sewing project, so Dad brought up our quilt idea. Laura did the planning, sewing, and layout and also chose the fabric based generally on my love of teal. Mom and Dad dug the box of t-shirts out of the basement and threw in a few of their own to round out a queen-sized quilt. Lorra passed it on to Wanda Hiebert of The Happy Stitcher to do the quilting, and I think the result is pretty great. Behold:

This thing is big! You're not even seeing it all because my arms just aren't that long. Here are some close-ups of a couple of elements:

The classic shirt from the 1st London restaurant.

The front pocket from the Barcelona shirt- pocket logos made it on there too.

The awesome wave-inspired quilting is easier to see on the back, which is a lovely soft flannel-esque material. 

I love the way it came out and I'm happy to see all my shirts again! Thanks, Mom, Dad, Lorra and Wanda!!

Foodie Friday

I thought it was time to dish out another recipe. The reno's moving along, but nothing sexy enough to blog about at the moment. I want to share my first "original" recipe, which also won first prize among a field of 16 in last year's dessert competition at work. I posted it on AllRecipes.com and submitted it to be "kitchen tested," but haven't heard back yet. I'm sure they get a few submissions ;) I mostly cobbled together a graham cracker crust recipe, changed a green tea cheesecake recipe, and added the chocolate creme layer to make one fairly stellar dessert. A friend's 7-year-old said it was "better than La Madeline," which made me happy. Sadly, I've failed to take a photo each time I've made it, so I can't wow you with a visual on this one.


Ingredients

• 2 Cups crushed Oreo cookies (less than 1 package) 
• 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• Cheesecake:
• 3 8oz. packages of regular cream cheese, softened (aka leave on counter for a while) 
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract (the best you can find) 
• 3 large eggs
• 5 oz. heavy whipping cream
• Chocolate Creme:
• 1 package milk or semi-sweet chocolate chips (OR 12 oz chopped chocolate)
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream

This is not a low-fat recipe. You might be able to do some reduced-fat cream cheese and half & half instead of heavy cream, but it's probably best just to eat less at a time ;) Egg beaters are a win though. 

Directions

1. Preheat oben to 350 (325 for convection)
2. Set out your cream cheese to soften.
3. To Make Crust:
4. Pulse Oreo cookies in a food processor or place in plastic baggie and crust with rolling pin until you have 2 cups. Melt the butter. Combine oreos and butter in a medium bowl and stir until crumbs are uniformly wet looking. Press crumbs into a 9x13" pyrex or metal pan (or 9x11" for thicker bars) in an even layer. Bake for 10 minutes at 350F.
5. Cheesecake Filling:
6. While crust is baking, begin making filling. Using an electric mixer or stand mixer, cream together cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add vanilla, then eggs one at a time and continue mixing. Stir in whipping cream and mix until incorporated. Pour or spoon mixture onto baked crust. Bake for 40-45 minutes. The filling should still jiggle slightly when shaken and be just beginning to brown on top when it's done. 
7. Chocolate Layer:
8. When cheesecake layer is nearly done cooking (maybe 5-10 minutes left) begin making chocolate filling. Place chocolate chips and egg in a blender. Heat cream in a microwave-safe measuring cup until just boiling (1-2 minutes). Add hot cream to egg and chocolate in blender (this kills the salmonella etc in the eggs). Place lid on blender and and mix/puree until smooth. Use a spatula to scrape sides of blender and blend once more until smooth. Pour chocolate layer onto cheesecake once it's done baking. Allow to cool for a while on the stovetop or other heat-safe surface and then refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight. Slice and serve.

So the 3 separate stages can be a bit of a pain, but no stage of this dish is particularly difficult. It works well for events where you have to bring a dish (best make it the night before), and has been a crowd pleaser wherever I take it. 

Enjoy!