In the mood for color... and paint! Or just sitting in a café.

I have been thinking about my Sango cup and plate today. I only have the one cup, salad plate and dinner plate. On the Sango website I did not notice this pattern anymore but it does show up quite a few times on Ebay. Maybe I should get a couple more? Especially my beloved cup! It is just the right size and shape too. The thing about the illustration or painting is that indeed it does make me think of France and I like to think I am one of the girls in the image. Or I just want to jump on in and join them. They look a bit pensive but that is okay. I will just whip out my journal or sketchbook and sip my café au lait quietly until we are ready to laugh a bit... or head down the street for some window shopping. These two seem rather stylish, maybe they can give me some tips on great shops in the area and what is the haute couture of the moment.

But the feeling and colors of this art are rather Matisse-like. The lines and mood is a bit more controlled though. I have always loved Matisse. His work sings and has such a feeling of energy and vibrancy not only in the color but the mood, the strokes. It is the whole package. Oh to own a Matisse!


I just read an interesting blog that teaches a little more about Matisse and his style of art. Check out Art Smarts 4 Kids! Wonderful site Jessica! Thank you.

Maybe I should pull out those dusty old oil paints and start up again... Nothing like painting to put you in the mood to cook and drink great wine!

Cheesecake and Sango... I Dream of Paris

Do you have a favorite dessert? How about a FABULOUS cheesecake recipe?

Well this is something you won't find too too often on my site. A recipe for dessert! Oh I like to eat dessert and sweets (trust me!) but I do tend to favor the savory. Especially when cooking or creating it myself. So often baking and dessert requires precise measurements and following the directions to the "T". Unfortunately this is NOT my style. I wish it were. I have a horrible time just sticking to what's called for. Instead I have to add, adjust and alter things to suit my taste, mood or just these nutty creative impulses. It may or may not make the recipe better but I sure think it adds to the fun!

So here it is: Last weekend was my grandmother's 88th birthday. We celebrated at my parent's house. I have a large family and so it is the custom for everyone to bring a dish to the party. I volunteered for the cheesecake. It happens to be one of my favorites to make and to eat. Other favorites are crème brûlée, chocolate soufflé or almost flourless chocolate cake. But more often than not I just like a really good piece of chocolate while I finish the last of my wine – divine!

But back to the cheesecake. I used a recipe that Tyler Florence deems "The Ultimate Cheesecake." Tyler's recipe has a blueberry topping but I also made my grandmother's "famous" (for our family anyway) raspberry topping. Click on the link above to get the cheesecake recipe from the Food Network site.

Now as I mentioned. I have issues trying to just stick to the recipe. I CAN if I have to but for dessert, cheesecake has a teeny bit of wiggle room. I had forgotten my grocery list when I hit the store so I had more than enough cream cheese. Tyler's recipe called for two 8 oz. packages. I used three. And I had some vanilla beans here so I added the seeds as well. This is about the only place I changed the cheesecake though. Oh I did add a little bit of sour cream on the top after it had cooked and cooled. Many of my family members like it and it makes for a lovely finishing touch. This recipe was tasty and turned out nicely but I do prefer a more dense cheesecake. Florence's was a bit "wet" or something and rather tart too. Next time I will choose a recipe with more cream cheese and a little less sour cream and lemon within the body of the cake itself. If you know a great recipe, please share! I would love to hear from you!

Now for my grandmothers topping! Feel free to modify as needed. The stores used to carry frozen raspberries in a little tin like box. I remember using this so often with my grandmother. These raspberries seemed to be in a syrup or something. Now I only seem to find the frozen raspberries in a bag and they don't have much syrup or extra liquid. I used the whole bag and put them in a colander until they were mostly thawed. Put a bowl or dish under the colander to catch the juice that will drain out. Combine this juice with about 1/4 cup of current* jelly and 1 tbls. of cornstarch in a small sauce pan over medium heat. Well I didn't get much juice from the raspberries so I added a little lemon juice. I think some actual raspberry juice would be good. Cook the juice and jelly mixture until thickened and remove from the heat. Stir in the remaining whole raspberries and reserve sauce for your cheesecake. I prefer to scoop the sauce onto each person's cake when I serve it. Thus not letting the cheesecake get too soft or soggy.

Don't forget your helpers! Whether you have those that cook with you, clean up or just taste test, it is ALWAYS fun to have company in the kitchen.

*So another problem. Current jelly has been getting harder and harder to find too. I don't know why. It upsets my grandmother as it is her favorite jelly for everything from dessert to toast. Well I didn't see it at the market and with two little kids, I wasn't about to tour town in search of jelly. I did notice the store had pomegranate jelly now though! Well as pomegranates are so popular in everything from health food to martinis right now, I chose that. I seemed to taste pretty close to the sauce when made with the current jelly.

So cheesecake and coffee with my Café Paris dishes by Sango. My friend Terri gave me these one Christmas... or was is a birthday? It was so long ago, I forget. Hey Terri... do you remember??? But the nature of the art reminded her of me and our trips to Paris. Oh how I love Paris. How much fun we had loosing ourselves in all the different streets. Finding little cheese stands, boulangeries and cafés and just reading, writing, talking, sitting.... I use this coffee cup almost every day. I love to just FEEL like I am there ... in Paris again.... I need to paint more AND visit Paris or Europe more. I miss it terribly. Any stories of Paris are welcome!