This has been a rough week. 3 employees have left, 3 have been out sick. We hit a gas line on a job, we have a gas leak in the office. It's snowed, it's rained, it's freezing cold and our heat is turned off.

On top of that, I've had test after test ran last week. I told J. "I've been poked more times than Paris Hilton!" Apparently there's nothing major going on, I do have a cyst on my right ovary, but we aren't doing much about it at this point. Just "wait and see." It's better news than it could have been, but it's still a bit scary.

When it all gets to much to bear, what else is there to do but bake? I pulled out an old recipe of mine. These are my best friend's absolute favorite cookies. He was sooooooo mad when he found out I made them (he does not live in the same town). They are the perfect milk cookies, not really soft, not really crisp. Just the kind of chewy texture that demands a big icy glass.

Mint Chocolate Cookies

Recipe by me!

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 granulated sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 large egg

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup Andes mint chips

Preheat oven to 350.

Cream butter and sugars in mixing bowl. Add egg and vanilla and mix at medium speed.

In separate bowl, mix together dry ingredients.

On low speed, add dry ingredients to the wet. Mix well. Stir in chips.

Drop dough onto greased cookie sheet. Bake for about 12 minutes. Cool and enjoy!

Oh and don't take these anywhere near plumbing technicians or they will be gone before you know it!

Is This Seat Taken?

One of my coworkers, JB, is famous for her cheesecakes. She has brought some to work, and my technicians just go crazy for them. She mentioned on Thursday that there was a contest that she was thinking of entering, but it was in Modoc and she just wasn't sure if she should go.

"Modoc," I said, "It's not at the winery is it?"

"Yeah, Wilson Wines, or something like that?"

"Ohhhhhhh we are SOOOOOOO GOING!!!!"

That was the end of that. I've been wanting to visit Wilson Wines for awhile now, but hadn't made the 40 minute drive yet. Then she told me the kicker...you get a free bottle of wine for every cheesecake you enter! Well, I had never made a cheesecake before but I had several recipes in my binder just waiting to be tried. Here's the perfect reason! So, in typical Haley style, I entered a food contest without ever tasting my entry :).

I definitely learned a few things about cheesecake making--the main thing being that you should ALWAYS butter a round of parchment paper and put that on the bottom, between the crust and the pan. Otherwise, you will be taking the pan with you to the contest. Also, let your ganache cool a little bit before pouring it onto the cake, otherwise you will have a mess in your fridge.

The day was so much fun. The winery itself was a small farm, with a little cookout patio area. They have a stage, where they host live music in the summer. Apparently, they have Bring Your Own Meat Fridays where they put grills out and you come and BBQ with a bunch of people. I think J and I will definitely try that sometime next year! JB and I were sitting alone at a table and we kept having people come up to our table and ask if they could sit with us in the extra two chairs. We met so many people this way! Suddenly I was Miss Social Butterfly, chatting about wine and food. I was completely in my element. It just makes me even more confident that I am finding my purpose in this world--food. I can't wait to see where this path leads!

Hey look, I actually remembered to take a picture!

Nutella Cheesecake with Chocolate Ganache

Adapted from The Picky Apple

Crust:

3 cups Oreo crumbs, divided

2 Tbsp white sugar

1/2 cup melted butter

Filling:

24 oz cream cheese, softened

1 cup white sugar

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

Pinch of salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 egg yolks

1 whole egg

1/2 cup milk

1 jar Nutella

Ganache:

1 cup heavy cream

1 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 Tbsp butter

1 cup chopped toasted hazelnuts

Heat oven to 350.

Combine 2 cups crumbs with butter and sugar. Wrap springform pan in foil. Pat into the bottom of pan and bake for 15 minutes.

In bowl of mixer, beat cream cheese. Add sugar, flour, salt and vanilla until just combined. Add eggs, beat on low until just combined. Add milk and Nutella, beat until Nutella is completely mixed in.

Pour filling into springform pan.

Reduce heat to 300 Degrees. Place pan on cookie sheet and then place in oven. Bake for 1 hour, turn off oven and let bake for another 45 minutes, until center appears set when shaken lightly. Remove and cool on wire rack.

Bring cream to a boil. Pour over chocolate chips. Stir until smooth and shiny. Spread evenly over top of cheesecake.

Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or overnight is better, to set.

Before serving, remove sides and bottom of pan. Carefully remove round of parchment paper from bottom of cake and place on serving dish.

Press remaining crumbs all around the cake to form the outside crust. Sprinkle toasted hazelnuts on top of cake (This is the perfect step if you, hm, have any cracks or have accidentally smudged the ganache. That's why I saved it for AFTER the refrigeration step. This ganache is soft enough to push the nuts into it.)

Note: Don't be surprised if you see me use some of the wines I bought today in my recipes. I only bought 4 bottles (and was given a bottle of Cranberry for entering a cake), but I will be going back to get more. I have no agreement with WW to use their wines, but they have several fantastic reds on their list. And the blackberry is to DIE for...Seriously, go check them out here.

Spoiled Rotten

The good thing about having 15 male coworkers is that there are always hungry guys around looking for a treat. They come to the shop between jobs and even if they've just had lunch, they are always ready for another break. Basically I have 15 guinea pigs around when I get the hankering to bake. I tried to convince my boss to promote me to company chef and send me to culinary school but he would have none of it. Ah well. For now I'll just have to be satisfied bringing these babies in to feed my guys. I don't hear them complaining much.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

From YumSugar

2 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp clove

pinch of ground ginger

1/2 cup butter, room temperature

1 cup brown sugar (I ran out, so I used 1/2 cup brown sugar and 1/2 cup white sugar and about 1/4 molasses to make up the rest)

1/2 cup sugar (in addition to what I used with molasses)

1 egg

15 oz can of pure pumpkin (ok, who seriously has ever seen a 15 oz can of pumpkin? not me. My store carries one size. GIGANTIC. So I used 1/2 a 29 oz can.)

1 tsp vanilla

1 bag chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375.

In a small bowl, mix together flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, and ginger together and set aside.

In mixer, cream together butter and sugars. Add pumpkin and vanilla. Beat in egg.

Gradually beat in flour mixture.

Stir in chocolate chips.

Drop in rounded spoonfuls onto baking sheets sprayed with PAM spray.

Bake for 13-15 minutes.

These may be the only cookie ever that is better the next day. I was not impressed the other night when I made them, they seemed really dry. But the next day, the pumpkin will have worked its magic and the cookies will be moist and fluffy, almost the texture of muffins.

Chocolate Emergency!

Ladies, I know you have had THOSE days. You know the kind I'm talking about. When you feel like crap and you've had it up to HERE and dinner is just going to have to be chocolate or you will kill somebody.

The problem with THOSE days is that you rarely feel like cooking. Or at least I don't. I usually have a migraine and want to collapse in bed after my chocolate gorging. I have a secret that I thought I'd share with you all. Go make this on your next one of THOSE days. Seriously, pudding is like 50 cents a box. Yeah, it's not healthy for you but thats ok. Really. Who cares. I never said this blog was for healthy cooking! :)

Haley's Secret Emergency Chocolate Mousse

Instant Chocolate Pudding Mix

Heavy Whipping Cream

Pour a little of the mix in a bowl, and then with a fork, beat the cream into the mix. Then slowly add more mix, while continuing to whip the cream, until the mousse is thick and full.

You can make as much or as little as you like. I just put the rest of the package in a ziplock bag and keep it in my pantry for the next time I have a chocolate emergency. I always have heavy cream around. This is soooooooo much better than regular instant pudding. The mouth feel on this is fantastic. You could serve it at parties too, no one would know it wasn't something you spent HOURS making.