The Ultimate Turtle Cheesecake: recipe

There isn't a dessert that I like better than cheesecake and if it had fewer calories, I would love it even more. Last weekend I was searching for a special dessert to make for my mom in celebration of Mother's Day and I came across a recipe for the Ultimate Turtle Cheesecake. Ultimate turtle cheesecake? I was going to make that. And even though my crust didn't look as beautiful as the crust on the picture; my family said that it was a cheesecake worthy enough to be on the Cheesecake Factory menu. I'll take that as a compliment.

For all of you cheesecake lovers out there--this recipe is for you.

Ultimate Turtle Cheesecake

Ingredients:

24 OREO Cookies,
finely crushed (about 2 cups)
6 Tbsp. butter or margarine, melted
1 pkg. (14 oz.) KRAFT Caramels
1/2 cup milk
1 cup chopped PLANTERS Pecans
3 pkg. (8 oz. each) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 Tbsp. vanilla
3 eggs
2 squares BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate

Preparations:

HEAT oven to 325°F.

MIX crumbs and butter; press onto bottom and 2 inches up side of 9-inch springform pan.

MICROWAVE caramels and milk in small microwaveable bowl on HIGH 3 min. or until caramels are completely melted, stirring after each minute. Stir in nuts; pour half into crust. Refrigerate 10 min. Refrigerate remaining caramel mixture for later use.

BEAT cream cheese, sugar and vanilla with mixer until well blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing on low speed after each just until blended. Pour over caramel layer in crust.

BAKE 1 hour 5 min. to 1 hour 10 min. or until center is almost set. Run knife around rim of pan to loosen cake; cool before removing rim. Refrigerate 4 hours.

MICROWAVE reserved caramel mixture 1 min.; stir. Pour over cheesecake. Melt chocolate as directed on package; drizzle over cheesecake.

Note: This is a Kraft Foods recipe and therefore calls for Kraft brand products but I used some different brands and it worked perfectly well.

The finished product!

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Jane Eyre 2011: movie review

I am one of the biggest self-professed Jane Austen fans. I adore period dramas. However, I am not a huge fan of the Bronte sisters, but this past weekend two of my best friends headed to the movie theater because Jane Eyre (2011) had finally arrived in a theater nearby. I'm not quite sure what I was expecting as we sat watching movie previews before Jane Eyre began, but I was slightly afraid that two hours of this movie would be a long two hours. However, I got more than I bargained for and Jane Eyre was definitely worth the price of the movie ticket.

 

Written in 1847 by Charlotte Bronte, Jane Eyre is the story of a girl who grows up unloved, abused, and alone. After the death of her parents, Jane is sent to live with her aunt's family who is cruel, heartless, and accuses Jane of being wicked and the children frame Jane for their own wrongdoings. Eventually Jane is sent away to a school for orphan girls and kindness is not a word that any of the teachers or the headmaster know. Jane is finally able to secure a position as a governess and at the age of 18 she is freed from the school that she has been in so long. While working as a governess Jane Eyre meets Mr. Rochester and the course of her life is forever altered.

 

The new Jane Eyre film is relatively true to the book and fans of Charlotte Bronte will have not difficulty recognizing her story in the film.

 

Positive elements in the film:

The coldness and loveless life that Jane endured would have turned many people cold and heartless but Jane isn't bitter. She loves in spite of the fact that she has never felt real love. When Mr. Rochester asks Jane what her tale of woe is she says, "I have no tale of woe." Jane doesn't feel sorry for herself or her situation. On several instances Jane resists moral temptation even when we know that many would have given in and seen nothing wrong with it. She cries out for God to help her escape her temptation.

 

Negative elements in the film:

Jane Eyre is rated PG-13 and therefore it contains more adult themes. Jane Eyre has some thematic content surrounding the state of Mr. Rochester's life in the past and there are a few instances when people appear to be drinking wine. A picture of a nude lady is briefly shown.

 

Violence:

Jane's cousin hits her causing her to receive a blow to the head and blood is seen. Jane is locked in a dark room and smoke and voices explode from the chimney. A girl is beat with a stick. Jane is forced to stand on a chair for hours.

 

The two hours that I spent in the movie theater were not without reward. From the beautiful music that graced the film, to the gorgeous scenery, and to the timelessness of Charlotte Bronte's tale; this new adaptation of Jane Eyre is one that will become a classic. Jane teaches us a lesson--we may not have had the best childhood, we may not have felt love, and we may have always been falsely accused; but that's no reason to be bitter. Life is what we chose to make of it. We can let circumstances crush our joy or we can use our joy to crush our circumstances. Jane Eyre knows that, and we love her for it.

 

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