Pumpkin and Spice

I'm a little excited, because this week, the restaurant is going to be featuring a dessert I came up with. It's creamy, rich, indulgent and features everyone's favorite childhood treat- Oreo cookies! What is it? Cookies and cream cheesecake! I know, yum, right?

A chocolate cookie crust, vanilla cheesecake with Oreo cookies mixed in, topped with dark chocolate ganache and garnished with white chocolate-Oreo bark. Of course, C, my supervisor and I had to sample it. You, know, for quality purposes...

I've actually been thinking about Oreo cheesecake for a while now- and anticipating making it when I got home. I thought about how I would make it, how I would garnish it, who I would make it for... And then the other day at work, something magic happened.

We usually get in chocolate cookie crumbs for making chocolate crusts for cheesecakes, however, someone had accidentally ordered the wrong item, and we got in Oreo cookie chunks instead of crumbs. C and I were looking at them and contemplating what do with them.

"I wanna get a big bowl of vanilla ice cream and cover it in them," C said.

"We should make a Oreo cheesecake," I said, "I've been daydreaming about it lately... I think these cookie chunks are fate."

"You're right," C said, "that's the perfect thing to do with them!"

C made the cheesecakes, and I made the white chocolate cookie bark. Don't worry, I'll be playing around with my own version when I get home, and I'll be sure to post recipes.

What else do I busy myself with at work in the evenings? This week, I made some poached pear tarts with frangipane. Frangipane is a sweetened almond paste, and it goes perfectly with the spiced poached pears. I love poached pears- I think they're vastly underrated as a dessert. They're soft, sweet, spicy, and very comforting. They're also low in fat, cholesterol free, and delightfully simple to make. I have a hard time not munching on the pear slices when I make this tart!

I also made espresso pannacotta. Pannacotta is a simple Italian dessert made with cream, sugar, flavorings and gelatin. It's poured into a mould or dish, and allowed to set. If it's made in a mould (like ours), it's turned out on a plate. If it's in a dish or glass, it's served as is. This particular pannacotta is rich and flavorful with fresh espresso and Kahlua. As it sets, it seperates slightly, so the overturned pannacotta has a dark brown layer on top, and a creamy brown layer on the bottom. Very pretty.

I also made lots of truffles, including these- Margarita truffles. Jimmy Buffet would love these! They have a white chocolate center with lime juice,  tequila and triple sec. They're then dipped in white chocolate and sprinkled with lime zest and sea salt. I don't care for white chocolate, but these are divine! The salt really makes the truffle.

And bread pudding- this particular bread pudding is made with leftover croissants, and a chocolate custard spiced with cinnamon, cloves and chili powder. Kind of a Mexican hot chocolate flavor.

I'm still on this shift for another week and a half, so there will definately be more goodies and more pictures to drool over!