Cookie Crust Cheese Cake and more on the Disney Dream Cruise Ship

One of our east coast aunts use to make a killer cheesecake. This was not a New York style cheescake but more the creamy type. Other than the rich sweet creaminess, I think the thing that made it killer was the crust, which she made with Lorna Doone Shortbread Cookies and good 'ol artery enriching butter (haha... yeah!). The following is a varient of her original recipe.

Ingredients

1 regular sized pkg of cookies (e.g. Oreos, Lorna Doones, Oatmeal, Ginger Snaps, Vanilla Wafers, etc... any crunchy type variety, not the soft or chewy kinds)

1 cube Butter

16oz Cream Cheese (e.g. 2 pkgs)

1 cup Sugar

2 tsps Vanilla Extract

3 Eggs

1 cup Sour Cream

1 large pie plate (the size of one of those humungo costco pies)

To prepare the cookie crust

Crush the cookies into fine crumbs (with a hammer? food processor? fingers?) in a large bowl

Melt the butter then mix well into the cookie crumbs

With your fingers, pat down the cookie crust mixture onto the sides and bottom of the large pie plate

Preheat the oven to 350

To prepare the main filling

Soften the Cream Cheese in a large bowl

Mix in 3/4 cups of the sugar

Mix in 1 tsp of the vanilla extract

Add the eggs and mix until the whole mess is smooth

Spatula the filling mixture over the pie crust

Bake @ 350 for 20 mins

To Prepare the topping (while the crust & filling is baking)

In a small bowl, mix the remaining 1/4 cup sugar and the sour cream

Stir in the remaining 1 tsp of vanilla extract

After the filling has been baked for the 20 mins above, remove from oven and spoon the topping evenly over the top

Return to the oven and bake for another 10 mins

I think it tastes better cold... let it cool for 30 or so mins... then refrigerate for another hour... or two... or overnight...

you can use variations for the filling such as, if you're using oreos for the cookie crust, you might want to consider adding a bar of melted dark chocolate to the filling... be creative with the combos...

That's it! Enjoy!

AOL Travel takes a look behind the scenes of the Disney Dream

AOL Travel was given video access to see the work of creative and technical geniuses developing features for the latest Disney cruise ship. While the 4,000-passenger Disney Dream, it's first new ship in a decade, is being built at a shipyard in Germany, it's in Glendale where the magic begins. About 140 creative and techie types (Imagineers) are working on innovations for the Disney Dream and it's sister ship, Fantasy (which debuts in 2012). The following are some of the AOL Travel videos taken during their visit...

Disney Imagineering
The Walt Disney Imagineering campus is a place where trade secrets are carefully protected. AOL Travel was given exclusive video access to see the work of creative and technical geniuses developing features for the latest Disney cruise ship.


Enchanted Art
Disney Cruise Line will be premiering a new form of interactive storytelling on its soon-to-debut Disney Dream, and it's hidden in the ship's artwork.


Virtual Portholes
Windowless, inside staterooms on cruise ships are not particularly desirable to most cruisers, most often being snatched up by bargain-hunters looking for a deal. In a clever move, Disney is looking to change that on the new 4,000-passenger Disney Dream cruise ship, which debuts in late January.


Magic Play Floor
Remember when youth counselors used to have kids sit in a circle and listen to a book? Well that's probably not the option the kids will choose on the new 4,000-passenger Disney Dream.


The Animator's Palate Restaurant
"Fran, Have you ever spoken turtle before?" says surfer-dude sea turtle, Crush. I answer -- without stopping to think that I'm talking to an animated character, who referred to me by name.


The Remy Restaurant
In the kitchen of the award-winning Victoria & Albert's at Walt Disney World's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, Chef Scott Hunnel is carefully spooning caviar on top of paper thin crepes stuffed with king crab, giving AOL Travel an exclusive look at some of the culinary creations on the soon-to-debut Disney Dream.
In the kitchen of the award-winning Victoria & Albert's at Walt Disney World's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, Chef Scott Hunnel is carefully spooning caviar on top of paper thin crepes stuffed with king crab, giving AOL Travel an exclusive look at some of the culinary creations on the soon-to-debut Disney Dream.


Castaway Cay
Castaway Cay feels so perfect, you wonder if a sprinkling of magic pixie dust was involved in its creation. On a recent behind-the-scenes visit, AOL Travel discovered the "pixies" are actually Disney's creative geniuses, who have been busy upgrading the private island in preparation for the arrival of the Disney Dream.

Chocolate Rum Bundt Cake and a 1958 look at Disneyland

For those of you that like the liquor aftertaste of Rum Balls, this recipe is NOT for you. For those of you who like a rich deep chocolaty taste in a moist cake, read on...

The little bit of rum that you add to this recipe seems to bring out/enhance the chocolate and moist richness of this cake. It's another one of those desserts that would apply to Jack LaLanne's statement "if it tastes good, spit it out"...

Ingredients:

1 package devils food chocolate cake mix

1 package instant chocolate pudding

4 eggs

1 cup sour cream

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup rum

1/4 cup water

1 cup chopped walnuts

1 package chocolate chips

Directions

Combine cake mix, pudding mix, eggs, sour cream, oil, rum and water in large mixer bowl

Stir in nuts and chocolate chips

Pour into greased and floured Bundt pan

Bake at 350 degree for 50 minutes

Sprinkle top with powdered sugar

An Adventure in the Magic Kingdom

Join Tinkerbell and the "voice of Disneyland", Dick Wessel, on a black and white trip from the Disney Studios in Burbank to the Happiest Place on Earth, Disneyland, Anaheim. Then adventure into the trademark Disney lands as the public saw them in 1958. (One notably, "Holidayland")

Leche Flan Cake!

I remember the first time i tasted this @ a party, the person who brought it wouldn't give out her "secret recipe" for it. haha... so i google'd it... I've tried this recipe a couple of times already... and it's gooooood stuuuuufffff! hope you enjoy it as much as I do...

Caramel:

1 cup sugar

1 cup sweetened macapuno (optional)

Flan:

1 can evaporated milk

8 egg yolks

1 can condensed milk

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

Cake:

3 1/4 cups cake flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/4 teaspon salt

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/2 cup oil

6 egg yolks

1 1/4 cup egg whites

3/4 cup water

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
(or... haha... you can cheat and use a boxed yellow cake mix!!!)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees

Caramelize 1 cup sugar in a 9 X 13 cake pan (e.g. slowly over the stove top)

Optionally arrange the sweetened macapuno over it and set aside

Blend the 8 egg yokes, condensed milk, evaporated milk and vanilla extract in a bowl

Pour the mixture into the caramelized 9X13 pan set aside

Combine the flour, baking powder, salt and 3/4 cups sugar in another bowl

Mix in the oil, egg yolks and water until smooth

In a separate bowl, beat egg whites and cream of tartar until soft peaks form

Gradually add the other 3/4 cup sugar and beat until stiff

Fold this into the cake mixture
or...

prepare the cake batter as instructed on the box you cheating wimp...

Pour the batter slowly & evenly over the custard in the cake pan.
Note: do not stir... what's cool is, as the cake bakes, it magically keeps the custard, which sinks to the bottom, separated from the cake which floats to the top!

Place the 9 X 13 pan in a larger pan half-filled with water (i used a cookie sheet that had 1/2 inch sides).

Bake for 1 hour

this isn't necessary but... i'd recommend you let it cool and refrigerate over night

Using a butter knife, make sure the sides of the cake are separated from the pan sides... then...

Invert it on a serving platter or... some other type of tupperware thing to carry to your party or... potluck or... whatever...


That's it! Enjoy!!!

This Day in History - Walt Disney World Resort officially opens – Oct 1, 1971

Ferrari World in Abu Dahbi opening in late October 2010

Farrari World will have a roller coaster called the Formula Rossa which will be the fastest roller coaster in the world, going close to 150 MPH and pulling 1.7G's: