the last dance (almost)

Last night was Paige's homecoming...Senior Edition.

It was a fairly frugal dance:
Dress: borrowed from a friend $0
Shoes: $100
Hair: $30
Makeup/lashes: $20
Cash for pictures: $60
Boutonniere: TBD

Total: $210

She hated her hair, but I thought it looked cute. She wanted it to look like this:


And it didn't.
But she still looked lovely:


Tyler & Paige



Paige & Maddi

Paige actually did really well this time. She didn't stress, and she wasn't mean to me; it was a nice change. The last dance I fronted money for was Homecoming 2006...Sophomore Edition; she was awful. Severe emphasis on AWFUL. She gets mean, condescending, snippy, disrespectful and at times cruel. It makes me really want to kick her hiney.

After that homecoming, I told her...never again. I'm not paying money for you to treat me like shit, but it is her senior year, and she tried to be very frugal. I think it also helped that her date was a guy that she is very familiar and comfortable with. He seems like a nice enough guy.

Next up is Senior Ball, and I hope she'll have a job by then to help pay for part of it because that can be a really pricey event.

I also had a candle party last night, and I felt like it was a success. My main goal was just to cook some nice Autumnal foods and be with women whose company I enjoy; the candles are nice to have lit through the rooms, and I really need some seasonal candles. I know other people do, too, which is why I even had the candle party in play.

I made some great food, and it was all from scratch, baby:

• Squash soup
• Bread (that was store-bought)
  
• Spinach, gorgonzola, apple, sugared pecan salad (I call it my Bradley salad because a Bradley grandma gave me the recipe)
• Pumpkin bread
• Carmel (caramel?) apple cheesecake
• Pomegranate martinis

The food was great. I think that next time I make that cheesecake, I will cut the cake into individual slices, and top each slice with the caramel and apples. The warm apples and caramel really made the cheesecake get super soft.

I wish I had taken a picture because it was my very first cheesecake, and I was very proud of how it turned out.

We plan to have an Election Night party (Go Obama!!), and I think I'll make a red, white and blue cheesecake for the evening.

The cheesecake was a very different flavor and texture, but it was good. And no crack in the top! Yea! It looks complicated, but it was super easy to make.

Here's the recipe, via Bobby Flay on Food Network:

Caramel Apple Cheescake
8 servings

8 whole graham crackers
1 cup lightly toasted walnuts, divided
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, divided
1 tablespoon orange zest
3 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, at room temperature (recommended: Philadelphia)
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons packed light muscovado sugar (I used brown sugar)
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 large vanilla bean, seeds scraped
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup heavy cream

1 recipe Apple Mixture, recipe follows
1 recipe Apple Caramel Sauce, recipe follows

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Place the graham crackers, 1/2 cup of the walnuts and brown sugar in a food processor and process until finely ground. With the motor running, add the butter through the feed tube and process until the mixture just comes together. Spray the bottom and side of the pan with cooking spray. Pat the mixture evenly into the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan, place on a baking sheet and bake in the oven until lightly golden brown and just set, about 8 minutes. Remove to a baking rack and let cool completely.

Combine 1/4 cup of the sugar and the orange zest in a food processor and process until combined.

Place the cream cheese in the bowl of a stand fixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the orange sugar, remaining granulated sugar, and light muscovado sugar and beat again until the sugar is incorporated and the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the eggs, 1 at a time and mix until just incorporated, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl. Add the vanilla seeds and vanilla extract and beat until combined. Add the salt and heavy cream and mix until just combined.

Scrape the mixture into the prepared pan. Set the cheesecake pan on a large piece of heavy duty aluminum foil and fold up the sides around it. Place the cake pan in a large roasting pan. Pour hot tap water into the roasting pan until the water is about halfway up the sides of the cheesecake pan; the foil will keep the water from seeping into the cheesecake. Bake until the sides of the cake are slightly puffed and set and the center still jiggles, about 55 minutes.

Turn the heat off and prop the door open with a wooden spoon and allow the cake to cook in the water bath for 1 hour. Remove the cake to a baking rack and allow to cool to room temperature for 2 hours. Cover the cake and refrigerate for at least 4 hours and up to 24 hours until chilled through.

Top with the warm apple topping, drizzle liberally with the caramel sauce and sprinkle with the remaining toasted walnuts. Serve additional sauce on the side.

Apple Mixture:

2 cups apple juice
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 vanilla bean, reserved from the cheesecake mixture
1 tablespoon cold butter
3 Granny Smith apples, peeled, seeded and thinly sliced
3 Fuji apples, peeled, seeded and thinly sliced
1/4 cup apple brandy (recommended: Calvados) I used cheap Apple Jack brandy because Calvados was $50 for a bottle.

Bring apple juice, sugar and vanilla bean to a boil in a large saute pan over high heat and cook until slightly thickened and reduced to 1/2 cup. Stir in the butter until melted. Add the apples and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly caramelized and soft. Add the apple brandy and cook until reduced by 1/2. Transfer the apples to a plate and let cool slightly.

Apple-Caramel Sauce:

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/4 cup water
3/4 cup heavy cream
Pinch salt
3 tablespoons apple brandy (recommended: Calvados)
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Place sugar and water in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat (do not stir), swirling the pot occasionally to even out the color, until amber in color, 10 to 12 minutes.

While the caramel is cooking. Place the heavy cream in a small pan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Remove from heat and keep warm.

When the caramel has reached the desired color, slowly whisk in the heavy cream and salt and whisk until smooth. Remove from the heat and stir in the apple brandy and vanilla extract. Keep warm.