Introducing....

Duke of Hurl, CGC!















Yay Duke! Now, on to the Delta Society therapy dog test. Mr. Duke will hopefully be going to the county library for storytime with kiddos by the end of summer with Montgomery County Pet Partners.

Creamy Amaretto Cheesecake

It's the cheesecake that bites back! There is no mistaking what gives this cheesecake the extra kick. But the alcohol and cottage cheese made the cheesecake more moist, so I ended up baking it considerably longer than the recipe called for (a little over an hour.) Even so, it was extremely soft when I cut into it, and the crust isn't crunchy. And my bottle of amaretto ran out, so I didn't even use the full amount; I used maybe 1/3 of a cup instead of 1/2.

It's not a bad cheesecake, but I'm still a little disappointed. Right before I put it in the refrigerator to finish cooling, I loosened the edges with a knife and of course, licked the knife clean. It was really good warm, and I think this custard would actually lend itself better to being baked in small ramekins and served warm.

Please note the lightly browned, and pristine top of the cheesecake. Was it because I actually did a proper water bath this time? Or did the water bath contribute to the cheesecake being too moist? Who knows. Just make this. In ramekins. And pass me one.




Creamy Amaretto Cheesecake
Source: Modified from The Cheesecake Bible by George Geary, p 49.

Crust:
1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

Filling:
3 oz packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup small-curd cottage cheese (pureed in food processor)
1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp salt
4 eggs
1 tsp grated orange zest
1/2cup almond-flavored liqueur









Preheat oven to 350.

Mix graham cracker crumbs and butter. Press into bottom of cheesecake pan and bake at 350 for 10 minutes.

In a mixer, beat cream cheese, cottage cheese, sugar, and salt on medium-high speed until very smooth, about 3 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Stir in zest and liqueur.

Pour over crust, smoothing out to sides of pan. Bake in water bath until top is light brown and center has a slight jiggle to it, 45 to 55 minutes. Crack oven and allow to cool for 1 hour. Cool for an additional hour before refrigerating for 6 hours.

I need to be a barista.

Almost 10 years ago, I was living in New Orleans, participating in an AmeriCorps program in the Disaster Services department of the American Red Cross. I was poor, bored, and not into the drunken debauchery of the French Quarter. After a couple weeks of visiting different coffeeshops around town, I found Neutral Ground. It was a little bohemian hole-in-the-wall with mediocre coffee and snacks, but an incredible atmosphere. It was dark and sometime smokey, but full of funky college kids and artists. Books and board games were available if you were bored. But most people prefered to sit on one of the comfy couches to enjoy the music. I usually parked at the coffeebar and chatted with the manager and other customers. From the moment I walked in, I was treated like an old friend. That first night I went, I ended up staying until 2am talking with the manager and another volunteer* who worked there. Soon afterwards, I was assigned to help with disaster relief in Florida after a tropical storm. I was out of town for several weeks, but when I came back to town, I was greeted with "Hey! Where have you been?!" when I returned to Neutral Ground. Neutral Ground had live music nightly, but I found my niche with the Sunday evening "Open Mic Night" crowd. For the remainder of my year in New Orleans, I could be found at Neutral Ground almost every Sunday night.

I miss that place dearly. Since then, I've always wanted to own a funky little coffeeshop like Neutral Ground. A fun, comfortable place where people could just go and chill for hours. A place that showcased both local music and yummy desserts. However, most people who like yummy desserts also like yummy coffee. Wherein lies my problem. I don't drink coffee. I wouldn't know a cappucino from an espresso. Tim suggested being the anti-Starbucks and only serving black coffee, which would definitely make things easier for me, but I don't think people would go for it. There's a reason why Starbucks has been so successful. And since Coral and Duke have entered our lives, my dream coffeeshop has evolved over the years....I would love to have a dog-friendly establishment, but that opens a whole new can of worms with health code. So for now, my coffeeshop remains a distant dream. Unless you know coffee and are interested in a business partner. :)

*Neutral Ground was a "live music co-op." People volunteered their time rather than being paid.

Not-Red Velvet Cake

Have you had red velvet cake? I haven't, but I'm strangely fascinated by it. The visual effect of the bright red cake in contrast to the white icing is absolutely gorgeous, yet strangely unnatural at the same time. On top of that, have you noticed that people who love red velvet cake are absolutely fanatical about it? People like cake. People like cheesecake. People like cookies. But people LOVE red velvet cake. So I'm curious what all the hype is about, especially since red velvet cake is typically described as a vanilla cake, or a lightly chocolate scented vanilla cake.

So I start looking for recipes for a red velvet cake, and am extremely troubled by the fact that most call for one to two ounces of red food coloring. That sounds like a recipe for a bright red kitchen to me. Maybe some of you don't do this, but when I bake or cook, the kitchen is a complete disaster area afterwards. A chocolate disaster I don't mind so much. A bright red disaster would be an issue. I managed to find ONE recipe without a boatload of food coloring. Supposedly, the acidic buttermilk/vinegar reacts with the basic cocoa powder to cause the red color, so theoretically, the cake would still be at least reddish without the food coloring. The other striking difference with this recipe is that it calls for a lot more cocoa than most. Most call for about two tablespoons, whereas this one calls for a scant half cup, which is about 6 to 7 tablespoons. Oh well. A cake that tastes like chocolate. That's hardly a crime.

When I went to the grocery store, I could only find lowfat buttermilk. Those of you who know me know that I subscribe to the Paula Deen school of butter, so I don't really do lowfat anything. I'm a little concerned that this might affect the color. But, worst case scenario, I have a chocolate cake that looks and tastes like a chocolate cake. I don't see a problem.

Red Velvet Cake
Source: Michele Urvater, from the NY Daily News

2 1/4 cups cake flour
1/2 cup (scant) unsweetened, non-alkalized cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup solid vegetable shortening, at room temperature
2 cups superfine sugar (blended granulated sugar)
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 to 3 drops red food coloring
1 tablespoon white or cider vinegar
1 cup buttermilk
Frosting (recipe follows)
3/4 cup pecans, finely chopped

Red Velvet Cake

Serves 12-14

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees.

Lightly grease and flour two 9-by-2-inch round cake pans, tap out the excess and line bottoms with parchment or greased and floured waxed paper circles.

Sift the flour with the cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt twice, and set aside. With electric mixer on low speed, beat shortening for 1 minute. Slowly add sugar, 2 tablespoons at a time, and when all of it has been added, continue to beat on medium speed for 1 minute, or until mixture has consistency of wet sand. Add eggs one at a time, beating for 10 seconds between additions. Then beat for 2 minutes or until smooth. Beat in vanilla and food coloring. Stir the vinegar into the buttermilk.

With large rubber spatula, fold sifted ingredients into the batter in 3 additions, alternating with the buttermilk in 2 additions. Beat with electric mixer on low speed for 1 minute, or until mixture is smooth.

Transfer batter to prepared pans, smooth tops and bake 35 to 45 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool cakes in their pans on a wire rack until they reach room temperature. Unmold and peel off the paper circles just before frosting. Frost the cake.


ETA: Sadness. Not-red velvet cake fail.
1. Cake is brown.
2. Cake is a tasty light chocolately flavor, but has a rather unpleasant texture. It's almost more brownie-like than a cake. It's heavy and dry. I had thought about substituting the shortening with vegetable oil to keep it moist, but I thought there might be something magic about the creaming method. I should have tried the veggie oil. And used full-fat buttermilk. Fat is your friend.

CGC class II and Delta Society practice

In the CGC class we worked on a few things that we didn't cover last time.

Test 5: Walking through a crowd
This test demonstrates that the dog can move about politely in pedestrian traffic and is under control in public places. The dog and handler walk around and pass close to several people (at least three). The dog may show some interest in the strangers but should continue to walk with the handler, without evidence of over-exuberance, shyness or resentment. The handler may talk to the dog and encourage or praise the dog throughout the test. The dog should not jump on people in the crowd or strain on the leash.
Two people stood in the middle of the room, and we just walked a figure 8 around them. No biggie, Duke's done this before. Need to practice a few more times though, he's a bit rusty and was a bit more excited (and thus was jogging around faster) than I like.

Test 6: Sit and down on command and Staying in place
This test demonstrates that the dog has training, will respond to the handler's commands to sit and down and will remain in the place commanded by the handler (sit or down position, whichever the handler prefers). The dog must do sit AND down on command, then the owner chooses the position for leaving the dog in the stay. Prior to this test, the dog's leash is replaced with a line 20 feet long. The handler may take a reasonable amount of time and use more than one command to get the dog to sit and then down. The evaluator must determine if the dog has responded to the handler's commands. The handler may not force the dog into position but may touch the dog to offer gentle guidance. When instructed by the evaluator, the handler tells the dog to stay and walks forward the length of the line, turns and returns to the dog at a natural pace. The dog must remain in the place in which it was left (it may change position) until the evaluator instructs the handler to release the dog. The dog may be released from the front or the side.
First try, Duke got up to follow me. Second try, I walked too far away and pulled on the leash a little. So it wasn't quite fair to him. Third try, I got it right. Yay me.

Test 7: Coming when called
This test demonstrates that the dog will come when called by the handler. The handler will walk 10 feet from the dog, turn to face the dog, and call the dog. The handler may use encouragement to get the dog to come. Handlers may choose to tell dogs to "stay" or "wait" or they may simply walk away, giving no instructions to the dog.
Apparently there was a treat on the ground about 2 feet away from where I was standing when I called him. After making sure it didn't go to waste, he strolled on over to where I was. Naughty boy. Guess what we're working on tomorrow?

Test 8: Reaction to another dog
This test demonstrates that the dog can behave politely around other dogs. Two handlers and their dogs approach each other from a distance of about 20 feet, stop, shake hands and exchange pleasantries, and continue on for about 10 feet. The dogs should show no more than casual interest in each other. Neither dog should go to the other dog or its handler.
This one wasn't too bad. The other dog belongs to one of the trainers, and is very well-behaved. The dogs walk on our left, and are on our outside when we greet and shake hands. As long as pups don't try to barge in front of us, this one isn't too hard.

Test 9: Reaction to distraction
This test demonstrates that the dog is confident at all times when faced with common distracting situations. The evaluator will select and present two distractions. Examples of distractions include dropping a chair, rolling a crate dolly past the dog, having a jogger run in front of the dog, or dropping a crutch or cane. The dog may express natural interest and curiosity and/or may appear slightly startled but should not panic, try to run away, show aggressiveness, or bark. The handler may talk to the dog and encourage or praise it throughout the exercise.
We had several distractions today. The trainer ran around the room with a dolly. Trainer walked around playing with a squeaky toy. Trainer kicked a few toys around the room. Duke did great, even when I asked the trainer to kick the toy closer to him. She kicked it right in front of him, so that it just barely brushed his paw. Then Tim, who was behind us, kicked it back, and it ended up hitting Duke on the rump. He jumped up in surprise. I don't blame him though.

Test 10: Supervised separation
This test demonstrates that a dog can be left with a trusted person, if necessary, and will maintain training and good manners. Evaluators are encouraged to say something like, "Would you like me to watch your dog?" and then take hold of the dog's leash. The owner will go out of sight for three minutes. The dog does not have to stay in position but should not continually bark, whine, or pace unnecessarily, or show anything stronger than mild agitation or nervousness. Evaluators may talk to the dog but should not engage in excessive talking, petting, or management attempts (e.g, "there, there, it's alright").
Tim and I both had to leave the room for 3 minutes. Duke did amazingly well, but again, Duke knows the trainers, so even when we're not in the room, he knows and trusts people in the room.


Immediately after the CGC class, I rushed back up north to go to a Delta Society practice meeting. The Delta Society registers therapy dogs, and they have a number of interested people in the area. We had a meeting today to cover the material, and so people know what they need to work on to pass the test. Fortunately for me, the Delta Society requirements are very similar to CGC requirements. We did some loose leash walking, practice "leave it" and basic sit/down/stays. It was nice to meet the people in charge of the program though, and they were all impressed with Duke, so he should do well.

Leash your critters!

While enjoying a nice long walk yesterday, Coral and I were accosted by beagle. He seemed friendly enough, but I find it very annoying when people cannot be bothered to ensure their dogs don't get run over. Fortunately, Coral is very dog-friendly. However, it would have been a problem had I been walking Duke. Just as I do not appreciate being rushed by rude strangers trying to sniff my butt, neither does Duke. He's been extremely leery of other dogs since he got bitten by one a few years ago. Really people, leash your critters, and keep them inside when you're not outside with them. It's not hard.

A little later on our walk, when we see two very young children (under two feet tall, probably just learned to run) running around on the street, ignoring the threats of spankings by their grandmother. The little girl did eventually turn around and return upon the threats, but the little boy was not phased, and continued running. Honestly. If your critter has less than 100% recall, they really shouldn't be off-leash, regardless of whether they walk on 2 legs or 4. I hear they have effective backpack or harness type leashes for the 2-legged critters. They should look into them.

And today, the above-mentioned beagle was loose again. This time, instead of a friendly approach, he came rushing at us, barking and baying, with his hackles raised. Hackles that covered almost his entire back, making his appearance very similar to a crazed hyena. Kinda like this guy, but with beagle coloring.










Again, fortunately I was walking Coral, because Duke would not have appreciated that greeting. And fortunately, the beagle listened to my own warning to back off, and turned tail about 10 feet away and left us alone the remainder of the walk.

Is being a responsible pet owner that difficult? Why, oh why, can I not walk through my own neighborhood without having to deal with multiple dogs running the streets, or having to listen to a dozen dogs fence fighting? I just want to be able to walk my dog in peace, or be outside without having to listen to the screams and bays of dogs who are obviously just stuck outside for their owners convenience.

"Five and five is NOT ten"

Actual words uttered by my very intelligent, and normally very mathematically inclined husband.

"high five" = hit my hand with one paw
"high ten" = hit both outstretched hands with one paw each, simultaneously

Tim asked for a high ten, and got two high fives (one right after another) instead.

Duke 1, Tim 0.