Happy Sunday to you and yours!

Mar26
After a short hiatus, I am happy to be back on my blog with more chocolate, love and travels!
This week I had a nice lunch with a co-worker at Salud de Mesilla in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Their “Bailey’s Irish Creme Chocolate Cheesecake” was so delicious that I had to find a comparable recipe. Here is the recipe and some sites from the day.
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups finely crushed chocolate wafers (about 18 cookies)*
6 tablespoons butter, melted*
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 8 ounce packages cream cheese, softened
1 8 ounce carton dairy sour cream
1 cup sugar
1 8 ounce package semisweet chocolate, melted and cooled
3 eggs
1/2 cup Irish cream liqueur
2 tablespoons whipping cream or milk
2 teaspoons vanilla
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
2. For crust, in a medium bowl, combine crushed chocolate wafers, melted butter, and cinnamon; toss gently to mix. Press mixture onto the bottom and up the side of a 9- or 10-inch springform pan. Set aside.
3. For filling, in a large bowl, combine cream cheese, sour cream, sugar, and melted chocolate. Beat with an electric mixer on medium to high speed until smooth. Using a wooden spoon, stir in eggs just until combined. Stir in liqueur, whipping cream or milk, and vanilla.
4. Pour filling into the crust-lined pan. Place springform pan in shallow baking pan. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until center appears nearly set when gently shaken.
5. Cool in springform pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Using a small sharp knife, loosen from side of pan. Cool for 30 minutes more. Remove side of springform pan. Cool for 1 hour. Cover and chill for at least 6 hours or up to 24 hours. Makes 16 servings.
I am so thankful for some time to reflect on the sacrifices of Dr. King. Of course I recall many of his famous quotes and teachings. Most of all, I am humbled to be a product of those sacrifices. I too am responsible for keeping his legacy alive, not just enjoying a day off work that came much too late.
This photo was taken at the Lorraine Motel at the exact site where Dr. King fell. He knew that his life might be short and traded quantity for quality and meaning.

The best part of Christmas is spending time with close and extended family and friends. I really love that as our lives evolve and change we never remain stagnant and continually add new experiences and traditions to spice things up.
On this Christmas, us girls decided to start a new Christmas Day movie tradition. A bad movie would have probably ended the thought, however, we went to see “Hidden Figures.” The movie is the incredible untold story of Katherine G. Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson – brilliant African-American women working at NASA, who served as the brains behind one of the greatest operations in history: the launch of astronaut John Glenn into orbit, a stunning achievement that restored the nation’s confidence, turned around the Space Race, and galvanized the world. The visionary trio crossed all gender and race lines to inspire generations to dream big.
I give the movie 4 out of 4 stars for story concept and music score which was the perfect accompaniment. But most of all, because of the intelligence, courage and grace of these three previously unsung women, perhaps we are all becoming less hidden from each other.

