Last week we had our impromptu tea party themed dinner, but tonight we planned this one out a bit more. We actually began thinking and talking about it during school and then even got a book out from the library on pirate food this morning as well. I like that we knew it was coming all day and had fun "planning" our special dinner. It really is what we would have normally had but we added some pirate planks (aka breadsticks) and made a dessert as well. Well, not just any dessert, my great aunt Rose's Cheesecake. Only we made it with clean foods and healthier ingredients and I can't even lie, the kids were literally licking their plates clean at the end (which is a little embarrassing to admit). I also have to confess that I havent been making desserts for my husband and the kids that I dont care for, but this cheesecake had me weak with desire!
First things first, put your bowl and beaters in the freezer. Set out 2 blocks of cream cheese to soften and bring to room temperature. Now, move onto the crust.
For the crust: In your food processor combine 3/4 cup of pretzels, 1/2 cup of flour, and 3-4 tbs of butter. Pulse until its a nice blended powder. Press crumb mixture into the bottom of a pan and bake at 350 degree for 10 minutes. Allow to cool before adding filling.
For the filling, you will need the 2 cream cheeses. Start whipping them in your bowl fresh from the freezer. Add in 1 cup of heavy whipping cream or we actually used organic 2% milk. Whip until it becomes fluffy and foamy. Add 4 1/2 tbs of sugar and 1 tsp. of vanilla. Mix until blended, but do not over mix.
Pour mixture into shell and freeze until set. At least 2 hours. On a side note, make sure you take it out to be soft and yummy-- I was afraid mine hadn't set and left it in the freezer till the last possible minute and they had like an ice cream cheesecake but they still licked their plates and said it was super yummy!
For decorations, we kept it simple and fun. We had some red streamers on hand from someones birthday party and hung a few. Then we looked on BING for some free pirate printables and got these http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=free+pirate+printables&qpvt=free+pirate+printables&FORM=IGRE. We also printed out some pirate coloring pages and the kids colored those nand we hung those up in preparation. Really simple, but it def. added a special touch of fun. For dinner, we had our Greek stuffed peppers and fish (because that seemed like something pirates would eat and toothpicks stuck into everything really easily!). For those recipes, you can check them out at http://bsharks26.blogspot.com/2013/02/greek-stuffed-peppers.html.
Our library book suggested breadsticks for Pirate walk the planks and so we whipped up some yummy homemade ones and they were awesome! We got the recipe from http://straightupgoodfood.blogspot.com/2011/10/honey-whole-wheat-breadsticks-with.html. Instead of the honey glaze on top, I drizzled some olive oil and sprinkled some parmesean cheese on top-- very yummy!
Now, are you ready to see how our special dessert turned out?
It was divine! We added some fresh berries to the top and voila! A perfect ending to our Pirate themed dinner!
Heres our happy Band of Pirates! It was a fun night and we look forward to our next family themed dinner night!
First things first, put your bowl and beaters in the freezer. Set out 2 blocks of cream cheese to soften and bring to room temperature. Now, move onto the crust.
For the crust: In your food processor combine 3/4 cup of pretzels, 1/2 cup of flour, and 3-4 tbs of butter. Pulse until its a nice blended powder. Press crumb mixture into the bottom of a pan and bake at 350 degree for 10 minutes. Allow to cool before adding filling.
For the filling, you will need the 2 cream cheeses. Start whipping them in your bowl fresh from the freezer. Add in 1 cup of heavy whipping cream or we actually used organic 2% milk. Whip until it becomes fluffy and foamy. Add 4 1/2 tbs of sugar and 1 tsp. of vanilla. Mix until blended, but do not over mix.
Pour mixture into shell and freeze until set. At least 2 hours. On a side note, make sure you take it out to be soft and yummy-- I was afraid mine hadn't set and left it in the freezer till the last possible minute and they had like an ice cream cheesecake but they still licked their plates and said it was super yummy!
For decorations, we kept it simple and fun. We had some red streamers on hand from someones birthday party and hung a few. Then we looked on BING for some free pirate printables and got these http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=free+pirate+printables&qpvt=free+pirate+printables&FORM=IGRE. We also printed out some pirate coloring pages and the kids colored those nand we hung those up in preparation. Really simple, but it def. added a special touch of fun. For dinner, we had our Greek stuffed peppers and fish (because that seemed like something pirates would eat and toothpicks stuck into everything really easily!). For those recipes, you can check them out at http://bsharks26.blogspot.com/2013/02/greek-stuffed-peppers.html.
Our library book suggested breadsticks for Pirate walk the planks and so we whipped up some yummy homemade ones and they were awesome! We got the recipe from http://straightupgoodfood.blogspot.com/2011/10/honey-whole-wheat-breadsticks-with.html. Instead of the honey glaze on top, I drizzled some olive oil and sprinkled some parmesean cheese on top-- very yummy!
Now, are you ready to see how our special dessert turned out?
It was divine! We added some fresh berries to the top and voila! A perfect ending to our Pirate themed dinner!
Heres our happy Band of Pirates! It was a fun night and we look forward to our next family themed dinner night!
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