Well y’all, we made it through another turkey holocaust. Did you survive unscathed? We made it…barely. Last night we had salad for dinner. No. More. Bird.

Last week, I did the best thing EVER. I didn’t work. At all. Anywhere. For one week+, nine whole entire days, I was not the Director of Marketing for Sierra Piedmont Environmental; I was not a Chef or Culinary Instructor at Leaning Ladder; I was not the Front Porch Gourmet, food blogger extraordinaire. I was just me. Little. Old. Me. And I have to say, I’m a pretty cool kid! I like me!

I am the Queen of preaching to everyone else the importance of taking time for yourself. I tell everyone I come in contact with, if you’re not good for yourself, you’re not going to be good for anyone else; not your children, not your spouse, not your employer. No one. I am however, the worst at taking my own advice.

Every day there are so many things that have to be done and there are so many deadlines, so much to do, and so much crap! You have to eat and have clean clothes every single day. It’s NUTS! Life has gotten entirely out of hand, so I spent the past week reclaiming it. And me. First, I did NOT wear a bra. That in itself is the true meaning of freedom. I reacquainted my hiney with my couch. I watched two full days of Law & Order marathons, most of which I had seen before, but never fully watched the episodes. I was too busy trying to multi-task. I watched Modern Family and laughed so hard I cried without running to the kitchen or checking email during every commercial break. I watched movies with the Great Dane, her choice of course. I caught up on my foodie magazines and cookbooks and felt a renewed sense of passion for being a chef. I baked this Turtle Cheesecake and actually enjoyed baking cheesecakes again! I slowed down. It was pretty amazing.

Now it’s Monday and I have donned the dreaded bra. BUT! I feel like I am so much better equipped to deal with everyday stuff. I don’t feel like I’m teetering on the brink of insanity. If I miss a deadline, the sun will still rise. It will be ok. If you haven’t taken some time for yourself, I would highly encourage you to do it. Soon. Sit back, relax and have a slice of cheesecake. Your life is only as good as you are.

Turtle Cheesecake

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 cup graham cracker crumbs
• 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 1/2 pounds cream cheese, softened
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 5 eggs + 2 yolks
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 tbsp. bourbon
• Chocolate Syrup
• Melted Caramel
• Crushed pecans, optional*

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375F. Butter the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan. In a mixing bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs, butter and sugar and mix well. Press onto bottom of springform pan and bake until golden, about 8 minutes. Set aside to cool. When completely cooled, butter the sides of the pan. Increase oven temperature to 500F.

In a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer, combine cream cheese, sugar and vanilla and beat until light and creamy. Add the flour, then the eggs and yolks one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add the sour cream and bourbon and mix until smooth. Pour mixture into prepared pan and bake for 12 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 200F and bake for 1 hour more. Transfer cake to a cooling rack and let cool completely. Refrigerate cake overnight before serving.

To serve, drizzle cake with chocolate syrup, caramel and chopped pecans.

*Tip: Place a pan of water in the bottom of your oven while baking cheesecakes to aid in the prevention of cracking.

Life is too short to eat ugly food y’all.