Ouch! And Double Ouch!

It all started when I opened the refrigerator door. My friend Rachel was sitting in the kitchen across the counter from me and she asked me a question. While I held the refrigerator door I turned to answer her and -- ouch! A pain shot down my leg. I sort of jumped and then rubbed it. It went away and I went on with making dinner. No big deal.

All holiday weekend long I kept getting stiff and felt little jabs in my lower back. I took Ibuprofen and went back to entertaining my guests.

The second day of January was a different story. As soon as I woke up I knew something bad had happened. Then I tried to move. I couldn't. The pain was searing! It took me forever to get out of bed. When I did, I almost immediately feel to my knees. I could not straighten up at all. If I tried, the pain became almost bad enough for me to black out and my whole body would tremble. This was not funny, but I looked so ridiculous doubled over and screaming that if I didn't know any better I'd think I had just walked out of a bad, horror movie. Night of the Living Dead, for sure.

This went on for 3 days. I had to learn new ways to roll out of bed on my stomach like a snake. I walked like Neanderthal woman or worse. Most times I had to walk backwards and drag my feet. My "full height" was no more than 3 feet high. I was doubled over each move I made. My left leg had started to curl up and shorten. I couldn't touch my toes on the ground with my left foot. It was pathetic. I came so close to calling the ambulance so many times I lost count. I just wanted someone to put me out of my misery.

Conversations with my doctor's nurse ensued. The doctor's office is less than a half block from my Chicago home, but even so, I was negotiating with the nurse to be able to send my husband over to borrow a wheelchair because I knew I would not be able to get that far with out serious aid. The worst part was trying to sit. How was I even going to ride in the chair without screaming all the way to the doctor? What a way to start off the new year. I hadn't even gone dancing on New Year's Eve and here I was almost paralyzed.

Okay, enough complaining. Thank goodness for the miracle of medicine, some steroids and narcotics and I am living, breathing and standing on my own. Turns out I have a seriously herniated disk in my back. Those of you that have suffered from sciatica know exactly how bad this can get. The doctor isn't exactly sure if it's herniated or ruptured. We have to wait for the first course of steroids to wear off and if the pain comes back as bad as it was on January 2nd we'll do the MRI to confirm. In the meantime I pray and wait.

So that's my story of my first week of 2007. There's nowhere to go from here but UP. Literally.

The dessert on New Year's Eve was a big hit. Before her visit I had asked my sister-in-law what her favorite dessert flavor was. Kathy said "chocolate." I asked my brother Bob. His answer was the same. He added that "anything with cherries was a bonus." The inspiration came to me immediately. Chocolate Cherries Jubilee! This is very easy and over-the-top decadent. Savor every morsel.

Chocolate Ganache Tart with Cherries Jubilee Topping

Crust
1 cup chocolate cookie crumbs (finely ground in food processor or some stores sell them already ground)
2 Tbl white sugar or Splenda
3 Tbl butter, melted

Ganache
1/2 pound dark chocolate. Bittersweet is good. The better the chocolate quality the more intense the flavor of the tart. Look for a cocoa content of 60% or higher.
1/4 cup cream

Cherries Jubilee Topping

3 Tbl. currant jelly
1 Tbl butter
1/4 cup kirsch (Kirschwasser) or clear cherry brandy
(if you do not drink alcohol just use a tsp of cherry flavoring or vanilla)
1 19 oz. can sweet cherries, drained (not pie filling or maraschino)
2 tsp. corn starch, dissolved in 1/4 cup water

Optional: Whipped cream for topping

To make the crust. Pull out your 9" tart pan. The one with the fluted edges if you have one. Pour in the cookie crumbs, the butter and the sugar. Stir with a fork until well blended. You can do this right in the pan. Then spread the mixture so it covers the bottom of the pan and up the sides. This takes a little trickery to not have holes but be patient and you'll get it all to spread. You can cover the crumbs with cling wrap to keep your fingers clean if you like. Bake the crust at 350 degrees for 8 minutes. Let cool on the counter.

To make the ganache filling. Dice your chocolate into small bits. The smaller the pieces the quicker it will melt. Put the chocolate in a heat proof bowl. Heat the cream on the stove top in a heavy pan until bubbles form around the edges and it's just about to boil. It needs to be very warm but not boiling. Immediately pour this over the chocolate and stir until the whole mixture is a lovely dark brown. Then pour it in the tart pan over the crust. Spread if necessary so it goes to the edges. Refrigerate.

To make the cherries. Melt the jelly and the butter in a medium sauté pan until fully melted. Stir to break up the jelly and make sure it doesn't stick. Turn the heat off and add the kirsch. This is just for safety. Kirsch has alcohol in it and it could flame up if you accidentally spilled some and it got exposed to the flame. Be careful. Turn the heat back on and put it now on medium high. Add the cherries and the cornstarch mixture. Stir until well blended. You are now going to leave this on medium to medium-high to reduce the mixture. The cornstarch will help it thicken up; almost as thick as pie filling but not quite. This will take 9 - 12 minutes depending on the power of your burner. (If you did this with vanilla or cherry flavoring your reduction time will be faster because you have less liquid to boil down). Just stir it around once a minute or so. The liquid will be close to evaporated and the cherries will have a nice glaze on them. Let cool and then refrigerate the topping.

To serve: You have two choices. You can cut the chocolate tart and serve the topping on top or you can spread the cherries on top and then cut. I prefer to serve the cherries on top because if I have leftovers the cherries will make the crust mushy. They are too juicy for long-term storage as an assembled tart.

Optional: You can also add a dollop of whipped cream on top.

Enjoy!
Cheers,
Zola