Songs about food

Did you know that Louis Armstrong sang a song called "Cheesecake"?



I didn't, until I searched for "cheesecake song" in YouTube. There is even a Muppets version!

So, why was I searching for songs about cheesecakes? (Do I need a reason?)



That's right. I made mini cheesecakes after the exam.

The discovery of the cheesecake song made me think of the 냉면 (naeng myeon) song sung by Jessica of Girls' Generation and 박명수 (Park Myeong Soo). It's cute and catchy, with a summery feel to it.



Despite the differences between the two singers -- Jessica is a 20-something, Barbie-like member of the most popular girl idol group in Korea, and 박명수 is a comedian in his 40s famous for his shouting gag -- I think they match and balance each other out quite well.

And since I'm on the topic of summer, I can't very well leave out 팥빙수 (patbingsoo), now can I?



YUM.

윤종신 (Yoon Jong Shin), the singer of the 팥빙수 song, is another well-known Korean celebrity, mostly because he's done everything. He is the all-around entertainer: singer, songwriter, actor, MC, etc. A year or two ago, he was a cast member on the awesome variety show 패밀리가 떴다 (Family Outing), in which the celebrity cast plus 1-2 celebrity guests go out in the country for two days and house-sit for an elderly couple, allowing the couple to enjoy a weekend trip. While there, the members (and guests) are responsible for completing certain tasks, as well as cooking for themselves. The show allowed people to get a sense of what life is like in the country, and all the work involved.

To keep things fun (this was a variety show, after all, not a documentary), they often played games, especially in the mornings to decide who would be responsible for making breakfast.



Breakfast was an arduous process that included gathering (and/or catching) the ingredients, as well as cooking for 9-10 people, so it was not a popular task. Plus, since the members not on the breakfast team can go back to sleep, people got pretty intense about winning the games. :)

Anyway, I digress. (As I do.)

This silly song -- I mean, love song -- is probably my favorite song about food:



Would you believe me if I said that my friends and I used to sing this (and many other silly songs) in college? Yes, in college. We were seriously cool kids.


Orange Grove Mini Cheesecakes
Adapted from Nabisco.

Jason, a friend from my semester at Mystic, introduced me to this recipe.



Cheesecakes.
24 Nilla Wafers
16 oz. cream cheese
1/4 c. sugar
1/2 c. sour cream
1 Tbsp. orange zest
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs

Preheat oven to 325ºF. Line muffin tin with 12 muffin tin liners, and place a Nilla wafer in each.

In a large bowl, cream together the cream cheese and sugar. Thoroughly mix in the sour cream, orange zest, vanilla, and eggs.

Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tin, and bake 20-25 min.

Let cool, then remove cheesecakes from tin and allow to cool completely in the refrigerator.

Strawberry Sauce.
1 c. frozen strawberries
1 Tbsp. sugar

In a small saucepan, combine the strawberries and sugar and cook over medium heat until a thick sauce is formed. Let cool.

Spoon ~1 Tbsp. of sauce onto each cheesecake, then stick a Nilla wafer into the middle of each cheesecake.

The first time I made these, we froze them, which made them almost ice cream-like.