Jersey Belle and Ice Cream Cake

I really like Bravo reality TV. I've been a follower of the Real Housewives franchise for years. Much like ice cream, they are a guilty pleasure. Just as I know eating ice cream is not particularly healthy, the reality TV shows I so enjoy are not particularly intelligent. Yet, you will still find me watching Real Housewives while eating ice cream. So much for health and intelligence!

Every now and then, Bravo reality surprises me. I recently started watching Jersey Belle. I hadn't planned to add another show to my reality TV repertoire (Real Housewives of New Jersey and Don't Be Tardy are currently on--a girl only has so much time in a week), but it was on demand, and I needed something to watch at the gym. Jersey Belle is essentially Real Housewives of Alabama with a head housewife from New Jersey, Jaime Primak Sullivan.I got hooked. Like all of my Bravo shows, it's a little silly. But unlike the other shows, it spotlights real issues: single moms, working moms, playing moms, and most notably, fertility challenges.

In the first episode of Jersey Belle, Jaime's friend Danielle openly discusses her fertility challenges. She has been married 11 years and indicates that she wants to become pregnant. Subsequent episodes show her going in and recovering from surgery for her endometriosis. Many women and couples struggle with fertility due to endometriosis and bevy of other causes. I was pleased to see these issues brought to light in a forum usually focused on gossip, flipping tables and lavish vacations. I know reality TV isn't real, but these episodes dealt with a very real issue. (Jaime also mentions her high risk pregnancy. With her third child, she had placenta previa, a serious condition where the placenta covers some or all of the mother's cervix.)

Maybe as a new mom, I am hyper aware of all things having a baby, and I wish there was more openness about these things on TV. Women should know that, to paraphrase Danielle, everyone has their thing. But it is also okay to be sad about that thing or seek support. I've already written about being a working mom, but I am sure I have a post in me about all of the parenting issues shown on Jersey Belle (I'll spare you). I value privacy, but sometimes, things need to be said out loud. Or on TV. So thank you Bravo execs, producers, Jaime and Danielle.

On a related note, I made an excellent ice cream cake for my birthday. (Reality TV is like ice cream, and the cake recipe came from my friend Sari who worked at Bravo.) Sari's recipe uses an Oreo "cake" base, two flavors of ice cream and chocolate syrup. With her recipe as a starting point and inspiration, I made this cake in celebration of my birthday.

 

It's not as much a recipe as a concoction. Here's what I did (there are lots of opportunities for substitutions):

1. Line a spring form pan with wax paper.
2. Take half a package of Birthday Cake Oreos (or any other type), place in a plastic zipper bag and crush. Press into the bottom of the pan.
3. Spread ice cream over the Oreos until they are fully covered. It helps to let the ice cream soften a bit, and it is up to you how much you use. I used about 2/3 a container of Edy's Slow Churned Fudge Tracks.
4. Crush the rest of the Oreos and press over the ice cream.
5. Put down another layer of ice cream. I used the rest of the Fudge Tracks and about 1/3 a container of Edy's Slow Churned Peanut Butter Cup (my new favorite since Edy's doesn't seem to make the Birthday Cake flavor anymore).
6. Spread about 1/2 a container of Cool Whip on top of that.
7. Top with chocolate syrup, melted peanut butter (microwave for about 30-40 seconds), rainbow sprinkles and Peanut Butter MMs.
8. Place in the freezer for at least three hours to set.
9. Enjoy!

Fiesta Salad and Housewives

In the three weeks that my husband and I have been back from our Australian vacation, we've hosted two small gatherings to celebrate our birthdays. As Jews, we are forbidden to send our guests home hungry. Needless to say, we have lots of leftovers falling into categories of cookies and cheese. Today, I will tackle the cheese.

The husband insisted on buying a GIANT block of Manchego for our first gathering. Manchego, being a Spanish sheep's milk cheese, naturally inspires a Latin-theme salad. My Latin food tastes skew Mexican (and we had all the right ingredients in the house already, including another party leftover, chips and salsa), so I decided the use some of the Spanish cheese in a Mexican salad. And guess what. It worked!

As Andy Cohen would say, here's what (makes two big salads):

• leftovers: tortilla chips. salsa and Manchego;

• 1 head of romaine;
• 1 pepper (I used orange, but any color would work);
• 2/3 an avocado;
• 1/3 can of black beans, rinsed;
• 1/3 can of corn;

• a few sprigs of fresh cilantro;
• granulated garlic;
• lemon or lime juice.

Here's how:

1. Chop the romaine and pepper.
2. Combine with the chopped avocado, corn and beans.
3. Grate or finely slice the Manchego and add to the salad.
4. Finely chop the cilantro (I used about 1-2 tablespoons) and add to salad with 1-2 tablespoons of lemon or lime juice and granulated garlic to taste.
5. Toss salad and add a few tablespoons of the salsa to taste. Toss again.
6. Crumble tortilla chips on top for crunch.

Finished product:

Since the salad makes two portions, I ate one for dinner and packed the other up as a lunch salad. I left the tortilla chips on the side and crumbled them in at work. The salad was a little deflated the next day, but boy, it was still delicious!

Earlier in the post, I mentioned Andy Cohen, Bravo's executive vice president of development and talent. As far as I know, Andy has nothing to do with salad. (I would know; I read his book.) But, since this is my blog, it makes sense that I blog about things I like, and believe it or not, I like more than salad. I also like. . .wait for it. . .the Real Housewives of New York, New Jersey, Atlanta, Beverly Hills, and of course, Bethenny (who I think would greatly appreciate this salad blog). I know, high quality. And I just need to take a moment to sort out some thoughts about the recent goings-on of the Housewives. 

I am a few episodes behind on RHONY, so forgive the lateness of the observation. I don't know what to do with Ramona. Do I like her? Do I think she is crazy? Do her facial expressions remind me of my mother's? Yes! Yes! Yes! On a recent episode of Housewives, Ramona orders Aviva, another housewife, out of the pool because she is not wearing her swimming leg. (Back-story: Aviva lost part of her leg in a childhood accident. She now wears a prosthetic leg below the knee.) I hope Ramona did this out of concern for Aviva, but it was totally inappropriate. Later in the episode at a dinner party hosted by Aviva and her husband, Ramona orders Aviva's kitchen staff to skip the salad course and go straight to the main dish. Mind you, Ramona is a guest at Aviva's Miami apartment!

But here is where everything becomes really confusing! On the next episode, Ramona calms down her friend, Sonja, who appears to be drunk, after Sonja yells at another housewife's boyfriend. In this moment, Ramona helps her friend avoid further embarrassment, appropriately taking control of the situation. So who is Ramona, an overbearing nag or a caring friend? I have no idea. Discuss.