Random Musings

On Monday November 22 I boarded a plane to Florida. I haven’t been on a plane for almost two years, and none of my friends have been on a plane since the newest restrictions. (Now to clarify about the newest TSA restriction, not everyone goes for the body pat or full body scanner, just as TSA signaled out certain people before for full body scans, they will continue to do so; however before it was a strip search, pretty invasive. Now they are offering a full body pat down or a harmless full body scan. I really could go on and on about these so called full body scans, but that is NOT the reason for my blog post today.) I have to say that while I flew out on Virgin America, and I have never flown that before, it was a rather pleasant experience.
I especially like to fly in the window seat, I tend to sleep the entire flight, for good reason- I don’t usually sleep the night before a flight so I like to catch up on my ZZZ’s. Virgin America was nice to fly for a couple major reasons. The first reason I didn’t have to take my luggage over to be scanned. I cannot tell a lie, I REALLY hate doing that. The second reason, VA is located in Terminal 3 at LAX which had considerably less foot traffic than what I am used to with American Airlines. I was extremely thankful that after boarding the aircraft while there were children seated all around me, they were quiet the majority of the flight and that I had a window seat. I did notice, and maybe this goes for all airlines now, that you were able to purchase headphones before you even entered the plane. However the downside to the airline, also a flip, was while they did charge an obscene amount for food and alcoholic beverages, you could order and purchase right from your seat, especially with credit card. Not only were you able to slide your credit card on the in-seat screen, but also on the in-seat remote.
It was rather nice to have satellite TV at my seat, as well as internet, text messaging, games, radio and movies, it was a big bother that I forgot to grab my headphones on the way out and almost never carry cash with me. Well you live and you learn. During most of my flights I thought best to carry strictly cash; however VA does not take cash while on its airplanes.
While I did appreciate the non-stop flight from Los Angeles International Airport, LAX, to Orlando International Airport, OIA, I did not and will never appreciate OIA. They do have signage for baggage claim and the different terminals, but whether or not they are “proper” is a good question. I could not actually find baggage claim A. It took me a good extra 15 minutes to find it and even then a TSA agent had to let me in under a rope to get to baggage claim.
I made Thanksgiving dinner. I have never completely made the traditional turkey dinner; I usually just make the green bean casserole and stuffing. This year staying with my grandparents for the holiday made a world of difference. I not only selected the turkey, I washed, prepped and cooked the darn thing as well. I also made yams. The only thing missing from my thanksgiving dinner was the stuffing. All Grandma had on hand was Stove Top stuffing and I personally do not care for that. I can blame my mother for that one; while she was never the best cook in the world certainly emphasized homemaking stuffing, cranberry sauce and green bean casserole.

I did however make pumpkin pie cheesecake. I am not a fan of pumpkin pie but I LOVE cheesecake. So for now I share with you the following recipe I got from my friend Andrew, who got it from Paula Deen. But I warn you it makes two 9inch pies. They are yummo! Also there was a part of the recipe that I left out, that is for graham cracker crust. I believe that the graham cracker crust you can buy in the grocery store are not only cheaper than making one of your one but taste a lot like homemade.
-3 packages Philly Cream Cheese- You can use another but I enjoyed this like brand the most
-1/4 cup of Sour Cream-any variety they all taste the same
-1 15 ounce of canned pumpkin
- 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice or
-1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/8 teas fresh nutmeg
-1/8 teas ground cloves
- 1 teaspoon vanilla- I think I used a tablespoon however
-3 eggs plus 1 egg yolk
-1 ½ cups sugar
-2 tablespoon flour
Preheat oven to 350F-My oven was finally preheated right before I threw the pies into the oven
1. Beat the 3 packages of cream cheese at room temperature until silky smooth
2. Add pumpkin puree, three eggs, egg yolk, sour cream, sugar and spices. After fully incorporated add flour and vanilla. Beat together until well combined.
3. Spread into crust and bake one hour. Cheesecake will be fluffy and will look slightly uncooked-however trust me it is.
4. Take out of the oven and let rest uncovered for 15 minutes.
5. Cover with plastic wrap and place in fridge for at least 4hours.
6. Enjoy!