Hugh Jackman

You know when you're a kid and you LOVE a cartoon so much you run home right after school to watch it? And when you're playing pretend with your siblings you always bring in your favorite cartoon characters? And then, as a teen or adult they (you know, Hollywood, society, or just the collective 'they')  tell you they are doing you this huge favor and they're going to make a live action movie and you're thinking "how is that going to work?!" and you hold your breath because you just know they're going to screw it up and how you're going to have to hate the characters you love so much.

That was me and the Xmen animated series. I also loved the Batman/Superman animated series and had to live through the painfully awful Batman Forever AND Batman and Robin movies. I cringed at the thought of my beloved Xmen falling prey to the same misrepresentation. 

My biggest question was, how on earth are

they goibg to bring Wolverine to life? With his blue hair and yellow spandex, I was certain this was one character that probably only worked in the comics. And then I saw the first preview and my heart fluttered for a brief second because it didn't look terrible. So I went on opening day because I'm that kind of fan. And, I'ma be straight with y'all, I was suuuuuuper impressed with Wolverine. It's like they took a picture from the comics to auditions and when Hugh Jackman came in they were like "you know, if we changed his hair and gave him sideburns.... Yep.... Yep... That's him". And so it was. And I died to death. Because he's PERFECT. 

Obviously, after I watched Xmen 6 times on theaters (I'm Soozee and I'm a comic book movie addict) I watched for other movies with Hugh Jackman in them because he intrigued me. This was early 2000s, so I had to actually wait for movies to come out because I didn't know what iMDB was yet. Haha. And a few years later Kate and Leopold came out and I thought to myself "I just don't see Wolverine doing well in a chick flick" and boy, was I wrong. Again! And I couldn't be happier about it,  either!

A few years ago my friends were like "let's go see Real Steel!! It's like Rock'em Sock'em Robots in real life!" and that sounded interesting, so I went. Um. Have y'all seen that movie?! If not, go find it NOW. I cried at the end. It was so beautiful. I LOVE that movie. A movie about robot

fighting. Yep. 

Did you know he can sing? Did you know he was a teacher before he became an actor? Did you know that he is actually a really fantastic person in real life? That last one I don't know from personal experience, but I have heard that from people that have met him. I will work with him one day. He would be an excellent villain in my story, LIGHTS. 

He's the voice of the Easter Bunny in Rise of the Guardians, which is one of my favorite movies. He is such a versatile actor. For examples, go watch Les Miserables, then The Prestige, then Eddie the Eagle.  And who could forget his role in Australia with Nicole Kidman? The movie was a bit long, but he was amazing.

The new poster for the last Wolverine movie was just released and I am very intrigued. The title is simply Logan. They have hinted at possibly going down the "Old Man Logan" storyline in this film, which would be interesting. I have always loved Wolverine and think it could be a very fitting end for such an iconic character.

Check out all of his credits on iMDB HERE because I've barely even scratched the surface of his amazing filmography.

And with all that said, it's time to get to the treat. For Hugh's birthday, I made a Maple Bacon Biscoff Cheesecake. Yes, you read that right. Maple. Bacon. Biscoff. Cheesecake. It's a hybrid of many recipes, but in the end it's just delicious. 

Maple Bacon Biscoff Cheesecake

For the crust:

1 pkg. Biscoff cookies, crushed 

For the filling:

4 pkgs. Cream cheese

3/4 cup granulated sugar 

1/4 cup dark brown sugar, packed 

1 Tbs. Vanilla

3/4 tsp. Cinnamon 

4 eggs 

1/4 cup biscoff cookie spread 

For topping:

1 cup heavy cream

1/3 cup Powdered sugar

4 oz. Cream cheese 

Bacon

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Press the crushed cookie crumbs into the bottom of a 9 inch springform pan. Set aside. 

Combine cream cheese, sugars, vanilla and spices until combined. Then, mix in biscoff spread. 

Next, add eggs one at a time until just combined. Do NOT over mix the batter. 

Pour over crust and bake for one hour or until the center is almost set. 

Remove from the oven and let cool. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving. 

While you're cheesecake is cooling, cook up some bacon. I cooked a one pound package, but at least a quarter of it disappeared before I finished the cheesecake, so cook however much bacon you're comfortable with. Once it's cooked and cooked chop it into small pieces to sprinkle on top. 

For the mousse, whip 1 cup heavy cream and 1/3 cup powdered sugar to stiff peaks Set aside. Cream 4oz.cream cheese then fold in whipped cream and add 1 tsp. Mapeline maple flavoring.

To assemble, place a slice of cheesecake on a plate, spoon or pipe mousse onto the top it it and the sprinkle the bacon on top and enjoy!