What Could Be Better Than The Next American Idol?

Are you into American Idol?  We are at our house.  In fact, our cat is named after Mr. Simon Cowell himself because we adopted him on the night of the finale of Season 3.   Who couldn’t imagine a pampered and overindulged cat telling someone that they sing dreadfully and would be better off performing on a cruise ship?  But I digress.
While I do my best to fight the gray in my hair, I must admit I am officially old.  Probably too old to legitimately enjoy Idol, as we fans like to call it.  But I’m certainly not the oldest person who follows the show. In fact, there is a phenomenon emerging in the fan base.  A group of older female fans are making an impact with their votes.  Some argue that Season 5 winner Taylor Hicks (pictured right) was the first beneficiary of this group.  Others noted last year that David Cook was pushed ahead of teen heartthrob David Archuleta (both shown above) by the older female voters.  They call this group the Cougars.
Where am I going with all this?  Curt thinks I’m one of them, a Cougar.  At least as far as this show is concerned. 
Let me catch you up for this season if you haven’t been watching.  There is this incredibly adorable recent widower named Danny Gokey.  His story broke everyone’s heart during the auditions.  And he can sing!  So, he was a fan favorite, including mine at the beginning.  Curt asserts it was so especially among the Cougars, who are extra sympathetic to his loss.  But then came along a more talented, seasoned (he has Broadway experience) and dare I say shrewd Adam Lambert who outshined Danny every week.  Behind him, a dark horse named Kris Allen, slowly charmed everyone.  His style is modern and understated and enjoyable.  (Honestly, I could see myself buy his album before I’d buy either of the other guy’s music.)  Well, the big upset occurred last Wednesday when Danny was voted off, leaving Kris to battle Adam in the finale tonight.

  Danny, Kris and Adam

While some in my family seemed busy gloating that the Cougars’ votes didn’t ruin the integrity of this year’s talent competition, I took inventory.  Even earlier in the night, as we watched a pathetic fan run after Danny’s limo (in the hometown visit footage) with tears because she missed meeting him, I had known the truth.  I wasn’t like her at all.  I was not a Cougar!  I was not a fan of Danny’s solely based on physical attraction mixed with a heavy dose of sympathy.  While I felt for Danny’s personal life and admired his voice, I knew he wasn’t the winner simply because he wasn’t the best.
All this soul searching brought to mind a recipe I haven’t made for a couple of years.  So I decided to make it for the Season 8 Finale tonight.  My friend Judy (by the way, also an Idol fan) shared this with me in the mid-90’s and called it “Better-Than-Robert-Redford-Cake.”  She suggested that some prefer the title “Better-Than-Tom-Cruise-Cake.”  (I’ve also heard it referred to as better than something else, but I’ll spare you the what as this is a family-friendly blog.)  Since Robert Redford appears to be semi-retired and Tom Cruise lost his appeal to me in that whole Oprah chair-hopping episode, it occurred to me that I could rename this ultimate comfort food cake as “Better-Than-The-Next-American-Idol-Cake” for this year at least.   It will give you Cougars something to eat while you are crying your hearts out for Danny.
Better-Than-The-Next-American-Idol-Cake   (from Judy)
1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup chopped pecans
1 stick margarine or butter, melted
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
1 extra large (16 oz) cool whip, thawed
2 large boxes of chocolate instant pudding mix
3 cups milk
1-2 Heath Bars, crushed into small pieces
For crust: Mix flour, pecans and butter, press into 9x13 pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes, let cool.
Middle layer:  Mix cream cheese and powdered sugar.  Mix with 1/2 of cool whip.  Spread on crust.
Top layer: Mix pudding with milk, fold in remaining cool whip.  Place on cake.  Top with crushed candy bar, chill before serving.

 
Note:  I halved the recipe and used an 8x8 pan because it’s only us three.  Pictures show first, after the crust baked, after adding cream cheese layer, and finally, after the top layer and candy bars.
 

Go Kris!