My Birthday Cheesecake

One thing I really appreciate about my neighbor, Dawn, is that she makes the most amazing cheesecake. 

And I have a severe weakness for cheesecake.  It is the one food that I most definitely toss my granola-ness out the door for.  I heart the texture and taste.  A perfect blend of sweet and sour. 

The crazy thing is that Dawn doesn’t even like cheesecake. 

I asked Dawn if she would make me a cheesecake for my birthday . . . You see, they are moving and I wanted to have her famous cheesecake one last time. 

Instead of waiting for my birthday, she went ahead and made me a cheesecake.

Looks amazing, doesn’t it?

Get this . . . she is still making me a cheesecake for my birthday!

Two cheesecakes in less than 30 days!  Wow!  That is a treat.

What should I pick?

• Chocolate peanut butter cheesecake
• Double Whammy Chocolate Cheesecake
• Fudge Truffle Cheesecake
• Brownie Bottom Cheesecake
• Chocolate Truffle Raspberry Cheesecake
• Or do you have a delicious recipe you’d like to send me?

Technorati Tags: cheesecake

I Got What You Might Call . . . A Bit Of A Nut Problem

I was overwhelmed by the amount of almonds that I had ordered.


But I had to order enough almonds for an entire year.

An. Entire. Year.

They sat for over a week.

Finally, I bagged them.

Twelve bags. One for each month. 3.75 cups of almonds per bag.


Hopefully, I remember to wash the almonds before we eat them.

Guess how many pounds are being stored in our garage. You might win something. Stay tuned.

Wordless Wednesday--The Italian Village

I presume by the title that Wordless Wednesday should actually lack words.  The picture should express a moment, scene, emotion, thought . . .

Hence the phrase, a picture is worth a thousand words.

What I have grown to love about my husband's family is that having a wordless meal is virtually impossible.

In fact, wordless minutes don't even happen. 

Such was the case this past Saturday for lunch at The Italian Village in Chicago.  My husband's grandfather wined and dined his grandchildren.  It was fun, fattening, and fabulous.  It was a unique convergance of relatives that really just . . . well . . . blessed me. 

So, I will shut up and let the pictures speak for themselves.  I have focused a bit more on the food pictures and thus dedicate this post to Michele. 

My meal: manicotti with red and a cream sauce.  The cream sauce was the better of the two.

Chicken Vesuvio

Cappuccino:  Fabulous

Brent and Josh hanging out with George Clooney

P.S. Thanks for a great meal, Grandpa!  We REALLY enjoyed it and visiting with you, Michele, and the family.  Oh, and we are sporting some new U2 shirts . . . thanks!