Dessert Mania

First there was Denver and then there was dessert. Dessert has pretty much dominated the last five days of my life and... and, I can't believe I'm going to say this, but I might need a break. Steve and Bob and I made a super yummy birthday dinner for Marg which was followed (of course) by cake - cheesecake. And, it was pretty much the best cheesecake I have ever eaten - ever. Not that I'm a cheesecake connoisseur or anything, but, like pizza, there are variations galore, and you never really know which one you're going to get served up unless you cook it up yourself with four blocks of cream cheese and four eggs. But when it comes to this decadent dessert, why go half-cal? This is one of those best enjoyed as the real-deal desserts. No whipped topping, no "light" business... unless of course, you want to leave the table thinking eeeeeeh, meh... that wasn't really that good. Here is the link to the "perfect recipe" ("if it fails for you, it's your fault, not the recipe's" - see first comment) - if you want cheesecake, this is for YOU.


On Thursday night we both passed on dessert (which is actually a bit unbelievable, seeing as how we ate at Terroni, home to the best gooey in the middle flourless chocolate cake ever) but had an amazing dinner with amazing friends in the city. In t-3 days Dan and Milka are moving to Calgary, so, sadly, our visits are going to be fewer and farther between than they have been as of late. SO, we had our last supper - but certainly not our last Terroni supper - and got away with a dessert break.

Friday night we were subjected to sticky toffee pudding cake at Pam and Bob's as part of Uncle Ralph's surprise 70th birthday extravaganza - it was also amazing... amazing and delicious. The plan was this: a small crew of us were to gather at Bistro 238 in Courtice at 6:30 to lay in wait for Sir Birthday and his wife... but unfortunately, the man of the hour arrived with his escort about 30 seconds before everyone else did, SO! The effect was a bit lost, but he was still quite surprised. After a delicious meal, presents and some good catching up, we headed back to Bowmanville for dessert. YUM. I'm not sure that this is the recipe that was used, but it seems to me like it would be something similar - also something I would recommend to dessert eaters.

Marg, Bob, Ralph, Rod, Justin, Steve, me, Bob, Laura, Pam, Barb, Paul and Steph - a good crew!

Last night we ate out with Steve's cousin and his wife, Ryan and Shauna (at Fresco on Elgin - great food, but a bit pricey) which, as per the dessert theme of this post, included dessert. I opted out but shared Steve's chocolate hazelnut tart (which tasted a bit like a Mars-Skor hazelnut-speckled hybrid); Ryan had chocolate banana cheesecake and Shauna picked the organic carrot cake. And then - nope, the dessert bonanza isn't over - tonight, we had lemon loaf. My aunt Zella had us over for dinner (which was AMAZING - bone-in ham, rice, roasted veggies and green beans) and it was my job to bring the dessert. My mom makes a mean lemon loaf but I didn't want to bug her for the recipe so picked this one off of food.com - it was alright, but Mom's is better. And now I'm done. We're done. We're both ready for a dessert break, but we'll see how long that lasts. If I change my mind tomorrow, can I blame it on the baby?