Daring Bakers Cheesecake

It’s Daring Bakers time! I missed March’s delicious-looking spinach lasagne, but I’m back in the swing of things for what I hope will be the rest of this year.

The April 2009 challenge is hosted by Jenny from Jenny Bakes. She has chosen Abbey’s Infamous Cheesecake as the challenge.

For this challenge, Jenny gave us tons of culinary creativity. She encouraged us to experiment with a variety of flavors. After sorting through the many ideas floating around in my head  (nilla wafer crust, cassis, fresh raspberry sauce…. or chocolate wafer crust, espresso flavored cheesecake, chocolate sauce… or chocolate wafer crust, nutella swirl, frangelico, chopped hazelnuts…the possibilities were endless) I settled on what, looking back, was a rather surprising choice given my own personal tastes. How could I not have remembered that I really don’t care for caramel? I blame this on the fact that I was still reeling from the completion of my boards and was trying to make this cheesecake for a work gathering scheduled for a date only a few days after the dust had settled.

Broccoli Two Ways

Broccoli shows up on our plates frequently at our house; it’s one of the veggies J & I both love. Though we usually eat it unadorned – simply steamed with salt, pepper, and lemon juice, I do sometimes need to spice it up, especially out of season when the broccoli available is a little limp. These are two recipes that I love. They take a little extra effort but make the broccoli the star of the meal.

The herb flavor of this recipe is pronounced and somewhat unexpected. I don’t find the garlic flavor overwhelming, but I am a garlic lover. Whenever I make fresh breadcrumbs I make extra and stick them in a bag in the freezer. That way I can pull them out the next few times I need them without digging out the food processor.