Community Cheesecake

When I first spotted this scrumptious cheesecake, I knew it had to go on {the list}. Um, it has Keebler Fudge Striped cookies. As. The. Crust. Enough said…

Would’ve probably made it sooner, but I didn’t have a spring form pan.

But, I do NOW….and I DID make this cheesecake for our Valentine’s Day dessert.

This was my first cheesecake, so I was a little nervous.

{before the whipped cream goodness}

{and after!}

I knew I could not have this cheesecake staring at me all week {AKA eating it for breakfast with my coffee!!} so I cut it in quarters and shared with our neighbor friends. However, when I cut into it the center collapsed….maybe I didn’t chill it long enough?

Despite the oozing mess, I did receive all sorts of positive feedback. Check out this sweet comment:

“I just wanted to thank you once again for the DELICIOUS cheesecake!  When I came home from work this afternoon, my mom (who was watching the boys) said, “Where did you get that to-die-for cheesecake that’s in your fridge?  I helped myself to some, and I don’t think I’ve ever tried anything so divine in my whole life.”  No joke, she literally talked about the cheesecake for 20 minutes!  My mom is a dessert fanatic, yet over the last three decades of my life, I don’t ever remember her praising any dessert quite like your cheesecake 🙂  So, thank you again!!  We all REALLY enjoyed it.  Still can’t believe it was your first attempt!  You must consider opening up your own catering/party business!”

Awww, thanks Alina and THANK YOU Meg @ Whatever for sharing and THANK YOU Pam for your endless hours in the kitchen perfecting this extraordinary dessert!

I’m going to call it the {traveling cheesecake} because whenever I make it, three quarters of it will find another home. It is very rich, but smooooooth and creamy.

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One of Jay’s favorite meals is Chicken Marsala. We use Ty Flo’s recipe and every time we make it, I wonder “Why don’t we make this more often?”

Tyler Florence’s Chicken Marsala

I served with roasted asparagus with parmesan:

{just take a bunch of asparagus, cut about 2 inches off the ends, cut in thirds on an angle, drizzle with olive oil, salt & pepper & parmesan, toss, place on a baking sheet lined with foil for about 20 minutes @400*}

Easy peasy, right?

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That was our Valentine’s dinner…complete with crooked table cloth adorned with spilled smoothie spots and colored Crayola markers! We skipped the {Wilson Creek} Almond Champagne and will enjoy that this weekend.

And, as I mentioned, Miss Elliott lost her first tooth Valentine’s evening.

It’s so true that when you have children you start to see things differently and enjoy them so much more. V-day has never been one of my favorite holidays, but this year I really enjoyed watching them address their little valentines to their friends and see their joy when showing off all their cards. Next year my goal is to come up with a homemade valentine ~ there are loads of darling ideas out there!

And next year, even though I loved our dinner at home, {you and I} are GOING OUT to dinner, babe!

Love you.

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Happy Wednesday!

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