16 • Thursday, April 22, 2021 • On the Edge of the Weekend
Food For Thought… with Vicki Bennington
A cherry on top!
I am a dessert girl, no doubt about it. However, I don’t necessarily like to have it right after dinner. It’s always better after waiting a little bit, so getting dessert “to go” is sometimes the best option. Buffalo Wild Wings in Edwardsville is one of those places that doesn’t seem like a dessert-type of restaurant. But … even though after chowing down on a stack of wings or sampling an array of appetizers, you may not feel like there’s any room left for dessert, you can order it for Vicki later. Bennington The chocolate fudge cake is chocolate on top of chocolate, and then add some chocolate sauce. If you eat in house, you get a big scoop of vanilla ice cream with more chocolate sauce, taking it home was still a real treat – and it definitely stood on its own. I added a dollop of whipped cream just for fun. The New York-style cheesecake was also a great choice on a recent visit, and a slathering of caramel sauce made it extra decadent. They provided a little side of chocolate sauce that I poured over the top. The next time I try out Buffalo Wild Wings, I decided I will have to leave room for the loaded ice cream, which wouldn’t travel very well. It sounds particularly interesting with the tortilla chips that stand alongside vanilla ice cream with chocolate, caramel and cinnamon-sugar.
Buffalo Wild Wings chocolate fudge cake (Photos by Vicki Bennington)
Edwardsville’s Chicken Salad Chick has a nice little cookie that comes with most orders, but if you are in the mood to satisfy your sweet tooth a little bit more, the pretty and colorful buttercream frosted flower cookie delivers that extra sweetness, and they are handmade daily, so you know they are fresh. Shivers Frozen Custard in Godfrey is one of our favorites. Of course, that’s always an “after-dinner” run, so you know you have plenty of room when you go. The pièce de résistance that has me in a delicious rut right now is the “Penguin Delight” sundae, with hot fudge, marshmallow and nuts, and my favorite – a cherry on top. That makes everything better, right? And the custard is freshly made every hour. Now that’s fresh. In case any of you remember, about a year ago, I tried making my first cheesecake from scratch. I made a few mistakes (as you may recall), and I vowed at the time, that I would give it another go – having learned from my mistakes. So, I did. Here’s the recipe one more time, and I definitely think it looked and tasted better than the first. Maybe practice does make perfect. That doesn’t mean I think I made the perfect cheesecake – yet. But practice more, I will. The crust was not as hard this time. I made sure not to overdo it on the butter and didn’t press it down as hard as I did the first time when forming the crust. Second, I let the cream cheese sit out much longer, so it was super soft, which made beating the mixture easier, thus, it
Buffalo Wild Wings cheesecake with chocolate sauce (Photos by Vicki Bennington)
came out smoother. I kept it plain, so the true flavor of the recipe would come out. All in all, I think it was a success story. I’m sure there are other basic cheesecake recipes, but I wanted to try the same one that I tried the first time, to see if I could do better. Here it is again. Please let me know of any tweaks or tips that are perhaps learned with more experience in cheesecake making. Abby’s Cheesecake Servings: 16 Crust: 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs 1/2 cup butter, melted (1 stick) 1/3 cup powdered sugar Cheesecake Filling: 3 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened 4 eggs 1 cup sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 pint dairy sour cream (at room temperature) 1 (21-ounce) can prepared cherry, blueberry or strawberry pie filling (if desired)
Heat oven to 350 F. Combine graham cracker crumbs, powdered sugar and melted butter. Press into bottom of 8- or 9-inch springform pan. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese, eggs, sugar and vanilla until smooth. Pour mixture over prepared crust. Bake for about 50 minutes (until center is set). Remove from oven and spread sour cream on top of cheesecake. Return to oven and bake an additional five minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Spread desired topping on cheesecake. Chill overnight. Before serving, carefully remove sides from pan. Tip: To minimize cracking, place shallow pan half-full of hot water on lower rack of oven during baking. And be sure the sour cream is at room temperature when you spread it on. In this column, Bennington shares her love of food and all that entails, from special dishes at local and regional restaurants to new trends and fads, and things to try at home. Contact her at vbennington@sbcglobal.net with comments, ideas or suggestions.
Chicken Salad Chick buttercream frosted flower cookie (Photos by Vicki Bennington)
