Food for Thought

I am a dessert girl, no doubt about it. Edwardsville’s Chicken Salad Chick has a came out smoother.

However, I don’t necessarily like to have nice little cookie that comes with most orders, I kept it plain, so the true flavor of the recipe it right after dinner. It’s always better after but if you are in the mood to satisfy your sweet would come out. All in all, I think it was a sucwaiting a little bit, so getting dessert “to go” is tooth a little bit more, the pretty and colorful cess story. sometimes the best option. buttercream frosted flower cookie delivers that I’m sure there are other basic cheesecake

Buffalo Wild Wings in Edwardsville is one of extra sweetness, and they are handmade daily, recipes, but I wanted to try the same one that those places that doesn’t seem so you know they are fresh. I tried the first time, to see if I could do better. like a dessert-type of restau- Shivers Frozen Custard in Godfrey is one Here it is again. Please let me know of any rant. But … even though after of our favorites. Of course, that’s always an tweaks or tips that are perhaps learned with chowing down on a stack of “after-dinner” run, so you know you have more experience in cheesecake making. wings or sampling an array of plenty of room when you go. The pièce de Abby’s Cheesecake appetizers, you may not feel résistance that has me in a delicious rut right Servings: 16 like there’s any room left for now is the “Penguin Delight” sundae, with hot Crust: Vicki dessert, you can order it for fudge, marshmallow and nuts, and my favor- 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs Bennington later. ite – a cherry on top. That makes everything 1/2 cup butter, melted (1 stick) The chocolate fudge cake is better, right? And the custard is freshly made 1/3 cup powdered sugar chocolate on top of chocolate, every hour. Now that’s fresh. Cheesecake Filling: and then add some chocolate sauce. If you In case any of you remember, about a year 3 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened eat in house, you get a big scoop of vanilla ice ago, I tried making my first cheesecake from 4 eggs cream with more chocolate sauce, taking it scratch. I made a few mistakes (as you may 1 cup sugar home was still a real treat – and it definitely recall), and I vowed at the time, that I would 1 teaspoon vanilla stood on its own. I added a dollop of whipped give it another go – having learned from my 1 pint dairy sour cream (at room temperacream just for fun. mistakes. So, I did. ture)

The New York-style cheesecake was also a Here’s the recipe one more time, and I defi- 1 (21-ounce) can prepared cherry, blueberry great choice on a recent visit, and a slathering nitely think it looked and tasted better than the or strawberry pie filling (if desired) of caramel sauce made it extra decadent. They first. Maybe practice does make perfect. That provided a little side of chocolate sauce that I doesn’t mean I think I made the perfect cheesepoured over the top. cake – yet. But practice more, I will.

The next time I try out Buffalo Wild Wings, I The crust was not as hard this time. I made decided I will have to leave room for the load- sure not to overdo it on the butter and didn’t ed ice cream, which wouldn’t travel very well. press it down as hard as I did the first time It sounds particularly interesting with the torti- when forming the crust. Second, I let the cream lla chips that stand alongside vanilla ice cream cheese sit out much longer, so it was super soft, with chocolate, caramel and cinnamon-sugar. which made beating the mixture easier, thus, it

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.

Shivers Frozen Custard “Penguin Delight” sundae. (Photos by Vicki Bennington)