Cheesecake!!!!!

I entered a contest on the fan page of a local cheesecake company called Decadence Gourmet Cheesecakes http://www.decadencecheesecakes.com. It was for any type of recipe (not just cheesecakes). I entered my recipe for Upside Down Cheeseburger Skillet Pizza…. Hold the phone I actually won! To make it even better the prize was six gourmet (individual) cheesecakes.

I went over to Business Incubator in Grand Junction and met with the owner and creative genius Lee Mathis to pick up my cheesecakes. I have to say that I have not met a more engaging and exciting person in quite some time, you can feel the passion for food coming off of this guy.

My prizes included four dessert cheesecakes and two of his new savory flavors.

Outer Banks (a decadent peanut butter chocolate cheesecake)
Tiramisu
Chocolate Chai
Blackberry Cabernet
Sun Dried Tomato
Bleu Cheese and Bacon.


I was very stoked!  I took the Outer Banks and the Chocolate Chai home for the family and left the other four at work for a cheesecake tasting event later in the week.

I have a wonderful wife and two very hyper boys (ages 11 and 6).  I thought those were the two flavors most likely to be appreciated.
I made a mistake but opening the Chocolate Chai Cheesecake first... there was a free for all in my Clifton kitchen. Wow... the incredible flavor of exotic spices and the delicious creamy chocolate was all my family needed to start clamoring over me for more, we literally had to come to order and take turns to make sure that everyone got the same number of bites. It was that good.
The reason I say it was a mistake is because we were all fat and happy with the chocolate chai and then we tried the Outer Banks. I was in heaven, I always think of the 70's TV commercial for Reese's peanut butter cups "you got chocolate in my peanut butter, you got peanut butter on my chocolate, two great tastes that taste great together" whenever I have the immaculate combination. I have a jar of peanut butter in my desk at work and I have a pb&j at least once per day. To say I love PB is an understatement.
The pairing of delicious cheesecake flavored with peanut butter and topped with chocolate was so rich and delicious that we had to stop and finish it later because we were in dessert paradise.
My family was very happy with my prize.

Later in the week I invited my foodie friends to a cheesecake tasting event at work. We had crackers and the remaining four cheesecakes (Blackberry Cabernet, Tiramisu, Sun Dried Tomato, and Bleu Cheese and Bacon).

My friends and I were again in food ecstasy.

The combination of Blackberry with a delicious wine was sweet and rich. There was no downside to this cheesecake, and I am again reminded how lucky I am that these cheesecakes are in four ounce jars, because I could have eaten myself into a coma.

The Tiramisu cheesecake was sweet, tangy and creamy. It is not my favorite dessert on a general basis but the petite serving size was perfect for enjoying a unique flavor.

Now to the flavors that I have been dying to try, Savory Sun Dried Tomato, and Bleu Cheese with Bacon.
For Clarification purposes the savory cheesecakes are not supposed to be eaten individually like the dessert cheesecakes, in my opinion these are more of a delicious spread.

The Bleu Cheese and Bacon was heady and flavorful with the tang of a good bleu cheese, and then the underscore of peppery bacon finished the bite and stayed with you and continued to think of the uses for the concoction. My first thought was as a topping a sizzling steak, the bleu cheese melting while the bacon and spices cover the delicious steak was making me drool at work. The other suggestions were using the spread in a wrap or on a bagel.

The Savory Sun Dried Tomato was delicious and smooth; I thoroughly enjoyed the contrast of the two different types of cheesecakes. The tomato was understated and the cheesecake was flavorful without being too rich.  Again this was be great on a bagel or in a wrap as well as on crudités or crackers.
All in all I am incredibly blessed to have been able to try so many new things and to be able to share them with my family and friends. Many thanks to Mr. Lee Mathis and his tasty ideas.

Special requests from the wife :)

My wife is infamous for making an offhand remark regarding some wish for a type of food, and I am infamous for saying "I can do that!"

The request this weekend was two fold.

She wanted a veggie type pizza, and that sparked an idea. Here goes...


preheated oven to 450 degrees
I sauteed a small zucchini, yellow bell peppers, and mushrooms in a little olive oil.

meanwhile I stretched a pizza dough from Johnny 50's (Clifton, CO) and brushed a little olive oil and sprinkled it with garlic salt. I then added the covered the dough with mozzarella and added the veggies (segregating the mushrooms per a spousal request). Baked for 11 minutes on a stoneware pizza pan and then for another 5 minutes on the oven rack (to crisp the crust).

oh yeah and because it is what I do... I added bacon bits on top.














It was delicious! If I can make this at home with the dough from Johnny 50's imagine what they can do with it. Support local business http://www.johnny50s.com/

The second "fold" was a quick meal for my father in law (diabetic). He is not eating any bread. I used the same ingredients as the pizza in a hot skillet melting the mozzarella in to a makeshift no-carb crust.

Step in to the kitchen and make yourself something delicious!

Trace

Corporate travel gets better

So the first day was dinner with friends and it was great food and even better company thanks to the hospitable Templeton family!

The next night was easy and delicous at Chik-fil-a...



Yummy!

Today for lunch I had an amazing salmon teriyaki...



The salmon was seared on one side and the teriyaki sauce was sweet and spicy!

Tuesday night it is sushi and tempura with the ladies of human resources.




I had tempura dinner #1. It included 8 pieces of spicy tuna sushi and tempura veggies with shrimp.



I went on the edge here, I like sushi but I have only tried a few kinds. I loved the flavor of the spicy tuna, but the texture was not my favorite. The tempura was delicious and for dessert the presented us with cut oranges.
From this photo you can tell I kinda enjoyed the food and the company.




Let's see what therest o the week brings.


Trace
cookingwithtrace.blogspot.com

Food Network Recipe Contest entry ---- Dilly Pimento Cheese Wontons

This month the food network sponsored a "secret" ingredient contest a la Iron Chef. The secret ingredient was pickles. I came up with the recipe and decided to enter. Let me know what you think!


DILLY PIMENTO CHEESE WONTONS
1 CUP SHREDDED CHEESE (COLBY JACK, OR CHEDDAR)
1/4 CUP MAYONNAISE
2 TBSP CHOPPED PIMENTOS
2 TBSP CHOPPED DILL PICKLES
2 TBSP DICED HAM
1 PACKAGE WONTON SKINS
SALT AND PEPPER TO TASTE

MIX CHEESE AND MAYO TOGETHER, ADD IN PIMENTOS, PICKLES, AND HAM, STIR TO COMBINE. TASTE AND ADD SALT AND PEPPER AS NEEDED.

ADD 1 TSP OF MIXTURE TO MIDDLE OF ONE WONTON SKIN FOLD OVER EDGES MOISTENED WITH WATER TO SEAL. REPEAT.
HEAT OIL IN SKILLET (OLIVE, CANOLA, ETC) ADD WONTON TO HOT OIL AND COOK ON EACH SIDE UNTIL GOLDEN BROWN AND DELICIOUS. SERVE WARM.