Father's Day dessert: Brownie Cookie Cheesecake

So, those 2 crochet projects from my last post just aren't working out yet. There are still some changes I need to make to the patterns I'm working on, and I just can't get them to come out right. It's still a work in progress though (as so many works are for me right now), but I'll keep you posted.
To take my mind off of that little failure though, I decided to get in the kitchen for some Father's Day baking. At hubby's request, I made a 5-Layer Cheesecake for dessert, and man oh man is it good! I got the recipe from Tasty's Facebook page (check out the recipe here).
Here is how my attempt at it came out:

I have to say, for my first attempt at making cheesecake, it came out pretty damn good. While it is definitely a delicious dessert, it is definitely rich. We've only been able to finish about half a slice in one sitting, and I am a dessert-addict. The one change I think I would make the next time I make this is to crush up the creme-filled chocolate cookies (yeah, I bought store-brand... so sue me ;-) ). Leaving them whole resulted in breaking through the cookies as I would try to cut the cake, which kind of tore up the chocolate chip cookie top of the cheesecake.

Since I'm taking a break from the other two crochet projects, I'm working on a ripple blanket for my Etsy shop based on my Chevron pillow cover. I'll keep you posted on how this comes out, but I love the colors so far! Any thoughts on other project ideas for me? Let me know in the comments!

Until next time...

Delicious eats in NJ

I have to tell you... I love going home to visit family, but traveling is EXHAUSTING. Luckily, the trip went pretty easily with our 2 little ones. The three (almost four) year old baby girl watched her tablet the whole flight up while the 7 month old little man bounced around on my lap and flirted with every girl he met. The flight back, baby girl's tablet had died before we got to the airport, so she just looked out the window and played with her daddy. Little man had a bottle during take-off, so he napped the whole time. Not gonna lie... I was a little nervous going into this trip, because you never know how an infant will do on their first flight. He took it like a champ though. Even when we hit turbulence, little man slept though it and baby girl thought it was part of the ride and asked if we could do it again! (Hubby was ecstatic to hear that, he thinks he may finally have someone to go on roller coasters with him. Because I definitely do not do heights. Like, at all. Ever.)

Of course, the most important thing to discuss with any trip is the food. And the food in NJ is really one thing I miss that you just can't get in GA. There are two restaurants we went to in NJ specifically that I want to tell you about: The Committed Pig in Manasquan, and Tarantella's in Clark.

We stopped at The Committed Pig Burger and Pancake House on Saturday with friends at their recommendation. They were especially raving about the Croque Madam, which has ham, fontina, gruyere, white cheddar, grilled sourdough, topped with a fried egg & mornay cheese sauce, and comes with a side salad. They also had great things to say about the Kitchen Sinker, which has extra pork roll (a NJ staple), extra american cheese, fried egg, bacon, and avocado. The both ended up getting the Croque Madam, while hubby and I decided to check out the burgers. The burgers were pretty good (we got a Jalapeno Popper burger and their Disco burger, which had hash browns, gravy, bacon, and mornay cheese sauce on it on a toasted brioche bun), but we weren't blown away by them. Looking at the menu though, there is definitely plenty left that I would like to try the next time we go there. But most importantly... if you do stop in there, check out the Pig Fries (waffle fries with mornay cheese sauce and bacon). They were awesome!

On Sunday, we headed over to dinner at Tarantella's Ristorante with family. We have been there a couple of times now (and other family members have gone a bunch more than that). One thing I love about NJ is the vast availability of good Italian food. You just don't find as much of that in GA. This place has a pretty good sized menu, without being overwhelming to read (I hate places that have a 10 page long menu and nothing really good coming out of it). Their appetizers are a good size to share, their salads are nice and fresh, but the dinner is where it's at. Last time we were there I got the eggplant rollatine, and it was awesome. This time around, I got one of their dinner specials, a quatro formagio ravioli with sundried tomatoes and sweet peas in a cream sauce. It was good, but I would definitely go back for the eggplant next time I'm there.

Like I said... I love going to see family, but traveling is exhausting! Sometimes, I feel like I need a vacation just to recuperate from my vacation. Now that I'm back though, it's back to work at my full-time job (which I love and is going fabulously!), and maybe getting back on the hook with some new projects. Right now, I have a shawl that I can't wait to show you (if I can ever get it done... I'm loving the colors though!)

... and I think I'm going to experiment with crocheting hemp cord after that. I'll keep you posted with the progress on each of those!

Until next time...