Sunday, July 20, 2008

The Cheescake Fiasco

I told my sister I would bring a cheesecake and berries to her cookout today. And in my typical fashion, I waited until the boys went to bed last night to start making the cake. As an aside, my cheesecake is possibly the best cheesecake on the face of the earth. I can say this without sounding egotistical because the recipe is not mine. Anyway, I put the cheesecake into the oven and headed upstairs to chat with Perry (and look through a new scrapbook magazine I had picked up that day), careful to check the time every so often for fear that I would forget about the cheescake and leave it to catch fire in the oven. That did not happen. At 9:00 pm on the dot, I removed the cake from the bake cycle, quickly broiled the top for those "attractive spots of brown" and left the cheesecake on top of the stove to cool while I went upstairs to take a shower. Do you know where this is headed? (No, I don't have a dog.) After my shower I cozy down in the sheets, fall asleep only to awake at 6:00 am and say, and I quote, "Shit, the cheesecake!" as I jump out of bed with adrenaline pumping. I race to the kitchen, throw some plastic wrap on top, and toss the cake into the fridge (as if these ten seconds is going to keep it from spoiling). I then retreat to my computer to Google "cheeecake left out overnight." It was somewhat comforting to know that I am not the only person on the face of the earth who has ever done such a [stupid] thing. And it also makes me wonder, yet again, how did we survive before the Internet?! The concensus was to not eat the cheesecake. But as I see it, the taste of this deliciously smooth and moist dessert far outweigh the risk of a touch of food poisoning. No, I can't serve it to my family (guess I'll be making a trip to the bakery before the cookout), but I can't resist snagging a bite, or three before sending it to the garbage disposal.

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