MAIDA STRIKES AGAIN

When Elisson runs a contest, he does not screw around.

The two people who snagged the screenshot of my 10,000th hit have each received rich, dazzling prizes, the sort that make me think of that whiny-assed Robin Leach (Champagne dreams and caviar schemes, or some such drivel).

One of our winners has received an iTunes gift certificate that will enable him to stuff his iPod with yet more thrashmetal, gangsta rap, and/or Yanni tracks. The other - Missus Barbecue General! - has scored a Triple-Threat Cheesecake, baked by the very hand o’ Elisson his ownself from the recipe of the Desserty Queen Bee-yotch her ownself, Maida Heatter.

Ahh, the Triple-Threat. The Cheesecake Factory would be proud to serve this bad boy. It's a dense vanilla cheesecake, sitting atop a graham cracker crumb crust (enhanced with a little cocoa powder, cinnamon, and powdered coffee).

“But what is this ‘Triple-Threat’?” you ask. And well you should, because a dense vanilla cheesecake, while good in its own way, would not carry such a Vaguely Dangerous Moniker without something in it to kick it up a notch.

Chocolate chips? Boo. Cookie dough? Feh. What makes this cheesecake interesting is that it is riddled with dense clots of asphalt-like congealed Hot Fudge. You betcha.

So, Janet...enjoy your cake. I only make cheesecakes for special occasions or special people (lest my ass become Prematurely Enhuged), but you qualify on both counts. Just be sure to give Wylie a taste...maybe when you open that restaurant, there’ll be a place on the menu for Maida’s (and Elisson’s) finest.