Food Fix

Any time the family visits East Tennessee the guys have to make a pit stop at Krystal's for at least one meal. They each order and devour a stack of these miniature burgers as if nothing on earth could taste as good. Personally, I don't see the need to eat these every six months, but then again I usually spend the time leading up to our trip wondering what my mom will cook. Whatever is on the menu at her house is generally my food fix.

This time of year desserts abound, but this week a couple in particular satisfied my yearning for something delicious I didn't have to cook. First, Mom made a red velvet-cheesecake combo that is fabulous. (She got the idea after looking at a frozen confection at Sam's Club awhile back.) The premise is straightforward. Bake one layer of red velvet cake and a layer of cheesecake (in the same pan so they fit together) and combine the two using cream cheese icing. The resulting confection is both beautiful and tasty. (I purchased one of the frozen cakes to defrost on my birthday, so we're waiting to see if it is any different from the one Mom created.) In addition to that lovely dessert, we've nearly devoured a blackberry cobbler made from some of the beautiful berries we picked last summer. Since Jeff did not accompany us at the time, Mom promised him a taste of the dark purple gems when we arrived. I must say, they are just as good now as they were in July.

So on a day when many people are thinking about diets and reforming their eating habits for the new year, we are throwing caution to the wind and munching on decadent goodies which reminds me of my grandmother's favorite saying - Life is short; eat dessert first (or always in our case).