A "Cake" Fit for 8 Taco

A "Cake" fit for 8 Taco

     Last week, the TND crew assembled once again to celebrate the greatness that is 8 Taco .  I may not know all of 8 Taco's inner-most desires, but I do know one thing.  The girl loves herself some CHEESE.  So, for her birthday meal, I made her some cheddar, goat cheese, mushroom mac and cheese and a pumpkin cheesecake (per her request) with a sour cream topping and a gingersnap (my personal change-up) for dessert. 

      My search continues for homemade macaroni and cheese perfection (already found restaurant mac and cheese Nirvana at Pete's Cafe and Bar in L.A.).  I liked the mushrooms in this recipe and the use of fresh herbs, but it needed more pizzazz and cheeeeesiness.  Hopefully, my friends will help me with additional testing in the future.

          After the drowning tres leches debacle in the Spring, I read the pumpkin cheesecake recipe's instructions ahead of time and plotted accordingly.  Besides  the gingersnap switch which added a little more spice and sass to the crust, I only amended the filling by adding a smidge of cloves which always seem neglected in pumpkin recipes.  Happily in the end, my first foray with real cheesecake (using a springform pan, cooling and all) was a rousing sucess.  It looked beautiful dolled up for 8 Taco's birthday and tasted even better.  Woohoo!! Even my non-foodie friend raved.  Soooo much food happiness.

            So, here's the sappy section.  The food all tasted great at this shindig, but I most enjoyed the time with my friends.  New people came out for this technically ThND which ROCKED, everyone laughed, and a couple close friends stayed behind to chat even after things wound down.  It truly turned out to be a celebration worthy of the wonderful 8 Taco.