Carousel Cakes: New York Cheesecake

Carousel Cakes
5 Seeger Drive
Nanuet, NY 10954

845-627-2323
Fax: 845-627-0258

I recently sampled a New York Style Cream Cheesecake from Carousel Cakes. I had previously heard about Carousel Cakes on a wedding message board, but hadn't tried their cakes yet.

I was very pleased with the cheesecake ! It was creamy and delicious. I liked that the cheesecake had a thin bottom layer of white cake instead of the usual graham cracker crust. That really allowed the flavor of the cheesecake to stand out on it's own.

My mother and father loved the cheesecake. My mother's immediate reaction was to say "Come here ! You have got to try this !" [I think I know what they'll order for my birthday : D ] I also shared some of Carousel Cakes' cheesecake with a friend. He is originally from New York and gave the cake a big thumbs up ! I would recommend you all try some for yourself. I'd offer you some of my cheesecake, but most of it is gone already : D

Here are my parents' reviews:

"This tastes good ! It's creamy, a little lemony...."

"Dear Megan: I was very impressed with the slice of cheesecake you shared with me. Years ago,before you were born,there was a NY style deli in Va Beach that was very well known for their cheesecake. This cheesecake brings back fond memories of that cheesecake. I loved the texture.Very creamy and not too sweet. I'm not a fan of cheesecakes that have a lot of crust on it. I loved the fact that there was little crust to this cheesecake. I would not hesitate to order from this company,not only because of the unique quality of their cheesecake,but also because of the packaging it arrived in. I liked the multiple layers of Styrofoam they used to send it. That tells me they know they have a quality package and want their product to arrive in the best possible shape."

Blue Cheese Burgers on Homemade Buns

The other day, I had a pound of ground beef in the fridge. I decided hamburgers on the George Foreman grill would hit the spot on a rainy day. After a bit of Google searching, I came across these two recipes:

Blue Cheese Meatballs

Hamburger Rolls - The Ultimate in Softness

Two changes I made: I skipped the olive oil and tomato sauce in the meatball recipe. I mixed the blue cheese in with the ground beef before making it into patties, instead of inserting one piece.

Both recipes turned out really well. My family quickly devoured the burgers and asked for seconds. I highly recommend trying these recipes. They are simple and delicious.

Sources:

"Recipe(tried): Blue Cheese Meatballs", Board: Daily Recipe Swap, From: Micha in AZ, RecipeLink.com

"Hamburger Rolls - The Ultimate in Softness", Recipes For the Future blog, Secretfoods.blogspot.com, July 24, 2005

Kashi Cereal Bars: Blackberry

I recently received a coupon for a free Kashi product. I decided to use the coupon for a box of Kashi's Blackberry Graham Cereal Bars. The bars are considered "soft baked snack bars" The box touts "3 grams of fiber", "nothing artificial", "made with real fruit" and "7 whole grains."

The crust is made from whole oats, barley, long grain brown rice, etc. The blackberry filling is made from pear juice, molasses, blackberry puree and apple powder, plus a host of other ingredients. I find it slightly deceptive that the box says "Real Fruit: Sun-sweetened blackberry with a touch of tang."

Ingredients aside, I didn't care for the bars. The crust tasted fine, but the filling tasted like artificial grape flavoring. Also, each bar contains 9 grams of sugar and 125 mg of sodium. I will stick with buying fresh blackberries instead.