Ever since I started this blog, my friends have been suggesting topics or recipes I should post. It’s great that they’re interested, and I love not only the suggestions but their willingness to share recipes with me. Needless to say, I’m also flattered that they’ve stuck with me all this time. Usually, though, they have no idea what they’re letting themselves in for when they say something.
Take the other night, for instance. My husband and I were at a dinner party in a neighbor’s house, and the hostess served a dessert that truly looked like delicious artwork. Think Jackson Pollock Does Strawberries. Amid the oohs and aahs, someone piped in with, “Lee, you should put this on your blog.”
The hostess seemed willing, and I liked the idea, but first I needed a photo. And I didn’t have my camera or my cellphone. So before anyone could have a bite, I vaulted into action. “Wait a minute – I have to look at them all for the best presentation. Who here has a cellphone?”
One guy whipped out his iPhone, and snapped a photo before I could stop him. “No, no, no,” I said, waving my hands at him. “Not that one. Take this one. And we have to stage it.”
He thought it was pretty simple – you know, point at the food and shoot. Not so fast, buddy.
But orchestrating the shot wasn’t easy from my seat on the other side of the table, so we had a few excruciating minutes of, “Here, take this napkin – don’t unfold it – and put it next to the bowl with a spoon. Wait – not that one. Use this spoon. And put it at sort of an angle. No, closer to the bowl, and put the spoon on the napkin. Can you try for a bit more of an angle?” This guy is an artist, so I had hoped for more sensitivity on the composition, but I guess not everyone thinks so much about that sort of thing.
At some point, I realized the rest of the guests were starting to regret the original suggestion. And I never did get exactly the shot I was looking for. Ah, well. I got the recipe, though, and it’s quite good.
2 cans Pillsbury Crescent Rolls
2 cups sugar (divided)
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 8-ounce packages cream cheese (Lynne uses one regular and one light)
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 stick of butter, softened
½-¾ stick butter, melted
cooking spray (Pam) or cooking oil for greasing the pan
Roll out one can of crescent rolls (pinching perforations together) into a greased, 9"x13" Pyrex dish.
Whip together 1½ cups sugar with the vanilla, the cream cheese, and the stick of butter. Spread over the crescent rolls.
Roll out the second can of crescent rolls (again, pinching together the perforations) and lay it on top of the first.
Combine the remaining ½ cup sugar with the cinnamon. Melt and pour the remaining butter over rolls. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.
Bake at 350º for 30 min. Cut into squares and serve warm or cold.
Top with any or all of the following: whipped cream, sliced strawberries, caramel sauce, chocolate sauce, pecans toasted and chopped.
my mikey would have done the picture justice! :)
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