Hi and happy Monday! I hope you had a wonderful weekend. Mine was extra special — my little brother graduated from high school on Friday.
We began celebrating on Thursday with a family dinner at home, prepared to Caleb’s request. The menu included grilled steak, roasted vegetables, and cheesecake.
Although I’d pick a big bowl of pasta over steak any day and I always have room for dessert, the cheesecake was my favorite. Caleb asked me to make one and agreed to be my sous chef.
I decided to make a “half-baked” cheesecake inspired by one of our favorite ice cream flavors that combines vanilla and chocolate with cookie dough and brownie pieces. Full disclosure: this cheesecake is absolutely indulgent — not a health food, but totally worth it.
To build a vanilla cheesecake with a chocolate crust and brownie and cookie dough mix-ins, we started by baking a batch of Ghirardelli triple chocolate brownies from a mix and cutting them into small cubes. Next, we prepared the crust and the cookie dough following my cookie dough cheesecake method, using only half the cookie dough amount. For the cheesecake base and the ganache, we followed the technique from Smitten Kitchen’s Brownie Mosaic Cheesecake, adapting it to combine our elements. After all those adjustments I was a bit nervous — I’m more comfortable improvising when I cook rather than bake, since baking requires more precision.
Half of a batch each of cookie dough and brownies, which we popped into the freezer for a few hours so they’d hold their shape in the cheesecake
Luckily, the cheesecake turned out beautifully — smooth, creamy, and studded with mix-ins just as we hoped. It didn’t crack during baking, which was a relief. The ganache would have covered any flaws, but we didn’t need it for that.
Friday was Caleb’s graduation day. My grandparents and cousin flew into Raleigh that afternoon. I grew up in Atlanta in the same neighborhood as my cousin’s family — our houses were right across the street from each other. We have lots of childhood memories together: playing outside, running a lemonade stand, building forts in the basement, sleepovers, and making weekend breakfasts for our families. We don’t see each other as often now, so every visit feels especially meaningful.
We had an early dinner on Friday before the ceremony. Caleb designed the menu again, this time choosing a strawberry salad with poppyseed dressing and lasagna.
We took a few family photos and headed to the graduation.
So proud of this guy!
After the ceremony we returned home for cheesecake round two and to watch Caleb’s graduation video. My sister had made a picture slideshow, which we watched twice because my mom was feeling sentimental. Later that night my cousin and I had a sleepover in my room and stayed up talking — just like old times. They flew out the next morning; I was sad to see them go, but I’m already planning our next visit.
So tell me…
Steak or pasta? If you could design a celebratory dinner, what would you include? Do you prefer following recipes closely, or do you like to put your own spin on them?