Taste is nothing; Presentation is everything

Oh how I wish I could emphasize words in titles, it would make it so much more meaningful. This title should read, "Taste is nothing. Presentation. Is. Everything."

A couple of weeks ago, I was going through one of my dad's old cookbooks that he gave me, "The Great Book of Baking". I had a few things in mind: dessert, yummy, new, good presentation (a plus). I was looing for something good. What I found was great, but it sent me on an adventure.

My adventure? Find a spring form pan. I asked around and noone seemed to have one. Nuts. I didn't want to have to buy one to try a new dessert, so I forgot about the idea and sent it to the back of my mind.

Saturday, I woke up early and got Adi dressed and ready to go. Our next-door-neighbor was having a garage sale, so I wanted to go and support her. I didn't expect to buy anything, and in fact, didn't even bring any cash. It turns out a couple of her friends had brought some things to sell as well. I was casually looking at a table with some cookie cutters when I said "I wish you had a sp..." I was cut off mid sentence when the woman next to me moved and there was a brand-new spring form pan! I grabbed it and asked her how much? $1. $1 for a brand new pan! What were the odds?

So, later Saturday Ryan and I went to the grocery store. Giant was having a great sale on berries, so we bought strawberries, blueberries, and blackberries for the new, yummy experiment.

Tuesday I made it, and was tickled pink. Don't mind the fact that the crust called for 2 tablespoons sugar and the filling called for 2/3 cup sugar and I put 2/3 cup in both--it just made it extra rich.

But, the motto my dad and I have always joked about is so true for this recipe. It was gorgeous. Almost too gorgeous to eat. When Ryan cut the first piece, he was very careful to cut through the fruit so that it would stay intact. It was yummy, but (to me) it didn't taste as steller as it looked... but maybe I'm being biased.

Thoughts anyone?

Berry-Delicious New York Cheesecake

*Sadly, come-to-find-out, it wasn't real cheesecake. Next time: real cheesecake. Chocolate perhaps.