Sounds like it will be a great evening. I'm sure the chef will be thrilled! This is very nice and can be made ahead of time as well. The Tannery’s Crab Crème Brûlée with Pickled Cucumber and Melba Toast adapted from Paul Flynn via The Afternoon Show and Paul Flynn: Irish Food Serves 4 as a starter “Any time you have something creamy, you need something sharp to offset it. This is why we serve pickled cucumber with this dish. You need something to cut through the cream, and the pickled ginger is the starting point of that,” says Paul Flynn. One of the keys to this dish is its lovely creamy consistency, so keep an eye on your oven temperature: “You put it into a low oven because you don’t want the eggs to soufflé, you want them to gently set, like a custard.” 400 ml (1 3/4 cups) cream 1 egg 2 egg yolks 1 garlic clove, peeled and finely chopped (or grate it directly into the custard mixture with a Microplane grater) 2 tablespoons pickled ginger, drained and finely chopped salt and freshly ground black pepper 150 g (1 cup) picked white crab meat, finely chopped 50 g (1/2 cup) freshly grated Parmesan pickled cucumber, to serve (see recipe below) Melba toast, to serve (see recipe below) lemon wedges, to serve Place the cream in a bowl with the eggs, garlic, pickled ginger and some salt and pepper and mix well. Add in the crab meat, ensuring there is no shell, and mix well again. Cover with cling film and place in the fridge to allow the flavours to infuse for at least 30 minutes, but ideally up to overnight. Preheat the oven to 150°C (300°F). Ladle or pour the mixture into the ramekins, making sure you get an even amount of crab in every ramekin, as the crab tends to fall to the bottom. Place the ramekins in a roasting tray. Fill the tray with warm water until the water comes halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Place this bain marie in the oven and cook for 45 to 60 minutes (check after 40 minutes). When cooked through, the mixture should be set but still have a slightly wobbly consistency. Remove the ramekins from the bain marie and allow to cool ��" the crab crème brûlée should be served at room temperature. When ready to serve, sprinkle a very thin layer of Parmesan on top of each ramekin and brown under the grill. Serve with pickled cucumber, really thin Melba toast (“sort of a retro addition that you don’t see very often”) and a lemon wedge. “So there you have it,” says Paul. “The Tannery crab crème brûlée ��" my classic.” Pickled Cucumber 1 cucumber pinch of salt 50 g (1/4 cup) caster sugar 50 ml (1/4 cup) white wine vinegar 1 teaspoon sweet chilli sauce Slice the cucumber as thinly as you can (a mandolin or food processor’s slicing attachment is perfect for this job). Place the sliced cucumber in a bowl and sprinkle with a little salt. Set aside. Bring the sugar, vinegar and chilli sauce to the boil and reduce for 30 seconds. Take off the heat and allow to cool completely. Once it’s cool, pour the liquid over the cucumbers and stir gently to coat them all. This will keep in the fridge for 2 or 3 days ��" any more and the cucumber loses its colour. Melba Toast Toast slices of white bread and remove the crusts. Slice the bread laterally to make two slices that are half the original thickness of the bread. Rub off excess bread from the untoasted side, then cut diagonally into triangles. Place the untoasted side under the grill until the edges curl. The Tannery Restaurant

On my 50th my daughter Carri had a surprise birthday for me. I thought we were going out to eat. We had to stop at their house to get them....the lights were dim...I didn't have a clue. My oldest daughter and her four little ones (at the time) had come home from Minn. Carri had them hid there at her house for two days... When I walked into the dinning room they turned on the light and my grandbabies all came running to hug me and wish me Happy Birthday...of course I started crying. I don't remember what we did after that...if we had cake or supper or anything... Just remember being surprised by those little ones I was missing. Was a great birthday. The one that was just a baby is now 16....WOW I'm getting old...I'm about to celebrate another one. patti

I have Sharon's(chase) classic cheese cake in the oven as I type. I think that would work. If ya want to go with chocolate this one from Carol(dishesdone) is killer and then some. It is fine without the ice cream... Posted by dishesdone (My Page) on Fri, Mar 10, 06 at 21:26 This was also in this month's Chocolatier magazine and looked sinful! The recipe sounds long but if like to bake it really isn't that time consuming. Just lots of steps. LOL I served store bought Ice Cream so can't comment on the Frozen Milk recipe. Chocolate Peanut Butter Crunch Cake with Frozen Milk Frozen Milk: 3 1/2 cups whole milk 1/2 cup granulated sugar 3 1/2 tablespoons light corn syrup 1/4 teaspoon sea salt 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract Chocolate cake: 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons alkalized cocoa powder (preferably Valrhona), sifted 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1 1/2 teaspoons salt 2 large eggs 1 cup whole milk 1/2 cup canola oil 2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons boiling water Ganache: 1 pound milk chocolate (preferably Valrhona Jivara or Guittard) 1 1/2 cups heavy cream Dacquoise layer: 1/3 cup sliced almonds 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar 2 large egg whites, at room temperature 1 tablespoon granulated sugar 1/2 cup salted peanuts, chopped Peanut butter crunch: 1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter 1 cup Skippy creamy peanut butter 3 ounces milk chocolate (preferably Valrhona Jivara or Guittard) 1 cup Rice Krispies Make the Frozen Milk: Combine all ingredients except vanilla extract. Bring to boil over medium-high heat. Transfer mixture to medium bowl and set bowl in large bowl filled one-third of way with ice water. Let stand, stirring occasionally, until chilled, about 20 minutes. Stir in vanilla. Process in ice cream machine according to manufacturers instructions. (Frozen Milk is best when served the same day.) Make chocolate cake: Position rack in center of oven and preheat oven to 350°F. Spray 9" x 13" pan with non-stick cooking spray. Place all dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl and whisk to combine. In a separate bowl, mix together all wet ingredients except water; pour into dry ingredients. Stir until well combined. Add boiling water and stir to combine. Pour into prepared pan and bake until cake springs back when touched in middle, about 30-40 minutes. Cool cake in pan set on wire rack for 20 minutes. Invert cake onto rack and cool completely. Make ganache: Melt chocolate in microwave or double boiler. In small saucepan, bring cream to a gentle boil and gradually whisk into melted chocolate. Set aside. Make dacquoise: Position rack in the center of oven and preheat to 375°F. Using 13" x 9" baking pan as a guide, trace a rectangle onto a piece of parchment paper. Turn paper over and place on a large baking sheet. Combine sliced almonds and confectioners' sugar in food processor and process until finely ground. Set aside. In bowl of electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whip egg whites on medium speed to soft peaks, gradually adding granulated sugar while whipping. Once stiff and shiny, fold in almond flour mixture. Spread into 9" x 13" rectangle on prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle top with chopped peanuts and bake until browned, 12-15 minutes. Set aside to cool on wire rack. Make peanut butter crunch: In medium bowl, combine butter, peanut butter and chocolate. Place bowl over saucepan filled one-third of way with simmering water. Heat, stirring occasionally, until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth. Stir in Rice Krispies. Spread chocolate mixture evenly over dacquoise. Freeze until firm, about 20 minutes. Using a serrated knife, cut chocolate cake in half horizontally for form 2 layers. Spread one-third of ganache on top of bottom half. Remove dacquoise from freezer and peel off parchment paper. Place dacquoise, peanut butter crunch-side up, on top of ganache covered cake; gently press to remove any air pockets. Spread half of remaining ganache over peanut butter crunch. Place second half of cake on top. Refrigerate until ganache is set, about 1 hour. Using serrated knife, carefully trim off rough edges of cake. Rewarm remaining ganache over a pot of simmering water, and spread over top of cake. Serve a square of cake with a scoop of frozen milk. Recipe by Nancy Olson, Peacock Alley, Waldorf-Astoria, NYC from Chocolatier Magazine March 2006 Cheescake Supreme (Sharon) 1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs 1/4 cup sugar 1/4 cup butter melted 40 ounces cream cheese (5, 8 oz packages) 1 3/4 cups sugar 3 TBSP flour grated rind of 1 lemon grated rind of 1/2 orange 5 eggs 2 egg yolks 1/4 cup whipping cream Fruit and glaze (Directions follow) Mix graham cracker crumbs sugar and melted butter. Butter a 10 inch springform pan. Press crumb mix into the bottom of the pan. Let the remainingg ingredients except cream come to room temp. Beat cheese until fluffy. Mix sugar and flour together and gradually mix into the cheese, beating mixture smooth. Mix in grated rinds. Add eggs and egg yolks one at a time beating well after each. Stir in cream. Pour over crust. Cook in preheated 500 degree oven for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 200 and cook for 1 hour ( NOTE: I always seem to have to cook it longer than this to get it to set properly, usually 1 1/2 hours) Remove from oven, place on rack away from drafts and cool. When cool refrigerate in pan until cold. Remove from pan and place on serving plate. Top with fruit and glaze and refrigerate until serving time.~ Fruit and Glaze.... working from the centre out to the edge. Arrange 4 or 5 canned apricot halves around centre of cake(reserve juice) Circle the apricots with canned pineapple wedges, (4 rings quartered) reserve juice. Alternate fresh starwberry halves and green grapes to form outer circle. Mound about 1/3 cup blueberries in the very centre , inside the ring of apricots. To make glaze combine the apricot and pineapple syrups to make 3/4 of a cup. Add 1 TBSP of lemon juice. Combine 1 TBSP cornstarch with 2 TBSP cold water. Add to juices and cook stirring until thickened. Add a drop of yellow food colouring if desired. Spoon over fruit. Hope you have a great evening!! David

No. no dessert today. Dessert is something I usually wish people wouldn't make for me, as unfortunately I fear sugar is over-rated. Occasionally I like ice cream or I like a bit of a dark chocolate bar. But otherwise, while I'll cook it once in a while... I really don't desire desserts. Most of them ruin the taste bud sensations of the veggies, seafood or meats that I just consumed.