Gorgonzola Ale Dip

Recipe from Tastebook.com and Husband-Tested in Debbie’s Kitchen


Our friends Debbie and Bob recently came back from a trip to Michigan where they enjoyed a fabulous appetizer dip at a restaurant there made with gorgonzola cheese, cherries, pecans and pale ale (type of beer.) I did a little online research for the recipe for Debbie and found one that had those same ingredients. I sent the recipe to Debbie and she gave it a try for a small dinner party she had for us on a lovely summer evening. We all agreed that this was definitely a keeper. The original recipe had a note about halving the ingredients to make a smaller version, but we all thought that this would be a big mistake! Make the recipe as is because it’s going to go fast at your next party and everyone will ask you for the recipe! You can get pale ale in the beer and wine section of Lost River Market & Deli. The pecans can be found in the bulk section. Debbie served this with Lavash. It can be found at the end of aisle one in the refrigerated section of the store. She baked the Lavash in the oven for a few minutes until crisp and broke them into serving size pieces for us. However, Lost River Market & Deli has a nice variety of crackers from which to choose.  If you have any beer left, try making Beer Bread.


¾ lb softened cream cheese
½ lb softened gorgonzola cheese
¼ cup Berghoff Pale Ale or other Pale Ale
½ cup pecan pieces
¼ cup fresh cherries, pitted and chopped or dried cherries, chopped


Bring cream cheese & gorgonzola to room temperature. Place in mixer & blend with paddle attachment until smooth. Add pale ale; blend until smooth. Add pecan pieces to cheese mixture. Finish mixture with rough chopped cherries. Bake in shallow dish at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes, uncovered, until brown at edges.

Me Me’s Cheesecake

Recipe from Hazel Cooksey (Alice’s maternal grandmother)
Makes about 10 servings.
My grandmother used to make this dessert quite often. I can understand why. It's easy, can be made in advance and everybody likes it. I made this yesterday morning for a simple dessert to eat last night when we had our buddies Bob and Debbie over along with Harold, a 91 year old farmer who is regular visitor at the farmers market and Lost River Market & Deli. I knew my hubby liked this dessert, but Bob and Harold really loved it. (Bob had seconds!) So, this definitely passes the husband test.

3 oz. lemon Jello or lemon flavored gelatin (I used sugar free.)
1 cup boiling water
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 stick of unsalted butter, melted
8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1 large can (12 oz.) of evaporated milk, chilled

Add boiling water to the Jello. Stir until the Jello is dissolved. Set aside to cool.
Combine graham cracker crumbs with the melted butter. Press half of the graham cracker crumb butter mixture into the bottom of a 13” x 9” x 2” pan.
Cream together the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla in a large bowl.
Whip the chilled evaporated milk. Stir the cooled Jello into the whipped evaporated milk. Fold the cream cheese mixture into the Jello mixture.
Spread over the graham cracker crumbs. Sprinkle the top with the remaining graham cracker crumbs.
Chill the dessert until set.