Linden's 4th of July Cheesecake

Now before the pictures, I want to offer a general disclaimer that this isn't all my work. We all know I'm not very good at things like patterns and decoration, and that when given a box full of colorful crayons I will draw a panda. And people will think it's a snowman. So before people think I have made great leaps and bounds in this area, this wasn't decorated by me! I did all the baking and slicing of fruit, and then Chris hid the mess I had made of the top of the cheesecake by putting fruit on it.

This cheesecake was taken to a Fourth of July Bash, funded and hosted by the US Military. When planning my dessert contribution, I worried, "what if this isn't patriotic enough, they may not let me in. especially because I am arriving with a Red Coat." I instructed Red Coat Chris to wear the other two Patriotic Colors (having informed him earlier that it is general good practice to wear two of the three colors to a 4th celebration - I myself was wearing blue and red - or all three if you can manage it tastefully), and to hold the cheesecake out in front of him and be very quiet upon arrival, to disguise his accent and help ease his entry.

We made it through to the garden, where the grill and food were set up, and requisitioned ourselves some NonAlcoholic Beverages and barbecue chicken sandwiches (I made sure Red Coat Chris' had some lettuce, because Xan is not the only one who finds themself on vegetable duty)

The US Military reports that my cheesecake was delicious, and eaten in record speed, and that people were fighting each other for the last forkfulls (so it must be true). It disappeared fastest of everything at the barbecue - initially it was attractive and appealing, after one shake of the lamb's tail half of it had been consumed by a small bastion of Africanists who were considering whether they could justify eating the other half, and after two shakes it was all gone (they decided that it was more ethical to give some to those less fortunate). I myself managed to secure a small slice, and I can confirm that it was super delicious. I even managed to requisition two blueberries and strawberries, which were delicious as well (English strawberries taste better, which always puzzles me since it rains so much here).

 However, I think we can all recognize that in spite of the delicious fruits and decorations, the really impressive thing here is me.