Lemon Meringue Cheesecake, Inspired...

I actually made this recipe quite awhile ago, but I was waiting for the right time to share it with you.  Um, wait.  That's actually a lie.  Two lies in fact.  

Lets start again: First, I didn't really make this recipe alone, in fact it wasn't even my idea.  This cheesecake is inspired by a version from Extraordinary Desserts, and the brilliant thought to recreate it at home came from my friend's boyfriend, Jeff.  So second, I wasn't really waiting for the right time to share this with you; I was merely holding out until I could pay my most favorite dessert restaurant another visit.  Which I just did, and I blogged about it, and seem to be continuing to shamelessly promote it.  It is my favorite place, can you blame me?    

So anyway, this cheesecake idea seems to have been born when dear Jeffery chose to have the lemon meringue cheesecake from Extraordinary Desserts.  The heavens opened, pure sugary sunshine shone down on him, and it was love at first sight (or bite, I suppose).  And although he didn't consciously realize it at the time, I believe the sneaky sweet spot in his brain started setting a plan in motion so he could enjoy it at home.      

Time went on, as time does, and Jeffrey pined away after his cheesecake.  But since he is a manly man, the pining really didn't last that long and he quickly took action.  One day, I got a phone call from my friend Jenn, saying, "Hey you should come over, Jeff wants to make this cheesecake.  He is really serious about it."  And let me tell you, she was not kidding.  After talking over this grand cheesecake venture with Jeff, I realized two things: he is really obsessed with cheesecake (I find this awesome), and he also painstakingly and strategically planned how he would create the perfect lemon meringue cheesecake.

White Chocolate Cherry Cheesecake Pots (Belated HHDD)

So I am going to keep this post relatively short and sweet... mostly because this is a small and sweet dessert.  (But also because I need to get my butt in gear and my car in drive to head out to Las Vegas for the weekend!)

And, truth be told, I can't really write too much for this post that hasn't already been written by someone else.  You see, last month Mardi of eat.live.travel.write hosted the Hay Hay it's Donna Day cooking event to honor Australian cookbook and magazine author Donna Hay.  Before I read her post, I really had no idea who Donna Hay was, or why anyone would want to host a blogging event about her food.  Well I read the history of the event provided by Mardi and Chez Us (here and here), and being naturally curious, I found some more information here.  (Have you had enough links yet?)   And truly, I think I love Donna Hay.  I feel like she is Rachel Ray's better half meets Real Simple.  Where have I been without her?  Were it not for the fact that I already receive a stack of cooking magazines in the mail every month, I surely would be subscribing.  

Anyway, back to the event: The thing is...the event is over.  Yes my friends, I missed the deadline to submit my entry, oh woe is me.  Mardi was even kind enough to be flexible with the deadline so that I could still submit this dessert, but with bridal showers, trifles, and plane rides, life just got in the way.    

The event ended up being wildly popular, but thats really no surprise.  I think all us bloggers were thinking, "Really, you are asking me to whip up a cheesecake pot in 10 minutes?  Is there some catch?  You say there isn't??  Hah!  Awesome."  Overall Mardi had twenty-four entries for her event, and the bloggers hailed from all over the globe.  You can view the round-up of all the entries, and then you can keep checking out my little cheesecake pots.