what's black and white and red all over?

No, not a mime wearing lipstick, an embarrassed zebra, a sunburned penguin, a chocolate sundae with ketchup on top (which, might I add, sounds absolutely disgusting), a crossword puzzle done in red ink, or, the sneaky answer, a newspaper.

I'm talking about a surprisingly tasty cheesecake.

As you may remember, cheesecake is not something that makes me swoon. I find it tolerable at best. That said, I will gladly tolerate anything that looks as impressive as this treat, with its lovely layer of thickened raspberry goo, dark chocolate crust, and smooth and creamy cake.

Taste-wise, she ain't too shabby either. The subtle sweet-tartness of the raspberries really does a lot to balance out the tangy cream cheese and deeply decadent chocolate.

My goodness, that palate of mine is just growing up so fast! I guess that's what an unplanned hiatus does for a person. Maybe I should take breaks more often. Heck, the next thing you know, I'll be feasting on haggis, sweetbreads, and maggot cheese...

...but probably not.

Raspberries-to-the-Rescue Cheesecake
(from here)

Filling:
1 (10-ounce) package frozen raspberries, partially thawed
1 tablespoon cornstarch

Crust:
1 (9-ounce) package chocolate wafer cookies
1/3 cup butter, melted

Cheesecake:
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups sour cream
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon vanilla

Combine raspberries and 1 tablespoon cornstarch in 2-quart saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil (6 to 10 minutes). Continue boiling 1 minute. Remove from heat. Cool 10 minutes.
Heat oven to 325°F. Place cookies in food processor bowl fitted with metal blade. Cover; process until very finely chopped (30 to 40 seconds). Add melted butter; process until smooth (20 to 30 seconds). Press onto bottom of 9-inch springform pan; set aside.
Combine sugar and cream cheese in large bowl. Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until creamy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add sour cream and 3 tablespoons cornstarch. Continue beating, scraping bowl often, until well mixed. Stir in vanilla.
Pour half of cheesecake batter over crust. Spoon filling evenly over batter in pan. Top with remaining cheesecake batter. Bake for 60 to 70 minutes or until just set 2 inches from edge of pan. Turn off oven; leave cheesecake in oven 2 hours. Remove from oven; loosen sides of cheesecake from pan by running knife around inside of pan. Cool completely (about 2 hours). Loosely cover; refrigerate 8 hours or overnight.