Happy Monday to you!  Let me first off say that I love Costco!  That was kind of random but I just needed to get that off my chest.  We were there yesterday and I was leaving I just said, the title of today’s post should be I LOVE COSTCO“.  It is such a great store and I had a great round of samples yesterday.

OK, the moment you have all been waiting for over the past couple of weeks.  I am about to announce the makeover winner but before I do  – I just wanted to go over some stats about the makeover.

Giveaway Stats

• Comments – 267
• Tweets – 99
• Trackbacks/Links – 41
• Blake Make Entries – 33

For a Grand Total of 440 Entries

And The Winner Is….

Kristen from IowaGirlEats.  Comment 177 and she wrote:

Here is a look at what her current blog looks like.

Kristin, contact me anytime and we can get started on your blog makeover.  I look forward to working with you.  For all of you that entered I want to thank you – it was a lot of fun.  If you still want a makeover feel free to check out Zesty Blog Consulting for more details.

Slice It Up

Ever spend a lot of time making a gorgeous dessert and then when you go to cut it… it looks like poo.  It has happened to me and if it happened to you, your not alone.  The key to rectifying this problem is using the proper style knife for the job.  Below I will go ahead and try to explain a few tips so that your desserts slice as good as they taste.

Slice cakes, tarts and pies like a pro.

1. For cheesecake and squares, keep a glass of hot water and a clean dish towel handy.  Before cutting each slice, dip the knife into the water and wipe clean.  The hot knife will slide right through the cake.
2. For pound or sponge cakes, use a serrated knife and a sawing motion to cut through without squishing or tearing the cake.
3. Use un-waxed dental floss to slice through the cake (great for the gooey or sticky cakes)
4. Lining your baking dish or spring form pan with parchment paper before baking squares and cheesecakes will help you pick up each slice cleanly.

So there you have it, a few cake slicing techniques and a fun makeover winner.  I hope you have a fabulous Monday where ever you may be today and I will talk to you on Wednesday.

Take care

zesty

Download my Free Recipe Book: Simply Zesty