...but the Friday Forum hasn't sent out the five for the week. Left adrift to fend for myself is always dangerous, but when the original Friday Five was dying that prolonged death I had gone out and found a few Five's that I wanted to answer.

This is one of those Fives. Hey, it's this or I put up a notice saying that I'm not blogging today.

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Something Sweet
Ever have that craving for a little something sweet? That little caramel Hershey's Kiss, or that little nugget out of the Godiva or Thornton's box?

1. What is the best dessert you've ever had?

Best dessert... that may have to be a plate of tiramisu that I had at a favorite Italian restaurant (before they changed owners - the new tiramisu is a little more sharp tasting). Perfectly creamy with just a hint of the alcohol and coffee flavors. Melt in your mouth perfection.

2. Is there a dessert that just plain grosses you out?

Fruitcake - or can that be classified as a biological weapon? There was one ice cream cake that I was given by a grandmother for my birthday - the cake part was white cake filled with candied fruits, and the ice cream was some pistachio blend. It was truly awful. I ate one piece and never touched the rest. My mom thought that was a horrible waste, so I told her to eat it all - I never saw her take even one piece.

3. Straight out of the container or with lots of toppings .... tell us how you like your ice cream.

How about straight out of the container WITH lots of toppings? No, no, I don't throw toppings on the top of a container of ice cream, but that's not a bad idea now that I've thought about it. Honestly, I tend to prefer ice creams that have stuff in it these days. A particular favorite is Coney Island Waffle Cone - it's vanilla ice cream with a caramel swirl and chocolate covered waffle cone pieces. It's a sundae in a carton, and I don't need anything else on top of it. Heck, anything else on top of it could be considered excessive.

A good strawberry ice cream all by itself doesn't sound bad either...

4. Cookie dough, brownie mix, cake batter or the finished products?

All of the above.

Well, not quite. I like a good taste of the batters before I put them to the oven to make sure there aren't any strange tastes or flavors that have come into the mix somehow. I do make a lot of things from scratch, and there are small children in the house, and you just never know what snuck in when you weren't looking (although the cinnamon and nutmeg in the chocolate chip cookies wasn't that bad a mistake).

The finished products have so much more appeal to me though - especially when they're warm and fresh from the oven.

5. You've just invented a great new dessert .... what's in it and what is it called?

It's called the WhizGidget Wondered. It's a fresh bourbon and madagascar vanilla bean ice cream layered with a touch of caramel, ladyfingers, bavarian cream, drizzled chocolate, another layer of ladyfingers, another layer of ice cream, and topped with a light chocolate glaze that's been dribbled over it all and then coated with a light random dusting of cocoa powder and confectioner's sugar.

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Well, that's it today folks. Here's to a very safe Halloween, and I'll see you next week... maybe. I'm considering taking up the challenge of blogging a novel for the entire month of November, and I have a solid idea that came to me in the shower last night. The question is whether I do it online in this blog, or take it to another blog, or just write as the spirit moves me when it moves me.

I guess we'll just have to see.