dessert? yes please

I was never one for dessert (surprise!). A glass of port, some dark chocolate, and the occasional cookie, were enough for me. That is, until I met my boyfriend, J-me.

J-me has the worst sweet tooth. He can plow through a cake, chomp through a slice of pie, and slurp through a tall milkshake as quickly as I can chow through a hunk of cheese. But after dating someone who insists a large cookie and a sweet muffin equate breakfast for a year, I slowly, but very surely, came around.

It all started with rock-paper-scissors. J-me and I play this game on Saturday mornings to decide which unfortunate soul will need to climb out of our comfortable bed and get the morning coffee. The first time J-me lost, he brought back coffee from Clinton St. Baking Company and a few surprises. In the brown paper bag waited a blueberry crumb muffin and a citrus oatmeal raisin cookie – that was the size of a saucer. I was of course annoyed, why didn’t you get the delicious savory herb goat cheese muffin, I said. And why did you get the raisin cookie?! You know I hate raisins!!!

But of course, I couldn’t let food sit and not taste. I pulled off a little piece of cookie and popped it in my mouth, then another, then another. It was absolutely wonderful. I’ve always loved the slightly chewy texture of good oatmeal. The raisins kept the cookie moist and added a complex tartness that contrasted well with the buttery flavor.

That morning was the beginning of the end. I now ask for the dessert menu as I munch on my après-meal cheese plate. I now plan my route so that I “happen” by a bakery. Dessert is no longer an afterthought – it’s something to be savored, along with my glass of port.