<img class="size-medium wp-image-63 alignnone" title="cheese" src="http://www.malvina.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/cheese-500x332.jpg" alt="cheese" width="500" height="332" />

...and lots of dairy fat. 

We have a New Year's Day tradition in our household. We invite a bunch of people over to eat black-eyed peas, collard greens, cornbread, mac &amp; cheese, and other Southern stuff. That's four pounds of shredded sharp cheddar up there. Thank God for my Cuisinart. 

And every few years we throw in a dessert contest. This year we offered bonus points for bacon desserts. We have friends who are talented bakers and we just wanted to throw that challenge out there for them. 

First is Brooke's chocolate-bacon cheesecake with chocolate ganache. Brooke used to bake professionally and it shows. Beautiful. There was applewood-smoked bacon both *in* the cheesecake and on top. She used a pound of bacon! This entry won the non-pie division.

<img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-64" title="chocolate" src="http://www.malvina.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/chocolate-500x332.jpg" alt="chocolate" width="500" height="332" />

The lemon meringue pie was Julie's entry. BEAUTIFUL. I know she slaved to get that meringue just perfect.

<img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-65" title="meringue" src="http://www.malvina.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/meringue-500x332.jpg" alt="meringue" width="500" height="332" />

Sitting between the meringue pie and the choco-bacon cake there is a sort of sad-looking key lime pie made by our friend Dan, who only recently took up an interest in cooking. And you know what? HE WON THE PIE DIVISION. It wasn't very pretty, but it was absolutely fanastic.

Also pictured is a maple-bacon cupcake with a vanilla frosting pig on it. Christina (who has been to every one of our NYD parties) got second in the non-pie division for these.

<img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-66" title="pig" src="http://www.malvina.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/pig-500x332.jpg" alt="pig" width="500" height="332" />

So there yo