Sugar High!

Music To My Mouth: There is one thing that gets me higher than sweet stuff and that is good live music. Here in Ashland, we’ve got more than enough to go around, and frankly, though the desserts featured here are delicious, it’s really the tunes that’ll get your adrenaline pumping!

Grand Marnier Hot Fudge Sundae

Every Monday night at Alex’s, the Royal Blues Band warms up the diners and drinkers better than the roaring fire. But when all those guitar solos and throaty vocals leave you feeling a little, well, overheated, then cool off with this sundae: cold and creamy Vanilla Bean ice cream is smothered in rich hot fudge sauce, fluffy old-school whipped cream, and little green nuggets of goodness – pistachios! $5.50

Creamy Pumpkin Cheesecake

Liquid Assets becomes the most intimate place in town on Monday evenings when Ken Hart croons his way into your soul with his sweet acoustic renditions of dreamy love songs. Look out, though, another local gem will wile its way into your belly with its own kind of charm: small and round, the ultra-creamy cheesecake is lightly spiced to bring out the earthy pumpkin flavor and rests on caramel so rich with burnt sugar that it makes you close your eyes and hum…”Yum yum…” $8.00

Note to fellow junkies: If you want to gobble up some more musical treats, visit www.ashlandlivemusic.com – they’ve got an easy calendar format and a pretty good representation of what’s happening in our area.

I’ll be back in January with new recommendations for getting your sugar on, but when you’re buying holiday confections, I recommend that you go for the chocolate because if the recipient doesn’t like it, it’ll be a lot easier to ‘re-gift’ than a fruitcake!