No matter how you slice it, cheesecake is one of the most popular and versatile desserts around.

Whether it's covered in chocolate or cherries, prepared Italian-style with ricotta cheese, or even deep-fried (thanks, Paula Deen!), there's a cheesecake that's almost sure to please any palette. 

If you want to celebrate this national holiday without turning on the oven, why not try Patch blogger Kathy Pigott's Slow Cooker Peanut Butter Cheesecake recipe or visit one of the following Westfield eateries:

• San Marzano Pasta Bar serves a homemade ricotta cheesecake.
• Bovella's Pastry Shoppe offers white chocolate cheesecake, amaretto cheesecake, red velvet cheesecake, Italian cheesecake, chocolate cheesecake, and New York cheesecake.
• Sweet Waters Steakhouse features a light, creamy cheesecake with a graham cracker crust. 
• Robert Treat Deli's dessert menu offers a cheesecake named in honor of the deli's co-owner Greg Kasich.
• Xocolatz offers a Turtle Cheesecake with a thick layer of fudge and caramel garnished with chopped pecans on a graham cracker crust as well as a Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake featuring chunks of milk chocolate, chocolate mousse and chocolate ganache.

Here's a little cheesecake trivia to sweeten up your day. 

1. Cheesecake is believed to have originated in Greece more than 4,000 years ago. It is also believed to have been served to athletes competing during the first Olympic games in 776 B.C. to give them energy.  

2. The largest cheesecake ever made weighed a hefty 4,703 pounds. Philadelphia Kraft Foods Mexico made the giant cake, which set a Guinness World Record on January 25, 2009 in Mexico.

3. If fruit-topped cheesecake isn't exciting enough for you, how about cheesecake with such unusual ingredients as salsa, seafood, green tea, sun-dried tomato or wasabi?  A quick online search will turn up recipes featuring these and other imaginative ingredients.

4. On the "The Golden Girls," the cast consumed more than 100 cheesecakes (the characters' favorite dessert) over the course of the TV show's seven-year run.