Showing posts with label cooking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cooking. Show all posts
Friday, December 13, 2013
Think Kit day 13: funny!
Think Kit: When did you laugh out loud? Share a funny or humorous story from this year.
This is one of those moments wher you might have to be there for it to be funny but...
My friend Baby Girl and I met in the library one morning and we looked like collective Hell. Neither of us had been hanging out the night before and come to find out that neither of us had been drinking. SHE was babysitting for a 9 month old until about midnight. Then her BF had called her at 2 am and had locked his keys in the car in the parking lot where he worked and his second shift just ended- could she please come get him? At his job 45 minutes away... Which she did. I was up late grading papers and then Mac called me in the middle of the night with his problems. And then when I fell back to sleep, the dog woke up and wanted out. So--- we were tired-- which also makes us easy to be punchy and maybe things aren't really as funny as we thought...
So when she took a drink of Cherry Pepsi and missed her mouth and it ran down her chin, and I snot laughed over it and we both went "ewwwwwwwww" at the same time, we giggled again. Then we attempted to high five each other because we said "ewwwwwww" at the same time and we missed the high five. And because we're not so classy to turn a failed high-5 into a low hand slap, we snorted laughed and made "duh" sounds. At which point my principal asked if we were okay as he walked by the library door. Like little children we immediately stopped laughing and got straight faced and said we were fine.
He kept walking and we took one look at each other and burst out laughing like idiots. And then I tried to sit down on my rolling chair which shot out behind me, I missed and landed on the floor. When Baby Girl figured out I was okay and was laying there laughing, howling, she was gasping for air and... well, as you can see it was just a series of KeyStone Cop moments that weren't that funny...
But I have to say it was a way to turn a bad night and what seemed like a crummy morning into something funny. It was a great way to start the day with huge giggles, guffawing and lough belly laughs with a friend. can't be all bad, right?
Laughter is the best medicine,
Maggie
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
The whoopie pie mess
I decided to make homemade whoopie pies. I just love them from the store and I found a recipe on Pinterest and thought this couldn't be too hard. Well, was I wrong. I feel like it was one cooking disaster after another with that experience.
The recipe called for a cake mix and then add flour and some other ingredients. I did. And I mixed everything in the Kitchen Aid just like the directions said. I used parchment paper and did all the right things. Then I dropped the thick batter my teaspoon fulls onto the paper, set the timer (our oven in accurate) and baked them.
And had HUGE mountainous pillows of lemon cake. Not a round semi-flat circle but a huge mountain of cake. What the hell??? How did that happen? Okay, I thought to myself, don't use a teaspoon just use a half so I did the second batch. And again pillowy, fluffy, HUGE mounds of cake.
Now, there are not going to be made into whoopie pies. Just one piece was about 3-4 inches in height. I have no idea what I did. I re-read the recipe, and I even went online to read comments from other people who made them. No one else commented about having giant cake pieces.
Okay, I figured maybe I could cut them in half, long ways and go ahead and frost them and see what happened. I then used a marshmallow frosting recipe. It actually called for Crisco. Now, I wasn't sure what I wanted to do. I wanted to make it from scratch and the recipe was easy and popular, right from Betty Crocker but I can't remember the last time I used Crisco. With all I know about food and health I wasn't sure I could bear to do it. But after reasoning that my great grandparents ate biscuits made from lard every day of their lives, that using a little bit of Crisco in a frosting recipe probably wouldn't kill me. Probably.
So I made it. I cut one of the huge cookies in half, frosted it, took one bite, chewed twice and spit the whole mouthful into the sink. The Giant Lemon Cookie was fine but the frosting was terrible. I seriously thought I was going to have to gargle with Dawn Dishsoap to cut the greasy feeling on my tongue and teeth. Oh it was so very nasty and gross and just repulsive. I threw up just a little.
Maybe it really tasted like a hunk of sweet grease or maybe it was psychological but either way there was no way I was going to eat it or share it with anyone else, either. Dow the disposal it went.
So I just used my friend Lori's lemon frosting and it was like eating a little slice of lemon cake, in a cookie shape.
Oh, and what you might be wondering ever happened that caused such a huge cookie? Well, folks, I am here to say it's very important to read labels and not use SELF RISING flour when it doesn't call for such. That my friends, is how some pouffy whoopie pies are made.
But I ended up with some super moist, yummy cookies!
Mags
The recipe called for a cake mix and then add flour and some other ingredients. I did. And I mixed everything in the Kitchen Aid just like the directions said. I used parchment paper and did all the right things. Then I dropped the thick batter my teaspoon fulls onto the paper, set the timer (our oven in accurate) and baked them.
And had HUGE mountainous pillows of lemon cake. Not a round semi-flat circle but a huge mountain of cake. What the hell??? How did that happen? Okay, I thought to myself, don't use a teaspoon just use a half so I did the second batch. And again pillowy, fluffy, HUGE mounds of cake.
Now, there are not going to be made into whoopie pies. Just one piece was about 3-4 inches in height. I have no idea what I did. I re-read the recipe, and I even went online to read comments from other people who made them. No one else commented about having giant cake pieces.
Okay, I figured maybe I could cut them in half, long ways and go ahead and frost them and see what happened. I then used a marshmallow frosting recipe. It actually called for Crisco. Now, I wasn't sure what I wanted to do. I wanted to make it from scratch and the recipe was easy and popular, right from Betty Crocker but I can't remember the last time I used Crisco. With all I know about food and health I wasn't sure I could bear to do it. But after reasoning that my great grandparents ate biscuits made from lard every day of their lives, that using a little bit of Crisco in a frosting recipe probably wouldn't kill me. Probably.
So I made it. I cut one of the huge cookies in half, frosted it, took one bite, chewed twice and spit the whole mouthful into the sink. The Giant Lemon Cookie was fine but the frosting was terrible. I seriously thought I was going to have to gargle with Dawn Dishsoap to cut the greasy feeling on my tongue and teeth. Oh it was so very nasty and gross and just repulsive. I threw up just a little.
Maybe it really tasted like a hunk of sweet grease or maybe it was psychological but either way there was no way I was going to eat it or share it with anyone else, either. Dow the disposal it went.
So I just used my friend Lori's lemon frosting and it was like eating a little slice of lemon cake, in a cookie shape.
Oh, and what you might be wondering ever happened that caused such a huge cookie? Well, folks, I am here to say it's very important to read labels and not use SELF RISING flour when it doesn't call for such. That my friends, is how some pouffy whoopie pies are made.
But I ended up with some super moist, yummy cookies!
Mags
Friday, June 22, 2012
When it rains, it pours... worcestershire sauce
Lesson 1 learned: fiber bars and apple sauce are a deadly. Do not eat them in combination unless you mean business. And yes, I mean that sort of "business".
Lesson 2 learned: Worcestershire sauce stains everything. And I mean everything.
Lesson 3 learned: Do not attempt to cook 3 new recipes all on the same night
Lesson 4 learned: do not wear socks on tile floor after polishing with 409 cleanser and a Swiffer Wet jet, unless you like possible broken bones and have good health insurance. Yeah, go ahead and live on the edge.
Lesson 5 learned: When making homemade friend rice, crack the egg and cook it in the pan completely BEFORE YOU ADD RICE. I'm just sayin'!
The following is a true story because not even I could make this shit up.
This might be TMI and I don't usually talk bathroom but it's a vital part of this story. A few days ago I had not been able to "use the bathroom" other than to pee, for about 3 days so I ate a Fiber One bar. And didn't seem to get any results so about 3 hours later I had applesauce. Just remember that part. Sorry for the "bathroom TMI."
Later that evening, I decide to fix dinner. I want to make a low calorie BBQ sauce and I wanted to try my hand at a low calorie fried rice. And since Daddy-O is doing the shake diet as well, I thought I would experiment with the shake powder since he was a little tired of shakes so I decided to make mashed sweet potatoes using the shake powder as a base and then integrate some other stuff to make it also low calorie. All three new things on one night for the same meal. What the hell was I thinking?
So I'm cooking along; I have a pan on every burner, the oven going, the microwave... and I'm not really following a recipe, just tossing in a bit of this and that, here and there. And as I go to put away the Worcestershire sauce I miss the shelf and the bottle plummets to the kitchen floor. Where it does not break even though it's glass. No, instead, it bounces, jarring the cap off the top and then rolls about 6 feet across the floor, creating a 6 foot long swath of Worcestershire sauce path.
I finally grab the renegade bottle and survey the white linoleum floor and panic. I grab all the dishrags and throw them on the floor and start sopping. I turn the facet on and sop and rinse. It smells something awful. And then I try and sop and clean and finally give up and scream, "dAAAAAAAAAA-AAAAAAAAd come stir shit!" Dad comes in the kitchen and takes one look at the floor and doesn't say a word. He just stirs stuff.
I continue sopping and rinsing when I suddenly have to use the bathroom. The apple sauce and Fiber Bar decide to do their jobs. I take a 10 minute time out to facilitate myself in the facilities. I return to the kitchen and finish cleaning. I finally get it all off the floor which is now sticky- a is the cabinet, the inside of a cabinet door and the side of the fridge. I start wiping the floor, as well as the other surfaces, with 409 and a clean rag.
Finally I can take back over the cooking but I can't get the smell out of my nose. It just FEELS like the Worcestershire sauce is still there, when it's obviously not. Daddy-O and I are dishing stuff up, putting dishes in the sink, filling glasses, when I slip on the floor and about fall flat on my face. Thankfully, I didn't and neither did the carton of eggs I was holding. (Cause of death would've been suicide by cooking disaster)
Finally, finally, finally, after one more trip to the damn bathroom, we sit down to eat. And the fried rice is terrible. It was one of those things that the first bite was unsure, the second bite was okay and then suddenly the third bite was the real thing which caused much gagging and hacking out of the ickiness of it all. I find out later that I was supposed to cook the egg completely before adding my veggie rice mixture. I want to point out right now that the recipe I had glanced at online earlier that day didn't say to do that. I'm pretty sure it didn't, anyway.
Mashed sweet potato was pretty good and the BBQ sauce was STRAIGHT ON! But the smell of Worcestershire wouldn't go away, and even Daddy-O could smell it. I finally relaxed and crossed my legs to notice dried rivets of brown, streaked up and down my shins and calves of my lily white Irish skin! It was the reverse Michael Jackson!!! Ack!
No wonder we kept smelling it. During the splash down and clean up, it apparently splashed ON me. And this stuff stains, people! I'm not kidding! That sentence could be written "this stuff stains people" because it does. I washed my legs with hot soapy water and scrubbed until I was a pinkish, brown streaked pale white, then I rubbed my legs with lotion. I smelled like Japanese Cherry Blossom but not the way that Bath and Body works intended!
Lessons learned. Crickets, take my wisdom and don't try to learn these on your own. You've been warned.
She who is back to plain pale legs now,
Mags
Lesson 2 learned: Worcestershire sauce stains everything. And I mean everything.
Lesson 3 learned: Do not attempt to cook 3 new recipes all on the same night
Lesson 4 learned: do not wear socks on tile floor after polishing with 409 cleanser and a Swiffer Wet jet, unless you like possible broken bones and have good health insurance. Yeah, go ahead and live on the edge.
Lesson 5 learned: When making homemade friend rice, crack the egg and cook it in the pan completely BEFORE YOU ADD RICE. I'm just sayin'!
The following is a true story because not even I could make this shit up.
This might be TMI and I don't usually talk bathroom but it's a vital part of this story. A few days ago I had not been able to "use the bathroom" other than to pee, for about 3 days so I ate a Fiber One bar. And didn't seem to get any results so about 3 hours later I had applesauce. Just remember that part. Sorry for the "bathroom TMI."
Later that evening, I decide to fix dinner. I want to make a low calorie BBQ sauce and I wanted to try my hand at a low calorie fried rice. And since Daddy-O is doing the shake diet as well, I thought I would experiment with the shake powder since he was a little tired of shakes so I decided to make mashed sweet potatoes using the shake powder as a base and then integrate some other stuff to make it also low calorie. All three new things on one night for the same meal. What the hell was I thinking?
So I'm cooking along; I have a pan on every burner, the oven going, the microwave... and I'm not really following a recipe, just tossing in a bit of this and that, here and there. And as I go to put away the Worcestershire sauce I miss the shelf and the bottle plummets to the kitchen floor. Where it does not break even though it's glass. No, instead, it bounces, jarring the cap off the top and then rolls about 6 feet across the floor, creating a 6 foot long swath of Worcestershire sauce path.
I finally grab the renegade bottle and survey the white linoleum floor and panic. I grab all the dishrags and throw them on the floor and start sopping. I turn the facet on and sop and rinse. It smells something awful. And then I try and sop and clean and finally give up and scream, "dAAAAAAAAAA-AAAAAAAAd come stir shit!" Dad comes in the kitchen and takes one look at the floor and doesn't say a word. He just stirs stuff.
I continue sopping and rinsing when I suddenly have to use the bathroom. The apple sauce and Fiber Bar decide to do their jobs. I take a 10 minute time out to facilitate myself in the facilities. I return to the kitchen and finish cleaning. I finally get it all off the floor which is now sticky- a is the cabinet, the inside of a cabinet door and the side of the fridge. I start wiping the floor, as well as the other surfaces, with 409 and a clean rag.
Finally I can take back over the cooking but I can't get the smell out of my nose. It just FEELS like the Worcestershire sauce is still there, when it's obviously not. Daddy-O and I are dishing stuff up, putting dishes in the sink, filling glasses, when I slip on the floor and about fall flat on my face. Thankfully, I didn't and neither did the carton of eggs I was holding. (Cause of death would've been suicide by cooking disaster)
Finally, finally, finally, after one more trip to the damn bathroom, we sit down to eat. And the fried rice is terrible. It was one of those things that the first bite was unsure, the second bite was okay and then suddenly the third bite was the real thing which caused much gagging and hacking out of the ickiness of it all. I find out later that I was supposed to cook the egg completely before adding my veggie rice mixture. I want to point out right now that the recipe I had glanced at online earlier that day didn't say to do that. I'm pretty sure it didn't, anyway.
Mashed sweet potato was pretty good and the BBQ sauce was STRAIGHT ON! But the smell of Worcestershire wouldn't go away, and even Daddy-O could smell it. I finally relaxed and crossed my legs to notice dried rivets of brown, streaked up and down my shins and calves of my lily white Irish skin! It was the reverse Michael Jackson!!! Ack!
No wonder we kept smelling it. During the splash down and clean up, it apparently splashed ON me. And this stuff stains, people! I'm not kidding! That sentence could be written "this stuff stains people" because it does. I washed my legs with hot soapy water and scrubbed until I was a pinkish, brown streaked pale white, then I rubbed my legs with lotion. I smelled like Japanese Cherry Blossom but not the way that Bath and Body works intended!
Lessons learned. Crickets, take my wisdom and don't try to learn these on your own. You've been warned.
She who is back to plain pale legs now,
Mags
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Home on the range... an oven's tale
Warning: this post contains lots of CAPITAL LETTERS, usually to represent my anger.
Our oven stopped working. It would act like it was going to heat and try to heat and then just not heat. This sucks. Of course this happens while Daddy-O is in Texas. I swear we weren't doing anything but trying to make frozen pizza!
I decided I was going to see if I could fix it before he got home because I didn't want to worry him if it was no big deal. I called the place where my parents bought the range (this is what we call the stove and oven unit as one big appliance) about 20 years ago. I was told that 1) it's probably dead because of the age and will have to get a whole new range; 2) I could try and throw the breakers and shut it down for 20 minutes so the electronic panel has a chance to reset; 3) they could see if they could order parts and not have to buy a whole new range. We shut down the breakers and that did not resurrect it. The range is dead. The burners work- sorta (I'll get to that) but the oven is dead.
So I thought I'd call and see how much parts were and if it could be replaced. I also told Daddy-O, who was not mad at us for killing the oven.
Oh, and the oven in question is an electric, ceramic, flattop Jenn Air.
So last Monday morning I called to see if THE STOVE COMPANY still had my parent's records and could order a part. Mr. Asshole who owns THE STOVE COMPANY told me they don't sell ranges any more and didn't have the records and the part would be so expensive a new range would be cheaper- he didn't even let me tell him WHAT PART I NEEDED!!!!!!!!!! I said I would at least like to know how much the part is going to cost and he said I would have to call Earl (he does outsourced range service work apparently) to make a house call to see what was wrong with it. I told him again what the error message was flashing on the electric panel and what it needed and he said I could be wrong and he didn't want to look for a part without Earl's say-so, and he said by the time Earl came to see what was wrong and the part was bought and then installed it, a new range was cheaper. He did NOT want to help me. And he was rude and snotty to me the entire time. I was so pissed.
After I hung up I decided I would figure this out myself. I went online to find out what the name of the part was and I found it. I also called Jenn Air customer service and they told me good news and bad news. The good news is that if that's the error message then 99.9% of the time, that is the part I need. The bad news is that because that range is so old, the don't have that part but for them to be accurate they needed a make and model number, and told me where on the range I could find it. Well, I hunted that thing over and couldn't find it. Stumped.
So, not to be a woman to be undone...
The next day I called another business in town that sells ranges. I got a salesman named Dave THE OTHER OVEN STORE and told him what Mr. Asshole at THE STOVE COMPANY said and Dave said if the part is available there is no way it's going to cost $1400 since to replace the range is about $1500!!! He said it won't be anywhere near that much for a part. He also said if the error message is matching the book and the web site online, then that's correct. Furthermore, Dave said since I can't find the number myself, he'll run up to the house and look really quickly and will NOT charge me a service call to find a model number! He said if he can get the part in, they will come and install it (a service call is $80) so it will be $80 plus the cost of the part. AND he was NICE! AND not rude!!!! And I told him the story of dealing with Mr. Asshole who was a jerk and rude and I would NEVER do business there again until he died. Maybe. Dave at THE OTHER OVEN STORE laughed a lot.
So Dave came to the house and found the number and then hunted for the parts because the error message says 2 different parts are in need of replacing and these 2 parts work in tandem but because the range is old, there are no parts at part stores, or wherever they look for parts (I called Jenn Air myself and they told me the same thing). He said if I wanted to find one somewhere on the Internet I can and he can give me the part number. Dave also said if I find one, they will put it in for me. The extra bad news is that while Dave said they could come put in the parts, they're usually non-returnable/ non-refundable so if they parts don't work I can't send them back so Daddy-O would be out the parts and labor money and still have the cost of the new range he'd would need to get since the parts didn't work. Dave wouldn't fathom a guess on whether or not the replacement parts would work because of the age of the range. He said he was sorry he didn't have better news and wishes he could help.
He was really helpful and nice and sorry!!!!! Mr. Asshole should take customer service lessons from Dave!!!!
So I tell all this to Daddy-O who decides he's going to see if he can buy a new range in Texas at a chain store we have hear. Ya'll might've hear of a little appliance place called Sears. He felt he should buy from Dave but Daddy-O isn't home for 10 more days and thought he could get one new and have it installed and stuff before he got home. Uhhhh, not! He bought a replacement and it won't be here until 2/27-- YIKES!
In the meantime, I have to cook using the George Foreman Party Time Grill, the toaster oven and the microwave. (With this nice weather I might lug out the gas grill and make up some burgers and dogs!!!). You might be wondering why I don't use the burners since, technically the stove works. Wellllllllllllll.... because......... it BEEPS!!!!!!!
For no reason at all, when we use the burner, the oven senors feels "heat" and it beeps. An beeps and beeps and beeps and beeps and will not stop for hours on end. I can stand there and press the button to make it stop and it will just start up again. Over and over and over again. For HOURS.
The other day the stove and oven had been off 3 days and I walked through the kitchen and it started beeping FOR NO REASON. I am so freaked out. I actually left the house for 2 hours because the beeping will not stop. Then suddenly Mac or I can hit the button and it stops. But it's random and worse than Chinese water torture. I think Daddy-O should sell the defective range to the CIA and they can use it to torture prisoners, if they did that sort of thing (yes, I snorted).
So from now until Feb. 27 we have no oven and for all intrinsic purposes, no stove top either. This is a good time to start my diet: yogurt, salad, microwaved chicken boobs, rice, oatmeal, cereal.
But the new range is gonna ROCK (these are good caps!)!!! I'm gonna bake and casserole my butt off when it gets here!
No longer looking for an excuse to not cook,
Maggie
Our oven stopped working. It would act like it was going to heat and try to heat and then just not heat. This sucks. Of course this happens while Daddy-O is in Texas. I swear we weren't doing anything but trying to make frozen pizza!
I decided I was going to see if I could fix it before he got home because I didn't want to worry him if it was no big deal. I called the place where my parents bought the range (this is what we call the stove and oven unit as one big appliance) about 20 years ago. I was told that 1) it's probably dead because of the age and will have to get a whole new range; 2) I could try and throw the breakers and shut it down for 20 minutes so the electronic panel has a chance to reset; 3) they could see if they could order parts and not have to buy a whole new range. We shut down the breakers and that did not resurrect it. The range is dead. The burners work- sorta (I'll get to that) but the oven is dead.
So I thought I'd call and see how much parts were and if it could be replaced. I also told Daddy-O, who was not mad at us for killing the oven.
Oh, and the oven in question is an electric, ceramic, flattop Jenn Air.
So last Monday morning I called to see if THE STOVE COMPANY still had my parent's records and could order a part. Mr. Asshole who owns THE STOVE COMPANY told me they don't sell ranges any more and didn't have the records and the part would be so expensive a new range would be cheaper- he didn't even let me tell him WHAT PART I NEEDED!!!!!!!!!! I said I would at least like to know how much the part is going to cost and he said I would have to call Earl (he does outsourced range service work apparently) to make a house call to see what was wrong with it. I told him again what the error message was flashing on the electric panel and what it needed and he said I could be wrong and he didn't want to look for a part without Earl's say-so, and he said by the time Earl came to see what was wrong and the part was bought and then installed it, a new range was cheaper. He did NOT want to help me. And he was rude and snotty to me the entire time. I was so pissed.
After I hung up I decided I would figure this out myself. I went online to find out what the name of the part was and I found it. I also called Jenn Air customer service and they told me good news and bad news. The good news is that if that's the error message then 99.9% of the time, that is the part I need. The bad news is that because that range is so old, the don't have that part but for them to be accurate they needed a make and model number, and told me where on the range I could find it. Well, I hunted that thing over and couldn't find it. Stumped.
So, not to be a woman to be undone...
The next day I called another business in town that sells ranges. I got a salesman named Dave THE OTHER OVEN STORE and told him what Mr. Asshole at THE STOVE COMPANY said and Dave said if the part is available there is no way it's going to cost $1400 since to replace the range is about $1500!!! He said it won't be anywhere near that much for a part. He also said if the error message is matching the book and the web site online, then that's correct. Furthermore, Dave said since I can't find the number myself, he'll run up to the house and look really quickly and will NOT charge me a service call to find a model number! He said if he can get the part in, they will come and install it (a service call is $80) so it will be $80 plus the cost of the part. AND he was NICE! AND not rude!!!! And I told him the story of dealing with Mr. Asshole who was a jerk and rude and I would NEVER do business there again until he died. Maybe. Dave at THE OTHER OVEN STORE laughed a lot.
So Dave came to the house and found the number and then hunted for the parts because the error message says 2 different parts are in need of replacing and these 2 parts work in tandem but because the range is old, there are no parts at part stores, or wherever they look for parts (I called Jenn Air myself and they told me the same thing). He said if I wanted to find one somewhere on the Internet I can and he can give me the part number. Dave also said if I find one, they will put it in for me. The extra bad news is that while Dave said they could come put in the parts, they're usually non-returnable/ non-refundable so if they parts don't work I can't send them back so Daddy-O would be out the parts and labor money and still have the cost of the new range he'd would need to get since the parts didn't work. Dave wouldn't fathom a guess on whether or not the replacement parts would work because of the age of the range. He said he was sorry he didn't have better news and wishes he could help.
He was really helpful and nice and sorry!!!!! Mr. Asshole should take customer service lessons from Dave!!!!
So I tell all this to Daddy-O who decides he's going to see if he can buy a new range in Texas at a chain store we have hear. Ya'll might've hear of a little appliance place called Sears. He felt he should buy from Dave but Daddy-O isn't home for 10 more days and thought he could get one new and have it installed and stuff before he got home. Uhhhh, not! He bought a replacement and it won't be here until 2/27-- YIKES!
In the meantime, I have to cook using the George Foreman Party Time Grill, the toaster oven and the microwave. (With this nice weather I might lug out the gas grill and make up some burgers and dogs!!!). You might be wondering why I don't use the burners since, technically the stove works. Wellllllllllllll.... because......... it BEEPS!!!!!!!
For no reason at all, when we use the burner, the oven senors feels "heat" and it beeps. An beeps and beeps and beeps and beeps and will not stop for hours on end. I can stand there and press the button to make it stop and it will just start up again. Over and over and over again. For HOURS.
The other day the stove and oven had been off 3 days and I walked through the kitchen and it started beeping FOR NO REASON. I am so freaked out. I actually left the house for 2 hours because the beeping will not stop. Then suddenly Mac or I can hit the button and it stops. But it's random and worse than Chinese water torture. I think Daddy-O should sell the defective range to the CIA and they can use it to torture prisoners, if they did that sort of thing (yes, I snorted).
So from now until Feb. 27 we have no oven and for all intrinsic purposes, no stove top either. This is a good time to start my diet: yogurt, salad, microwaved chicken boobs, rice, oatmeal, cereal.
But the new range is gonna ROCK (these are good caps!)!!! I'm gonna bake and casserole my butt off when it gets here!
No longer looking for an excuse to not cook,
Maggie
Monday, January 23, 2012
What the dead know
I have a great recipe of my late mother's for a sour cream coffee cake. I've waxed poetic about this coffee cake on multiple occasions over the last 5+years I've been blogging. This is some seriously good food.
I've made this cake several times over the years. I don't usually make it on just Christmas like my mother always did; I make just about any time I get a craving for it. It's an easy recipe to make and not super time consuming either so I don't struggle too much.
The worst part of making this is taking it out of the pan. I make it in an angel food cake pan. My mother's recipe suggests this pan or a Bundt. It also says that after about 15 minutes to slide a butter knife around the edge, and I do. And around the thingy in the center and I do that, too. And it says to flip it on a small drinking glass... I do not do that. I usually just flip it on a cooling rack and then turn it onto a fancy cake plate. I want it to drop perfectly onto the rack. I don't want it to break, crumble or crack. In all the times I've made this cake the last several years, it's come out PERFECTLY. Never have I messed it up. Ever. It's been picture perfect every time- like photograph it for a magazine perfect.
The last time I made it, I even commented to Daddy-O that I couldn't understand why my late mother always complained about hard it was to make. It's easy, I thought. I also said I couldn't understand why she always had it fall apart, more times than not, when mine always came out perfectly. He and I snickered about it, not in a mean way, and ate the picture looking cake I managed to always bake.
Until yesterday... damn it!
I made it for breakfast yesterday morning. I used the same ingredients that I always use. I'm not kidding on the 'same ingredients' thing either. I buy the same name brands all the time. I use the same bowls and measuring utensils. I measure every single item, every single time. I use the same mixer. I do the recipe steps in the same order. I use the same oven. I even use the same CAKE PLATE! I never deviate. I even have a special weird way of greasing the pan and I do it the same way. This is almost OCD/ ritualistic in the making of the sour cream coffee cake. I want to make it clear that I didn't buy different sour cream, or use old flour or eyeball an amount rather than measure or mix longer or shorter. I did it all the same as I always do.
Because I live in the Midwest, weather/ climate/ altitude doesn't really matter. And, to error on the side of over-explanation, I've made this all times of the day- morning, afternoon and evening. I've made it in all seasons: winter, summer, spring, fall. I've made it when it's been raining or snowing or hot or cold or humid. I've run the gambit and it's never, EVER been an issue.
So WTF happened today?
If I did it all the same way, with nothing amiss, then why did it crumble, split, crack and fall out in chunks? I'll tell you why:
My other!
She heard me brag on myself, and gently razz her memory about it, and then she sabotaged it.
Stop laughing! I'm serious! I didn't see a ghost or apparition or anything of the supernatural sort, but I think she 'heard' me say what I said about it being perfect and then decided to wreck it the next time I made it. Which she did. She never did like to be teased about her cooking...
Teach me to be all full of myself!!!
Hey, it's the only logical and plausible explanation of the wrecked sour cream coffee cake because until yesterday, I always made it perfectly. Every good streak comes to an end... but not usually by virtue of my dead mother!
Seriously!
Maggie
I've made this cake several times over the years. I don't usually make it on just Christmas like my mother always did; I make just about any time I get a craving for it. It's an easy recipe to make and not super time consuming either so I don't struggle too much.
The worst part of making this is taking it out of the pan. I make it in an angel food cake pan. My mother's recipe suggests this pan or a Bundt. It also says that after about 15 minutes to slide a butter knife around the edge, and I do. And around the thingy in the center and I do that, too. And it says to flip it on a small drinking glass... I do not do that. I usually just flip it on a cooling rack and then turn it onto a fancy cake plate. I want it to drop perfectly onto the rack. I don't want it to break, crumble or crack. In all the times I've made this cake the last several years, it's come out PERFECTLY. Never have I messed it up. Ever. It's been picture perfect every time- like photograph it for a magazine perfect.
The last time I made it, I even commented to Daddy-O that I couldn't understand why my late mother always complained about hard it was to make. It's easy, I thought. I also said I couldn't understand why she always had it fall apart, more times than not, when mine always came out perfectly. He and I snickered about it, not in a mean way, and ate the picture looking cake I managed to always bake.
Until yesterday... damn it!
I made it for breakfast yesterday morning. I used the same ingredients that I always use. I'm not kidding on the 'same ingredients' thing either. I buy the same name brands all the time. I use the same bowls and measuring utensils. I measure every single item, every single time. I use the same mixer. I do the recipe steps in the same order. I use the same oven. I even use the same CAKE PLATE! I never deviate. I even have a special weird way of greasing the pan and I do it the same way. This is almost OCD/ ritualistic in the making of the sour cream coffee cake. I want to make it clear that I didn't buy different sour cream, or use old flour or eyeball an amount rather than measure or mix longer or shorter. I did it all the same as I always do.
Because I live in the Midwest, weather/ climate/ altitude doesn't really matter. And, to error on the side of over-explanation, I've made this all times of the day- morning, afternoon and evening. I've made it in all seasons: winter, summer, spring, fall. I've made it when it's been raining or snowing or hot or cold or humid. I've run the gambit and it's never, EVER been an issue.
So WTF happened today?
If I did it all the same way, with nothing amiss, then why did it crumble, split, crack and fall out in chunks? I'll tell you why:
My other!
She heard me brag on myself, and gently razz her memory about it, and then she sabotaged it.
Stop laughing! I'm serious! I didn't see a ghost or apparition or anything of the supernatural sort, but I think she 'heard' me say what I said about it being perfect and then decided to wreck it the next time I made it. Which she did. She never did like to be teased about her cooking...
Teach me to be all full of myself!!!
Hey, it's the only logical and plausible explanation of the wrecked sour cream coffee cake because until yesterday, I always made it perfectly. Every good streak comes to an end... but not usually by virtue of my dead mother!
Seriously!
Maggie
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Kitchen Essentials
I like cooking. Actually I love cooking. I wish I had more money so I could get more creative, and I wished in a bigger city so I had access to a larger pool of funky ingredients. But regardless of foodstuffs or location, there are certain things I need in my kitchen no matter what. I've found that if I live here, the Wild West or just anyplace where I've had a kitchen, I find I want the same things over and over again.
Every single kitchen must have aluminum foil. I use this all the time- in the oven and out. I cover cooking casseroles or tent it over stuff. Or wrap up left overs- whatever. I find if I'm doing something in the kitchen and am out of foil, I'm at a loss. And thankfully I can buy rolls of it for a $1 at Dollar Tree!!!
I think every kitchen needs 4-5 mixing bowls in various sizes, and at least one should be glass so it can go in the microwave. I find when I bake I need one for dry ingredients and one for wet and then always one to whisk the eggs in before I add to the rest of the recipe. Mixing bowls are a must- and lots of them. I like to stack them, too, like the Russian Matryoshka dolls.
Every kitchen needs multiple amounts of 9x13 pans, preferably glass ones with lids. I like to make a pan of brownies and a casserole at the same time so I need at least 2 pans. I like to have a few extra just to be on the safe side. I like the Pyrex Portables the best. And they stack nicely, too.
Wooden spoons and rubber spatulas are necessary. I like LOTS of wooden spoons. I used them for everything. I like that they can be used with any sort of pan- glass, non stick, plastic. The wooden spoon doesn't scratch anything. (And it's good to smack your kids with, too, or so my mom believed!!)
Tupperware containers are a must for every kitchen. And it doesn't have to be the Tupperware name brand; I like the disposable Glad containers or even Rubbermaid or Ziploc. It doesn't matter but I like those to store leftovers or use them to carry my lunch. And they're also good for things like paperclips, rubberbands, and other desk/ office supplies. Or for sewing or scrapbook stuff.
Non-stick spray like Pam. No kidding. Love it. I've been cooking and been out of it and I've stopped in the middle of meal prep to go and buy some.
I'm a firm believer in bottle scrub brushes. I clean everything with these.
I like lots of towels because I believe in kitchen cooties so I like to use a different one to dry dishes and another one to dray hands and another to wipe counters and another... well, you catch my drift. I also have several sets of measuring spoons and measuring cups.
The best thing of all, that I think every kitchen needs, is a Kitchen Aid Mixer. I do not have one of these but Daddy-O has one. I use it all the time. I have no idea how I lived all these years without one. OMG- it makes everything easier. I never want to use a hand held mixer again. It's an amazing "gadget". I might never move out of Daddy-O's house because of the Kitchen Aid Mixer. And allegedly there are attachments like a pasta maker! And the best part of all- these suckers come in PINK! Once, a long time ago, Curly said she'd buy me a pink one for a wedding gift if I ever married again. I often date a man and wonder if he's worth a mixer. Seriously. And the bowl has a handle! I have to say that other mixers are study like this and are pink but in this case, I honestly believe that the Kitchen Aid name brand/ product is necessary- no generic or knock offs. I love this thing.
So, other than food, I think these are the essentials that make cooking easier and fun. I think I'm gonna go and make something.... I'm hungry!
Chef Maggie
Every single kitchen must have aluminum foil. I use this all the time- in the oven and out. I cover cooking casseroles or tent it over stuff. Or wrap up left overs- whatever. I find if I'm doing something in the kitchen and am out of foil, I'm at a loss. And thankfully I can buy rolls of it for a $1 at Dollar Tree!!!
I think every kitchen needs 4-5 mixing bowls in various sizes, and at least one should be glass so it can go in the microwave. I find when I bake I need one for dry ingredients and one for wet and then always one to whisk the eggs in before I add to the rest of the recipe. Mixing bowls are a must- and lots of them. I like to stack them, too, like the Russian Matryoshka dolls.
Every kitchen needs multiple amounts of 9x13 pans, preferably glass ones with lids. I like to make a pan of brownies and a casserole at the same time so I need at least 2 pans. I like to have a few extra just to be on the safe side. I like the Pyrex Portables the best. And they stack nicely, too.
Wooden spoons and rubber spatulas are necessary. I like LOTS of wooden spoons. I used them for everything. I like that they can be used with any sort of pan- glass, non stick, plastic. The wooden spoon doesn't scratch anything. (And it's good to smack your kids with, too, or so my mom believed!!)
Tupperware containers are a must for every kitchen. And it doesn't have to be the Tupperware name brand; I like the disposable Glad containers or even Rubbermaid or Ziploc. It doesn't matter but I like those to store leftovers or use them to carry my lunch. And they're also good for things like paperclips, rubberbands, and other desk/ office supplies. Or for sewing or scrapbook stuff.
Non-stick spray like Pam. No kidding. Love it. I've been cooking and been out of it and I've stopped in the middle of meal prep to go and buy some.
I'm a firm believer in bottle scrub brushes. I clean everything with these.
I like lots of towels because I believe in kitchen cooties so I like to use a different one to dry dishes and another one to dray hands and another to wipe counters and another... well, you catch my drift. I also have several sets of measuring spoons and measuring cups.
The best thing of all, that I think every kitchen needs, is a Kitchen Aid Mixer. I do not have one of these but Daddy-O has one. I use it all the time. I have no idea how I lived all these years without one. OMG- it makes everything easier. I never want to use a hand held mixer again. It's an amazing "gadget". I might never move out of Daddy-O's house because of the Kitchen Aid Mixer. And allegedly there are attachments like a pasta maker! And the best part of all- these suckers come in PINK! Once, a long time ago, Curly said she'd buy me a pink one for a wedding gift if I ever married again. I often date a man and wonder if he's worth a mixer. Seriously. And the bowl has a handle! I have to say that other mixers are study like this and are pink but in this case, I honestly believe that the Kitchen Aid name brand/ product is necessary- no generic or knock offs. I love this thing.So, other than food, I think these are the essentials that make cooking easier and fun. I think I'm gonna go and make something.... I'm hungry!
Chef Maggie
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Ah, the sweetness!
I organized a cookie swap at work. I have no idea what got into me but 2 weeks ago I started pummeling our faculty with emails to see who wanted to be involved. By the deadline, there were 8 of us, which includes me.
The general concept is that each person in the swap would bake 1 sort of cookie. And they would bake 1 dozen of that type and give 1 dozen to each person... for those of you who don't know how a swap works. Then we all bring them together and we each get to leave with 1 dozen of seven types of cookies, in my case 7 since there were seven other people other than me.
So today was the big day for the cookie swap.
Well, I have to have that one secretary bowed out at the last minute, with good reason. Last night she went home to bake ans discovered her husband had dumped all her wheat flour and her white flour together in ONE CONTAINER. She lives in the country, about 20 minutes from a grocery store but her son lives in his own house on their farm property and her daughter lives 2 miles away down the road. So she called her daughter and borrowed the flour from her. Her next hurdle was that her husband also froze ALL their eggs. So she called her kids and managed to get enough eggs except for 2 and she had to use frozen ones. While she keeps running to her kids homes, she discovers her house is getting hotter and hotter.l Well, he husband was messing with their wood stove settings and by the time she could actually start baking it was 90 degrees in her house. And the butter she had in a bowl had completely melted. So the dough wouldn't hold together. She decided to just put the dough in the fridge overnight and got up at 4am this morning to bake. And when she did all cookies crumbled and couldn't rise- they were flat as pancakes. Then she decided screw it and she would buy cookies at the store. She had no cash on her except for a 100 dollar bill that her husband didn't have the bank teller break smaller. The grocery store she went to this morning at 7am didn't have change for a $100. So she said to hell with the cookie swap. And after all that we all felt sorry for her- wouldn't you????- and gave her cookies anyway!
Other than that mess and that one teacher made her grandmother's cookies and was up until 1 am (though she said baking is much more fun since she was drinking Blue Moon Winter ale) and that I ran out of butter in the middle and had to go to Wal-Mart in the middle of baking, at 8pm, in a deluge, all went smoothly. (Oh, I made Tea Cake Surprises- a dough cookie with a Hershey Kiss inside of it and then rolled in powdered sugar!)
So, we swapped cookies. I came home with a dozen of each of the following: Black Forest Cookies (cherry and chocolate cookies), cut out sugar cookies with frosting and sprinkles, Peanut Butter Blossoms (peanut butter cookies with a Hershey Kiss on the top), haystacks (Chow Mein Noodles covered in dark chocolate), fudge, and Pretzel turtles (pretzels with a Rolo Candy melted on the top and then a pecan set on it as the Rolo melted).
If you read my Twitter feed then you know that none of us here at home liked the haystacks and Daddy-O actually took them out for the birds. Everything else is YUMMERS!!!!!!
Here's the loot:
Wonder if I could convince people to do a cookie swap once a quarter????
Settling in for a sugar high,
Maggie
The general concept is that each person in the swap would bake 1 sort of cookie. And they would bake 1 dozen of that type and give 1 dozen to each person... for those of you who don't know how a swap works. Then we all bring them together and we each get to leave with 1 dozen of seven types of cookies, in my case 7 since there were seven other people other than me.
So today was the big day for the cookie swap.
Well, I have to have that one secretary bowed out at the last minute, with good reason. Last night she went home to bake ans discovered her husband had dumped all her wheat flour and her white flour together in ONE CONTAINER. She lives in the country, about 20 minutes from a grocery store but her son lives in his own house on their farm property and her daughter lives 2 miles away down the road. So she called her daughter and borrowed the flour from her. Her next hurdle was that her husband also froze ALL their eggs. So she called her kids and managed to get enough eggs except for 2 and she had to use frozen ones. While she keeps running to her kids homes, she discovers her house is getting hotter and hotter.l Well, he husband was messing with their wood stove settings and by the time she could actually start baking it was 90 degrees in her house. And the butter she had in a bowl had completely melted. So the dough wouldn't hold together. She decided to just put the dough in the fridge overnight and got up at 4am this morning to bake. And when she did all cookies crumbled and couldn't rise- they were flat as pancakes. Then she decided screw it and she would buy cookies at the store. She had no cash on her except for a 100 dollar bill that her husband didn't have the bank teller break smaller. The grocery store she went to this morning at 7am didn't have change for a $100. So she said to hell with the cookie swap. And after all that we all felt sorry for her- wouldn't you????- and gave her cookies anyway!
Other than that mess and that one teacher made her grandmother's cookies and was up until 1 am (though she said baking is much more fun since she was drinking Blue Moon Winter ale) and that I ran out of butter in the middle and had to go to Wal-Mart in the middle of baking, at 8pm, in a deluge, all went smoothly. (Oh, I made Tea Cake Surprises- a dough cookie with a Hershey Kiss inside of it and then rolled in powdered sugar!)
So, we swapped cookies. I came home with a dozen of each of the following: Black Forest Cookies (cherry and chocolate cookies), cut out sugar cookies with frosting and sprinkles, Peanut Butter Blossoms (peanut butter cookies with a Hershey Kiss on the top), haystacks (Chow Mein Noodles covered in dark chocolate), fudge, and Pretzel turtles (pretzels with a Rolo Candy melted on the top and then a pecan set on it as the Rolo melted).
If you read my Twitter feed then you know that none of us here at home liked the haystacks and Daddy-O actually took them out for the birds. Everything else is YUMMERS!!!!!!
Here's the loot:
Wonder if I could convince people to do a cookie swap once a quarter????
Settling in for a sugar high,
Maggie
Sunday, December 11, 2011
And that's all the randomness that's fit to print
I should've done posts called "25 days of Christmas socks" since I have enough to wear a pair for 25 days.
I think the new Chocolate diamonds are ugly. There. I said it. I think they look brown, dirty and cheap rather than elegant. Nasty.
I'm obsessed with the TV show Criminal Minds. I can kill you in about 50 ways and never get caught. Other than the fact blood is icky. I wish Cold Case and Without a Trace reruns were on here.
How lazy am I that I bought a fudge making kit rather than all the separate ingredients? All the stuff came in one box, with a pan. It's supposed to make 1.5 pounds. I thought a kit to allow me to make that much fudge at once is a good thing.
There's a student, a young man, who works with me in the library in the mornings. I want to give him a little Christmas gift. Any ideas? We have so many regulations I'm at a loss. I might just email his case worker to see if he has any suggestions. Cologne?
I organized a cookie swap at work. Seven people other than me agreed so I'll come home on Thursday with 7 dozen different types of cookies. I think I'm going to make 'Snowball Surprises.' These are a mildly sweet dough cookie with a Hershey kiss inside. YUM!
Speaking of cookies, the first week of my Christmas break I'm going to bake- cut out cookies are first on the list. And I'm going to try cranberry bread. And maybe make some mini whoopie pies.
Speaking of Christmas break, I have some serious shopping left--- but that's for a different post!
I had nothing to do this whole weekend. No solid plans where I was expected to be anywhere. I didn't even get called to sub on Friday so I basically slept and watched TV for the last 2 days. I haven't the concentration or patience to read or craft so I just camped in front of the TV and watched a bunch of TV. I haven't even tried to focus on a movie.
It was cold today. It never got above 25 degrees. Since I lived in the Wild West, I could say that's really not a big deal but it felt cold to me. The house was warm and comfy but I just felt cold which seems silly.
Mac saw the commercial for wateraid.org and he associated it with bad water in Africa. And he's decided I'm going to get dysentery if I go to Africa, and die, unless of course I get kidnapped, raped and killed by the freedom fighters first. Ugh!
Maggie
I think the new Chocolate diamonds are ugly. There. I said it. I think they look brown, dirty and cheap rather than elegant. Nasty.
I'm obsessed with the TV show Criminal Minds. I can kill you in about 50 ways and never get caught. Other than the fact blood is icky. I wish Cold Case and Without a Trace reruns were on here.
How lazy am I that I bought a fudge making kit rather than all the separate ingredients? All the stuff came in one box, with a pan. It's supposed to make 1.5 pounds. I thought a kit to allow me to make that much fudge at once is a good thing.
There's a student, a young man, who works with me in the library in the mornings. I want to give him a little Christmas gift. Any ideas? We have so many regulations I'm at a loss. I might just email his case worker to see if he has any suggestions. Cologne?
I organized a cookie swap at work. Seven people other than me agreed so I'll come home on Thursday with 7 dozen different types of cookies. I think I'm going to make 'Snowball Surprises.' These are a mildly sweet dough cookie with a Hershey kiss inside. YUM!
Speaking of cookies, the first week of my Christmas break I'm going to bake- cut out cookies are first on the list. And I'm going to try cranberry bread. And maybe make some mini whoopie pies.
Speaking of Christmas break, I have some serious shopping left--- but that's for a different post!
I had nothing to do this whole weekend. No solid plans where I was expected to be anywhere. I didn't even get called to sub on Friday so I basically slept and watched TV for the last 2 days. I haven't the concentration or patience to read or craft so I just camped in front of the TV and watched a bunch of TV. I haven't even tried to focus on a movie.
It was cold today. It never got above 25 degrees. Since I lived in the Wild West, I could say that's really not a big deal but it felt cold to me. The house was warm and comfy but I just felt cold which seems silly.
Mac saw the commercial for wateraid.org and he associated it with bad water in Africa. And he's decided I'm going to get dysentery if I go to Africa, and die, unless of course I get kidnapped, raped and killed by the freedom fighters first. Ugh!
Maggie
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
I give thanks for 4 days out of school
I'm pretty psyched about Thanksgiving because I don't have to cook. I don't mind cooking a big meal for a lot of people. It doesn't stress me out.
I remember whenever my mom was going to cook she would freak out because my evil grandmother would drive her nuts. She freaked about the food and the cleanliness of the house. And about how us kids were dressed. And and and---- the list goes on.
Now, me, I don't care. I can cook for a big group and what happens happens. I burn a turkey, then we eat all the other stuff. The spaghetti sticks, add more sauce. Something turns out gross, order a pizza. It doesn't throw me for a loop.
This year I'm happy because I am lazy. I don't feel like cooking one more friggin' meal, and I don't feel like cleaning up. I'm more than content to make the 3 hour drive to my cousin's house for Thanksgiving lunch and then drive back. I wish I knew someone here who invited me for supper that was having Thanksgiving meal, around 6:30pm, because I'd be home in time and go eat there, too.
I'm declaring it MY break. I don't have to work at all. Not any of my part time jobs. NONE of them! Can you believe it?!? I traded with a guy so he could be home with his grandbabies on Christmas eve and he's working my Thanksgiving- win/ win for us all! (This year my Bro works on Xmas Eve so I sure don't mind working for a guy so he can see his grandkids!).
I'm also NOT going shopping on Black Friday. I toyed with the idea and then last night I had to visit 2 grocery stores and I think the entire population of my whole county was split between those 2 places and that cured my Black Friday idea. Not a bloomin' chance! I think people who go out on that day are crazy. Brave but just slightly crazy. It's like a version of sky diving or something, and I am not willing to take my life into my own hands for a $25 discount on a shirt. (Maybe on shoes......)
I'm gonna read. Maybe see a few movies. Maybe drink Starbucks. I'm gonna sleep in. I might make some cards. Who knows?
I just know that I am NOT making Thanksgiving Dinner and I am NOT Black Friday shopping.
And you can't make me!
Maggie Mae
I remember whenever my mom was going to cook she would freak out because my evil grandmother would drive her nuts. She freaked about the food and the cleanliness of the house. And about how us kids were dressed. And and and---- the list goes on.
Now, me, I don't care. I can cook for a big group and what happens happens. I burn a turkey, then we eat all the other stuff. The spaghetti sticks, add more sauce. Something turns out gross, order a pizza. It doesn't throw me for a loop.
This year I'm happy because I am lazy. I don't feel like cooking one more friggin' meal, and I don't feel like cleaning up. I'm more than content to make the 3 hour drive to my cousin's house for Thanksgiving lunch and then drive back. I wish I knew someone here who invited me for supper that was having Thanksgiving meal, around 6:30pm, because I'd be home in time and go eat there, too.
I'm declaring it MY break. I don't have to work at all. Not any of my part time jobs. NONE of them! Can you believe it?!? I traded with a guy so he could be home with his grandbabies on Christmas eve and he's working my Thanksgiving- win/ win for us all! (This year my Bro works on Xmas Eve so I sure don't mind working for a guy so he can see his grandkids!).
I'm also NOT going shopping on Black Friday. I toyed with the idea and then last night I had to visit 2 grocery stores and I think the entire population of my whole county was split between those 2 places and that cured my Black Friday idea. Not a bloomin' chance! I think people who go out on that day are crazy. Brave but just slightly crazy. It's like a version of sky diving or something, and I am not willing to take my life into my own hands for a $25 discount on a shirt. (Maybe on shoes......)
I'm gonna read. Maybe see a few movies. Maybe drink Starbucks. I'm gonna sleep in. I might make some cards. Who knows?
I just know that I am NOT making Thanksgiving Dinner and I am NOT Black Friday shopping.
And you can't make me!
Maggie Mae
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Perfect ending to a nice holiday
I wish I had another week of vacation to recover from my vacation. I didn't do anything I wanted expect relax and run around. I want more time. Oh yes, me so stingy with it.
It's got to 86 degrees here and sunny today. It was incredible.
It was such a great day to end spring break that we grilled out. ITSam bought steaks and brats. I made roast garlic and rosemary roast potatoes and a huge salad. And, of course, iced sun tea and strawberry shortcake. Ah, yummy. The first grilled meal of the season. I plan on grilling 3-4 times a week from here on out. I think I might actually learn how to use the grill so I can do it anytime and not rely on anyone else to cook for me like that.
I remember once when I lived in Northern Civilization about 9-10 years ago. I had a nice grill that was charcoal. I thought I knew how to use that. I had people over and was going to grill. I thought, "how hard can it be, really?"
We were all standing outside in the driveway, drinking margaritas and beers. For whatever reason I wanted to speed things up so I squirted some lighter fluid on the coals and flicked the lid shut. Then opened it five minutes later and a huge flame ball burst straight up into the air.
Catching the garage of my rental condo on fire. Shit.
We grabbed a garden hose and sprayed down the garage and the grill and the yards, my car and each other. By the time it was all said and done with, we put the grill stuff away and ordered a bunch of pizzas. And drank more.
Then over the next few weeks my friends showed up to help me repair and repaint the garage since my landlord was in Iraq. I was really glad I was close friends with her, and with his fiancee who was watching over things. And who was also at the house the day of the "infamous Maggie learns to grill day."
Today was a much better grilling experience. I stayed in the house and made salad, the potatoes, the Italian bread, and the homemade shortcake. Daddy-O kept ITSam company and they manned the grill. We ate until we were stuffed. The cleaning up was easy.
And the nice walk after dinner in the breeze was just grand.
Spring has sprung for sure.
Maggie
It's got to 86 degrees here and sunny today. It was incredible.
It was such a great day to end spring break that we grilled out. ITSam bought steaks and brats. I made roast garlic and rosemary roast potatoes and a huge salad. And, of course, iced sun tea and strawberry shortcake. Ah, yummy. The first grilled meal of the season. I plan on grilling 3-4 times a week from here on out. I think I might actually learn how to use the grill so I can do it anytime and not rely on anyone else to cook for me like that.
I remember once when I lived in Northern Civilization about 9-10 years ago. I had a nice grill that was charcoal. I thought I knew how to use that. I had people over and was going to grill. I thought, "how hard can it be, really?"
We were all standing outside in the driveway, drinking margaritas and beers. For whatever reason I wanted to speed things up so I squirted some lighter fluid on the coals and flicked the lid shut. Then opened it five minutes later and a huge flame ball burst straight up into the air.
Catching the garage of my rental condo on fire. Shit.
We grabbed a garden hose and sprayed down the garage and the grill and the yards, my car and each other. By the time it was all said and done with, we put the grill stuff away and ordered a bunch of pizzas. And drank more.
Then over the next few weeks my friends showed up to help me repair and repaint the garage since my landlord was in Iraq. I was really glad I was close friends with her, and with his fiancee who was watching over things. And who was also at the house the day of the "infamous Maggie learns to grill day."
Today was a much better grilling experience. I stayed in the house and made salad, the potatoes, the Italian bread, and the homemade shortcake. Daddy-O kept ITSam company and they manned the grill. We ate until we were stuffed. The cleaning up was easy.
And the nice walk after dinner in the breeze was just grand.
Spring has sprung for sure.
Maggie
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
#7- Cooking something I never made before
One of my 40 things to do before I turn 40 is expand my cooking horizons. I said I wanted to cook something exotic or something I've never fixed before. I have no idea what I meant when I wrote exotic. Did that mean some weird ingredient or what? Nothing I fixed was exotic. I wasn't sure what I was thinking and other than being expensive or strange, I couldn't think of exotic food. I went with stuff I knew everyone would probably like with ingredients I could afford, a twist on normal foods, I guess!
Also, I thought, once I got on a roll, I'd do more than one dish. So here are my efforts and the recipes! Enjoy!
__________________________
Ever since my mom died, my family and I have been trying to re-create some of her dishes, often to no avail. I don't think I'll ever get her potato soup right. Ever. However, I've never, in my life made chili, so I think I was channeling my mom, because I nailed her soup. Daddy-O and I brainstormed about what was in it and we got the ingredients. We had no idea of how much of anything so it was a guess, and a good one at that. And for the first time making chili, I was pretty happy- it was a nice memory, a good taste, and a warm yummy dish for a cold, winter day! So, here's the recipe for my mom's chili. (I also want to say, I don't really like chili very much, but this really appeals to me!!!)
With the chili we had crackers, cheese and corn bread muffins, from scratch!
Mom's Chili:
1 large can of tomato soup
1 can of dark kidney beans with the juice
1 can of light kidney beans drained
24 ounces of tomato juice
1 can of black beans, drained
1 pound of hamburger, browned and drained. I cooked a small very well diced onion with the hamburger.
2 teaspoons of mild chili pepper
2 tablespoons of salt
3 dashes of pepper
Put everything into a stock pot and cook on very low heat, covered, for 60 minutes. Cook another 2 hours uncovered, stirring occasionally.
______________________________
Fried Green Beans
2 cans of cut green beans, drained
milk
Italian Bread crumbs
Parmesan cheese
olive oil
Heat olive oil in pan until hot. Combine bread crumbs and cheese together in a shallow pan. Dip green beans in milk. Roll beans in bread crumb/ cheese mixture. Brush off excess. Put in hot oil for 4 minutes. Scoop out of pan with slotted spoon and lay on paper towel. Salt while still hot. Serve while very warm.
Everyone really liked these and requested I make them again. They were pretty good. So good they were gone before I got a picture! (tonight I also made lemon pepper cod and salmon, and roasted new red garlic potatoes to go with the beans!)
______________
Oven Ranch Chicken
It's really saying something about how much I love this recipe because it's a school cafeteria recipe. Yes, you read this right: this chicken is SCHOOL FOOD!!!! I asked the woman in the cafeteria and she shared. I gave it a whirl at home and while mine was good, I think the school's is better. I think this is so because I used dark and white meat chicken, with bone in. At school, they always make it with boneless, skinless chicken breasts on 'Wellness Wednesdays'. I think that had something to do with making it crispier. Not the wellness part but being white meat and boneless part.
Again, this was a popular dish and everyone voted I fix it again! (We had Julianne cheese potatoes and mixed veggies with the chicken.)
Oven Ranch Chicken
Also, I thought, once I got on a roll, I'd do more than one dish. So here are my efforts and the recipes! Enjoy!
__________________________
Ever since my mom died, my family and I have been trying to re-create some of her dishes, often to no avail. I don't think I'll ever get her potato soup right. Ever. However, I've never, in my life made chili, so I think I was channeling my mom, because I nailed her soup. Daddy-O and I brainstormed about what was in it and we got the ingredients. We had no idea of how much of anything so it was a guess, and a good one at that. And for the first time making chili, I was pretty happy- it was a nice memory, a good taste, and a warm yummy dish for a cold, winter day! So, here's the recipe for my mom's chili. (I also want to say, I don't really like chili very much, but this really appeals to me!!!)With the chili we had crackers, cheese and corn bread muffins, from scratch!
Mom's Chili:
1 large can of tomato soup
1 can of dark kidney beans with the juice
1 can of light kidney beans drained
24 ounces of tomato juice
1 can of black beans, drained
1 pound of hamburger, browned and drained. I cooked a small very well diced onion with the hamburger.
2 teaspoons of mild chili pepper
2 tablespoons of salt
3 dashes of pepper
Put everything into a stock pot and cook on very low heat, covered, for 60 minutes. Cook another 2 hours uncovered, stirring occasionally.
______________________________
Fried Green Beans
2 cans of cut green beans, drained
milk
Italian Bread crumbs
Parmesan cheese
olive oil
Heat olive oil in pan until hot. Combine bread crumbs and cheese together in a shallow pan. Dip green beans in milk. Roll beans in bread crumb/ cheese mixture. Brush off excess. Put in hot oil for 4 minutes. Scoop out of pan with slotted spoon and lay on paper towel. Salt while still hot. Serve while very warm.
Everyone really liked these and requested I make them again. They were pretty good. So good they were gone before I got a picture! (tonight I also made lemon pepper cod and salmon, and roasted new red garlic potatoes to go with the beans!)
______________
Oven Ranch Chicken
It's really saying something about how much I love this recipe because it's a school cafeteria recipe. Yes, you read this right: this chicken is SCHOOL FOOD!!!! I asked the woman in the cafeteria and she shared. I gave it a whirl at home and while mine was good, I think the school's is better. I think this is so because I used dark and white meat chicken, with bone in. At school, they always make it with boneless, skinless chicken breasts on 'Wellness Wednesdays'. I think that had something to do with making it crispier. Not the wellness part but being white meat and boneless part.
Again, this was a popular dish and everyone voted I fix it again! (We had Julianne cheese potatoes and mixed veggies with the chicken.)
Oven Ranch Chicken
6-8 chicken breasts (though I made it with bone in chicken, it is best with boneless!)
16 oz sour cream
1 pkg dry ranch dressing ( mix with crumbs)
cracker crumbs or Italian bread crumbs (which ever you prefer)
butter
Take thawed chicken and rub/coat with sour cream and then dip them into the cracker mix. Drizzle melted butter over the top and bake covered at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until done. Bake uncovered the last 10-15 minutes to crisp up the chicken.
Happy cooking!
Maggie
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Random Random Random
I want to learn how to play the violin and the guitar and the piano. Sounds like I want to be my own band...
The Glee Soundtracks are my current favorite musical conglomeration ever.
I love my new cell phone/ hand held computer- the HTC, but the battery life sucks, sucks, sucks.
I'm going to make jello-o cake this weekend. My biggest challenge will be deciding on cherry or orange.
ITSam has his son this weekend and I don't have to work so I'm going to hang out and do nothing. Oh yeah, I couldn't do anything if I wanted since I don't HAVE A CAR.
ITSam had to explain condoms to his 11 year old son. I'm glad I wasn't around when they had discussion. I'm the parent who gave Mac all his sex talks. Once in my life for that was enough. Though, at lunch the other day, Princess actually asked me how lesbians had sex. Ugh!
Speaking of Princess, her bio-mom is coming to visit her this weekend. Gee, that's nice.
I took one knitting class. Is that enough to cross something off the 40 for 40?
Because of the asshat mechanics, I had to miss zumba this week. So much for being on an exercise roll.
I hate March.
Maggie the grump
The Glee Soundtracks are my current favorite musical conglomeration ever.
I love my new cell phone/ hand held computer- the HTC, but the battery life sucks, sucks, sucks.
I'm going to make jello-o cake this weekend. My biggest challenge will be deciding on cherry or orange.
ITSam has his son this weekend and I don't have to work so I'm going to hang out and do nothing. Oh yeah, I couldn't do anything if I wanted since I don't HAVE A CAR.
ITSam had to explain condoms to his 11 year old son. I'm glad I wasn't around when they had discussion. I'm the parent who gave Mac all his sex talks. Once in my life for that was enough. Though, at lunch the other day, Princess actually asked me how lesbians had sex. Ugh!
Speaking of Princess, her bio-mom is coming to visit her this weekend. Gee, that's nice.
I took one knitting class. Is that enough to cross something off the 40 for 40?
Because of the asshat mechanics, I had to miss zumba this week. So much for being on an exercise roll.
I hate March.
Maggie the grump
Friday, December 10, 2010
Christmas Food
I'm starved, hence a post about Christmas food. Okay, I'm always starved or hungry or eating which is why I am huge right now, or at least I feel huge right now! I'm also writing a list of all the yummies I want to fix over Christmas. Then I'm going on a diet.
Anyway, Christmas food. The best kind of food ever. I have so many memories associate with food and the holidays.
On Christmas morning we had a traditional brunch meal. Mom ALWAYS made the staples- bacon/ cheese casserole. My son eats almost a whole one all by himself. She also made a hash brown casserole, like the one they sell at Cracker Barrel- also some of the best food on the face of the earth. We had juice and coffee. We also had fruit salad, which can change continents yearly, but still a fruit salad of some sort. Once we even had fruit slush which we all loved, but I don't think that made the holiday menu again- it got deregulated to a lesser holiday, something like a Memorial Day picnic food. I might have to bring that back- okay, adding that to the aforementioned list! I will be recreating this meal on Christmas day, of course! And since I love you all, if you click right here it will take you to an old post I wrote that includes the recipe. I know, ya'll are probably tired of me praising this casserole but I can't help it. It. is. that. GOOD!
Then there's the sweet bread. This is the only reason to have breakfast/ brunch on Christmas morning in my family, in my opinion. This must occur before gifts are unceremoniously ripped open. This is the true meaning of Christmas...Okay, not really, but this is seriously the world's most perfect food. Without a doubt. This is most perfect coffee cake in all of history. Jesus could come to Earth and eat this cake and know it was better and more miraculous than walking on water. He would've fed this with the fish instead of loaves- the story would be "fish and coffee cake." Sour cream coffee cake. It's so good I could eat a whole one by myself. And if you think I'm kidding, well...I wish but no. I LOVE this stuff. I look forward to it all year. This is the most moist cake ever. It is the perfect blend of cinnamon and goodness and just...Heaven on a plate. I swear to God if I had to pick between a lifetime of going without chocolate or the coffee cake, I would put Hershey's out of business. It is a true toss up between coffee cake and sex as to which is better and I think coffee cake wins. Seriously, this is some fabulous baked goods. Momma made it in a special pan with a hole in it- not a mere bunt pan but some other special coffee cake baking dish. And it MUST be served on the cut glass crystal pedestal cake plate that is never used the rest of the year. This pan and this plate enhance the taste and enjoyability of the sour cream coffee cake as a whole. I dig this coffee cake. You know when you were a kid and said "if you love it so much why doncha marry it?" Well, show me where to sign... Bliss. True bliss. I love Mac more, but barely... And now I have this recipe and I can make it myself. I've done it and it turned out just like mom's! And since I love you all, and since I've written about this food before, you can click here to go back to an old post for the recipe!
We always had special foods like munchies and appetizers on the day when we would decorate the house. Why did those taste better when eaten with an associated activity like decorating trees? Once, I ate little hot dogs in sauce at a Super Bowl party and they just tasted wrong, like I violated the Christmas Food treaty or something.
My Grandma F (the good grandmother) always made a tureen of wassail to drink. It was sooooooo good. I think it was because it was in a tureen. How often do you ever really get any sort of food out of a container called a tureen? Doesn't that just class it up some how? And calling is wassail- rather than hot apple juice? Com'on ya gotta love it! A tureen of wassail- how cool is that? And served in special matching cups, to boot! She always had cheese and crackers too. There was an orange cheese spread that I loved. It was an unnatural shade of orange- almost a day-glo orange that isn't really in the color spectrum at all. I loved this cheese and again, we only had it at Christmas time. I remember a few years ago I went to the market with my mom (obviously when she was still alive) and we were reminiscing about the cheese at Grandma F's (yeah I loving reflected back on a past cheese experience- how weird is THAT?!). Since she passed away, there was no more orange cheese spread. I was laughing about how I always craved it around Christmas. And you know what? My mom, being the all knowing goddess about these types of things because she was just that sort of super prepared person, told me it was right there in the store. In a normal store- a mortal Kroger's!We just went right up to a display and there it was. It came in a JAR! Cheese in a jar is just unnatural, I realize, but this stuff was 1980's Frankie Says Orange so how natural could it be to start with? It is Kraft pimento Cheese spread. That's all it was. And for years I thought my Grandma F had the market cornered on some special Christmas Cheese from a special Christmas Cheese Store. Wonders never cease!
My mom also had an amazing cookie recipe for cut out holiday cookies. The kind you roll out and use cookie cutters and stuff? I love these as well. One year mom made a huge batch of these and they were on a pretty lil' holiday plate on the coffee table. The family adjourns to the dining room for brunch on Christmas morning (or as I like to call it "Sour Cream Coffee Cake TIME"!) . After the meal we return back to the living room and the entire plate of cookies is gone. Now this wasn't a cute little "Santa must've eaten the cookies" thing. This was a "where the Hell did all the cookies go" thing!?! Come to find out the dog liked the cookies too, to the tune of an entire plate full. The coffee table with the cookies in the middle of an empty room and just at her eye level proved to be too much temptation and she polished off the whole thing. Whilst Bro and I debated killing the animal, dad help her flee to the backyard for her safety. Mom, however, being the brilliant woman she is, pulled another bag of cookies from her hiding place and we again had cookies. Bro and I guarded them, almost smacking Daddy-O's hand as he tried to pilfer one-oops!
I must mention the pumpkin roll. About 15 years ago, I guess, mom found this at a bazaar or at a bake sale or something and we all thought we had died and gone to pumpkin heaven. It was cold bread or something like that with cream cheese frosting all in a roll, then chilled and sliced. This was some awesome stuff. We loved it so much that the next year mom called people in town until she got the recipe out of some woman. Bro and I were ready to kick some tail if this chick wouldn't have freed the recipe. So needless to say, we add pumpkin roll to the ever growing list of foods I forever associate with Christmas. (An aside: I love cream cheese frosting. The world is good when there's cream cheese frosting. There would be no wars if we covered all soldiers in the world in cream cheese frosting. Hand me cream cheese frosting and I promise to love you forever...or until the frosting runs out...! Life is better overall with cream cheese frosting!).
Yes, I realize this is mostly sweet yummys. Yes, I realize it's a lot of calories and junk, but it's Christmas. And I like it. I love it. I want some more of it. One side of my family is from the south and food goes with everything- funerals, celebration, surgeries, stopping by while on a Sunday drive, you name it, we eat regardless of the event- have gall bladder surgery and the family has a carry in (and ya'll get something covered in mushroom soup, in addition to a jello-mold with fruit in it!). So it goes to show that at Christmas time we are so gonna indulge and pig out. It's part of my heritage and cul-ture! And I love food. So hand me the sour cream coffee cake and nobody gets hurt!
Maggie
Anyway, Christmas food. The best kind of food ever. I have so many memories associate with food and the holidays.
On Christmas morning we had a traditional brunch meal. Mom ALWAYS made the staples- bacon/ cheese casserole. My son eats almost a whole one all by himself. She also made a hash brown casserole, like the one they sell at Cracker Barrel- also some of the best food on the face of the earth. We had juice and coffee. We also had fruit salad, which can change continents yearly, but still a fruit salad of some sort. Once we even had fruit slush which we all loved, but I don't think that made the holiday menu again- it got deregulated to a lesser holiday, something like a Memorial Day picnic food. I might have to bring that back- okay, adding that to the aforementioned list! I will be recreating this meal on Christmas day, of course! And since I love you all, if you click right here it will take you to an old post I wrote that includes the recipe. I know, ya'll are probably tired of me praising this casserole but I can't help it. It. is. that. GOOD!
Then there's the sweet bread. This is the only reason to have breakfast/ brunch on Christmas morning in my family, in my opinion. This must occur before gifts are unceremoniously ripped open. This is the true meaning of Christmas...Okay, not really, but this is seriously the world's most perfect food. Without a doubt. This is most perfect coffee cake in all of history. Jesus could come to Earth and eat this cake and know it was better and more miraculous than walking on water. He would've fed this with the fish instead of loaves- the story would be "fish and coffee cake." Sour cream coffee cake. It's so good I could eat a whole one by myself. And if you think I'm kidding, well...I wish but no. I LOVE this stuff. I look forward to it all year. This is the most moist cake ever. It is the perfect blend of cinnamon and goodness and just...Heaven on a plate. I swear to God if I had to pick between a lifetime of going without chocolate or the coffee cake, I would put Hershey's out of business. It is a true toss up between coffee cake and sex as to which is better and I think coffee cake wins. Seriously, this is some fabulous baked goods. Momma made it in a special pan with a hole in it- not a mere bunt pan but some other special coffee cake baking dish. And it MUST be served on the cut glass crystal pedestal cake plate that is never used the rest of the year. This pan and this plate enhance the taste and enjoyability of the sour cream coffee cake as a whole. I dig this coffee cake. You know when you were a kid and said "if you love it so much why doncha marry it?" Well, show me where to sign... Bliss. True bliss. I love Mac more, but barely... And now I have this recipe and I can make it myself. I've done it and it turned out just like mom's! And since I love you all, and since I've written about this food before, you can click here to go back to an old post for the recipe!
We always had special foods like munchies and appetizers on the day when we would decorate the house. Why did those taste better when eaten with an associated activity like decorating trees? Once, I ate little hot dogs in sauce at a Super Bowl party and they just tasted wrong, like I violated the Christmas Food treaty or something.
My Grandma F (the good grandmother) always made a tureen of wassail to drink. It was sooooooo good. I think it was because it was in a tureen. How often do you ever really get any sort of food out of a container called a tureen? Doesn't that just class it up some how? And calling is wassail- rather than hot apple juice? Com'on ya gotta love it! A tureen of wassail- how cool is that? And served in special matching cups, to boot! She always had cheese and crackers too. There was an orange cheese spread that I loved. It was an unnatural shade of orange- almost a day-glo orange that isn't really in the color spectrum at all. I loved this cheese and again, we only had it at Christmas time. I remember a few years ago I went to the market with my mom (obviously when she was still alive) and we were reminiscing about the cheese at Grandma F's (yeah I loving reflected back on a past cheese experience- how weird is THAT?!). Since she passed away, there was no more orange cheese spread. I was laughing about how I always craved it around Christmas. And you know what? My mom, being the all knowing goddess about these types of things because she was just that sort of super prepared person, told me it was right there in the store. In a normal store- a mortal Kroger's!We just went right up to a display and there it was. It came in a JAR! Cheese in a jar is just unnatural, I realize, but this stuff was 1980's Frankie Says Orange so how natural could it be to start with? It is Kraft pimento Cheese spread. That's all it was. And for years I thought my Grandma F had the market cornered on some special Christmas Cheese from a special Christmas Cheese Store. Wonders never cease!
My mom also had an amazing cookie recipe for cut out holiday cookies. The kind you roll out and use cookie cutters and stuff? I love these as well. One year mom made a huge batch of these and they were on a pretty lil' holiday plate on the coffee table. The family adjourns to the dining room for brunch on Christmas morning (or as I like to call it "Sour Cream Coffee Cake TIME"!) . After the meal we return back to the living room and the entire plate of cookies is gone. Now this wasn't a cute little "Santa must've eaten the cookies" thing. This was a "where the Hell did all the cookies go" thing!?! Come to find out the dog liked the cookies too, to the tune of an entire plate full. The coffee table with the cookies in the middle of an empty room and just at her eye level proved to be too much temptation and she polished off the whole thing. Whilst Bro and I debated killing the animal, dad help her flee to the backyard for her safety. Mom, however, being the brilliant woman she is, pulled another bag of cookies from her hiding place and we again had cookies. Bro and I guarded them, almost smacking Daddy-O's hand as he tried to pilfer one-oops!
I must mention the pumpkin roll. About 15 years ago, I guess, mom found this at a bazaar or at a bake sale or something and we all thought we had died and gone to pumpkin heaven. It was cold bread or something like that with cream cheese frosting all in a roll, then chilled and sliced. This was some awesome stuff. We loved it so much that the next year mom called people in town until she got the recipe out of some woman. Bro and I were ready to kick some tail if this chick wouldn't have freed the recipe. So needless to say, we add pumpkin roll to the ever growing list of foods I forever associate with Christmas. (An aside: I love cream cheese frosting. The world is good when there's cream cheese frosting. There would be no wars if we covered all soldiers in the world in cream cheese frosting. Hand me cream cheese frosting and I promise to love you forever...or until the frosting runs out...! Life is better overall with cream cheese frosting!).
Yes, I realize this is mostly sweet yummys. Yes, I realize it's a lot of calories and junk, but it's Christmas. And I like it. I love it. I want some more of it. One side of my family is from the south and food goes with everything- funerals, celebration, surgeries, stopping by while on a Sunday drive, you name it, we eat regardless of the event- have gall bladder surgery and the family has a carry in (and ya'll get something covered in mushroom soup, in addition to a jello-mold with fruit in it!). So it goes to show that at Christmas time we are so gonna indulge and pig out. It's part of my heritage and cul-ture! And I love food. So hand me the sour cream coffee cake and nobody gets hurt!
Maggie
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Rise up and celebrate the Dead
I was debating writing about my weekend, taking Princess and Mac to the orchard and picking their own pumpkins, which I've called "Adventure in the Pumpkin Patch." I was also thinking of kvetching about my new job which I HATE HATE HATE. But Mac gave me some fodder so the job bellyaching, and the weekend recap will have to wait. I want to talk about bread.
Last week, Mac's Spanish teacher explained the idea of the celebration of "The Day of the Dead." The class opted to have a celebration and the Day of the Dead is today, Nov. 2. Last week all the kids signed up to bring treats for which they would earn extra credit. Mac had a B+ at the quarter but he said it's getting harder so he signed up; he figured a little extra credit wouldn't hurt anyone, especially him.
Now Mac didn't sign up for a yummy dessert or a veggie tray or to even bring the stupid cups and plates. He signed up to bring "dead bread." That's right, he agreed to make something called dead bread. He told me of this last Thursday and I asked him if he had the recipe. He said it was in his locker. I repeat, LAST Thursday night, when at home, I asked to see it and he forgot- it was still in his locker. I reminded him at school on Friday to bring it home. When I asked him to see it again on Sunday, before I went to the market, he had still forgotten it. So now, I knew we had to make something called Dead Bread on Monday night for him to bring to school on Tuesday morning. In reality, I was thinking this was going to be some sort of sweet cake thing, or something like corn meal or a box cake mix. I was thinking I probably had all the ingredients at home and it would be a quick cake mix and go.
Boy was I freakin' wrong. Mac DID give me the recipe. On the way home from school yesterday. For me to read while I was driving. And it involved YEAST! Damn YEAST! Which means it would have to RISE! At least 1 HOUR or MORE. So, I was working at school until 5pm today when I saw it. Mac had play practice at 6pm so I was going to have to go to the market to buy some stupid YEAST and then make it my damn self since Mac was going to be gone all evening.
But wait, it gets better!
Daddy-O went to Bro and SisIL's for dinner and Mac took my car to play practice and I hadn't gone to the store to buy yeast so I couldn't even start on it while he was gone. DOH! I thought I would be smart and I sent Daddy-O a message, begging him to get yeast on his way home. He forgot. So at 8pm I went to the store to get yeast.
When I came home Mac had started blending the dry ingredients and melting and boiling the others. We dumped it all in a bowl to blend and I see that I bought... rapid rise yeast. Well fuck. Also, Mac was acting like a child (or since he's almost an adult, I could call him a pompous ass) demanding HE was going to do it, but then he asked me a million questions and then half of the time he didn't listen to what I had to say, anyway. I was trying to teach him something since I love to bake bread and have done it on many occasions, but he was just like a bull in a china shop. There was flour everywhere.
So the dough was ready to come out of the mixing bowl and onto the board for kneading. I told him to flour his hands and tip the dough out and use his floured hands to get the rest of the sticky dough out of the bowl. It didn't go like that. He had dough ALL OVER THE PLACE- the counter, the board, the bowl, still on the beater... for Pete's sake, in his hair!! I kept giving him more flour and I have no idea what he did but it was one huge sticky mess. Come to find out he didn't add the last cup of flour because he didn't read the rest of the recipe. Well no damn wonder it was a sticky mess!!!!
I floured up and we finally got the dough on the board. There was flour now ALL OVER THE PLACE- hair (his and mine), counter, floor, our persons and not nearly enough on the dough. Watching him knead was hysterical. He was pushing it with his finger and then just wiggled it around. He sort of poked it and the whole time said it was gross. He pat it, too. I told him to quit complaining and that making bread could be sort of sensual.
Yes, I said that to my 17 year old son. I have no idea what I was thinking. It just popped right out. I showed him how to knead the dough and he continued telling me there was nothing sensual about it and he was going to school to tell people I thought making bread was sexy. I don't think I'm ever going to live it down. So I left him to the 8-10 minutes of kneading and I started cleaning the whole kitchen. Then I put some oil a bowl and told him to dump the dough in. He swirled the dough around the bowl and asked if that was sensual part since it was like lubing up.
Yeah...............
Oh by the way, dead bread is a slightly sweet yeast bread, baked in the shape of a dead body and then covered with an orange glaze.
After it double its size in just 45 minutes (thank GODDESS for rapid rise yeast!) he was to shape it into something. He wanted to make it into skull and crossbones. So he shaped it. Then we had to let it rise for about hour and bake for 40 minutes. Then brush warm bread with a warm orange glaze that he boiled. He kept saying "OMG, it's HUGE! WOW, it's huge! Is this why bread is sexy, because it's huge?"- then he cackled with giggles. Finally, last night a midnight, the bread was done and glazed. It doesn't look like a skull and crossbones, more like a cemetery with tombstones, I think?
When I was just a kid, I know I came home and told my mom I needed something for school the very next day, for a treat of some kind, but I never, in all my years, had her in a bread baking project that went into the wee hours of the morning and involved shaping said treat into the shape of dead bodies!
And I'm pretty proud of ol' fearless Mac. Other than the cleaning, providing supplies and a brief lesson of kneading, he did it all himself. He got himself into the idea so he took care of it. That kid will try anything once and has nerve. I'm proud of him.
And you might be wondering how we got this monstrosity to school since I don't happen to own Tupperware this large... well, if I told you that secret, I'd have to kill ya. Let's leave something to the imagination, alrighty?
God Bless extra credit,
Maggie
By the way, I didn't bother to proofread and I apologize. I wrote this at 1 am- post breadmaking...
Last week, Mac's Spanish teacher explained the idea of the celebration of "The Day of the Dead." The class opted to have a celebration and the Day of the Dead is today, Nov. 2. Last week all the kids signed up to bring treats for which they would earn extra credit. Mac had a B+ at the quarter but he said it's getting harder so he signed up; he figured a little extra credit wouldn't hurt anyone, especially him.
Now Mac didn't sign up for a yummy dessert or a veggie tray or to even bring the stupid cups and plates. He signed up to bring "dead bread." That's right, he agreed to make something called dead bread. He told me of this last Thursday and I asked him if he had the recipe. He said it was in his locker. I repeat, LAST Thursday night, when at home, I asked to see it and he forgot- it was still in his locker. I reminded him at school on Friday to bring it home. When I asked him to see it again on Sunday, before I went to the market, he had still forgotten it. So now, I knew we had to make something called Dead Bread on Monday night for him to bring to school on Tuesday morning. In reality, I was thinking this was going to be some sort of sweet cake thing, or something like corn meal or a box cake mix. I was thinking I probably had all the ingredients at home and it would be a quick cake mix and go.
Boy was I freakin' wrong. Mac DID give me the recipe. On the way home from school yesterday. For me to read while I was driving. And it involved YEAST! Damn YEAST! Which means it would have to RISE! At least 1 HOUR or MORE. So, I was working at school until 5pm today when I saw it. Mac had play practice at 6pm so I was going to have to go to the market to buy some stupid YEAST and then make it my damn self since Mac was going to be gone all evening.
But wait, it gets better!
Daddy-O went to Bro and SisIL's for dinner and Mac took my car to play practice and I hadn't gone to the store to buy yeast so I couldn't even start on it while he was gone. DOH! I thought I would be smart and I sent Daddy-O a message, begging him to get yeast on his way home. He forgot. So at 8pm I went to the store to get yeast.
When I came home Mac had started blending the dry ingredients and melting and boiling the others. We dumped it all in a bowl to blend and I see that I bought... rapid rise yeast. Well fuck. Also, Mac was acting like a child (or since he's almost an adult, I could call him a pompous ass) demanding HE was going to do it, but then he asked me a million questions and then half of the time he didn't listen to what I had to say, anyway. I was trying to teach him something since I love to bake bread and have done it on many occasions, but he was just like a bull in a china shop. There was flour everywhere.
So the dough was ready to come out of the mixing bowl and onto the board for kneading. I told him to flour his hands and tip the dough out and use his floured hands to get the rest of the sticky dough out of the bowl. It didn't go like that. He had dough ALL OVER THE PLACE- the counter, the board, the bowl, still on the beater... for Pete's sake, in his hair!! I kept giving him more flour and I have no idea what he did but it was one huge sticky mess. Come to find out he didn't add the last cup of flour because he didn't read the rest of the recipe. Well no damn wonder it was a sticky mess!!!!
I floured up and we finally got the dough on the board. There was flour now ALL OVER THE PLACE- hair (his and mine), counter, floor, our persons and not nearly enough on the dough. Watching him knead was hysterical. He was pushing it with his finger and then just wiggled it around. He sort of poked it and the whole time said it was gross. He pat it, too. I told him to quit complaining and that making bread could be sort of sensual.
Yes, I said that to my 17 year old son. I have no idea what I was thinking. It just popped right out. I showed him how to knead the dough and he continued telling me there was nothing sensual about it and he was going to school to tell people I thought making bread was sexy. I don't think I'm ever going to live it down. So I left him to the 8-10 minutes of kneading and I started cleaning the whole kitchen. Then I put some oil a bowl and told him to dump the dough in. He swirled the dough around the bowl and asked if that was sensual part since it was like lubing up.
Yeah...............
Oh by the way, dead bread is a slightly sweet yeast bread, baked in the shape of a dead body and then covered with an orange glaze.
After it double its size in just 45 minutes (thank GODDESS for rapid rise yeast!) he was to shape it into something. He wanted to make it into skull and crossbones. So he shaped it. Then we had to let it rise for about hour and bake for 40 minutes. Then brush warm bread with a warm orange glaze that he boiled. He kept saying "OMG, it's HUGE! WOW, it's huge! Is this why bread is sexy, because it's huge?"- then he cackled with giggles. Finally, last night a midnight, the bread was done and glazed. It doesn't look like a skull and crossbones, more like a cemetery with tombstones, I think?
When I was just a kid, I know I came home and told my mom I needed something for school the very next day, for a treat of some kind, but I never, in all my years, had her in a bread baking project that went into the wee hours of the morning and involved shaping said treat into the shape of dead bodies!
And I'm pretty proud of ol' fearless Mac. Other than the cleaning, providing supplies and a brief lesson of kneading, he did it all himself. He got himself into the idea so he took care of it. That kid will try anything once and has nerve. I'm proud of him.
And you might be wondering how we got this monstrosity to school since I don't happen to own Tupperware this large... well, if I told you that secret, I'd have to kill ya. Let's leave something to the imagination, alrighty?
God Bless extra credit,
Maggie
By the way, I didn't bother to proofread and I apologize. I wrote this at 1 am- post breadmaking...
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
I feel like pot roast tonight
One thing we all like is pot roast. And I can take about 15 minutes to put this together in a crock pot and it seems that I slaved all day long, when in reality I wasn't even home, but dinner is still served.
4 pounds of roast
1 medium onion- I don't like to eat onion but I like the flavor in this dish so I cut it in big chunks and stick it in a cheese cloth bag and throw it in
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 packet of French onion soup mix, dry
1 bottle of Merlot- I usually use a cheap bottle but one with a cork
2 1/2 cups water
5 beef bullion cubes
2 stalks of celery, chopped
6 new potatoes, chunked
4 Tablespoons of sea salt
1 pinch of fresh black pepper
2 bay leaves
sometimes carrots- Mac isn't a fan so it depends...
I throw all of this in the crock pot and set it on low and let it all just cook together all day long. I make some changes occasionally. Sometimes I don't mince the garlic but use a knife and shove the pieces of garlic into the roast. Sometimes I don't even have garlic because of where I live so I use garlic salt and coat the roast with it, thus omitting the 4 tablespoons of sea salt at the end... Sometimes I leave out the potatoes, celery, and carrots and just do the meat this way- when I do that, I don't change anything to the recipe, I just omit those three items. Sometimes I omit the onion but used dried minced onion, about 3 tablespoons.
4 pounds of roast
1 medium onion- I don't like to eat onion but I like the flavor in this dish so I cut it in big chunks and stick it in a cheese cloth bag and throw it in
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 packet of French onion soup mix, dry
1 bottle of Merlot- I usually use a cheap bottle but one with a cork
2 1/2 cups water
5 beef bullion cubes
2 stalks of celery, chopped
6 new potatoes, chunked
4 Tablespoons of sea salt
1 pinch of fresh black pepper
2 bay leaves
sometimes carrots- Mac isn't a fan so it depends...
I throw all of this in the crock pot and set it on low and let it all just cook together all day long. I make some changes occasionally. Sometimes I don't mince the garlic but use a knife and shove the pieces of garlic into the roast. Sometimes I don't even have garlic because of where I live so I use garlic salt and coat the roast with it, thus omitting the 4 tablespoons of sea salt at the end... Sometimes I leave out the potatoes, celery, and carrots and just do the meat this way- when I do that, I don't change anything to the recipe, I just omit those three items. Sometimes I omit the onion but used dried minced onion, about 3 tablespoons.
Monday, September 13, 2010
Sour Cream Coffee Cake recipe
Last week I wrote about my successful cooking of my mom's famous Christmas food breakfast of bacon breakfast casserole and sour cream coffee cake. And I owed you all the recipe for the cake, so here it is! Enjoy! If I weren't so lazy I'd make another one today.
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 sticks of butter or margarine, softened
2 eggs
2 cups of flour
1 cup of sour cream
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1/2 cup of chopped pecans (optional- we never had these since my mom, bro and I are all allergic)
6 teaspoons of brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
Cream sugar and butter- use a mixer to make it very fluffy. Add eggs. sour cream, baking powder, salt and vanilla- continue mixing. Slowly add in the flour and continue mixing.
When all mixed smooth and lump-free, pour half of the batter in a GREASED tube pan. (I use either bundt or an angel food cake pan myself. And grease the pan even if it says it's a non stick one, especially if it's a bundt!)
Mix nuts brown sugar and cinnamon in a separate bowl and then sprinkle half of that mixture over the 1/2 batter in the pan. Pour remaining batter on top and then sprinkle the remaining brown sugar mixture on top of that.
Bake for 45 minutes-1 hour at 350. (Don't underbake like brownies. This shouldn't be gooey anywhere)
Love from the kitchen of Mags and her mom
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 sticks of butter or margarine, softened
2 eggs
2 cups of flour
1 cup of sour cream
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1/2 cup of chopped pecans (optional- we never had these since my mom, bro and I are all allergic)
6 teaspoons of brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
Cream sugar and butter- use a mixer to make it very fluffy. Add eggs. sour cream, baking powder, salt and vanilla- continue mixing. Slowly add in the flour and continue mixing.
When all mixed smooth and lump-free, pour half of the batter in a GREASED tube pan. (I use either bundt or an angel food cake pan myself. And grease the pan even if it says it's a non stick one, especially if it's a bundt!)
Mix nuts brown sugar and cinnamon in a separate bowl and then sprinkle half of that mixture over the 1/2 batter in the pan. Pour remaining batter on top and then sprinkle the remaining brown sugar mixture on top of that.
Bake for 45 minutes-1 hour at 350. (Don't underbake like brownies. This shouldn't be gooey anywhere)
Love from the kitchen of Mags and her mom
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Breakfast anyone?
I had many requests for the infamous breakfast casserole I wrote about yesterday so here is the recipe...
12 slices of bread, very lightly buttered on both sides (I use white, but I'm sure any sort would be fine. Rye will change the taste, of course. And a heavy grain will take it longer to bake)
1 pound of bacon (you may also use ham or sausage)
2 cups of milk
4 eggs
salt and pepper to taste
3/4 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
optional: dry mustard, 1 teaspoon
Cook bacon. Don't make it too crispy because you're going to cook it in the casserole. But don't leave it very raw. (I like crispy bacon to eat so I usually cook it like I would serve it but not as crispy) Blot off the grease.
Grease the bottom and sides of a 13x9 inch glass pan. Line pan with 6 pieces of the lightly buttered on both sides bread. Lay the bacon strips on the bread until it's covered. Then spread/ sprinkle the cheese over the meat and bread. Set aside.
In a separate bowl, combine the eggs, milk, and salt and pepper; (If you add the dry mustard, it goes in here) whip with a whisk until it's all mixed together. Set aside.
Lay the last 6 pieces of bread over the bacon/ cheese. Then pour the egg/ mixture over the whole thing.
Cover the pan and put in the fridge overnight.
The next day at any meal time, bake covered for 30 minutes at 350. Then, take the cover off (I used foil) and bake until the top is golden brown. The sides might be bubbly before the top is golden brown, but that's okay. I left it in for about 20-30 minutes to be golden brown.
Remove from oven and left stand for about 10 minutes before serving.
Enjoy! And tomorrow- the sour cream coffee cake!
Love,
Mags
"Maggie's mom's make ahead breakfast casserole" aka
"Best breakfast casserole in the whole freaking world"
12 slices of bread, very lightly buttered on both sides (I use white, but I'm sure any sort would be fine. Rye will change the taste, of course. And a heavy grain will take it longer to bake)
1 pound of bacon (you may also use ham or sausage)
2 cups of milk
4 eggs
salt and pepper to taste
3/4 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
optional: dry mustard, 1 teaspoon
Cook bacon. Don't make it too crispy because you're going to cook it in the casserole. But don't leave it very raw. (I like crispy bacon to eat so I usually cook it like I would serve it but not as crispy) Blot off the grease.
Grease the bottom and sides of a 13x9 inch glass pan. Line pan with 6 pieces of the lightly buttered on both sides bread. Lay the bacon strips on the bread until it's covered. Then spread/ sprinkle the cheese over the meat and bread. Set aside.
In a separate bowl, combine the eggs, milk, and salt and pepper; (If you add the dry mustard, it goes in here) whip with a whisk until it's all mixed together. Set aside.
Lay the last 6 pieces of bread over the bacon/ cheese. Then pour the egg/ mixture over the whole thing.
Cover the pan and put in the fridge overnight.
The next day at any meal time, bake covered for 30 minutes at 350. Then, take the cover off (I used foil) and bake until the top is golden brown. The sides might be bubbly before the top is golden brown, but that's okay. I left it in for about 20-30 minutes to be golden brown.
Remove from oven and left stand for about 10 minutes before serving.
Enjoy! And tomorrow- the sour cream coffee cake!
Love,
Mags
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
It was so good, and we're all still living to tell the tale
Many moons ago, Christmas of 2006, I wrote about Christmas food. Here's an excerpt of that post:
On Christmas morning we have a traditional brunch meal. Mom ALWAYS makes the staples- bacon/ cheese casserole. My son eats almost a whole one all by himself. She also makes a hash brown casserole, like the one they sell at Cracker Barrel- also some of the best food on the face of the earth. We have juice and coffee. We also have fruit salad, which can change continents yearly, but still a fruit salad of some sort. (Once we even had fruit slush which we all loved, but I don't think that made the holiday menu again- it got deregulated to a lesser holiday, something like a Memorial Day picnic food. Damn!)
Then there's the sweet bread. This is the sole reason to have breakfast/ brunch on Christmas morning, in my opinion. This must occur before gifts are unceremoniously ripped open. This is the true meaning of Christmas...Okay, not really, but this is seriously the world's most perfect food. Without a doubt. This is most perfect coffee cake in all of history. Jesus could come to Earth and eat this cake and know it was better and more miraculous than walking on water. He would've fed this with the fish instead of loaves- the story would be "fish and coffee cake." Sour cream coffee cake, not to be served any other time of year. Ever. No questions. It is reserved for Christmas morning alone. Do not tamper with this idea because it will NOT taste the same. It just isn't allowed. It is reserved specifically for Christmas morning. I eat a whole one by myself. And if you think I'm kidding, well...I wish but no. I LOVE this stuff. I look forward to it all year. This is the most moist cake ever. It is the perfect blend of cinnamon and goodness and just...Heaven on a plate. I swear to God if I had to pick between a lifetime of going without chocolate or the coffee cake, I would put Hershey's out of business. It is a true toss up between coffee cake and sex as to which is better and I think coffee cake wins. Seriously= this is some fabulous baked goods. Momma makes it in a special pan with a hole in it- not a mere bunt pan but some other special coffee cake baking dish. And it MUST be served on the cut glass crystal pedestal cake plate that is never used the rest of the year. This pan and this plate enhance the taste and enjoyability of the sour cream coffee cake as a whole. I dig this coffee cake. You know when you were a kid and said "if you love it so much why doncha marry it?" Well, show me where to sign... Bliss. True bliss. I love Mac more, but barely...
Ummmmm, well, uhhhhhhhh.... about last night.
Mac thinks the bacon/ cheese breakfast casserole is the best food on Earth and has been nagging and hounding me to make it for about 3 years. I never have. I have my mom's recipe but since she died, I've never fixed it, for one reason or another. I have idea how it came about but I think Mac drove me nuts until over the long weekend I agreed to make the damn thing for supper one night this week. (We are people who enjoy breakfast for dinner at our house.) It's a make ahead dish so on Monday night I put it together and served it for dinner last night.
And since I was making the Christmas casserole on a day that wasn't Christmas and not only was it not for a brunch, but for a dinner, I said 'what the hell' and made the infamous sour cream coffee cake as well. Yes, it's official. I broke the tradition. I made it on a regular old Tuesday in September. For dinner. I kept checking for stray lightening bolts from my mother. I'm not kidding. The woman wouldn't give us the recipe for the casserole nor the cake while she was alive because it was supposed to be SPECIAL ONLY FOR CHRISTMAS. But I couldn't make one without the other so I did.
ITSam came for dinner and be brought the fruit salad.
And the casserole was perfect. This Christmas when I make if for the entire family I'll need to make 2 or three because the four of us killed the entire thing in one sitting. I got it just like my mother's. I was shocked speechless. I couldn't speak but I sure ate. I was going to invite Bro's family but I was afraid if I screwed it up it would just ruin it all, ya know? So I used Daddy-O, Mac and ITSam for my trial run. If I can do it again on Christmas day, then we'll have a home run.
And as for the sour cream coffee cake... well, Daddy-O said it was better than my mother's. Oh. My. Goddess. I hope he didn't get struck my lightening today while no one was home for uttering such words. But it was good. My goodness sake's alive but was it ever good. Wow. I think there were 2 pieces left when I departed from the house this morning. I have a feeling there may be none when I get home. It was almost a surreal moment of eating. It should've been on Food Network, or I should've taken pictures. Sorry!!!
I also did not use the special dishes. I just used a regular old cake plate, and the fruit was in a plastic butter bowl. The casserole was in a plain old Pyrex dish. I didn't do the whole special serving process. No sirree, not even gonna tempt fate even more! Now I won't go abusing it or anything and making it all the time so it can hold some special memories for Christmas, but it didn't hurt anyone or anything to have it when it wasn't the holiday. Or at least that's my story and I'm sticking to it.
As long as there are no stray lightening bolts around...
Maggie
Friday, April 23, 2010
Cake Walk?
Tomorrow is Mac's un-surprise party and tonight I must get started on the preliminary preparations. What that entails is me baking cakes for the Mad Hatter Topsy- Turvy cake. Well, more specifically that means me making 7 cakes. Yes, you read that right, SEVEN cakes!
I'm going to make all the cakes tonight and put them in the freezer and refrigerator to chill. Tomorrow, around noon, XRay- Girl is coming over to help with the assembly. She makes cakes for people's parties and the like, and she a master cake decorator so she's going to be a pivotal part of the assembly and icing process.
We met earlier this week and "reviewed" our game plan- we printed the directions, read through them and discussed what they meant, found a bunch of pictures of the cake style, and we even watched a "how to" video of how to do this. We are ready. It was a good thing we did the prep meeting because, otherwise, we would've made all the cakes on Saturday before the decorating and the directions recommend freezing and/or chilling ahead of time so the 'sculpting' will be easier. Yeah- sculpting. I, who got an F in playdoh, am making a cake that involves what is called 'sculpting'... this is gonna be.... interesting, shall we say?
I'm making all round cakes in the following sizes: one 10 inch, two 9 inches, two 8 inches, one 6 inch, and one 3 inch. That's a lot of cake.
So tonight my job is to prepare cakes. We have lemon, vanilla and yellow. No chocolate because Mac doesn't like chocolate cake and because, according to X Ray Girl, you get one chocolate crumb in the white buttercreme icing and we'd be fucked (those were her words, not mine!).
I am promising pictures......... I'll post pictures whether it's a disaster or a success. And if it looks to be a disaster, we're breaking out the wine- couldn't hurt and might help!
Cake makin' maven,
Maggie Mae
I'm going to make all the cakes tonight and put them in the freezer and refrigerator to chill. Tomorrow, around noon, XRay- Girl is coming over to help with the assembly. She makes cakes for people's parties and the like, and she a master cake decorator so she's going to be a pivotal part of the assembly and icing process.
We met earlier this week and "reviewed" our game plan- we printed the directions, read through them and discussed what they meant, found a bunch of pictures of the cake style, and we even watched a "how to" video of how to do this. We are ready. It was a good thing we did the prep meeting because, otherwise, we would've made all the cakes on Saturday before the decorating and the directions recommend freezing and/or chilling ahead of time so the 'sculpting' will be easier. Yeah- sculpting. I, who got an F in playdoh, am making a cake that involves what is called 'sculpting'... this is gonna be.... interesting, shall we say?
I'm making all round cakes in the following sizes: one 10 inch, two 9 inches, two 8 inches, one 6 inch, and one 3 inch. That's a lot of cake.
So tonight my job is to prepare cakes. We have lemon, vanilla and yellow. No chocolate because Mac doesn't like chocolate cake and because, according to X Ray Girl, you get one chocolate crumb in the white buttercreme icing and we'd be fucked (those were her words, not mine!).
I am promising pictures......... I'll post pictures whether it's a disaster or a success. And if it looks to be a disaster, we're breaking out the wine- couldn't hurt and might help!
Cake makin' maven,
Maggie Mae
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Let them eat cake!
Since Mac has had his bake on here lately (did I mention that last night he couldn't sleep so he baked chocolate chip cookies at 2am?), I was thinking maybe I could employ his help on a little baking project I want to do. Or maybe I could buy all the ingredients, give him a recipe and get out of his way?
Fat Tuesday is February 16 and this year I wanted to bake a King Cake to bring to school. I have two sections of reading I teach (in addition to my 5 periods of aide duties) so I was thinking of making 2 Cakes, one for each class.
I've been researching and have learned all about King Cakes. The basics: usually a cinnamon yeast roll type of cake, shaped in a circle and decorated with the Mardi Gras colors of purple, green and gold. Traditional cakes have a plastic baby Jesus baked inside the cake and the person who gets that is King or Queen for the day, and is usually in charge of bringing the Cake to the next celebration. In my case, since I want to bring these to the public middle school, I think I might just bake the Cakes and leave a plastic baby Jesus in the center, like many bakeries that are afraid of lawsuits do. I'm also going to drape the cake with beads in the traditional colors. Then I thought the reading lesson that day could be about Mardi Gras. Something fun and different and festive.
I live in the Midwest and most of my students have never heard of Mardi Gras let alone Fat Tuesday or anything else related to this event so it might be kinda cool. I was in New Orleans around Mardi Gras time (once upon a time and a lifetime ago), and it was fun for sure. Though maybe I should omit those stories...
If I can motivate myself to actually DO the baking. Like I said, maybe Mac would like a chance to upgrade his baking skills....
Mardi Gras Queen Maggie
Fat Tuesday is February 16 and this year I wanted to bake a King Cake to bring to school. I have two sections of reading I teach (in addition to my 5 periods of aide duties) so I was thinking of making 2 Cakes, one for each class.
I've been researching and have learned all about King Cakes. The basics: usually a cinnamon yeast roll type of cake, shaped in a circle and decorated with the Mardi Gras colors of purple, green and gold. Traditional cakes have a plastic baby Jesus baked inside the cake and the person who gets that is King or Queen for the day, and is usually in charge of bringing the Cake to the next celebration. In my case, since I want to bring these to the public middle school, I think I might just bake the Cakes and leave a plastic baby Jesus in the center, like many bakeries that are afraid of lawsuits do. I'm also going to drape the cake with beads in the traditional colors. Then I thought the reading lesson that day could be about Mardi Gras. Something fun and different and festive.
I live in the Midwest and most of my students have never heard of Mardi Gras let alone Fat Tuesday or anything else related to this event so it might be kinda cool. I was in New Orleans around Mardi Gras time (once upon a time and a lifetime ago), and it was fun for sure. Though maybe I should omit those stories...
If I can motivate myself to actually DO the baking. Like I said, maybe Mac would like a chance to upgrade his baking skills....
Mardi Gras Queen Maggie
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