Hmmmmm... Is it going to be this painless for the next 17 days? I can only hope!
First, of all, I've had no cravings. Scratch that, there was one time that I almost broke down. It was after work and I was starving. You know how they say, don't go grocery shopping when you're hungry? Take that advice and times it by a million kajillion when you are on a cleanse. I walked into Trader Joes for some frozen berries and spinach and came dangerously close to grabbing a baguette and some of their licorice and shoveling them both into my cake hole at the same time in the middle of the produce aisle. It was both the thought of failing at my cleanse and the thought of the manager being forced to decide between calling the cops to remove this crazy lady from his/her store or calling the ambulance because this crazy lady is turning blue from a deadly combination of licorice and baguette being lodged in her throat. He/She would have to stop and marvel at the fact that, despite her air passage being completely blocked, she is still trying to force more delicious Australian licorice in her mouth, that crazy lady is. You know what, kids? That crazy lady in the story could have been me. But it wasn't!!
One of Dan's co-workers is staying with us for a couple of days and they had my favorite combo of all time: bread, cheese and wine. You know something? I wasn't even tempted. Felt pretty smug about that. I think the pride (or smug) factor is going to really help me in this cleanse. Saying no to the wine and cheese made me feel the best i've felt since starting this thing.
I've only been able to muster up one hot/cold shower. The good thing about them is that the cold minutes make me really appreciate the hot minutes. The other good thing is that you appreciate the modern conveniences, like hot showers, more. The bad thing about them is the cold minutes really REALLY suck.
Goal from now on: smaller shakes at dinner. I am still digesting my shake that I finished 2 hours ago. Notskis funskis. For realskis.
No headache today. Not as tired. But, it's 10:00, which means I'll be calling it a night!
Stayed tuned... I'm still waiting for the excessive pooping to start. You don't want to miss my blog when that finally happens, do you???
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Day Two... Where's the poo?
I really thought I would be Little Miss Dookie-Doo on this thing. I got a deep tissue massage today (which are painful yet amazing) that I almost canceled because I thought there may have been an embarrassing 'jumping off the table and asking to be excused with a magazine' incident. Not even close. I take no more trips to the poopy potty than before. I'm not complaining, I'm just stating a fact.
I also thought there would be some humor in the form of, well, farting, that came along this cleanse. So far, not the case. (But I haven't given up hope!)
I feel a little slower physically and mentally, but I have 19 days to recover, right??
I also thought there would be some humor in the form of, well, farting, that came along this cleanse. So far, not the case. (But I haven't given up hope!)
I feel a little slower physically and mentally, but I have 19 days to recover, right??
Monday, March 21, 2011
Day One... More peeing than I thought
Yes, I was walking to the bathroom literally every 30-45 minutes. Not for the #2, thank goodness, but I was peeing constantly. CON.STANT.LY. It felt actually good.
Let's break it down... Started the morning with a shake complete with 3 TBL of hemp protein and fiber and 1 TBL of Green Mix (or whatever it's called), frozen mangos, raspberries and blueberries and almond milk. Oh yeah, and some Stevia. Can't lie, pretty damn good. I just finished the same shake for dinner.
For lunch I had a salad with onions and mushrooms, chicken and an apple.
Let's talk about some odd things I've discovered during my first day:
1. Sweating after taking an aged garlic pill is a smelly choice. I did a light workout at lunch and I smelled terribly horrible. I feel sorry for Dan.
2. I depend on gum in my life a lot. Not allowed to have it during this thing. Hmmmm.
3. Apparently aspartame isn't good for me. Who knew? Okay, I actually knew that. But apparently it (especially in Diet soda) is really bad.
4. I'm tired... Like really tired right now. It's 8:34pm.
5. I am supposed to take a 2 oz shot of olive oil before i go to sleep tonight. Sounds more awful than I can begin to say. Maybe I'll skip it??
This was a boring blog. Sorry. Remember #4.
Let's break it down... Started the morning with a shake complete with 3 TBL of hemp protein and fiber and 1 TBL of Green Mix (or whatever it's called), frozen mangos, raspberries and blueberries and almond milk. Oh yeah, and some Stevia. Can't lie, pretty damn good. I just finished the same shake for dinner.
For lunch I had a salad with onions and mushrooms, chicken and an apple.
Let's talk about some odd things I've discovered during my first day:
1. Sweating after taking an aged garlic pill is a smelly choice. I did a light workout at lunch and I smelled terribly horrible. I feel sorry for Dan.
2. I depend on gum in my life a lot. Not allowed to have it during this thing. Hmmmm.
3. Apparently aspartame isn't good for me. Who knew? Okay, I actually knew that. But apparently it (especially in Diet soda) is really bad.
4. I'm tired... Like really tired right now. It's 8:34pm.
5. I am supposed to take a 2 oz shot of olive oil before i go to sleep tonight. Sounds more awful than I can begin to say. Maybe I'll skip it??
This was a boring blog. Sorry. Remember #4.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
MFC, hold please
ME: Have you ever done a cleanse?
YOU: No, but I appreciate you caring enough to ask.
ME: I, too, have never done a cleanse.
(Fast forward 21 days...)
ME: Have you ever done a cleanse?
YOU: No, but I appreciate you caring enough to ask.
ME: That's funny, I HAVE done a cleanse so I am better than you. That's just science.
That's right, folks, this lady is telling the toxins that have set up camp in her body to get the f*ck out for the next three weeks. I'm doing "The Clean Program" cleanse after first reading about it in Outside magazine then hearing more and more great things about it. The way i figure it is that it's only 21 days and it's only food. If at the end I feel no change, whatevs!
The fun starts tomorrow and I will be sure to blog about how it's going. I have a feeling there are a lot of trips to the bathroom in my future that you will get to read about. Talk about a win win!!
YOU: No, but I appreciate you caring enough to ask.
ME: I, too, have never done a cleanse.
(Fast forward 21 days...)
ME: Have you ever done a cleanse?
YOU: No, but I appreciate you caring enough to ask.
ME: That's funny, I HAVE done a cleanse so I am better than you. That's just science.
That's right, folks, this lady is telling the toxins that have set up camp in her body to get the f*ck out for the next three weeks. I'm doing "The Clean Program" cleanse after first reading about it in Outside magazine then hearing more and more great things about it. The way i figure it is that it's only 21 days and it's only food. If at the end I feel no change, whatevs!
The fun starts tomorrow and I will be sure to blog about how it's going. I have a feeling there are a lot of trips to the bathroom in my future that you will get to read about. Talk about a win win!!
Saturday, March 5, 2011
An away game...
Oh, hello! I almost didn't see you! How have you been? No, no, no, I want to hear about you first. Is you-know-who still being a you-know what? What a douche-b! Okay, onto me. It's 2:00. I'm still in my PJs, which are a very sexy combination of sweats and a baggy t-shirt. I love sweats. I told my friend at work that I wished I were wearing sweats that day and immediately thought, "wow... did I pull that quote straight out of the book, "Things Fat Girls Say"??" Did wonders for the ego, that realization did.
So today is a day of computers and music and hiding from this dastardly 55 degree and misting weather. I totally know how Minnesotans feel now.
Yesterday was more outdoorsy with surfing, yard work and a long work all accomplished, but that isn't what I am here to write about. I also venturee into uncharted territory courtesy of the MFC last night, but that isn't what I'm here to write about either. I will most definitely blog about this in the next day or two, but there is a time and a place for everything and this is not the time. It is the place, obvi. I'm at my computer, after all. Oh, the wit is feeling sharp today!
I know what you're thinking: "So what are you going to write about, Katy? Do tell!" and I'm going to need you to calm the f*ck down. Here goes... tonight I'm here to talk/blog about one thing and one thing only: desserts. (Confession: I first wrote "deserts". A blog about the Mojave, the Serengeti, and Palm (the desertiest of deserts) is totes ("totes" is short for "totally", of course) in my future, but let us not forget about the "time and place" lesson we just learned friends. Long story short, I feel a bit sheepish about the initial mistake, but I don't feel like I can keep secrets from my blog. While I don't mind lying to myself, doing it on the internets (added 's' was deliberate people) seems unseemly.)
As you know, I made Grandma's Molasses cookies a while ago. They were so delicious, I made them again. Remember this fact.
It was Dan's birthday on March 1st. Being the greatest girlfriend of all time (don't try to verify that title... you're just going to have to trust me), I made him the greatest birthday cake of all time... Wait for it... I made AUNT JUDY'S MUD PIE.
I used to request this heaven's house constructed of coffee ice cream with an Oreo floor, a whip cream and chocolate chip roof and a chocolate syrup layer of insulation every birthday since I had the option to do so. So, in keeping with my Greatest Girlfriend of All Time (GGOAT) status, I decided to make it for Dan. (You're starting to feel bad about doubting my title now, aren't you? Apology accepted. Maybe next time I claim to be the greatest of all time at something you'd do well to remember this feeling you have right now.)
Dan's parents were staying with us for the 5 days before his b-day (feel free to re-read and again feel bad about questioning my GGOAT claim), but had to leave on his b-day. So, the mud pie was unveiled on the last day of February and I am quite confident that the one thing Dan and his parents will remember about February 2011 is this: AUNT JUDY'S MUD PIE. Am I over exaggerating? Mayhaps... but you weren't there so you can't possibly know. Just know that before I could wash the dishes from dinner, despite all of us gorging ourselves on a dinner out on the town, I was fielding requests for a second helpings from the Gillenwater clan. That was great, but the best thing about making the mud pie? One pan is a LOT of mud pie. Remember this fact as well.
So, I gots me some crazy-delicious cookies and some marvy mud pie and then I gets an invite to the owner of my company's house. What does a gal bring to a dinner hosted by the guy who has everything? If you remembered the facts I requested you remember, this is an easy question to answer. For those of you who either have a short term memory or who skim this blog, rather than read it word for word, I am not going to bail you out of this one. Tough love.
Here I am, showing up to my boss's house with a paper plate of GMa's Molasses cookies, individual servings of AUNT JUDY'S MUD PIE in paper bowls with paper bowls on top to protect them surrounded classily with baggies of ice so they didn't melt and a 6-pack of IPA just in case the ingenious transportation system of AUNT JUDY'S MUD PIE somehow went horribly wrong. The classiness of my presentation because really to call where his lives a "house" is far fetched. "Cottage" maybe? Whatever name you use, the place he calls home is a measly 1 story, 20,000 square foot structure. Okay, it has an infinity hot tub, a pool, a guest house, but only one tennis court! Plus, it is totally unlivable. Who wants a pool table, ping pong table, air hockey table and recessed bar all within 40 feet of the incredible kitchen? Not this girl! My paper products and janky transportation system felt right at home.
People didn't expect much from my sweet contributions and my desserts had a lot to live up to... Dinner was premium Omaha steaks, Salmon and Lamb, all cooked to perfection, I was told. Plus, my friend who is the chocolate cake master and queen of cooking, made awesome seasoned potatoes to keep the lamb, cow and fish company.
Picture it: Dinner's over. My time is now! (er... then... you get the idea). I bring out the mud pie first. People were powerless against its charms. We each had 13.8 pounds of meat for dinner (give or take 13 pounds), and yet the mud pie was erased from everyone's plate. There were "mmms" and there were "ahhhhs" and there were no traces of mud pie anywhere to be found on anyone's plates... er... no traces in anyone's paper bowls. I took the pulse of the group and sensed the table could use a few more calories, so Grandma's cookies made their debut. I'm not one to brag, so I'll just report on the facts. The phrases, "best cookies of all time" and "these cookies will change your life" were heard and it wasn't me saying them. After 14 pounds of meat (sue me for rounding up!), delicious potats, and AUNT JUDY'S MUD PIE, I think everyone still managed to make room for not one but TWO of GMa's molasses cookies. While the grill master might never admit it, I'm going to say that both desserts were hits! I take no credit at all. All I did was stand on the shoulders of giants, so all credit goes to Grandma for her molasses cookies and Aunt Judy for AUNT JUDY'S MUD PIE.
Next time... the latest MFC creation and/or the revealing of the secret code dropped in my last blog... TENSION MOUNTING!!
So today is a day of computers and music and hiding from this dastardly 55 degree and misting weather. I totally know how Minnesotans feel now.
Yesterday was more outdoorsy with surfing, yard work and a long work all accomplished, but that isn't what I am here to write about. I also venturee into uncharted territory courtesy of the MFC last night, but that isn't what I'm here to write about either. I will most definitely blog about this in the next day or two, but there is a time and a place for everything and this is not the time. It is the place, obvi. I'm at my computer, after all. Oh, the wit is feeling sharp today!
I know what you're thinking: "So what are you going to write about, Katy? Do tell!" and I'm going to need you to calm the f*ck down. Here goes... tonight I'm here to talk/blog about one thing and one thing only: desserts. (Confession: I first wrote "deserts". A blog about the Mojave, the Serengeti, and Palm (the desertiest of deserts) is totes ("totes" is short for "totally", of course) in my future, but let us not forget about the "time and place" lesson we just learned friends. Long story short, I feel a bit sheepish about the initial mistake, but I don't feel like I can keep secrets from my blog. While I don't mind lying to myself, doing it on the internets (added 's' was deliberate people) seems unseemly.)
As you know, I made Grandma's Molasses cookies a while ago. They were so delicious, I made them again. Remember this fact.
It was Dan's birthday on March 1st. Being the greatest girlfriend of all time (don't try to verify that title... you're just going to have to trust me), I made him the greatest birthday cake of all time... Wait for it... I made AUNT JUDY'S MUD PIE.
I used to request this heaven's house constructed of coffee ice cream with an Oreo floor, a whip cream and chocolate chip roof and a chocolate syrup layer of insulation every birthday since I had the option to do so. So, in keeping with my Greatest Girlfriend of All Time (GGOAT) status, I decided to make it for Dan. (You're starting to feel bad about doubting my title now, aren't you? Apology accepted. Maybe next time I claim to be the greatest of all time at something you'd do well to remember this feeling you have right now.)
Dan's parents were staying with us for the 5 days before his b-day (feel free to re-read and again feel bad about questioning my GGOAT claim), but had to leave on his b-day. So, the mud pie was unveiled on the last day of February and I am quite confident that the one thing Dan and his parents will remember about February 2011 is this: AUNT JUDY'S MUD PIE. Am I over exaggerating? Mayhaps... but you weren't there so you can't possibly know. Just know that before I could wash the dishes from dinner, despite all of us gorging ourselves on a dinner out on the town, I was fielding requests for a second helpings from the Gillenwater clan. That was great, but the best thing about making the mud pie? One pan is a LOT of mud pie. Remember this fact as well.
So, I gots me some crazy-delicious cookies and some marvy mud pie and then I gets an invite to the owner of my company's house. What does a gal bring to a dinner hosted by the guy who has everything? If you remembered the facts I requested you remember, this is an easy question to answer. For those of you who either have a short term memory or who skim this blog, rather than read it word for word, I am not going to bail you out of this one. Tough love.
Here I am, showing up to my boss's house with a paper plate of GMa's Molasses cookies, individual servings of AUNT JUDY'S MUD PIE in paper bowls with paper bowls on top to protect them surrounded classily with baggies of ice so they didn't melt and a 6-pack of IPA just in case the ingenious transportation system of AUNT JUDY'S MUD PIE somehow went horribly wrong. The classiness of my presentation because really to call where his lives a "house" is far fetched. "Cottage" maybe? Whatever name you use, the place he calls home is a measly 1 story, 20,000 square foot structure. Okay, it has an infinity hot tub, a pool, a guest house, but only one tennis court! Plus, it is totally unlivable. Who wants a pool table, ping pong table, air hockey table and recessed bar all within 40 feet of the incredible kitchen? Not this girl! My paper products and janky transportation system felt right at home.
People didn't expect much from my sweet contributions and my desserts had a lot to live up to... Dinner was premium Omaha steaks, Salmon and Lamb, all cooked to perfection, I was told. Plus, my friend who is the chocolate cake master and queen of cooking, made awesome seasoned potatoes to keep the lamb, cow and fish company.
Picture it: Dinner's over. My time is now! (er... then... you get the idea). I bring out the mud pie first. People were powerless against its charms. We each had 13.8 pounds of meat for dinner (give or take 13 pounds), and yet the mud pie was erased from everyone's plate. There were "mmms" and there were "ahhhhs" and there were no traces of mud pie anywhere to be found on anyone's plates... er... no traces in anyone's paper bowls. I took the pulse of the group and sensed the table could use a few more calories, so Grandma's cookies made their debut. I'm not one to brag, so I'll just report on the facts. The phrases, "best cookies of all time" and "these cookies will change your life" were heard and it wasn't me saying them. After 14 pounds of meat (sue me for rounding up!), delicious potats, and AUNT JUDY'S MUD PIE, I think everyone still managed to make room for not one but TWO of GMa's molasses cookies. While the grill master might never admit it, I'm going to say that both desserts were hits! I take no credit at all. All I did was stand on the shoulders of giants, so all credit goes to Grandma for her molasses cookies and Aunt Judy for AUNT JUDY'S MUD PIE.
Next time... the latest MFC creation and/or the revealing of the secret code dropped in my last blog... TENSION MOUNTING!!
Saturday, February 19, 2011
I don't know why some things are the way they are...
I love to blog. Yet, it's been 1,813 minutes since I've blogged last. If you seriously think I calculated how many minutes it has been since I last blogged, you over estimate my math skills and underestimate my having a life skills. I don't know how many minutes it has been since I reaffirmed that no, this is in fact NOT blog worthy, but it has been too long for my taste. So why? Why haven't I been writing? Do you know? I sure don't. But, you're smarter than me, so I was hoping you'd know why. You don't? What the hell good are you to me then?? Wait... I'm sorry. You know me and my temper. I find it hard to control meself* when someone disappoints me so utterly and thoroughly. I'm not talking about YOU, of course... I'm talking about the other person reading this. (*Not a typo).
So it's settled. I don't know why I haven't been writing and you are no help at all in solving that mystery. I'm Inspector Gadget, people! I need a Penny to make me look like I'm not the incompetent bafoon with killer toys that I am. And by "killer toys" I mean... well... toys. Anticlimactic, I know. You may have thought that I was making a sharp left into Dirtytown. Not happening! Yet...
Yesterday I drove up to Santa Cruz to meet up with Dan (who was coming down from SF) to hang out with Dan's friend Tim and his wife Kathleen and to see Todd Snider in concert. The plan was to see Todd Friday night, surf Cowell's Saturday morning, camp in Big Sur Saturday night, hike Big Sur Sunday morning and then head home. That's pretty much how our weekend went except we didn't surf Cowell's Saturday morning, camp in Big Sur Saturday night, or hike Big Sur Sunday morning. We did see Todd Friday night and we did head home, though!! Who is this Todd Snider I blog of, you ask? He is awesome and funny and witty and talented and entertaining and amazing, that's who he is. He is no Dave Grohl (no doy!), but he's a little gem in his own right. He stands up there barefoot with his guitar and sings and tells stories cracking himself and his audience up. I (insert a heart emoticon here) Todd Snider.
Thinking about cooking tomorrow. Also thinking about making an experimental BTBKICB plan. What is BTBKICB?? You'll have to tune in next time to find out! Cliffhanger!
So it's settled. I don't know why I haven't been writing and you are no help at all in solving that mystery. I'm Inspector Gadget, people! I need a Penny to make me look like I'm not the incompetent bafoon with killer toys that I am. And by "killer toys" I mean... well... toys. Anticlimactic, I know. You may have thought that I was making a sharp left into Dirtytown. Not happening! Yet...
Yesterday I drove up to Santa Cruz to meet up with Dan (who was coming down from SF) to hang out with Dan's friend Tim and his wife Kathleen and to see Todd Snider in concert. The plan was to see Todd Friday night, surf Cowell's Saturday morning, camp in Big Sur Saturday night, hike Big Sur Sunday morning and then head home. That's pretty much how our weekend went except we didn't surf Cowell's Saturday morning, camp in Big Sur Saturday night, or hike Big Sur Sunday morning. We did see Todd Friday night and we did head home, though!! Who is this Todd Snider I blog of, you ask? He is awesome and funny and witty and talented and entertaining and amazing, that's who he is. He is no Dave Grohl (no doy!), but he's a little gem in his own right. He stands up there barefoot with his guitar and sings and tells stories cracking himself and his audience up. I (insert a heart emoticon here) Todd Snider.
Thinking about cooking tomorrow. Also thinking about making an experimental BTBKICB plan. What is BTBKICB?? You'll have to tune in next time to find out! Cliffhanger!
Monday, January 31, 2011
And the beat goes on...
And the beat goes on... the egg beating that is! Whoa! Take a minute to gather yourself after I just dropped that atom bomb of awesome blog opening humor and word play on you.
Okay, have you recovered? Let's continue then...
I continued my quest to cook my way through the MFC last night. For those of you who may not remember my first blog or who didn't read my first blog or who read my first blog and have since gone through great pains to block out my first blog, MFC is just a quicker, more efficient and, let's face it, far hipper way to say (or write, as it were) "Mommsen Family Cookbook."
I had taken a week or so off from cooking as I was out of town, but I'm back and ready to create some culinary delights. Last night, I made three MFC dishes:
Entree: Aunt Marie's Lemon Chicken and Artichoke Hearts
Side dish: Aunt Kay's (AKA my Mom's) Roasted Asparagus
Dessert: Grandma's Molasses Cookies
Not only did I make these three things, but I also made an egg casserole thingy from a recipe I found online. I know! Who am I? I can count on one hand how many times I used my stove or oven in the last two years and here I am cooking up a storm... This is my La Niña year in the kitchen, I can just feel it! Speaking of La Niña, can you guess what the weather was like yesterday? Speaking of La Niña... again... I will admit this to you and only you, because you seem interested and I know you won't judge... I just learned how to do the "ñ" on my computer right now, as I was writing this La Niña bit. Whoever said that we learn something new everyday was sure right! I was doubting this proclamation earlier, because it was 9:00pm and I really hadn't learned anything new yet today (except that this one guy's name is "Jerome", which I guess is something). But then, the gift of ñ was given to me and I'm not going to waste it! But, you must have faith in me that I will not overuse it. Nothing gets me more riled up than ñ overuse and exploitation... Who's with me??
Let's break the dishes down, peeps... (Again, dropping the hip urban lingo into my blog. I'm on the verge of showing off... I said on the VERGE... There may be more nuggets of such colloquialisms scattered throughout the rest of this entry like little islands of desperate attempts to appear youthful through the use of words and phrases that were almost cool about a decade ago in an ocean of "can't pull it off-edness"). But I digress...
AUNT MARIE'S LEMON CHICKEN AND ARTICHOKE HEARTS
Two things attracted me to this recipe:
1. It called for both lemon juice and rosemary and as luck (combined with a favorable climate and thoughtful planning and planting on the part of our house's previous tenants) would have it, we happen to have 2 lemon trees and a rather robust rosemary bush in our back yard. So any recipe that gives me an excuse to make use of the goodness that either of those provide is aces* in my book. (*"Aces" is a term I stole from the 1980s classic, "16 Candles". Thank you Molly Ringwald for that and, well, I guess just for that. J/K, Mols! Girl, you know you were the bees knees in "Pretty in Pink" and "The Breakfast Club" as well. "J/K?" "Girl?" It's no wonder the kid's at work think I'm rad!)
2. It was submitted by Aunt Marie. 'Nuff said.
I admitted that I am not the most seasoned of cooks, but I knew when the recipe kindly asked me to saute the chicken in 3 tablespoons of butter and then add more butter with the mushrooms that we were going to enjoy this dish. How could we not?? Chicken, onion, mushrooms, garlic (I took liberties) and BUTTER?? Plus, the addition of artichoke hearts at the end? Delightful. Really, super delicious. Dan had the leftovers today and he said that it was even better the 2nd day because all the flavors had a chance to get to know each other better. You know what else I loved about this recipe (besides the finished product)? The fact that all of the ingredients were easy and practical to buy. No crazy spices that I'll never use again, just a medley of delicious common flavors that together made my taste buds sing! (Hooray for seeing the music metaphor through to the end!) Will we make this again? Maybe we will and maybe we WILL!
AUNT KAY'S ROASTED ASPARAGUS
My Mom's recipe + another excuse to use some lemons = Ding! Ding! Ding! WINNER! I think you can probably guess how this combo of flavors may taste: asparagus, lemon juice, lemon zest, olive oil and feta cheese. You can't guess? I'll give you a hint, it rhymes with "shmout-shmanding!" So good and was the perfect Robin to the Chicken and Artichoke's Batman. Don't hurt your back picking up all the pop culture references I'm dropping!
GRANDMA'S MOLASSES COOKIES
Things had gone pretty smoothly throughout the day o' domesticity until this one... How am I supposed to form the batter into little balls to dip into the sugar if the batter is so runny?? HOW I ASK YOU? Actually, unless you are Grandma, I didn't ask you in reality. But, I did have to seek the advice of the expert to help me through. First, she made me feel a lot better about my impending cookie doom by telling me that she has had trouble with these cookies before. Was she saying that to make me feel better or was it the truth? Matters not-eth. The effect was the same: I felt better. Then she suggested that I put the batter in the refrigerator to firm it up a bit. As she said that, it was like my life was in slo-mo... I ever so slowly (or so it seemed, slo-mo will do that) turned to look toward where our friendly fridge was standing and when I did, I would swear it was glowing... That, friends... That cooling comrade of mine was going to save me from myself. And it DID. These cookies. These cookies. These COOKies! Dare I say they are sugary discs of heaven? I dare say just that because they are! I am taking some to work tomorrow to a) share the goodness and b) get them away from me! They are too good. I am powerless against them. Let's just say that my jeans are not exactly thrilled with my new relationship with molasses. They'll get over it!
Hope to cook more next weekend!! Pics to come...
Mañana, año, piñata, cupleaños... I wish I had kept up with my Spanish if only for this moment!
Okay, have you recovered? Let's continue then...
I continued my quest to cook my way through the MFC last night. For those of you who may not remember my first blog or who didn't read my first blog or who read my first blog and have since gone through great pains to block out my first blog, MFC is just a quicker, more efficient and, let's face it, far hipper way to say (or write, as it were) "Mommsen Family Cookbook."
I had taken a week or so off from cooking as I was out of town, but I'm back and ready to create some culinary delights. Last night, I made three MFC dishes:
Entree: Aunt Marie's Lemon Chicken and Artichoke Hearts
Side dish: Aunt Kay's (AKA my Mom's) Roasted Asparagus
Dessert: Grandma's Molasses Cookies
Not only did I make these three things, but I also made an egg casserole thingy from a recipe I found online. I know! Who am I? I can count on one hand how many times I used my stove or oven in the last two years and here I am cooking up a storm... This is my La Niña year in the kitchen, I can just feel it! Speaking of La Niña, can you guess what the weather was like yesterday? Speaking of La Niña... again... I will admit this to you and only you, because you seem interested and I know you won't judge... I just learned how to do the "ñ" on my computer right now, as I was writing this La Niña bit. Whoever said that we learn something new everyday was sure right! I was doubting this proclamation earlier, because it was 9:00pm and I really hadn't learned anything new yet today (except that this one guy's name is "Jerome", which I guess is something). But then, the gift of ñ was given to me and I'm not going to waste it! But, you must have faith in me that I will not overuse it. Nothing gets me more riled up than ñ overuse and exploitation... Who's with me??
Let's break the dishes down, peeps... (Again, dropping the hip urban lingo into my blog. I'm on the verge of showing off... I said on the VERGE... There may be more nuggets of such colloquialisms scattered throughout the rest of this entry like little islands of desperate attempts to appear youthful through the use of words and phrases that were almost cool about a decade ago in an ocean of "can't pull it off-edness"). But I digress...
AUNT MARIE'S LEMON CHICKEN AND ARTICHOKE HEARTS
Two things attracted me to this recipe:
1. It called for both lemon juice and rosemary and as luck (combined with a favorable climate and thoughtful planning and planting on the part of our house's previous tenants) would have it, we happen to have 2 lemon trees and a rather robust rosemary bush in our back yard. So any recipe that gives me an excuse to make use of the goodness that either of those provide is aces* in my book. (*"Aces" is a term I stole from the 1980s classic, "16 Candles". Thank you Molly Ringwald for that and, well, I guess just for that. J/K, Mols! Girl, you know you were the bees knees in "Pretty in Pink" and "The Breakfast Club" as well. "J/K?" "Girl?" It's no wonder the kid's at work think I'm rad!)
2. It was submitted by Aunt Marie. 'Nuff said.
I admitted that I am not the most seasoned of cooks, but I knew when the recipe kindly asked me to saute the chicken in 3 tablespoons of butter and then add more butter with the mushrooms that we were going to enjoy this dish. How could we not?? Chicken, onion, mushrooms, garlic (I took liberties) and BUTTER?? Plus, the addition of artichoke hearts at the end? Delightful. Really, super delicious. Dan had the leftovers today and he said that it was even better the 2nd day because all the flavors had a chance to get to know each other better. You know what else I loved about this recipe (besides the finished product)? The fact that all of the ingredients were easy and practical to buy. No crazy spices that I'll never use again, just a medley of delicious common flavors that together made my taste buds sing! (Hooray for seeing the music metaphor through to the end!) Will we make this again? Maybe we will and maybe we WILL!
AUNT KAY'S ROASTED ASPARAGUS
My Mom's recipe + another excuse to use some lemons = Ding! Ding! Ding! WINNER! I think you can probably guess how this combo of flavors may taste: asparagus, lemon juice, lemon zest, olive oil and feta cheese. You can't guess? I'll give you a hint, it rhymes with "shmout-shmanding!" So good and was the perfect Robin to the Chicken and Artichoke's Batman. Don't hurt your back picking up all the pop culture references I'm dropping!
GRANDMA'S MOLASSES COOKIES
Things had gone pretty smoothly throughout the day o' domesticity until this one... How am I supposed to form the batter into little balls to dip into the sugar if the batter is so runny?? HOW I ASK YOU? Actually, unless you are Grandma, I didn't ask you in reality. But, I did have to seek the advice of the expert to help me through. First, she made me feel a lot better about my impending cookie doom by telling me that she has had trouble with these cookies before. Was she saying that to make me feel better or was it the truth? Matters not-eth. The effect was the same: I felt better. Then she suggested that I put the batter in the refrigerator to firm it up a bit. As she said that, it was like my life was in slo-mo... I ever so slowly (or so it seemed, slo-mo will do that) turned to look toward where our friendly fridge was standing and when I did, I would swear it was glowing... That, friends... That cooling comrade of mine was going to save me from myself. And it DID. These cookies. These cookies. These COOKies! Dare I say they are sugary discs of heaven? I dare say just that because they are! I am taking some to work tomorrow to a) share the goodness and b) get them away from me! They are too good. I am powerless against them. Let's just say that my jeans are not exactly thrilled with my new relationship with molasses. They'll get over it!
Hope to cook more next weekend!! Pics to come...
Mañana, año, piñata, cupleaños... I wish I had kept up with my Spanish if only for this moment!
Sunday, January 30, 2011
It's been a while...
Charlie Sheen. You have been bat shit crazy for some time now. (Note: originally I wrote, "bat sh*t" but then I remembered that this is MY blog and I can do whatever I want, so bat shit it became). I started being concerned about little Chuckie S. when I started thinking of Emilo Estevez as the normal and responsible one of Martin Sheen's offspring. But, it's getting serious now. The report I read yesterday was that Lindsay Lohan is worried about Charlie. When LiLo looks at what you're doing and says, "whoa... that is some f'd up shit," that is when you know you've hit rock bottom.
Anyway... It's been a long time since I've posted. Is it weird that I missed it? Like some people start to think in FB posts, I had started to kind of think of how I would blog about stufff that happened. That chicken has flown the coop. That ship has sailed. That Elvis has left the building. Excited for all to come back.
My dirth of posts was caused by the fact that I was in the great Pacific Northwest for 6 days, which were all awesome. The first night I got there, some friends and I went to a brewery for some delicious pub food and, wait for it, some brews. When we walked in, we saw these two college aged guys talking to this older guy and thought nothing of any of them. Then, the two young guys took to the stage with their guitars and started singing covers. I don't know how they did it... they must have changed their clothes, got their hair did and went to the gym to bulk up in the 7 minutes between us seeing them when we first walked in and them taking the stage, because they went from us seeing them and not caring a bit, to us being the table of cougars ogling these young men who seemed to grow up right before our eyes. OH! And the old guy they were talking to when we first walked in? A drunken mess. He was up dancing up near the stage (and by "up near" I mean his toes were touching the stage at certain point). How do I describe his dancing? Let's just say I really thought he may have been mentally retarded. He wasn't. He was just drunk. And Canadian. So, I guess it wouldn't be a stretch to call him 'mentally retarded,' eh?
The next day it was off to Mt. Hood for 2 days of snowboarding. Perfect spring conditions bring out good moods, lots of people, and douche bags who think it's a good idea to ski or ride with no shirts on. Really? Really. Really?? Why would they think that's a good idea? Even with my cougarlicious tendencies from the night before pretty fresh in my mind, I couldn't even fathom seeing that and thinking, "there goes my future husband." Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe the younger ladies love showings of pure douche baggery, but I wouldn't bet on it.
The rest of my time in OR was spent at the Nike campus for work. SUPER great to be back there and see everyone and SUPER weird to be there as a non-Nike employee.
All in all, great trip, but it's always great to get back to SLO.
Cooking tonight! Excited for it!
Anyway... It's been a long time since I've posted. Is it weird that I missed it? Like some people start to think in FB posts, I had started to kind of think of how I would blog about stufff that happened. That chicken has flown the coop. That ship has sailed. That Elvis has left the building. Excited for all to come back.
My dirth of posts was caused by the fact that I was in the great Pacific Northwest for 6 days, which were all awesome. The first night I got there, some friends and I went to a brewery for some delicious pub food and, wait for it, some brews. When we walked in, we saw these two college aged guys talking to this older guy and thought nothing of any of them. Then, the two young guys took to the stage with their guitars and started singing covers. I don't know how they did it... they must have changed their clothes, got their hair did and went to the gym to bulk up in the 7 minutes between us seeing them when we first walked in and them taking the stage, because they went from us seeing them and not caring a bit, to us being the table of cougars ogling these young men who seemed to grow up right before our eyes. OH! And the old guy they were talking to when we first walked in? A drunken mess. He was up dancing up near the stage (and by "up near" I mean his toes were touching the stage at certain point). How do I describe his dancing? Let's just say I really thought he may have been mentally retarded. He wasn't. He was just drunk. And Canadian. So, I guess it wouldn't be a stretch to call him 'mentally retarded,' eh?
The next day it was off to Mt. Hood for 2 days of snowboarding. Perfect spring conditions bring out good moods, lots of people, and douche bags who think it's a good idea to ski or ride with no shirts on. Really? Really. Really?? Why would they think that's a good idea? Even with my cougarlicious tendencies from the night before pretty fresh in my mind, I couldn't even fathom seeing that and thinking, "there goes my future husband." Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe the younger ladies love showings of pure douche baggery, but I wouldn't bet on it.
The rest of my time in OR was spent at the Nike campus for work. SUPER great to be back there and see everyone and SUPER weird to be there as a non-Nike employee.
All in all, great trip, but it's always great to get back to SLO.
Cooking tonight! Excited for it!
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Weekends! I live for the weekends!
So, this originally started as a recap of my amazing weekend of seeing Norm MacDonald do a stand up show while sitting spitting distance from him and then wine tasting with good friends up in Sonoma County. But I realized I have next to zero interest in recapping my day to day life. This is a bummer for a few reasons.... Shall I list them? Okie-dokie then:
1. My autobiographical memory is not just poor, it's scary bad. I was half hoping that this blog would serve as something like an online diary so I could remember what the hell my life is/was. It's odd... I love love LOVE living my life. On a daily basis I ask myself what I did to get so lucky. Then I realize that I asked that question out loud... and in the middle of a meeting... or as I'm walking out of the bathroom... in any case, there have been times that things have gotten awkward as a result of asking that question.
2. My life is not without cool happenings. Rare is it that my answer to the question, "what did you do this weekend?" is "eh, nothing." Shouldn't I want to share tales of any fun adventures with others? It turns out if the tales are longer than a post on FB can cover, the answer is apparently not.
3. I would kind of like to maybe do a bit of writing on the side "for realz" (as the kiddies say) some day. No one wants to read random musings. But this girl doesn't have much interest in writing anything but random musings. It's a pickle!
4. I'm sure there's a #4
5. I'm also quite certain there's a #5
6. There COULD be a #6, so I'm putting in a 6 as a place holder. Easier to delete that add in the future. right, like I'm going to ever go back and edit this.
I will say this about my weekend... I love Norm MacDonald and I love wine and I love my friends. Briefly, here is why:
Norm: The guy kept me laughing almost the entire performance and when I wasn't laughing like a damn fool, I was stuck with a constant dopey smile on my face. He is usually not funny when he is paid to be. He is SOOO funny when he is the guest on a late night talk show or a contestant on a game show. But, holy hell can he sink a sitcom faster than (insert your own Oprah fat person joke here). I was honestly nervous for him in the hour preceding the show. It was a Comedy Central taping, for crying out loud and in my book, there was a 83.4927% chance that he was not only going to not be really funny, but that the show would be cringe-worthy. I love Norm for beating the odds!
Wine: Duh.
Friends: Another duh, but with some explanation. I sat back and looked at the friends I was with and each of their individual resumes (personal, professional, experiential) would blow the minds of most people. It was such a talented and accomplished group. The most impressive thing though and the thing I like most about this group? You would never ever know how impressive they are in every way even beyond what you see in front of you because they don't talk about it. They don't subtly drop hints, they don't overtly tell you, they don't bait you into asking. They are content with being interesting, interested, fun, funny, smart, caring people. I realized many of my friends fit this bill and I can't believe how lucky I am to be able to call such amazing people my true friends. Fuck. That was deep and serious and I'm done with being either one of those for the night.
So, enough about the ancient past. I will say this about today. I put on a pair of jeans directly out of the dryer, which made me feel both unbelievably skinny and unbelievably pretty. Was it the fact that I could barely get them over my thighs? Or was it the exaggerated muffin top they graced me with? Take your pick, my friends. Take your pick...
1. My autobiographical memory is not just poor, it's scary bad. I was half hoping that this blog would serve as something like an online diary so I could remember what the hell my life is/was. It's odd... I love love LOVE living my life. On a daily basis I ask myself what I did to get so lucky. Then I realize that I asked that question out loud... and in the middle of a meeting... or as I'm walking out of the bathroom... in any case, there have been times that things have gotten awkward as a result of asking that question.
2. My life is not without cool happenings. Rare is it that my answer to the question, "what did you do this weekend?" is "eh, nothing." Shouldn't I want to share tales of any fun adventures with others? It turns out if the tales are longer than a post on FB can cover, the answer is apparently not.
3. I would kind of like to maybe do a bit of writing on the side "for realz" (as the kiddies say) some day. No one wants to read random musings. But this girl doesn't have much interest in writing anything but random musings. It's a pickle!
4. I'm sure there's a #4
5. I'm also quite certain there's a #5
6. There COULD be a #6, so I'm putting in a 6 as a place holder. Easier to delete that add in the future. right, like I'm going to ever go back and edit this.
I will say this about my weekend... I love Norm MacDonald and I love wine and I love my friends. Briefly, here is why:
Norm: The guy kept me laughing almost the entire performance and when I wasn't laughing like a damn fool, I was stuck with a constant dopey smile on my face. He is usually not funny when he is paid to be. He is SOOO funny when he is the guest on a late night talk show or a contestant on a game show. But, holy hell can he sink a sitcom faster than (insert your own Oprah fat person joke here). I was honestly nervous for him in the hour preceding the show. It was a Comedy Central taping, for crying out loud and in my book, there was a 83.4927% chance that he was not only going to not be really funny, but that the show would be cringe-worthy. I love Norm for beating the odds!
Wine: Duh.
Friends: Another duh, but with some explanation. I sat back and looked at the friends I was with and each of their individual resumes (personal, professional, experiential) would blow the minds of most people. It was such a talented and accomplished group. The most impressive thing though and the thing I like most about this group? You would never ever know how impressive they are in every way even beyond what you see in front of you because they don't talk about it. They don't subtly drop hints, they don't overtly tell you, they don't bait you into asking. They are content with being interesting, interested, fun, funny, smart, caring people. I realized many of my friends fit this bill and I can't believe how lucky I am to be able to call such amazing people my true friends. Fuck. That was deep and serious and I'm done with being either one of those for the night.
So, enough about the ancient past. I will say this about today. I put on a pair of jeans directly out of the dryer, which made me feel both unbelievably skinny and unbelievably pretty. Was it the fact that I could barely get them over my thighs? Or was it the exaggerated muffin top they graced me with? Take your pick, my friends. Take your pick...
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
To braid or to shave... that is the question
I have two things I would like to talk about in my rant to myself tonight. Ready? Let's ride!
1. Shaving. I hate to shave. I know. This must be quite a shock to anyone reading this. There is a woman in this world that hates to shave. Call Katie Couric and book an appearance on Oprah!! The problem is that I hate to shave so much that I don't shave for such a long time that really the options become shave that nonsense or braid it. I have always opted to shave, of course. BUT, if I ever do decide to braid my luscious leg hair, you can bet that I'll adorn those braids with beads. It just seems fitting. Now if there were anyone reading this but me, they might think this is gross and, in all honesty, if I were serious about the notion, I would think it kind of unsettling myself. But why? Dudes decide not to shave their facial hair all the time. Worse yet, they do icky things to their facial hair. Need an example? Two words: "soul patch". The thing is that there are people (both men and women) that find these looks cool, unique, edgy, artsy, etc. If I decided to Mohawk my leg hair and braid the hairs I left in place into corn rows, do you think there is one non-freak in the world who would think anything but, "oh, sweet Lord, what the hell is that??" No. There isn't. That's all there is to it. I wish I had the guts to test my "corn rowed, beaded, mowhawked leg hair" theory, but I don't. As much as I think it's bull-poop that we're told that leg hair, frizzy hair, big pores, bushy eyebrows, thin lips and spotty faces are unattractive, I still find myself giving into societal pressures by shaving semi-regularly and... well... I say to hell with that other crap, but they have sold me on the shaving... sort of.
2. Drinking. I was stone sober for the last two nights after what can only be described as a month of imbibing indulgence. Between the holiday season, work stuff, general social engagements and a wedding weekend to end all wedding weekends, the last month has seen alcohol and I paired up on most nights. If I were a celeb, Us Magazine would be all over this love connection. For better or worse, I have genes (and training) that allow me to take in quite a bit of, oh let's just say hypothetically, wine and not feel it the next day. Even so, like Elin Nordegren golf clubbed the crap out of Tiger's car, I took a 7 iron to my liver in a "I just found out you've been cheating on me with every ho-bag below the Mason-Dixon line" kind of way over the last month. As such, I thought for sure my liver would thank me for a couple days respite from the rigors I had put it through. Not the case. I didn't sleep well either night and if anything woke up feeling worse than I did after a night filled with even the poorest of choices. I am not giving up on my liver making it up to me just yet. Maybe it needs to be eased into this new life of not drinking nightly. Quitting anything, let alone drinking, is not in my liver's playbook and I love my little L-dawg (what I call my liver) for it. So tonight, I whet its appetite with a little wine. I'm a good mom to L-dawg... I felt what she needed and set out to help. Can't help these maternal instincts.
That's it. Tomorrow should be uninteresting, but the weekend should prove filled with tales: Norm MacDonald stand-up on Friday and Winter Wine Land on Saturday. L-dawg? You are welcome, little one.
1. Shaving. I hate to shave. I know. This must be quite a shock to anyone reading this. There is a woman in this world that hates to shave. Call Katie Couric and book an appearance on Oprah!! The problem is that I hate to shave so much that I don't shave for such a long time that really the options become shave that nonsense or braid it. I have always opted to shave, of course. BUT, if I ever do decide to braid my luscious leg hair, you can bet that I'll adorn those braids with beads. It just seems fitting. Now if there were anyone reading this but me, they might think this is gross and, in all honesty, if I were serious about the notion, I would think it kind of unsettling myself. But why? Dudes decide not to shave their facial hair all the time. Worse yet, they do icky things to their facial hair. Need an example? Two words: "soul patch". The thing is that there are people (both men and women) that find these looks cool, unique, edgy, artsy, etc. If I decided to Mohawk my leg hair and braid the hairs I left in place into corn rows, do you think there is one non-freak in the world who would think anything but, "oh, sweet Lord, what the hell is that??" No. There isn't. That's all there is to it. I wish I had the guts to test my "corn rowed, beaded, mowhawked leg hair" theory, but I don't. As much as I think it's bull-poop that we're told that leg hair, frizzy hair, big pores, bushy eyebrows, thin lips and spotty faces are unattractive, I still find myself giving into societal pressures by shaving semi-regularly and... well... I say to hell with that other crap, but they have sold me on the shaving... sort of.
2. Drinking. I was stone sober for the last two nights after what can only be described as a month of imbibing indulgence. Between the holiday season, work stuff, general social engagements and a wedding weekend to end all wedding weekends, the last month has seen alcohol and I paired up on most nights. If I were a celeb, Us Magazine would be all over this love connection. For better or worse, I have genes (and training) that allow me to take in quite a bit of, oh let's just say hypothetically, wine and not feel it the next day. Even so, like Elin Nordegren golf clubbed the crap out of Tiger's car, I took a 7 iron to my liver in a "I just found out you've been cheating on me with every ho-bag below the Mason-Dixon line" kind of way over the last month. As such, I thought for sure my liver would thank me for a couple days respite from the rigors I had put it through. Not the case. I didn't sleep well either night and if anything woke up feeling worse than I did after a night filled with even the poorest of choices. I am not giving up on my liver making it up to me just yet. Maybe it needs to be eased into this new life of not drinking nightly. Quitting anything, let alone drinking, is not in my liver's playbook and I love my little L-dawg (what I call my liver) for it. So tonight, I whet its appetite with a little wine. I'm a good mom to L-dawg... I felt what she needed and set out to help. Can't help these maternal instincts.
That's it. Tomorrow should be uninteresting, but the weekend should prove filled with tales: Norm MacDonald stand-up on Friday and Winter Wine Land on Saturday. L-dawg? You are welcome, little one.
Monday, January 10, 2011
Takin' it to the streets
Sunday, January 9, 2011... To many, this day will go unrecorded in their Rolodex of memories. It will be what some refer to as, "just another day." I feel sorry for those people. The date 1/9/11 will remain seared in my memory for one reason. Is it because 1/9/11 was the day Dan and I ALMOST bought one of them there new fangled flat screen television sets? No, although almost purchasing something like that is almost a big deal. Is it because 1/9/11 was the day I found out Ryan Reynolds and Sandra Bullock are really together? No, although I was (and still am, by the way) very happy with that news. It didn't make 1/9/11 a memorable day for me though. Mostly because I actually read about that on usmagazine.com long before the radio confirmed the news for me on Sunday. With Us Magazine at my side, I cannot be scooped in the gossip arena. The people at Us probably knew about Ryan and Sandy (what her good friends call her) even before Ry-Ry (what his REALLY good friends call him or at least what his REALLY good friends will call him when I become his REALLY good friend) and Sandy-B themselves knew. But I digress...
1/9/11 will be remembered by me as the day I took my interpretation of some of the Mommsen Family Cookbook recipes public. It was like my own personal cooking IPO. When we moved down to SLO in May, by sheer coincidence two couple friends of ours moved from San Francisco to SLO at exactly the same time. So, we had Bill and Ang (who I briefly mentioned in my first blog) and their dog, Nalu, as well as Monica and Tim and their dogs, Gracie and Gavin over for dinner. This all seems very chill and non-threatening, right? Well, there were a couple tricky things that challenged even me, a seasoned cook with two recipes under my belt. First, Ang is a strict vegetarian. Second, Tim is a chef... Not a chef as a hobby. A chef... like for a pay check. Gulp. Plus, Dan and are are not flush with space and kitchen tools, so making food for 6 people could get tricky. Did I mention Tim is a chef???
First order of business... Deciding what to make. After scouring the MFC for delicious vegetarian recipes, the menu I decided on was:
Appetizer: Aunt Bonnie's toasted asparagus (Don't think that is correct name)
Main Course: Patti's cheese fondue
Dessert: My mom's lemon squares
Let's first go over the preparation:
Asparagus: "One loaf thin sliced Pepperidge Farm bread?" Where does one find such a product? Can it be any kind of bread? Or, does rye/white/insert any other type of bread here work best? These are the questions I had wandering through Ralph's grocery store on Sunday. I decided that since I was going to take a rolling pin to these bread slices, I wanted them as airy as possible. I figured the lowest calorie bread probably had the most air, so I picked some 45 calorie per slice loaf of wheat bread. After the 'thin sliced Pepperidge Farm bread' mystery was solved (or set aside, at least), these were super easy to make! I had never had them before, but come on... Bread, cheese, mustard and asparagus all toasted up together? If those aren't the ingredients for tastiness, I don't know what are.
-->RESULT: Deeeelish! I can all but guarantee that both couples will make those rolled up bundles of toasted tastiness again. I know Dan and I will! Super easy + super tasty = a keeper.
Fondue: Fondue. What a perfect entree for a dinner party. Social, delicious, no last minute prep, classy but not stuffy... Dare I say it is 6,000 calories of perfection? Goal for the fondue prep: no blood. Lofty, I know, but isn't there some saying about aiming for the stars and landing in the tree tops? No? Well we were aiming for the stars and no treetop landing would suffice. No blood, that is the only outcome we would settle for. Nothing more, nothing less. (Not really sure what more would be, but the saying felt right to include). What was the inspiration for setting the bar so high? A person at work had one of the gnarlier encounters with a cheese grater that I have ever seen the consequences of AND my cousin Chirsty used to literally get attacked by the cheese grater when we made nachos as kids. We were not going to have any trips to the emergency room because of a grating accident or in Christy's case a grating "accident" (suspected foul play there). Dan(h) was brave enough to take cheese grating duties and I'm happy to report that the only part of Dan that made it into the recipe was a dash of his love and effort (I just threw up in my mouth reading that... That was cheesier than the fondue). Whatever, no fingers were hurt in the making of the fondue. What did we dip in the cheesy goodness? Bread, bosc pears, apples, cherry tomatoes, mushrooms, gherkins and grapes.
-->RESULT: A hit, of course! It's fondue! You never know with fondue, though, because everyone has the fondue flavor they are used to (whether they grew up with it or they always make it the same way) and any divergent flavor doesn't tast as good to them. Well, everyone loved this recipe! Not even a scrap of cheese left at the end and we beefed up the recipe pretty decently. The surprise hit dipping treat? Gherkins. People were wary about them at first, but they grew to love the gherk, as we all do.
Lemon squares: This seemed like a natural choice for dessert. They are my mom's recipe, for one thing. We have two lemon trees in our back yard so we will take any opportunity to make use of those citrusy delights, for two things. And, they are billed as "so-o-o-o-o-o-o good" in the MFC, for three things*. How could we NOT choose them? (*I am testing out that listing system. I've definitely said/written, "for one thing" before. I have never continued with a list after that, though. Is it, "for another thing..."? Or maybe, "for a third thing..."? I don't know. Swish it around in your heads and let me know what you think.)
I knew I had decided on a winning dessert and thought it would be smooth sailing. Wouldn't you know it but things started to go a little awry here, if I'm going to be totally honest (and you know what? I am going to be totally honest. Things did go a little awry...just a little). Awry-ity #1: So it turns out that 1/4 cup does not equal 1/2 cup. Who knew? The answer to that question is simple: Everyone. Well, I dumped 1/2 cup of flour into the mixing bowl where my four cracked eggs were waiting when the recipe only called for 1/4 cup. I'm an overacheiver, what can I say? I believe in giving more that just what is asked of me and the extra flour is just another example of that. I didn't have any extra eggs, so there was no taking a mulligan on this attempt and starting over. Life lesson: de-flouring eggs is difficult, but not impossible. Awry-ity #2: With approximately 1/4 of flour added to the eggs, it was time to add the sugar. A mere 2 cups was all the recipe called for. I think cooks call that a "pinch" of sugar. Another math lesson: 1 and 3/4 cups of sugar does not equal 2 cups. Quite the bummer when all of the sugar in your house adds up to 1 and 3/4 cups sugar the recipe would prefer you put in 2. Luckily, we live close to a couple of markets and Dan saved the day by going to the store for some more pure cane delightfulness. Problem solved. Awry-ity #3: The directions said, and I'm paraphrasing here, "pat down mixture firmly" (referring to the bottom crust of the lemon squares). Well, my mixture came out kind of runny (i'm sure no blame could be bestowed upon awry-ity #1), so patting down wasn't really an option. I just smoothed it out a bunch of times and hoped that would do the trick.
-->RESULT: This is where I was most nervous b/c of the awry-ities and b/c it involved a little more mixing and what not so I felt there was more chance to mess it up. I sprinkled powdered sugar and cut them into squares and crossed my fingers (which made it really hard to carry the lemon squares out so I uncrossed them for the transport). The bottom crust wasn't so much of a crust, but you know what? People actually liked them better that way! Or so they said... Not just with their words, but with their bellies. Everyone had at least 2 lemon squares, so I was happy. The squares just melted in your mouth was the good part, the bad part is they are not as portable as one would have liked and a fork was the ideal method of consumption.
Overall, a fantastic night! Thanks to all!!
Gavin! (Trust me, not this calm all night... But this cute all night!)
Lemon squares pre-powdered sugar. You would have no idea that there was an awry-ity or two (three, as it turns out) in the making of this
The asparagus toasty rolls ready for their oven time... Not a great photo, but you get the idea.
Fondue spread.... I think "fondue" is Swiss for, "can you believe how good this is." I'll have to look it up, though
1/9/11 will be remembered by me as the day I took my interpretation of some of the Mommsen Family Cookbook recipes public. It was like my own personal cooking IPO. When we moved down to SLO in May, by sheer coincidence two couple friends of ours moved from San Francisco to SLO at exactly the same time. So, we had Bill and Ang (who I briefly mentioned in my first blog) and their dog, Nalu, as well as Monica and Tim and their dogs, Gracie and Gavin over for dinner. This all seems very chill and non-threatening, right? Well, there were a couple tricky things that challenged even me, a seasoned cook with two recipes under my belt. First, Ang is a strict vegetarian. Second, Tim is a chef... Not a chef as a hobby. A chef... like for a pay check. Gulp. Plus, Dan and are are not flush with space and kitchen tools, so making food for 6 people could get tricky. Did I mention Tim is a chef???
First order of business... Deciding what to make. After scouring the MFC for delicious vegetarian recipes, the menu I decided on was:
Appetizer: Aunt Bonnie's toasted asparagus (Don't think that is correct name)
Main Course: Patti's cheese fondue
Dessert: My mom's lemon squares
Let's first go over the preparation:
Asparagus: "One loaf thin sliced Pepperidge Farm bread?" Where does one find such a product? Can it be any kind of bread? Or, does rye/white/insert any other type of bread here work best? These are the questions I had wandering through Ralph's grocery store on Sunday. I decided that since I was going to take a rolling pin to these bread slices, I wanted them as airy as possible. I figured the lowest calorie bread probably had the most air, so I picked some 45 calorie per slice loaf of wheat bread. After the 'thin sliced Pepperidge Farm bread' mystery was solved (or set aside, at least), these were super easy to make! I had never had them before, but come on... Bread, cheese, mustard and asparagus all toasted up together? If those aren't the ingredients for tastiness, I don't know what are.
-->RESULT: Deeeelish! I can all but guarantee that both couples will make those rolled up bundles of toasted tastiness again. I know Dan and I will! Super easy + super tasty = a keeper.
Fondue: Fondue. What a perfect entree for a dinner party. Social, delicious, no last minute prep, classy but not stuffy... Dare I say it is 6,000 calories of perfection? Goal for the fondue prep: no blood. Lofty, I know, but isn't there some saying about aiming for the stars and landing in the tree tops? No? Well we were aiming for the stars and no treetop landing would suffice. No blood, that is the only outcome we would settle for. Nothing more, nothing less. (Not really sure what more would be, but the saying felt right to include). What was the inspiration for setting the bar so high? A person at work had one of the gnarlier encounters with a cheese grater that I have ever seen the consequences of AND my cousin Chirsty used to literally get attacked by the cheese grater when we made nachos as kids. We were not going to have any trips to the emergency room because of a grating accident or in Christy's case a grating "accident" (suspected foul play there). Dan(h) was brave enough to take cheese grating duties and I'm happy to report that the only part of Dan that made it into the recipe was a dash of his love and effort (I just threw up in my mouth reading that... That was cheesier than the fondue). Whatever, no fingers were hurt in the making of the fondue. What did we dip in the cheesy goodness? Bread, bosc pears, apples, cherry tomatoes, mushrooms, gherkins and grapes.
-->RESULT: A hit, of course! It's fondue! You never know with fondue, though, because everyone has the fondue flavor they are used to (whether they grew up with it or they always make it the same way) and any divergent flavor doesn't tast as good to them. Well, everyone loved this recipe! Not even a scrap of cheese left at the end and we beefed up the recipe pretty decently. The surprise hit dipping treat? Gherkins. People were wary about them at first, but they grew to love the gherk, as we all do.
Lemon squares: This seemed like a natural choice for dessert. They are my mom's recipe, for one thing. We have two lemon trees in our back yard so we will take any opportunity to make use of those citrusy delights, for two things. And, they are billed as "so-o-o-o-o-o-o good" in the MFC, for three things*. How could we NOT choose them? (*I am testing out that listing system. I've definitely said/written, "for one thing" before. I have never continued with a list after that, though. Is it, "for another thing..."? Or maybe, "for a third thing..."? I don't know. Swish it around in your heads and let me know what you think.)
I knew I had decided on a winning dessert and thought it would be smooth sailing. Wouldn't you know it but things started to go a little awry here, if I'm going to be totally honest (and you know what? I am going to be totally honest. Things did go a little awry...just a little). Awry-ity #1: So it turns out that 1/4 cup does not equal 1/2 cup. Who knew? The answer to that question is simple: Everyone. Well, I dumped 1/2 cup of flour into the mixing bowl where my four cracked eggs were waiting when the recipe only called for 1/4 cup. I'm an overacheiver, what can I say? I believe in giving more that just what is asked of me and the extra flour is just another example of that. I didn't have any extra eggs, so there was no taking a mulligan on this attempt and starting over. Life lesson: de-flouring eggs is difficult, but not impossible. Awry-ity #2: With approximately 1/4 of flour added to the eggs, it was time to add the sugar. A mere 2 cups was all the recipe called for. I think cooks call that a "pinch" of sugar. Another math lesson: 1 and 3/4 cups of sugar does not equal 2 cups. Quite the bummer when all of the sugar in your house adds up to 1 and 3/4 cups sugar the recipe would prefer you put in 2. Luckily, we live close to a couple of markets and Dan saved the day by going to the store for some more pure cane delightfulness. Problem solved. Awry-ity #3: The directions said, and I'm paraphrasing here, "pat down mixture firmly" (referring to the bottom crust of the lemon squares). Well, my mixture came out kind of runny (i'm sure no blame could be bestowed upon awry-ity #1), so patting down wasn't really an option. I just smoothed it out a bunch of times and hoped that would do the trick.
-->RESULT: This is where I was most nervous b/c of the awry-ities and b/c it involved a little more mixing and what not so I felt there was more chance to mess it up. I sprinkled powdered sugar and cut them into squares and crossed my fingers (which made it really hard to carry the lemon squares out so I uncrossed them for the transport). The bottom crust wasn't so much of a crust, but you know what? People actually liked them better that way! Or so they said... Not just with their words, but with their bellies. Everyone had at least 2 lemon squares, so I was happy. The squares just melted in your mouth was the good part, the bad part is they are not as portable as one would have liked and a fork was the ideal method of consumption.
Overall, a fantastic night! Thanks to all!!
Some pics of our guests and the food...
Gavin! (Trust me, not this calm all night... But this cute all night!)
Gracie!
Nalu!
Lemon squares pre-powdered sugar. You would have no idea that there was an awry-ity or two (three, as it turns out) in the making of this
The asparagus toasty rolls ready for their oven time... Not a great photo, but you get the idea.
Fondue spread.... I think "fondue" is Swiss for, "can you believe how good this is." I'll have to look it up, thoughFriday, January 7, 2011
Pictures of the deliciousness
I don't want to brag, but it tasted even better than it looks. Can you believe that??
These cookies? Nothing short of hand sized bits of heaven.
Today my goal was to Get Jiggy Wit It. "It" being anything. I aimed to get jiggy wit anything. What does that mean? Well, gettin' jiggy means different things to different people, I reckon. I am not going to taint your jiggy beliefs by sharing my jiggy philosophy. Jigginess is something that people need to find and own for themselves and no one else. I will say this: I got jiggy with about 68.42% of my day. Not great, but better than most days. Oh what? You think you out jiggied me today? Hahahaha! I'd like to see that. Unless your name is Will Smith, I am fairly certain that you did not maximize your jiggy potential any better than I did.
I can't believe I'm on Day 2 of my blog. What a ride it has been so far! I mean, a few days ago I was just a blogless, totteroleless, rutterless ship in the night. No direction. No purpose. Look at me now! So directional and purposeful!
I am not busting out the MFC tonight. I will be revisiting it on Sunday, though. (Spoiler alert! I'm cooking cheese fondue, a light appetizer and a dessert. Okay, not that much was spoiled. The alert? Maybe not needed. Live and learn, that is what I always say. I don't "always" say that because that would be super annoying. But I have been known to say it every so often. That doesn't have the same ring, though. "Live and learn, that is what I say every so often." Ummmm, no.)
Instead of cooking or feasting on totterole leftovers, we are ordering pizza and watching many episodes of Dexter. I will revisit the merits of that show later. We were supposed to meet some friends in Morro Bay, a little coastal town about 20 minutes NW of San Luis, for dinner. I was super excited until I learned of two things. First, our reservations were not until 8:00... PM! I know... Shocking. Second, my friends had the great idea to dress up for this little dinner. Well reader(s), I dressed up 3 days in a row last week for a friend's wedding weekend. The weekend was AMAZING and totally worth dressing up for. More about that later as well. But, the fact remains that my dressing up quota for the first quarter of 2011 has been filled. Sadly, those two factors combined with the fact that I would know 4 of 18 people attending has caused this reality: me in sweats, watching the end of the Delaware/Eastern Washington football game, doing a terrible job pretending to care who wins for Dan (who went to Delaware for undergrad). Oops. They just lost. Yikes. "Oops" and "yikes". That's as good as I can do.
Now begins our Dexter marathon... Topics to address next time: How awesome Dexter is. My NYRs. Possibly Laurie and Worth's Big Weekend O Love.
I can't believe I'm on Day 2 of my blog. What a ride it has been so far! I mean, a few days ago I was just a blogless, totteroleless, rutterless ship in the night. No direction. No purpose. Look at me now! So directional and purposeful!
I am not busting out the MFC tonight. I will be revisiting it on Sunday, though. (Spoiler alert! I'm cooking cheese fondue, a light appetizer and a dessert. Okay, not that much was spoiled. The alert? Maybe not needed. Live and learn, that is what I always say. I don't "always" say that because that would be super annoying. But I have been known to say it every so often. That doesn't have the same ring, though. "Live and learn, that is what I say every so often." Ummmm, no.)
Instead of cooking or feasting on totterole leftovers, we are ordering pizza and watching many episodes of Dexter. I will revisit the merits of that show later. We were supposed to meet some friends in Morro Bay, a little coastal town about 20 minutes NW of San Luis, for dinner. I was super excited until I learned of two things. First, our reservations were not until 8:00... PM! I know... Shocking. Second, my friends had the great idea to dress up for this little dinner. Well reader(s), I dressed up 3 days in a row last week for a friend's wedding weekend. The weekend was AMAZING and totally worth dressing up for. More about that later as well. But, the fact remains that my dressing up quota for the first quarter of 2011 has been filled. Sadly, those two factors combined with the fact that I would know 4 of 18 people attending has caused this reality: me in sweats, watching the end of the Delaware/Eastern Washington football game, doing a terrible job pretending to care who wins for Dan (who went to Delaware for undergrad). Oops. They just lost. Yikes. "Oops" and "yikes". That's as good as I can do.
Now begins our Dexter marathon... Topics to address next time: How awesome Dexter is. My NYRs. Possibly Laurie and Worth's Big Weekend O Love.
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Julie and Julia, meet Moran and Mommsen
First, let me say this: This is my first foray into the whole 'blogging' thing. One of my NYRs (NYR = New Years Resolutions for those of you who aren't fam with the texting shortcuts. ("Fam" = familiar for those same people.)) (Note the double closed parentheses. Did you think I'd forget the second one? You have a lot to learn about me and my grammar, dear friend (or anyone else who happens to be reading this. Maybe you're not a dear friend but just someone who's kind of bored. I'm not wearing any judgie-pants, believe me. I'm just saying, that you may not be a dear friend.)) (Note the DCP (double closed parentheses) again. I don't let up on the punctuation front. Impressive, I know.)
Where was I? Oh yes, my NYRs... I will go into what all of my NYRs are later (since my Katy Moran New Years doesn't start until Monday, January 10), but for now let me say that one of them has led me to the following conclusion: I just may be a genius in the kitchen. Okay, "genius" might be a wee bit of an overstatement. Do I deserve the title that has been bestowed upon the likes of people such as Einstein, Beethoven, Newton and Carrot Top? Perhaps, but it is not certain. However, I'm pretty happy with the results of my 'kitchendental' experiment so far*. (*Note: said 'kitchendental' experiment has lasted one day and is on recipe #2, so perhaps I am too quick with the self congratulatory statements... or am I??). Let me explain and you can judge for yourself...
I saw the movie Julie and Julia a while ago... In case you don't know what that movie is all about (in other words you have lived under a rock for the last couple of years or you're a male... potato, potahto), let me 'splain... A woman decides she is going to cook all of the recipes in Julia Childs' cookbook and then blog about it. I am terrible at cooking. I have never had any interest in learning how to do it better or to experiment with food in any way beyond mixing cereals until (pregnant pause) I had an idea. An epiphany? If you like to label things, maybe "epiphany" is the right word. Me? I don't believe in pigeon holing people, ideas or pigeons so I wouldn't use the word "epiphany" unless my audience demanded it. It turns out, my audience (which currently consists of one attentive reader, me) DOES demand it, so it is an epiphany that I had. What is this epiphany I speak of? (write of? Don't know blogger speak just yet) I should Julie and Julia the Mommsen Family Cookbook.
I'm sure you're thinking, "that's great! What a marvy idea!" (You know how I'm sure of what you're thinking? "You" is currently ME! It is great to be my own only fan!) But, if someone else reads this (doubtful), they may wonder about the MFC. (You HAVE to be able to figure what that is by now... Okay for the slow audience members (me), it's Mommsen Family Cookbook. It's a tricky lingo, but it will come... Promisita to the readerita.)
The MFC is a collection of recipes put together by my incredibly talented and quite extensive extended family. My mom (the lovely and talented, Kay Moran (maiden name Mommsen... duh)) grew up with 8 siblings and they all had kids and most of that generation have had kids by now (with a few exception exceptions, notably: you... I mean me...). Anyway, the talents of the Mommsen kids, spouses, grand kids, and great grand kids are quite impressive and such talents extend to the kitchen. So, they put together a Mommsen Family Cookbook with a million recipes. Please don't count them. Okay, fine! It's probably more in the hundreds. That's still a lot, in my humble opinion and since I'm the only one writing the blog, that humble opinion is the only thing that matters. How's that for humble??
Long story short, I decided to make all of the recipes in the Mommsen family cookbook and blog about it. Then I realized that I'm not going to be making amazing creations in the kitchen daily and perhaps not even regularly, so I decided to blog about other stuff too. The other stuff is TBD for now, but I live a super interesting, mysterious, fast paced, rock star, crazy, nutty, 'throw caution in the wind', 'burn the candle at both ends', 'live for today', 'don't trust anyone over thirty...er...forty' kind of life so I'm sure I'll have lots to blog about. For example, today I went to the grocery store and you know what? Bags of salad were BOGO!! (Buy One Get One free) The crazy part? I actually NEEDED a bag of salad! See??? Who wouldn't want to read a blog about such happenings?? Answer: No one.
I have, in all actuality, started my crazy foray into the world of Mommsen family cooking and I think I've rocked it so far. I keep using "I" and that's because I have done it! Just me! Alone with my recipes and my pots, pans and Pam spray. The three Ps. Just kidding... I have a trusty, dusty partner in crime named, 'Danh'. (I changed his name to protect his privacy.) I will refer to Danh as Dan from here on out to save key strokes. More often than not I will say me, we, I, us or the like which should all be taken as Dan and I. Although I would love for you to think of it as just me, covered in flour, slaving away for my man and humanity. No judgies if I use the more selfish pronouns... It's easier and I'm selfish and lazy so it's a double win for me. You can't berate a double win!
Back to the dipping of my toe into the culinary world called the MFC.... My first night, my goal was to make a recipe, any recipe, that was concocted by either my Grandma (and hero, Evelyn Mommsen) or my mom (and another hero, the aforementioned Kay F. Moran). I thought it was a fitting way to begin my journey. I sat with Dan(h) and decided that the two perfect recipes to kick of my kitchen affair were my mom's cookies ("Kay and Mrs. Field's Chocolate Chip Cookies") because I remember so well having those as a kid and my Grandma's "Tater Tot Casserole" because that seemed like the right way to start off a cooking spree inspired by a family of potato farmers in Northern Wisconsin.
The plan got a little thwarted unintentionally and happily by our dear friends, Ang and Bill. They stopped over with their adorable doggie, Nalu, and we couldn't have been happier. Love it when those two come by! Because the Tater Tot Casserole took an hour in the oven to cook, (hey, some things are worth waiting for) we decided to forego that little gem for the night and focused our efforts on the cookies. I was a little concerned because I eyeballed the amount of chocolate chips I would need (I figured, 'hey, i'm 1/2 way into my first recipe, I think I'm ready to ditch these crazy measuring devices) and the dough looked more like a bowl of chocolate chips with a splash of batter to act an adhesive. I, of course, called the expert and author of the recipe, my mom, for a consultation. She spoke words that we would all do well to remember: you can NEVER have too many chocolate chips. And, my friends? She was right. The cookies turned out... I'm going to say it... A.MA.ZING. The trick, as my wise mom puts in the recipe instructions is to be sure not to over cook. So so so so so so good. 1 for 1. Some people would have ended there. On a high note. Costanza style. Not me. I had a tater tot casserole in my future...
My future came the next night. The recipe seemed simple enough but it was not without its challenges. "Crumble meat into bottom of the dish". Do I brown it first??? I had never crumbled raw meat! What do I do?? It was 10:36pm in Rice Lake, Wisconsin, so there was no calling in the expert witness, my Grandma. Who does one turn to in such trying times? One word: Google. There were differing opinions, oh yes, there were differing opinions. But, I said to myself (and aloud, if I'm to be accurate), "If my Grandma meant for the meat to be browned, she would have written it, by golly!" Okay. In the name of accuracy, I didn't actually say, "by golly." In fact, I'm not sure I've ever said that. Huh. The things that come out in a blog...
So, I continued with the recipe, sans meat browning. I'm spreading meat, dicing onions, draining corn, mixing soups, distributing tater tots... don't act like you're not impressed!! I poured the soupy mixture over the veggie/meat/tot mixture and shoved it in the oven to wait the tortuous hour for the outcome.
The hour proved to be less than torturous thanks to the show Dexter and thanks to Netflix for allowing us to stream it on demand. One disturbing and amazing episode later and the Totterole (my new name for Tater Tot Casserole) was ready to be exhumed from the oven. It was the moment of truth. If it didn't go well, I may never step foot in the kitchen again. That's a lie. I need to walk through the kitchen to get to the laundry room, my bike and the back door. You get what I was going after though, I'm sure. Here is the truth: The totterole was not just good like "good for a first go"... It was delicious! Seriously. Too good to be true. If you've never made it, go do it. Right now! Unless you don't have an hour to wait for it to cook. Then it would just be a tease. But, when you get and hour and you need something to cook, this is what you want to cook! So easy, so good, and so much of it! AND, not that bad for you! We used ground turkey instead of ground beef and the rest of it is pretty mellow fat and calorie wise (you have approx 6-8 tots/serving...). We can't wait to make it again. Leftovers are delish too... I can tell you from experience...
I'm going to go to bed now, belly full of leftover totterole and chocolate chip cookies. Next time I write it will likely not involve cooking, but who knows???
Where was I? Oh yes, my NYRs... I will go into what all of my NYRs are later (since my Katy Moran New Years doesn't start until Monday, January 10), but for now let me say that one of them has led me to the following conclusion: I just may be a genius in the kitchen. Okay, "genius" might be a wee bit of an overstatement. Do I deserve the title that has been bestowed upon the likes of people such as Einstein, Beethoven, Newton and Carrot Top? Perhaps, but it is not certain. However, I'm pretty happy with the results of my 'kitchendental' experiment so far*. (*Note: said 'kitchendental' experiment has lasted one day and is on recipe #2, so perhaps I am too quick with the self congratulatory statements... or am I??). Let me explain and you can judge for yourself...
I saw the movie Julie and Julia a while ago... In case you don't know what that movie is all about (in other words you have lived under a rock for the last couple of years or you're a male... potato, potahto), let me 'splain... A woman decides she is going to cook all of the recipes in Julia Childs' cookbook and then blog about it. I am terrible at cooking. I have never had any interest in learning how to do it better or to experiment with food in any way beyond mixing cereals until (pregnant pause) I had an idea. An epiphany? If you like to label things, maybe "epiphany" is the right word. Me? I don't believe in pigeon holing people, ideas or pigeons so I wouldn't use the word "epiphany" unless my audience demanded it. It turns out, my audience (which currently consists of one attentive reader, me) DOES demand it, so it is an epiphany that I had. What is this epiphany I speak of? (write of? Don't know blogger speak just yet) I should Julie and Julia the Mommsen Family Cookbook.
I'm sure you're thinking, "that's great! What a marvy idea!" (You know how I'm sure of what you're thinking? "You" is currently ME! It is great to be my own only fan!) But, if someone else reads this (doubtful), they may wonder about the MFC. (You HAVE to be able to figure what that is by now... Okay for the slow audience members (me), it's Mommsen Family Cookbook. It's a tricky lingo, but it will come... Promisita to the readerita.)
The MFC is a collection of recipes put together by my incredibly talented and quite extensive extended family. My mom (the lovely and talented, Kay Moran (maiden name Mommsen... duh)) grew up with 8 siblings and they all had kids and most of that generation have had kids by now (with a few exception exceptions, notably: you... I mean me...). Anyway, the talents of the Mommsen kids, spouses, grand kids, and great grand kids are quite impressive and such talents extend to the kitchen. So, they put together a Mommsen Family Cookbook with a million recipes. Please don't count them. Okay, fine! It's probably more in the hundreds. That's still a lot, in my humble opinion and since I'm the only one writing the blog, that humble opinion is the only thing that matters. How's that for humble??
Long story short, I decided to make all of the recipes in the Mommsen family cookbook and blog about it. Then I realized that I'm not going to be making amazing creations in the kitchen daily and perhaps not even regularly, so I decided to blog about other stuff too. The other stuff is TBD for now, but I live a super interesting, mysterious, fast paced, rock star, crazy, nutty, 'throw caution in the wind', 'burn the candle at both ends', 'live for today', 'don't trust anyone over thirty...er...forty' kind of life so I'm sure I'll have lots to blog about. For example, today I went to the grocery store and you know what? Bags of salad were BOGO!! (Buy One Get One free) The crazy part? I actually NEEDED a bag of salad! See??? Who wouldn't want to read a blog about such happenings?? Answer: No one.
I have, in all actuality, started my crazy foray into the world of Mommsen family cooking and I think I've rocked it so far. I keep using "I" and that's because I have done it! Just me! Alone with my recipes and my pots, pans and Pam spray. The three Ps. Just kidding... I have a trusty, dusty partner in crime named, 'Danh'. (I changed his name to protect his privacy.) I will refer to Danh as Dan from here on out to save key strokes. More often than not I will say me, we, I, us or the like which should all be taken as Dan and I. Although I would love for you to think of it as just me, covered in flour, slaving away for my man and humanity. No judgies if I use the more selfish pronouns... It's easier and I'm selfish and lazy so it's a double win for me. You can't berate a double win!
Back to the dipping of my toe into the culinary world called the MFC.... My first night, my goal was to make a recipe, any recipe, that was concocted by either my Grandma (and hero, Evelyn Mommsen) or my mom (and another hero, the aforementioned Kay F. Moran). I thought it was a fitting way to begin my journey. I sat with Dan(h) and decided that the two perfect recipes to kick of my kitchen affair were my mom's cookies ("Kay and Mrs. Field's Chocolate Chip Cookies") because I remember so well having those as a kid and my Grandma's "Tater Tot Casserole" because that seemed like the right way to start off a cooking spree inspired by a family of potato farmers in Northern Wisconsin.
The plan got a little thwarted unintentionally and happily by our dear friends, Ang and Bill. They stopped over with their adorable doggie, Nalu, and we couldn't have been happier. Love it when those two come by! Because the Tater Tot Casserole took an hour in the oven to cook, (hey, some things are worth waiting for) we decided to forego that little gem for the night and focused our efforts on the cookies. I was a little concerned because I eyeballed the amount of chocolate chips I would need (I figured, 'hey, i'm 1/2 way into my first recipe, I think I'm ready to ditch these crazy measuring devices) and the dough looked more like a bowl of chocolate chips with a splash of batter to act an adhesive. I, of course, called the expert and author of the recipe, my mom, for a consultation. She spoke words that we would all do well to remember: you can NEVER have too many chocolate chips. And, my friends? She was right. The cookies turned out... I'm going to say it... A.MA.ZING. The trick, as my wise mom puts in the recipe instructions is to be sure not to over cook. So so so so so so good. 1 for 1. Some people would have ended there. On a high note. Costanza style. Not me. I had a tater tot casserole in my future...
My future came the next night. The recipe seemed simple enough but it was not without its challenges. "Crumble meat into bottom of the dish". Do I brown it first??? I had never crumbled raw meat! What do I do?? It was 10:36pm in Rice Lake, Wisconsin, so there was no calling in the expert witness, my Grandma. Who does one turn to in such trying times? One word: Google. There were differing opinions, oh yes, there were differing opinions. But, I said to myself (and aloud, if I'm to be accurate), "If my Grandma meant for the meat to be browned, she would have written it, by golly!" Okay. In the name of accuracy, I didn't actually say, "by golly." In fact, I'm not sure I've ever said that. Huh. The things that come out in a blog...
So, I continued with the recipe, sans meat browning. I'm spreading meat, dicing onions, draining corn, mixing soups, distributing tater tots... don't act like you're not impressed!! I poured the soupy mixture over the veggie/meat/tot mixture and shoved it in the oven to wait the tortuous hour for the outcome.
The hour proved to be less than torturous thanks to the show Dexter and thanks to Netflix for allowing us to stream it on demand. One disturbing and amazing episode later and the Totterole (my new name for Tater Tot Casserole) was ready to be exhumed from the oven. It was the moment of truth. If it didn't go well, I may never step foot in the kitchen again. That's a lie. I need to walk through the kitchen to get to the laundry room, my bike and the back door. You get what I was going after though, I'm sure. Here is the truth: The totterole was not just good like "good for a first go"... It was delicious! Seriously. Too good to be true. If you've never made it, go do it. Right now! Unless you don't have an hour to wait for it to cook. Then it would just be a tease. But, when you get and hour and you need something to cook, this is what you want to cook! So easy, so good, and so much of it! AND, not that bad for you! We used ground turkey instead of ground beef and the rest of it is pretty mellow fat and calorie wise (you have approx 6-8 tots/serving...). We can't wait to make it again. Leftovers are delish too... I can tell you from experience...
I'm going to go to bed now, belly full of leftover totterole and chocolate chip cookies. Next time I write it will likely not involve cooking, but who knows???
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