Sometimes I don't write for a bit because frankly, I don't feel I have much to say (although my family and friends might say otherwise). Sometimes I'm just busy. But I had an experience this weekend that I just had to share. Had to. Well, that, and Casey thought I should share it. And before I go on, please don't expect a huge story...maybe a laugh at my expense, but that's alright.
Looking through my Betty Crocker cookbook -- a lovely wedding gift -- I found some wonderful desserts. The same do-not-shop-when-hungry rule should also apply while looking through a cookbook. I found a recipe for a jelly roll. And not just a jelly roll, but alternate recipes as well, like "chocolate roll" and "lemon roll" and..."pumpkin roll". WOW! And this alternate recipe -- the "alternates" were listed to the side of the main recipe so you could see what to add and/or substitute -- called for a cream cheese frosting as a filling. Mmm! It appeared to be a bit more of a baking challenge than, say, chocolate chip cookies, but at the moment I felt up to that challenge.
Saturday was the big day. It rained all afternoon, so it was a good time to be inside making yummy desserts. Oh, and I had to go to the store to get all kinds of new things, like a jelly roll pan (in case you're interested, it's 10 x 15 x 1), a sifter, and a few more mixing bowls. Lots of egg separating involved in this recipe, then beating the egg yolks -- which look nothing like egg yolks after five minutes on high speed, by the way -- and beating the egg whites, then folding one mixture into the other, etc. I was very good about all of this, very thorough. I checked the directions constantly to make sure I was getting it right.
At last I had folded and re-folded the mixtures, and was ready to spread the gooey batter over the floury pan. I was in the middle of doing so when Casey walked into the kitchen and asked innocently, "What about the pumpkin?" I whirled around, ready to answer, when a wave of panic washed over me. I quietly mumbled, "Oh no, no, no, no, no..." to myself as I looked at the recipe, my eyes darting quickly to the ALTERNATE pumpkin recipe -- and I realized I had completely done it all wrong. With my hand over my mouth, I looked at Casey, who could see that I had indeed forgotten the canned pumpkin and the pumpkin pie spice. And of course, Casey being Casey, he was immediately sympathetic...and probably wondering what I would do next. For a moment I could not even imagine doing all of that egg mixing again. But then the old stubborn nature took over, and I was determined to start all over again.
Casey helped out the second time through, which made things much easier. But neither of us could have known what we would be up against at the end of it all. I honestly thought that, if I had any big mishaps, it would be in rolling the cake to cool. But no. Although, when I flipped the cake out of the pan onto the powdered-sugar-coated (but not enough) towel, the pan slipped from my hands just enough to poke a hole near the middle of the cake. Doh! And it really had looked near perfect just seconds before that. No, the big mishap was in the final rolling of the cream-filled roll. Why, why, WHY did I put so much powdered sugar in the cream cheese frosting?!? Actually, the real question is, why did I spread all of the frosting on the roll? No idea. But when I started rolling, I knew it was all over.
There never was a "roll". There was, how should I put it, a blob. A big pumpkin blob with cream cheese frosting oozing -- no, pouring from every corner. Well, now I had to pick it up and put it on a plate so it could sit in the fridge. The blob was heavy, and began breaking apart as I picked it up. I would say I got a little frantic, at which point Casey came over to help. Together we lifted the sticky, oozing blob onto a wax-and-powdered-sugar-covered pan. While Casey made space in the fridge, I wiped up the countertop. The frustration over all the work and re-work, only to end up with an ugly blob of a dessert was just too much. "Case..." I said slowly. "I want to cry!" I turned to face him, and just as the tears began streaming down my face, I suddenly burst into laughter (much to Casey's relief). He began laughing as well, and I continued crying and laughing as we saw ourselves picking up the blob -- this is Casey's word, and I can't seem to think of anything else to call it -- and working so hard to save it. Most importantly, the laughing continued long after the crying had ceased. In case you're interested, we did try out the new dessert, and boy is it yummy! Anyone want my recipe?
On another note, I wanted to mention that Casey brought a dozen roses to my office yesterday afternoon. It's not my birthday, it's not our anniversary...he just decided to brighten my day! Yes, he is very sweet, and I am so very proud to say that he is my husband.
Looking through my Betty Crocker cookbook -- a lovely wedding gift -- I found some wonderful desserts. The same do-not-shop-when-hungry rule should also apply while looking through a cookbook. I found a recipe for a jelly roll. And not just a jelly roll, but alternate recipes as well, like "chocolate roll" and "lemon roll" and..."pumpkin roll". WOW! And this alternate recipe -- the "alternates" were listed to the side of the main recipe so you could see what to add and/or substitute -- called for a cream cheese frosting as a filling. Mmm! It appeared to be a bit more of a baking challenge than, say, chocolate chip cookies, but at the moment I felt up to that challenge.
Saturday was the big day. It rained all afternoon, so it was a good time to be inside making yummy desserts. Oh, and I had to go to the store to get all kinds of new things, like a jelly roll pan (in case you're interested, it's 10 x 15 x 1), a sifter, and a few more mixing bowls. Lots of egg separating involved in this recipe, then beating the egg yolks -- which look nothing like egg yolks after five minutes on high speed, by the way -- and beating the egg whites, then folding one mixture into the other, etc. I was very good about all of this, very thorough. I checked the directions constantly to make sure I was getting it right.
At last I had folded and re-folded the mixtures, and was ready to spread the gooey batter over the floury pan. I was in the middle of doing so when Casey walked into the kitchen and asked innocently, "What about the pumpkin?" I whirled around, ready to answer, when a wave of panic washed over me. I quietly mumbled, "Oh no, no, no, no, no..." to myself as I looked at the recipe, my eyes darting quickly to the ALTERNATE pumpkin recipe -- and I realized I had completely done it all wrong. With my hand over my mouth, I looked at Casey, who could see that I had indeed forgotten the canned pumpkin and the pumpkin pie spice. And of course, Casey being Casey, he was immediately sympathetic...and probably wondering what I would do next. For a moment I could not even imagine doing all of that egg mixing again. But then the old stubborn nature took over, and I was determined to start all over again.
Casey helped out the second time through, which made things much easier. But neither of us could have known what we would be up against at the end of it all. I honestly thought that, if I had any big mishaps, it would be in rolling the cake to cool. But no. Although, when I flipped the cake out of the pan onto the powdered-sugar-coated (but not enough) towel, the pan slipped from my hands just enough to poke a hole near the middle of the cake. Doh! And it really had looked near perfect just seconds before that. No, the big mishap was in the final rolling of the cream-filled roll. Why, why, WHY did I put so much powdered sugar in the cream cheese frosting?!? Actually, the real question is, why did I spread all of the frosting on the roll? No idea. But when I started rolling, I knew it was all over.
There never was a "roll". There was, how should I put it, a blob. A big pumpkin blob with cream cheese frosting oozing -- no, pouring from every corner. Well, now I had to pick it up and put it on a plate so it could sit in the fridge. The blob was heavy, and began breaking apart as I picked it up. I would say I got a little frantic, at which point Casey came over to help. Together we lifted the sticky, oozing blob onto a wax-and-powdered-sugar-covered pan. While Casey made space in the fridge, I wiped up the countertop. The frustration over all the work and re-work, only to end up with an ugly blob of a dessert was just too much. "Case..." I said slowly. "I want to cry!" I turned to face him, and just as the tears began streaming down my face, I suddenly burst into laughter (much to Casey's relief). He began laughing as well, and I continued crying and laughing as we saw ourselves picking up the blob -- this is Casey's word, and I can't seem to think of anything else to call it -- and working so hard to save it. Most importantly, the laughing continued long after the crying had ceased. In case you're interested, we did try out the new dessert, and boy is it yummy! Anyone want my recipe?
On another note, I wanted to mention that Casey brought a dozen roses to my office yesterday afternoon. It's not my birthday, it's not our anniversary...he just decided to brighten my day! Yes, he is very sweet, and I am so very proud to say that he is my husband.
1 comment:
I like your blogs. Your style of writing is cool. And some where i identify with your simplicity.
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