Mental Pause

I know I need to post about Thanksgiving, but even thinking about how to put the experience into words makes me cry all over again. I am so very grateful for my family!

Here's what I found at my dining room table on Wednesday night. Eating McDonald's food! Now, if I had known they were coming, I could have made Welcome Home Stew. Way better than McDonald's.


I now have a complete set of totem pole pictures. Why this totem pole? I don't know. Mom chose it.

This is most of the food we had on Thanksgiving. The potatoes were still in the oven and the pumpkin cheesecake was still in the fridge (both dishes were from my boss, who was in on the secret). It was all good.

And then Cassie and I left on the early flight on Saturday for a day trip to Juneau, leaving my siblings alone (sort of -- Arnold was still home) in my house for a couple of hours. One of you needs to write up the whole story about the rabbit. The rest of the photos are posted on my facebook page (except for the one where the bunny has his head in the oven because you can see how dirty my oven is). The bad bunny raised a lot of questions. In particular "How old are your siblings?" Mmm hmm.

I love you people!

Iron Chef, part 7

The judges agreed that Cassie's meatball presentation was unique!! And pretty!

Cassie scored 14/15 for presentation, 12/15 for originality, and 7/15 for taste for a total score of 33/45.

Iron Chef -- Bonus Round

So, I was cooking some bacon after church to use up the bacon Kent put in his green beans, and Arnold decided to make a bacon sandwich with smoked peppercorn gouda cheese and red onion on the bread and broil it. And then he wanted to enter it in the competition (that's why this is a bonus round -- an unscheduled entry).

In the process, Arnold discovered a new power tool -- the Cuisinart. He was awed.

His sandwich creation with a side of sliced honeycrisp apples was DELICIOUS!


Scores: Taste 15/15, Originality 13.5/15, Presentation 10.5/15 -- total score39/45. That means Arnold is in the lead.

But, once again, I didn't have to do the cooking, so I WIN! (I'm loving this Iron Chef challenge.) Meanwhile, Cassie's in the kitchen with a plethora of ingredients out, trying to come up with a sauce recipe for meatballs. She's cooking tonight!

Iron Chef, Part 5

Kent's turn.

Kent scored 11.5/15 for taste, 13/15 for presentation, and 9/15 for originality for a total score of 33.5/45. The chicken was marinated in balsamic vinegar, molasses, and red onion. Tasty!


Just in case anybody's keeping track -- I'm still in the lead!

Oh -- and this is three whole times I haven't had to cook! So I win again!

SWF

a few of the girls from work (all half my age) came over last night for cocktails and appetizers. the theme, apparently, was cheese.

i got this little appetizer cookbook from pampered chef and tried a few recipes. brie and apple tartlets (delicious!), roasted garlic and red pepper potatoes (i never even noticed my store carried those tiny little red potatoes -- the filling had cream cheese as well as garlic and peppers), and little goat cheese and sundried tomato puffs. all from the cookbook. i also made parmesan artichoke dip and pear sidecars (not a hit with the younger crowd, but i like just about anything served in a martini glass!).

Iron Chef, part 4

Arnold's dinner of grilled chicken and rotini with alfredo sauce was well received by the judges. Interestingly, each of the three judges independently gave Arnold the exact same scores: Taste: 4/5, Presentation: 3/5, and Originality: 2/5 for a total score of 27/35.

Kent was inspired, though, to poke through the cabinets and ask to be entered in the competition. He'll be cooking on Saturday.

No challenge tomorrow night. I'm hosting a SWF party (cocktails and appetizers, and we're watching Single White Female).

Iron Chef, Part 3

Iron Chef Cassie prepared breaded chicken stuffed with mozzerella cheese and served on pizza sauce (yes, there were like 3 cans of pizza sauce in the cupboard), with a side of cheesy mashed potatoes.

While her scores for originality were low, the meal was very tasty!

Cassie's scores: Taste 12/15, Presentation 9/15, Originality 8/15. Overall: 29/35.

Way to go, Cassie!

Iron Chef, Part 2

no pictures. sorry. i left my camera at preschool.

last night's panel of judges was much harder to please. here are my scores:
taste 10/15, presentation 10/15, originality 9/15.

admittedly, the meal was NOT my original recipe, but i've never made it for my family before: aunt joyce's ham ball recipe (with slight modifications because i didn't have all the ingredients) with a maple and mustard sauce, mom's butter dip recipe (which should have scored me BIG points in the taste category), and sauteed green beans.

even though they gave me lower scores in the taste category, TWO of the three judges were asking for more. there were no leftovers, and i used leftover ham from the freezer. my score may only be 29 but i think i won!

cassie will be cooking tonight. something with chicken. i'll be sure to bring my camera home!

Iron Chef Challenge Week

hadn't posted for a while and thought i should catch up on the family blogs and of course ended up crying (thanks to emilee and lori). so here's something that WON'T make anybody cry.

i have this cupboard in my house that has two round shelves that are supposed to rotate. we mostly store canned and dry goods there. for months now the shelf has been so full of food that it is too heavy to turn. my solution? the iron chef challenge.

each of us will be cooking dinner twice this week using only ingredients already in the house (with one exception -- i told the kids if they needed a protein, i would buy it for their meals).

i cooked tonight and my scores were: 14 out of a possible 15 for taste (go, me!), 9 out of 15 for presentation, and 11 out of 15 for originality. total score: 34 out of 45.

dinner was ground beef, italian sausage and pepperoni with pizza sauce served over brown rice (topped with parmesan cheese), and steamed broccoli.

i'll also be cooking (and posting) tomorrow. cassie will cook on tuesday and thursday; arnold will be cooking on wednesday and saturday. kent will remain an impartial judge because he says the kids won't eat anything he cooks.

the best part? i'm not spending $200 on groceries this week.