Organized Chaos

Organized Chaos

Posted by Brit

Less organized, more chaos - my father's kitchen is stocked full of cooking materials.  There is a cupboard full of pots and pans, and another for baking dishes.  There is a drawer for wooden spoons and drawer for knives and two drawers for flatware.  And a drawer for sauce packets and seasonings.  And an island full of seasonings.  More cups and plates and bowls than one man needs (and more frying pans, there are a whole hell of a lot of frying pans).  I asked him why today, why all the frying pans?  He replied with, "I'm a cook."  And then he chuckled and said, "naw really I just hate doing dishes."  He does hate dishes but he really is a cook.  A very good one at that.

Today I learned how to make his homemade ham gravy.  I don't even like gravy but today's was especially good.  I guess I never really realized that my father rarely follows a recipe.  He put the fatty ham juice in a sauce pan and boiled it.  He then threw in a mixture of milk and flour and almost instantly knew the proportions weren't right.  He quickly poured some more milk in and threw in some more flour and it was perfect.  I need to learn to cook like that.  I am methodical and by the book in almost everything.  Cooking is easy when you follow the plan already laid out for you, but cooking like my father cooks is something to aspire to. 

My contribution to the Thanksgiving feast was two pies.  I made one pumpkin and one cherry - my brother and my father's favorites.  They turned out very well, however pies are one of my favorite things to bake even though I don't enjoy eating them all too much.

Pumpkin Pie Crust

Finished Pumpkin Pie

Not Yet Baked Cherry Pie

A while

A while

Posted by Brit

It's been a while.  I've been out of town the last two weekends and working in between.  And attempting to stay warm.

A couple of weeks ago I went to Denver.  I witnessed more love and friendship and family in one weekend in one place than I've probably ever witnessed before.  I don't get tear-y eyed too often but I did that Saturday night.  I was elated to be a part of something so whole and good.  I also had a damn good time shaking my butt all night long!

Last weekend I went with some friends to visit our friend Darren in Hays.  We were able to see his art show and had an opportunity to purchase some art at the Fort Hays art sale.  I came away with a ceramic bowl and a piece of Darren's art.  We missed our dear friend Ashley who is out in D.C. but other than that the group was back together after a long time a part.  It's funny how people change but some things stay the same.  It's also weird that I've known Joshua for eight years.  The rest I got to know sometime shortly thereafter.  We've all grown and changed in a lot of ways.  We're making separate lives when our lives used to be so intertwined.  The nice thing is we can always come back and pick up where we left off, even after not speaking for months.

Work is going well.  I have excellent days and some days of frustration.  I'm learning though, and continue to be given the opportunity to further my education (for free)!

I am saving for a trip to Germany with Brandon.  We hope to go in the Spring sometime.  I also have to save up PTO hours so that I can take two weeks off and hopefully still have a day or two built up just in case.  Here's to hoping I don't get ill this winter.  The money is the larger part of it though.

Speaking of money I received my first student loan bill this week.  I can't believe it's been six months since I've finished school. 

I'll make a food or photo post sometime soon.

Creamy Cheesy Cauliflower Soup

Creamy Cheesy Cauliflower Soup

Posted by Brit

I could never run a legitimate food blog.  Tonight's recipe doesn't have any photos because I didn't even think I would post about it.  It turned out so great I just had to share.  I adapted it from a Cabot Vermont ad I found in my Better Homes and Gardens magazine I got in the mail today as a replacement for the now defunct ReadyMade mag I used to get.  The original less fatty (and presumably less delicious) recipe can be found here.  My version is below.


Creamy Cheesy Cauliflower Soup

1 Tb. Cooking Oil
1 & 1/4 C. Chopped Onion
1 Medium Head Cauliflower, roughly chopped
2 & 1/2 C. Chicken Broth (we used 2.5 chicken bouillon cubes to about 2.75 C. water and boiled it)
3/4 C. Heavy Whipping Cream (okay, go with whole milk to save on the fat if you want)
1 C. Vermont Sharp White Cheddar, grated (we bought the Kroger/Private Selection brand)
2-3 Tb. Fresh Dill, chopped
Salt
Pepper

1. Chop Onion and Cauliflower
2. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Add onion and saute for about 3 minutes until tender.  The onion shouldn't carmelize.  Add cauliflower and keep cooking for about 3 more minutes.
3. Add broth and heavy whipping cream.  Add a half teaspoon salt and a teaspoon pepper.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for about 30 minutes.
4. Remove from heat and puree mixture in batches.  Return to pan over medium low heat.  Stir in cheese and dill until cheese is melted.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve.  Throw a little extra dill on top for good flavor.

Saltine Cracker Toffee

Saltine Cracker Toffee

Posted by Brit

Yesterday I made Saltine Cracker Toffee.  I had this once as a child and loved it.  I didn't really know what it was though until I found this recipe on the internet the other day while checking out the website Pinterest. I saw a comment my friend Cassi made on my friend Ashley's facebook ("you really don't have a Pinterest?") and thought, "well gee, I don't either."  While I didn't sign for an account I did find this food blog, The Girl Who Ate Everything, and this recipe.

Ingredients:
1 C. Packed Brown Sugar
1 C. Unsalted Butter
2 C. Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
1 Sleeve Saltine Crackers

Set oven to 400 degrees.  Line a cookie sheet with tin foil and then line it with saltines.  Make sure to put enough tin foil in your pan so that you can bend it up the edges.  This will help to keep the gooey caramel from escaping onto your pan.

Next melt together the butter and brown sugar.  Bring to a boil and allow to boil for 3 to 4 minutes.

While boiling the brown sugary butter mixture put the chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 30 seconds at a time.  Stir in between microwaves.  Continue until smooth.

Pour the boiling caramel mixture over the saltines and spread to cover them completely.  Then put the saltines in the oven and bake for about 6 minutes.  When you pull the crackers they should be sort of "swimming" in the caramel.  Allow them to sit for about a minute so that the caramel hardens slightly.  It will then be easier to spread the melted chocolate over the caramel crackers.

Spread the chocolate and allow the toffee to cool completely.  Then break it up into pieces and enjoy!  Prior to breaking my toffee, but once it was completely cooled, I stuck it in the fridge for about 5 minutes.  This allows the chocolate to harden a bit more so it doesn't melt on your hands while breaking.