Monday, April 27, 2009

Minding your "P"s

Tonight we went to Maggiano's in Oak Brook to celebrate Baird's birthday. When we sat down, Drew was handed a child's menu, and he promptly went to work on the word search. There were 2 words that he just couldn't find: Spaghetti and Pasta. After several careful searches, he realized there was no "P" to be found anywhere in the word search.
Slightly annoyed that the puzzle was impossible to complete, Drew resorted to that time-honored tradition children throughout the years have used when they're bored at a restaurant: he took a field trip to the bathroom.
While in the bathroom, Drew struck up a conversation with a Maggiano's employee, and related his frustration over the word search. The guy told Drew to grab his menu and show it to him at his post (he was working the take out counter). It turns out Drew was given a photocopy of the child's menu, and there was a line of letters that didn't make it onto the menu. Not only did Drew get a new menu, he was given 6 lemon cookies for his trouble!
Drew will talk to anyone, anywhere, anytime. Tonight, it paid off in cookies.

Friday, April 24, 2009

Time to eat the donuts

It seems like the kids have hardly been in school this month. April started in the middle of spring break. After being back for 4 days, everyone was home again for Good Friday. After putting in a complete 5-day week at school last week, the kids were all, "Wow, it's been a looooong week!" They were really looking forward to having today off for teacher in-service.

Since weekends are crazy with sports activities and theater performances, we took advantage of the day off and had breakfast at The Depot. I know a lot's been written about this place, but you must experience it to truly appreciate how good it is. The made-to-order donuts and mocha are far and away the best donuts I've ever had. They even beat the Oak Park farmer's market donuts, and that's saying something.

The donuts are rolled in cinnamon and sugar the second they leave the grease. They are served hot with homemade mocha dipping sauce that includes a generous whipped cream garnish. As you pick up a donut and dredge it thru the mocha and whipped cream, the cream begins to melt over the top of the donut. Pop it in your mouth and enjoy the complexity of the flavors. Once you swallow, the warmth travels down to your stomach and then spreads thru your body like the best wine glow you've ever experienced. It sounds crazy but it's actually true. The first time I ate these donuts, I almost slid down the booth like a cartoon character, they were so good. Everyone I share these donuts with experiences a similar sensation.

On the way out of The Depot this morning, I noticed the soup of the day is shrimp bisque. Yummy. I made need to return for lunch this afternoon!

Sunday, April 12, 2009

Easter Sunday Surprises

They say that you can tell a lot about people by how they handle a disaster. Some cry. Some laugh. Some get mad. Some get flustered. Some rise to the occasion. Some give up, and some know the imporance of asking for help. I had someone tell me once that the difference between a good cook and a great chef is one's ability to successfully handle cooking disasters. Over the years, I've had my share of cooking disasters: oven fires; burned food; the substituted ingredient gone terribly wrong...you get the idea. I'm nowhere near a great chef, but I've made some strides in not letting a kitchen disaster ruin my day, or even my meal for that matter.
There are a couple of reasons why I continue to cook in spite of experiencing cooking disasters. One reason is because there are people in my house who count on me to provide them with sustenance, and they tend to get a little crabby when they're not fed. Another reason is because I truly enjoy cooking, and I believe that with every bad cooking experience, there's something to be learned.
Sometimes in the kitchen, my best laid plans are thwarted because some appliance or other decided to go on strike. Today was one of those days.
I got up early this morning to make Grandma's crescent rolls, but my breadmaker saw fit to stir only the bottom half of the mixture, leaving me with a bunch of flour at the top and an ooey, gooey, sticky mess underneath. It seemed like such a waste to throw out all that dough, so I began salvaging. I kneaded the dough on my own and let it rise, and then rolled out the dough. I thought I had everything under control, right up to the point I realized my oven wasn't working. Uh oh. Now what?!
I decided to cover the rolls with warm, damp dish towels and head off to church, all the while in a complete panic about how I was going to throw together Easter dinner without an oven. I figured I could put the pre-cooked ham in the crock pot once we returned home, but I still needed to work out the potato casserole and the rolls. I had no idea if the rolls would even be salvagable but I had to try. I got home from church and placed frantic calls to my neighbors, MJ and Kat, and they both graciously offered their ovens.
Running between three houses to put Easter dinner together certainly had its challenges, but all things considered, the meal was downright tasty. The crescent rolls weren't perfect but were still edible. The ham was terrific.
So what did I learn from this disaster? Sometimes it pays to walk away from a problem and divert your attention to something else for awhile, even if you don't think you have the time to do so. And sometimes, Easter miracles come in unexpected forms, like neighbors who aren't cooking on Easter Sunday!