Well folks, 2013 has arrived; the year that has me saying goodbye to my 20’s. I don’t feel old, and I certainly don’t look old, so all that’s left to do is get my lie straight. I am 27 years old. Yeah, not too old, not too young. 27 is good.
I’m sorry it has once again been awhile since my last update. I can say I was busy, which is true, but I’ll stop making excuses now. Here’s what I’ve been up to:
November . . .
Thanksgiving! I took the reigns and co-cooked the meal alongside my mother. I usually bake a couple pies and maybe bring a side or two along, but I decided that 2013’s Thanksgiving Dinner is going to be made by me and me alone. So 2012 was the dress rehearsal.
It went very well. I made corn muffins, rolls, cranberry sauce, and a chocolate pecan pie (using Alton Brown’s recipe with normal pecans, and adding chocolate chips) the day before. Then I went to my parents house and prepared the stuffing and sweet potato casserole with my mom. Woke up bright and early Thanksgiving Day to make a derby pie and Thanksgiving brunch, cranberry/orange nut bread. Back over to my parents house to get everything else cooking.
I kept a list of when everything needed to go in the oven so that I wouldn’t get flustered with the timing of it all. The only thing I didn’t end up having a hand in cooking was the actual turkey. My dad smoked it. Then he carved it up using his new ceramic knives from Costco. Big mistake. The knife broke and we ended up spending half an hour looking for sharp white knife shards.
Throughout 2013, I’ll need to remake all of our standard (and experiment with new) dishes, and cook a whole turkey, so I’m ready to go for my big day. My mom always does a great job and I hope I can live up to it!
December . . .
Started out the month with a quick hop to Las Vegas to see the Script. Fourth show in 6 weeks, not bad! They were playing a gig with Train and Better Than Ezra. My friend Jessica and I almost didn’t get into the show because we had trouble with our tickets, but with determination, we managed to find tickets for $10 each. Got in the venue just as the Script took the stage, timing couldn’t have been better. And of course I brought them some goodies: chocolate cake balls and pecan pie bars.
Then started the crazy holiday baking frenzy. In the course of a week, I make 8 different varieties of cookies/bars, totaling 315 pieces. They were then boxed up and shipped to a lucky list of friends around the country, and the rest were bagged for local friends and coworkers. I’m not a fan of freezing cookies which is why I ended up doing everything in one week, but next year I’m going to spread it out and use my freezer more. I was insanely tired after all that baking.
The night before Christmas, I made homemade cinnamon rolls. Woke up early the next day to frost them before heading over to my parents for the festivities. They were delicious, mainly because I didn’t skimp on the cream cheese frosting. I was rewarded for being such a good little baker with more cooking/baking items from Santa.
Last bit of baking in 2012 was a mini chocolate chip cake for a friend. His birthday is New Year’s Eve Eve and it had been a long time since he had had a birthday cake. I was a day late in giving it to him, but we celebrated on New Year’s Eve in Vegas. Still can’t tell you how it was because we haven’t eaten it yet. Unfortunately he got food poisoning and was unable to eat for the next couple of days. It went in my freezer and we haven’t found the time to enjoy it yet. Hopefully it still tastes good!
January . . .
I haven’t worked up the energy to bake, except for a half batch of brownies. My Christmas tree is still up (being pitched tomorrow) and I feel like the holidays blew by. The baking will resume again once I’ve caught my breath.
All Things Crafty 