Day 116 - Jam or Marmalade Bars?

I would much rather have strawberry jam bars as I think the rest of the family would, but that is not the direction I took.
Remember back on day 73 when I made Orange Marmalade Soufflé with Grand Marnier (I STILL love to say that - it sounds SO cool on the tongue!)?
Yes, I still have that orange marmalade in the fridge and noone's touched it and I certainly haven't because I just don't like the stuff.
Yeah, so why would I make something that nobody will probably eat?  Because I don't want to waste the marmalade. 
I know.
I hear you chuckling.
Yes,... you.
I'll be wasting BOTH the marmalade AND the bars this way.
Oh well, we'll see.

The recipe said to use an 8-inch square pan.  I own a 9-inch square pan or an 8-inch round pan.  I chose the round knowing the 9 would be too big and didn't want to burn my creation. 
I certainly wouldn't want to waste it by BURNING it!  ;-) (I need to add smiley face icons - on my to do list...)

This is from my Fannie Farmer Cookbook, Thirteenth Edition, p.632; author, Marion Cunningham; publisher, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., a division of Random House, Inc.; ISBN 0-394-56788-9.

Jam or Marmalade Bars - 16 bars, wedges, or pretty designs

½ cup shortening
½ cup sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon almond extract
1 egg
1½ cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon cloves
½ teaspoon salt
jam or marmalade (did not specify an amount in the recipe)

Preheat oven to 400ºF.
Grease an 8-inch square pan.
Cream the shortening with the sugar, vanilla and almond extract.

Stir in the egg and blend well.

Mix together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, cloves and salt, add to the first mixture, and combine thoroughly.

Spread half the dough in the pan.

Cover with a layer of jam or marmalade.

Pat the remaining dough on top and bake for 25 minutes.

Cool, then cut into bars 4 X 1 inches.

Or is you're using an 8-inch ROUND pan, cut into wedges however big or small you want.
'Cause they're your bars.

Or you can just cut them into pretty designs without regard to being pushed into making bars OR wedges.

Live a little.
Cut things differently.

Go outside your box.

...

ok, I'll stop.

If you have questions about pan sizes and substituting, check out this page at the Joy of Baking.  It was helpful and I know I'll need to consult this info. again during the course of the year.

Everything that I make is rated on a scale of 1-4 with 4 being the best and these orange marmalade bars earned 2½ rolling pins.
I knew I was going to have a problem putting the top layer of dough on the marmalade.
It really was a no-brainer that when I attempt to push the dough out from the center of the pan to the edges that the marmalade is going to move to the edges with it.
Yeah.
Before I placed the ball of dough on the top I flattened it as best I could like a pizza.  I placed that on the marmalade, but it wasn't big enough and still had to push it to the edges with a rubber spatula.  Consequently, there was more marmalade on the outer edges than there was in  between the layers.  It could have been the reason for it being dry, too.  Just guessing.
At first bite, they were very dry, but then the more I chewed, they became a little addicting.  And there really wasn't an overwhelming orange marmalade taste.
Go figure.
Know why?
It was all, ok, well almost all of it, pushed to the outer edges where it became crunchy and chewy which, I have to admit, was rather good.
Ultimately, I thought they were just kind of eh, or as we used to say in my high school French class, "Comme ci, comme ça" - could be better, but could be worse.

There.

There's your French lesson for the day.
The next time someone asks you how you're doing, say, "Comme ci, comme ça" (pronounced "come-see comme-saah"), and see how impressed they'll be!
Either that or they'll look at you like you have two heads and will wonder what the heck you said.
Cuisson Heureux!

Day 110 - Cornflake "Macaroons"

A great evening spent with friends.  Everyone needs to remember to do that once in a while.  It's good to socialize and forget about "things" even if it is only for a few hours.
It helps to keep me grounded.
And everytime I come home after being with friends, I'm thinking, "darn!  Why don't I do that more often?".

I found this cookie recipe in my Fannie Farmer Cookbook Thirteenth Edition, p. 621; author, Marion Cunningham; publisher, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., a division of Random House, Inc.; ISBN 0-394-56788-9.

Cornflake "Macaroons"  - about 18 cookies

1 egg white
½ cup sugar
½ cup shredded coconut
1 cup cornflakes
¼ teaspoon almond extract
¼ teaspoon vanilla
Dash of salt

Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
Place parchment paper on top of two cookie sheets.
Beat the egg white until stiff, then stir in the remaining ingredients.

Place by teaspoonfuls on the cookie sheet.

Bake for about 10 minutes or until lightly browned.

I rate everything I bake on a scale of 1-4 with 4 being the best and I thought these cookies earned 2½ rolling pins.  They were different.  They weren't bad, they just weren't something that I feel I absolutely have to make again.  I really liked the texture: the egg white was similar to a meringue, and the chewiness of the coconut mixed with the crunch of the cornflake was a good combination.  I like that there wasn't too much coconut, like a genuine macaroon, and I think a little less sugar would have been better - they were very sweet.  But that was probably because I used sweetened coconut, too.  Use unsweetened or cut the sugar amount in half.
I have to say that the smell of these brought me back to childhood.  I used to eat these sugar cookies from Nabisco that came in a pink wrapper and of course, they don't make them anymore.  The faintly smelled of coconut and were absolutely delicious.  I really miss those cookies... They were big, their shape reminded me of a flower and they had a hole in the middle that I used to stick my finger through and eat from the outside in.

Ah, the good 'ol days...(sigh)

Happy baking!

Day 108 - Three Berry Cobbler

Thank you all for your patience and your continuous reading while I've taken this short hiatus.
I was feeling well enough today to bake although I am still not over my illness. 
This recipe was simple to make, but because of my energy level and inability to focus at times it took me a couple of hours to complete it.
I'm sure it won't take you as long.

Adapted from Fannie Farmer Cookbook Thirteenth Edition

Three Berry Cobbler

1 pint of strawberries
1 pint of blueberries
12 oz. blackberries
12 tablespoons butter, melted
½ teaspoon salt
2/3 cup sugar
½ cup milk
1 egg
1½ cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder

Preheat oven to 375ºF.
Pour 4 tablespoons of the melted butter into an 8 X 8"-inch baking dish.  Spread evenly in dish.
In a small bowl, mix together ¼ teaspoon salt and ¼ cup of the sugar.
Combine all berries into a large bowl.  Pour sugar/salt mixture over berries and fold in gently with a wooden spoon. 

Place berries in baking dish and set aside.
Pour remaining 8 tablespoons melted butter into a bowl, add the milk and egg, and beat well.
Mix the flour, baking powder, remaining ¼ teaspoon salt, and remaining 6 tablespoons of sugar in a bowl.
Stir the egg/milk/butter mixture into flour mixture and beat together until smooth.

Place 9 dollops of batter onto berries.

Bake for approximately 35-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into dough comes out clean.  If browning too quickly, cover with foil.

The cobbler was delicious and on a scale of 1-4 with 4 being the best, this earned 4 rolling pins!  It was even that much better with the vanilla bean ice cream on it, too.
And yes, I had a little bit of an appetite to eat it.  And I could even taste it, too which was a plus!

I had gone to bed early, and I mean like 7:00 pm early hoping to call it a night, but I tossed and turned for at least an hour or more and couldn't fall asleep.  So, I sat on my husband's side of the bed and was on his laptop when I noticed something very near my foot move on the floor.

Fortunately, he's a bigger one and less dangerous than his smaller counterparts.  He was in a plastic cup when this picture was taken 

I was going to put this at the top of the post, but didn't want to freak anybody out. 
It's been a couple of years since we've had a scorpion in the house and usually I'm not too freaked out by them and can dispose of them without having to call my husband for assistance.  Last night was different though.  I didn't need my husband, I just freaked out knowing that I had walked back and forth over that same are not a couple of minutes beforehand to go into the bathroom.
I'm just so glad that I saw it before anyone stepped on it, and not to mention the dog who wanders the whole house.
I'd love to know where it came from and if it has any brothers or sisters we need to be on the lookout for.  Did he come in from a vent in the ceiling or somewhere at ground level.  I'll never know, but I did have trouble walking around the house afterwards and going to sleep.
We didn't have scorpions in Rhode Island.  I can't say that I'm happy to see them here in the desert.
~ Happy baking everyone! ~

Day 105 - Swedish Meatballs

Oh, there's so MUCH to talk about!!!!
Can I tell you all how much blog withdrawal I have had because Blogger was down?
IT WAS HORRIBLE!!!!
I guess you could now say I'm addicted to blogging and will soon need an intervention.  But, we're back up and running, and everything looks ok.  We just missed a day.  So, what I made yesterday is now today's post because I didn't want two posts on one day and I can't back date.



Of course if I'm going to make Swedish meatballs I have to include this...
Just go with me here.
Really, it's a no-brainer and I can't do this post without it.
It would be like making brownies without me licking the bowl.
Ok, not a good visual of me licking the bowl, how about the spatula?
Here's what I wanted to show you...

LOVE the Swedish Chef!!

These balls of meat (maybe I shouldn't have said it that way.  Oh well.  But that's what they are.) were taken from my Fannie Farmer Cookbook Thirteenth Edition, p. 171-172; author, Marion Cunningham; publisher, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., a division of Random House, Inc.; ISBN 0-394-56788-9.

Swedish Meatballs - 21 meatballs
1 lb. ground beef
2 cups plain bread crumbs
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon sugar
½ teaspoon allspice
½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons shortening
1 teaspoon beef boullion granules mixed with ½ cup boiling water
½ cup heavy cream

Preheat oven to 325ºF.
Combine the ground beef, bread crumbs, egg, sugar, allspice, nutmeg, salt and pepper.

Shape into 1½-inch meatballs.
Melt the shortening in a skillet and brown the meatballs.

Transfer to a shallow casserole dish and pour the beef broth over the meatballs.

Cover and bake for 25 minutes.
Add the cream and cook without the cover for another 15 minutes.

Ok, when I think of Swedish Meatballs, I think of, yes, IKEA.  I LOVE, LOVE , LOVE their meatballs with the potatoes and lingonberries.  And it goes without saying I always have to get these for the ride home:

So last night we're eating these meatballs and the table conversation goes like this:
Me: "So, what do you think?  How would you rate them?"
Middle daughter, "Eh.  They're a little dry and they need more sauce."
Me: "I agree.  The recipe called for 1 1/4 lbs. of beef, but  I only used 1 lb. and it called for 2 1/2 cups of bread crumbs, and even though I only used 2 cups, I think I should have used 1 3/4 cups."
An aside - We brought our eldest home for the summer from her first year at college yesterday and last night was her first dinner at home.  Here was her input on the meatballs:
"The spices remind me of Christmas.  They're meat cookies!", she says with laughingly.
Oh. My. Gosh.
Seriously?
MEAT COOKIES??!!
Ok, I'm doing a blog on baking, sweetheart, and those two words just don't go together for me.  I don't know how the rest of the blogging world feels, but uh-unh.
Meat cookies?
That's like meat and loaf.
When I think of a loaf I think of a nice warm, delicious smelling loaf of bread.  To me. a loaf of meat is NOT appetizing.  Hence you will NOT see it here on my blog this year.
Sorry, folks.
Maybe I can make meat cookies for this year's Christmas cookie swap.  Yeah, that will be a big taker - everyone will be wanting those!
Not!
I was disappointed that these didn't taste like the IKEA meatballs.  Oh well.
As I said, I think I used ¼ cup too much of the bread crumbs because they were too dry.  I also think that could have been remedied with more sauce.  I was very surprised that the recipe only called for ½ cup each of the broth and cream - it definitely needed more.
My recipes are rated on a scale of 1-4 with 4 being the best and these Swedish meatballs earned 2 rolling pins.  The Swedish fish are always given a 4!
Happy baking!

Day 103 - Molasses Cookies

*Pictures are up, but were delayed.  This sometimes happens because this computer I mostly use to do my posts no longer has the capability to load pictures.  So I apologize for the inconvenience.  It really is a big pain in the neck.  I'm hoping that if I'm a really good girl, Mr. 365 will get me an iPad for my birthday.  I think I'll keep dreaming...*

There are two children needing their momma's attention late this evening, so this will be short.  One is sick and the poor guy can't stop coughing and the other is needing some TLC because of school. 
I will gladly do whatever it is I can to ease both of their burdens because that's what mom is here to do.
I am certain I will miss this luxury when they are out of the house.
And I know I will miss this the same way I miss how they used to fall asleep in my arms...
This one came from The Fannie Farmer Cookbook Thirteenth Edition, p. 614; author, Marion Cunningham; publisher, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., a division of Random House, Inc.; ISBN 0-394-56788.

Molasses Cookies

¼ cup molasses
½ cup shortening
¾ cup dark-brown sugar
1 egg
1 cup flour
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking soda

Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
Mix the molasses, shortening, brown sugar, and egg in a bowl, combining well.

Mix the flour, salt, and baking soda together, add to the first mixture and blend thoroughly.

Arrange by teaspoonfuls on ungreased cookie sheets, about 1-inch apart.

Bake for 6-8 minutes or until crisp and lightly browned.

Spiced Molasses Cookies:  Add ¼ teaspoon ground ginger, ¼ teaspoon ground cloves, ¼ teaspoon cinnamon, and ¼ teaspoon nutmeg to the flour mixture.

I made the plain molasses cookies, but included the spiced recipe as well if anyone would like to try that.  I didn't because I think they would have been too similar to the Applesauce Cookies on Day 98.
These were interesting. 
They were a thin-crisp-on-the-edge-chewy-in-the-middle-stick-to-the-ungreased-cookie-sheet-even-though-they-weren't-supposed-to kind of cookie.
My advice, use parchment.
They were tasty though and I liked that they were chewy, but at times a little too chewy. 
They were sticking to my teeth on occasion.
I rate everything that I bake on a scale of 1-4 with 4 being the best and I think these earn...I'm really torn...ahhhhh, between a 2½ and a 3, but I'm going to have to give them 3 rolling pins because I like the way they tasted, and because I like things that are chewy.
Especially salt water taffy!  But I can't bake salt water taffy.  Hmpf.
Happy baking everyone!

Day 98 -Cinnamon Applesauce Cookies

Here I sit, typing my post, enjoying my Mike's Classic Margarita.  It is Cinco De Mayo after all even though I didn't bake anything Mexican.  Just pretend the Chicken Enchiladas were baked today and today's applesauce cookies were done the other day.  And I'll have another Margarita!

I adapted this recipe from The Fannie Farmer Cookbook Thirteenth Edition, p.616; author, Marion Cunningham; publisher, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., a division of Random House, Inc.; ISBN 0-394-56788-9.

Cinnamon Applesauce Cookies

¼ pound butter
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 cup cinnamon applesauce
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
½ teaspoon cloves
1 cup raisins

Preheat the oven to 375ºF.
Grease the cookie sheets or cover with parchment paper.
Cream the butter and add the two sugars, beating until light.
Stir in the egg and the applesauce.

Mix together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves and add to the first mixture, beating until smooth.
Add the raisins.

Arrange by spoonfuls on the cookie sheets.

Bake for 5-7 minutes or until lightly browned.

Ok, don't do what I did and not grease or put parchment on the cookie sheets or the cookies will stick.  Trust me.



These cookies were good!  On a scale of 1-4 with 4 being the best, these applesauce cookies earn 3 rolling pins.  They were nicely spiced and soft and chewy.  I like chewy.

I used a large soup spoon to put them onto the cookie sheets - my recommendation would be to use a tablespoon as they will spread, but big cookies are good, too.  Just make sure you leave enough space in between them.

The 100th post is just a few days away!!  This is very exciting.  There will be a giveaway on that day, so read, read, READ!!

Happy baking!

Day 94 -Macaroni and Cheese

Macaroni - the darker of the two is a fortified pasta with multi-grains and Omega 3's. 
I used ¼ lb. of each.

TA DA!
Change is good, right?
I thought we needed to update the blog, make it a little cleaner and easier to read. 
Besides, I didn't know what the birds in the upper right hand corner had to do with baking anyway.  Unless it was the egg commonality. 
Yeah, no birds.
I'd love your feedback - let me know what you think!  I can take criticism, too.
I understand, some people don't like change and may have a hard time with it.  (I already am every time I click on to see it, it freaks me out just a little bit 'cause I've forgotten that I've done it.)
And don't worry, I won't go changing it every 90 days either.

I had some time on my hands today and as I was hanging Mr. 365's shirts in the closet, I decided to arrange them in order of color.
Is that weird? 
It's something I've always secretly wanted to do.
Like wanting to swing on a trapeze and then do a somersault in the air.
Seriously.
And then after they were all neatly arranged by color, I gathered the sleeves of the shirts as I was taught to do early on in retail, so that they would all fall the same way and be "just so".
Anal retentive, I know.
But with some things, that's just the way I am.

It's gotten so that I've been having to do a search on my own blog now to see if I've already made the recipe or some form of it.
90+ recipes and no duplications. 
We need to make it 365, and so the challenge continues!

Baked Macaroni & Cheese adapted from The Fannie Farmer Cookbook, Thirteenth Edition, pp. 274, 333; author, Marion Cunningham; publisher, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., a division of Random House, Inc.; ISBN 0-394-56788-9.

Macaroni & Cheese - serves four
Preheat oven to 375ºF.
Butter a 8 X 8" square baking dish; set aside.

½ pound elbow macaroni, cooked
2 cups cheese sauce (follows)
½ cup finely shredded Colby/Cheddar Cheese(Mexican Cheese)
¼ cup grated Gruyere cheese
½ cup freshly made buttered breadcrumbs (follows)

Cheese Sauce
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1¼ cups milk, heated
½ cup finely shredded Colby/Cheddar Cheese (Mexican Cheese)
salt
freshly ground pepper
As the pasta is cooking, melt the butter in a heavy bottomed saucepan.  Stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, until the paste cooks and bubbles a bit, but don't let it brown - about 2 minutes.

 Add the hot milk, continuing to stir as the sauce thickens.  Bring to a boil.  Add salt and pepper to taste. 

Lower the heat and stir in the Colby/Cheddar.  Cook for 2 minutes more, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat.

Buttered Bread Crumbs
2 tablespoons butter
½ cup Italian style bread crumbs
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
Melt butter in a small saucepan.  Add bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese.  Mix well.  Remove from heat.  Set aside.

Put the cooked macaroni into a large bowl and pour the cheese sauce over it.  Add the Gruyere cheese.

 Mix gently with a fork. 

Turn out into the baking dish.
Sprinkle the shredded Colby/Cheddar over the top and spread the breadcrumbs over the cheese.

Bake, uncovered, for 30 minutes or until the top is golden and the sauce is bubbling.

Every day I rate what I bake on a scale of 1-4 with 4 being the best.  Over dinner, the family decided that this macaroni and cheese earned 3 rolling pins.
We really liked the addition of the Gruyere cheese, but thought it could have used ½ cup more cheddar in the sauce with another ¼ cup of milk.  The family wanted it cheesier.  Also, next time I would not use the fine bread crumbs - too gritty, and too much - or I would only use ¼ cup.  I would really prefer to use cubed bread slices like we did when we made mac. and cheese in 8th grade Home Ec.
Next time.
This is a keeper, I just think it needs these modifications.
Remember, the 100th day post is coming up and with that will be a giveaway, so keep reading!
Happy baking!

Day 90 - Cinnamon Sugar Cookies

I saw these GORGEOUS cookies on Amanda's website, i am baker.  She does absolutely beautiful work and inspired me to decorate some today. My intention was to bake some cookies and decorate them in baseballs and with my son's school logo for today's playoff baseball game.  It could be their last or they could advance, who knows?  So, regardless of the outcome, my plan was to bring cookies.
Who doesn't like a good cookie, especially a nicely decorated one?
"Boys don't like cookies."
Was what I heard when my husband came home from work and asked what I was doing.
Really?
Hm.
What the heck does THAT mean?!  Boys don't like cookies?
Time was passing pretty quickly this afternoon and between some errands and going to the baseball game, I wasn't going to have time to decorate the cookies anyway - scratch the cookies for the game.  I come home from one errand and who's sitting in his recliner eating a cookie?
"What are you doing?"
In the best little boy voice he can muster, "I'm havin' a cookie," replies Mr. 365.
"How many have you had?"
Still using that voice, "I wasn't sure if they were gonna be good or not, so I picked a number and that's how many I got."
I'm over at the counter, "1, 2, 3...you had 5 cookies???!!" These are not small cookies.
"Yup, they're good!"
I'm sure.  For a "boy" who doesn't like cookies. Hmpf.
He later explained that, "guys don't want to eat cookies after a game.  What do you think Big Papi feels like having after he hits a walk-off home run, a cookie?  NAAHHHH!"  Ok, I get it.
But you could have expanded your answer the first time!
I finished frosting after we came home from the game. 

But can I tell you because I really do need to boast - just a little bit?
The team won their game and my son played the game of his life.  He's first in the line-up and for his first at bat, he hit an in the park home run.  I don't know if I've ever seen him run so fast around third base!  It was SO cool!  He's running, and I'm screaming, "Run. Run!!!"  Not that my yelling made him go any faster.
He made a great defensive play later and then was able to knock in the winning run. 
It was wonderful because he's struggled this year and has decided after many years of baseball that this season will be his last.  He's decided to play volleyball in high school and both sports are in the spring here.  So, this is kind of his last hurrah.  I was really very excited for him, and even Mr. Cookie told him he'd done a great job playing a perfect game and gave him a hug.  I love my life!
At dinner, even my son agreed that his teammates wouldn't have wanted cookies after the game.  Oh, well.

I adapted this from the Fannie Farmer Cookbook, p. 612; author, Marion Cunningham; publisher, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.; ISBN 0-394-56788-9.

Cinnamon Sugar Cookies - made 26 cookies

¼ pound butter (1 stick)
¾ cup sugar
1 egg
½ teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon milk
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
1 ½ cups flour, approximately (Note: only enough so that it can be rolled without being sticky. I used an additional 3 tablespoons after the 1 ½ cups)
1/8 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon baking powder

Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
Cream the butter, then gradually add the sugar, beating until light.
Add the egg, vanilla, cinnamon, and milk and beat thoroughly.

Mix the flour, salt, and baking powder together, add to the first mixture, and blend well.

Roll ¼ inch thick and cut into 3-inch circles.

                                    

Bake on cookie sheets lined with parchment paper and bake for about 12 minutes or until lightly browned.

Here's the link for the frosting recipe from i am baker.  I really enjoyed using it and it was a good consistency to work with.  I should have made it thicker though and used a different tip for writing the letters on the black cookies.  They didn't come out so hot. 
Next time.
To frost the tops, I used about 2 teaspoons of frosting for each cookie base and then finished the decoration.

I started with the ones on the top and finished with the two on the bottom.
They're supposed to be the initials D C.



Mr. Cookie said he preferred to eat them without the frosting.  With it, he thought they were just too sweet.  I liked them both ways.  The rating system I use everyday is on a scale of 1-4 with 4 being the best and these cookies earned 3 rolling pins.

Channel your inner baker!



Day 89 - Best-Of-All Pecan Pie

     I had to stick my hand into the garbage disposal this morning.  The other day it made a funny sound, like a piece of metal was jumping around in there. 
     And yes.
     I admit it.
     I put it off because I just don't like to deal with things of that sort.  Yes, I could have asked my husband to (using my very deepest man voice) do a manly job and "fix" the disposal (GRAWRRRRRRR).  I'm sure he would have readily accepted the challenge knowing how he likes to "fix" problems even though sometimes when he "fixes" he likes to takes things completely apart and then they cannot be fixed for good unless we pay to have them repaired.  If you know my husband, a mechanic he is not, but he is extremely gifted in his profession.  He has and continues to help many people and I am very grateful and very proud of what he does.  He's awesome.
     To be honest, I truly don't know if his hand would have fit into the mouth of the disposal anyway.  Forgetting that that mystery piece of whatever it was was still in there, I put something down this drain this morning, flipped on the switch and heard it again. 
Doggone it!! 
Son of a gun!!
Oh, ALRIGHT ALREADY!!!
I actually started whining in my head, "oh, I don't want to do this...why do I have to be the one to do it?  Who was it that put this thing down here anyway and why can't THEY get it out??!!  WHY ME??!!"  My husband wasn't home to ask even if I had wanted to.
I don't have a fear of the thing turning on and shredding my hand to bits although the thought has crossed my mind.  No, what really scares me is reaching in there and touching all things SLIMY and DISGUSTING and not being able to SEE what they are.  EEEEEEWWWWWWW!!!!!!!  It grosses me out just thinking about it!  I can handle mice, rats, creepy crawly things and snakes, but touching yucky stuff?  Unh Uh!
No gloves to be had, so I unplugged the thing, closed my eyes ('cause I can always feel things better with my eyes closed, especially if I can't see what it is I'm touching to begin with!) and ever so gently emerged my hand into the abyss.  Ok, it was a very small abyss, but that's the word that comes to mind. 
Abyss. 
Going into the...
Unknown.
Feeling around I could feel the culprit!  A piece of metal something or other.  Wait, no.  That's attached to this other piece of metal which rotates, slices and dices.  Hmmm...wait, what's this?  Something that feels small and it could be...AHA! (as I pull my hand out to view the little devil)

This isn't the actual piece, the real one was chopped up.

Ok, I admit it.  I'm the one who is at fault for this one.  It must have fallen in when I was cleaning up from the Easter Egg Hunt Cookies the other day.  I knew there was a cake decorating piece missing!

You know what?  I'm tired of indenting and I'm not going to do it anymore and it's wasting precious blogging space.  So, I apologize to any English teachers out there who may now have a problem reading this because it's not in correct form.  But hey, isn't that what blogs are about anyway, literary freedom?
I used my trusty Fannie Farmer Cookbook for this one, pages 639 (crust) and 648; author, Marion Cunningham; publisher, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., a division of Random House, Inc.; ISBN 0-394-56788-9.
Best-Of-All Pecan Pie

Pastry Shell - 9-inch pie shell
     1½ cup flour
     ¼ teaspoon salt
     ½ cup shortening
     3-4 tablespoons cold water (I ended up using about 7)
  
Mix the flour and salt.  Cut in the shortening with a pastry blender or two knives.  Combine lightly only until the mixture resembles coarse meal or very tiny peas:  its texture will be uniform, but will contain crumbs and small bits and pieces.  Sprinkle water over the flour mixture, a tablespoon at a time, and mix lightly with a fork, using only enough water so that the pastry will hold together when pressed gently together.  Roll the dough out 2 inches larger than the pie pan.  Fit it loosely, but firmly into the pan.  Crimp or flute the edges.

Pie Filling

3 eggs
1 cup dark corn syrup (I used light - didn't have dark)
½ cup dark brown sugar
4 tablespoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla
1¼ cups pecan halves or coarsely chopped pecans

Topping

1 cup heavy cream, chilled

Preheat the oven to 425ºF.
Set aside the prepared, unbaked pie shell.
Beat the eggs in a bowl with a fork or wire whisk until the yolks and whites are well blended.
Add the corn syrup, brown sugar, melted butter and vanilla, and blend well.

Stir in the pecans, then pour the mixture into the pie shell.

Bake the pie for 15 minutes, then reduce the heat for 15-20 minutes, or until the edges are set and the center quivers slightly.  Don't overbake!



Let the pie cool a bit, and just before serving whip the cream, then spread it over the pie or pass it separately.

I've only ever had Pecan Pie once before and thought it was good.  This one was equally as good and earns a rating of 3½ rolling pins.  My rating system is on a scale of 1-4 with 1 being the worst and not worth the money or effort.  I'm enjoying the process of making the pie crusts!  I'm thinking after I'm done with 365 that I will maybe do a 365 of Pies.  I'm kidding.  I really don't know if I could bake a pie every day for 365 days straight.  Wow, that would be a big undertaking.  Haha.  Yeah, listen to me, as if this isn't.  I don't know.  We'll see.  I'm open to suggestions.

This pie was good.  The crust collapsed a little as you can see in the picture.  I have no idea what that was about.  I also left it in the oven an extra 7 minutes because it wasn't set and when I went to cut it, it still wasn't set, so make sure you keep an eye on it at the end.  Do I have any friends nearby who would like to share some Pecan Pie?  I have plenty!  Help me eat it!

Happy baking!