Tuesday, April 8, 2008

My Crazy Dutch Oven Weekend

This weekend was Conference Weekend. For those of you who aren’t Mormon, what that means is that we have our semi-annual General Conference. Instead of going to church like normal, we Mo’s plop in front of our TV’s, turn on our radios, or log into streaming media websites to listen to 5 two-hour sessions of spiritual instruction (spread over two days) from the big leaders of the church in downtown Salt Lake City.

It’s funny how that practice impacts family traditions among church members all over the world. Since we don’t go to church, we don’t have to get all dressed up nice, we don’t have to get the kids ready, we just turn on the TV or whatever and listen.

When I was a kid, my mom always baked something yummy while we were listening to the Prophet speak, usually it was cinnamon rolls or something like that. So, this year, I decided to follow that tradition, and I made some on Saturday morning.

For Sunday, initially, I had thought of trying out a recipe for tomato soup that I was going to do for the big Mother’s Day feast, as well as some bread or rolls. But then, we started inviting friends over. Some people’s dietary choices got in the way of some of my ideas, and I had to change my recipes. Pretty soon, I was doing Braided Bread with an Orange Glaze, An interesting fried version of Chicken Cordon Bleu with veggies and rice, and a knockoff recipe for Chili’s Paradise Pie.

How I went from a relatively simple soup with some bread to three more complicated recipes is something that I’m still trying to sort out in my mind. The argument in my head sounds a lot like, “What were you thinkin’?”

So, after doing some housecleaning until about noon, I started cooking. Soon, I had learned why the big-league cookoffs are done in teams of two. I was running back and forth like a madman. Note to Self: When preparing multiple dishes of a big meal, plan in advance! I can’t count how many times I stood in the middle of the kitchen wondering what I should do next! Once it was all done, the food was served, and it all tasted great. But, I hadn’t done the sauce for the chicken, nor for the paradise pie, either.

Anyway, I’m typing this up at work, so I don’t have time to put up any of the recipes. I think I’ll get to those over the course of the week, before I cook again this weekend. It will be simple then. And sunny, too, if the weather forecasts hold up…

5 comments:

  1. Always the hardest part of any meal is the timing and getting everything to come together without forgetting something. Sounds like it was very hectic!

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  2. Your writing has the tone of the voice of experience! You've been there, obviously! I haven't done it enough to get over the stress yet.

    MRKH

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  3. Well I'm not that experienced with the Dutch Oven yet but I have had experienced the stress in the kitchen and still would be stressed about everything coming together. I will probably never get over that. When cooking for guests you want everything to come out right.

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  4. Let's see some of that planning and organizing at the IDOS Spring Conference next weekend!!

    Sounds to me like you are preping for a cook-off??

    =0)

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  5. yeah, I'm really stoked about that conference! And yes, I'm preparing for some cookoffs, especially the one in Lehi. This one guy I know is in charge of that one...

    :-)

    MRKH

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