By Shelley Bennett
During the week of Thanksgiving, I had plenty of time to bake and cook. Sofia and I made four different types of pie: chocolate, pecan, apple, and lemon. My friend Becky and I cranked out a batch of grape jelly along with dozens of rolls and cinnamon rolls for Thanksgiving Day.
Following my grandma’s recipe, I also made fresh cranberry relish with a green apple, orange, walnuts, pineapple, and of course cranberries. Then we feasted on leftovers: ham sandwiches, turkey pot pie, pecan pie for breakfast, you get the idea.
There is something about the camaraderie that occurs in the kitchen. Recipes are exchanged, but so is friendly conversation and laughter.
For the most part, I enjoy my time in the kitchen. It brings back memories of family dinners at grandma’s house and preparing for the holidays around the table. We would create mountains of candy and treats to share with our neighbors and friends.
No matter how old I was, my grandma found a job for me. My first memory of this is standing on a chair at the dining room table and stirring melting chocolate in a saucepan.
Which might explain what possessed me last week when I decided to throw my name in as a contender for the Food Network show “Chopped”.
For those who don’t know, “Chopped” is a show where they give you a basket full of ingredients and you make a dish (hopefully edible) in a certain amount of time and then are judged whether you are worthy are not to move on the next round.
Sounds easy, right? Especially since that is sometimes how I make my lunch. Hmmm…I’ve got a leftover sweet potato, some spring mix, hummus, and grilled chicken in the fridge. Now, it’s a salad!
“Chopped” is advertising for a teacher contestant-focused show. I guess they think we are well-versed in winging it under the barest minimum of conditions. Or something like that.
While we were waiting for the bread to rise, Beck and I watched a Thanksgiving-themed “Chopped” to prepare me. The producers like to throw in a “trick” ingredient to stump the chefs, in this case a gummy turkey leg. Yes, that’s a thing. A huge, orange, disgusting, gummy turkey leg.
I gave up right then. What would I do with a gummy turkey leg? I’m not adept at cooking with candy. It’s not one of my major food groups. It becomes apparent that to succeed on “Chopped” I’ll need to start adding ingredients like Smarties and Cherry Dum Dums to my recipes.
One of the questions they asked was what were my specialties. I answered Tamale Pie and anything involving tacos. Tamale Pie is one of Landon’s favorite meals and so it is often added to our weekly lineup. It is also one of the dishes that I have memorized the recipe for thanks to Maria Fregulia and her Home Ec cookbook!
Now I have to think about how I would add candy to Tamale Pie. Maybe an Almond Joy to enhance the ground beef? Or candy corn instead of a can of corn? Hmmm… it boggles my mind.
So, wish me luck and send me all of your suggestions on how I can spice up my standards with lollipops and gummy worms.
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