And then I was back

There is a lovely blister on my left index finger. It’s totally sexy. Matt’s going to look at it and go “what did you do to yourself now?” I was the kid who found the only rock in my yard to fall on and crack open my chin. Thankfully my wonderful boyfriend has become use to me and my many casualties of war.

I worked at the country club this weekend while I was home. I accidently took the wrong chef knife with me to work, and the one I picked was DULL. I am normally used to dull knives in comparison to the hair splitting knives many of my comrades work with, but this was exceptionally dull. So dull in fact that I was pushing way to hard to cut and I worked up that lovely blister that I just deemed oh so sexy. It could have been worse. I could have cut off my whole finger. Dull knives are so dangerous. It’s commonly thought that sharp knives are dangerous; but when you’re using the tip of your knife to cut through the skin of an onion because your knife is too dull to cut it, you are pretty much asking for trouble.

Besides my knife issues, the country club was lovely. I was a little worried I’d forget everything and just look stupid, but I walked in and felt right at home. Not much had changed. Rob was still working on the newest dish that sounded amazing. There was a new prep cook that was wonderfully slow. I say wonderfully and mean I never saw someone cut up broccoli so slow. My mom could have done it faster with a paring knife. Ahh how I love the kitchen!

Between working and family stuff my weekend was packed. I honestly have not had a spare second to breathe. I did get a healthy dose of hot chocolate, and I have eaten turkey pretty much for every meal except breakfast since Thursday. I was hoping I could maybe grow some wings, so I wouldn’t have to sit in the airport at 6 a.m. No such luck.

It is officially the holiday season. The holidays are just not the holidays without some fudge. My mom makes the best fudge. Last year I tried my hand at it for the first time, and brought it into the office. I like to think it made all of their holidays a little happier. I’m not quite sure when I will be making my fudge, but here is the recipe so you can be sure to make it early. It makes a wonderful gift for those people you always forget to get gifts for. It’s also a wonderful alternative to a plate of cookies.

Fudge:

4 cups of sugar
1 large can of evaporated milk
1 stick butter

Combine in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook to soft ball stage. This means when you drip put it into a bowl of water you can form a soft ball. Most candy thermometers have the stages on them, but if you don’t have one just try the water test, or it will be about 8 minutes after mixture comes to a full boil. Remove from heat and stir in until smooth.

12 oz. bag chocolate chips
7 oz. jar of marshmallow crème
20 oz. jar peanut butter
1 tsp. vanilla

Pour mixture into a 13x9 greased pan. You can add walnuts or pecans. I personally like it without the nuts.

Happy Eating,

Emily