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Taming My Inner Toddler

July 9, 2012

Okay, my inner toddler only threatens to make an appearance under one circumstance: food mishaps.  And I had one today, specifically a blog-related food mishap.  Those are the worst.

I have written several times about what I like to refer to as “food tantrums”.  That is when something goes wrong with something I am cooking and I quite literally dissolve into a tantrum.  This takes many forms: crying, cursing, throwing things (food or kitchen tools), jumping up and down, sweating…..I could go on and on.  Philip could really tell you some stories.

For some reason pancakes are a big food tantrum trigger.  They always have been.  I’ve made hundreds of pancakes, and I can make a mean pancake….but sometimes there’s that one that just falls apart when you flip it.  Or it ends up on the grate.  Or the griddle is too hot….or not hot enough.  In my past, pancake tragedy = throwing a spatula.  These days, it means a laugh and a photo on Instragram.

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Today, I made a cheesecake.  It was my grandmother’s recipe.  I remember when my grandmother used to make it (curiously, I don’t ever really remember eating it) and how beautiful and tall and brown it always was.  I don’t think my grandmother ever burned or messed up anything (okay, of course she did, but I never saw it.  She is definitely on a food pedestal in my memory.).  I didn’t know that I had this recipe, but while my aunts were here last week one of them was looking through my grandmother’s little orange binder of recipes and she said, “This is Mom’s cheesecake recipe…”  I had been looking for it all these years, and it was there all along.

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I love this yellow piece of paper.  What an interesting combination of ingredients.  I will share this recipe with you eventually, but not yet.  I have experimentation to do.  I have to figure out how to make this work.  You see, her recipe didn’t say to use a springform pan, or to bake the cheesecake in a water bath.  Perhaps the springform pan was a foregone conclusion to my grandmother, but I just poured it into a 10-inch cake pan, reasoning that if it didn’t say to use a springform then, well, I shouldn’t.  Mistake!  My cake pan wasn’t deep enough.  The cake fell apart when I turned it out.  It cracked a lot across the top, which I think a water bath would prevent, although my mom said she didn’t think my grandmother did this.

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Sigh.  My Monday recipe, ruined.  I can’t give you a recipe that doesn’t work.  This is the second time this has happened in the last month, and it’s terribly frustrating (I didn’t take any photos of the “fail” portion. I wish that I had….).  However, I am in control of my inner toddler.  So, while I was not happy, I handed my inner toddler a lollipop and calmly voiced my frustration.  No jumping up and down, and nothing got thrown.  We ate this for dessert at my parents’ house tonight, and I turned what would have been a food tantrum situation in the past into a lemons to lemonade situation: cheesecake balls.  Oh yes.  I will be scooping this out and dipping it in chocolate.  Stay tuned!

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Filed Under: Chattavore Chats Tagged With: writing By Mary // Chattavore 4 Comments

Purple Daisy Picnic Cafe-July 6, 2012

Summer Vegetable Pasta with White Wine Cream Sauce

Comments

  1. Kathleen Kerr Rutherford says

    July 9, 2012 at 9:00 am

    i have learn that sometimes it is not the appearance that is important it is the taste!!! But I can relate!!
    Reply
    • Chattavore says

      July 9, 2012 at 10:02 am

      It definitely tasted great! I just know that it could have turned out better, so you guys will have to wait just a little while for the cheesecake recipe. It'll be worth it in the end, though! :)
      Reply
  2. Sharon Snyder Scowcroft says

    July 9, 2012 at 9:21 am

    We would have still eaten it! lol Just put it in a bowl. I think the water bath would prevent the cracking because I learned in cake decorating class that cakes crack if your oven is too hot. I don't know if it applies to cheesecake however. hmmm Who has springform pans? I've seen them is about all......................................................
    Reply
    • Chattavore says

      July 9, 2012 at 9:29 am

      Oh, we ate it, and it tasted GREAT! I have springform pans but they're el cheapo & they leak, so I be looking for a new one. Cheesecake dipped in chocolate sounds pretty irresistible to me, though....
      Reply

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About Chattavore

Hi, I'm Mary! Welcome to Chattavore, a destination for people who want to feed themselves and their families well every day! Life can be crazy, which means that getting dinner on the table can be a challenge (more often than not!) and my mission is to take all your favorite recipes and figure out how to serve them on a Tuesday.

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