My Little Life On The Prairie: Redemption And Restoration

Note: Although the title of this post may lead one to believe they're going to read all about a deep spiritual enlightenment I had, I would like to clarify that is not what the following involves. This redemption and restoration is deep...in dish soap.

I am not one to remain defeated. And although there might have been a cake-destroying force in my kitchen, I walk in victory.

Seeing as how it was The Prairie Daddy's birthday yesterday and I was way too grimy and short on time to go to town for supper, I had a job to do: create a birthday feast.

I was tempted to doll up the table with fancy napkins, candles and what not and then I remembered "it's not my birthday, it's his birthday. What would he want?" And I then had a semi-miraculous "ah-ha moment." TV TRAYS!!!

So, I "set" his TV tray with a paper napkin and no candles.

And then I accomplished the day's first successful experience out of the oven Puff Pastry with a Goat Cheese Filling:

Here is where I have to humbly admit I did not make these. I baked them. The Culinary Master sister made them for my mom's wedding and I found them "floating" around the freezer yesterday. I will claim the egg wash, the not-over baking, the making it on a plate (not the floor), and eating my fair share!

Now I can claim the following:

This was a very carefully prepared main dish. I even spent some time researching online the best way to prepare a venison fillet wrapped in bacon. I learned stuff too! Venison is much better cooked at a high temperature for a short time or it can become bitter/gamey (unless you are slow cooking the tougher cuts). And a little Worcestershire and garlic salt compliments it nicely. I made sure to pull them off the grill 5 degrees before they were medium rare so that they could "rest" under tented foil and be at the optimal palatability. And let me tell you, they were!

The broccoli is called "Broccoli Blasted." Thanks to my other sister this is now a family favorite. You take the raw broccoli, shake it in a bag with olive oil, garlic and kosher salt, place it on a baking sheet and bake it on 450 degrees for about 20 minutes. It does begin to "burn" and even though that sounds undesirable it is awesome! It gets crunchy and the taste is great!

Now is where I will humble myself again and show you the drink I made The Prairie Daddy. It isn't near as posh as the rest of the meal:

That is a kool-aid slushy. I was thinking of what The Prairie Daddy would want for his birthday.
So, there was my culinary redemption for yesterday.

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Now let us not forget that I had a cake to decorate first thing this morning. I was sad again when I opened up the freezer and saw my pathetic, shrunken carrot cake:

But I walked forth in victory again and began to bring it to life:

And as the cake came to life, so did Elmo!And then, it was accomplished, without a 3 year old's fingers getting into it. Or his "I am pretending to be on the men's Olympic volleyball team" digs and spikes about the kitchen as I ranted "please take the ball onto the carpet or outside! Don't you want a pretty cake?"