beyond cinderella

Baking that is.  And, it’s no secret I don’t like baking!

I don’t like having to be EXACT in my own kitchen. When I try a new recipe for the first time, I usually follow directions…, But the next time I cook the dish, unless it was the most wonderful thing I ever ate…I look at the recipe and think how could I make that better? And, I start thinking of new ingredients to add and or substitute to make it more to my liking…that’s how I came up with my FAMOUS jambalaya recipe that some folks have told me could sell for $500.00 a bowl in Sweden…just saying:)

However, as is the custom at the Kirnberger household here in Chandler Arizona on Sunday mornings when the weather turns cold…I put on my Sous Chef hat and assume the position of “I have no rights in my own kitchen” as my daughter, Shantel, gives directions on what we will bake and how…

It’s all such a process that begins with sanitizing our already spotless countertops, and laying out all utensils in the EXACT order they will be used…

Of course, we must have the dish drainer at the ready with the ” clean dish towel” sitting inside the just sterilized dish drainer so nothing can contaminate the “clean dish towel” OMG forbid that towel should touch the newly sanitized countertops…

Then, of course we have to have a recipe that we follow EXACTLY, like the one below:

Unless, of course, Chef Shantel, wants to add something to her liking like oatmeal to the ultimate chocolate chip cookie recipe making it “oatmeal chocolate chip cookies”…nothing wrong with that EXACT recipe right…but hey, I’m just here to follow directions:)

Then, we  I, do whatever I’m told…in this case, chop semi-sweet choc to add to the choc chips and other sugars…that go into this EXACT recipe… Hey,  I’m just happy to have a job…:)

Once everything is “perfectly chopped and mixed”, we start putting the cookies on the parchment paper lined baking sheets like the photos shows below…. **Cooks note** (do not even try to reuse parchment paper, EVER) You will see what happens soon…:)

Once you are sure you have all the cookies on the parchment paper EXACTLY as they should be with space in between so they don’t “grow” together…, you carefully place them in the oven and tell your Sous Chef to “watch them carefully”

For the MOST part all goes well with the first few batches…and this is what you get:

I wouldn’t know, because I don’t get to eat any of the fresh, warm, cookies, I had to help make and smell baking in the oven…but I’m told they were wonderful:

Bill/Bro even took time out of his Sunday “man cave” activities to sample some. I think the look on his face says it all:)

But, while Chef Shantel, and my husband, Bill (aka, BRO), were enjoying the fruits of “our labor”…OOPS!!! and oh S##t…I was supposed to be watching the last batch to come out of the oven….but got distracted….and by golly, it really is an EXACT science when it comes to cooking times…but more importantly, you must remember to NEVER, EVER reuse parchment paper, ,,EVER!!! This could have been soooooo much worse than it looks as I was scolded  gently reminded of… Who knew?

I guess I’m just one LUCKY girl that I didn’t get fired for this little mishap today.. But, really, I didn’t mean to reuse that parchment paper…I was just trying to see if I could save a little money…NOW, I know EXACTLY why you should NEVER, EVER do that:)

Stay tuned