9/22/09


The weather turned nasty this week, which I actually love. We get a lot of sunny days in Colorado and after weeks and weeks of it, you kinda long for clouds, chill, and drizzle. The leaves in the mountains are turning and the rest of the state is close behind. I've had a bee in my bonnet to cook (see previous post)... which is probably going to be a passing phase. Let's face it, this new Culinary Cathy will probably go down in smoke with Knitting Cathy and Get-Up-Early-And-Go-Swim-At-The-YMCA-Cathy. But in the meantime, Culinary Cathy has been productive. Ina Garten is my new superhero. Most of her recipes are ones that I already make and my family eats but she makes them much, much better. I can throw together a fast Chicken Pot Pie, but I tried Ina's Chicken Stew with Biscuits and we all moaned over our spoons. I made her Beef Stew (which is ready to be heated up for tonight and uses an entire bottle of red wine, be still my heart) and when I sampled some I thought I had reached nirvana. My problem lies in the fact that it's more time consuming than I'm used to, AND I'm using twice the amount of dishes/utensils for prep work. Once I'm finished cooking, the clean up is killing me. So here is my dilemma: do I make good but easy chicken pot pie, quickly clean up, and go read a book (my true love) or do I make blissful, out-of-this-world chicken stew with biscuits (that include gobs and gobs of butter) that we all love and devour but tack on an extra load of dishes?
The jury is out.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Can you have the kids do the dishes?

Mark and Sarah said...

I'd say milk the Culinary Cathy for as long as she'll stay. Look at it this way, at least you get her for a little while until the dishes burn her out. If you go back to Lazy Cathy, you won't get to enjoy the time that Culinary Cathy would have stayed. That's my vote. Now, if only there was a way to beam your leftovers to Lazy Sarah's house.

Courtney O. said...

i don't know, but i'm going to make both recipes and probably thank you deeply

Bekka-Reeeeeeee said...

I'd say that there needs to be a compromise in there somewhere. Since EVERYONE seriously enjoys the "out of this world" version, then it should be a family affair for cleanup! That'll help the time go by faster, there will be a little more family togetherness, and then you can get to your book sooner!!! :-)

Old Men Reflect said...

I will send recipes that will allow you to do both. Ina is the best, but I have some of Ida's.

Vivi said...

Oh my sweet Cathy. A little extra dish duty is a small price to pay for some Ina-goodness.

Melodie Monberg said...

I have all her cookbooks...love them. Another "new" favorite is Ingrid Hoffman, Mexican style cooking that is really easy. Her book is at the library called Simple Deliciouso

Melodie

Shannon said...

My vote is...dishwasher. Have the kids load/unload everything that can go in it, and then all you're left with are the pots/pans. Works for me!!! (and my kids are 7 and 5...for a few more days)(OBviously I don't make the baby help with that job.)