Neverland for a weekend

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls....Super Hokey LaDonna is in town. Do you know what this means? My fridge will be stocked, my house will become a virtual fall wonderland, and I can be a kid again if only for the weekend. I don't know about the rest of you but my venture into adulthood was somewhat aggressive. I do acknowledge wholeheartedly that most of my friends have been cut off since their freshmen year of college however, that was not my case. My dad had promised that he would take care of me until I got married and I believed that to mean that I could go on living life as I knew it. So comfortable was I in the lap of parental luxury that when it was taken from me I suffered from an extremely mild depression for months that consisted of me whining about not being able to go shopping and just general brattiness.

I vividly remember shopping for my apartment furnishings at Ikea in May of this year. Super Hokey LaDonna had graciously offered to buy my bedroom furniture and, I assumed, every other single thing I wanted in Ikea... naturally. I was gleefully skipping down the aisle like a participant in Supermarket Sweep throwing things into my cart with wild abandon. Paying no attention to the cost of this or that just happy in the full knowledge that I wouldn't have to pay for any of it anyway and it would all go towards making my apartment the chic bachlorette pad I'd envisioned.

And Super Hokey LaDonna played along, until we got to the register. I loaded all my items up on the checkout counter practically doing the Tootsie Roll I was so happy in my ignorance. When the total rang up it was something like $800 dollars. I turned to my mother expectantly and she said the words I will never EVER forget "Uh, so how much of this are you paying for?" I turned around looking for the person that she was directing this question to because surely it wasn't me. Seeing no one there I stared helplessly at my mom hoping that she would take pity on my poor (both literally and figuratively) soul.

No pity was to be had. She told me the amount she thought acceptable for me to cover (a whooping $300 dollars) and I had no choice but to comply. So there I was shaking like a $5 dollar stripper complete with the Whitney Houston sweat mustache as I handed my debit card over to the cashier. And that was the true death of my adolescence.

So when ever Super Hokey LaDonna comes to town, I get to forget that that traumatic experience ever happened. Once again I am transformed into that girl who doesn't have to pay rent, utilities, cable...put gas in her car or choose between a mani and pedi or groceries. I can be the little girl who marveled at seeing her mother create masterpieces in the kitchen. In a moment of introspection I suppose I love being in the kitchen so much because that's where my mom always was. I feel safe in my kitchen. I feel confident there and that's how I want you all to feel, at home around your pots, pans and odd cooking utensils knowing that there, if nowhere else, you have complete control.

Julia Child, a famous Smithie (woot woot), once said "Cooking is like love; it should be entered into with abandon or not at all." I completely agree! So throw caution to the wind and try something new. I say as long as you don't hospitalize anyone it’s a success. Speaking of which, how did your Taco Pie come out? Mine came out great! This was the first time I made it and I'm glad to report the Roomie liked it.

Taco Pie fresh out of the oven

Sliced Taco Pie

 Tonight I'm thinking Italian. A simple and not at all traditional Chicken Parmesan to be exact. I found a pretty simple recipe here http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/chicken-parmigiana/Detail.aspx. If you don't feel like breading your chicken that's fine, you can honestly skip that step. Make sure not to over season your chicken. Once we get more comfortable we'll include different spices but for now let’s keep it simple. Just use salt and pepper. Thankfully pasta sauce has a lot of flavor already. I prefer Prego's Roasted Garlic for this recipe but you can get whatever you want.

Serve this dish with some spaghetti noodles. Quick note: wait until water is boiling to add noodles and then boil them with a little oil to ensure that they don't stick together. Once you drain them add a little more oil to the noodles to make sure they stay fluffy. You can also buy some garlic bread pre-made in the freezer aisle and Voila! You have yourself a meal your mother would be proud of. Oh and don't forget the wine! Let us know how it goes :)