mardi gras is on february 8th.  don't forget to make your king's cake!

"The King Cake is a New Orleans tradition that involves a pastry, a small plastic baby, and a party. The King Cake is baked with a small plastic baby hidden inside, the person who gets the slice with baby in it has to host the next party. Make sure to buy a new small plastic baby so you can get the full effect from this cake! Sprinkle with purple, green and gold sugar, or decorate with whole pecans and candied cherries. Note: Be sure to tell everyone to inspect their piece of cake before they begin eating it. To be extra careful, use a plastic toy baby that is too large to swallow, or hide an orange wedge or 3-4 pecan halves inside the cake (avoid items that may hurt someone's teeth) and then simply place the honorable toy baby outside on the top of the cake for all to see and adore!"  Original recipe yield: 2 cakes.

INGREDIENTS:

• PASTRY:



• 1 cup milk



• 1/4 cup butter



• 2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast



• 2/3 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)



• 1/2 cup white sugar



• 2 eggs



• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt



• 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg



• 5 1/2 cups all-purpose flour



•  



• FILLING:



• 1 cup packed brown sugar



• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon



• 2/3 cup chopped pecans



• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour



• 1/2 cup raisins



• 1/2 cup melted butter



•  



• FROSTING:



• 1 cup confectioners' sugar



• 1 tablespoon water

DIRECTIONS:

1. Scald milk, remove from heat and stir in 1/4 cup of butter. Allow mixture to cool to room temperature. In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in the warm water with 1 tablespoon of the white sugar. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.



2. When yeast mixture is bubbling, add the cooled milk mixture. Whisk in the eggs. Stir in the remaining white sugar, salt and nutmeg. Beat the flour into the milk/egg mixture 1 cup at a time. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 to 10 minutes.



3. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth or plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 2 hours. When risen, punch down and divide dough in half.



4. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease 2 cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.



5. To Make Filling: Combine the brown sugar, ground cinnamon, chopped pecans, 1/2 cup flour and 1/2 cup raisins. Pour 1/2 cup melted butter over the cinnamon mixture and mix until crumbly.



6. Roll dough halves out into large rectangles (approximately 10x16 inches or so). Sprinkle the filling evenly over the dough and roll up each half tightly like a jelly roll, beginning at the wide side. Bring the ends of each roll together to form 2 oval shaped rings. Place each ring on a prepared cookie sheet. With scissors make cuts 1/3 of the way through the rings at 1 inch intervals. Let rise in a warm spot until doubled in size, about 45 minutes.



7. Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes. Push the doll into the bottom of the cake. Frost while warm with the confectioners' sugar blended with 1 to 2 tablespoons of water.

what goes along with king's cake?  chicken andouille gumbo.  or red beans and rice.

a eulogy to my slippers

my poor slippers, which have been faithful to me, are nearing their end.  i bought them in the winter of sophomore year because i was attracted to their beautiful stripiness.  they went with me everywhere, too--friends rooms, meals in sodexho, wal-mart, the bars.  they spent countless hours with me suffering through on weeks.  it was not too long ago when i realized that they were on their last leg.  i refused to believe it.  instead, i found a safety pin so that they could continue to be with me.  although, i subconciously knew the truth because i would browse through the slippers while at target. 

finally, two days ago, the foam in them began to come out of it's own accord.  as sad as it was, i had to face the truth: my slippers are not long for this world.  while they will remain with me for the rest of this winter, they shall never see another summer as my slippers.  instead, i have a new pair of slippers.  while they are not as stripey as the old pair, they do have their own style about them (and were on clearance).  and while we may not have as many adventures to exciting places like the bars or wal-mart that the striped slippers and i had, perhaps one day i will grow to love them as much.

now, if we could have a moment of silence...

i'm so excited about the baby! 

that is all!

Homeland Security is Everyone's Job

i didn't get the job at the hotel.  while i'm sad about barely having any sort of income, i am happy that at least my wednesdays will be free.  so i'm still looking for a second job.

i finally went to the coffee shop in town, which opened last fall.  it's probably bad that i did because now i'll want to go back for more, but i asked about putting art on the walls since local artists had theirs displayed, and i ended up taking some of my photos in today for them to look at.

and i even cleaned my room.

so while i sort of feel like i haven't done anything, i sort of feel like i've gotten a lot accomplished. 

and in other news

i am a finalist, so to speak, for a receptionist position at a local hotel.  i'll find out something on friday, whether or not she's made a decision on who to hire.  the only downside to the job is i would have to work wednesday nights, thus missing lost and alias.  it's never quite the same to watch them after the fact.

laura, as usual, said it best:

Impending babies which are actually nearly three days past due impending and which can MAKE AN APPEARANCE ANY DAY NOW, BUDDY, YOUR "AUNTS" ARE ON PINS AND NEEDLES FROM LACK OF NEWS:

"Harold" (not his real name) Bremer.

especially the part about his "aunts" being on pins and needles.  there is baby stuff on clearance at target and i keep buying more and more because i am beside myself with anticipation!

bleurgh

could time pass any slower??

a legion of owls has taken the kitchen.

what's new, pussycat?

i keep thinking i should post something, but i can't think of anything interesting to say.  well, other than i am well on my way to achieving my new year's resolution. 

oh, and grant looks amazingly like the marshmallow-faced orc in rotk.  he had surgery to push the bone back in his face to where it belongs. it was probably as painful as it sounds.

my new years resolution

finish all of these:

a brief glimpse of christmas in knoxville :

it was a good trip, and nice to see everyone.  liz got engaged on christmas day, my uncle steve had surgery for cancer the day we left (he's okay), and peter drove us around one afternoon doing errands and as a result i now own the garden state soundtrack.  the drive really sucked, but that's pretty typical.  when you are spending the holiday with family that you love, it doesn't really matter that all of your presents are three states away.

since we got back i have been working and watching movies--ab fab season 5, extended return of the king (twice, once was last night at the mcwhorters.  the barfing sound stay-puffed orc makes is our new greeting and all around favorite sound, at least for the next week.)  that's pretty much it.  my hours will be drastically cut at target since the holidays are over so i'm going to be looking for a second job now.  preferably one with sitting.

that is all, except i guess, happy 2005 to everyone.