Hi.  My name is Amy, and I am addicted to talking.  I talk so much that the majority of the private music lessons which I teach double as "therapy sessions / talk shows".  I talk so much that my husband has literally not gotten a word in edge-wise since 1998.  I talk so much that I have, on SEVERAL occasions, left messages on people's voice mail in a SERIES of phone calls.  And yet....I have been completely stumped on what to talk about to launch this blog!  Go figure!!!

I finally settled on tackling the topic of cooking.  This is a topic that I, unfortunately, don't know a whole lot about.  I have mastered the basic cooking skills necessary to not die (and yes, I do include the ability to order food from a drive-through in a competent manner a "skill"!), but I am not a tremendously gifted cook.  What are my clues?  Well - 1. I made my first pie this last Christmas....with my 14-year-old son as my tutor (Home Ec. teachers are LITERALLY saving lives!).  2. I have had occasion to pick glass out of the ham I was preparing.  3. I learned the hard way that setting the oven to "broil" so you can eat your cake sooner is a bad idea. 4. I am almost up to double-digits on the number of hot pads that I have caught on fire.  And my personal favorite..."gravy-sicles".  Here's what happened:

I married a fantastic man who also happens to have serious cooking skills.  Unfortunately, after a few years of being married to me he mysteriously took a job that requires him to travel a lot (curious....).  He happened to be out of town one Sunday, which is the day we usually do a nice enough meal to warrant washable plates and, if we are feeling really "fancy", silverware!  I decided that I would make a roast.  I mean how hard is it really?  You just slap some salt on it and throw it in the oven.  He had even shown me how to use this nifty meat thermometer so I wouldn't have to use smoke signals to gauge whether or not the roast was done.  Great news - it worked!  When I pulled that perfectly cooked roast out of the oven, I got...well...cocky and decided to try my hand at gravy.  I called my mother, a fantastic cook who really did TRY to teach me, to get the recipe for gravy.  When she finished crying (?), she lovingly explained that gravy really didn't require a recipe as it was just milk and flour added to the meat drippings. There is a SLIGHT chance that I may have mixed up the ratio of milk to flour because the gravy was...ummm..."thick".  By thick I mean that when I pulled the spoon out of the pan, the gravy just kind-of stuck in one big clump to the spoon.  Abandoning the gravy, I went ahead and called my boys to the table to eat the magnificent roast.  My oldest, about 8 at the time, was mysteriously absent, so I went on a hunt.  I finally found him in my room.  He was crouched down on the floor next to my bed holding the phone.  I got there just in time to hear him whisper desperately, "Dad - you have to come home now!  She's making gravy-sicles!!!!!!"  Tragic.....

You should know that I am a not a total loss in the kitchen.  I have been told that I can make a mean chocolate chip cookie.  That's the good kind of "mean" - not the kind that requires an ER visit.  On occasion, people have asked me for the recipe.  To be honest, I am pretty sure the way my mom taught me to make them is all but identical to the one on the back of the Nestle bag of chocolate chips, but I'll share it anyway:

Mix 3/4 cups Crisco and 2 eggs.
Add 1 cup of white sugar and 1/2 cup dark brown sugar (pack that baby until it overflows!) and mix.
Add 1 cup flour.
When that looks hunky dory, add a dash of salt, 2 tsps. vanilla, and 1 tsp. baking soda.  Mix.
Add in 1 more cup of flour.
The best part.....add 1 bag of Nestle Semi-Sweet chocolate chips.

Cook a 350 degrees (I can't figure out how to make the degree mark on the computer!!) for 10-12 minutes.

Viola!  I hope you enjoy!!! 

Amy