The Hors D'oeuvre Factory

Well, if people don't have enough to eat at this party on Saturday, it won't be my fault.

I got my new deep fat fryer set up and started making Mexican won ton. I don't know how many hours I folded won ton, but I got into such a rhythm that it worked perfectly -- put 12 won ton in the basket of the fryer, lower the basket and cook 2-1/2 minutes. Raise the basket and let it drain, go to kitchen table, fold 12 more won ton, return to kitchen, take basket out of fryer, dump into draining container, add 12 more won ton to the basket, lower, cook, raise, fold....over, and over and over again.

Of course, I did have some willing assistants...they just were missing opposable thumbs, so I couldn't use them.

So I just kept plugging away while Jeri and Phil were packing up their stuff and their dog and getting ready to head over to Ned's house.

The good thing about having puppies is that they have to be fed when they're hungry, so I had nice half hour mini-breaks for puppy feeding time. Red letter day today: Both Higgins and Freddie finally have little slits of eyes, so all three of them are starting to be able to see.

When I finally finished the won ton and got it all packed into a container and in the refrigerator, I got the puppies fed and then went out to pick up the cake. In truth, if I had known I was going to be this tired, I would have ordered a decorated cake. But I really wanted to make my mother's cake, so the task yet ahead of me tonight is decorating the cake (for which I have zero inspiration at the moment!)

Then it was time to start on the stuffed jalapenos. This was a bit more tricky, since I wore latex gloves because I didn't want to run the risk of getting any jalapeno juice on my hands if I was then going to be feeding the puppies.

This is what they will all look like on Saturday, if I followed the recipe correctly.

You can find the recipe here.

Walt got home from work and I used the leftover Mexican won ton filling to make burritos for his dinner. Then it was time to feed the puppies again and finally start on the cake. Which involved yet another trip to the store (third time today) to get milk for the frosting, since all the milk went on cereal this morning.

I'm writing this entry to postpone yet again the decorating. Not because I don't feel like doing it, but because my creativity is long gone, along with my good disposition.

When I finally get the cake done, there is making the bed for Ashley, who will be staying here while we're gone, and trying to clear away a space on the kitchen counter and on the stove for her to use. I really, really like the new deep fat fryer, but when you finish using it, you're supposed to filter the oil so you can use it again, and for lack of a better filtering system, I'm running it through coffee filters--which takes a very long time for 3-1/2 gallons of oil! (Anybody who knows a better way to filter oil, I'd be beholdin' to ya for the advice!)

I'm also looking at the mountain of stuff that has to get from here to San Rafael (without smashing the cake!). I've been working since 5 a.m. and the tasks ahead of me are still daunting.