How Nanette got her kitchen groove back

I offered to bring some sweets to Jodi's annual Oscar party tonight. I first thought I'd bake up my specialty - cupcakes! But then I thought I'd instead try out a recipe for some delicious cookies I bought recently, called alfajores. They're Peruvian cookies, filled with dulce de leche. I reviewed this recipe and thought it looked easy (and tasty) enough. I started to make the cookies, but found myself with a crumbly cookie dough that was very difficult to work with. I continued away with my cookie cutter, even though I wasn't able to roll out the dough evenly and the dough fell apart quite a bit.

Instead of the recipe's version of filling, I planned to boil the can of condensed milk, which is repeatedly said to result in dulce de leche. Then I did some research and learned that I was going to have to boil it for FOUR HOURS! Hell to the no! I will not be held hostage by a can of condensed milk. I read that dulce de leche in a can was readily available. That back-up plan didn't work, as I couldn't find any in the two markets I visited. I went with a caramel ice cream topping instead.

When the cookies were done, half of them were burnt because they were so thin. Others had spread out too much. Some were just right. I slapped some caramel in between two of them, dusted them with some powdered sugar and decided not to bring the few I had managed to salvage to the party. Score - Kitchen: 1, Nanette: 0.

All of this cookie madness happened yesterday. Last night after dinner, Brent and I swung by Beard Papa's to pick up a dozen cream puffs. I thought those would make a nice party treat. I woke up this morning and realized that I FORGOT TO PUT THEM IN THE FRIDGE! I left them on the kitchen counter. Because of the nature of the cream in the cream puffs, they have to be refrigerated. Son of a ...! Score - Kitchen: 2, Nanette: 0.

So this morning I decided to go back to my original plan of cupcakes. I found this recipe and decided to make it with lemon cake instead. I whipped up the batter, filling and cream cheese frosting. And they turned out FABULOUS! Score - Kitchen: 2, Nanette: 1.

On a roll, I decided to make the cake I learned about at my recent cooking class. This wasn't for the party, but just for Brent and I to enjoy, with the leftovers going to my co-workers tomorrow. I followed directions, although when it said to bake for "50 minutes or until firm to the touch," I went with the 50 minutes. The cake came out a bit burnt on the edges and bottom, but with a little carving, a little cream cheese frosting, it turned out pretty damn yummy. Score - Kitchen: 2, Nanette: 2.

I'll settle for a tie, but I plan on winning the rematch.

"I hear Angela’s party will have double-fudge brownies. It will also have Angela." - Kevin, The Office