More Lucy Than June

So, I love to cook.  LOVE IT.

And I have not been able to really embrace my love of cooking for some time now. You see, we’ve had a busy few years…

…There was this baby that was born and she had reflux…and then when things finally calmed down with that, I got preggo again. And that was a CRAZY pregnancy (but it’s okay, it all turned out good and we have a cool story to tell about God’s graciousness…), and then we decided to move, and then I had back surgery, and…

So, after a few years of some crazy wild stuff, the littlest babe is almost 9 months now, and things are starting to settle into some sort of routine. Which means…

…I CAN START COOKING AGAIN!

Now, I’m thrilled about this. So thrilled in fact, that I have decided to try one new recipe a week!!

I’ve mentioned before that I’m a blog-browser. And in my browsing, I have found one of my fave new sites….

Home-Ec 101

Love it! Not only does it have all those cool little 50’s vintage images that I adore, but it’s a wealth of knowledge about “homemaking” stuff…

So, here’s the recipe that I decided I would try… Sausage Pinwheels with Sausage Gravy

Now, this is a pretty big recipe for me to take on, and I’ll tell you why.

It’s baking. Like baking YOUR OWN BREAD. Without the use of the BREAD MACHINE.

There’s all this crazy chemical reaction stuff with the yeast and the temperature of the milk and the salt. And the time/space continuum and stuff like that.

Not only am I thinking I’ll try making my own dough, but I’m going to make GRAVY.

My Southern fore-mothers would slap me for having never made gravy before. We had gravy 27 times a month when I was growing up. Cause it was cheap….and it was “Easy”.

Now if you click the link to the recipe above, she gives you beautiful pictures of her sausage pinwheel making process. I have pics too, only they’re not as beautiful.

My pictures involve Caia giving quite a show for you all.

Please…enjoy.

So, I made the dough. I followed her directions to every minute little detail. I did NOT want to mess up my dough.

And I used the dough hook on my stand mixer for the VERY FIRST TIME EVER. Impressive, right?

Meet Dough.

The recipe said to place my new friend Dough in a warm, moist place to rise.

I panicked.

What exactly was a warm, moist place?!!

I live in coastal South Carolina! Isn’t anything within 150 miles of the beach a warm and moist place??!

I settled for the microwave.

An hour and a half later, I went to check on Dough.

They grow up so fast.

This is where the fun began. Caia woke up from her “nap”.

And some sort of melt-down began. Over a Nutri-Grain bar.

A flippin’ NUTRI-GRAIN bar.

I will never again buy Nutri-Grain bars. Ever. They’re messy, end up ground in my carpet, smeared all over the kids clothes, and apparently incite Toddler Insanity.

I don’t know what she wanted. I unwrapped it when she asked for it. I took it out of the package. I put it back in the package. I put it on the counter. I put it in her hand. I put it on the floor.

Nothing was right in her little world where that *&%*$ Nutri-Grain bar was concerned.

I tried to post a video of it for you…but the computer was not cooperating.

It’s just as well. The minute I played it back, Stephen immediately told me that it gave him this tight, anxious feeling in his chest to hear it. I wouldn’t want to give any of you a nervous breakdown.

Just know that this tantrum goes on for AN HOUR. NON-STOP.

And I am right in the middle of the very delicate process of making homemade sausage rolls and homemade sausage gravy.

Those are tasks that, in my book, should only be attempted when all the stars and planets are properly aligned to begin with. Let alone having a two-year old screaming under your feet.

But I press on. Because, doggone it, WE ARE HAVING SAUSAGE PINWHEELS FOR DINNER TONIGHT!!

So, I plop Dough out on the “heavily floured” counter top.

I convince Dough to form into a somewhat rectangular shape. And Kenni pokes Dough for good measure.

Caia’s still workin’ the tantrum…

I fill Dough with sausage-y goodness. And cheese. The original recipe originator says she’ll skip cheese next time.

I am quite the lover of all things cheesy, so I’ll add MORE next time…

Now, the fun part. Roll Dough.

Then slice Dough and place in casserole dish.

At this point, I’m feeling pretty proud.

Then, I begin the complicated process of “proofing”. Well, it SOUNDED complicated, but I followed the steps with probably what could be considered a bit of an OCD kind of accuracy…

…and POOF!

Dough was PROOFED. Bam.

Then, I cooked Dough. (Thanks for hanging in there with me, Dough. We went through a lot together.)

The gravy was….not as great of a success. It’s a long story, but let’s just say, in such a humid environment as Charleston, I needed a bit more flour for my roux. (Dontcha love the word “roux”? Makes me feel classy just using it. However, I assure you that my gravy was anything but classy.)

And for those who don’t know, adding flour AFTER the milk has been added=flour-y tasting gravy. But throw that sausage back in and salt it up, and it KINDA fixes it a little…

But, to redeem myself, let’s look at that sausage pinwheel again…

Made with FROM SCRATCH Dough.

Sandra Lee and her semi-homemade antics would scoff at my homemade Dough.

Sandra Lee can take her Pillsbury can and….

…Oh, I’m kidding. I’m kidding.