Finally recovering

Whew...

This weekend was a culinary challenge.  Where to begin? First I ended last week with the seasonal cry for pumpkin rolls and chocolate truffles. I only make thim at this time of year since they do have a holiday feel to them.  I generally make just a couple at a time but since I had numerous requests I made four rolls and prepared 2 pounds of truffle chocolate.  Saturday morning I wandered into the pantry, gathered supplies and made note of the things I didn't have before heading to the store.  Shopping was well...shopping.  I ran through the store and was out in no time.  In the afternnon I had a bunch at the house so I smoked a rack of ribs in my crazy Orion and grilled some thick cut chops.  Tossed together some rosemary and garlic new potatoes a double batch of pilaf and had some raw veggies and dip to hold everyone over till grub was on.  This is when it started to turn ugly.  Keeping in mind I had cooked a good 10 pounds of meat I ended up dining alone as everyone decided to head to the mall.  I know what you're thinking.  Why did he cook all that food if the house was going to be empty.  Great question and I have an answer.  Throught he miracle of cellular technology my loving sons informed me they would be home shortly for dinner.  With this bit of information I continued on preparing for the onslaught that never came.  I still have leftovers.  On to Sunday!!  Up bright and early to start cooking.  Put everything out on the counter and realized I purchased the wrong chocolate.  I wanted milk but picked up semi-sweet!  Off to Walmart I go.  Oldest son took the truck to work so I hop in the car and head out.  Half way there the car decides it's time to take a break and slows to a crawl on the highway about 100 feet from the off ramp I need to take.  I get off the highway and coaxed the car to the store parking lot.  Looking at the gauges the temp is in the red which explains the attitude problem the engine was having.  The car has a leak we can't find so we need to top it off once in a while.  I try to get the boys into the habit of checking it.  I should have taken my own advice before hitting the road.  Shopping done, radiator filled and fingers crossed, the car fires right up and I'm off to home.  Time for business!  Pull out the food processor and standmixer and set up all my supplies.  Cream and chocolate in a double boiler simmering away.   2 Rolls in the oven and making the filling.  MP3 player kicking some old time rock and roll.  But wait what's that smell.  DANG!!!  Fire in the hole!!!!!  I purchased a new oven a month ago and hadn't baked in it yet.  Add to that wrong size pans for the application and presto smoke gets in your eyes.  Recipe called for 15 minutes I was burning at that point.  Recovered and finally had 4 nice golden rolls.  Set them off to cool and poured off my chocolate to cool in the fridge. 30 minutes later spread filling and roll 'em up in plastic and into the fridge.  The filling is cream cheese based so getting it cool is key to keep it's roundness.  Feeling better I cleaned the kitchen and called it a day.  Monday was my day off.  Both boys at nwork so I thought truffle time.  I was planning on making 3 types.  Plain dusted with cocoa, caramel kiss centers dusted with powdered sugar and cocoa and finally the third filled with some cream cheese frosting and powdered sugar.  Oh I forgot to tell you!  I made a little too much filling like 2 quarts too much!!  I didn't take into consideration the difference in the pan size and the 2 cups of chopped nuts I added.  No problem my son Chris aka Little Chef has some ideas we are going to try. So again mis en place and glove up.  This is messy stuff!!  Dip in my spoon and it's not set up properly.  Still haven't figured out what happened but now I have 2 pounds of what I guess is a pretty good ganache.  At least it tastes good.  Here's hoping Chris comes up with something.  So proud me loads up 2 1/2 rolls into the car.  Roll 1 made it to Terri's work and her Mom's.  1/2 roll was Pete and Chris' friends critically important taste test.  It must have been difficult as it took multiple attempts to analyze the final product. It was fairly well received by those who know how I cook, however there was a whole bunch who didn't.  I still have quite a bit left at work for the rest of the week.  I hope to convert more people to the way of the pumpkin roll.  ALL HAIL THE PUMPKIN ROLL!  LOL  Well time to settle in and brainstorm whsat to do with all the left over filling and ganache.  Till later

"Chow for Now"

Pete

P.S. Nanni if you are still following I'm planning on doing an entry on your favorite Alio Olio Pepperoncino!  But this time pasta from scratch!!