#3 Learn to Make a Killer Mac and Cheese and #4 Learn to Make a Killer Soup

I grouped these together because I made them together. I decided I needed to try at least 3 recipes, including at least one spectacular one, to claim I can make a killer mac and cheese or soup. I hit killer on attempt number 2 for both, but attempt number 3 for the mac and cheese was also killer.

Attempt #1

Shrimp and Mushroom Laska and Macaroni and Cheese, both from Jane Hornby's What to Cook and How to Cook It, a cookbook given to me my my dad for Christmas this year. The laska looked awesome in the pictures but then a little scary in the pan. The mac & cheese looked awesome all around. Looks can be deceiving. The laska, a curry-type soup, was really good but could have used a little more spice. The mac & cheese was baked and a bit dry. Soup #1 = killer. Mac & chese #1 = not. My testers for this round were Ed Cruz and Beth Spitelli. From my memory, Beth & I both liked the soup, esp if it had a little more spice - even though Beth didn't remind me she doesn't like shrimp and just ate around them - and Ed was neutral.

Attempt #2

French Onion Soup and Macaroni and Cheese, soup from an online recipe given to me by Lisa Morrison, and the mac & cheese from a Rachel Ray cookbook given to me by my Momma. I don't think my house has ever known a smell as lovely as the onions sauteing. Amazing. Now I saute onions regularly. Just for the smell. Okay, I eat them too. The soup was more of an onion soup because I didn't have the proper bowls, so I couldn't melt the cheese on top. We just put it in the soup. Then I baked some croutons, some with cheese on top. The biggest problem was that I figured I only needed about half an hour to make the soup - which was true - but I didn't read the last step which read, "saute for 2 hours." So while Ed & I watched the Oscars, we ate the soup, but it wasn't quite as amazing as it should have been. After Ed left, Chris Zann and Holly Munk stopped by, and by then, the soup was really good. The mac and cheese went a little smoother and was quite killer. I wasn't what I had envisioned as it had tomatoes and mushrooms in it, but it was really, really good. Soup #2 = killer (eventually). Mac & cheese #2 = killer. My samplers were Ed Cruz, Chris Zann, Holly Munk, and we think Beth Spitelli, but our memories are confusing us as she wasn't there to watch the Oscars but she and I remember her trying the mac & cheese. Weird.

Attempt #3

Tomato & Spinach Soup and K Rob's Portobella-Stuffed Mac & Cheese. The soup was a simple Rachel Ray and was actually quite good. I would make it instead of canned tomato soup. I'll probably mess with it and try other things in it too. Then I got an originial K Rob recipe, actually convincing him to write one down. It was awesome. Beth & my favorite mac & cheese, and I love portobellas. The only issue I had was that most of the mushrooms collapsed, so I only had a few pretty, truly stuffed mushrooms. I'll have to ask him what I did wrong and try again because it was a really nice touch without being too complicated. Yum. Soup #3 = good. Mac & cheese #3 = killer. My samplers this time were Ed Cruz, Beth Spitelli, Chris Zann, and Holly Munk.

I'm happily becoming a much better cook!

#78 - Snowboard down an entire hill without falling, including the stop at the end, and not including the bunny hill.

Well, it's a good thing that I kept at it because by 6pm on Sat, Jan 29, I was ready to count the bunny hill as a huge success.

Masters, Beth, JennaLee, & I joined the legendary ski / snowboard trip organized by Chris Ogden and Brent Belt up to Devil's Head Resort in Wisconsin. It was quite an adventurous day / night / morning. I'm just going to tell the snowboard stuff here. You can ask about the water shots and roving pantless guy in the bathroom some other time.

We had some delays in getting up there. I still can't figure out why the drive up was so long, except that we had to take 94 and make a stop to drop off a certain someone's wallet. But somehow we left Beth's place before 9am and didn't arrive until after noon. It took us awhile to figure out where to go (feeling especially confused after stumbling upon a floor in the Inn that looked unmistakeably like a dorm floor, complete with decorated doors and a room with a kiddie pool). Eventually we got our boards - Masters her skis - we took some adorable pictures, and we were off.

It was terrible.

JennaLee cruised a third to a half of the bunny hill at a time while Beth and I struggled to go more than five feet without falling. It hurt. It was frustrating. After three choppy trips down the hill, I was ready to give up. Or at least switch to skis. Which I did.

Masters and I took a couple green runs that went swimmingly. That is, until they told us that it was last run of the day and we had to go back even though we were ready for bigger and better hills now that I had my footing. We found Beth and JennaLee making their way slowly down a green run themselves. I offered to take pictures now that I was confident I wouldn't bite it with the camera. My favorite part of the day came when I was zoomed in on Beth as she careened down the hill and I said to her approaching image on the digital camera, "Beth, are you going to run into me?" I looked past the camera to find that, she, indeed, was going to run into me. Slame into me, more like it. We were a pile of skis and boards and giggles. It was lovely.

We went back to the Inn to get some dinner before night skiing. We had some drinks and met the neighbors we didn't know. Then, it was time to head back out.

Masters and I were both braving snowboards now. The next trip down the bunny hill was also a big fail. But then... I got it. I went all the way down without falling. I waited at the bottom for Masters, but she couldn't get up. We later found out this was because she fractured her wrist. Ouch.

Coincidentally, Beth and JennaLee were getting ready to ride up a lift next to us, so I joined them. We struggled down the long hill but halfway, I got it again, and I went the rest of the way. I waited for them at the bottom. And waited. And waited and waited. And gave up and went back up the lift. I fell getting off the lift and then made it all the way to the last part of the hill where I saw them walking their boards. I fell once, cursing, and then made it all the way to them and even stopped.

They, however, were done. Sore and tired.

So I went one more run, trying my best not to fall. (I don't count the fall of the lift. That's really hard to do!) The rest of the run went spectacularly. There was a moment when I went toe side and momentarily panicked because I don't really know how to do that yet, but I was determined to accomplish my first list item and turned myself around. I cruised to the bottom and even stopped.

Mission accomplished.

I loved snowboarding and I'm very excited to go again. The night that followed was also pretty epic and I'll be prepared to be in 387 again next year!