Bacon, Chocolate Fudge Sundae - a review

I like bacon and I like chocolate so I figured that Burger King's new Bacon, Chocolate Fudge Sundae was going to be a sure fire winner and I think it still can be, but not at the restaurant I went too.
First of all, I don't like this BK, but I was in T-town and had an hour and a half to waste so with my mind on bacon and chocolate and ice cream I headed over to the BK. I have never had good service there - and yesterday was no different. I counted 4 employees and a manager; were were the only customers inside when we were ordering and there wasn't anyone in the drive-thru. These workers just stood around and talked instead of getting my order ready.

When I finally did receive it - it was terrible. The burger was luke-warm and tasteless. The fries were greasier than normal and my sundae looked like it had been thrown together or dropped on the floor. (I didn't see or hear it hitting the floor so I'll assume it wasn't). I heard the employees discussing the said sundae and they weren't sure what to put on it since apparently they had run out of the chopped bacon. I saw one of the employees grab a handful of bacon (not chopped) and toss it on the ice cream and then squirted some whipped cream on the top. And that's what it tasted like - old leathery bacon with fake whipped cream. The bacon was tough and since it wasn't chopped I had to cut it. It tasted like it had been sitting around for a while. It wasn't as tasty as I thought it should've been. I think if the bacon is chopped and is fresh or at least drained of the grease, it would be pretty good. 

SLOWLY

Well here it is nearing the end of June and my summer of being a creative woman is moving slowly. Everything is moving slowly these days.

My husband had surgery the end of May and I thought having him home for 6-8 weeks would be great. But I find that I don't get anything done. I do, but it's mainly cooking and cleaning. If he wasn't home all day, I wouldn't be fixing two meals a day, I wouldn't be distracted by what he's watching on TV or trying to keep him from being bored.

Then there is my thyroid. It isn't working correctly and is scheduled to be removed in AUGUST. My doctor and I fully anticipated the surgery by the end of May/mid-June. So he didn't put me on any medication. So now, I'm tired, fat, sluggish and hormonal. I had no idea how many things the thyroid controls or works in in sync with. But after yet another visit to the urologist I found out that my bladder issues probably aren't bladder issues, but uterus issues caused by an imbalance in my hormones so let's wait and see how you're feeling after that's taken care of...once again things are moving slowly.

And then there is the house issue. We want to move. We find houses on-line, we talk to a realtor, we look at houses we like only to find out that they're sold. So we found a house the other day we LOVE. The others we've liked, could live in, were so-so, but this house was in a good location, had  potential etc. We did a walk-thru and we still liked it. Put in a bid...and now we wait and wait. Oh, there's an e-mail...lots of people put in bids on this very same house. My husband is bummed, and I'm...well  see above...I'm hormonal so OF COURSE I'm depressed. I don't even want to look at another house. I've even started packing, *sigh* I guess I'll live out of boxes for another 10 years.

So my creativity which should be blossoming with so much time on my hands isn't. Oh I've tried some new recipes, and I'm finishing a quilt. I looked into a painting class, but all of that is moving slowly too.

Pretend You Don't See Her; A book review

I like Mary Higgemins Clark. I know what I'm going to get with her - good old fashioned suspense. A mystery that's never easy to figure out and satisfying in the end. This book is no exception. Clark writes characters that I like - all of them - even the bad guys who I don't suspect. The bad guys I know about are evil and sinister - the way they they should be.

Quick synopsis - Lacey Farrell is a witness to a murder. She is the only one who can identify the man and now her life is at risk. She's put in the witness protection program, but she in the end, she must solve the mystery of who's trying to kill her and why.

The book has a sense of urgency. I'm not sure I ever fear completely for Lacey's life or not. It is a story that just unfolds so naturally that it could be real. That's probably the reason I like it. I want to know the who and they why, but I'm not afraid because the good guy (or woman in this case) in Clark's books always wins.

You have to love a book that metes out the right kind of justice.

I have sporadically read other books by Mary Higgins Clark and have enjoyed them. Maybe I should spend the rest of the summer reading the rest of her work.

Charlotte Figg takes over Paradise (book review)

This is a fun little read. I had some issues with it, but I'll get to those in a moment. Charlotte Figg's husband Herman dies and she buys a trailer in Paradise, from an ad in a magazine. She was married for 26 years and Herman made all of the decisions and well, she was in need of some practice - she was the victim of a bait and switch. The trailer is a disaster, but she and her dog Lucky move stay after meeting some of the people of Paradise.  It seems the trailer park is in a rut or scared and it takes a new arrival to shake things up and shake, rattle and stir the pot Charlotte does. She organizes a women's softball team. She befriends everyone and convinces people to stop hiding. There are many many secrets in Paradise.  This is a Christian novel with a lot of "preaching" woven in. So if hearing about Jesus and church isn't your thing, you might not like this book, but the story is good and the message is better.  I had a few problems with the story; the first being the time period. I originally thought it was set in the present, but then realized it wasn't, but I tried to figure out the time period and finally have it narrowed down to the early 70s. I had to doing some figurin' to come to that conclusion. Sometimes, I felt that the Christian references were too structured, almost as if they were put in but then not refined. People just don't speak like pamphlets - at least not in Paradise. It almost made them sound, mentally challenged at time. I think the author was trying to hammer home those points, but she didn't need too. Most people who will read this won't need the message hammered home and those who are non-believers aren't going to want it beaten in.  I enjoyed the book. It was fun and the characters were likable. I hope Magnin writes another Charlotte Figg book.  Charlotte Figg Takes Over Paradise: A Novel of Bright's Pond (Bright's Pond #2)

pecan, bourbon, butterscotch bread pudding

I love food - I like prepping and getting everything ready, I like the smells, the sounds and of course the tastes, but sometimes the textures make me gag. Bread pudding makes me gag. There is something really nasty about sweet, mushy bread that makes my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth and the bile creep up in my throat. I am NOT a fan of bread pudding - that was until I tried this one. 

My culinary instructor Tabetha told us this one was beyond good. She was right. It's sweet, crunchy and doesn't have that nasty mushy bottom. My husband, who also doesn't like bread pudding was celebrating his birthday and I thought this would be a good second dessert. I was wrong - this was a good FIRST dessert. The birthday cake was all but forgotten. I leftover cake, but the bread pudding was gone.  So here is the recipe - with comments that I've added. I'm thinking that next time I might add a few bourbon soaked raisins. 

The calories - probably a gazillion if you're worried - then just skipped this recipe - just reading will cause you to gain weight. 

Butterscotch sauce:

• 1 cup (packed) light brown sugar (no light brown sugar? I used dark and it turned out ok) 
• 1/2 cup light corn syrup
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon bourbon (optional) (I used Kentucky Bourbon, but I suppose bourbon is bourbon) 

Pudding:

• 1 pound day-old rustic white bread, crusts removed, cut into 1/2" cubes (12 cups) (I used a thick white bread and left the crusts on)
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted (It needs to be UN salted) 
• 2 tablespoons plus 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 5 large eggs
• 4 cups heavy cream
• 1 1/2 tablespoons poppy seeds
• Pinch of kosher salt
• 3 tablespoons bourbon
• 1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise (These are expensive so I used real vanilla extract - 1/2 tsp)
• 2 cups pecan pieces

preparation

For butterscotch sauce:
Bring brown sugar, corn syrup, butter, and salt to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, whisking to dissolve sugar. Boil until mixture is syrupy and measures 1 1/3 cups, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat; add cream and bourbon, if desired, and stir until smooth. Let cool. DO AHEAD: Can be made 3 days ahead. Let cool completely, cover, and chill. Rewarm before serving.

For pudding:
Toss bread, melted butter, and 2 tablespoons sugar in a large bowl and set aside. Using an electric mixer, beat eggs and remaining 1 1/2 cups sugar in another large bowl until pale yellow and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add cream, poppy seeds, and salt; beat to blend. Place bourbon in a small bowl; scrape in seeds from vanilla bean (reserve bean for another use). Whisk to distribute seeds, then add to egg mixture, whisking to blend well. Pour egg mixture over bread mixture in bowl. Add pecans and toss to coat well. Transfer mixture to a 13x9x2" glass or ceramic baking dish, spreading out in an even layer. Cover with plastic wrap and chill overnight.

Preheat oven to 325°F. Remove plastic wrap and bake until top is browned in spots and a tester inserted into center comes out clean, 1 1/4-1 1/2 hours. Serve bread pudding with butterscotch sauce.

I think the secret is baking it long enough. Make sure it is crispy on the top. I also soaked the bread over night. I found a copy of this recipe on epicurious.com. Tabetha said she reheats this and then puts a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top and then drizzles the butterscotch on top.  I didn't reheat mine and people liked it just as well. It wasn't cold, but room temperature, but the time the last of it was eaten. I hope you enjoy this.  

The Whispering Statue (Nancy Drew) book review

Yes, I'm still reading my way through the Nancy Drew books. I gave it 4 stars only because some of the story was a bit of a stretch realistically even for the time it was written. Nancy's father asks her and her friends Bess and George to stay at a yacht club and solve two mysteries. The one they are hired to solve, what is happening to Mrs. Merriman's books. She isn't receiving her commission and one just because Nancy is nosy - the disappearance of a statue from the yacht club. Nancy's boyfriend Ned makes an appearance in time to save her and win a sailboat race. We do learn that Nancy is in art school, but when she attends is anyone's guess. This has bothered me for a long time. She is apparently out of high school, but she doesn't have a real job nor is she in college and neither are her friends. Is she just waiting for Ned to finish at Emerson so they can get married? Does she charge for her sleuthing? It always seems she does it out of the goodness of her heart. This is a fun, quick read which will take you back to the days before cell phones, when Nancy had to use her wits to find out who the bad guys are.