Bake til you break

Last night, every time I closed my eyes, I saw the same thing.

"What is it", you ask?

Mini pie crusts.

"Why", you ask?

Because Mom, Aunt Joyce, Caitlin, and I made 1206 of them yesterday.

Yes, you read correctly. Yesterday, we began baking pie crusts for chicken salad tarts for the reception. We started around 10:30. We finished around 5. Then we began to make peanut butter balls. We didn't finish that.

I've heard of "Shop til you drop", but yesterday I experienced "Bake til you break."

These are the instructions for this DIY reception food.

Materials:
Five 24 mini muffin pans
Two mixers
3-4 people
A crust recipe (including a gross amount of Crisco)
A peanut butter ball recipe




Instructions:
Clear 10 hours out of your schedule. Put on comfortable shoes. Bake until you reach 1200 pie crusts.Add a few extra for fun. Easy shmeasy!

Make peanut butter balls. Roll 1266 of them. No problem!






Mom and Aunt Joyce are wonderful kitchen masters. By 11:30, we had it down to a science. We rolled the dough, pressed it in the mini cup pans, put the pans in the oven for 12 minutes. We, then, prepared another 2 pans to go in the oven immediately after the other ones were cooked. We continued this rotation until we had successfully baked 1206 crusts.

We then began working on peanut butter balls. Caitlin and Courtney had joined the fun by this point, and they were great help! We rolled about 400 last night, but Mom and Aunt Joyce woke up this morning and finished rolling them. Grand total: 1266 peanut butter balls.

I realized at about 2:30 that I had not been mentally prepared for the day. I knew we were cooking all day. I don't think that I understood fully that we were cooking ALL day. It turned out to be a fun day though. Lots of girl bonding and sweet friends and family.

 

See, we did have time to smile in the midst of hours of cooking! :) I think the cute aprons contributed to some of the smiling. Cooking is so pleasant when you're wearing a cute apron!

Until next time, 

Lindsey, the master pastry presser

My Father of the Bride

One of my favorite movies of all time is "Father of the Bride". I can quote almost every line, and for some reason it never gets old. George and Nina Banks feel like family friends, and I still think that Brian Mackenzie is a little awkward. 

Anyway, this movie has taken on more meaning within the last 8 months. I see some similarities in my dad and George Banks. Like when we discovered how many people were on our initial list and we had to trim back, I flashed back to the scene where the Banks family is sitting around the table knocking people off the guest list and contemplating just telling them not to eat. 

Obviously, if you know my dad, you know he didn't say that. But here are some things that he has said over this whole wedding planning process...

"Why do I keep hearing "we can take that back if we don't use it"? Why did we buy it if we don't know that we'll need it?"

"If something is 80% off, but you buy 4 times as much as you need, what are you really doing?"

"Where you gonna put all that stuff?"

"Ladies, Ladies!" (When Mom and I have "discussions")

"Do I have to go to that party?"

"Now when is this wedding of yours? I'll have to check my calendar."

When re-checking invitations, he was on editing duty.

"Did we mean to put the wrong return address on the envelopes?" (luckily he was kidding...I got nervous.)

"You sure that's spelled right?

"Is that supposed to have 2 L's?

"Don't they live in Newville and not Headland?"

"Who is that?"

In conclusion, Daddy has been a trooper through all the wedding fun. He has listened to every decision dilemma I've had, affirmed my jewelry choices, seen me try on my dress numerous times and acted like it's the first time every time, acted interested when I've shown him DIY projects, and never once complained about any of it...including cost.

He's been there to remind Mom and I to "be anxious for nothing" several times, and prayed for us when I couldn't decide what invitation I wanted. 

Step back, George Stanley Banks. Tim Gay's the best Father of the Bride ever.