Tuesday, October 7, 2008

How to clean your stove



I wonder sometimes how my mom did it.  She managed to keep up with the four of us (I have three younger sisters) and still have a reasonably presentable house.  Some of it was the fact that she didn't work outside the home until I was in high school.  But I realized that a lot of it was the fact that she put us all to work.  =)  I'm starting to be able to do that with Brianna--she has some special jobs for which she can earn a total of a dollar a week (aside from the expected picking up her stuff).  But there's still a lot that doesn't get done.

It used to really bug me when there were unwashed dishes in the sink and clutter all over the kitchen table.  Okay, to be honest, it still does.  But I've learned to live with it.  The fact is, there are only so many hours in the day.  And if I'm going to spend any of them with my kids, something has to give.  I'm getting better at doing little bits of cleaning up here and there, either after they're in bed, or it the morning before I go to work.  Some of the bigger stuff gets done on the weekend, but the more involved things have to wait for when I have some time off (Thanksgiving week, anyone?).  Of course, sometimes things happen that force me to clean up right away...


...like having a caramel volcano erupt on my stovetop.  I can't believe I did that!  I really do know better.  I've made caramel many times before.  But it's usually in smaller quantities, so I just didn't take into account how much more quickly the cream would boil over when it hit the hot caramel.  Ugh.  And I was so happy that I hadn't let the sugar get too dark!  Actually, once the bubbling subsided, most of the caramel was still in the pot, and I was able to add the butter and proceed.  (And by the way, since I only use unsalted butter, I did add about 1/4 teaspoon of kosher salt to the cream before I added it to the sugar.)


Why was I making caramel?  For this week's Tuesdays with Dorie, of course!  Tammy of wee treats by tammy selected Caramel Peanut Topped Brownie Cake.  Peanuts just aren't my favorite, so I decided to go with pecan halves.  They looked really nice on top of the cake, and tasted fantastic with the caramel.  I cut a couple pieces of cake for Brianna and Gillian (they aren't big nut eaters, though I discovered this evening that Gillian likes cashews) and spooned the pecans and caramel onto the top of the rest.  Mmm.


The verdict?  Brianna and Gillian really liked the cake.  I thought it was a bit dry.  What is it with me and cake lately?  I can't seem to get it quite right.  Sigh.  I baked it for the shorter amount of time in the recipe, but maybe that was still too long.  I would have preferred something more brownie-like.  The topping was fabulous, though.  I think Jamie would have really liked it, but he was side-lined with what we think is the same stomach bug that was plaguing Gillian last week.  I ended up taking about 3/4 of the cake to the daycare on Monday morning.  It got rave reviews and apparently didn't last long.  =)


For the recipe, you can certainly turn to the book itself.  Or check out Tammy's blog.  And if you've been thinking of joining our merry band, now is the time to do it.  You only have until October 31st.  Oh, and my stove looks great, since I figured I'd better just clean the whole thing while I was cleaning up the caramel. =)


23 comments:

  1. I crossed my fingers before pouring the cream in, because I was worried it'd boil over like yours did - luckily it didn't! Pecans sound wonderful with this, although cashews would be interesting too... Your cake looks beautiful.

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  2. Oh no! Your poor stove! But dang the after picture is clean perfection. Wanna come over and clean mine? ;) Glad the kids enjoyed the cake!
    Clara @ ihearfood4thought

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  3. That must have been quite a job to clean that sticky goo off your stove!
    The cake looks nice!

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  4. Beautiful pictures. I have had the same kind of mess on my stove, but it has always been worth it! lol

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  5. I'm new to TWD and am making this today. Actually it's been very helpful reading everyone's comments, I'm hoping I can benefit from them as I am a little nervous about the carmel!

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  6. So sorry your cream erupted so violently.

    Your cake is lovely.

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  7. Oh Di!! I sit here nodding vigorously in agreement with every single point that you make in your post! I made a similar mess with the caramel. I can't stay on top of the regular messes either. I totally agree that there aren't enough hours in the day. My cake was dry too. All of it! Your cake LOOKS AMAZING, though! The closeup of the caramel dripping down the side -- wow! Almost makes me want to try again . . . almost.

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  8. Wow. What a sparkling stove. Kudos to you, you spilled caramel blaster!

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  9. Beautiful drips...
    I'm sorry about the mess, at least you have the cake to reward yourself after the cleaning!
    Great pics... great job!

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  10. I'm sorry about your big mess! Your stove does look sparkling clean though :) I agree about the dry cake, that really ruined it for me this week. I can't stand dry cake. Oh-well. I think your pecans look delicious, much better than the peanuts, but on the other hand I'm glad I didn't use pecans because I'd feel more guilty about tossing 'em. I know exactly how you feel, can't stand the clutter but have somehow learned to live with it. And of course the minute I finally get everything perfect it clutters right back up, ugh. Great job on the cake this week :)

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  11. Your cake and caramel look fantastic!! Sorry about the mess, but it was worth it. Of course, I didn't have to clean it up! I am definitely going to give the caramel another try. I've seen so many good looking desserts and now I NEED to get it right.

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  12. The pecans look delicious and your stove looks good as new. I just had milk boil over last night. I hate when that happens...

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  13. Love the use of the pecans! And there is no evidence left in the kitchen!

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  14. I love the full circle of this post, from the title to the clean stove at the end. Plus the gorgeous pecan topped cake. Don't you just love happy endings?

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  15. Hooo boy! I've had my share of "overflowing caramel" moments, albeit with other, simpler foods that I should have been aware of. This week I watched my caramel/cream mix bubble into an actual convex foamy mass two inches above the rim of my saucepan, but it held together and I didn'tlose any. Despite the overflow, your looks like it turned out awesomely.

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  16. Your poor stove! It is really tough juggling so many things! But seriously, despite the worst, your cake looks absolutely GORGEOUS.

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  17. Since I hurt my knee and my boyfriend's been doing crazy hours at work, we've gotten a cleaner in. Oh it's heaven, and I'm totally okay with shelling out the cash for it instead of on something else!

    Don't worry it wasn't you, it was the recipe. I had the same problem, as you know.

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  18. your post-explosion stove looks spotless! :) hehe. great job on the cake! mine was dry too, but i forgot to lower the temp for my dark pan. the pecans sound like a great substitute!

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  19. I loved everything about this post. Some things have to give, don't they. The end result looks great!

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  20. Yes, my mother was just like yours, everything was perfect all the time!

    That cooktop looks brand new, so cross one item off your to-do list!!

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  21. Oh bless your heart with the stove incident. You know, my mom was exactly like yours and always had to have everything perfect. I think I must have gotten that from her. :) But your stove looks great now!

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  22. lovely pecan topped cake! sorry it was dry for you, mine was nice and moist. your stove looks so shiny and clean now! :)

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  23. sorry about the stove mishap, but your cake is simply stunning! (and so is your sparkly stove!!)
    Nancy

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