Stephanie Deen

As a child I adored making home videos. I'd have my parents tape me singing, putting on plays, making our dog do tricks, etc. But I probably havn't made one since the age of 12, until Monday night.

I have an extreme love of the Food Network and particularly Paula Deen. I adore her cute little accent and her deep fried foods. I also love that she is so close to her family and always has a good story to tell. So I decided to do my own taping of my favorite Food Network show, a la Stephanie. My dad broke out the old video camera, not even digital, and my brother got ready for his stand-up as a commerical and we got to work. I've learned as I've watch the food network almost all of the shows are ad-libbed or improvised for the most part. Especially Paula's, when she drops something or can't find something, she usually keeps chugging along. So without a script and just an idea of what I was going to make we got to work.

I transformed myself into the estranged daughter of Paula Deen and made my famous Matzo Toffee.

The first step was taking 1 cup of brown sugar and combining it with half a cup of butter (or one stick).



After this began to bubble you pour it over the flat matzo (I used around 5 pieces).



And then you pop that in a 350 degree oven for 4-5 minutes or until it begins to bubble again. Then the next choice is yours. Many people add chocolate to the top, but I prefer marshmellows! After your matzo begins to bubble again, take it out of the oven and immediatly pop them into the freezer for at least 3 hours. Then feel free to break the pieces apart and put them in plastic baggies for easy access.

Your finished product should look similar to this!



As our video camera is not digital it may take me a couple of days to get it up on here.

Recipe:
1 cup of brown sugar
1/2 cup of butter
5 pieces of Matzo

Directions:
Melt butter in a small pot on medium heat for 3 minutes
Add brown sugar and turn up heat to medium-high until the mixture begins to boil
Spread the mixture over 5 pieces of matzo (more or less depending on how thick you want it, note it will spread out even more once put in the oven)
Pop the matzo into a 350 degree oven for 4-5 minutes of until it bubbles
Take out matzo and put in the freezer for at least 3 hours, then break apart and enjoy!

Slow Cooking

Unfortunately this post isn't about a great slow cooking recipe, it's more about the fact that I'm sorry I haven't had time to post any tasty delights yet, particularly my version of the Chicago style hot dog. Please stick around because it is coming, but just slowly. This entry is mostly about the fact that lately I've been so busy the only thing I've been really making is bagged lunches. But let me tell you I am THE connoisseur of the bagged lunch. My specialty you ask, wraps!

I know a cook isn't supposed to divulge their true pickiness, but I'm going to be honest, I do NOT like sliced sandwich bread. I blame it on the fact that as a child growing up I attended the only school district in the north shore of Chicago that did not have a cafeteria until high school. For some, this is unimaginable, I've heard of kids being fed mac 'n cheese and French fries since kindergarten, but not I. Our school district opted to spend their government tax money on fancy Mac computers and highclass dodge balls instead. So I grew up eating in the school gym, or in junior high an area they called "the commons". Back to my fear of sliced bread...everyday I was packed an almost identical school lunch: a honey ham sandwich on Mother's sliced bread with mustard (no cheese), a plastic bag full of cheetos, a juicebox, and either an applesauce or a Twinkie. When the lunch was packed the bread was normally at room temperature, the ham was usually cold from being in the fridge. By lunch time, the ham had transferred its moisture to the bread turning it to a slightly gluey consistency. But I still ate it, day after day after day. But as a grown-up I have the choice to not eat slightly moist, gluey bread, and so I chose not to.



Today's Simple Wrap-Up:

A small sized round tortilla (any brand will do)
3 slices of thin-cut honey turkey (Sara- Lee is my favorite)
A sprinkling of parmesan cheese (about 2 tablespoons)
Lingonberry preserves (about a teaspoon)

I prefer to package my wraps in tinfoil and chose not to refrigerate them (I figured this was safe due to the fact that every sack lunch I had in elementary school was not refrigerated and I didn't die from food poisoning)

If you work in an office, I'm sure you've been blessed my some sort of functioning microwave, I recommend heating your wrap before consuming, it tastes even better when the cheese melts and combines with the Lingonberry preserves. I enjoy consuming my turkey wrap with a juicy juice grape juice box, a snack bag of sunchips and some sort of fruit. Viola the perfect bagged lunch!

Stephanie Eats Chicago

I absolutely love food. One of my favorite time wasting activities is to look through Chicago restaurant menus and pick out items I would enjoy ordering, occasionally this obsession goes to the length where I print out the menu and highlight the particular items. While this is one of my favorite activities, it is also complete and utter torture. Chicago hosts some of the best restaurants in the country, but unfortunately the best restaurants come with the highest priced chefs which means expensive eats. My goal is too take some of my Chicago restaurant favorites and make them cheaper and simpler all the while giving them a unique Stephanie spin. If I can fit it in, I'd love to really challenge myself and see if I can make them a little bit healthier as well.

Tune in next time as I try and make the best Chicago hot dog!