PUMPKIN ROLLS

When Sunday arrived, I had no tickets to any football games so I decided to pretend to be my great-grandmother and bake.  From scratch.  Now I've done plenty of baking in the past, but I've always been afraid of any kind of dough.  The rising and proofing is something I was always sure I'd screw up; it's too temperamental.  But this recipe was just too good to pass up.  So I went to the store and got everything I needed, held my breath, and gave it a shot.

I let the yeast dissolve, mixed it all up in the Kitchen-Aid and prayed to God it would double in size as it sat for 3 hours (as the recipe told me it would.)

            Ta-da!  There it is, my pumpkin dough.  Doubled in size!!

                                  

Next step was fairly easy.  I had to smear butter and brown sugar and toasted pecans all over it.  No problem.  Then came rolling it up.  Keep in mind that I had rolled it out to about twice the width that you see above.  I also did this with the dough room temperature, which made it a little tricky, but I pulled it off.

                       After proofing and ready for the oven.

Now all I had to do was wait 20-25 minutes.  I made the brown sugar glaze for the top while time ticked away.  My apartment smelled amazing.  I just had to hope that they looked and tasted as good as they smelled....

                                  Fresh from the oven.                                                          

                            With brown sugar glaze and extra toasted pecans.

The result??  THESE ARE SO FREAKING GOOD.  You have to make them.  The recipe yields a lot of buns (I had 18) so either freeze them or bring them to work for extra brownie points (that's what I did!)

BIG BLUE

Remember how I mentioned how my bosses are sometimes awesome?  Well, they have done it again.  This time by giving me tickets and a parking pass to last Sunday's Giants game.

The seats were great (26th row!) and it just so happened that my friend's birthday had been that week, so it was nice to be able to take him and my brother-in-law along for the fun.  

We got there pretty early because we had some friends who have a Giants RV (painted blue and everything) and they always get there at 8 in the morning because they are INSANE.  Usually I'm not a fan of the whole tailgating thing, but I really enjoyed myself this time.  I got to hang out with a lot of old friends who I hadn't seen in a while.  

Unlike the Devils game, this time the home team won!!  By the skin of their teeth, but I guess a win's a win.

HUNGOVER OWLS

When I stumble across something this amazing, I feel the need to share.

http://tumblr.com/xdqjvfqt5

GAME ONE

So last night was the NJ Devils season opener at The Rock in Newark, NJ.  Because my bosses have season tickets and have been known to be awesome, I got to go!

I only live a few miles from Newark and we got a parking pass along with our free (!) tickets so we opted to drive.  This turned out to be a bad idea due to the Holland Tunnel traffic that had clogged up Route 280, but we still got there with plenty of hockey left to be played.

The seats were great and the game was close the whole time.  The third period ended in a 3-3 tie, so we went to 4-on-4 overtime hockey.  Unfortunately, the Devils defense was not up to the task and they gave up a game-winning goal to the Stars pretty quickly.  Not the ending I (or the Devils, I imagine) was looking for, but we still had a great time.

Also, if you haven't been to The Prudential Center in Newark, you really must get there.  It's a beautiful arena and there's also lots of great places to eat before or after the game in Newark.  I know it gets a bad rep, but there have been a lot of changes in downtown Newark over the years and you should definitely check it out. 

WHAT'S IN THE BOX?!

Sick pug transitioned into sick human this week.  My crappy doctor (soon to be ex-doctor) tells me I have a viral infection, whatever that means.  Basically I have to take DayQuil and NyQuil and steam my sinuses and pray that I feel better.  Snuggling with the pug has been my treatment of choice.  Well, that and the couchnest (copyright Older Sister).  I also gave the pug a bath because she STUNK.  

But what I've really been doing all day is eating Mallomars.  Lots of them.  

I bought the box yesterday and they're almost gone.  Gluttony!!  I love them so much that while I was lying in bed last night trying to sleep, I started to think what an awesome thing the "Mallomartini" would be.  Has anyone ever made one?  What would I need to make it taste like the world's most delicious cookie?  What kind of booze would work for the marshmallow flavor?  I even decided that I would dust the rim of the glass with graham cracker crumbs.  Presentation, people!!

Sort of related Mallomar story:

 As you know (or maybe not, if you're not a junkie like me) they are only available for a limited time each year and some grocery stores only let you buy them in limited quantities.  Well my friend was telling me that her mother loves them.  Loves them so much that she goes to her local grocery store, buys the allowed amount, brings them to her car, and then returns to the store and buys the allowed amount again from a different cashier.  She sometimes takes as many as 3 trips in at a time.  She then freezes her take so she has Mallomars all year long.  This woman is a genius.