a mess in the kitchen

If you've ever lived with me, you know what happens when I cook or bake...I make a HUGE mess. (But I almost always clean it up. ...almost.)

I've been making one of those famed messes today, and along the way, I've learned several things. I thought I'd share them with all of you, in case you'd like to learn from my...shall we say, struggles. Or occasionally, mishaps, even. Ha. ...

1. Tires are an effective way to crush oreos for making oreo truffles. Food processors, however, make CONSIDERABLY less mess, are far easier, and are much faster. (If you choose to go the tire route, however, please be sure to double bag the oreos. Everyone who will eat them will be grateful.)

2. If you need a fruit puree for your recipe, spend the extra money to buy fresh fruit. It's much less complicated than frozen fruit, and the extra money is well worth the decrease in effort and mental anguish over why the puree is so thick and how to make it thinner.

3. If a recipe calls for softened cream cheese...it means softened cream cheese. Cream cheese is like any man...you can't take short cuts; you need to give that cream cheese time to soften up! Your elbow will thank you later.

4. If you're melting white chocolate, DO NOT LET IT COME INTO CONTACT WITH WATER. Or food coloring. Or any liquid, for that matter. (This also means, be sure that if you wash the container you're melting it in, be sure it is completely dry.) Otherwise, it starts to look like the clumpy lard that it actually is. And nobody wants that.

5. Timing is everything. So be sure you know when you need things to be ready, and do as much before hand as possible. Things tend to take longer than you think they will, so if you're preparing these delicious treats for a party (as I am today), do as much as possible the day before. If you're not able to...have a stress reliever on hand. I find a simple glass of wine does the trick quite nicely.