tomorrow the fun starts

Hi all!

I'm pretty sure I'm still talking to myself at this point, but that's ok. :)

I'm still working on tomorrow's menu. I had hoped to do some experimenting before tomorrow to get a feel for the EBO, but timing and work and all sorts of other things were against that plan. I almost feel ok about it, because maybe experimenting before the experimenting is cheating a little, yeah?

The EBO i ordered off of ebay did not come with pans, and after calling around I discovered that the few places that carry anything EBO related do not have just accessory sets or pans by themselves. So, I'm improvising. I headed over to Williams Sonoma this evening after work and picked up a set of six, 4" tartlet pans. The specs I located online for pans that normally come with the Real Meals EBO say that they're 1" deep, so I knew I needed to find something no deeper than that. I think the tartlet pans will do the trick. I didn't get the non-stick ones. They did have non-stick ones, but they were over five dollars more (the plain ones were $16), and I can buy a can of PAM for less than that.



The conversation in Williams Sonoma was pretty amusing. I walked in and was immediately approached by a salesperson.

"Hello. Can I help you find something?"

"Well, maybe. I'm looking for small baking pans that are less than 5 inches in diameter and an inch or less deep."

"Hmm... ok. What will you be using them for?"

"I'm going to cook food in them... inside an Easy Bake Oven. I'm doing a blog project in which everything I cook at home will be cooked inside an Easy Bake Oven."

*dead stare, mouth agape*

She then called over two more saleswomen, completely talking over the instructor for a cooking class that was going on.

"You guys! Come here! You've got to hear this! Tell them!"

So I told them.

I got some pretty skeptical looks. In fact, that might be putting it mildly. If you can imagine the LEAST encouraging look someone can have on their face, multiply it by three and that's what I got.

"Oh, that should be... interesting."
"Hmm. How... fun..."

Saleswoman #1 then showed me where they kept the tart pans. We also had a pretty interesting conversation about the potential pros and cons of using silicone in an EBO. I told here that once I had an idea of how intense the heat inside the EBO is, I might come back for some of their adorable mini silicone cupcake umm.... thingies. We talked a little about how this whole blogging thing was going to work, the rules of the project, and the fact that I was going to stay away from the mixes and use actual ingredients.

The discouraging face began to morph into one of begrudging approval. Maybe she still didn't think it was going to work, but at least she agreed I was going about it the right way. And, by the time she rang up my purchase, she was sounding a little more hopeful. Perhaps our discussion back over by the tart pans impressed upon her that I did, at least, know how to cook, and I wasn't going into this whole thing willy nilly and without a plan.

I told her that if I did come back in for the silicone... thingies, that I would bring her the link to the blog so they could follow along.

Oh! and just for the record, here's the focus of all this activity. Ladies and Gents, my Easy Bake Oven:



Tomorrow is Day One, kiddos. Something tells me I should rest up.

Next Post: Day One Menu