Whisking like Crazy

Last night, we had a little party to go to.  I went to Mark's after work, and together we decided to make taquitos to bring with us!  Strangely, his house had absolutely none of the ingredients I need (what kind of a place doesn't keep chili powder on hand?  Or garlic?!) so $45 later, we were ready to get to work.  We kind of cheated and bought a rotisserie chicken to cut down on cooking time, and it made the taquitos pretty easy.  Basically, I just mixed everything together in a bowl, spooned it onto the tortillas, rolled them, and baked them.  I doubled the recipe, and I also added a can of kidney beans (I wanted black beans, but of course that was all I could find in Mark's cabinets!).  I also think corn would make a great addition next time.  They were absolutely delicious- and certainly not the healthiest thing on earth with cheese and cream cheese, but well worth it.  Kenzie said she had 3 at the party!  They were definitly a success.




Today I was craving making bread, but got too overwhelmed trying to find a recipe.  Mom stepped in and requested an olive bread.  I love olives and I love bread, so I thought that this sounde absolutely perfect.  It took a long time, because it had to rise three times, but I think it was worth the time.  It has  a great crust, and a soft, chewy inside.  The olives inside are nice and salty.  I do wish that I had used fresh olives instead of black chewy ones, because they have such a better flavor.  Mark's family has totally made me an olive snob!  I do wish that everyone else in my house liked olives, because apparently my sisters and cousins all hate them and thus hate the bread.  Mom and I were happy with it though, and I gave some to Dani after we had a lovely puzzle date tonight. 

Now, the bad news: apparently the bread was too much for Mom and Dad's ancient (older than me) KitchenAid mixer.  Luckily the mixer itself is okay, but the whisk broke.  A tine of it came flying off - it just snapped.  Mom and Rachael were unable to find a replacement for our (antique) model when they went shopping, so I went online... and it appears they do not even make replacement accessories for these oldies!  I am not sure what to do.  I'd love to upgrade to a larger one, but it's more than $500.... which is ridiculous.  And now that I am on the KitchenAid website, there are so many accessories that I would love to have... a ravioli maker... a pasta machine... a juicer... I need to stop looking and try to just find another whisk.  Otherwise my baking passion is in some deep trouble.  How could I make a merengue by hand?!  RIP ancient KitchenAid whisk :(

Recipes:
Creamy chicken taquitos
Rosemary olive bread