There is no Gravy or Parenting 101

 
To celebrate the big "Grandpa Meets Max" event this past weekend, we whipped up a wee turkey snack (shout out to Kris at Costco: Thanks!). Aurelio has become accustomed to us jumping all around the kitchen just about everytime he comes over. It all seems like a lot of fun and, this time, he wanted in on the good time. All we had left at this stage was either stirring the gravy or carving the turkey and, after some thought, we put him in charge of the gravy. Dad suggested that we get a Nephew/Uncle cooking show, whereupon, Aurelio and I had this exchange:

Aurelio, stirring away: "Uncle Matt, why do I have to keep stirring this gravy?"

Me, jokingly (I thought): "Aurelio, one thing: if we're going to have a TV show, there's a rule: no questions!"

"Oh, Okay."

"I was just kidding Aurelio. You can ask questions."

"Oh, Okay."

Beat.

Aurelio: "Why do I have to keep stirring this?"

See, this is why having a kid is still kinda scary. Do we really need another person who's "funny" like Uncle Matt? I mean, Fatherhood: I've already proven myself has a diaper changer-er, a putter-to-sleeper-er, a getter-upper-at-4am-er; all that stuff is easy. But when it comes time, how do you act around the kid? Will a six year-old, mini, smartass version of me still be cute? How charming is a five year-old with snark? I'm afraid we're going to find out.

Anyway, do you like beets? Are you tired of the two ways you know how to cook them? Try this:

Grate a pound of beets like you're making hashbrowns (the scary grater attachment on your Cuisinart works well for this).
Add a big pinch of chopped, fresh rosemary, some salt and a 1/4 cup of flour to the beets. Mix.
Melt a big glop of butter in a big non-stick frypan until it's toasty brown.
Toss in the beets and smoosh them down into a flat-ish circle.
Cook about 5-8 minutes on one side, flip, and do the same. Serve.

It's easy, it's quick, it's really, really good.

Sidenote: You can flip it onto a plate, invert onto another plate and invert it back into the pan, however, Aurelio prefers it when you just flip it "Iron Chef Chen" style.