1. I had 3 days of vacation to take last week, and it was lovely to do what I wanted for 3 extra days. We also got a big snowstorm (probably 4-6 inches), and I didn’t have to get out in all that and go to work. One day I didn’t go anywhere at all. I wish I had 3 weeks to do that, but I am still grateful for those 3 days. I love just hanging at home with my family, and that’s what I did (and I read, of course), and that was my idea of a perfect 5-day weekend.
2. We have been saving up episodes from the latest season of Worst Cooks in America. I wasn’t sure how much I’d like having Chef Cliff Crooks there. Some of the other cohosts lately have been epic, like Alton Brown or Alex Guarnaschelli or Carla Hall. I had so much fun laughing at those seasons. But I have to say that I have been impressed with Chef Cliff. It was lots of fun at first watching him be completely baffled and occasionally horrified with the things the worst cooks did at first, and then it’s been lovely watching him genuinely caring about these people and cheering them on. As for Anne Burrell, love her always! She has the smarts, the wit, the attitude, and the hair, and she always rocks this show.
3. As we were watching food shows from the DVR, we came across an episode of Beat Bobby Flay where the cooks ended up making chicken fried steak. Well, that made us hungry, and when you’re hungry for chicken fried steak in Kansas City, it’s all about Stroud’s. Personally, I go for the chicken, but I have never had a bad bite of food at any of the iterations of Stroud’s through the years, and I’ve been going there since I was a kid. So we got a giant order of pan-fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans, and cinnamon rolls (and one chicken fried steak). And we ate like royalty. And again tonight for dinner, because there was still that much left. And it was still that good!
*what is making me happy this week
