Football Brunch

Because the football game was at noon today, I decided to make some brunch food. When G & I were in California for our dreamy honeymoon last year, we found a breakfast burrito to die for. When we returned home, we recreated it and made it an easy go to meal for our repertoire.

All I do is scramble some eggs (with hot sauce), heat up some refried beans and a few tortillas, and then assemble the burrito along with some green onions, cheese, salsa, and guacamole. For our accompaniment today, I baked some of G's favorite muffins, apple cranberry. To wash it all down, mimosas.

CMA Award Night

I had to address the Country Music Awards. The live show was on last Wednesday night. I've seen my share of CMA shows (since my initiation to listening to country radio circa 1992) and this one was well done. Well directed, well produced...but don't get me started on the rotating (mostly poor) hosts. Just let Kimberly Williams do the job. She's married to country star Brad Paisley and is always a riot in front of a microphone.

The live performances were mostly non-cringeworthy, which is actually a high compliment. The one complaint I had was that the tradition of country music wasn't showcased. This year's Hall of Fame inductees weren't given a segment (especially a shame since Vince Gill, at the ripe age of 50, was honored.) Yes, it's hard to balance all of the traditional/contemporary/middle-of-the-road acts in three hours, but come on! The producers let Rascal Flatts perform twice. Ridiculous.

The best performances included: Sugarland, a duo, that performed a ballad with one guitar and Jennifer Nettles' powerhouse voice; a very emotional Kellie Pickler (someone I've never even heard before); new Grand Ole Opry member Josh Turner (now that's a country voice); and the always great Keith Urban.

(postscript: G asked, "Why do these country people use the Star Trek symbol?")

Madeleine Peyroux Concert

One of my favorite finds in the music bin last year was Madeleine Peyroux.

Peyroux was born in Georgia and lived there until age 13 when her family moved to Paris. At 26, she released her debut album, Dreamland. It was a hit with critics and fellow artists, but the bigger story turned out to be that Peyroux didn't release her sophomore effort, Careless Love, until eight years later.

She's been called a modern-day Billie Holiday. Even though her work has been labeled jazz, you can find blues on her albums, as well as songs from the country genre, such as Patsy Cline's Walkin' After Midnight. I've become a big fan and listen to all of her CDs (a third, Half the Perfect World, was released in 2006), so I was looking forward to her live concert in Ann Arbor.

Peyroux performed at Hill Auditorium, a venue on the U of M campus that seats around 3,500. She brought with her a keyboardist, a bass player, and a guitarist. She also accompanied on guitar. My expectations for the concert were high and unfortunately, they were not met. First of all, the mood was very laid back (think Chet Baker and a few jazz players hanging out) and I think the large auditorium dwarfed the performers. Peyroux was extremely laid back, almost hippie-ish. Don't get me wrong, I love hippies. I would've been a hippie protester in the 60s if I'd been around. But the catalog that she chooses to sing is timeless and classy, so I expected a different delivery. Even a different wardrobe choice. Is that being superficial?

OK, enough about the trappings, how was the music? Well...the musicians were talented. I thought that the arrangements were uninspired and predictable (every song had a piano solo, then a guitar solo) and Peyroux's singing was too improvisational for my taste. I guess I happen to side with those people who go to concerts to hear songs that they know and love. The songs don't have to be exactly like the recording (dullsville). But as G said, "I've heard you play her CDs and I don't recognize a single song she's singing."

It pains me to write this. I don't want to dissuade you from listening to Madeleine Peyroux. Maybe she just an off night. I still recommend that you check her out on iTunes, especially if you like standards.

Fave tracks:
Don't Wait Too Long
This is Heaven to Me
I'm All Right
A Little Bit

Food Tech Final

When I woke up this morning, I opened my eyes and the first thoughts running through my brain were: "Take out the butter first thing so it comes to room temp." "Don't forget to slice some garlic to infuse the olive oil for the snow peas." "Make sure to sear those scallops in a really hot pan."

I arrived at school and set up my station. Initially, I felt like I'd never cooked a thing in that kitchen. My brain was on vacation. But I finally got in my groove and worked hard to produce some great tasting food for the chef.

The chef loved my seasoning, he loved my food. I am sooooo happy.

New Microwave

Last July, I was in the kitchen cooking lunch (per usual). I'd placed a few strips of bacon in the microwave (which sat on the kitchen counter). Now I'd done this, cook bacon in the microwave, dozens of times before, but this particular time the dish, the microwave, the glass plate in the microwave, (I never was completely sure) decided to explode. Luckily I was on the other side of the kitchen with my head in the refrigerator because glass flew across the kitchen. The explosion scared the living daylights out of me.

After cleaning up and ditching the microwave, G and I enjoyed the extra counterspace, truly appreciated our other nonexploding appliances, and lived microwave-free for months. We'd originally planned to have a microwave installed above our stovetop, so we just waited until we were ready for that. Well, yesterday was the day.

I remember sitting in a lunch room at work years ago listening to the other women chat. They had a big conversation about vacuum cleaners, types they preferred, price comparisons. When the conversation came to an end, I remember saying, "If there comes a day that I sit and talk at length about my vacuum cleaner, I hope someone just shoots me."

And here I am writing about my microwave.