Great British Baking Show

The Great British Baking Show has become embedded in my TV watching, I can't remember how or when I first found it.  All I know is, it's been a lifesaver.

Whenever a new season is released, it's like Christmas, doesn't matter what time of year I watch.  Knowing there's more bakes and more Brits on the horizon makes my heart happy.  When I found out about this new season on Netflix in late 2020 during election season?  Manna from heaven.

Watching the show has inspired me to bake more (G is a big fan of this outcome).  A friend of mine gifted me a baking cookbook years ago but only a few pages have been dogeared.  The brownies, the muffins, some holiday quick breads.  I've seen the bakers on GBBS bake some of the items I've only read about in that book.  Florentines, fougasse, pavlova.

One of my new year's resolutions was to create some bakes I'd seen on the show.

I've tried jaffa cakes.  Fun with gelatin!

Bakewell tart. I always love an excuse to use my pie weights.

Millionaire's shortbread.  A definitive winner.  Tastes like the ultimate candy bar.

I'm not quite sure about the new host this season.  Only one kooky guy in the tent is enough and Noel fits that perfectly.  Noel as the straight man?  Not so much.  I am sure about the next bake in my kitchen though:  chocolate babka.

My Pal, Oscar

Today marks the start of one of my favorite weekends of the year.  Oscar weekend.

Oscar and I go way back.

When I was a kid, I would anxiously await the hour-long special where Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert wore tuxes and stood behind podiums to announce their own Oscar picks.

In college, I would camp out in the TV room around 4PM and "save" the TV for Oscar night.

In my thirties, I started to watch the televised red carpet with my fashionable friend, Sarika.  We still do that to this day via texts, both admiring and snarky.

My loved ones have known for years that I am unavailable on Oscar Sunday.  Talk to me on Monday.

So this year I've done the requisite homework as I've done for most of my adult life.  Started collecting the results of the critics' awards in early December.  Watched the Golden Globe awards.  The SAG awards. Tomorrow I'll watch the Independent Spirit Awards and then it's time for the Big Day.

I've seen five of this year's nine Best Picture nominees.  One of my favorite Oscar memories is when G and I attended an Oscar Showcase Day at AMC Theaters where we watched the best picture nominees from 2009:  Slumdog Millionaire; Frost/Nixon; The Reader; The Curious Case of Benjamin Button; Milk.  I was in heaven.  That was the last year the Academy chose only five nominees so we could watch all the films in one glorious day.

We live in Naples, FL now and the closest participating theater is an hour and half away.  I am bummed but I think G is secretly relieved.

G has picked up the bubbly.  I'm in charge of snacks.

I usually make some popcorn.  Obviously a great pairing for a night about the movies, but also a favorite pairing of ours with sparkling wine.

I make a couple deviled eggs topped with bacon and chives for myself.  Not G's thing.

The current trend in the Nichols' kitchen is to look at what's in the pantry, fridge, and freezer and create something on the fly.  I have some shrimp in the freezer and some dumpling wrappers so I think potstickers will make an appearance on our Oscar menu.

If I feel ambitious on Sunday, I'll throw together some stuffed mushrooms as well.  My mom had a fantastic recipe for stuffed mushrooms that she only made at Christmas or New Year's so I associate them with major festivities.  You know, like Oscar Night.

Here's a fun link for your own Oscar snacks.

TV Alert!

Tonight is the finale of Top Chef All-Stars on Bravo (10 P.M., EST). 

This All-Stars season (#8, if you're keeping track) has been one of my favorites.  Top Chef won the 2010 Emmy Award for Best Reality program and its recipe for success continues to challenge the "cheftestants" and entertain the TV audience.

The current season began with eighteen former competitors who all came close to winning the title of Top Chef. The last two competitors standing are D.C. based chef Mike Isabella and whiz-kid Richard Blais from Atlanta, GA.  They'll go head-to-head tonight after a season of fierce challenges, including fishing and diving for their main course, cooking for Muppets(!), and making stuffing without the use of cutlery and kitchen utensils.

I have become such a fan of this show.  I watch it not for the sometimes immature and ridiculous antics of the competitors (hello, it IS a reality show), but for the creativity of the chefs' dishes, the rare flashes of brilliance. I've also become a big fan of Head Judge Tom Colicchio and love seeing rotating guest judges such as Ming Tsai, Jimmy Fallon (obviously a huge fan of the show), and Anthony Bourdain, whose razor-wit always make me laugh out loud at judges' table.

Tonight's finale features one of my favorite star chefs, Art Smith, formerly Oprah's private chef.  I love his Southern dishes and long to visit his restaurants, Table Fifty-Two in Chicago and Art and Soul in D.C.

Already a bit sad that the season is over, I discovered with glee that a new Top Chef Masters season is about to start on April 6 (Bravo, 10 P.M., EST).  Instead of a cast of unknowns, seasoned chefs compete for the title.  Previous winners include Rick Bayless and Marcus Samuelsson.  Australian chef Curtis Stone (who is everywhere nowadays), Saveur magazine editor-in-chief James Oseland, and former Gourmet magazine editor-in-chief Ruth Reichl are the judges.

The list of cheftestants is here.

(Go Blais!)

Oscar Snacks

I'm ready for tonight's show, are you?

Check out my latest post on AnnArbor.com

My Snack of Choice for the Super Bowl

Couldn't resist posting this photo of my loaded nachos.

Colbert's Thought for Food...or Speaking of Wings

"Thought for Food" is one of my favorite segments on The Colbert Report.  The most recent segment rightfully pokes fun at what passes for food and what passes for food guidelines in the U.S.

All politics aside, American food habits and products are ripe for ridicule.  Click on the pizza box above and check out this segment about "Wyngz".

Find some of my favorite recipes for (ahem, real) chicken wings here:  Super Bowl Snacks.

Super Bowl Snacks

It's only Wednesday and I'm already daydreaming about Super Bowl snacks.  I've asked G for any requests and he immediately responded, "Wings!"

Most everyone you know loves chicken wings, right?  I admit, I don't do wings, but that doesn't mean that I won't make them for my family.  I've tried a handful of different recipes and so far the current house favorite is:

Emeril's Oven Roasted Chicken Wings

I prefer to serve roasted chicken wings.  It's a healthier (and less messy) option.  The recipe that would make me pull out the deep fryer though is this one:

Spicy Sriracha Chicken Wings

This recipe is from Chef Michael Symon and he does include directions for oven roasting if frying the wings isn't your thing.  Sriracha is a Thai hot sauce and is widely available at grocery stores.  Sriracha is a great condiment to keep on hand if you're a fan of spicy food.  I use it on my eggs, on any Asian dish I make, and even on my burgers.

I have four pounds of wings in the freezer tagged for Super Bowl Sunday.  I might have to split up the batch and try both of these recipes for G.  I'm sure he won't mind.

Next it's time for me to decide what MY choice of snack is for Super Bowl Sunday...

Happy New Year!

Guess what one of my resolutions is?  You're right!  Blogging regularly.  Let's see how I do.

First restaurant meal this year?  Zingerman's Roadhouse.  G & I caught an Oprah show during vacation.  O's best friend Gayle traveled the country in search of the best sandwiches, two of which are here in Michigan.  Zingerman's barbecued brisket and a grilled cheese sandwich from a place in Royal Oak (near Detroit).

Since I was sick for New Year's Eve (^W$(*@%*^#^!@), G took me out on Saturday and we enjoyed the brisket and a patty melt with Swiss cheese and wild mushrooms.  Not exactly the healthiest meal, but pure heaven.  We'll try to eat chicken and vegetables the rest of the week to make up for it.

Tonight's the OH State/Texas Bowl game.  

Menu:  Chicken Green Chili from Tyler Florence

Homemade cornbread

Football Season

We're three weeks into the college football season and even though our beloved Wolverines are struggling (I'm being polite), we're enjoying the best part of being couch potatoes on Saturdays.  The eats!

Week one was a bit sad.  G & I were both sick so we had homemade chicken noodle soup.  I had just made some chicken stock the week before so we benefited from that, but still...BOR-ING.

Week two was definitely a step up.  Some friends stopped by to sample a menu of slow cooked pork carnitas tacos, roasted tomatillo salsa, and lime custard tart.  Oh, and we watched the game too.

Week three was at Mom's house.  The games were sad, but we weren't.  We feasted on turkey chili with all the fixins--minced onion, shredded cheddar and Jack cheeses, sour cream, cilantro, and oyster crackers.  Mom also made some dips for us.  A salsa dip, French onion.  I was in dip heaven.

Week four is a bye week so I have some time to think up what the menus will be for the rest of the season.  I feel the need to impress since the team sure isn't doing that.