Six for Sunday?: National Book Awards

Amazon posted the National Book Awards: 2011 Finalists recently. Here are six books I would like to read (in no particular order):

1. Binocular Vision by Edith Pearlman. I'm not usually a huge fan of short stories, but I love strong characters and that's what this books seems to offer.
   
   
2. The Tiger's Wife by Téa Obreht. This may be the book that I'm most interested in reading. For some reason, a good title always gets me. Also, I can't resist a good book written by a young person.
   
   
3. Shine by Lauren Myracle. I absolutely love books about small towns in the South. Don't know why, but they usually have some sort of "overcoming adversity" theme to them that I guess I relate to.
   
   
4. Okay for Now by Gary D. Schmidt. How can you resist a book about a misfit kid who loves the library?
   
   
5. Chime by Franny Billingsley. Historical teen fantasy is not usually my cup of tea. But if you're going to read another one, I guess it should be the one up for a National Book Award.
   
   
6. Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai. I'm suspicious of something that is "written in accessible, short free-verse poems", but the story looks really good. It's at least worth a try.

So glad my Kindle now works with library ebooks! :)

Six for Saturday: The Ideal Apartment

It's that time of year again to reassess the living situation and decide whether to stay put, or move on. This week, I will wallow in my own self-pity and list a bunch of things my apartment doesn't have that I really wish it did.

1. Kitchen counters. I don't mean this in like an "Oh, man, my kitchen sure could use more counter space..." kind of way. I mean we literally have no counters.
   
   
2. Kitchen cabinets and a pantry. Okay, okay. I'm already kind of stretching this to make 6 things, but seriously: we have three cabinets—one of which we can't reach because it's over the fridge. That makes for a lot of stand-alone shelving for pots/pans/pantry.
   
   
3. Storage. We have one tiny closet to store stuff in. If we want to put stuff in the basement, we have to ask the store below us to let us in during business hours. Which we have never done.
   
   
4. Space for 2 desks. It would be great if Bryan could have a desk for his desktop computer and I could have a desk to actually sit at and do things. Maybe if we were more organized, this wouldn't be a big deal. But, let's face it, we've lived here for almost a year now—things like this aren't really going to change.
   
   
5. Yard and/or porch. Right now we have a parking space and a patch of dirt down the wrought-iron stairs from our second-floor apartment. It's fine enough for the 20 or so potted plants that make up our garden and the smallest grill ever, but it would be nice to have a yard. Or a porch even to put the grill on. Right now if we want to sit outside and enjoy the nice weather (when there is some to be had), we sit on the bus bench out front. So sad.
   
   
6. Peace and quiet. During the day and into the evening, the harp store downstairs has lessons and the plucking of strings can be heard clearly throughout the apartment. Not to mention the traffic 2 feet outside our window on a major (albeit 2-lane) thoroughfare.

Other than that, I love our apartment. It is close to everything. It has just enough space for our stuff. We don't pay for heat or water (which is great because I like sleeping with the window open in the winter, and we use a lot of water for the aforementioned 20 potted plants). The landlord has provided 3 window A/C units that provide an amazing amount of comfort during 100˚F days for a surprisingly reasonable amount of electricity. We also have an almost-new washer and dryer right in the kitchen, which makes throwing a load of laundry in almost too easy (I love not going up and down stairs to do this). And the landlord doesn't bother us at all.

So, I guess, here's to a very American, the-grass-is-always-greener mentality... Oh, and please feel free to take this opportunity to complain about your living space. Or really anything at all.

Why does everything I want cost $40?

I guess it could be worse. Everything could be $400. Or $4,000.

See what I'm drooling over today:

• Steve Madden shoes
  
• West Elm sheets
• Gap sleeveless shell

Six for Saturday: Charities

So there are a lot of charities that have caught my eye in the past few years. Soon I will have my credit cards paid off, and I will hopefully be donating to them on a regular basis. (There's even a charity below that doesn't ask for money—just coupons!)

1. Caring with Coupons. This charity was started by one woman in the South. It is a coupon network that takes advantage of coupons that allow items to be purchased for free. (Item costs $2 and coupon is for $1, but the store will double the coupon, etc.) The items are donated to people who have been hurt by the tornadoes. This only requires the cost of a stamp! (Thanks to dianapantz for the heads up!)
   
   
2. CASA for Children. CASA stands for Court Appointed Special Advocates. This helps foster children find safe, permanent homes. You can donate money or volunteer. There are sectors of this organization in most big cities (such as CASA of Philadelphia). I've always wanted to help kids in the foster system. Until I have the resources to actually take in foster children, I think this will be a great way for me to help.
   
   
3. Kiva. This site allows you to participate in microcredit loans that are being distributed world-wide. You choose a loan recipient, donate $25, they pay you back, and then you loan again. $25 can make a huge difference!
   
   
4. Charity: Water. $20 can get a person clean water ($5,000 is enough to get a community of 250 people clean water). Lack of clean water/sanitation causes 80% of diseases and kills more people than all forms of violence combined. 90% of the 42,000 deaths that occur every week from lack of clean water/sanitation are to children under 5 years old.
   
   
5. Feed the Children: U.S. Programs. While it's great to help those abroad, we need to make sure that every person in America (the richest country in the world) has enough food. Donate some money or build a Kid's Stuff Shoe Box to help feed the 12 million children in the U.S. who may not have enough food today.
   
   
6. Red Cross. You can't forget about the Red Cross. It seems like everyone donates and maybe your money could be put to better use elsewhere. But think about it: who's always there when disasters happen and people need food, clothing, shelter, etc.? It's the Red Cross.

Mrs. Hattrick's Delicious Dip

At the only Hattrick bash I've been to, Mrs. Hattrick made this amazing dip that everyone couldn't stop eating. It was simply amazing, so I asked her what it was. It was sour cream and taco seasoning. That's it. So, I've been making it ever since. I think I've finally improved it to my liking. Measurements are approximate.


Difficulty: Easy
Yields: about 2 cups

1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup vidalia onion, diced
1/4 cup taco seasoning
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Mix all ingredients together. All ingredients can be adjusted to taste.

Fresh Tomato Salsa

I followed one of the "Cooks Notes" that suggested using beefsteak tomatoes (because they're so delicious in Jersey). I didn't have any serrano chiles, so I used some of that squeeze-tube chili pepper that I keep handy when I don't have time to go to the store or the fresh herbs and spices are looking pretty sad. I used a generous tablespoon, but vary it to taste. Also, I don't like recipes that want you to add water, so I used about a tablespoon of lime juice (because of the runniness of the beefsteaks, or I would have added a little water in addition if using the plum tomatoes). I also used vidalia onion.

Difficulty: Easy

Yeilds: about 1 1/2 cups

1/2 pound plum tomatoes, halved crosswise, seeded if desired

2 serrano chiles, minced (including seeds)

1/2 cup finely chopped white onion

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste

3 tablespoons water

Finely chop tomatoes. Transfer to a bowl, along with any juices. Stir in remaining ingredients.

"Cook's Notes"

• The salsa can be made up to 6 hours ahead and refrigerated, covered. Bring to room temperature before serving.
• We use plum tomatoes because they're less juicy than regular tomatoes, but if you don't mind a runnier salsa, substitute good ripe beefsteaks.
• White onion, rather than yellow, is traditionally used in Mexican cooking because it has a sharper, cleaner, brighter flavor, especially raw.

Devil's Food Cake with Brown Sugar Buttercream

This devil's food cake is surprisingly light and fluffy. I made my batter into about 24 cupcakes (see Cook's Notes). They are done when a toothpick comes out with a few crumbs stuck to it. They will be rather squishy when hot. Be careful when removing if you have to take them out when they're hot (I only have one cupcake pan, so I had to in order to get the next set going). As they cool, they will firm up.

I've never actually made buttercream before, let alone using this meringue-candied sugar method. I also don't have a kitchen thermometer, which could have caused a problem. Thank God for the internet! Approximately 240˚F sugar is considered the "soft ball" stage. This means that when you drop a little of the boiling sugar into room-temperature water, it will almost immediately form a ball of sugar. Scoop it out of the water and make sure that the ball starts to flatten a little when pulled out. If it's hard and doesn't flatten, you've missed the "soft ball" stage. If the sugar kind of just falls to the bottom of the water but doesn't start to clump, keep cookin'! Don't worry about overcooking the sugar while you're testing the soft ball—240˚F is the very high side of the soft ball stage. Making this frosting was a little nerve-wracking, but it was soooooooooo worth it. This meringue-based frosting stuff is the smoothest I've ever eaten. I'm never making anything else ever again! (There are many variants of this recipe in the Gourmet Cookbook.)

Difficulty: Medium

Yeilds: 1 cake or 24 cupcakes

1 cup boiling water
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch-process)

1/2 cup whole milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 sticks (1/2 pound) unsalted butter, softened

1 1/4 cups packed dark brown sugar

3/4 cup granulated sugar

4 large eggs

Brown Sugar Buttercream (recipe follows)

Put racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 350˚F. Butter cake pans and line bottoms with rounds of parchment or wax paper. Butter paper and dust pans with flour, knocking out excess.

Whisk together boiling water and cocoa powder in a medium bowl until smooth, then whisk in milk and vanilla. Sift together flour, baking soda, and salt into another bowl.

Beat together butter and sugars in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until pale and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in flour and cocoa mixtures alternately in 3 batches, beginning and ending with flour mixture (batter may look curdled).

Divide batter among pans and smooth tops. Place two pans in middle of oven and one pan in the bottom (do not put the top pans directly above bottom pan). Bake, switching position of pans halfway through baking, until a wooden pick or skewer inserted in center of cakes comes out clean and layers begin to pull away from sides of pans, 20 to 25 minutes.

Cool layers in pans on racks for 10 minutes, then invert onto racks, remove paper, and cool completely.

Put 1 cake layer right side up on a cake plate and spread with about 1 cup buttercream. Top with another layer, right side up, and spread with another cup buttercream. Top with remaining layer and frost top and sides of cake with remaining buttercream.

"Cook's Notes"

• The cake layers can be made up to 2 days ahead and kept, well wrapped in plastic wrap, at room temperature. They can also be frozen for up to 1 week. Thaw, still wrapped, in the refrigerator.
• The cake can be assembled up to 1 day ahead and refrigerated in a cake keeper or loosely covered with plastic wrap (use toothpicks to hold wrap away from frosting). Bring to room temperature before serving.
• The batter can also be baked in two 9-by-2-inch round cake pans for 25 to 30 minutes; in a 13-by-9-inch baking pan for 35 to 40 minutes; or in a 12-cup Bundt pan for 35 to 40 minutes. Or it can be used to make cupcakes: bake in twenty-four (1/3- or 1/2-cup) muffin cups for 20 to 25 minutes.

Brown Sugar Buttercream

3 large egg whites, left at room temperature for 30 minutes

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 cup packed dark brown sugar

1/2 cup water

1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

3 sticks (3/4 pound) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons and softened

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Combine egg whites and salt in large bowl.

Stir together brown sugar and water in a small heavy saucepan and bring to a boil over moderately high heat, washing down sides of pan with a pastry brush dipped in cold water.

As soon as sugar reaches a boil, start beating whites: with an electric mixer at medium-high speed, beat whites until frothy, then add lemon juice and beat and medium speed until whites just hold soft peaks. (Do not beat again until sugar syrup is ready.)

Meanwhile, continue boiling sugar syrup until it reaches 238˚-242˚F on a thermometer. Immediately remove from heat and pour into a heatproof 1-cup glass measuring cup. Slowly pour hot syrup in a thin stream down side of bowl into egg whites, beating constantly at high speed. Continue to beat meringue, scraping down sides of bowl with a rubber spatula as necessary, until cool to the touch, about 6 minutes. (It's important to cool meringue properly before proceeding.)

With mixer at medium speed, add butter one piece at a time, beating well after each addition until incorporated. (If meringue is too warm and buttercream looks soupy after some of butter is added, chill bottom of bowl in a larger bowl filled with ice and cold water for a few seconds, then continue to beat in remaining butter.) Continue beating until buttercream is smooth. (Mixture may look curdled before all of butter is added, but it will come back together before beating is finished.) Add vanilla and Beat for 2 minutes more.

"Cooks Notes"

• The buttercream can be made up to 1 week ahead and refrigerated, covered. It can also be frozen in an airtight container for up to 1 month. Bring to room temperature (do not use a microwave) and beat with an electric mixture until smooth before using.

Six for Saturday: Ann Arbor Edition

I love living on the East Coast—and I wouldn't go back to live in Ann Arbor, let alone any Michigan city—but there are some things I do miss about it. Here are a few...

1. The Diag. I miss walking through the Diag. I guess it's close to walking through Rittenhouse Park, but it's so much bigger and there are buildings and arches and wonderfulness. And a brass M! There's always flower blooming and a flag blowing in the breeze. Beautiful. It's probably UM's most attractive feature. Okay, maybe tied for first with the Law Quad.
   
   
2. The State & Michigan Theatres. Being able to walk to the movies is awesome. And having them play a wide variety of movies (not just Big Momma's Fast/Furious Focker). If only they would make the Westmont Theatre into an amazing place like these!
   
   
3. UM Libraries. With dozens of libraries and over 10 million books, the library system is world-class. And there's always a table (somewhere) to park yourself and study what you've found (or whatever else you've brought along).
   
   
4. Totoro & Sadako. I miss the cheapness of Ann Arbor sushi. With Totoro's amazing $8 lunch special and Sadako's all-around low prices, I ate sushi pretty much everyday. Also, the Dragon Ball at Sadako is something I have never seen elsewhere. It's ice cream (my favorite for this is green tea) stuffed inside a hollow sphere of cakey goodness, then dipped in tempura batter and deep fried. Amazing? I think I might need a stronger word for it...
   
   
5. No Thai! There is much Thai food at No Thai!, despite it's name. Supposedly, the gentleman who owns the establishment's name is No. My absolute favorite is the Gang Gai. It's a coconut milk and red curry sauce with green peppers, mushrooms, and bamboo shoots. You can get it with any type of meat, but my favorite is tofu because it soaks up the delicious sauce. And their rice is always cooked to perfection. Now, I know what you're thinking: there are Thai food places everywhere. Yes, there are. But none of them have this sauce. I would probably pay hundreds of dollars for the recipe—I certainly spent more than that buying food from No Thai! Their Thai iced tea has also spoiled me for all other versions.
   
   
6. TCF Bank. I know it's kind of weird to say, but I loved working at TCF. Despite the fact that we had monthly goals to meet and bonuses that would be lost if we fell short, I never really felt pressured to push all kind of ridiculous things on people. Also, I was good at it and my skill was appreciated. My bosses were all kind people that wouldn't yell at you when you screwed up, but would actually take the time to help you figure out what happened and how to fix it. And I loved the customers (except for a select few). Good times. If I could find a job again with all of these qualities, I would be really happy.

Yelp Review: The Irish Mile

I do have some complaints about this place, but overall I think it's nice and I'll be back. Frequently. I will update every-so-often, as necessary. Click here for the menu!!

THE PROS:

• It's cheap! After going to bars and restaurants in this area that are ridiculously overpriced, it's refreshing to pay a VERY reasonable amount of money for what you get. Two sandwiches (enough for leftovers) and two beers was $24 with tax.
• It's delicious! I got a roast pork sandwich with provolone and roasted red peppers. There was plenty of meat and cheese in the sandwich. The roll was great! There were enough peppers to get a little bit in every bite, but I would have liked to see a few more. And the fries were really great.
• 24 beers on tap! Sierra Nevada, Ithaca, Unibroue, Great Lake, Ommegang, Brooklyn, Shiner Bock, Flying Fish, Victory, Smithwicks, Guiness, Blue Moon, Sam Adams, Hoegarrden, Stella, Bass, Harp, Yengling, and just Bud Light for those with lighter tastes. No Miller, no Coors, not tap after tap of CRAP. (You can get the crap in bottles, if you're so inclined.)
• There's free parking! Even if you can't get a space in their (very small) lot, there's free PATCO parking right outside as well as street parking.

THE CONS:

• The staff is still getting adjusted. Our waitress was older, and was obviously having problems with the computer system (which she needed reading glasses to see). One of the bartenders was really, really slow. It probably would have been better to get some staff with TONS of experience, but these guys will get it in time.
• Some of the food isn't quite hammered out yet. My boyfriend got a burger and the burger was average-sized, but the bun was GIGANTIC. Either have a large burger on a large bun, or an average burger on an average bun.
• Only a bar and high-top tables. The bar is much larger than it needed to be (in my opinion, too large for the space). This leaves very little space for the 9 high-top tables they've crammed in there as well. It's kind of awkward to sit at them. It's MUCH more of a bar than a restaurant (think Brewers Towne Tavern, not PJ's). Don't come here with a large group to sit and eat. The whole place has a bar-rail all the way around it, though, so there's plenty of space to stand around with your friends.

Six for Saturday: Books I want to read.

I received some books for my birthday, and I've had some on my list for a while. Here goes.

1. Catching Moondrops. This is the third in a series of books I've been reading. They're kind of fluffy, but I like them. They're mostly about the trying things a white girl in South goes through because her best friend is black. Oh, and did I mention she's always mouthing off? It's great.
   
   
2. Dexter is Delicious. These books have spoiled me; I can't even watch the show anymore. I absolutely love them, and I can't wait to read the most recent book in the series! So creepy, yet so good!
   
   
3. Bossypants. I LOVE TINA FEY. I mean, is there anything more to say?
   
   
4. Stories I Only Tell My Friends: An Autobiography. I also love Rob Lowe. From what I've read, it's pretty well written. I saw him on Oprah talking about it—I had no idea he was involved in a sex tape leak where one of the girls in the video was only 16. I can't wait to read this!
   
   
5. The Life and Opinions of Tristam Shandy, Gentleman. I've heard good things about this book from several people whose opinions on books I highly value, and so I've been meaning to buy it for years. Now that I have a Kindle, I downloaded it for free! Yay! Let the reading begin!
   
   
6. 1984. Somehow I missed this going through school (which can be said for a lot of books that "everyone's read"). I've always wanted to read this, and once I read We (my favorite book ever—READ IT!), the desire became even stronger. Too bad it's like $9 on Kindle. Maybe I'll get it from that place where you can go and get books for free, and then take them back and get even more books for free. What's that called again...?

Six for Saturday: I totally want to make that.

So now am I not only stealing the whole style of this blog post from others, but now I'm stealing the content as well. In the future, I may actually do a weekly "I totally want to make that" post, but for now it's my Six for Saturday.

1. The inspiration for this post has to be my Number One. I totally want to make this multi-year diary. In fact, I may even make one for my mother (maybe in a more travel-friendly form) because she tends to forget things. There's always a reminder of the good things that you did that day.
   
   
2. I have some sheets that I absolutely love, but the elastic isn't quite what it used to be on the fitted sheet anymore. I'd like to make the August Fields Duvet Cover out of it. I will probably use as much of the sheets as possible for the patterned pieces, while still having enough fabric left over to make some matching shams.
   
   
3. On the same website, I love the Sweet Greetings Portfolios. I feel like the smaller one would have a lot more uses than the big one.
   
   
4. I have been looking for a great apron to save some of my clothes from having to be spot treated to death, and what better way to find the perfect one than to make it yourself? Martha Stewart (as always) has an easy way to make your dreams become reality. My dream: her Baker's Apron.
   
   
5. We have two old cork boards that I haven't quite decided what to do with. I think I might make a French Memo Board. There are a lot of varying instructions out there; I like the way the batting is done on this one, but I don't like the foam board she uses. This one seems to indicate that a cork board might work better than a canvas.
   
   
6. I couldn't have a list of things I want to make without something to knit! I absolutely LOVE these socks. I am debating whether I want to use madelinetosh's tosh sock in Lichen, or Black Trillium Fibre Studio's Pebble Sock in Curry.

Six for Saturday: Quality Clothes Checklist

So, I like this motivating idea around the blogosphere of "Five for Friday", but I can never find the time to post on Friday. Therefore, I have altered it to suit me a little better—Six for Saturday.

This week, I got my new Real Simple magazine. There's a fantastic article in it about how to purchase clothes you'll wear again and again. It's amazing, and only four steps. You can find the

worksheet for the first three steps here.

Step Four is "Shop Smarter". It asks you questions such as "Will it work with your lifestyle?", "Is it good quality?", and "Does it fit and flatter?" My Six for Saturday will give Real Simple's answer to the second question.

Is it good quality?

1. Buttons: Give them a tug to see if they're well anchored; look for frayed threading.
2. Embellishments: Steer clear of stretched seams and excess glue around beading.
3. Fabric: Test if the material is a lint magnet by rubbing it with a fluffy white knit.
4. Lining: Make sure it lies flat, without bubbling or poking out from underneath.
5. Pattern: Eyeball plaids and stripes; they should line up perfectly at the seams.
6. Seams: Check that the stitches are small and straight—no loose or jumbled threads.

Cuban Sandwiches

I don't have a sandwich press OR 2 cast iron skillets (seriously?), so I just made them open-face (with cheese on both halves) and baked them for 5-10 min at 350˚F. The cheese sticks them together. Also, the less bread you have compared to other ingredients, the better the sandwiches! :) Oh, and I didn't use any butter.

Difficulty: Easy

Yields: 4 sandwiches

8 teaspoons mayonnaise

4 Portuguese rolls (5-6 inches long), split, or 2 hero rolls (11-12 inches long) halved crosswise and split

4 teaspoons yellow ballpark mustard

1/4 pound thinly slice ham, preferably Virginia or Black Forest

1/2 pound cold Roast Pork Loin, thinly sliced

12 thin lengthwise slices dill pickles (about 2 pickles)

6 ounces thinly sliced swiss cheese

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Spread 2 teaspoons mayonnaise on top half of each roll. Spread 1 tablespoon mustard on bottom half of each roll, then layer ham, roast pork, pickles, and cheese over mustard, dividing them evenly. Place top halves of rolls on top and press down firmly to flatten sandwiches.

Brush outside of 2 sandwiches, top and bottom, with half of melted butter and put in sandwich press. Cook until golden and crusty and cheese is melted, 4 to 6 minutes. Repeat with remaining sandwiches and melted butter.

Halve sandwiches diagonally and serve warm.

"Cook's Notes"

• The sandwiches can be assembled up to 3 hours ahead. Refrigerate, wrapped in tinfoil, without butter outsides of bread; brush with butter before cooking.
• If you don't have a sandwich press, you can cook the sandwiches in a dry heavy cast-iron skillet over moderately low heat. Place a second skillet on top, pressing down slightly. Turn the sandwiches halfway through cooking.

Egg NickMuffins

Reminder: Click on the title ^^^ to see the original recipe. (Won't work if the recipe isn't available online).

I've been waiting a while to make these. Now that I have a muffin tin, I'll be making them all the time! :)

It says to use real cheddar; I'm not a huge fan, so I used American. (Next time I would fold the corners of the cheese in before putting the egg on.) Also, I do not have room in my freezer for a tray of Egg McMuffins, so I let them cool to room temperature and then put them in baggies to freeze. I used cooking spray to coat my muffin tin and it worked really well. Obviously, you can scale back the recipe if you don't want to make this many.

Difficulty: Easier than easy

Yields: 12 sandwiches

12 whole wheat english muffins

12 large eggs

10 ounces cheddar cheese

Butter, or olive oil (optional)

Cooking the Eggs. To get that classic Egg McMuffin shape to the egg is kind of tricky. Oh wait. No it’s not. Just grab a muffin tin and and very lightly oil each spot in the tin with either butter or spray oil (I used a very small amount of butter on a paper towel.)

Then crack an egg in each muffin area!

Stick these in a 350 degree oven for about 15-20 minutes. Sometimes for sandwiches like this, I like my eggs runny, but since I was freezing them and everything, I thought it’s probably a better idea to make sure they are cooked through.

While you’re waiting for your eggs to cook, grate some cheese.

After about twenty minutes, you’ll have these perfectly cooked, perfectly shaped eggs. These are just asking to be put on a sandwich!

I also decided to toast up all my English muffins. Given that I was making a bunch, I just sliced all of my muffins in half and laid them all out on a baking sheet. After about 10 minutes in the oven (you can toast these at the same time as your eggs are cooking), they’ll be toasty and ready to go.

Making the sandwich. This is not rocket science people. Take half of a muffin, add some cheese, add an egg, and apply the top half of the muffin.

If you’re so inclined, add a tiny smear of butter onto the top half of the muffin, just for some added flavor. You could also hit the sandwich with some pepper if you wanted or even some hot sauce!

Once everything is set, it doesn’t take much time to bang out a whole bunch of these. I would never call this Fast Food, but it’s definitely a fast way to make food.

Now you have two options:

Eat these right away! If you wanted to eat these right away, just stick them back in the oven for 5 or 10 minutes until they are warmed through and the cheese is melted and delicious.

Or…

Store for later! If you want to store these for later, stick all your sandwiches on a baking sheet and put them all in the freezer, uncovered and unwrapped. Leave them in there for about an hour. This will give them a chance to give off some moisture and also freeze a bit. If you were to wrap them up right away then there would be all kinds of liquid that would condense.

But don’t forget about them or they’ll get freezer burned. Pull them all out after an hour or two and wrap them individually in plastic wrap or foil and then store them in a freezer safe plastic bag. They will keep for a few weeks without a problem.

Tip for Heating (or Reheating). There is really only one tip: Don’t use a microwave. I tried one in the microwave and it is just okay. It’s definitely edible and if you’re in a rush, it’ll have to do, but if you have the time, heat them in the oven. From completely frozen to warm and melted, it’ll take about 25 minutes in a 350 degree oven.

The problem with the microwave is that the muffin tends to get a bit soggy. And nobody likes a soggy muffin!

Roast Chicken

Ashley made us roast chicken a few days ago and it was absolutely delicious. I was going to make this sometime later this week, but Bryan wasn't feeling well, so I made it tonight.

I don't know what size my chicken was (I got the smallest one I could find), but it took a lot longer to cook. (The thermometer popped just as I took it out of the oven!)

I used Montreal Steak instead of salt and pepper. :)

Difficulty: Easy

Yields: 4 servings

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 (3- to 3 1/2-pound) chicken, rinsed and patted dry

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Put a rack in middle of oven and preheat oven to 400˚F.

Stir together salt and pepper in a small cup and rub all over chicken, inside and out. Put chicken on a rack in a small flameproof roasting pan and pour butter over it, then turn it onto one side.

Roast chicken for 25 minutes. Baste with pan juices, then turn it over onto opposite side and roast for 25 minutes more.

Turn chicken breast side up, baste with pan juices, and continue to roast until thermometer inserted into thickest part of the thigh (without touching the bone) registers 170˚F, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a platter and let stand for 15 minutes.