Foodie Friday 8/18!

Here's a great recipe for Faux-BBQ Chicken...it's a favorite among my coworkers when I make Staff Meal at work. You can use any kind of chicken parts, but what really makes this is the sauce, which is sweet but given a real kick by the cayenne pepper you're putting on the chicken. It's great with mashed potatoes or fresh corn.

For the chicken:
1/2 cup olive, vegetable, grapeseed or canola oil
3T kosher salt
1T each cayenne pepper, celery salt, dried thyme and onion powder
8pc. chicken (you can use a whole cut-up chicken, breasts, wings, skin, no skin, with bones or boneless)

Put all of that into a big bowl, mix it up very well so it's all evenly distributed, then pop into a 400 degree oven and bake for 25-35 minutes (I like to do this on a rack, so the skin gets nice and crispy) or until the chicken is cooked through. When that happens, put all of the chicken into a roasting pan.

Meanwhile...

For the sauce:
2/3 cup ketchup
1/2 cup worcestershire sauce
2 cans (24oz) Coca-Cola
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
3 cloves garlic, chopped finely

Put all of this in a saucepan and boil on medium-high heat until it reduces by 2/3 and thickens (should take roughly the same amount of time as the chicken takes to cook). Pour the sauce over the chicken in the roasting pan, then put it back into the oven for about 15 minutes, or until the sauce begins to caramelize and look like actual barbequesd chicken. Remove and serve.

If you're going to San Francisco...

Last week, BF and I went on a super-fun trip to San Francisco with my parents, brother, SIL & Jonah. My parents will have been married 40 years this week (yeesh!) so this was part of their present to themselves. We saw the city, spent a day in Napa, a day in Monterey/Carmel, and saw a number of my cousins who live in the area. It was a VERY busy and fun week!

Here I am hanging off of the Powell-Hyde trolley! We tried not to do too many touristy things, but what with all the hills in SF, it was a really cool trip from Union Square (where the hotel was) to Fisherman's Wharf (where the fried seafood was). As usual, BF and I tried our hardest to seek out the best eating and drinking the city had to offer!

So, here's BF posing with his post-baseball game brew at 21st Amendment, the only watering hole we visited three times in four days! To be fair, we actually went before and after the Giants day game we went to, so it's not as bad as it sounds. There are a lot of brew houses in SF, and we only visited two of them, but this was the one we enjoyed the most. We met some friendly people (even a friendly Red Sox fan, practically unheard of) and drank some good brew. BF, as usual, preferred the India Pale Ale. My favorite was the Watermelon Wheat beer, which was served in a tall pilsner glass with a big chunk of fresh watermelon and had a fantastic nose to it.

And speaking of fantastic noses, here are the sea lions at Pier 39! This is what they do, pretty much...just kind of lie there. Sometimes they swim, sometimes they bark. They're not unlike Sam and Moose, really, 'cept chinchillas don't swim. Still, they're awfully cute!

More to come...when the fam emails me their pics!

51 Questions...

I saw this on DonnaLynn's blog and snatched it from her. :o)

1. FIRST NAME? Frann
2. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? Yes, my grandmother Frances.
3. WHEN DID YOU LAST CRY? Tonight, watching "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition." God, I'm such a sap.
4. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? Yep, both print and cursive. But my best handwriting is done with a cornet full of chocolate.
5. YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT? Does lox count?
6. KIDS? Just the chinchillas.
7. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? Probably not.
8. DO YOU HAVE A JOURNAL? Only the blog now...I did have a journal when I was younger.
9. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? No, NEVER. Hee!
10. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Yes.
11. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? Nope...too afraid of heights..
12. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? Sweet-Lucky Charms; Not-so-sweet-Raisin Bran Crunch.
13. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? Only when I wear lace-ups!
14. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR? Strawberry.
15. DO YOU THINK THAT YOU ARE A STRONG PERSON? Most of the time.
16. SHOE SIZE? 6 1/2 or 7.
17. RED OR PINK? Both!
18. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? The way I buckle under pressure at the stuff that's the least important. The really hard stuff I can handle; the small things get in the way sometimes.
19. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? My friend Shana.
20. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? Since I'm putting this on my blog, doesn't really matter.
21. WHAT COLOR PANTS ARE YOU WEARING NOW? No pants...black skirt.
22 YOU COULD BE 18 AGAIN WOULD YOU? Nope.
23. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? The ESPY awards.
24. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? Lime green.
25. FAVORITE SMELL? Fresh laundry.
26. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED ON THE PHONE? My boyfriend.
27. THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE THAT YOU ARE ATTRACTED TO? The way they carry themselves; their self-confidence.
28. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON THAT SENT THIS TO YOU? Well, she didn't send it so much as I stole it, but sure I do!
29. FAVORITE DRINK? Lately, cherry seltzer.
30. FAVORITE SPORT? Ice Hockey
31. EYE COLOR? Brown
32. HAT SIZE? ? 56 (my only real hat was made in Italy).
33. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? No.
34. FAVORITE FOOD? Cheese.
35. WHAT WAS THE LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED AT THE MOVIE THEATER?BF made me go see X-Men 3. It was terrible.
36. SCARY MOVIE OR HAPPY ENDING? Happy Ending.
37. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? Pale pink.
38. SUMMER OR WINTER? Winter.
39. HUGS OR KISSES? Kisses.
40. FAVORITE DESSERT? Pie.
41. WHO WILL MOST LIKELY RESPOND? As it's on my blog, nobody.
42. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? See question above.
43. WHAT BOOKS are you READING NOW? The last book I started but haven't finished is The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy.
44. WHAT'S ON YOUR MOUSE PAD?No mouse pad...it's part of the laptop.
45. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON TV LAST NIGHT? Dirty Jobs.
46. FAVORITE SOUNDS? BF's voice, a hockey puck hitting a stick or a baseball hitting a bat.
47. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? Beatles.
48. THE FURTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME? Petra, Jordan.
49. WHAT IS YOU PRESENT OCCUPATION? Pastry Cook.
50. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Manhasset Hills, Long Island, NY.
51. WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? See above.

Cool Crap for my Kitchen!

Yesterday, I got my box of goodies from Becky, my partner in the Kitchen/Bath swap at C'ville!

Everything is beautiful...she sent me several dishcloths (and I can't believe I'll ever use them, they're too beautiful!), a towel topper with towel, a cuu-uuute little scrubbie, and a bunch of Peaches & Creme yarn. I've never used P&C (I usually use Sugar & Cream) but it seems like it's gonna be a real treat.

In other news, I'm gonna place my first KnitPicks order today! My SIL's mother, who orders from them all the time, gave me some recommendations, so I think I'm going to start with Shine and Crayon, and maybe get some stuff for my Secret Pal, too. ;)

Happy Birthday to Me!

Okay, I'm early. Chances are I'm not gonna be posting tomorrow, so a few hours early...Hooray for me!

Stuff I'm working on lately...

Better late than never...as promised, here is a picture of the first strip of Jonah's new argyle afghan.

I have two more to go, which I just cannot allow myself to start until I finish all the goodies I'm working on in the C'ville Kitchen/Bath Swap. For some reason, I just can't get myself motivated on this! I started two cow-print potholders more than a month ago, and I guess they're a little bit of a pain in the ass. Last night, I began Drew's grocery bag holder which I've made for myself and LOVE. I should be able to complete it (and maybe more of the potholder attern, ugh) during tonight's Yankees game.


On another note, something that is LONG overdue is showing off the loot I got from my Secret Pal over at C'ville!! She sent me several skeins of Bernat Super Stripes, which I've never used before, along with a pattern book for it. Hopefully, I will be able to get a scarf/mittens set done for myself before the snow comes! Along with that, she sent me some yummy berry tea, apple body wash and a little pouf, and a big Q crochet hook. She has me feeling totally, totally spoiled.

Much of the work I've been doing lately has been for my own SP, so I can't post it here! Once the reveal is over (on 7/15), I will be sure to post pictures of all the goodies she's gotten.

Jonah is growing up!

My nephew Jonah is just over 4 months old, and he's just the cutest. And I know people say there are no ugly babies, but really, there are, and he's just not one of them. My sister in-law sent some cute pictures of their day out the other day, and here he is, looking all bubbly.

I've been working on another blanket for him, this one out of actual baby yarn (Red Heart Soft Baby) in a pale blue, pale yellow and white argyle design. I don't think they have a blanket which matches his nursery exactly like this one will, and they're totally argyle people, so I think this will be perfect for him, light for summer and small enough for travel. The pattern is from Candy Blankies, and is my first intarsia crochet work. The blanket is done in 3 panels, then joined and bordered. I will post pictures once I have the first panel done--in the next day or so.

I've also started doing some simple beadwork--mostly stitch markers and stuff. I received a pretty beaded stitch marker in a swap, then my Secret Pal over at C'ville said she wanted some, so I figured it out and have fallen a bit in love with it! My sister in-law, who knits, is getting a case with some stitch markers (shh! she doesn't know this yet!). I ordered so much in beading supplies for future projects from Joann.com last week that they actually gave me free shipping for the rest of the year!! So the lesson we learn here is that it really pays to be a good customer.