Foiled again.
First things first: I can’t believe I haven’t mentioned this before today, but guess who gets to see Beth Moore’s hair LIVE tonight?!? Sure, it’s via simulcast but like that really matters. Basically, when Beth turns her head and her hair does its little bounce thing, GUESS WHO’LL BE WATCHING FROM THE FRONT ROW AT FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH?
When I woke up this morning, I felt like I was a kid on Christmas morning. I also made the executive decision not not even attempt to put volume in my hair because, hello, we all know that it’s a little silly to try to pretend like you know how to have big hair when Beth Moore is in the room, even if she’s just on the screen in front of you. Listen, kids, there are some battles you just shouldn’t try to fight and this is certainly one of them.
I’m also hoping her message is good, too. Of course. Highest priority. Definitely.
Anyway, I know we have a lot of former Starlite volunteers who read ye olde blog, so I just wanted to tell y’all that Cate and I will definitely be at First Baptist Downtown (within walking distance from the university!) tonight and tomorrow for the simulcast. I’ve heard that tickets are still available, so check here if you’d like to come. And if you don’t live in Cleveland, but want to see if a church in your town is hosting the simulcast too, check this huge list here.
Now, with that settled let’s move onto other, less important items of business.
When I got off work last night, I decided that I felt like cooking dinner which may or may not be related to the fact that I went to see Julie and Julia last weekend and, whilst watching Meryl Streep throw around ingredients sprinkled with a lovely French accent, decided that really, cooking, how hard could it actually be?
Obviously I have trouble remembering that history repeats itself, especially when it comes to my (lack of) culinary skills.
I decided to make baked lemon pepper chicken, mainly because I’m really in love with lemon pepper right now. I also decided to go a little crazy and create my own little potato dish. I already had the aluminum foil out, so I cut up a potato, put some spices on it (okay, more lemon pepper), added some butter and rolled it up into a little kangaroo pouch. I then decided to wrap the chicken in aluminum foil, too, as well as the corn and rolls. So, literally, every item I was cooking had aluminum foil wrapped around it AND NO, I ALSO HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I WAS THINKING. But my pride prevailed and, by the time I slammed the oven door shut, I was basically ready to start a blog about how to cook basically anything with a roll of aluminum foil and some lemon pepper.
I promised that dinner would be ready at 7 p.m. which means that I sat the food on the table at precisely 7:43 p.m. Things were already a bit tense by that point because, upon walking through my front door, Clay had told me that my Mariah Carey iTunes playlist had to go and, well, that just made me mad because HELLO, IT WAS OLD SCHOOL MARIAH AND HOW WAS I SUPPOSED TO COOK DINNER WITHOUT IT PLAYING IN THE BACKGROUND?
But I am nothing if not Holly Hostest with the Mostest, so I turned Mariah off with the sweetest fake smile you’ve ever seen and switched it to a little something I thought he might enjoy more. That Céline sure can sing, can’t she, Clay?
The food was, of course, horrid. At one point the chicken was burning, the rolls were smoking and the potatoes were falling out of the little kangaroo pouches I had so lovingly created for them. I don’t drink, but I suddenly had a new understanding of why some people feel the need to consume alcohol whilst cooking dinner.
I was nervously watching Clay and Cate’s faces when they took the first bites and, sure enough, I saw them give each other a look that seemed to say “Get those puppies in here so we can feed them under the table.” The food was awful — it’s okay, I can admit it. But everyone was totally polite about it, of course. Totally.
Next time, delivery.
Posted: August 28th, 2009 under Uncategorized.
Comments: 11
Comments
Comment from Christine
Time: August 28, 2009, 9:13 am
Amy Beth! I did the same thing last night! We had my brother in law over for dinner… and I thought I would make my really good pork tenderloin. Well, apparently my meat thermometer is broke and only goes to 100 degrees… so I over cooked the tenderloin… by about 45 minutes. It was as dry sand. Not good. However, the bro in law did a great job of pretending it was fabulous. At least he is supportive.
Comment from Carrie
Time: August 28, 2009, 9:27 am
Oh, Amy Beth. Tis true you can cook some things in aluminum foil (I actually have had really good chicken cooked this way) but I think you may need to work on your technique a bit. But I think the most important thing is you are still trying. If I lived closer, I’d come over and help you as I love cooking. And I love things that are easy to cook. Nothing fancy like Julia Child, though I did see that movie two weeks ago and I have a deep desire now to make her boeuf bourguignon even though I would probably FAIL because I do not have the create dutch oven to cook it in. Oh well.
Comment from nancy kennedy
Time: August 28, 2009, 10:32 am
Dear sweet Amy Beth,
Do you not know that Bad Chicken and Fixins For Company Dinners are God’s gifts to writers who need a steady supply of amusing anecdotes to write about?
Duh.
And since I’m at my core an aging (some would say old but some would be wrong) California Valley Girl, I don’t get the whole Southern Girl Big Hair thing. Love to hear about it, but don’t get it.
Comment from Julia
Time: August 28, 2009, 11:42 am
Ok, ABB, I’ve got an easy recipe for you.
1) Preheat Oven to 350.
2)Get out the package of boneless skinless chicken breasts and put them in a casserole dish.
3) Pour one can of cream of chicken soup on top.
2) Add one tube of crushed Ritz crackers and a tablespoon of melted butter.
3. Sprinkle on the Mrs. Dash, then cover and put in the oven for 45 minutes.
4.) It’s done when the timer goes off/the chicken is no longer pink in the middle.
5. Enjoy!!!
Comment from hannah
Time: August 28, 2009, 1:28 pm
you will get better at cooking the more you try! trial and error is the name of the game.
for the potatoes and chicken:
-pre-heat the oven to 450 degrees
-wash the potatoes thoroughly (or peel them)
-cut potatoes (2 potatoes) and boneless skinless chicken (2 chicken) into about 1 inch cubes and put the cubes into a mixing bowl
-add 2 tablespoons (or 2 generous glugs) of canola or olive oil, and 1 tablespoon lemon pepper seasoning
-toss the chicken, taters, oil, and lemon pepper until the chicken and taters are evenly coated
-pour everything into a casserole dish large enough that everything is in 1 layer. you could line the dish in foil if you wanted to make cleaning up easier.
-bake at 450 degrees for 45 minutes or until the potatoes are golden-brown
for fresh corn, just cook it in boiling water (add salt to the water) for like 5 minutes, remove it from the water with tongs.
for the rolls: buy sister shubert’s brand frozen yeast roles in the freezer section at the super market. if you have a publix supermarket, the publix brand yeast rolls are delicious. just follow the directions on the package.
the chicken is sort of a chicken and potato hash. i like to use lawry’s season salt instead of lemon pepper.
Comment from Kellye
Time: August 28, 2009, 5:33 pm
I just found a website called startcooking.com It has easy, fun vidoes. Don’t give up on the cooking – you will get there.
Comment from Melody
Time: August 28, 2009, 7:41 pm
You just keep trying! Julia Childs wasn’t always a famous cook.
If you would like, I would love to help you learn how to cook. Cooking is one of the things I love to do. 
Comment from SB
Time: August 29, 2009, 1:47 am
I do remember a particularly fantastic chicken dish that you used to make – that someone may or may have not eaten off the floor. What happened to that one?
Comment from Kelly @ Love Well
Time: August 29, 2009, 10:36 am
I think you’re brave to make something up as you go. I’ve been cooking for almost 16 years now — and I’m just starting to experiment.
I would say the first five years, I was a horrible cook, even following recipes. (Also? Boring. Same things all the time.) The next five years, I got better. I finally figured out a few recipes and meals I really liked. And the last five years I’ve started to LOVE cooking and I’ve started to watch The Food Network and try new recipes all the time. I’m a little obsessed with cooking these days.
But it all started with following recipes. When people say they can’t cook, I steer them toward a few simple cookbooks. Getting inspired by Julia Child is one thing. But she took YEARS to get to where she was.
Comment from amykay
Time: August 29, 2009, 2:32 pm
oh dear. I can’t wait to hear how excited you are when you find the perfect recipe that works! just think of how impressed we will all be!!!
back to Home
Comment from Jenn
Time: August 28, 2009, 9:11 am
AB, Have you ever considered crockpot cooking? Just throw the raw ingredients in, turn the pot on and voila!!, people will think you slaved over the stove all day to prepare such a gourmet meal! Here’s one you will love (and it has lemon pepper too!)
http://www.recipezaar.com/The-Best-Ever-Crock-Pot-Lemon-Pepper-Chicken-31656