Shae's Favorite Things

Oprah does a show several times a year where she talks about her favorite things, and then she gives the items away. This is sort of like that, except y'all have to buy your own. I'd be interested to hear what some of your favorite things are too, so be sure and comment on what's on your list!

1. Skull Candy Earphones - I got these for Christmas, and they are awesome. The sound is amazing but the best part is that they fit my ears. With the earphones that came with my iPod (and ditto for the ones that came with my Zen before it) the earphones would constantly fall out of my ears. Plus the person standing next to me could hear what I was listening too. it was frustrating, especially at the gym, to have them falling out all the time. First one, then I'd get it in okay, then the other would fall out. But Skull Candy comes with three sets of 'cushions' that you can interchange on the earphones so that they fit your ears perfectly. I have petite ears (as opposed to other parts of my not so petite-ness) so I put on the smallest of the cushions and the fit into my ears comfortably and snugly and I don't share my music with the people around me anymore. Terrific.

2. The iPod Touch - For those of you who don't know about the iPhone (due to coma or living under a rock) it's the worlds hottest phone, not for the phone part but for all of the other things it can do. Like surf the Internet, play games, find restaurants, etc. all on a reactive touch screen. Then Apple released the iPod Touch, which has almost all of the capabilities of the iPhone, except the phone part (however, according to sources, with a certain modification and a pair of Apple microphone earphones as well as a Skype application, you can turn your Touch into a cheap iPhone. But you have to be in a wi-fi area.) I hadn't bought an iPod before but after falling in love with my Mac and seeing the capabilities of the Touch, I bought it. I am not a music junkie (although I love my soundtracks and cheesy 80's pop) but since I can use the Touch for Internet access, as a PDA, to play games, movies and TV shows on as well as podcasts, I was sold. Honestly, it's amazing. I can watch a movie while I'm waiting in the doctor's office, check my email or Google something without going to my computer or I can just play some really amazing games. So cool.

3. iTunes Applications - This is a corollary to #2, but it deserved it's own favorite thing mention. With my new iPod I regularly cruise the iTunes store and my favorite section is Apps. Here you can buy games or applications like "Urban Spoon" that helps you choose a restaurant or bridal planning guides, countdown calendars or white noise machines, or even a copy of the Constitution. Most applications are under two dollars, and lots of them are completely free. I am having so much fun, it should be illegal. I can now play Scrabble no matter where I am.

4. Top Chef: New York - I never got into Top Chef before, although I have watched it. But this season, I'm addicted. I think that a lot of the food they make is not something the home chef would try but what has me watching is not the recipes but the personalities and the potential for disaster. Some of challenges are really fun to watch (want to see a Chef go crazy? Give them just a hot plate and a microwave then tell them to make a Thanksgiving dinner. It's like torture for them.) and I love the new judge, Toby Young, they brought in to replace Gail, he's a British food critic and he is BRUTAL. (Please don't eve let anyone compare my soup to a weapon of mass destruction!) I love the hosts, Padma and Tom. (she's an actress and cookbook author who was once married to Salman Rushdie - who was seven years older than her father, eww - and he's the Chef/Restaurateur owner of Craftsteak. My friend Pat got an email from his family after she wrote about the dinner she had at Craftsteak. I'm jealous of the email but what I'm truly envious of is the dinner. Ah, someday, sigh.) And I can't tell who I want to win yet, although my front runners are Leah and Ariane.

5. Simply Lemonade - Tastes just like homemade. Sweet, tart and oh, so refreshing. It's a bit more expensive than concentrate but so worth it. Yum. Find it in the refrigerated juice section of your grocery store.

6. On Demand Viewing - First my DVR made watching television on my schedule easier, then cable's "On Demand" channel let me watch shows and movies whenever I wanted, then I started watching shows on the Internet and now Netflix's "Instant Viewer" is available for Macs so I can watch movies there too. Now this entertainment junkie can get her fix whenever and almost wherever she would like. Life is good.

7. Las Vegas Review-Journal columnists - I'm not much of a newspaper reader, I'm more of a 'get my news from television' kind of girl. But I do like the columns in the R-J from John L. Smith to Jane Ann Morrison. My very favorites are Christopher Lawrence's "Life on the Couch" (TV), Carol Cling's "Shooting Stars" (Movies - no longer available in the actual paper but still available online), Steve Burnfeld's "Mediaology" (Media) and Heidi Knapp Rinella's "Taste of the Town" (Food). The paper keeps getting thinner and thinner, but thanks to these columnists, I still read the news occasionally.

8. Video Games - I never thought of myself as a 'gamer' although in my life I have owned Pong and a Nintendo 64. But with the Wii and my DS, I'm more of a gamer than I ever was. The Wii is awesome for playing with my family and it gets us up and off the couch. We love the interactive sports type games and the Wii fit has actually got us exercising on a regular basis. But I love my little DS for some solo play. I like to pick it up and play crosswords or sudoku puzzles or wordjong. I like puzzle games and the DS has lots of games that appeal to me (a non-gaming adult woman instead of a game addicted teenage boy). And I now play on my Touch as well. Okay, so maybe "Cooking Mama" isn't exactly the gamer experience of "Halo" or some other kill/shoot/war game, but it's keeping me entertained.

9. Sitcoms - During tough times, I like to laugh, and I don't think I'm alone. Laughter really is the best medicine, it brings your blood pressure down, oxygenates your blood, reduces stress hormones that can be harmful and well, it's fun. During this rough time, economically and politically, I think we need to laugh more than ever. From Charlie Chaplin during the Great Depression to the variety shows of the turbulent 60's and the sitcoms of the late 70's/early 80's, we love to laugh during a crisis. So thank goodness for shows like "The Big Bang Theory", "Two and a Half Men" (Bless you Chuck Lorre, you've had my undying devotion forever) "How I Met Your Mother", "30 Rock" and "The Office". Even "My Name is Earl" is back from last year's slump (okay, the whole 'Earl in jail' story arc sucked) and now Earl is as funny as ever. Bring on the laughs, I say.

10. Mirin Glazed Salmon - Have you ever just hit on the perfect recipe? One that was easy to make AND really delicious? Well, I found one for salmon that has me throwing away any other salmon recipe. From Nigella Lawson, this recipe is the ultimate. It's good hot or if you have some leftover (not gonna happen, but I suppose you can make extra) it's equally delicious cold. It makes the most of salmon's rich flavor and complements it perfectly. It's so yummy, you just have to try it yourself.

Miring Glazed Salmon
1/4 c. mirin (Japanese sweet rice cooking seasoning - some people say rice wine but the bottle I have doesn't have any alcohol in it. Buy it in the Asian section of your supermarket.)
1/4 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. soy sauce

Combine these in a shallow dish, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Put four (4oz) salmon fillets into the sauce. Marinate, turning over once. (Nigella says to marinate only 5 minutes but I like it marinated for about 30 minutes.) Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat and put salmon in (reserving marinade), cooking for 4 minutes. Turn salmon over, add marinade to pan and cook for 3-4 minutes longer. Remove salmon and add 2 Tbsp. rice vinegar to pan, stirring to incorporate, about 2 minutes. Pour over salmon and garnish with chopped green onions.

Yup, that's it. So simple and so delicious. I have made this for a whole bunch of different people and they all love it. Salmon has all those lovely Omega-3's that we are supposed to get so much of, so this dish is healthy too, and there are so few dishes that taste so good AND are good for me. Oh, and did I mention it's only 200 calories. I've died and gone to heaven!

Okay, there is my first favorite things list. I hope you discover a new favorite too. And please, share your list with me, I'd love to discover some new treasures!

Updates to What is Going on in my World

Obama is the new President-elect (was there ever much doubt?) He has some tough decisions to make to get this county back on track when he takes office. Now he needs to put his money where his mouth is. I hope that he can deliver on his promises because I think this country is really counting on him.

Principal photography began on Vegas Schmegas on Saturday and I think it's looking great so far. The poker scene looked even better than I expected and the cast and crew really came through. Kudos to everyone. Especially Mark for some tricky lighting cues and Kelly for being a great director. Saturday I played a dealer so I got to be more of an actor than crew and it was fun. Everyone is doing such a great job that I feel a little superfluous, but I guess that's how a lot of writers feel on set. (We usually have a really small crew so I do more but we have actual help on this set. Still, I helped move tables and track and dolly and stuff so I'm not completely useless.) Next shoot is on Sunday, and we have two different sketches to film. It will be a good ramping up for the 14th when we have a twelve hour shooting day.

I am behind on my NaNoWriMo project, but I knew I would be since I was out of commission (writing-wise) over the weekend. I also started a new novel, not the WIP I thought I'd use, but I figured I would use the 50,000 word parameters to write my "Harlequin" novel. I have loved Harlequin since I was about eleven years old and I graduated from Little House on the Prairie Books and Nancy Drew novels to the paperback romances that my Grandmother read. The ones she bought were always set in England or Canada and the heroines were always nurses and they spelled things differently like "humour". I was excited when I finally discovered ones set in America. I think that's what this one will be for, the Harlequin American line. It's an idea that kicked around my head so I'm letting it out for NaNoWriMo. I'm going to have to put in a few 'cram' sessions to make the word count by deadline but I can always re-write next month.

And Thanksgiving is coming so I'm trying out a few things in advance to see if I can improve upon the traditional dinner I usually make. I'm not allowed to mess with it much, we MUST have turkey and The Graminator's stuffing and my home made pumpkin pie (with fresh, not canned, pumpkin). I have been reading about 'dry brining' your turkey and I tried it out on a turkey breast last night so I could see how it was before trying it on a whole turkey. I usually inject my turkey with an herb steeped butter mixture but I thought I'd try this instead. My mom told me not to mess with it, that my turkey was already great, but I had to check it out for myself so I bought a turkey breast and dry brined it. The result? The vote was unanimous and I am NOT dry brining the turkey this year, we are sticking with injecting. While the turkey was fine and stayed moist, it didn't have as much flavor as the injected turkey does. Injecting, to me, makes the turkey moist and flavorful and is easier and less time consuming. So while it was a noble experiment, dry brining falls into the "not worth it" category for me. I also made Sunset magazines sourdough artichoke Parmesan stuffing and it was delicious. I won't make it for Thanksgiving (as this could get me killed by my Uncle) but I'd definitely make it for us again. And there is enough left over to make "Bobbies" this week. (Those unfamiliar with the "Bobbie" at Capriotti's sandwich shop, it's turkey, stuffing and cranberry sauce on a sub roll and it's delicious!)

I ordered my first iPod. (yes, I have fallen into Apple's clutches, now that I love my Mac I'm trading my Zen for an iPod) it's the iPod Touch and it's supposed to arrive by tomorrow. I've been following it's progress and it's gone from Kunshan, China to Shanghai, China to Anchorage, Alaska to Indianapolis, Indiana so far. My iPod will have seen more of the world than I have. I know it's a luxury, not a necessity, but I decided to put my comedy money towards something I wanted instead of something I needed. I can't wait to play with it!

Okay, that's my world. Hope all is good in yours, Loyal Readers!