Movies and Movie Quotes

T-MINUS 4 DAYS

This morning there was a pretty scary event. I almost blew up my Barbie Ultimate Dream kitchen - literally! My close family and friends know this is entirely within the realm of possibility.  I have this visual of my mother sitting with her coffee, reading her iPad right now, shaking her head saying, "Oh, Meghan." My history is peppered with a few near-catastrophic events; one being that I actually set myself on fire - another kitchen and failure-to-listen-to-my-inner-voice mishap. A story for later. I know what you're thinking, "Meghan, you are so brave to continue with your love of cooking when the Grim Reaper likes to hang just outside your kitchen looking for ways to slay you with his scythe!" 

"How did this nearly happen?" you ask. Our gas stove is powered by propane, not natural gas. I set a small pan on the stove in preparation for my cheese omelet and noticed one of the burners was slightly askew. Hmmm. Then I mentally went to Pooh's thinking tree, crossed my arm and tapped my head. Think, think, think. I remembered cleaning off the stove last night, so the knob could have been askew all night. But I didn't smell any gas. So I turned the burner off. Now you must realize that the coffee wasn't done brewing, so the gears in my head weren't sufficiently lubed for a smooth running. And I didn't listen to my inner voice whispering, "Just let it sit for a few minutes before turning on another burner." So I turned on another burner and "Boom!" (I would have used all caps for the "boom" if this were the actual catastrophe it could have been.) But the top of my stove jumped and the flame under my pan surged. The flame surging had more to do with that I didn't place the thingy, it's an industry term, correctly on the burner after cleaning the stove. Smoke snaked out from underneath the burner panel and a burning smell permeated the air. 

I stood dumbfounded for a moment then scooped Shiloh up and dashed upstairs. Ben was in the bedroom pulling on his socks and I said, "Something went boom." Just in case he was hard of hearing. "I heard." He replied. Then I got specific. "It was the stove." Ahh. He barreled down the stairs and outside to turn off the propane tank. Then he took out the drawer underneath the stovetop and more smoke billowed out, but nothing was on fire. Whew! All the burners still worked and we're still here! Yay! Who needs coffee when you have a near-explosion to get the heart going in the morning?

Now on to Movies and Movie Quotes. If you look very carefully at the heart-pound tale I just relayed, there is a movie quote there. Now I LOVE movies. I especially love reading about the makings of movies. Entertainment Weekly is the one magazine that I've remained subscribed to over the past two decades. Others have come and gone but EW isn't going anywhere. ANYWAY...

The greatest movie of all times is...(drum roll please)

"We're gonna need a bigger boat." "That's a twenty-footer." "Twenty-five. Three tons on 'im." I could go on and on, until I've completed the entire movie but watching it is soooooo much better. This movie is perfect. The acting. The pacing. That Spielberg insisted on filming it on the ocean. And of course, the music. Now I've never actually read the book (horrors, I know!) but I will. So I can't say if the movie is better.

Jaws holds a special place in my heart because it is the first adult movie I got to watch when I was seven or eight. My mother made me cover my eyes while Quint got eaten. I had to do this until I was about ten, or so. And, best of all, she would let me say, "Smile you son of a bitch!" just before Brody blew Bruce to smithereens. (Anyone who knows ANYTHING about the making of this movie knows the shark was called Bruce) I even had a nightmare about Ben Gardner's head once. The head was nestled on top of my trash compactor, it floated up and chased me down the street.  


On another note, while my favorite movie of all time IS a Steven Spielberg movie, I read this fascinating article and am in complete agreement with the author.

Jaws is also one of the most quotable movies ever! Segue to movie quotes... I love sharing "I get you moments" with people. My favorite way to do that is blurt out a quote from a movie and to have the next line given as a response. Immediate understanding. Sigh...


For the past two Christmases (that's as long as I've been on FB) when I mentioned I was watching one of my favorite Christmas movies, The Ref (because I know that nobody can go on with their lives unless they know what I'm doing) the quotes came rolling in! "Slipper socks. Medium!" "The corpse, still has, the floor!" I could go on, but I won't. Watch the movie. It's hysterical.


So if you're good, have nothing else to do and would like me to make you some cookies (unfortunately only those of you who live nearby can get the cookies), see if you can find the movie quote and tell me where it's from. We'll share a moment AND I get to bake. Not to worry - my two ovens are electric. No chance of explosions with that!


I will scatter movie quotes in future blogs from now on. Would love to hear the next line if you catch the quote. Everyone needs more "I get you" moments! 

WHAT'S FOR DINNER?

Today's recipe is courtesy of The Pioneer Woman. I think it's safe to say she is a blogging queen! She is so charming and laid back, with a very calm aura about her. I wish I could be more like her. But laid back just isn't in my DNA. I became aware of her because of a Thanksgiving Throwdown with Bobby Flay. Now I DVR her show on Saturdays and have her blogs sent to my e-mail. And I can use her site for information on my quest to become the best amateur photographer I can be, as she has loads of photography info. I digress. This is the first dinner of hers I've made because, honestly, most of them are just WAY too unhealthy for me to want to attempt. They do look delicious, but my mental calorie counter just goes berserk; and since I'm not of the can-eat-what-I-want-and-stay-thin persuasion, I avoid recipes that include copious amounts of butter. These chops and fried rice were fabulous. I used brown rice, and you'd never know it because it absorbed all the flavors. I love finding ways to incorporate brown rice whenever possible, but it does require a LOT of flavoring. I don't recommend boiling brown rice as a side, since unlike its white counterpart, just adding a pat of butter doesn't do anything for it. It tastes like buttered cardboard. But fear not, there's none of that corrugated flavor here! Yum...

PW Pork Chops and Pineapple Fried Rice