Pop a la Mode

Not those kind. Get your mind out of the gutter people.

Guilty Pleasure Number 1: NCIS reruns. What does it say about me that my favorite character is McGee, the computer geek?

Guilty Pleasure Number 2: Ace of Cakes on Food Network. I think I want to marry Duff. A man! Who bakes! Perfect.

Guilty Pleasure Number 3: iCarly on Nickelodeon. What am I? 11? I am very ashamed of this one.

Guilty Pleasure Number 4: Susan Elizabeth Phillips books. Tawdry romance - perfect summer fare. Which by the way my mother first recommended to me. Just sayin’ - she’s totally corrupting me.

Guilty Pleasure Number 5: Ice cream! I am attempting this year to at least eat the fat-free, sugar-free stuff so I don’t feel as fat as I could.

Anybody have any guilty pleasures they want to share?

There is such a thing as too much barbeque and I think I have officially reached that point.

I went to a friend’s house for Memorial Day this year and you would have thought it was Meatfest 2008. I have never seen so much pork in one place that wasn’t a restaurant. They had short ribs, regular ribs, Boston butt, dry-rubbed meat, smoked meat, sauced meat and pretty much anything else you can imagine.

And of course that was just the meat portion of the menu. Don’t forget the sides such as slaw, potato salad, bread, deviled eggs, baked beans and for dessert homemade ice cream.

It was fantastic but then we ended up having it again for dinner last night. My poor stomach can’t handle all that two nights in a row. I’ve been paying for it today. I’m sticking to yogurt and Lean Cuisines. I’m pretty sure I need a barbeque detox.

So evidently my last post made some of you want my super-secret potato soup recipe. It’s not that secret and it’s definitely not hard to make. It is rather yummy and there are a few people who read this blog that can attest to that.

So now I proudly present:

Not Yo Momma’s Potato Soup

2 Packages of Refrigerated Mashed Potatoes (one regular and one garlic)
2 Cans of Low Sodium Chicken Broth
2 Cups of Shredded Cheddar Cheese
Chopped Green Onions
Chopped Crispy Bacon

Bring the two cans of chicken broth to a low simmer in a large pot. Once there is steam, add the potatoes. Stir constantly for two minutes until there are no lumps in the soup. Add one cup of cheese and stir until melted. Turn the heat down to the lowest setting and let simmer for 10 minutes - stirring occasionally. You have to be careful the pot doesn’t get too hot because the potatoes will burn.

Serve with extra cheese, onions and bacon as toppings.

You’re welcome.

No I’m not talking about a person.

The weather today is absolutely dreadful. Rain, wind, cold and very gray. A lovely day to stay in your pajamas and work from bed but alas, that was not an option.

I am making a big pot of my favorite potato soup tonight for dinner and I have a few people stopping through to partake. My condo is going to be the revolving soup kitchen. Robyn is coming over at some point and I told her it was shift dining at it’s best. I’m just putting the bowls out and everyone is on their own. I’m a great hostess aren’t I?

So that’s my plan - put the soup on the stove, prep everything and sit on the couch under my electric throw and watch American Idol and LOST. And if everyone wasn’t coming to eat soup, I’d actually do that in bed.

So Robyn and I sacked out at the Cabana last night to watch the Super Bowl. In the planning of this little shindig, there was one thing that we agreed on - the food must be incredible. And it was. Robyn made these fantastic pork sandwiches (courtesy of Paula Deen) and some hello dollies. I made this spinach and artichoke dip that I’m pretty sure blocked a couple of arteries.

But the game! The game was amazing. Well actually the last three minutes of the game was amazing. The rest was a little blah. I always pull for the underdog and who doesn’t get a tingly feeling when they pull it out? This was one year that the game itself was much better than the overhyped commercials.

I did come up with my new career last night. As we watched the game, Robyn and I commented on everything from the actual football to why Peyton Manning doesn’t have children yet to how do you name your child Plaxico to the fact that Tom Brady’s head is very square.

Here’s my idea: Robyn and I become female sportscasters for the Lifetime channel or something similar. We commentate the game for women! Yeah we watch football but we talk about all those other important things. Like the fact that the entire Fox broadcasting team were wearing Easter egg colored ties in February. Or the fact that the Giants coach looks constantly constipated.

I bet people would watch it and enjoy it. Or maybe we should just keep watching it by ourselves. We’re the only ones that get each other’s jokes any how.

Somehow, in the last four years, going to see a movie on the Wednesdsay night before Thanksgiving has become a tradition. It started when the Harry Potter movies came out around that time and since then, well, we go see whatever.

Last year was that stupid penguin movie “Happy Feet.” We all agreed that it was the worst choice by far.

This year we went to see “Enchanted.” It was very cute and fun and Papa even stayed awake during the entire thing. Of course, I loved it because Patrick Dempsey was in it. I could watch the man read the phone book for two hours so I knew I was going to like it.

The embarrassing part of the evening came early. Tradition has it that we get the super-gigantic tub of popcorn and pass it around during the movie. Well, we got it but this time my Nanny asked for those plastic nacho trays. And who can say no to a Nanny? The purpose: to divy up popcorn into our containers for the movie and send Beau back for free refills as needed.

As my Uncle Eddie said, “I don’t think you’re supposed to do that.”

So here we stand in the lobby and Nanny starts to dole it out. I stopped her and said, “at least wait until we’re in the dark movie theater so nobody sees how cheap we are.”

Priceless.