I Was Her FIRST Fan!

This past weekend, Beth and I went to a book signing of a little known blogger named Ree Drummond, a.k.a The Pioneer Woman. 

I had read other bloggers’ tales of how the lines were so long and the wait time was extremely long, so I got it in my head that we had to get to the book store at the butt crack of dawn. 

I was wrong. 

I didn’t mean to be the first fan to the parking lot that day, but I was.  I even beat the store manager.  Beth forgave me, eventually, for getting her out of bed earlier than she gets up on her work days. 

It turns out, not many people knew that the store was handing out tickets for the signing as early as 9am.  And they didn’t realize that the earlier you came, the closer to ‘first in line’ you could be.

While I may have been the first person in the parking lot, I was not the first person in the line.  We went out to get breakfast, then sat in our warm car and waited until the store opened at 9.  When one person walked to the door to get a ticket, the few others who had arrived and been waiting in their warm cars flooded the doors before we could even get our seatbelts unbuckled. 

But there weren’t too many ahead of us that morning.

After we got our ORANGE tickets (they went by color, so we were in the second color group – so much for being first in the parking lot!), we headed down the strip to Target.  FUN!

Beth and I spent time trying on clearance items and looking around at nothing we needed.  Then she realized she was going to be late for a date, so she ran out of the store, leaving me to wander the aisles of a store that can take money out of your pocket faster than an underage pick-pocket in the streets of London.  Scary.

I did find some great bedding ideas for Jack’s big-boy room.  Hopefully that will happen sometime this year.

When I finally went back to the book store, I had 3 hours to just sit and wait.  They had set up her signing table at the front of the store.  I sat and read a book and waited.  I was waiting for Beth to get back to the store, waiting for Ree to show up, and waiting for my coughing fits to scare everyone out of the store.   Two out of  three ain’t bad.

 

Without any fanfare or any announcement, Ree walked in and sat down at the table. The lines started forming, and she was off and signing.  She was poised, beautiful, and friendly to everyone who came to see her.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There were so many cute kiddos there just waiting to make her ovaries quake. 

Finally, I got to ask her to sign my books, one she signed twice because I asked her to sign a page other than the one she was automatically programmed to sign first, and I got to talk to her like I was a raving lunatic.  I told her she was the first celebrity I’d ever met, and that I was nervous to be there next to her.  I also complimented her on how beautiful her oldest daughter is – has anyone else noticed that?  She’s such a beauty.

Beth and I got our books signed, then we were herded out of there like sheep.  That was that.  It was over.  My grin wasn’t TOO huge, like it could have been, and the lady who took the picture with my camera got a clear shot.  Yippee!!  (though, now that it’s cropped a bit, it looks a tad fuzzy to me)

It was a bit anti-climactic in the end (much like this post), but it was so fun spending a day with Beth (who ditched me for a date, but I’ll let it slide since it was a FIRST date), seeing a huge blogger who I admire, and getting my cookbook signed by the author.  That’s a good day in my book!

She’s Coming!!!

Have I ever mentioned a little-known blogger called The Pioneer Woman? 

Hmmm?  I have?  I may have been excited to open her cookbook as my Christmas gift last year. 

She did a book tour for that book last year, and I’m pretty sure she didn’t come anywhere close to where I live.   That’s not a big deal.  She’s famous.  I’m me.  I will never  meet the woman, so I will just sit here, cook her food, read her blog, and go on living my life as normal.

WELL….things are about to get exciting around here!

SHE’S COMING TO COLUMBUS, OHIO!  That’s my town.  That’s where I live.  I live where she is coming!  Okay.  I need a second to stop and breath.  *giddy*

My BFF emailed me with two words: We’re going! 

Yes we are!

Her newest book tour is for her newest book Black Heels to Tractor Wheels.  When I first found her website about two years ago, I actually sat and read all of her Black Heels posts.  I had a lot of free time while I was breastfeeding.  Not having read the book yet (it comes out February 1), I would still recommend picking up a copy or reading her blog posts.  She’s a witty writer and so much fun to read. 

Maybe one day I’ll have a post with blurry pictures of me standing next to her with my  mouth smiling my obnoxious smile, sweaty and with sore feet from having waited in a long line to see THE PIONEER WOMAN!  A girl can hope.

Master Chef

Last night, my husband paid me the best compliment in the world – at least to me.  He said I had turned into a Master Chef.  Evidently, he has been enjoying my cooking for a while now, and last night threw him over the edge.  He could barely speak through the groans of yummy pleasures he was uttering. 

I had a huge grin on my face all through dinner, put there by the pride I could feel oozing from my husband’s pores.   Of course, the smile was quickly misplaced when I came down from Cloud 9 to see all the dishes waiting for me to clean.  But I enjoyed the moment while it lasted. 

Some of you may need to hear something like this coming from your husbands and family, so I thought I’d share what I made.  It all started with a simple Christmas gift from my sister….

She gave me this….

And I’ve since been trying every dish in this thing!  Some are too Southwestern-inspired for me,which I’m not a huge fan of,  but a lot of what she makes is just good old fashioned comfort food.   (If you don’t know who the Pioneer Woman is, you haven’t been around blogs much, have you? It’s alright.  She’s fun to read – hope on over and check out her site sometime when you have OODLES of free time at your disposal – The Pioneer Woman

I made her Chicken Pot Pie last night, with her Perfect Pie Crust on top.  She has her pie crust online, so I’ll just share the link with you here Perfect Pie Crust Recipe.  But her Chicken Pot Pie recipe is not on her website, so I’ll type it out.  I must admit that I didn’t use white wine, because we never have it in the house, and I’m CLUELESS when it comes to picking out a wine to cook with (unless it says “cooking wine” but EVERYONE says never to use cooking wine in your cooking – Go figure!).  I also left out the chicken bouillon cube, because I didn’t have any left in my pantry.  Oops!  And finally, when it came to the seasonings, I pulled out an Herbes de Provence that I got as a wedding gift (5 years ago!) that hasn’t been used much.  I never know what to use it in, and this seemed like the right thing to do. 

But I’ve made it before, and it is great as is.

The Pioneer Woman’s Chicken Pot Pie

3 celery stalks

3 medium carrots, peeled

1 large yellow onion

4 Tbs (1/2 stick) butter

½ cup frozen pees

2 cups cooked chicken

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 cups low sodium chicken broth

1 chicken bouillon cube

¼ cup white wine (optional)

1 cup heavy cream

1 tsp ground thyme

1 tsp kosher salt, or more to taste

Black pepper to taste

1 pie crust

Preheat oven to 400̊. Begin by finely dicing the vegetables. Slice the celery stalks into narrow strips, and then slice in the other direction to create a fine dice. Repeat this process with the carrots and the onion. Melt the butter in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, celery and peas. Sauté until vegetables start to turn translucent, a couple of minutes. Add the chicken and stir to combine. Sprinkle the flour evenly over the vegetables and chicken and stir to combine. Cook for a couple of minutes, stirring gently. Pour in the chicken broth, stirring constantly. Stir in the bouillon cube and wine, if using. The flour will combine with the chicken to create a delicious gravy. Pour in the cream and stir. Allow the mixture to cook over low heat, thickening gradually, about 4 minutes. Season with the thyme, salt and pepper. Remove from the heat. Taste and adjust the seasonings as needed. Be sure it’s adequately salted! Pour the chicken mixture into a deep pie pan or small casserole dish. Roll out the crust so that it’s 1 inch larger than the pan. Place the crust on top of the chicken mixture and cut small slits in the top. Press the crust gently into the sides of the dish to seal. Bake for 30 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbly. Cool for 10 minutes before serving. Use a large spoon to serve.

Let me know if any of you try it! I’d love to hear what your family says.!