Grimm, 4 out of 5 cupcakes

It's just enough.  Just enough mystery to keep you interested, yet satisfied.  Just enough gore to keep it suspenseful, but not disgusting.  Just enough humor to make me chuckle.  Just enough episodes to make me want to watch the next one.

Grimm is only two episodes in, but has already captured my attention.  It is a fairytale-come-true about a homicide detective who has just found out that he is a Grimm, a family of "things that go bump in the night" killers.  He seems to take up his task with gusto, a little confusion, and a fair amount of chiseled charm.  He is helped and hindered by a whole bunch of beautiful people and beasts, so even if the writing sucked, which it doesn't, it would be pretty to watch.

It also helps that the pretty people/beasts are living in Portland, OR.  The scenery is gorgeous, but it is a little too obvious that they are sometimes working in a studio.  The seams between the people and the CG are not always hidden.  And nothing ruins a chase through a beautiful forest more than knowing it's actually a green screen.

Overall, a great start to another fantasy series.  I am intrigued, but I'm not holding my breath.  So many of these types of shows fall into the old formula:  human gets killed to get viewers interest, another human gets kidnapped, hero runs into a few problems, hijinks ensue, hero saves human just in the nick of time, and everyone lives happily ever after.  Just like in the Grimm's fairy tales, right?  (If you answered yes, you need to go read some of the original Grimm's fairy tales.)  Let's hope the writers don't run out of ideas.

So check this out!  The pilot and episode 1 are currently on Hulu.com.

Raison d'etre: Breakfast

This is the irony of my life: I am not a morning person, but I luuuurrvve breakfast. Love love love it! Fortunately, eggs don't care when you eat them. I mean they're dead, right? Right?? Well, if not, I have murdered thousands of tiny chickens. And this morning I added 6 more little chicken stamps to my fighter jet.

I recently saw a recipe for BAKED eggs and I found out that I could BAKE bacon. I thought I had discovered a secret entrance into heaven. Does anyone else know about this miracle? Well, I had to try it out for myself. I made baked eggs this morning, but I didn't bake my bacon (heehee!) because it was frozen.

Here's the recipe for baked eggs (totally easy!), and I hope to bake my bacon (heeheehee!) soon. I got this from Ina Garten.

What you need:

1/4 tsp each fresh rosemary, thyme, and chopped garlic

1 tbsp fresh parsley

1-2 tbsp shaved parmesan cheese

2 tbsp cream or milk

1 tbsp butter

salt and pepper to taste

6 eggs

What to do:

Heat the broiler.

Mix the rosemary, thyme, garlic, parley, and cheese in a bowl. Set aside. (Note: You can use dry herbs, but cut the amounts in half.)

Crack the eggs carefully into two bowls (3 in each bowl), being careful not to break the yolk. Set aside.

Put 1 tbsp of milk into each of 2 oven safe dishes. Ideally, these dishes should be small and shallow to ensure even baking. Divide the butter between the two dishes and put them under the broiler for about 3 minutes or until slightly bubbly, like your personality.

Slide the eggs into the oven safe dishes and divide the herb mixture between them. No need to mix. Add salt and pepper to taste. Place under the broiler again for 5-6 minutes. Take them out of the oven and allow to rest for 1-2 minutes before serving since the eggs will finish cooking outside of the oven.

Serve with crusty bread, hashbrowns, bacon, and earl grey tea. Slainte!