Oh, Alton!

Showing that dough who's boss. Don't mind the hair, it was 11 pm.

A few weeks back, my friend Ginny posted a blog about cinnamon rolls. And I've been jonesing for one ever since! I thought I'd take this opportunity to try my hand at making some. John and I are huge cinnamon roll fans and get them everywhere we go, but usually they are just so-so. The best I've had were the ones at IKEA. Seriously! They rock there. Anyways, there are certain cooks that I go back to again and again because their recipes just seem to always be on the mark. Alton Brown would definitely be one of those people. First off, I love his show (sniff, sniff, no more food network though until we expand our cable) because he cracks me up and I love hearing his hilarious scientific explanations of what makes a recipe work. And his recipes are usually something basic- but he makes the recipe OUTSTANDING! So when I was searching for cinnamon roll recipes, I chose his. It also sounded good because you made it the night before, popped it in the fridge, then baked them in the morning, just in time to eat with your coffee. Yes, yes, perfect! Well, I wasn't disappointed with Alton, once again. They were delicious! They were just as good as IKEA's and if I knew what I was doing when I made them, I think they could have been better. Like I said before, dough is still foreign territory. I loved the process of making these. I am actually starting to enjoy working with dough and there is definitely some satisfaction in making a semi-involved recipe. Oh, and did I mention it has a cream cheese frosting!? A good cup of coffee and warm cinnamon rolls in the morning has got to be one of life's great pleasures!

Finished product!

So what else has been going on? Instead of being productive during nap time and bed times, I've been doing this:

Book 2 done.

Book 3 done.

Book 4 done.

Onto book 5! My god, these books are like those white chocolate covered oreos. The ones you can eat in one sitting and not even realize you are doing so. They probably have as much nutrition as an oreo, too, but I think that's what I love about them! What a roller coaster of emotions! I love Bill! Wait. He did what??! I hate Bill! Now I like Eric! But I guess Bill did get tortured for it. Oh, the confusion! King of Mississippi? Queen of Louisiana?! Sheriff's, Supes, Were's, and Witches who ARE Were's AND who drink vampire blood?!?! I'm in heaven. :) I'm completely addicted now and will probably start book 5 tomorrow. I promised John we'd watch a movie tonight, since my nose has been in a book every night this entire week. I love starting a book series late in the game because I don't have to wait for the next one to be written, they're all in paperback now. :)

Well, he's still putting Sadie to bed. It wouldn't hurt to just read the first few pages from book 5.....