Thank you, Alton Brown!

I consider myself, at best, a mediocre chef.

There are a few things I'm very good at making, like carrot cake or rum cake. But mostly, I have a handful of recipes that I learned growing up (baked mac & cheese) or have picked up elsewhere along the way (chili, various soups), and I tend to stick to those. And I have never been good at meats. Fortunately, DH is *very* good at meats and general culinary improvisation, so my lack of ability was not of much concern to me.

Until relatively recently, when I discovered Good Eats. I'd watched a few other shows on Food Network, such as Iron Chef, but Good Eats stood out. The food is delicious-looking, and Alton Brown is funny and innovative. But best of all, he makes cooking *accessible*. And increasingly I've found myself thinking "Hey, *I* can do that!".

And tonight I did. I made sauteed asparagus and a Steak au Poivre recipe featured a month ago. (I had to wait until after Lent, since DH and DD both gave up meat...) And other than my not letting the sauce thicken quite long enough, the family verdict was that it was...

...Good Eats!