Alright. I can’t stand Rachael Ray. It drives me nuts to hear her say, “sammies” and “EEE-VEE-OH-OH,” and I want to wretch every time she laughs. I avoid her show as best I can, and would rather watch commercials on another channel than suffer through the last two minutes of her show while waiting for Good Eats to come on.

Last night, however, I came to respect the self-described, “cook, not a chef,” a little bit.

Valerie and I had our friends Lindsay, Rob, and their little baby over for dinner last night, and in preparing, I told Valerie to find a recipe for a chicken dish. Where did she turn? A gift she received from a relative – Rachael Ray’s 30-Minute Meals 2. The dish was supposed to be grilled, but worked just fine on the stove top, and involved chicken with an absolutely delicious honey mustard glaze (and I don’t like mustard!) composed of apple cider vinegar, curry powder, freshly ground allspice, some red onions, and some brown sugar. Oh boy, was it juicy and delicious.

So while I still have no intention of ever subjecting myself to her television programming, I’m willing to ease up a little bit and try more of her recipes (for those few occasions when I cook from a recipe).