NHL Awards - My Thoughts

If you had told me a year ago that I would be writing a post about the NHL Awards I would have thought you were crazy. And not just because I didn't have this blog a year ago. This past season I found myself getting more into hockey than I ever have. I don't know if it's because I'm older, or because J followed things a little more closely since his Avs were having an awesome season but whatever the case we watched a good chunk of the show last night.

Just a couple (pretty random and not necessarily hockey-related) thoughts on the show:

- I was really excited that Nathan MacKinnon won the Calder Memorial Trophy. He had a fantastic rookie year, plus he's a local kid. I definitely cheered when his name was called.



Nathan MacKinnon (Colorado)
{ Zimbio/Ethan Miller/Getty Images North America }

- I thought David Boreanaz did a really good job presenting. I follow him on Twitter and he's definitely a real hockey fan.



David Boreanaz with Jaime Bergman
{ Zimbio/Bruce Bennett/Getty Images North America }

- He may not have won the Vezina Trophy (and I do think Tukka Rask deserved it) but Semyon Varlamov was definitely the best-dressed nominee, and one of the best dressed players there.



Semyon Varlamov (Colarado)
 { Zimbio/Bruce Bennett/Getty Images North America }

- I loved seeing the clips about the nominees for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, King Clancy Memorial Trophy, and the Mark Messier Leadership Award. It's wonderful to see these guys giving back.

Did anyone else watch? How did your favourites do?

Canadian Content

{ Food Network Canada }

 

I used to say I hated reality TV, but I'm starting to realize that there's some reality TV that I love. I love cooking competitions. Master Chef and Hell's Kitchen are two of my favourite shows. But out of all of the cooking shows we watch, my absolute favourite is Top Chef Canada.

A lot of Canadian versions of shows just don't compare to their American counterparts (though I can't deny my love for Ryan Malcolm, winner of the very first Canadian Idol) but for the most part you'd never know Top Chef Canada was Canadian. At the same time, in some ways it's uniquely Canadian. It also doesn't have all the "drama" that Hell's Kitchen has and as much as I love Gordon sometimes he's just too much of a jerk. The judges on Top Chef Canada give honest feedback without being too harsh. (Or at least that's the way it seems.)  I'm not even sure how we stumbled across the show initially, but I'm glad we did!

I think all the cooking shows we've been watching are part of the reason I've become interested in expanding my horizons a bit in the kitchen. Never in a million years will I be as talented as the chefs that make it on to these TV shows (including the kids on Master Chef Junior) but I'm actually excited about trying new dishes and working with new ingredients.

Any seasoned cooks out there have any tips for how I should start my culinary make-over?

xo,
Sara