ft. Cobra Kai & Granola Cluster Cookies

January 8, 2021 by Sydney Grant

Guess who’s back, back again *cue Eminem breaking into rap freestyle.* Seriously, though, welcome back and welcome to 2021! Nothing says happy New Year like a coup led by some dude who looked like he’d just come from MAGA-chella, am I right?? Anyway, in other news, Kim has finally come to her senses and is divorcing Kanye (who may or may not be rebounding with Jeffree Star???), Elon Musk is saying “sorry, not sorry” to Jeff Bezos, and Harry Styles and Olivia Wilde are apparently dating. Unclear who’s more upset about the latter information, Jason Sudeikis or me. This was going to be the year he finally noticed my Instagram DMs!!

And, that’s what you missed on GLEE! Until next week.

However you’re planning on spending your weekend, enjoy these quarantivities!

Quarant-streams

‘Cobra Kai’

Watch this if your parents made you take karate lessons as a kid:

WHY have I been sleeping on Cobra Kai?? I must admit that when my mom asked me if I watched this show mere weeks ago, I vehemently denied such a preposterous suggestion. “You mean the karate kid show??” I’d replied with so much disdain you’d think I was some international film critic, rather than someone who spent the majority of her holiday break watching a reality TV show about sexy singles finding someone to take home for Christmas. It’s called taste, honey — look it up.

However, after watching Cobra Kai flash on my Netflix “Trending Now” for days, I finally succumbed and decided to give “the karate kid show” a try… and then casually ripped through five episodes in one night. The show picks up 34 years after the last Karate Kid movie took place, but you don’t need to have seen the originals to know what went down. Basically, Daniel LaRusso aka THE Karate Kid kicked his rival Johnny Lawrence’s a$$ at the 1984 All Valley Karate Tournament, which from what I’ve gathered, is essentially the Olympics of karate.

Fast-forward three decades and LaRusso is this hugely successful car salesman and Johnny is spending his time beating up kids outside mini-marts. It’s not cute! Determined to get his life back on track, Johnny re-opens the legendary dojo Cobra Kai and with it, his rivalry with LaRusso. The third season just dropped on New Year’s, so do yourself a favor and watch. BRB, going to practice my roundhouse kick in my room again and add “karate enthusiast” to all my dating profiles.

Stream it via Netflix.

‘Bridgerton’

Watch this if you love Jane Austen and/or Gossip Girl:

If you somehow haven’t watched Bridgerton yet, what you doing? Seriously, though, take a break from doomscrolling the news and go do yourself a favor and watch it already. For those of you who are somehow unfamiliar, the show is based on the iconic Julia Quinn novels and is Gossip Girl meets Downtown Abbey. Except instead of Gossip Girl reporting on which member of Manhattan’s elite repeated their outfit that day it’s a mysterious Lady Whistledown character reporting on the happenings of the early 1800s London debutante circuit.

If this doesn’t sound particularly interesting to you, trust me, I thought the same thing. However, never has a period piece about the 1813 London marriage scene (or a spoon — if you know you know) been so steamy! There are elegant corsets laced up so tight I got carpal tunnel just looking at them, a sultry orchestral cover to Billie Eilish’s “Bad Guy,” and the Duke played by Regé-Jean Page aka the sexiest man alive aka the aforementioned spoon-licker aka the reason I suddenly find velvet overcoats a turn-on?? Not to mention, the whole thing is narrated by Julie Andrews and was my sole source of serotonin for the two days it took me to finish the entire thing. In other words, I cannot recommend this one enough. So, what are you waiting for? Make haste and watch Bridgerton — immediately!

Stream it via Netflix.

Quarant-reads

‘The Prophets’ by Robert Jones, Jr.

Read this to impress your Zoom book club:

One of the most anticipated new books of January, The Prophets tells the story of two enslaved men in antebellum Mississippi and their unfortunately doomed love affair. The novel focuses on the effects their relationship has on the plantation, with each chapter being told through the eyes of a different narrator. Although I haven’t had a chance to read it yet, if the early reviews are any indication, Robert Jones Jr.’s debut is a stunning examination of Black queerness and slavery in the South. Personally, my New Year’s resolution is to read more books and less analyses online about whatever happened on The Bachelor the night before, so if yours is something similar, I can’t think of a better one to start with.

Purchase now via Amazon.

Quarant-eats

Spicy Sheet-Pan Chicken With Sweet Potatoes and Kale via NYT Cooking

Make this for an easy, healthy dish with a (karate) kick — sorry, I’ve got to stop watching Cobra Kai:

Photo: Christopher Testani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews

INGREDIENTS

1 tablespoon harissa
¼ cup full-fat Greek or Skyr yogurt
4 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (about 1 1/2 to 2 pounds)
Kosher salt and black pepper
1 medium sweet potato, scrubbed and cut into 1/2-inch cubes (about 2 cups)
1 bunch lacinato or curly kale, stemmed and cut or torn into 1-inch ribbons
1 small red onion, peeled and cut into 1-inch wedges
3 tablespoons plus 1/4 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon ground cumin
½ cup flat-leaf parsley or cilantro leaves and tender stems, roughly chopped
1 lime, zested and juiced
½ teaspoon red-pepper flakes

PREPARATION

In a large shallow mixing bowl, combine the harissa and yogurt. Pat the chicken dry, then season all over with salt and pepper. Add the chicken to the yogurt mixture, gently rubbing until fully coated, and set aside for 15 minutes.
Heat the oven to 450 degrees and place a rack in the lower third and one 6 inches from the broiler. On a sheet pan, toss the sweet potato, kale and onion with 3 tablespoons oil. Season with cumin, salt and pepper, massaging the kale as you do so. Clear four spaces for the chicken pieces, then place them skin-side up on the pan. (It may look messy and crowded, but the kale will shrink down as it cooks.)
Roast on the lower rack, 30 to 35 minutes, stirring the vegetables halfway and rotating the tray, until the chicken skin is crispy and the juices run clear, the squash is tender and the kale is crispy. If the vegetables are done, but the chicken skin is not as crispy as you’d like, remove the vegetables from the sheet pan and place just the chicken under the broiler for another 1 to 3 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a small serving bowl, combine the parsley, lime zest and half the lime juice with the remaining 1/4 cup oil and the red-pepper flakes. Season to taste with salt, pepper and additional lime juice. Serve the chicken and vegetables with the herb oil to drizzle over top.

Granola Cluster Cookies via Bon Appetit:

Bake these to feel better about already giving up on your New Year’s resolution to work out more: