I don't really think so.

When it comes to food choices, I like to play it safe. I'm no foodie, and I'm not one for the exotic. I remember when I was going to meet Brian's family for the first time. It was September 1997, and I was pretty nervous about 'meeting the parents.' Then Brian told me we were going to dinner at Sushi Too in Pittsburgh's Shadyside and all that nervousness turned to terror. A Japanese restauarant? Sushi? Can I really pretend to like raw fish? I'm going to look like an idiot with chopsticks! Well, turns out Brian's dad wasn't too interested in assessing my chopsticks ability, and his mom told me to "go for it" and put the whole piece of sushi in my mouth, which if you haven't guessed by now was a California roll. See? Safe.

Other than fixing rice two or three times a week, I haven't ventured much into Japanese cooking. Grandma showed us both how to roll sushi and I have my mother-in-law's (which is probably Grandma's) recipe for teriyaki chicken. And I make it a lot. I never knew that teriyaki sauce is just sweetened soy sauce. This chicken is so tasty and so easy. The original recipe calls for a whole chicken (cut up) to be baked in a 350 degree oven for two hours, basting periodically. My simplified version is to put the chicken (we like all drumsticks because then there is less fighting) in a crock pot on low for 5 hours or on high for 2-3 hours.

Teriyaki Chicken
1 whole chicken, cut up
OR about 3 lbs chicken pieces of your choice
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup sugar

Combine soy sauce and sugar until sugar is dissolved. Place chicken in a 9x13 pan or crock pot. Pour sauce over chicken. Bake at 350 degrees for 2 hours (basting periodically) or cook on low for 5 hours or high for 2-3 hours.

We like it served with rice and steamed broccoli.