annzeepark914

Having favorite brands (especially the ones from our childhood) is great...until the supermarkets stop stocking them, like Greenwood Pickled Beets (don't give me Aunt Nellie's...they're nasty looking!) I was never a hot dog fan (being a burger girl) until my sister served Sabrette's hot dogs one night at a family picnic reunion. It was love at first sight (they're hard to find). Not only are they tasty, they're made in The Bronx :>) After she steams them, she sautes them in a little butter. Speaking of butter: I buy the store brand 'cause LOL is too expensive for someone who can't tell the difference (y'all really can tell the difference?) Same with pasta...altho' I found Barilla to be too floury (thus making their cooking water rather pasty) so I buy anything but Barilla (what in the world did that CEO say?) B&M Baked Beans in the little glass jar - the only baked beans I'll buy (only available here at Harris Teeter). I've been a Del Monte canned tomato fan for years. Unfortunately, I can't find plain ol' diced tomatoes in that brand around here...it's either petite diced tomatoes (very dry, no juice IMO) or diced tomatoes w/ basil & garlic or jalapeno or something else. English muffins must be Thomas's (the original) and I use a fork to separate the muffin to protect the nooks' and crannies' creation. Love Jiffy cornbread mix...every once in a while I'll make the cornbread and as soon as it comes out of the oven, I put butter on top so that it melts all over. Then cut a big piece and put blackberry jam on it--yum! Aw now I'm craving warm cornbread with butter & jam. One more for the road: my new favorite vanilla yogurt is Oikos Greek style (also, Yoplait makes a good vanilla Greek yogurt as well...neither one is OTT sweet). Fun thread, larapu2000.

I tried making pie crust once (20 years ago) and can still see myself picking up tiny pieces of dough on the counter, trying to "glue" it back into the circle...what a mess. Can't remember if I actually made the pie or threw out the effort. Congrats to you Daisychain for making your first pie! Maybe I'll get inspired to try it again after watching Michael's success at making his first pie crust. Re: the centerpiece hedge...I don't know why Michael didn't make an abbreviated version - just to show us how it's done. Maybe the production people got to take home individual segments so as not to waste such beautiful flowers. I sure hope Ina's got a bunch more new episodes ready to air...I'm ready for more new shows.

Heh heh. Where I grew up in NYS (in an area with lots of Italian-Americans) I only heard "pasta fazoo" which I guess is an abbreviated way to say it.

I loved seeing these two old friends having fun making pies and teaching us how to create that beautiful "hedge" centerpiece. Michael is my favorite and it's always wonderful to see him. He comes across TV so well...you feel as tho' you know him. Fun to see him wearing another pink crewneck (he must have a bunch of them :>) My favorite part of today's show was when Ina said "...and instead of wedding cake we have..." they both looked at each other and said, "PIES". So funny!

I was just in Harris Teeter and checked the frozen entrees for BC on sale...nada! All gone. Got a bag of her beef stew at Safeway the other day for $6.99. I'll miss those delicious, quick meals. Lately, I've been shopping at Trader Joe's every week--it's near where I get an allergy shot (hurry up winter!). Love that place. I bought a package of lemon pappardelle & used the recipe on the bag that called for sauteing shrimp in olive oil, garlic & lemon juice; then you toss in the just cooked pasta. I also tossed in a tiny amount of white wine (have no idea what--I keep small leftovers in plastic containers in the fridge) & some dried red pepper flakes. It was soooo delicious that late that night I opened the Tupperware bowl & got out a piece of shrimp. It was so good even cold; then I got a piece of the pasta...just as wonderful. Found my new sinfully delicious but home-made fast food dinner. I also discovered their sliced Tuscan bread and keep it in the freezer until I want to make grilled cheese or bruschetta or just toast it for breakfast. The other day they were passing out slivers of pretzel bread with some Wine Country Chicken Salad on it (reminded me of Waldorf salad with chicken). I bought a container and put it on a slice of toasted Tuscan bread when I got home. I never realized how many goodies TJ's has until I started stopping by once a week and trying new things.

I think we all got spoiled by the great BBT. While I'm thrilled that Fargo will return, I'm sure going to miss his incredible portrayal of such an evil, fascinating character. Introducing a young Lou will help me (a little) adjust to the lack of repeat characters in Season II. Wed. night I caught the Key & Peele show. Now I know why so many Fargo fans were going on about how much they loved these two guys. I'd never seen them before the episode where they played FBI agents fighting in the car over fast food (I was totally bewildered by it all) as a massacre was taking place across the street. Can't wait to watch their show again - they are too hilarious, creative and wonderful!

I've never made Ina's caponata but I've had the Greek version (melitzanosalata) made by a cousin who lived in Greece for several years. It was out of this world delicious (I was making a pig of myself devouring it!). Never got the recipe from that cousin (hmmm); all I know is it had tomato in it in some version. I was reading the reviews at FN's site under Ina's recipe and almost everyone who made it loved it. A few roasted their red peppers while roasting the eggplant--that caught my eye as I'm not keen on using the bottled roasted red peppers (not sure why; has anyone used them and liked them?) It's not like baba ghanouj (that's very creamy, the eggplant disappears into it). The texture reminded me of guacamole in a way, not chunky...a bit smoother than chunky.

Silver Queen isn't new--I remember it from the late 60's, early 70's. The bi-color corn is sort of new; I like it the most. You get the best of each color, all in one :) I'm with Larapu...I see Ina having a bistro style restaurant with lots of American & French comfort foods, open for lunch & dinner (+ brunch on weekends!). Also, lots of excellent wines (including good house wines) and, of course, beautiful fresh flowers & casual table settings. Wish we had a place like this nearby--I'd be there all the time. Maybe if Ina sees that Giada's able to own a restaurant & still have a life of her own, Ina may just want to give it a whirl too. You never know with the BC.

Silver Queen! Thanks LB...now I remember that corn, along with Country Gentlemen. Loved 'em both! Lawdy...for folks heading to Las Vegas, you may want to take a pass on the new Giada restaurant (interesting posts at the Giada forum!) Now, in that vein, I wonder what an Ina G restaurant would look like. For one thing, she wouldn't have phonetic pronunciation lessons in her menu! I think Anthony Bourdain ought to open his own restaurant. He could serve what he liked and ensure that the busboys, cook line folks were treated properly. I read his first book...quite an eye opener.

Wow. Just wow. Thanks Deanie87 and LuckyBitch. Giada is truly OTT, totally outta control now. Yikes. The absolute, colossal, condescending nerve of her to put the phonetic pronunciations of various pastas in her menu. But in a way...it fits with the current Giada (so unlike the one we enjoyed watching, learning from, back in the day when she shared Italian recipes in Everyday Italian). We have now seen what fame, crazy adoration, have done to a human being. Sorry, I still can't get over the PPL (pasta phonetic lesson). I thought the little blurb on the chandeliers was offensive. Sheesh...little did I know. I've eaten in Italian restaurants for way too many years and never, ever, was I, a non-Italian, insulted with pasta pronunciation assistance.

Last night I caught the last 10 minutes of a new show: Bite This! It's Nadia G (who used to cook on Bitchin' Kitchen). I guess you could say it's a take off on Guy Fieri's Diners & Drive-ins or whatever that awful show is called. She was in Burlington, VT, visiting restaurants, watching them prepare menu items they're known for. I've made a note to watch it on Mondays at 10 PM. We get a big kick out of Nadia and her unusual pals (especially the spice agent with the purposely unpronounceable name :)

Can't believe I missed it...a new BC episode. Will there be more new episodes these next few Sunday mornings? (If so, I'm writing myself a huge post-it note and sticking it on the alarm clock!!) Why was she making dog biscuits? Ina doesn't have a dog.

I grew up in NYS and CT and as soon as I tried the white corn (wasn't it called Country Gentleman or "something silver"??), I discovered a new appreciation for corn on the cob. However, eating corn on the cob has always bothered me due to my teeth being very tightly connected. They'd ache afterward (despite brushing my teeth). That's why I love Ina's Confetti Corn--I can eat fresh corn w/o the misery that corn on the cob causes.

Giada would eat only one row of kernels because, as she says, she eats everything but not a lot of everything (or something stupid like that). Ohh...grrr...I mustn't get started on that gal ;) I tried to watch Nigella yesterday but the camera kept bouncing here, there and everywhere. How can people watch her show? It was making me woozy. What is the purpose of the bouncy camera? Is it supposed to look as though one of her family members is taping her show? I'm trying to find a new cooking show to love (since BC is mostly re-runs, which I like, but I want some new ideas) and having a tough time of it considering what FN is offering. And considering what they force those participants in the NFNS to do in order to win a show, I'm not encouraged for the future!

Since we loved Midnight in Paris, we figured To Rome With Love would be just as wonderful. One of the dullest, slowest movies I've ever seen. We couldn't wait for the movie to end. Alec Baldwin was annoying and Jesse Eisenberg was so irritating (how does he keep getting roles? all he does is look disgusted about everything and anything).

As soon as the piano starts playing at the beginning of On Golden Pond, and I see the loons, I start to get a bit verklempt. I've always tried to avoid very sad movies (especially the ones with animals) but this one just pulls me in. I've been to Squam Lake in NH where it was filmed and it's so beautiful (and one does have to hang over the side of the boat to watch for huge boulders just under the surface!). Great movie...worth the tears and sniffles.

I just had a vision of Kramer on the Murphy Brown set, pretending to type away on the keyboard to impress Murphy. After she walks into her office, he picks up a bagel or something, takes a big bite, and once again starts typing madly away. Always look forward to that little scene.

That is so funny! Remember Tom Hanks, in Big, picking up the the tiny cocktail "corncob" and eating it like a regular ear of corn? I remember falling out of my seat at the movies because I laughed so hard (never did that before or since ;>).

I missed the first episode so I watched it online last night. Agree with a lot of comments posted previously. Thank God, Amy Poehler was in only the first scene. If she shows up again, it'll be a refrigerator break for me; can't stand that snark/smirk/sneer schtick of hers. I loved the fact that there was no laugh track which I find intrusive & so fake. Didn't like the airport scene at all; you don't joke around with security, period. I'm Swedish-American, 2nd generation and grew up in a town where we were the only Swedish-Americans so I find this show fascinating. Loved the stuga painted in the traditional dark red with white trim...soooo Svenska! I'd forgotten about midsommar and began to get confused about what day it was until Bruce asked if it was night time, looking around at all the brightness. I experienced that confusion while visiting relatives in Anchorage ("What? You say it's 1:30 in the morning?") The dimwitted oaf of a brother just doesn't fit with the rest of the family; I found his presence annoying & a bit too "Deliverance" to be credible. Loved the uncle & his fixation with American movies & famous lines from movies.

He's been pretty good over the years trying my experiments (new recipes) so I let him get away w/ it this time. Unfortunately, his prediction (after looking over the ingredients required) was correct--it turned out to be quite "meh" even tho' I was tossing in all kinds of seasonings. It was edible but forgettable. Next recipe to try: Sweet & Sour Pork (by Jaden Hair whose other recipe was quite good so I have high hopes).

Parade Magazine for Sunday, July 13th has a feature on Giada and her new restaurant in Las Vegas, Giada. "While grand in scale and ambition, Giada feels intimate, thanks to its soothing earth tones and personal touches, like the chandeliers inscribed with the chef's stay-slim food philosophy ('I eat a little bit of everything and not a lot of anything')..." This woman is truly a piece of work. Anyway, there's a contest to win a three day two night stay at the Cromwell Hotel (where her restaurant is located) and dinner for two at Giada (heh...just don't look at the chandeliers while you're dining!). Go to parade.com/giada to enter the contest.

That looks gorgeous, larapu2000. Absolutely gorgeous! I always hesitate to make things like this because of the filling...for some reason those fillings intimidate me. Tonight for an easy supper, I'm going to make a recipe out of the Mediterranean Diet Cookbook (Idiot's Guide series): Potatoes and Eggs Omelet. I had to make a 7 Spice Mix as it calls for a little of that. Am really getting into trying recipes that have piled up over the years (my motto: either try 'em or toss 'em). Last week I found a winner in Dan Dan Mien from Jaden Hair's Steamy Kitchen's Healthy Asian Favorites cookbook. I ground the chicken breasts myself in my food processor (love doing that...makes me feel chef-y). Mr. P914 is leery of tonight's experiment so he plans to eat up leftover Chinese delivery ;>)

Definitely for Bob Odenkirk if only because his character made me want to reach through the screen and throttle him! And another definitely for Keith Carradine over Colin Hanks. Carradine didn't appear much in the series but when he did, he made his presence known and his character very credible (can still see him playin' it carefully with Malvo in the diner, as well as his memorable propping himself on his daughter's front porch with his gun--you could just feel his protectiveness of his adult child). But all in all, I'm thrilled that Fargo has been well recognized for its excellence and hope it will trigger a return for next season.

"You don't tawk funny".

This looks good but I don't have a sheet pan (only a rimmed cookie sheet) and don't want to buy one. So, can the recipe be halved and then what size would be right for half the batter? I've made Ina's PB frosting and it's like mousse - quite lovely and delicious.