annzeepark914

Peele doesn't have to do much to make me laugh. His facial expressions are hilarious--much like Kenan Thompson's on SNL. Love 'em both!

I rarely eat salmon but when I do, it needs to be cooked through (and as fresh & mild as I can find). However, I've tried tuna and if it's grilled in an Asian restaurant (with those wonderful soy based dips), it's really good. I was shocked that I liked it. The "rare" section in the center has the same texture as rare steak--smooth and flavorful (not wet and slimey). But I'm careful where I order tuna (it's a rare occasion too). Now, cilantro is a puzzle. Years ago I was eating one of those Lean Cuisines and it must have had cilantro in it. I wondered why the food tasted like soap. So I avoided cilantro like the plague for years. I heard there was a certain percentage of people who taste soap when eating cilantro. Then, when we started dining at Thai restaurants (or ordering pho at Vietnamese), I discovered that fresh cilantro tossed into foods (w/o getting cooked) can be quite delicious. I don't use it a lot...just for certain dishes and for salsas.

Tonight was one of those easy meals that tasted great. I picked up a pound of meatballs at an Italian specialty store on my way home. Sauted the meatballs in a nonstick skillet (didn't even add any oil). Then poured in a jar of Trader Joe's arrabbiata sauce. Then, thought I needed a bit more sauce so I added half a jar of Mario's Original Marinara (not Batali...Mario's--from Rochester NY, a brand only available at Wegman's), a little garlic powder, dried rosemary, Mural of Flavor and a bit of sugar to cut the acidity. It was delicious on spaghetti and tasted like I'd cooked that sauce from scratch. With a tossed salad, we had a great meal.

Ugh...fondant. Will this disgusting faux food ever go out of fashion? I only had it once and only because it was on a slice of wedding cake (had never had fondant nor heard of it before) back in 1998. The cake was beautiful but that fondant was beyond inedible. I pulled it away from the cake and just ate the cake. I guess this means to a lot of people that the look of the cake is more important than the taste? That stuff cannot be good for our digestive systems. Blech. Ptooey! Jelly beans, especially black jelly beans. So OTT sweet and overly chewy. Miracle Whip (why does this exist when we already have mayonnaise?) I just don't understand...soooo icky sweet. Omelets and scrambled eggs that are a little too watery or oozy (pleeeeeze...they must be fluffy! no ooze). Oh, and stuffed French toast. They always serve stuff like this at B&B's and the owners are so proud of their creations. Can't I please have my French toast plain? (from now on I intend to make that request ;>)

Tonight was supposed to be the Barefoot Contessa's Eggplant Gratin but when I began slicing the eggplant, I discovered that it was brown inside (what's with that?). So, out with the eggplant and onward to: Penne with Italian Turkey Sausage & Vegetables (adapted from a Cooking Light recipe). I use rotini instead of penne. I "garnished" it with fresh mozzarella that melted on the top; it was quite tasty! This is one of the very few recipes from Cooking Light I've made that we really enjoy.

What the heck happened to CNN over the years? Initially, I thought they were to be as neutral as possible. I remember watching CNN quite a bit in its early days..but that was before the current crop of anchors & reporters. You'd think they'd want to be in the middle in order to catch the viewers who can't stand Fox and MSNBC.

Yesssss! I love Raffi. She's probably the only family member who doesn't worship Miss Giada and isn't afraid to correct her when needed. (also love that her hubby's name is Buzz ;>) I didn't see the show where Giada made a comment about her little nephew taking a whole piece of food. Do you think maybe she was pleased that he wasn't afraid to really, wholeheartedly try something new (unlike Jade maybe only wanting a little piece)? I hope that's what she meant by her comment.

@wings707: Thanks for the recipe link. This looks good!

Someone needs to send Key and Peele a message: quit the angsty-drama crap that goes on way too long and isn't funny and get back to the stuff they used to do. I just found East-West on youtube...couldn't stop laughing!

Wow - you must never have had home made Alfredo sauce; it's divine! I once made the mistake of ordering Fettucini Alfredo in an Italian restaurant (to be fair, it wasn't a very good restaurant) and it was so awful I couldn't eat it (looked like pale cheese whiz on top of pasta). I make Fettucini Alfredo maybe once a year as it's OTT in cholesterol & use freshly grated Parmesan. Delicious :>) I agree with the comments about manufacturers destroying those wonderful childhood treats by using cheap ingredients and also adding preservatives. Used to love Hostess cupcakes back in the day (chocolate as well as the orange ones). Today the frosting is as "chewy" as the faux chocolate topping on Eskimo bars (it's as though you're chewing gum). Pancakes. I don't know how people can order pancakes at diners or IHOP,etc. They're so heavy and sat in my stomach like a lead balloon. So this past summer, while staying at a B&B, I was leery of eating the pancake they delivered to my table (they said the pancakes were light as they were made with cottage cheese...oh Lawdy, help me be polite so I can eat this). Well...they were right. It was the lightest pancake I'd ever had in my life & very tasty. So, why can't diners and IHOP make light pancakes? Oatmeal. It's like paste. And what is the stuff that follows the spoonful of oatmeal up to the eater's mouth? It looks like saliva. Nasty.

Just watching a few of these classics makes the current SNL look so lame, IMO. I haven't watched SNL in quite a few years...too awful (altho' I check in every once in a while to see if I'm missing something...doesn't take too long to see that I'm not). There must be some good writers around who could create hilarious sketches today. Probably Lorne needs to be "retired" in order for this show to ever improve. Someone made a comment about Jimmy Fallon breaking out of character frequently, wondering if he did it on purpose. It truly was irritating whenever he'd do that and now I'm wondering as well if it was a way to focus attention on himself.

Amy's appearances in past episodes of 19 Kids & Counting always lightened up the show IMO. I only saw a few minutes of last night's episode...her going to Nashville seems contrived to me and I couldn't take too much of it (or this insipid song). http://www.thegloss.com/2014/11/26/fashion/amy-duggar-music-video-photos-bad-fashion-19-kids-and-counting-finale/

http://www.cooks.com/recipe/xx18p102/cottage-cheese-lime-jello-salad.html

Don't they call it Seafoam Salad? or something like that. It's pale green (that's all I remember + it's delicious). Don't have a recipe for it, though...sorry!

I used to think that she really was a Duggar until I learned that JimBob is her mom's brother. I watched a bit of this sad reality episode last night and finally got to see her dad who seems to have been missing from her life. Did she really mean it when she said her parents got married (for the first time, complete w/ white gown and veil) not too long ago? So, initially her parents lived "in sin"? Or did I get this all mixed up (due to the fact that I was stunned to actually see her father)? As others have noted, at least Amy has spirit (jumping out of airplanes, getting up on a stage and performing, etc) and personality, something that's missing when we see her repressed cousins (geez...maybe it's all that blanket training...I never knew what that was until a few minutes ago when I looked at the glossary of Duggarisms...somebody call Child Welfare!)

This is something that has bothered me about the BC show for years. Whenever she cuts into a roast chicken, I always see red and it grosses me out big time! Now, this may be something they do in order to tape the show (within a certain limited timespan), but if so, it's totally unprofessional of Ina to let viewers think that it's ok to eat a roast chicken that exudes pink liquid when sliced. Blech!

That's the thing about Chris Matthews...he's just so daggone pathetically desperate to be a part of the celeb in-crowd. He's forever awful whenever he's been a guest on talk shows and is always beside himself with pride even when SNL makes fun of him in skits (it has always boggled my mind when he shows these nasty mocking skits; he looks so proud).

Oh me oh my...that was the Mother of All FN Live Shows, eh? I can still see those huge dark framed glasses on Giada (she said later on, during the show, that Todd texted her to remove them--good ol' Todd); same with Bobby and his huge dark framed glasses. That "special" will go down in history for all that was revealed during the broadcast (Giada's OTT flirtations w/ Bobby, Alton's vile mood and hissy retorts, the entire strangeness of it all plus poor Ina stuck in the middle wondering, "What the hey?") Speaking of Bobby Flay...yesterday I saw that first cooking show he ever had and my God, Bobby was bumbling around his kitchen, forgetting things, repeating instructions, stuttering, fumbling. It almost looked as though they'd sped up the tape he was flying around the set and speaking so fast. Truly hilarious and all I could think was, "And you have the nerve to critique contestants in Next Food Network Stars"?

This has been a major concern of mine, Hillary soaking up all the oxygen in the room. What will the Dems do if she decides she doesn't want to run in 2016? They haven't groomed anyone else (except for Castro who gave the 2012 convention's keynote address...which wasn't all that memorable). One would think MSNBC would be the place to showcase other potential candidates. Maybe they're too busy showcasing their own up and coming on air talent to spend the time looking at successful politicians around the country, trying to figure out who could the The One in '16 for both parties. There's just something unappealing about so many of the MSNBC folks...probably their self-absorption is what has turned me off increasingly over the years (and smug Chuck is the King in this regard). If you want to get a real dose of what these people are truly like, read This Town. It starts off with a jaw-dropping description of all the schmoozing, business card exchanging, etc., at Tim Russert's memorial at the Kennedy Center.

Love this! Just today I was thinking that if I ever win Powerball, I'd attend that auction and make sure I win a meal at Ina's (and maybe turn it into a little private cooking class ;>)

I'm not a successful pie crust maker but I thought someone might benefit from checking out this wonderful website: http://mennonitegirlscancookpiesandpastry.blogspot.ca/

I guess I should be thrilled that Chock/Bates won Rostelcom...and could very well be the next World Champions, but there are a few things about this pair that irritate me. The height difference is really annoying. In pairs it doesn't seem to be as noticeable once the skating starts, but in ice dance, where skating close together is crucial, where we can see the lines of the skaters, the ht difference is glaring with C/B. I love their FD music and choreography, though (lots of little gestures that pull in the audience, lots of truly skating to and with that fabulous Gershwin music). One other thing that bugs me is the floppy hair that's constantly in Chock's face. I've noticed a few others with a similar hair style (did Shae-Lynn start this back in the day?) It's distracting, and messy looking. Hah! Tara and her donkey kick (when her skates would clonk down onto the ice...shades of her roller skating comp days). Tara's skating didn't smooth out until after a season with SOI.

If Key is the writer of these sketches it might be time for him to hire some assistants.

OK, I probably shouldn't mention this person since he's recuperating from a terrible accident...but Tracy Morgan has always irritated me. I always wondered why he got so much adoration while on SNL (and subsequently, 30 Rock or whatever Tina's show was called...couldn't watch it). He always was Tracy IMO...never disappeared into any of the roles he played in skits, always sounded the same with that loud, whiney, petulant voice.

I have a question. I just read the other day, somewhere online, that Jim Bob was overheard asking the TLC film crew to edit the taping of the wedding ceremony so that it won't show the newlyweds leaving the altar for a private kiss. Could this be one of those hoax articles? (if you've already discussed this, just ignore...I might have missed it). Wish I could remember where I saw this...