Rammchick

As do I, but take it from someone who is Valerie's age and used to be a dark brunette -- dark hair ages you.

What Amanda made (after a fashion) was a blini, not a Bellini, which is what the onscreen graphic said. I initially thought she was going to grind it up and serve it as a drink!

Also in the Seattle area. I've watched previous series of this, so I'm hoping my DVR picks it up again. I didn't even know the show existed until I visited Vancouver and saw an ad for it on the side of a bus!

Every time I see him, I think he looks like James McAvoy.

And did I see that jerk who beat Bobby Flay as one of the competing judges?!

Duff made a point to say to Trey that the twist was something they needed to pay attention to, once he heard he was just going to use leftover cake for his "dirt". I immediately knew that was end of him. Nemo may have burnt his, but at least his twist followed the brief and he attempted to make something else.

It's going to come down to the type of orange you use. If it's a mandarin, the skin is thin and has little pith. If it's a navel or a juice orange, the skin is thick and bitter.

My take from the first episode was, Bella, mind your own business. She had a lot to say about what the other kids were doing, but then had problems making her own cheesecake.

I was rooting for Eva because she's from my state and I'm close to her age. Plus she looks like a friend of mine. Sadly, mature bakers never seem to win this. So in the end, what was the purpose of the Naughty or Nice board? The rankings ultimately meant nothing. And what did B stand for? Oh well. Holiday Baking Championship is over for another year. No more Nancy until the spring, at least that's something. Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

Also, Pol is very conscious of livelihood -- he was raised on a farm and understands (and has said) how tough it is to make a living that way. That being said, a dog breeder isn't exactly the same thing, but it might be to him. It's clearly not a well-to-do area. So Pol does his job and keeps his feelings to himself. I suspect that if someone brought in a dog that appeared to be horribly abused (and yes, giving birth to litter after litter constitutes abuse to us but at least these dogs look cared for), he might step in.

Except if you're from New Orleans, and then you'd pronounce it "praw-leen" 😉

We haven't had this much of a jerk on this show in a long time (thankfully). I just remember Dana being very loud and shouty. But she seems to have mellowed since then.

She said that she'd learned to make the most of every day, or words to that effect, so that's what Ree meant she'd learned. But yes, it did seem like an awkward comeback. I think I read somewhere that they donate to City Harvest when they film in NYC.

I wondered if she could have made a coffee gelee and omitted the coffee flavor from the cake. That is technically a "jelly", even though it's not fruit flavored NANCY. And I think the appropriate comeback for criticism of using fresh fruit on a holiday dessert is, in Australia, it's Christmas in the summer!

Raspberry was his secret ingredient, however, so he had to use it. On the other hand, the strawberries were completely their own choice. But what I found more annoying was the fact that Nancy had a convulsion over Eva using strawberries in a Christmas challenge, but it was totally okay in Meghan's Charlotte Royale. Wtf? As for why Lashonda and not Juliana -- Lashonda's was barely baked and she scrambled the eggs in the Bavarian.