txvoodoo

I am SO over Tregaye, with "yasss" and "fleek" and her shoes and way too much fleek. Tears? Seriously? Amazing how much better Jernard was when he ditched the Love Chef schtick. But the food wasn't good? If Damiano can slow down, he might do well. Ana did well tonight. I'm torn as to whether I like her top or not. WTF Bobby, pickling isn't a big Cuban thing! They don't *make* pickled stuff, they put pickles on a Cuban sandwich. And I think Giada's jealous of Ana. (When did I start defending Ana? IDEK). Geeahhda's dress tonight....good god woman, you're gonna lose food down that cleavage. I'm gonna snark the makeup tonight - WHO is putting makeup on these women? Alternatively, who is NOT telling them to use a lighter hand? Ana had a clown's mask on. Giada's glitter eyeshadow was disco-worthy. For a change, Tregaye looked almost restrained. Bye bye Ana, for now.

Holiday specials are hosted by the finalists.

No topic for tonight's ep?

Oh, I know! I'm Italian (Italian-American) too. I grew up on a street with a bunch of Italian immigrants. Her pronunciation is hilarious - hilariously bad. I think Giada's pronunciation is like someone gave her the Italian Hooked on Phonics book. None of her family uses the same pronunciation! In a way, it fits perfectly with this show. She's a caricature of an Italian American. Hey, Giada? It's not "ri-cot-ta", all hard like that. Soften up those consonants, darlin'!

I am too. I mean, it's not like we're ever actually going to have to watch a show with the winner. That doesn't happen anymore. so let's let Ana win because the rest are so damned annoying. Jernard, OY. OK see, if you're gonna call yourself the Love Chef, I want you to look like Idris Elba, not like Jernard. I'm not fatshaming. I'm a fat woman. But I'm not on tv saying I'm some kind of icon of sexy cheffing. You can be many things as a chubby chef, but a sex god? NOPE. But Tregaye is from Philly, not the south. She lives there now, but..well, yeah. But it's DEFINITELY GeeAhhhDah. No question. (unless it's "OH HOLY SHIT SHUT THAT MOUTH") I'd eat the fruit & skip the cookie-muffiny thing. Cause he's not from the U.S. and she is? It's one thing not to know about a foreign/new country, another not to know about your own.

Because Erin and her food were worse. It's not winning, it's just not losing. Giada's clothes make me as uncomfortable as Jernard's antics, I can't lie. Chocolate chip cookies are comfort food. They're snacks. They're nt an over the top decadent dessert. Nope. Oh, and here's tonight's "Giada's Teeth Moment of the Night" that made my husband scared:

Giada found yet another cutout dress. Tregayne is from Philly? What, via Mississippi? That accent is not Philly. Erin is at sea here, pitifully. Wait, Ana, you were in the bottom two - how'd you "turn a corner with the mentors"? "Celestial creatures." Yes, Ana, please go back on the meds. But she's being given a positive edit tonight. Damiano can be really annoying, but sometimes he makes me laugh, like with the monkey with cymbals tonight. OK, Bobby's praise for Tregayne is OTT. She's occasionally funny but equally cringeworthy. I disliked Erin's guilty pleasure clip. She's criticizing Damiano having time left over, but the only reason she didn't is because she...did...her...piece...like...this. Damiano was a lot more appealing tonight. I didn't think Erin's dish was decadent enough. And I think Damiano helped it a lot. But that wasn't actually a cookie. It was like a muffin. Oh, don't argue with judges. "I gave you the best that I could" ok then your best isn't good enough. Buh-bye.

Nicole's at it again: HGTV star may lose north Minneapolis project amid allegations of incomplete work Not so much allegations as fact - she bought it years ago for $2, had a year to make substantial work, and has done very little. She claims contractor issues, but apparently she owes the contractors she hired $38k for other work, so it's not a big surprise that they're not doing work for her. And of course, she's saying it's all about haters and stuff: HGTV star hits back angrily on Facebook after neighbors reported the dilapidated state of $2 home she promised to renovate.

Oh, please, yes. Of course, it does fit in this Season of Caricatures. She is the Cutesypoo Chubby Retro Baker, just like Tregayne is Sassy Black Girl, and and Damiano is Token Hot Sicilian (Italian) for Giada to droll over. (Gawd, as a Sicilian, I feel disloyal but I also want to smack Damiano upside the head.)

Yup. I don't include the current demo shows in actual education shows. They're all just ads to go to the website so they can get web ad views - there's no real technique shown. They don't even tell you amounts anymore, or temps! "Pop it in the oven for 30 minutes." "stir in pan until done." What's done? These shows are meant as entertainment, but alas, they don't do well there either.

I would TOTALLY watch that. I watch Ina, because I still learn from her, unlike many of the other demo shows. I watch CreateTV channel for the rest of the "how to do it" shows - Jaques Pepin, Martha, Lidya Bastianich, etc. Also gardening and DIY things, since HGTV and DIY don't actually have "how to do it" shows anymore, either. They're all now either competitive or pseudo reality. I watch FNS for snark value.

Ahh, good point. FN vetting at its best again, right?

I doubt it, unless it came out earlier. If it wasn't in the open until May of this year, that would've been after filming. Her husband trying to say it's all new to them, well - who starts a business and doesn't know you need to pay payroll taxes? I'm side-eyeing them.

I'd be upset, but we know Ana won't win either. Right? Please say it ain't so. Joy didn't do it for me personality-wise, because I think we're saturated with over the top southerness. But I'd totally eat her food, and I can't say that about Ana's. I lived in Miami for a while and hers just never looked as good as anything I ate down there. And Ana always looks depressed. I wonder if there's something else going on with Erin and Jenard because he was uber passive-aggressive with her. I'd be more upset about it if I liked Erin. :) But smidgens and fluffy and enough! It's not like being a chubby chef is anything new. Giada and Bobby are like a dish that's lacking salt. They're all saccharine and doughy. They actually need Alton. My husband walked by as I was watching this moment (below), and said "How many teeth does that woman have? Is she some kind of alien?" :)

I noticed the eyelashes, too. I blame the Kardashians for all the young girls thinking they need to look like a caterpillar is resting on their eyelids. Paige has started dyeing her hair, like mom. Thankfully she's gone for Texas College Student Blonde rather than Clown Red like mom's. ETA - why why why add sugar to the salad dressing? Honestly, Ree, not everything in the world needs sugar. Savory is a thing. So is umami. If you want sweet, skip the salad and have another dessert. Yawn, chicken on skewers. Re tahini: "It's basically a sesame paste." No, not basically, it IS sesame paste. And I'll say it again, it's mercanTILE, like tile on your floor. They're all wrong. Also, it's redundant to say "mercantile store." She needs a mandoline. OK, if the tomatoes go in with the zucchini noodles, they're not sauce. This is now a sort-of ratatouille. Or a warm salad.

Celebrity Masterchef (UK) started yesterday, and The Great British Menu starts soon! I'm with you - these shows keep me going. With winners, hmm. Charlotte might be a dark horse? Tracey can be inconsistent.

Ohh braciole. I haven't made that in a while, but I should. SO good. I also haven't made sauce in a while but my San Marzano tomato plants are ripening, so soon! (Though I did have to elevate the containers because my dachshund was stealing ripe tomatoes!) Laughing SO hard! I don't eat out Italian down here. 17 years in Texas, but still "nope." I make my own Italian.

A LOT. And actually, he's doing Chester & Delaware counties as well, probably Montgomery. All the ones surrounding Philly are accessible. I grew up in Delaware county and those old stone houses were *everywhere*. Great places, from cottage sized to mansion sized. I really miss seeing them around since we moved to Texas. There were about 8 within 1/4 mile of my 60s subdivision, and I looked on Google streetview and they're still there!

My Sicilian grandmother's recipe uses ricotta, not a bechamel. Also, a marinara sauce, crumbled sausage, and mozzarella. The hardboiled eggs thing was pretty common in Sicilian dishes. My grandmother told me it was because meat (beef) wasn't common there, but everyone could have a chicken and eggs, so it was a good way of adding protein. She'd put them in stuffed peppers, or in spinach rollup things (involtini?), and other dishes. She'd use egg in soups, too - we have one recipe for "squash soup" (zuchinni, onion & potato in a tomato base) where the last step is some egg whisked with grated cheese & poured over the soup, where it turns into a sponge which soaks up the flavors. Great way of adding in protein for a hungry family. Yet. Another. Fence. Episode. If this really is their life, it is the most boring one ever. It's such a freaking waste of money to use that steak in a quesadilla. GAH.

It really seems that the better shows are on DIY these days. Ditto Cooking Channel vs FoodNet. DIY has Jeff Devlin's new show about restoring 200-300 year old houses in PA. I admit, I'm partial to it because he's basically doing it around my hometown area, but it's pretty good and he's skilled, not just drama.

Yeah, but we get

Her twitter: https://twitter.com/Hot_For_Food And you can google image search her name for all her pics.

ok, Damiano's food has no flavor? Come on, FN, learn: get yourself a Sicilian, ok? Not like I'm Sicilian or anything. ;)

Ahh I forgot that - you're right. That's twice in 1 ep. Twice too many. ;D (I'm watching the ep now actually) Erin - I'm so sick of yet another person rockabilly person. And "moms who do everything." All moms do everything. All women do. End of story. :)

But it wasn't Tregayne who said it during the cooking - it was someone else & she looked all "don't step on my territory." Oh, reality show contestants - don't use 2 year old memes.