Lura

Well, we know she goes to church at least one Sunday a month -- for the food. She loves those potlucks. You notice that her nice pastor is always ready to make some glowing comment for the camera. That's because she takes him cookies and Happy Good Friday Hot Cross Buns.

I love it! After hauling the kids back from Tulsa, Hye pulls into her driveway in a dandy Lexus. Then, in pulls Ree, driving the filthiest, mud-splattered truck that Pawtuska has ever seen. I'm surprised that Hye and family can swallow Ree's food, judging from the way her truck looks. You would think the ranch had no water line and no hose to squirt things off. I don't know what riles me more about Ree's driving: speeding like a bat out of Hell, the truck crusted with mud, or the fake landscape background that allows Ree to sit in a dummy truck and take her eyes off the road for uncountable minutes at a time while she rattles on about a recipe.

I detested this episode and love the way you described it, Charlize. I had a hard time pretending to eat tomatoes with mangoes. Talk about a mix of flavors! Ree in her dream world again. Sometimes I swear she comes up with these concoctions merely to shock us. If her family had to pucker up and swallow this, at least they could look forward to whipped cream for dessert. I feel certain that she added sugar to her breast milk when they were born. BROWN sugar.

I can't believe I even watched today's "16 Minute Meals" episode, but, of course, I was watching for the snark value. It didn't take long for Ree to give me the payoff. She was making her sister Betsy's penne pasta dish, and -- leave it to Ree -- she came out with the word "pay-NAY." She turned an Italian word into a French word and never blinked twice. The Orange-Haired Idiot strikes again!

Has anyone ever written to Ree? I suppose that Hye or Ree's former babysitter is in charge of the comments she receives and would pull anything negative. However, Ree's home address on the ranch is published online. I imagine it's possible to send a letter there. I wish that she could read some of the comments on the NFNS thread or this thread, especially about her appearance on NFNS.

I think that Ree should appear as a contestant on Worst Cooks in America. Anne Burrell would cut her down to size in less than two minutes. I'd pay to see that show, especially if Ree ignored her own food to supervise the cooks on both sides of her.

This was never more obvious to me than it was last night. She fawns over Chuck and the cowboys on her show, but on FNS her treatment of the male contestants vs. the female contestants was like night and day. With no rancor intended, I honestly believe that Ree sees herself as being beautiful, charming and super talented, and she likes to work these "attributes" on the men in her life. Ree has said that she lives in a dream world, and I think she behaves like she thinks she is. her "imagined" Ree. We saw the real Ree last night in both her judging remarks and her closing remarks. She can be tough and spiteful, far away from the grinning, sweet Ree with the high, childish voice that she presents on her show. I totally agree that Bobby and Giada could barely treat Ree with civility. I thought they had no respect for her and actually were laughing at her. Bobby tried to hide his laughter, but Giada didn't even bother!

Ree really stepped in it on last night's Food Network Star. It was a performance for the ages. She came out looking like the fearsome amazon from hell in a busy blouse and denim jeans. Her job was to be the guest on the four remaining contestants' little food shows. She was OK with the first guy, but she literally destroyed the first gal. She would NOT stop talking, and the poor girl was trying so hard to shut her up. At one point, Ree grabbed a wooden spatula and said, "You'd better scramble those eggs -- hold on, I'll do it." So, now she's talking AND cooking, grabbing the spotlight. I began shouting at her, "STOP, Ree -- you're going to ruin her demo!" Sure enough, at the end of the show, that girl was eliminated. So sad. But the funniest thing to happen in a long time was when a roly-poly, short fireman gave her a big introduction while she waited backstage. "Now, give a big welcome," he enthused, "to none other than Ree THOMPSON!" Ree never budged from backstage. Just didn't come out. I s'pose she was in a snit with her nose in the air. So, Manny the fireman tries again. "Here she is, folks -- Ree THOMPSON!" The audience, Bobby and Giada were cracking up, and I was in hysterics! Still, no Ree. Finally, I think a producer or someone ordered Ree to get out there, and out she came with a Cheshire grin, per usual. At the end of the show, Ree commented to Bobby and Giada that she didn't care if someone didn't know her name (not MUCH!), but anyone should know the name of the guest. She went on defending herself, referring to the girl whose chances she ruined, "Anyone expects the guest to talk. You don't invite a guest on your show and not expect them to talk." Sure, Ree, but not take over! This was, by far, the funniest and most disgusting FN show I've ever seen, and I mean EVER! Ree bombed bigtime, and badly. I'm sure they'll never put her on that show again. What an ego she has!

Hmmm. Really think so, m'friend? I wouldn't want my state to be called "nowhere." Maybe Ree considered Bartlesville a thriving metropolis when she lived there, and Pawtuska is "the middle of nowhere" to her. She is so strange that it's hard to know what she means.

Oh, Ree could learn so much if she watched Ina! I guess Ree thinks that she knows everything she needs to know about cooking for her family and for cowboys, so why broaden her knowledge? What a pity!

As one who feels that Ree Drummond is less than "cheffy," I was disappointed to see the ad for her being a judge on the next installment, which I think is today. Ree is so many light years away from Martha or Ina Garten, Bobby Flay, or Alex Guarnaschelli that I can't respect her judgment. I have seen Ree judge other competitions, and her main objective seems to be flashing that ever present grin and flattering the contestants with compliments. I suspect that Ree's guest spot has more to do with her agent than it does with her qualifications. I hate to see a good show like "Chopped" be brought down by incompetent judges for the sake of plugging their shows.

I watched some recorded show yesterday, and Todd was years younger, and Ree's hair was dark brown. She actually looked semi-attractive! I couldn't believe it! But ... today, when she was back to her cookie baking for half the town of Pawtuska, her hair was back to bright orange, and it was spray netted so heavily that the hairs separated, and it clung to her forehead like glue. So much for semi-attractive. I couldn't agree with sigmaforce more. Not only have Ree's recipes changed, but her demeanor has as well. "Crazier" is the operative word. The other day she kept punning until she finally excused herself for being in "that kind of mood." She seems to be filming in two acts: the "I'm so beautiful" act or the "wild and crazy" act. I think the latter comes about when she's finally gotten some sex, or maybe she just wants us to think that. (She did refer to Ladd as being "brawny" on the same show.) I got a giggle out of Ree's attire today, though. She wore a blue top and with her bright orange hair, she wore red/orange hoop earrings! There should have been circus music in the background. Whee! Color as only Ree would wear!

"I LOVE the opening of my show where I get to list all the things I am! Nobody seems to have noticed that I left out 'wife.' Oh well, I didn't get four babies without help! You do know that I've been pregnant four times, don't you? Yep! Fertile Myrtle here!"

I get a big kick out of Ree when she's stirring something that takes a while and gives advice about what to do with your mind while you're waiting. The two Ree ideas that I recall are "Think about your to-do list" and "Think about your life goals." There are others. I can't speak for you, but if I dwelt on either of her two ideas, I'd lie awake at night! I think that Ree would be much better off if she'd think about these questions: "Why do I always have to decorate things?" or "Why is enough never enough for me?" or even "Why do I always have to prove my love with candy?"

At last! I watched the show about a picnic for two on their anniversary, and I LOVED IT! She seemed so happy, and her recipes looked scrumptious. Most of all, they were doable for the home cook/baker. I will be making every single one of them. My Austrian-born neighbor taught me how to make phyllo dough, so I'm all set.

Awwwww! I'm just wild about Harry! He was such a handsome gent!

The last show I watched, the one on which Gesine made petit fours and a cake for the girl next door's graduation party, illustrated perfectly what I find to be dull about this show sometimes. It was all "watch Gesine and learn," which is fine, but the ordinary busy housewife is not going to be concocting such fancy desserts on a regular basis. While I admire Gesine's skills, I'm looking for recipes that I can make for family and friends, not three-tiered stacked and lavishly decorated meringue cakes. Once again, I found myself missing Gale Gand's show. I learned so many techniques from her, and her desserts were always appropriate for the home baker..

In what other householdin America, outside of the Trumps and maybe the Rockefellers, can a kid just mosey up to the fridge and have himself a fancy, decorated chocolate mousse for a "snack?"

HORRORS!!! I just saw Ree's sleepover with her four kids and Missy's two. The food she made had me sick! Chicken fingers rolled in flour with BIG globs of flour in it. She said that after they're fried, there's nothing like eating those big, crispy fried flour balls. They came out of the fryer half naked. There were big, gloppy fried flour balls and big areas where the flour hadn't adhered to the skin. Her "snack mix" was a disgrace. She took a big bowl and filled it full of Rice Chex and other dried stuff, then poured TWO JARS of marshmallow cream over all of it and tried to mix it. It was stiff and took forever. THEN, she poured melted chocolate over the mess and re-stirred it for another hour, trying to get it together. It was one, sticky glob of sweetness. With great effort, she shoved the glob into a plastic bag. By then, even God was getting angry. She took a box of confectioner's sugar and POURED IT into the bag on top of all the glop, sealed the bag. and shook it for dear life! AARGH! Everything in the bag turned white, even the globs of chocolate. She pounded this disaster out onto a sheet tray, added a few pretzels, and took the mess upstairs to the kids. Of course, SHE hung around to dig in herself, exclaiming that this was just about her favorite snack and that she makes it every Christmas. She claims that the kids love it, too. Of course, they love it. She starves them for a week before she makes some of these failures so they'll be ravenous and dig right in, no matter what it is. This woman is certifiably CRAZY! As she was mixing up this "snack," she said the kids think it's so much fun. I thought, "Yeah, Ree. Look who's having the fun! YOU ARE. The poor kids have to eat it." In truth, they probably barfed over all of her beds, but production cut it out. I don't know how much more of Ree I can tolerate. It's a good thing Ladd was supposedly out of town for this episode. He might have throttled her. I hope he's home for the next round of nonsense.

HAPPY 4th OF JULY, GANG!!! I suppose Ree has been busy on the ranch with the annual Drummond celebration of the 4th, and Ree has made her sickeningly sweet peach cobblers. While I can't speak for anyone else here, the idea of fuzzy peach skins floating around in my sauce is enough to keep me from having seconds. Come to think of it, I'd avoid the first round as well. Why doesn't she peel her peaches? Because she doesn't want to. Take it or leave it. Not content with the goopy sweet syrup and the yummy fuzzy peach skins, Ree has to finish the topping with her special sweet crumble of sugar, flour and butter, emphasis on the sugar. I half expected her to gild the lily with a zigzag pattern of drizzled white icing, but she must have been in a rush. She left her telltale signature zigzag off. Thank God for small favors. Pass the lemonade, please. We need something tart before we gag. And a Happy 4th to all you poor Pawtuskans who are suffering from sugar overload! Cheer up. The 4th only comes once a year! Shoot off another one, Ladd!

I think this show goes down as my least favorite (food wise) of all of Ree's shows. It absolutely reeked of desperation. Did you notice how often she exclaimed about something being wonderful or delicious or tempting? She really sells that crap she's making, as if she thinks (or knows) that her audience is a buncha dimwits who'll believe anything. There's really nothing wrong with a zucchini waffle. It tastes like zucchini bread and is a good way to get vegetable fiber into the kids. But then, she takes it too far, per usual, by adding essentially frosting on the waffles. That would be so cloyingly sweet that it would make some people vomit. And those poor kids act like trained seals, smiling broadly while perusing their plates and praising Mama's cooking as "looking great." Ree is treading on thin ice. Her recipes have become predictable and repetitious. I, for one, am sick to death of her constant grin showing every capped tooth in her mouth. She's taken smiling lessons from Giada, I suspect. As viewers, we deserve someone better, someone who doesn't pretend to be a silly teenager who has her own cooking show and fools around making up recipes. With Ree in their lineup, they've become the Junk Food Network.

Somehow, I don't see Adam winning this thing. Too many people think of him as the "also ran." It's like, "There's Adam again!" He's been there, done that, and he's still at it. I also feel that Adam thinks he has it in the bag. I'd much rather see a new face with new ideas. Adam definitely has the advantage, having been there and done that. In my opinion, if he isn't head and shoulders better than anyone else, he should be. I am liking Christian at this point. He has a good personality, has done well with his presentations, and his food has been well received. I think that he might give Adam a run for his money.

Yes, Charlize, that was Ree. She pulled out her "bins" and thought it was cute when she said that she used to find kids' toys in with the flour! YUCK!!! Remind me not to have tea with Ree. Her poor pastor and his wife! They probably watch her show, then steel themselves for a knock on the door. It will be Ree with her orange rolls or her hot cross buns, wishing them a Happy Good Friday, and they probably ditch the trash as soon as she leaves. They know that there have been slobbery toys all over that flour. Pray for them, friends....PRAY!

The other day, Ree did a make ahead buncha treats for a party she was having. She forgot that her schedule was so full (!!!) when she made the commitment -- just in case you think she lollygags around the ranch all the time. I just about had a conniption over her "love" word. I swear she uses it every three minutes. "Oooo, the girls are gonna LOVE this honeydew spritzer!" "Paige is gonna LOVE this broccolini!" "This is Ladd's favorite chocolate pie. He's gonna LOVE it!" "Wait'll Bryce sees this mac and cheese. He LOVES when I make it!" "Chuck LOVES this cherry lemonade!" "You hafta make this -- you'll LOVE it!" Uhhh, quitcha braggin', Mrs. Drummond! Jist stand there and stir. Give us two blessed minutes of sweet silence. Look at the beautiful colors in that pot and think about your to-do list. Think about your goals in life. Mmmm, how nice.

I was down on this recipe from the start. Don't put shrimp near my chili, and don't put chili near my shrimp! Then, Ree -- per usual -- doesn't know where to stop. I don't personally care for avocados, but most people do, so that was OK, but the combination of the avocado crema, pineapple, shrimp and pepper jack was vomit-inducing for me. It was as if she started out with one idea and then switched midway to another idea. It just didn't work.