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marybennet

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Everything posted by marybennet

  1. Yes to what’s been said so far. And, unlike some, I do believe in the integrity of Tom’s judgment about food, but doesn’t it feel as if this system is set up for the guy to win for a while? And why would anyone want to do LCK if it’s not set up as a last chance but as a gladiatorial contest?
  2. I felt good about Kristen and, though anyone hosting is assuming a persona, I found hers warmer and more genuine than Padma’s. I liked Padma but she felt a little too at-home—in the way beautiful people often are—in an I-am-to-be-pleased mode. I thought Kristen needed to work on including the guest judges a bit more. I thought a great moment was when Tom asked how long pasta team had been working and Kristen, intuiting what he meant, asked if that was because hat guy should have been long finished rolling out his pasta. Her unique appeal as host is going to be her knowledge of the habits and practices of the kitchen.
  3. People actually wrote about this in the nineteenth century (in England, anyway) as a social problem--that all kinds of dirt and trash would get caught in women's skirts and brought into the house.
  4. I also think one of the things that's confusing--the family of women having children in their teens--contributes to the series's ability to make its point about the generational abuse (to use Magdalene's phrase) begun by his lordship/by a certain generation and class.
  5. I read that Sheldon Simeon and Lee Ann Wong are organizing volunteers preparing meals for first responders and others at University of Hawaii, Maui College. Good for them, especially at a time when their families and homes and businesses may be in rough shape. https://www.hawaii.edu/news/2023/08/10/uh-maui-college-food-preparation-hub-amidst-wildfire-tragedy/
  6. I agree with everyone that the storyline featuring Carrie and Seema was great, as was the scene in which Carrie and Miranda were walking and talking. And I really loved Seema’s umbrella. Charlotte’s dress was Prada. That makes me wonder if there would have been a bigger size. Designer lines aren’t always so good about larger sizes, and stores featuring them aren’t always so good about that either. I don’t have the budget to know whether that’s true of Prada. The fictional shop assistant needs to learn to make a dress recommendation without making the client feel bad.
  7. The dismissal of Big seems unhealthy on Carrie’s part. Casting her life and time with him as a mistake seems like a way for her of eliminating the grief that I don’t believe is yet gone. I can’t help thinking that the writers have in mind some moment when she breaks down a little, when the bubble of “Aiden: Take 3” bursts and she has to acknowledge the force of her life with Big. I suspect the writers know that and will make it happen, whether things go forward for Carrie and Aiden or not.
  8. I listened to the podcast in which MPK talked about asking Corbett to lose weight for Aiden’s return, and I think he meant when Aiden came back in SATC as a less granola guy (to use Samantha ‘s term), co-owner of Steve’s bar.
  9. The character Meko hated was not Derek but Eric (named for maximum confusion). She successfully resisted having Eric written into the script—probably a good decision. I kept wanting greater frankness from people (saying bluntly to Meko “so it’s your job to rewrite the script”) and genuine mentoring (it kept sounding to me as if people expected her to know things she didn’t know—like that she was supposed to use the 30 minutes between the pre-table read and the table read to coach the actors).
  10. I think the show was not interested in the Faisal and Hepworth plots, but then neither was I. I was really satisfied with the kitchen confrontation between Catherine and Tommy, which I found wonderfully complex and beautifully acted. Credit to the scenes involving Claire, too. I was wrenched by Catherine’s sobbing.
  11. Going back a bit (I’m still catching up), the peas and carrots thing was a reference to stories about old Hollywood. It is said that extras in crowd scenes in early sound films were told to say “peas and carrots” to sound like a grumbling mob. Not sure if it’s true, but it’s a good story.
  12. Catherine didn’t say “I love you,” but I thought she softened a bit as she said “Come on” or “Come on then,” and that softening would be recognizable to him as loving him. It’s what her love looks like. Also, she evidently asked for his games console to be packed up and sent to Nev’s. That’s an ‘I love you,’ too.
  13. 3 and 4. Liver happily. Grasshoppers cautiously; I ate a mole made with ground ants once, and it was good, but I’m still cautious. Ok, you can all stare at me and point now.
  14. I saw something where Tom said that he’d found out about Padma’s leaving only a few minutes before she posted her announcement. I wonder if keeping it to herself made that last judges’ table even more an emotional event for her.
  15. I want Tom’s coat, but I’m probably too short for it. Sadly, my weather only rarely gets cold enough for it. I do like Buddha, so I feel good about his winning. And they all did really well, evidently. I loved how much the French chef was taken with Gabri’s dishes. There’s clearly something so creative about his choices. And he just seems like a delightful human. I enjoyed this episode and the little celebration of the show and the staff at the end.
  16. Thanks to you all! I can’t watch until the episode appears on Amazon, but I can’t wait, so I’m spoiling myself with your comments.
  17. Yeah, I agree that the crux of the show is really about Catherine’s fears about who Ryan will be. To me, even in those earlier seasons, he has seemed a normal good kid, made so in part by her upbringing and her worry, while also just a little the product of the family difficulties and pain as well. We’ll see, but it has always felt to me as if she needs to learn that for sure. (Of course, we can all laugh at me when I’m wrong and he shoots up a bank w his dad! 🙃)
  18. Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat—both book and show—is/are great, and I love Samin Nosrat. I love the kinds of knowledge she’d bring to Top Chef. And she’s has a really charming, infectious laugh.
  19. Don’t know for sure, but he used grissini (breadsticks) for something; I thought maybe the cherry stems were shaved and bent bits of breadstick. The broth had beet juice in it, too, I think, which would have helped with color.
  20. Possibly another unpopular opinion, but sometimes it makes me sad when chefs don’t cook, when people we’ve come to love for their strengths in the kitchen become celebrities. That’s precisely why I don’t want some of my favorites to come back and host; I want Stephanie Izard to love and celebrate and use her wonderful talents in the kitchen. (I kinda want Stanley Tucci—despite my great love of letting him teach me about Italian foods—to keep acting, too.)
  21. Oh I am so sad for Ali! The truth is, though, I like them all so much and admire them. It would have been painful to see any of them go before the finale. Tonight, the two dishes I wanted to try were Sara’s (I would love that recipe!) and Gabri’s. I can’t think of many times when I’ve had mushrooms in the context of major spice. I’d love to have tasted it. When Partnermarybennet and I were in Paris several years ago, we got caught in the rain and had to run to our hotel. It’s one of my favorite memories. Paris makes the rain beautiful.
  22. Catherine's quiet little "hiya" was such a genius way to end that episode. And Claire's nervousness on seeing her was so well-acted. It's great to see the show back, if only for a while.
  23. I think a banana wrap would be ok, too, because people do sometimes cook things (steaming or baking) in banana leaves; so the leaf has been functional, even if you don't eat it. What's not okay is the sprig of curly parsley that you might even eat but that's there because it looks pretty and not because it adds to the taste of the dish. Really, though, I think the only rule is, 'if I like it, it's ok, but if I don't,then there must be a rule against it!'
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