All Episodes Talk

[sabretooth]

The "ball-SAM-ic" pronunciation was like nails on a chalkboard to me. 

 

I love panzanella, but I think I would stick to either a root veggie version or a zucchini/summer squash version, not mix the two together. And I think I'd use feta or maybe some parmesan shavings instead of the mozzarella balls, but mozzarella isn't my favorite cheese, so YMMV. 

Edited January 2, 2016 by sabretooth

[maggiemae]

What on earth does cornbread have to do with panzanella? And bake until slightly crispy and pour dressing over the cornbread and let sit 1-2 hours?

Ina does the more traditional panz. with fresh and also a grilled one.....the most she allows it to sit is 1/2 hour....and certainly not with homemade Italian cornbread.

[grisgris]

I forgot to mention that I was actually intrigued by that object Ree used to crush up her tofu. It reminds me of that antiquey gadget Nancy Fuller uses on her show to smash cloves of garlic. If that's part of Ree's Walmart collection, I'd be mildly interested in going to take a look at it and seeing how much it costs. I'm not really in the market for tofu processing implements, but maybe it's useful for other purposes.

 

Wasn't it star-shaped? With my luck, it's probably some type of short-cut cattle branding tool and I'm SOL in ever finding one! LOL!

[Fostersmom]

I think it's a hamburger meat chopper. There's a couple of different star shaped ones if you google, but I don't see the same one. 

[ShellSeeker]

I forgot to mention that I was actually intrigued by that object Ree used to crush up her tofu. It reminds me of that antiquey gadget Nancy Fuller uses on her show to smash cloves of garlic. If that's part of Ree's Walmart collection, I'd be mildly interested in going to take a look at it and seeing how much it costs. I'm not really in the market for tofu processing implements, but maybe it's useful for other purposes.

 

Wasn't it star-shaped? With my luck, it's probably some type of short-cut cattle branding tool and I'm SOL in ever finding one! LOL!

 

I have one of these and it really is pretty handy for breaking up ground beef, turkey, etc when you're cooking it in the skillet. The one I have isn't great quality...I bought it out of a catalog my daughter's school sent home for a fundraiser. But it gets the job done, it was less than $10, and my daughter's school got a few bucks in the bargain too.

[anneofcleves]

"Divine...divine...I'm blogging about four marvelous meatless marvels...." Doesn't she, you know, sort of write for a living as a blogger? Didn't her middle school English teacher introduce the concept of redundancy?

And now we see it. How far behind can a PW vegetarian cookbook be?

What an awful show. No really.

Cornbread panzanella. I have no objections to the concept. I've had it. It's good. Giana even has a recipe for it. But I call total BS on her proclaiming that she keeps it in the refrigerator and eats it for days. Unless you like cold mush, you don't do that with any panzanella, and certainly not one made from delicate cornbread.

I also, once again, wonder if all that sweetened, condensed coffee that she drinks is destroying her palate along with her ability to distinguish texture. Heavy, sweet root vegetables mixed with summer vegetables, then combined with a Crisco-laden "Italian" cornbread made with sun dried tomatoes, then tossed in a vinaigrette with watery/gummy balls of fresh mozzarella? Holy cacophony of stuff, Batman. Can you imagine the congealed texture of it next day?

I'm kind of shocked she didn't throw in some diced pepperoni. You just know she wanted to.

The thought of Ree using tofu still has me kind of in shock, and I need more time to process that one. She must have had a recipe like that from room service at some spa she visited, because if it was truly her concoction it would have at least had some blue cheese thrown on to make it truly divine.

The eggplant steaks looked like the only thing we would seriously try, and pretty much do have on the grill when eggplant is abundant and affordable in the summer. My only gripe with her method is that her version appeared to be seriously underdone so that it would stay firm for the camera. And I agree with the comment about chili powder and was laughing myself silly that she'd pair chili powder with something she's passing off as Greek. Oh well, at least the Lawry's seasoned salt stayed in the pantry with the Worcestershire sauce.

Broccoli cheddar potatoes are good and simple, but again with the unnecessary embellishment of fried onions. Sure they're tasty, but they're going to overpower the star of the show - broccoli cheddar sauce. And add a bunch of unnecessary fat and calories.

Last thoughts, because I'm well acquainted with vegetarian cooking for a long time, relate to her images of all the other vegetarian dishes she's made on her show. The majority of which involve fists full of cheese, butter, and other dairy. My hope is that if she is stupid enough to publish a book on vegetarian cooking that she will partner with someone who knows something about it and goes beyond substituting cheese for meat in every dish.

p.s. A wire potato masher works great for breaking up things like ground meat or tofu. I forget where I learned that years ago, but I think it was a Rachel Ray tip.

Edited January 3, 2016 by anneofcleves

[SanLynn]

The "ball-SAM-ic" pronunciation was like nails on a chalkboard to me. 

For a few shows she stopped with that ridiculous balsamic pronunciation and now it's back and the break from hearing it pronounced badly now makes the nails on a chalkboard feeling ten times worse. SO glad I wasn't watching yesterday.

 

"Divine...divine...I'm blogging about four marvelous meatless marvels...." Doesn't she, you know, sort of write for a living as a blogger? Didn't her middle school English teacher introduce the concept of redundancy?

I've been wondering about this for, I'm pretty sure, every episode of the last year or so. I'm flabbergasted to say that I think her presentation on these shows has actually gotten worse than when she first started out and I don't think I've ever seen that before.

Edited January 3, 2016 by SanLynn

[Aquarius]

Ball-SAM-ic is bad.  But halah-PEEN-yo drives me crazy.  If you can get the Spanish "j" and "ñ" sounds, you can get that the "e" is not the long English "e".  Not. That. Hard.

[Qoass]

 

The "ball-SAM-ic" pronunciation was like nails on a chalkboard to me.

 

 

For me, it was the pronunciation of tofu with the emphasis on the second syllable, kind of like it was a variant of kung fu...

 

And the word "scrumptious".  Mary Berry is the only person on the planet who should be allowed to use that word.

[Aquarius]

And the word "scrumptious".  Mary Berry is the only person on the planet who should be allowed to use that word.

 

Yes!  I just hope Ree doesn't bust out "scrummy" any time soon.  Something will go through my TV if I ever hear that.

[grisgris]

I'm still bugged by her not bein' able to pronounce the "g" at the end of her words.

 

Oh, and also, "whole buncha."

[Kohola3]

OK, showing my ignorance.  What is the correct pronunciation for balsamic?  

 

With all of the totally bizarre combinations she uses I wonder if she doesn't go blindfolded into the pantry, pick out 5 things and then uses them on whatever dish is planned for the day.  No way in hell I would put something like chili powder on a Greek dish.  Why not just douse it in chocolate sauce?  Or whiskey?  Equally inappropriate.

[SanLynn]

OK, showing my ignorance.  What is the correct pronunciation for balsamic?  

 

With all of the totally bizarre combinations she uses I wonder if she doesn't go blindfolded into the pantry, pick out 5 things and then uses them on whatever dish is planned for the day.  No way in hell I would put something like chili powder on a Greek dish.  Why not just douse it in chocolate sauce?  Or whiskey?  Equally inappropriate.

I believe it's bal-sahm-ic with a long a sound instead of the middle sounding like a guy named Sam. But that's just the way I hear most hosts pronounce it. Maybe Ree is right and everyone else is wrong... still grates my nerves.

 

Who do I have to pay to have Ree actually cook blindfolded? That would be must see tv. LOL

Edited January 6, 2016 by SanLynn

[novhappy]

Am I stoned or did I just watch Ree make buttered noodles? (Rerun 16 minute meals). Crazy crazy crazy. Buttered f'ing noodle! Oh with lemon zest how intriguing! And she puts the cooked noodles in a cast iron pan with the melted butter- why not teach people to dirty every dish they own while making something that 8 year olds can do!!!

[ariel]

Am I stoned or did I just watch Ree make buttered noodles? (Rerun 16 minute meals). Crazy crazy crazy. Buttered f'ing noodle! Oh with lemon zest how intriguing! And she puts the cooked noodles in a cast iron pan with the melted butter- why not teach people to dirty every dish they own while making something that 8 year olds can do!!!

Ree thinks she's one crafty "chef"  & is reinventing the wheel with her "original recipes".

[anneofcleves]

 Maybe Ree is right and everyone else is wrong... 

 

I don't think so, but if we do want to give Ree the benefit of a doubt on this let's just say she's attempting the British pronunciation of bull-SAM-ic.  I mean she does make (flat, pathetic) scones, which makes her practically British.  If only she'd start wearing her hair like the absolutely fabulous Patsy Stone...

Edited January 7, 2016 by anneofcleves

[CalicoskiesNC]

Ok I have been on a mission for the last year since I discovered the Pampered Chef Mix-n-Chop!! I love love love this thing. My mission is to put one in every kitchen on Earth. I have given about a dozen so far. I didn't think there was a kitchen tool left that could surprise me, this thing did. It breaks up ground meats into the prettiest little crumbles in just minutes. I also use it to mash other things while cooking. It's really a handy tool.

[Lura]

Apr 14 2014. 2:33 pm -- monkeybread

 

During the airing of this episode there was a commercial for Popeyes cajun surf and turf. Just saying. Pa-Pa is a wee bit creepy.

 

Awww, you really think so?  I think Pa-Pa is a loveable old fellow who makes fudge for the whole town and adores his grandchildren.  Plus, he always compliments Ree on her cooking and the trouble she goes to.  Of course, I had a father-in-law who was the same way (complimentary), and I adored him, so maybe that's why I'm so fond of Chuck.  I guess we all see people in different ways.  :)

Edited January 9, 2016 by Lura

[grisgris]

I don't know why, but I always get irritated by the episodes where everybody, including Missy, are out slaving away in the hot sun and Ree is all smug about how she's keepin' cool in the Lodge fixin' a meal. "Look. I'm usin' the slow cooker so I don't have to heat up the place with the oven." (Then turns around and proceeds to bake that hominy mess.)

 

We've seen variations of the rib sauce before with the usual cast of characters: apricot jam, soy sauce, hot sauce, ketchup, mustard, and of course, some type of hot peppers. Those ribs looked anemic, no matter how many coats of glaze were shellacked on them.

 

Did the hominy council sponsor today's show? I've never seen Ree rave so much over an ingredient. That casserole looked to me like it was going to be very runny.

 

That broccoli salad is an old standby and hardly original -- certainly if it's been around long enough for Ree too have gotten the recipe from Edna Mae!

 

Another ice cream and candy dessert. Yummy! Yummy!

 

That really looked like a very heavy meal to eat after doing hard physical work all day in the hot sun. I think I'd have gotten sick. Something cool, light and hydrating sounded better. As usual, that would have been an ideal opportunity for Ree to whip out one of her freezer concoctions and hauled her butt over to Tim's to help out. Better yet, take along one of her jugs of infamous flavored lemonade.

 

Who was the guy with the high falsetto voice who was running the hay-hauling operation? It was getting on my last nerve.

[anneofcleves]

Her menu planning absolutely confounds me.  A super sweet, sticky, shellacked (good description gris gris) batch of Asian-style pork ribs served with a super creamy, cheesy, fatty bacon-y Southwestern-style hominy casserole, along with a sweet, creamy deli-style bacon-y broccoli salad.  And for dessert, we have super creamy, fatty, candy-loaded ice cream cake!   Holy sugar and fat grams, Batman.

 

"My good friends.  I love you all so much that I'm going to thank you for your day of slave labor by guaranteeing you a trip to the ER when your gallbladders EXPLODE with dee-light after my super scrumptious meal."

 

If she really loved her friends, she would have her pasty ass outside, all day, slow grilling those ribs.  No candy coating necessary.

[sabretooth]

I think I hurt myself from the giant eye roll on Ree's instructions on serving the ice cream cake monstrosity. When she said "let me tell you how to serve it," I was expecting something along the lines of "serve with whipped cream/whipped topping/maraschino cherries or fresh fruit." Not "take it out of the pan and remove the plastic wrap before serving." That's "Worst Cooks In America" level of instruction. 

 

The hay hauling and stacking was way more interesting than the cooking, even if it did seem slightly odd that a 'full day's work' started at 3pm on a hot sunny day. 

 

[SanLynn]

Didn't she go out of her way during one of these hay hauling/stacking episodes to cook something light, including waxing on for the whole episode about how her family would appreciate a light meal after all the hay hauling?

 

And now the last two installments have been heavy "rib sticking" affairs. Guess the family doesn't really care about something light any more. LOL

[CMH1981]

I can't get past her obsession w/ these ice cream and cake desserts she does. It's like she thinks she invented the concept. She always adds the most ridiculous things to it, chopped up generic mini peanut butter cups and generic candy coated chocolates. Why can't she just make a simple cake or cobbler.

The shellac for those ribs, well I just knew I would get a laugh of her throwing everything into bowl style of glaze. I was surprised she didn't add her go to spices such as seasoning salt or some instant coffee..unless I missed it.

Than hominy casserole looked like a mess, of course I hate the taste of hominy.

So was anyone else expecting ice cubes to be part of that broccoli salad? When she drained the broccoli, after blanching I noticed the ice cubes were still mixed in. I guess she had to wait for the cubes to melt in the colander or she picked them out.

I was shocked the amount of stuff that was in that dressing for the broccoli salad. Orange Juice? I have a feeling this isn't Edna Mae's original recipe, i'm guessing it's been Ree-ified so she can claim it as her own.

[WonderSchwermin]

Since she was cooking those vile looking ribs in a slow cooker anyway what was stopping her from going out to gather hay?  I know it's a TV show with contrivances, but isn't the whole point of the slow cooker that you don't need to tend to it? 

[grisgris]

Because she had to be indoors to layer thawed ice cream with bits of candy then proceed to heat up her oven (after all) to bake that holy-hell-hominy-hot mess.

[peacheslatour]

Sorry to be off topic, but WTF does Aunt Sandy have on her head in your avatar grigris?

[grisgris]

Good question. I think it's some sort of fascinator, but I don't recall what the occasion was. My bad! Derby Day?  Anticipated tea with Camilla Parker-Bowes?  LOL!

[WonderSchwermin]

Got my googler out and Aunt Sandy's hat picture seems to be from the Central Park Conservancy Hat Lunch in 2011.  I would SO like to see what Ree would wear to that event. 

[ariel]

Aunt Sandy has much more style than "cowgirl"  Ree.

[grisgris]

So now, Ree's taken to ripping-off Claire Robinson's "Five-Ingredient Fix ..." SMH. Only Ree had a whole boatload of "free" ingredients, which included condiments, flavored vinegars and oils, as well as dried and fresh herbs. Funny, that on Claire's show, she counted all of those types ingredients (except s/p) into her total of five, and still came out with much more original and tastier-looking dishes than Ree did.

 

"Sheet-pan" suppers: Nothing original about roasting meat and veggies on a sheet pan. I'm surprised that the veggie-fearing menfolk would eat an "exotic" ingredient like fennel. The mess made with the teriyaki pork chops didn't look good at all. (Bonus laugh: Ree started out saying she was using chicken thighs, then switched to chicken breasts halfway through.)

 

"Eggs in tomatoes:" Badly-executed take on "eggs in purgatory." Nigella Lawson (and probably many others) have a much-better and probably better-tasting version that's closer to the original.

 

When I saw the pasta carbonara, all I could think of was spaghetti with bits of scrambled eggs stuck to the strands. Something was definitely missing. This was the time to add the heavy cream, not to that anemic soup -- which is coming up. Also, did that pasta dish have enough meat in it to meet Ladd's requirements?

 

That veggie-tortellini soup had to have been the worst. That wasn't even a recipe. I don't see how a glob of tomato paste added "richness" and then topped off by heavy cream. All I could imagine was a thin, runny broth of an unappetizing pale pink color, that tasted strongly of tinny tomato paste. If there were any leftovers, that tortellini would swell and disintegrate by the next day.

 

There is a distinction between using x-number of ingredients for the sake of quantity vs. quality.  Ree might have met the mark on her quota, but failed miserably otherwise.

 

Three thumbs' down!

[anneofcleves]

Three thumbs down, indeed.  Watch out Mark Bittman, the Minimalist, because Ree Drummond is loose on the prairie, dodging giant mud puddles as she walks along, dreaming of food.  

 

So now she's going to trademark Sheet Pan Dinners®, something even the most ignoramus among us figured out long ago when we discovered we could cook the fish sticks and the tater tots on the same cookie sheet (because we only own one cookie sheet, and we are starving, and there is no way that we are going to cook these separately).  The difference is that Ree will create a cookbook based on the idea and go cackling straight to the bank.  I seriously hate her.

 

Eggs and tomatoes seriously make me want to barf, no matter what chef makes them, but especially if Ree makes them.  Because Ree made them and people will fawn all over her for this amazing idea.

 

I was a little confused by her Pasta Carbonara, one of the most amazing dishes in the history of amazing dishes.  Every minimalist wannabe wishes they had invented Pasta Carbonara.  My confusion was over the use of pancetta.  I mean, she's out on the prairie in the middle of nowhere recommending pancetta, when she actually could have substituted slab bacon, which while not authentic is an acceptable thing to use in the dish in this country.  So why does she pick now to use pancetta?  Why not use guanciale if she's suddenly going all Italian on us?  And if you're going to use an actual Italian cured pork product in the dish, why not use pecorino Romano?  I have a serious love for the simplicity of this dish.  I'm disappointed that she used a whole egg (versus just yolks) and didn't use any pasta water to keep it from gumming up (as it is more likely to with the use of the whole egg), but I'm thrilled that she didn't add butter or cream which don't belong in this dish.  Or top it with salsa and cilantro to cowboy it up.  Overall, though, she did OK on this one - it's never a dish I thought I'd see Ree make simply because it's too perfectly simple.

 

Moving along...Scrambled eggs do not need added milk, cream, or liquid of any sort.  They just don't.

 

The rest of the rambling mess I don't remember.  Was there an egg-in-the-hole?  I think I blacked out shortly after seeing her dump frozen tortellini into a vat of broth.  I'm not sure.

 

I need a drink.

Edited January 17, 2016 by anneofcleves

[grisgris]

I've never made pasta carbonara before, but I swear I thought I'd seen it made on TV before and the person making it put either cream or half & half in it. I've eaten it before at restaurants and it was very creamy, so I just assumed that was an ingredient. Whether it is or isn't, I'm surprised Ree didn't find an opportunity to add some to the dish, you know, "just because she could." LOL!

 

Yeah, that egg-in-the-hole thing is Ladd's favorite breakfast dish. That surprises me because it doesn't have one iota of meat anywhere near it ...

 

Oh, I forgot ... what was "Spanish" about her sheet-pan salmon? I remember onions and peppers and that's about it.

[anneofcleves]

Why, it is green olives and smoked paprika make that salmon all Spanish-like, gris gris!

 

p.s. It is very possible that the carbonara you had in restaurants had cream in it.  It would certainly taste good, but it's not part of the original recipe and really not needed with the eggs and the bacon fat.  Just like cream is not really part of a real Alfredo sauce - it's just become a norm in the Americanized version of it.

Edited January 17, 2016 by anneofcleves

[chakajo]

All her shows this year sucks. Just a bunch of slop.

[maggiemae]

Mario Batali does not use cream, half and half or milk in his spag.ala carbonara. He does use eggs.....but he separates then and uses the whites in the recipe and makes little nests and puts the yolks in them. And uses 2 "good" cheeses.

Ree sure is not curious about real recipes. Or really good ingredients that she can afford while suggesting substitutions for those that cannot.

[txvoodoo]

I was a little confused by her Pasta Carbonara, one of the most amazing dishes in the history of amazing dishes.  Every minimalist wannabe wishes they had invented Pasta Carbonara.  My confusion was over the use of pancetta.  I mean, she's out on the prairie in the middle of nowhere recommending pancetta, when she actually could have substituted slab bacon, which while not authentic is an acceptable thing to use in the dish in this country.  So why does she pick now to use pancetta?  Why not use guanciale if she's suddenly going all Italian on us?  And if you're going to use an actual Italian cured pork product in the dish, why not use pecorino Romano? 

 

Yes, exactly. Slab bacon, if really fatty, would be great. 

 

And there's a HUGE difference in taste between Parmesan and Pecorino (or any other) Romano. 

 

This is such a great dish when not being gussied up with crap.

 

Edited to add two good recipes for carbonara:

http://www.seriouseats.com/2015/12/how-to-make-the-best-carbonara-sauce-spaghetti-pasta.html

http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/12965-spaghetti-carbonara

Edited January 17, 2016 by txvoodoo

[anneofcleves]

I loved the Serious Eats piece on carbonara, txvoodoo.  What a fun read, and I love the way he explained the difference between the ingredients.  The choices you make (type of pork, amount of egg white, and type of cheese) really do affect the dish, but it's honestly good cooked with any combination of the three basic ingredients (which to her credit - amazingly - Ree did stick to).  It was fun to see the author do a test kitchen version.  

 

My only argument with some of the recipes I see out there is the amount of egg used  I usually go with 4 yolks to one pound of pasta (or 2 eggs for two pounds of pasta).  The recipes that call for half a dozen eggs for a pound of pasta are just too rich for me, but individual tastes vary.  The best carbonara I've had, in Paris of all places and not in Italy, had a very light touch with the sauced pasta but then had the pasta brought to the table with a raw yolk nested in the steaming pile of pasta for the diner to stir in.  With gobs of Romano cheese.  Heaven.  

Edited January 17, 2016 by anneofcleves

[sabretooth]

"Sheet-pan" suppers: Nothing original about roasting meat and veggies on a sheet pan. I'm surprised that the veggie-fearing menfolk would eat an "exotic" ingredient like fennel. The mess made with the teriyaki pork chops didn't look good at all. (Bonus laugh: Ree started out saying she was using chicken thighs, then switched to chicken breasts halfway through.)

 

 

 

I thought the chicken/veggie/lemon sheet pan looked really good, but wondered what you do with the half of a roasted lemon that she put on each plate. Do you squeeze it over everything? Eat is as is or just let it roll around the plate because it looks pretty? 

 

The "mac and cheese" recipe with the 'processed cheese food brick' did not look good. If I want chemical filled Mac and Cheese, I'll pop open a box of Kraft Dinner, thank you very much.

[Lura]

Was it the (gulp) mac and cheese Ree added the egg to?  She looked into the camera and declared "because I can."  Ree, that saying is so overworked and unfunny that it's time you ditched it -- along with the egg. 

 

Little Todd was the star of the other show I watched today.  Granted, that boy is about as cute as they come and so affectionate,  It was an old show, and he was only turning seven.  Ree called him "my baby" so many times that he began acting like one.  Maybe, if she's so wistful, she should have another one.  On second thought,.... 

[grisgris]

Around here, we deemed Todd "The Little Drum-mond Boy." His obviously scripted, "Mom, this is the bestest (insert food item) I've ever eaten!" has been (to me) an ongoing source of irritation. Once in a while was fine, but with him it was every frickin' episode, so it just seemed forced and insincere. (Like, "Toddy, if you say you loved Mama's pasta with salsa, cream, cilantro and Velveeta, Daddy will buy you a new pony after the show.") Thank goodness, he's outgrown that nonsense.  I think that Todd and Bryce are getting to that surly tween/teen age where it's not cool to hang out with the older sister in the front yard pretending to play football, and certainly not with Mom and Dad!

[Hildegard802]

I think it's sad how she uses her kids to garner attention for herself in all her social media.  Even sadder if she really means it when she says "I want them to stay babies FOREVER!!!! SOBSOBSOB!!!"  As a parent, your job is to grow them and set them loose.  I would hate to have my parent go around saying he or she wished I wasn't grown.  Huh?  It's not like I have a choice in the matter, and I'd just as soon you love me and like me for who and what I am now, as opposed to what i was years and years ago!

 

Of course a parent misses the kids terribly when they leave home, but geez, she carries on like she's in mourning.  Much better to feel proud you did a good enough job raising them they're capable of standing on their own two feet and living their lives.  

[Aquarius]

I watched the "five" ingredient episode OnDemand last night, and it is official.  Ree is loony-tunes.  I can see oil not counting, but vinegar??  Would wine not count?  Any sauce that comes pre-made isn't an ingredient?  HERBS AND SPICES???  Even FRESH herbs, that you have to wash and chop, they don't count? 

 

So, basically, your common "ingredients" are proteins, vegetables (except herbs), dairy and starches. There's not a whole lot in the history of home cooking that uses more than those four in combination with the freebies.  Keep the vegetable count down to two and you're golden.  Not hard when you're feeding vegetable-phobic cowboys.

 

Hey, I made a THREE ingredient sauerbraten for my husband's birthday earlier this month.  It was pretty tasty.  It was a variation on this recipe - I substituted ginger, cinnamon and brown sugar for the gingersnaps so they don't even count as an ingredient, although I am counting the wine.

 

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/221361/traditional-sauerbraten/

 

And who knew?  My pulled pork is a ONE ingredient dish!  The rub usually has about 10 dried herbs and spices in it, but they don't count.  The wonder of it.

[anneofcleves]

You know, if you use Ree-math and only count the time that your hands are actually touching the roast, Aquarius, you've also got yourself a 16 minute meal!  If ever there was a recipe that would lend itself to a quick, weeknight dinner or afternoon lunch for one (in between washing the dogs and blogging) it's 16 minute sauerbrauten!

Edited January 21, 2016 by anneofcleves

[Aquarius]

That's a great point, anneofcleves!  I should submit it to Ree for her next installment of "International 16-Minute Less-than-5 Ingredient Wonders"!  Simply scrumptious.

[peacheslatour]

Lol.  I was in the other room during her bulk buying show and it sounded like she said Bullfighting.  "Bullfighting is an integral part of country living"  WTF??

[ShellSeeker]

So now, Ree's taken to ripping-off Claire Robinson's "Five-Ingredient Fix ..." SMH. Only Ree had a whole boatload of "free" ingredients, which included condiments, flavored vinegars and oils, as well as dried and fresh herbs. Funny, that on Claire's show, she counted all of those types ingredients (except s/p) into her total of five, and still came out with much more original and tastier-looking dishes than Ree did.

 

I know. The list of "free" ingredients was pretty ridiculous. I enjoyed 5 Ingredient Fix, and tried several recipes, and most of them were pretty good. I miss that show...but I suppose it would start getting redundant after awhile. I always thought olive oil should have been a free ingredient so she could give herself a little more latitude. Just about everything starts with oil of some kind, so it's reasonable to assume that it's something everyone would have on hand.

 

The egg-in-the-hole left me dumbfounded. That soup looked pretty unappetizing, but not as much as the 7-can soup she made awhile back, or whatever that was. The only way I could see something like that not being completely, utterly horrifying is by using canned goods, chicken broth, etc with no salt added, but it didn't look like she did that. Plus she didn't rinse off the beans or anything else either, as I recall. And then she classed it up with Velveeta. LOL.

[CMH1981]

Well I think Pete and his hot sauce just confirmed that Ree's food might be somewhat bland considering he seems to add it to every dish he eats of hers.  I loved watching Pete do the dishes with one of the girls.  That man has some manners, unlike the other Drummond men.

 

I'm not well versed in the world of carnitas and mexican food, but did she do the recipe right or did she bastardize it in her PW way?  Then we find out Pete is married, i would love to be a fly on the wall of their conversation while eating Ree's food.

 

When she was putting that seasoning on the pork butt she like barely touched that meat to rub the seasoning in.  I just found that odd.

 

Seriously?!  She put chips and tortillas in a ziploc bag?  She couldn't give them the entire bags?  

 

My sick mind had Ree telling Pete that they can't afford a raise for him this year, but here's some bastardized tex-mex to make up for it...well that and he can keep the PW brand dishes she has in boxes at the ranch.

[anneofcleves]

<whisper>I actually liked this show.</whisper>  I loved Pete, and I would don my stretchiest pants and enjoy that meal.

 

As to whether or not the carnitas were authentic, I'm sure there are as many "proper" recipes for carnitas floating around as there are recipes for red gravy in New Jersey.  The versions I've seen (like Pati Jinich's version) usually have more of the fragrant spices like cinnamon and clove, more orange juice, some sweetened milk (like sweetened condensed milk), and LARD.  Ree's had just a few similarities with the citrus, but all in all looked pretty good.

 

My only gripe with her, as usual, is her balance in the meal she serves.  The refried bean "casserole" was so out of place in that meal.  She should have skipped it entirely and added some crumbled queso fresco as a topper for those tacos.  Between the tacos, the salad, and the guacamole you've got a perfect meal and more than enough calories for hard-working Pete.

 

And I call that a "casserole" because it really was more of a dip.  If she'd thinned it out a little more, it would have been a bean queso dip that I would thoroughly eat my weight in.  It would have been even better made with queso asadero, in my opinion, which is so velvety.  Oh, and because I'm obsessed with the amount of cheese this woman can pack into any dish, a serving of that would cost you about 600 calories.  How do you say that?  Cómo engorde?

Edited January 24, 2016 by anneofcleves

[grisgris]

Cumin, lime juice, jalapenos, HOT SAUCE

HOT SAUCE, lime juice, cumin, jalalpenos

Lime juice, HOT SAUCE, jalapenos, cumin

Jalapenos, cumin, HOT SAUCE, lime juice

 

Do I detect a pattern here?

 

Hey, did you guys know that Ree, I mean ....  Pete, loves HOT SAUCE?

 

Pete seemed like a really nice guy. But, I thought the scenes of the farm equipment in action was 100X more interesting than Ree's repetitive recipes. (Although I know, those are common ingredients in most Tex-Mex flavor profiles.)

 

I was distracted by the renegade short layers of hair sticking up from the back of Ree's head. Dead giveaway that girlfriend is sporting extensions.

[anneofcleves]

CMH1981, I was reading a bit about pork carnitas and found this blog post that shows in great detail one man's recipe.  So much work, so much pork fat, so delicious.