All Episodes Talk

[Gam2]

I live in TN and have always used Hellman's mayo. After reading so many times that Duke's is "the" mayo of the South, I tried it. We hated it. It gave an odd taste to our tuna salad and deviled eggs. Maybe it's just what you grew up eating so that's the way you think it should taste. We all (well, most of us) think that things should taste the way our mothers/grandmothers made them. Everyone to their own taste. Use what you like.

[anneofcleves]

My mother loves Miracle Whip, which debunks any theory about loving what you grew up with.  Boy howdy, that's nasty stuff!   :-)

[J-Man]

On 5/16/2017 at 3:21 PM, SoCal Mema said:

I'm from the South (but live in CA now), and Duke's Mayo was the staple of  a mighty good potato salad.  I cannot buy that brand out here, but I do have family that ships it to me. 

You can get Duke's mayonnaise from walmart.com. With a large enough order, shipping is free. I'm in CA too, and ordered some non-local stuff like Duke's and Utz items from them.

[3pwood]

I've seen Duke's at Dollartree in Silicon Valley, small jar for $1, just the right amount & price for seeing whether you like it.  I do, but don't find it much different from any other mayo (or Miracle Whip, for that matter) -- they're all fine with me.  (I realize that I'm a Philistine about this subject, so no need to point that out.)

[peacheslatour]

16 hours ago, Gam2 said:

I live in TN and have always used Hellman's mayo. After reading so many times that Duke's is "the" mayo of the South, I tried it. We hated it. It gave an odd taste to our tuna salad and deviled eggs. Maybe it's just what you grew up eating so that's the way you think it should taste. We all (well, most of us) think that things should taste the way our mothers/grandmothers made them. Everyone to their own taste. Use what you like.

Lol. The first time I made spaghetti for my DH he remarked "It doesn't taste like the kind dad used to make".

[Mnemosyne]

That boiled omelet might be the least appetizing piece of food I have ever seen.

[anneofcleves]

41 minutes ago, Mnemosyne said:

That boiled omelet might be the least appetizing piece of food I have ever seen.

I totally agree.  What a spongy, gross mess. Gag.  I have never understood the fascination with this method. It's so wasteful.  And I don't care what she says, I think it's unsafe.  The bags she used looked suspiciously like ziploc bags, which aren't rated for this. Polyethylene softens significantly at a temperature that qualifies as "simmering" and melts at boiling temperature.  Bad, bad idea, Ree, and the sad part is that people actually listen to you.  

So, this episode was clearly brought to you by Ziploc and the Oklahoma Society for the Preservation of Ugly Shirts.

Her pancakes probably horrify me more than anything she does (with the exception of using lemon pepper).  We have another one of her pancake "recipes" that look like she's trying to compete with the grossest thing your local Dennys would concoct.  Why in the world drown your already sweet, loaded pancakes with pats of butter, Nutella sauce, AND Aunt Jemima fake maple syrup?  She must come up with these recipes after smoking a bunch of weed.  All that was missing was some crushed Cap'n Crunch over the mess.

I won't even comment on the waffle iron potatoes, because...yeah.  What can be said?

I was half intrigued by the muesli, but she even managed to make that something utterly unhealthful and more like a heavy, fatty pudding than a nutritious, delicious, and satisfying breakfast.

I need therapy.

Edited May 20, 2017 by anneofcleves

[SanLynn]

As I say so often with this show "What the fresh hell did I just watch"?

Those pancakes looked beyond disgusting. by the presentation point I wouldn't have known those were pancakes but figured they were the beginnings of a cookie sundae. Blech. When she took a bite and said she was going to faint I actually said to my tv "uh no that's a sugar coma."

Remember when she used to taste her recipes when she was done with them? You know like with the pancakes? I can only guess that she didn't do that with the omelette because it would have been all runny in the middle. It looked disgusting.

I wasn't aware of this omelette in a bag method was even a thing but I can't imagine blitzing three eggs in boiling water for 15 minutes (15 minutes?!) is easier than just cooking it in a skillet. 

I've never made muesli but how much milk and cream normally go in those things? Does she know how to make anything without whole milk, half and half AND whipping cream? Good grief.

@anneofcleves we don't need therapy she does! Holy cow she's lost it.

Edited May 20, 2017 by SanLynn

[patty1h]

Most of my time watching an episode is spent determining what dishes the men will/won't eat.  For this show, my pick is that they won't touch the muesli; I suspect that Drummond men would turn up their noses at the chia seeds as 'girl food'.  I'm undecided on the calorie bomb pancakes... I think the macadamia nuts may be a problem.

[grisgris]

Oh, man ... I'm under the weather today and while Ree's breakfasts didn't make me nauseous, they just irritated me. Kind of like oak mites.  Plus, I'm getting adjusted to a new filling, so my teeth hurt anyways.

Those pancakes! OMG who could eat that for breakfast? I know that Ree kept back-pedaling and calling them "dessert pancakes," but those were like IHOP on acid! Yes, like anneofcleves said, the WTF moment was dousing the mess with Aunt Jemima syrup. That was on top of butter and before being slathered with that mess of melted caramel ice cream topping AND Nutella. First of all, Nutella is too strongly flavored so all you'd get from the caramel would be just another underlying note of sweetness. The only time I've ever seen "unpeeled" hazelnuts in the stores is around the holidays and they are tres expensive. I certainly wouldn't boil hazelnuts first. If you put them in a low oven then roll them in a tea towel, the peels come right off (but you probably will have to kiss your towel goodbye.) Again, that's w-a-a-y too much trouble for a morning meal (not to mention heavy and sweet.)

I didn't understand the omelet-in-a-bag and hash browns pairing. Why did she more or less repeat the omelet fillings in the hash browns? Oh, I forgot. Because she CAN. Those were more like hash brown sandwiches or something. I don't have much more to add about the omelet other than it looked anemic and you can cook an omelet in less than 15 minutes on the stovetop, so why bother? She was using Best Choice bags, which is a store brand here in the Midwest. (I recognized the distinctive green/blue box.) They are good enough quality for taking sandwiches and snacks to work, marinating something or even limited time freezing, but I'd NEVER boil anything in one.

I think the apple/strawberry/coconut/cream/milk parfait thing was just an excuse to make something in a Mason jar. I eat Bob's Red Mill muesli quite a bit and it has oats, rye, sunflower seeds, flax seeds, walnuts, almonds, raisins and dates. The package directions say to either cook in on the stove with water (or milk) to eat it hot or you can mix it with yogurt and let it soften up, but I think the preferred method is to cook it. I usually mix it with plain Greek yogurt and leave it in the fridge overnight. (So I guess I'm trying to make overnight oats with it like Ree was.) You only need a little portion -- like 1/4 cup because it IS really filling. I've also had muesili at the Swisshotel in Chicago many years ago and it was served warm and tasted like it was cooked in milk. You could add yogurt or fresh berries.. No apples or coconut and chia seeds weren't even blip on the radar yet.  It was delicious and it really is supposed to be healthy and filling with few ingredients.

I was fully expecting to see the freezer full of sheet pans with individual ingredients for smoothies, because you know Ree's just gotta sneak in a sheet pan as well as Mason jars. Thankfully, that wasn't the case.

So, I think Ree has "out Aunt-Sandy'd" Aunt Sandy with overuse of ingredients today.

Edited May 21, 2017 by grisgris
Getting used to a new computer with a smaller keyboard!

[ShellSeeker]

Well...she outdid herself with the stunt of making ramen noodles and calling it pho with the omelet in a bag monstrosity. Unbelievable. It looked nasty, and like way too much trouble, and it didn't even occur to me that it could be unsafe to boil those bags until I read the comments here. Good god. 

I will admit that I thought the smoothie ingredients in a Ziploc bag all portioned out and ready to go is a good idea. I do like smoothies, but I'm never together enough in the morning to figure out what kind to make, get everything out, so on. It has to be as brainless a chore as possible.

[3pwood]

11 hours ago, ShellSeeker said:

... I will admit that I thought the smoothie ingredients in a Ziploc bag all portioned out and ready to go is a good idea. I do like smoothies, but I'm never together enough in the morning to figure out what kind to make, get everything out, so on. It has to be as brainless a chore as possible.

I make smoothies with fruit & yogurt in a blender & freeze each pitcher-full in 1 cup portions.  Each portion can be thawed overnight in the refrigerator & it's ready to drink in the morning after a quick stir.   I agree that being brainless is essential for breakfast.

[Lady Iris]

I generally come to read this snark here but I gotta chime in about those those pancakes. Pancakes for me is generally a hearty breakfast with just the butter and syrup but all those add-on's were just...well, I've never seen anything like that. I could taste the diabeetus through the tv screen.

If you don't have time to make an omelette, couldn't you always scramble the eggs and add those in the extra fixings? Wouldn't that be less time than boiling water, assembling the eggs in a baggie and waiting for them to cook? Nevermind the implications of boiling in plastic. This is one I'd love to hear Gordon Ramsey's take on. Anybody see his Twitter feed? Its loaded with Q and A's, "what do you think about X?"

[imjagain]

Plastic bag boiled omelett, why?? It's so incredibly stupid and disgusting looking. 15 minute to boil an omelett?  as of others have said,  if your rushing around, why is this any help at all?  Scrambled eggs would be faster,  and not gag inducing.

The Hash browns didn't look that bad. I'm pretty sure I saw that hashbrow /waffle iron trick before.  

Those pancakes, no.  So over the top. Is all that chocolate and pancake syrup and butter suppose to get people drooling? I think Ree doesn't get,  sometimes less is better. 

Edited May 22, 2017 by imjagain

[peacheslatour]

She's just jumping on the sous vide bandwagon. Just like she did with kale, waffle irons for everything and mason jar salads. She's never had an original idea in her life.

[Qoass]

Quote

 I'm pretty sure I saw that hashbrow /waffle iron trick before.  

Was that one of the things Alex was supposed to be making in her dorm room?

[3pwood]

Omelettes in bags is an old camping recipe that was popularized by Boy Scouts &/or Girls Scouts.  It's easy & practical for a bunch of people whose only cooking facility is a campfire -- just boil a big pot of water & cook many omelettes at once, each prepared with one person's individual choice of fillings.

Freezer quality bags are used because they're strong enough not to melt in simmering water.  I'm not aware of definitive evidence pro or con about the possibility of leaching chemicals from the plastic into the food, but people who are concerned about that obviously should not do this.  

I've liked the ones I've eaten -- good texture that's not runny or tough, appearance like a fat cigar (which little kids seem to enjoy & the rest of us don't object to).  It's fun under the right circumstances, but I wouldn't waste expensive freezer bags if a frying pan would suffice to make one or two omelettes (or scrambled eggs).

[Lady Iris]

Now I want eggs.

[grisgris]

They tackled waffle iron hash browns on "The Kitchen" at least two years ago!

[crazycatlady58]

I've  done omletts in bags. They were not to bad ,  we had 12 people  who would  eat at  different  times and likes different  things in their omletts. I was not going  to stand around  for 2 or 3 hours making  omletts for everyone  and they would  not clean up after themselves . It got the job done, everyone  liked them. That is one of the reasons  I now live  alone with two cats.

[anneofcleves]

17 hours ago, imjagain said:

The Hash browns didn't look that bad. I'm pretty sure I saw that hashbrow /waffle iron trick before. 

I'm pretty sure we've seen every one of her tricks, excuse me hacks, before. Hack, she didn't even invent that stupid word, but is now acting like she did.

My stomach is feeling really queasy this morning, and just reading about those eggs boiled in plastic bags makes me almost lose it.  

[peacheslatour]

Anne of Cleves had it the best of all of Henry's wives while he lived. She was a smart cookie.

[anneofcleves]

8 hours ago, peacheslatour said:

Anne of Cleves had it the best of all of Henry's wives while he lived. She was a smart cookie.

Aye.  The Flanders Mare kept a good head about her shoulders.

Edited May 23, 2017 by anneofcleves

[J-Man]

Those weren't really omelettes, they were just scrambled eggs with things mixed it -- something like they'd call a "scramble" at a restaurant. If the time-saving aspect was to have the add-ins prepared (vegetables and meats chopped, cheese shredded), you could accomplish the same thing by mixing everything together ahead of time, and storing them either in a sealed container or a plastic bag, but then cooking them in a skillet, which would be faster than the 15 minutes it took to boil them (not including the time it took to get the water up to temperature.) I'm sure they'd taste better, too, especially if cooked in a little butter. 

[Lura]

There have been a few times when I've sworn that Ree has dipped into her rum bottle before filming, but never have I been more sure of it than when she made her "omelets" and her pancakes.  The so-called recipes were straight out of a spoof show.  I honestly can't think of a single cooking show host who would make those monstrosities, even Miss Sandy.  If this is the kind of quality and originality that Ree prides herself on (and it is), I strongly suggest that she end her cooking career before doing any more damage and concentrate on selling cowboy- themed waste baskets and trash cans.

Have you ever watched guinea pigs grow in numbers?  A neighbor girl had some when I was little.  Put two guinea pigs in a cage together at nightfall, and by morning you'll have six guinea pigs -- a slight exaggeration, but a perfect example (if I may say so) of Ree's mindset.  She starts out with a nice idea.  Then, you loosen the reins and let her go at it, and she winds up with a conglomeration of add-ons that make her dishes truly vomit-inducing nightmares for which she is paid millions of dollars. 

Edited May 24, 2017 by Lura
typo

[Aquarius]

I could have sworn I've seen Ree make boil-in-bag eggs before.  I thought the advantage she gave then was that your guests could mix up whatever they wanted, all the bags go in the water at the same time, and all the custom "omelets" are ready to serve at the same time.  Which makes a certain kind of sense (personally, I'd just make a couple of quiches in advance, or scramble some eggs and serve them with sides, but to each his own).  But just as a "hack" to make the eggs, no. 

[Lura]

On yesterday's show (here), Ree threw a dinner for a couple returning to Pawtuska.  She prepared two long filets of beef, applied the rub, then sprinkled white sugar over the rub,  She said that was her own addition to the recipe because she likes her beef sweeter!  I love beef, but the thought of sugar with it almost nauseates me.  Is this something I've missed in life, and do you sugar your beef?  I assumed it was Ree's sweet tooth and her penchant for thinking up more and more additions to her recipes to make them "her own."  Anyone?

[ariel]

5 minutes ago, Lura said:

On yesterday's show (here), Ree threw a dinner for a couple returning to Pawtuska.  She prepared two long filets of beef, applied the rub, then sprinkled white sugar over the rub,  She said that was her own addition to the recipe because she likes her beef sweeter!  I love beef, but the thought of sugar with it almost nauseates me.  Is this something I've missed in life, and do you sugar your beef?  I assumed it was Ree's sweet tooth and her penchant for thinking up more and more additions to her recipes to make them "her own."  Anyone?

That sound disgusting & the use of white sugar makes it even worse.

[Lura]

I was surprised that Ree didn't use brown sugar on the steak.  You know how she loves brown sugar and substitutes it for white in some of her cookie recipes to make them "hers."

Edited May 26, 2017 by Lura

[anneofcleves]

Turbinado sugar would add a decadent crunch to that rare steak.

Edited May 26, 2017 by anneofcleves

[Qoass]

I do have a couple of recipes that use brown sugar or maple syrup with red meat and I really enjoy them.  Plenty of barbecue sauces are on the sweet side.

[VioletNevermind]

On 5/22/2017 at 1:29 PM, Lady Iris said:

I generally come to read this snark here but I gotta chime in about those those pancakes. Pancakes for me is generally a hearty breakfast with just the butter and syrup but all those add-on's were just...well, I've never seen anything like that. I could taste the diabeetus through the tv screen.

If you don't have time to make an omelette, couldn't you always scramble the eggs and add those in the extra fixings? Wouldn't that be less time than boiling water, assembling the eggs in a baggie and waiting for them to cook? Nevermind the implications of boiling in plastic. This is one I'd love to hear Gordon Ramsey's take on. Anybody see his Twitter feed? Its loaded with Q and A's, "what do you think about X?"

God, those pancakes.  I'm not a big fan of add-ins to dishes like pancakes, but these were just off-the-charts ridiculous.  I can see where adding a few chocolate chips might be tasty every once in a while, but she added so much of each add-in.  Like, a cup to each bowl of batter.  Diabeetus, indeed.

As for the eggs, I really don't understand why anyone would do that at home, much less in a thin sandwich baggie.  Girl/Boy Scout camping trips are one thing, but that's what "recipes" like that are for.  

Gordon Ramsay's Twitter is full of his signature "criticisms" to people who proudly tweet him pictures of the meals they've cooked.  My daughter introduced me to it and I haven't stopped laughing since.  

Edited May 27, 2017 by SuzyLee

[SanLynn]

Do you think any of her devotees actually believe that "before" shot was actually her fridge over time? I imagine all the stagehands wrapping crap in foil and then everyone stuffing it in 5 seconds before the camera rolled.

thats all I got from this episode. I stopped watching when the "after" picture happened 30 seconds in. Novel approach for a show TITLED Cleaning out the Fridge.

[patty1h]

I think Ladd, Bryce and Toddie will be skipping that nasty ass looking Gazpacho.  Minty cold soup with strawberries in it!?!  Next!  Oh well, that just means more for the girls.

[peacheslatour]

Not this girl. :)

[Mnemosyne]

That gazpacho was an overwhelming no.

I was a bit shocked when she made a sauce for the alfredo, and didn't bust out the jarred stuff.

I did think the shots of the cow herd at sunrise were pretty.

[Lura]

The idea of a cold vegetable soup is a turn-off for some people, but it's actually delicious, flavorful and so refreshing on a very warm day.  Gazpacho is really not much more than garden salad meets the blender.  However, I could have skinned Ree alive for adding strawberries to the mix.  Tomatoes and strawberries, Ree???  You tossed those berries in with such abandon (like "Who cares?") that I had to think you wouldn't be eating any yourself!  WHEN will your silly  streak end, and WHEN will you begin to cook like an adult and a responsible mother?  You are currently no different from the children you're trying to be like.  Being a "hip" mother isn't always what it's all about.  Grow up!

Once again, Ree ruins a dish with her silly add-ons and proclaims to the heavens, "O, how clever am I!"

[grisgris]

Hey, Lura! You must have missed Ree's version of gazpacho with hard boiled eggs and sliced avocado. Now, there's a stomach-turner! ;-)

[peacheslatour]

22 minutes ago, grisgris said:

Hey, Lura! You must have missed Ree's version of gazpacho with hard boiled eggs and sliced avocado. Now, there's a stomach-turner! ;-)

I use chopped avocados in my gazpacho. It's delicious. Not strawberries, never strawberries. Or eggs, that's weird.

Edited May 29, 2017 by peacheslatour

[anneofcleves]

I think what grossed me out most about her gazpacho was her use of an old cucumber. She even described it as being kind of soft.  Cucumbers really get a rank taste when they're past their prime, and there is no way I'd use one that wasn't on the fresher end of the spectrum.  I've seen strawberry and tomato gazpacho (she didn't invent that - SHOCK, I KNOW).  It's not a flavor combination I love, but hey, at least she didn't pour the whole mess into her waffle iron to cook it?

The thought of lemon rice pudding appeals to me so much, but she lost me with the sweetened condensed milk (how does this woman have any natural teeth left in her mouth?) and the added egg.  I think I'm going to search for a simpler recipe or make up one of my own, because it does sound good on a summer day.

[txvoodoo]

On 5/22/2017 at 1:14 PM, peacheslatour said:

She's just jumping on the sous vide bandwagon. Just like she did with kale, waffle irons for everything and mason jar salads. She's never had an original idea in her life.

I wonder if she's seen Lifehacker's Will it Sous Vide series? 

[grisgris]

I noticed that, too, with the sweetened condensed milk. Yuck. That on top of whole milk and heavy cream and sugar. The kicker was when she was manically grating lemon zest into the pot to "cut all the sweetness." Huh?

[Lura]

We should urge Ree to make her own borscht!  She would RUIN that cold Russian beet soup!  Truth be told, I can't stand beets, so I've never tried borscht, but just think of what Ree might throw in there!!!  It would probably cause an international incident.

[peacheslatour]

Borscht is served either hot or cold. In fact I've never seen it served cold. I make it all the time because I grow beets. There are many variations, just like minestrone. I bet she could never get the "men" to eat it either.

[jcbrown]

I love borscht and the version I make is hot, as well as vegetarian. She would go on endlessly about how menfolk can't eat no vegetarian food.

[ariel]

1 hour ago, jcbrown said:

 She would go on endlessly about how menfolk can't eat no vegetarian food.

What's ironic is that strong, manly eastern European men have been eating borscht for ages.  That fact would go over Ree's little orange head. 

Edited May 31, 2017 by ariel

[IOU Payne]

I grew up having borscht every Passover.  My family adds sour cream to borscht and it turns a very girly pink.  Doesn't stop the menfolk in my family, who also eat salads and every vegetable under the sun, even if the word "cowboy" isn't applied to the description.  

[VioletNevermind]

Watching today's episode about "elevating" everyday ingredients like store-bought cookie dough and white bread and having major Aunt Sandy flashbacks.  These folks really are completely out of ideas.  If next week's episode is about 16-minute meals, cleaning out the freezer, or anything related to ranch work, I'm throwing my television through the living room window.

Edited June 3, 2017 by SuzyLee

[WonderSchwermin]

Quote

Watching today's episode about "elevating" everyday ingredients like store-bought cookie dough and white bread and having major Aunt Sandy flashbacks.

But Andy Sandy did it with more panache. 

[ariel]

30 minutes ago, WonderSchwermin said:

But Andy Sandy did it with more panache. 

Unlike Ree,  I think Aunt Sandy was in on the joke that was her show.  The Christmas tree decorated with booze bottles.  Classic Aunt Sandy. I wonder if Ree will try to copy that & call it her own? If she does ,  will  she do it with the courage of conviction like AS did?

Edited June 3, 2017 by ariel