All Episodes Talk

[Westiepeach]

7 minutes ago, anneofcleves said:

I've been working all day on this submission.  Here goes...It's divine and all your friends will think they've died and gone to French bistro heaven when you serve them this for lunch...

Slow Braised Drunken Artichoke Hearts:

• In your slow cooker, add 12 cans of canned artichoke hearts
• Add one can of your favorite lemon lime soda (oh heck, make it Mountain Dew)
• In your Kitchen Aid, mix together 4 cups of mayonnaise with 1/2 tsp. salt; pour into slow cooker
• In a cute 'lil mason jar, pour in one cup of tequila, put the lid on, and shake it around just because you like to; take lid off of jar and drink
• After you come to, pour 1/8 bottle dark beer over the artichoke mixture
• Place the lid on your crock and cook for 32 hours on low setting.

To serve, invert the congealed block of drunken artichokes into a gigantic cast iron pan, and then invert that into another, even more gigantic cast iron pan.  Sprinkle with chopped green onions, chopped jalapeños, crumbled bacon, goat cheese, and toasted pepitos.  Serve with my mashed potatoes, corn bread, chicken pot pie, and coconut layer cake.  

You forgot the jar of caramel sauce and haffa cuppa chocolate chips ... just because she can. 

[anneofcleves]

5 minutes ago, Westiepeach said:

You forgot the jar of caramel sauce and haffa cuppa chocolate chips ... just because she can. 

No, this is a LOW CARB recipe.  No caramel sauce or chocolate chips. This is HEALTHY.

[Westiepeach]

1 minute ago, anneofcleves said:

No, this is a LOW CARB recipe.  No caramel sauce or chocolate chips. This is HEALTHY.

My bad. Did not realize this is the healthy version. Carry on. 

[film noire]

@grisgris & @anneofcleves - I laughed so hard, my dog came running (literally running -- tail wagging, eyes all "What is that freaky snorting sound you're making? DOES IT MEAN FOOD?"  Yes, puppy --  it means mayo, drunken artichokes and crushed tortilla chips on your kibble tomorrow :)

Now I have to go think of taglines for the Real Housewives of Pawhuska Prairie (Genius idea, grisgris!) The intrigue at the Merc alone!

[peacheslatour]

1 hour ago, anneofcleves said:

I've been working all day on this submission.  Here goes...It's divine and all your friends will think they've died and gone to French bistro heaven when you serve them this for lunch...

Slow Braised Drunken Artichoke Hearts:

• In your slow cooker, add 12 cans of canned artichoke hearts
• Add one can of your favorite lemon lime soda (oh heck, make it Mountain Dew)
• In your Kitchen Aid, mix together 4 cups of mayonnaise with 1/2 tsp. salt; pour into slow cooker
• In a cute 'lil mason jar, pour in one cup of tequila, put the lid on, and shake it around just because you like to; take lid off of jar and drink
• After you come to, pour 1/8 bottle dark beer over the artichoke mixture
• Place the lid on your crock and cook for 32 hours on low setting.

To serve, invert the congealed block of drunken artichokes into a gigantic cast iron pan, and then invert that into another, even more gigantic cast iron pan.  Sprinkle with chopped green onions, chopped jalapeños, crumbled bacon, goat cheese, and toasted pepitos.  Serve with my mashed potatoes, corn bread, chicken pot pie, and coconut layer cake.  

*dead*

[grisgris]

Well, filmnoire, I guess I exposed our guilty pleasure secret of hate watching RHoNYC! LOL!

"Some people do things because they have to. Some people do things because they want to. I do things because I CAN."

[ariel]

Did Ree homeschool her children through high school or did she hire tutors?

[Lura]

Brava, Peaches! 

Your artichoke dish sounds exactly like what Ree would serve to her high school girlfriends (after she got through shopping for all those stupid '80s gifts to lure them to the ranch).  Get those Oklahoma girls all likkered up, then spring your dish on em!

I love the idea of writing a RHOP show!  Grisgris, you get to submit the script to Andy Cohen, and you know Andy -- he'll look for the sexy pages first.  Wouldn't it be a stitch if this script made more money than all of Ree's put together?  Stranger things have happened, like Ree getting a show in the first place.

[film noire]

8 hours ago, grisgris said:

Well, filmnoire, I guess I exposed our guilty pleasure secret of hate watching RHoNYC! LOL!

"Some people do things because they have to. Some people do things because they want to. I do things because I CAN."

Perfect!

[peacheslatour]

1 hour ago, Lura said:

Brava, Peaches! 

Your artichoke dish sounds exactly like what Ree would serve to her high school girlfriends (after she got through shopping for all those stupid '80s gifts to lure them to the ranch).  Get those Oklahoma girls all likkered up, then spring your dish on em!

I love the idea of writing a RHOP show!  Grisgris, you get to submit the script to Andy Cohen, and you know Andy -- he'll look for the sexy pages first.  Wouldn't it be a stitch if this script made more money than all of Ree's put together?  Stranger things have happened, like Ree getting a show in the first place.

Credit where it's due, that was not me that was anneofcleves. And brava indeed!

[Lura]

Anne, S'CUSE ME!!!  I do that when I get all mixed up about which is the original and which is the quote.  My bad eyes get all unfocused.  Anyway, BRAVA, ANNE!!!

Grisgris' brilliant saying makes me wonder whether Ladd ever challenges one of Ree's ideas, suggestions or decisions.  He seems to me to be so focused on the ranch and other things that whatever she says goes.  They seem to put on a good act for the camera, but I think all that lovey-dovey business is part of her Pioneer Woman "dream."

Remember that little glimpse we had of the two of them on Alex's birthday?  Ladd "reported" to Ree that Alex wanted (or was expecting) to get a car, but it was Ree who said, disgustedly, "She's not getting any car."  That's just a little example of what I picture their decision making to be like, but maybe I put too much stock in it.

Edited August 20, 2017 by Lura
typo

[anneofcleves]

Well, shucks.  Really, any of us here could have written it.  Just as any of us could make an incredible meal that people would actually enjoy, without ending in a trip to the ER with a heart attack, bout with gastritis, or insulin-related tragedy!

[Mnemosyne]

What is up with these rehash episodes that FN keeps claiming are new? There's another one today. Is everything okay in Drummondville? Anyway, an episode full of sweets. Terrible, terrible looking sweets.

[film noire]

6 hours ago, anneofcleves said:

Well, shucks.  Really, any of us here could have written it. 

It was pretty inspired, fourth wife of Henry -- the combo of Mountain Dew,  beer and 4 cups of mayo was actually something I could see Ree doing ("I've been serving it during The Big Game for years. It's a creamy, tangy, slightly sweet sauce for the artichokes -- which just melt into everything else after slow cooking for over a day - and combined with my buffet of toppings? Well, I promise you, it's your Superbowl Sunday touchdown!")

[Lura]

3 hours ago, film noire said:

Well, I promise you, it's your Superbowl Sunday touchdown!")

LOL!  This cracks me up!  The Mountain Dew and the beer alone would have people swallowing hard to keep from up-chucking!  The addition of the mayo would really have the crowd reeling!  The slimy artichokes in their overcooked splendor (Artichoke mush) would add just the right nauseating texture! Genius, I say!  TOUCHDOWN!  *chortle*

[grisgris]

The downfall is that all of the caffeine from the Mountain Dew would hype the game party guests up too much so they'd NEVER leave long after the goal posts have been torn down!  OTOH, they'd not be lacking for energy to wander around under the dead black starlit winter sky to dig their own holes for insta-potties!

[J-Man]

Mountain Dew, beer, and mayo? I think you've finally invented something that would be even more disgusting to swallow than that stuff they give you when you're preparing to have a colonoscopy.

[Lura]

It's time I hung my brains out to dry.  I've been trying for four days to come up with a recipe, but the creativity is on vacation, I guess.  You're welcome to have a laugh on me, though.  My recipe (which I would never post) was a combination of two of Ree's favorite foods, and I called it REE'S ALL-DAY MEXICAN-CHINESE CASSEROLE -- all-day because it would take at least all day to make it!  You put it into a lasagna dish and alternated layers between hot chili tacos and chop suey.  The joke was on me because it took me all day just to type PART of it.  It would hardly fit into Ree's M.O. of 16-minute-meals or those questionable tray meals. 

I think that I have begun to hate Ree and the entire FN.  How can they cancel Farmhouse Rules with Nancy's delicious recipes and hang onto Ree, who is a first-class loser? 

[ariel]

3 hours ago, Lura said:

 

 How can they cancel Farmhouse Rules with Nancy's delicious recipes and hang onto Ree, who is a first-class loser? 

I agree.  They also canceled  Amy Thielen's Heartland Table. Her cook book from that series won a James Beard Award.

Edited August 21, 2017 by ariel

[film noire]

17 hours ago, Lura said:

 You put it into a lasagna dish and alternated layers between hot chili tacos and chop suey. 

Lura, that's perfectly perfect-awful! ; )

"I just finished hanging these pretty Chinese lanterns we got in at The Merc! Yesterday, on Cinco de Mayo, Me and Hy watched  "ShoGun"  -- isn't Richard Chamberlain just dreamy?  Hy said he was gay, and that "Shogun" takes place in Japan -- which is different food than Chinese -- but it's all Greek to me! And I got to thinking - after I locked Hy back up in her safe room -- what could be better than mixing my two favorite things, Asian and Mexican? So here's my Reecipe for Chiang Kai Mex -- a fabulous all day Mexican Chinese casserole with deep dish layering of chop suey and hot chili tacos that will have everyone saying "More, Mama-san!"

"Are you insane?"

Edited August 21, 2017 by film noire

[tabloidlover]

9 hours ago, ariel said:

I agree.  They also canceled  Amy Thielen's Heartland Table. Her cook book from that series won a James Beard Award.

Someone needs to give her a show again!  I really miss her.

[ariel]

7 hours ago, tabloidlover said:

Someone needs to give her a show again!  I really miss her.

I wish PBS would give her a show.  Lidia Bastianich's team produced her show on FN.

[Lura]

On ‎8‎/‎20‎/‎2017 at 9:39 PM, film noire said:

"I just finished hanging these pretty Chinese lanterns we got in at The Merc! Yesterday, on Cinco de Mayo, Me and Hy watched  "ShoGun"  -- isn't Richard Chamberlain just dreamy?  Hy said he was gay, and that "Shogun" takes place in Japan -- which is different food than Chinese -- but it's all Greek to me! And I got to thinking - after I locked Hy back up in her safe room -- what could be better than mixing my two favorite things, Asian and Mexican? So here's my Reecipe for Chiang Kai Mex -- a fabulous all day Mexican Chinese casserole with deep dish layering of chop suey and hot chili tacos that will have everyone saying "More, Mama-san!"

I just passed out from a laughing stroke!  CR...ash! "Locked Hy back up in her safe room" ...hysterical!  I'm writing the presidents of NBC, ABC and CBS, asking them to contact film noire if they're looking for someone to develop new shows!  "Ree"cipe for Chiang Kai Mex" ... "Mama-san" ... passing out again ... CR...ash! 

My husband just strode down the hall double-time to see what was so funny.  He nearly joined me in Strokesville over Hy's safe room, Chiang Kai Mex and Ree-cipe!

"There's a genius among us.  And then the murders began."  Wrong thread, but appropriate!

LOOLOLOLOLOLOL

Edited September 3, 2017 by Lura

[film noire]

@Lura

"I used Lester's Grime Away to clean up Hy's safe room!

And then the murders began..."

[anneofcleves]

Saturday's new "Indoor Grilling" episode (at least I think it was new) was another phone-it-in, how to assemble food kind of show.  The spicy sausage links looked slightly vomitous, primarily because it looked like she used some cheapo, mass produced Walmart kind of sausage that is full of mystery animal parts.  Gag.  I love sausages, but at least get good, locally made ones.  Amy Thielan, where are you???

Then she showed us how to assemble a Hawaiian burger.  Good lord.  She almost redeemed herself with the Asian pork with grilled baby bach choy, but as is typical with her recipes she can't make anything without adding a bunch of sugar.  Every stinking recipe had honey or sugar added - and most of the time had like two tablespoons, which I think is a lot for a sauce or a dressing.  She even called the pork recipe "low carb." lol.  

I've really started paying attention to the obscene amount of sugar she adds to most of her recipes, in addition to the naturally sweet ingredients she's already using (like bach choy or pineapple).  No wonder Americans are so fat - our tastebuds are so conditioned to everything needing to be sticky sweet.

It doesn't help that I'm typing this while watching Tyler Florence, in his Test Kitchen show, make several drool-worthy recipes and explain his methods.  His pot roast tacos looked really good.

Edited September 3, 2017 by anneofcleves

[Lura]

Quote

 

Thank you, AnneofCleves, for writing exactly what I would have written about Ree's latest episode.  I love bok choy, but after seeing what Ree did to hers, I was not that hungry for it.  Ree is way over the top on sugar, which we already knew, but to see what she did to those recipes really brought it  home.  She's addicted to it, and she has her family addicted as well.  Between Ree's additions of sugar, pepper, and heat, she manages to ruin any chances of my trying her recipes.

[maggiemae]

What drives me crazy is she can't carmalize a piece meat or even make a baked item "golden brown." Everything is so pale. And sweet and sugary. And her lack of salt is normally odd - or at least the amount. 

[patty1h]

I was watching the 'portable breakfast' episode and it almost put me to sleep. Watching someone make oatmeal and spread peanut butter on apple slices can only hold so much of my interest.  I wish someone would ask Ree if SHE would tune to a food channel, see the host make the stuff she made today and call it a "cooking" show.  I think not.

Did my ears deceive me, or did baby Todd come into the taping at just the right moment when those apple abominations were ready and use the word "brekkie"?  Don't let Ladd hear you use that word, little man.  Also, Ree has got to tone down that high-pitched happy voice she puts on when talking to her kids.  They are basically adults now, woman, speak to them in a normal pitch.

[anneofcleves]

Oh my goodness, yes, Todd said "brekkie."  My son used to say "brekfy."  It was super cute - when he was three!

Someone tell me how in the world a person is supposed to eat that ridiculous stacked apple, peanut butter, and granola thing she made? She's passing it off as if it's finger food?  She has a lot of really stupid ideas, but that one was one of the more stupid ones.

[Automne]

Wait, Farmhouse Rules was canceled??? Food Network has really lost the plot. It's almost all silly-ass competition shows now. What's the point of Next Food Network Star when they don't do cooking shows anymore? Might as well just ask these people if they can be a charismatic game show host because that's all they're going to do, if anything. Aside from Guy, Damaris Phillips is the only one who still has any current show and it's cohosted by Bobby Flay.

And the only adults who say "brekkie" are those who live in Australia. It's generally not an abbreviation found in Prairieland, USA.

[ariel]

FN is going the way of MTV.  MTV doesn't show any music videos &  FN isn't showing any real cooking shows.  Sadly, I think they are both giving the people what they want.

[Qoass]

I can live with Todd saying "brekkie" after squirming with discomfort at Bryce barely able to spit out a thank you for his meal. Wow; he fell out of the sullen tree and hit every branch on the way down. And he got the the best breakfast considering Todd's would be impossible to eat and Page had to eat cold oatmeal in order to keep her fruit and yogurt from spoiling in the same box.

Edited September 11, 2017 by Qoass

[peacheslatour]

16 hours ago, ariel said:

FN is going the way of MTV.  MTV doesn't show any music videos &  FN isn't showing any real cooking shows.  Sadly, I think they are both giving the people what they want.

Have you looked at the "Arts" and "Entertainment" channel's listings lately? It's all stupid "reality" shows and their version of Cops.

[grisgris]

So are we to assume that all future episodes of this show will be "themed" episodes of cobbled together clips from previous shows?  If so, then why bother to have a show at all? I suspect that maybe G-Ree-dy might have bitten off more than she can chew with the show, her website/blog, the Merc and now a magazine. (I realize that a good portion of what I just listed are probably managed/produced by minions and Ree just gives her stamp of approval.)

If you look at the lifespan of FN hosts over a period of time, they seem to follow the same path. Top rated shows, over-saturation by appearing on holiday shows or as judges on other shows in addition to any FN-related appearances, then there are cookbooks, the product lines, finally the magazine, which seems to be the death knell. Rachael, Aunt Sandy (she didn't have any products that I am aware of) and Paula.

I thought the brekkie show was idiotic.  Those cookies were just lacking potato chips, chocolate chips and sprinkles. I, too, wondered how you were supposed to eat those apple stack things. Even if you took them apart, they would still be a gloppy mess. I just imagined Toddie's grimy sweaty hands trying to pry apart warm melty peanut butter and browning apples from being outdoors all morning. Yuck.

/Small voice: I don't mind the holiday baking competitions that much.  I am always fascinated to see what can be made of chocolate, cake, pumpkin and melted sugar.  Some thing like GGG or Cutthroat Kitchen -- just NO!

[anneofcleves]

Holy Mother of God, she is totally punking us.  Another show fixing fences, another show delivering lunch, more with the stuffed snake, and more variations on the steak sandwich (with a flabby, fried egg-gag, gag, gag), mini pecan pies (how many times have we seen these?), vegetables with FUCKING RANCH DIP (pardon my language, BUT REALLY, REE??), and a freaking smoothie.

She has this incredible platform where she could be making truly interesting, homestyle foods, but she phones it in making the same boring crap show after show after show with a smirk on her face.  I know, I'm like a broken record.  I hate her and Food Network for letting the bar sink so low.  At least Guy Fieri can cook, has a fun personality, and showcases entrepreneurs around the country.  She's lazy and has got nothing to her but a fairly unique lifestyle.

Edited September 16, 2017 by anneofcleves

[Mnemosyne]

Today was actually a new episode. Watching Ladd and crew drive fence posts was riveting. About as riveting as the tired snake joke.

Folks obviously have their own tastes and preferences, but lemon pepper seasoning on a steak makes me want to cry.

[anneofcleves]

Poor Dell.  They couldn't pause taping and allow the guy to wipe the ranch dressing off his face. Three different shots of the guy with ranch dressing on his chin.   I think they're awful people.

 

Edited to add: My husband said he thinks the white spot was a tuft of hair on Dell's chin.  I hope he's right, because if they let that poor guy continue to be photographed with a glob of ranch dressing on his face that's just not right.  It's one thing to see the adorable toddler with frozen berry smoothie all over his face, but not on a valued member of your staff!  I guess I'm so irritated by today's crappy episode that I don't put anything past her.

Edited September 16, 2017 by anneofcleves

[ariel]

I have a feeling that when the camera's aren't there, Ladd isn't fixing any fences.  That's for his undocumented workers to do.

Edited September 16, 2017 by ariel

[Lura]

It does me SO much good when Anne of Cleves gets on her high horse and tells it like it is!  (Seriously.)  She says everything that I want to say but saves me the trouble of typing it myself.  You are right on track, Anne, at least my track.  Recently, I have had an almost maniacal urge to grab Ree by the ear, holding it hard enough to pinch, and marching her all the way west to the San Francisco Salt Flats, where I would chain her to a post and force her to take a long lick of salt every time sugar entered her mind.  I think brainwashing like that is the only way to remove the sweet stuff from her consciousness.

Then, I would return to the ranch, corral Ladd, and lead him to the jailhouse for being an accessory to raising children who are bound to wind up diabetics.  He was half of their conception; he should be the sane half of their upbringing since his other half is borderline insane.  If he thinks that his only responsibility is answering the call every time his wife moos that her hiney tingles, he has another thing coming!

Next would come the book burning, but you get the idea.  Thanks, Anne, for getting my blood boiling!  ;)  The %#&$&% Scripps organization and its measly FN don't know a fool when they hire one!!!

Edited September 17, 2017 by Lura

[anneofcleves]

4 hours ago, ariel said:

I have a feeling that when the camera's aren't there, Ladd isn't fixing any fences.  That's for his undocumented workers to do.

Surely we can hope for a super scrumptious recipe for Ree's Dreamer Cookies sometime soon?  

[anneofcleves]

46 minutes ago, Lura said:

 

It does me SO much good when Anne of Cleves gets on her high horse and tells it like it is!

 

Would you help me down from the horse? It's hurting my butt, being on it so long. Seriously, Lura, Trisha Yearwood cooks circles around Ree.  And she's got another legitimate, crazy successful career.

[grisgris]

I ask myself the same question every time that Ree delivers lunch "to the trenches." Wouldn't a huge heavy meal like that make you sick (and sleepy) especially when eaten out in the blazing heat and humidity?  Sorry to be gross, but if I ate one of those greasy sandwiches slathered with mayo (as well as the ho-hum dip for the veggies) that had been riding around in the hot vehicle (I never saw how/where Ree stashed the food for transport) the hole I'd be frantically digging wouldn't be for a fence post!

Why were Cowboy Josh's kids there? (I still can't get over "Rowdy" and "Taos" for names.) I wasn't paying that close attention so maybe I missed his wife ???  I can think of better ways to entertain kids than to drag them around outdoors in the heat to watch Dad work.

The fake snake jokes are tiresome.

Haven't Ladd and five-pack-a-day Chuck undertaken fence repair by using some type of boring rig that dug the holes for the fence posts? Maybe they couldn't use that due to the rocky terrain that might break/bent the bit, but I felt sorry for everybody out breaking their backs in that heat just to hit rock and have to start over.

I am a melon snob and don't think I would like the combination of watermelon/strawberries/raspberries. Pre-cut watermelon that has been sitting in the grocery store tends to get a mealy texture then add in the seeds from the berries. Ugh.

I agree with everything everybody else has said. Why this travesty of a show remains on FN is a complete mystery. It is obvious that Scripps places a much higher value on ratings and advertising dollars than it does quality of content. If I were a higher-up in the programming department, I would have put my foot down months ago with the barrage of snip and clip shows and demanded something new. 

I know that Ina does compilation shows now and then but Ree has done it for every single episode for months now. Today's recipes were retreads as well. I think that she's just run out of ideas or stupidly and stubbornly clings to the belief that her recipes are so unique and superior that she can recycle them and nobody will be any wiser. It's an insult to the viewers' 'intelligence as well as sends home the message that people have such a narrow view of what passes as flavor, nutrition, originality, etc.

Got room on the back of that saddle for me, AnneofCleves?

P.S.: In case you couldn't tell, it was hot and humid here today in K.C. -- just up the road about four hours from Osage County -- and I wasn't happy.  LOL!

[Automne]

17 hours ago, anneofcleves said:

Would you help me down from the horse? It's hurting my butt, being on it so long. Seriously, Lura, Trisha Yearwood cooks circles around Ree.  And she's got another legitimate, crazy successful career.

And doesn't that just salt your grits? Ree's claim to fame is being a food blogger. The ranch life pioneer thing was merely a schtick to separate her from the legion of other food bloggers and it worked, but she's a food blogger. She never had any actual career prior to this, let alone a successful one, so one would think that she'd elevate her cooking prowess. Especially after getting a nationally syndicated television show on a major cable network. But nope, her food is not only ridiculously basic, repetitive, and unimaginative, it's terrible as well.

Then you have somebody who is a major award-winning country music superstar, so much so that even non-country fans like me know who she is, can come in and look like flippin' Julia Child compared to Ree. There's also Kelis, Grammy-winning a hip-hop/R&B artist who straight up went to culinary school. Hell, even Tia Mowry and Valerie Bertandernie cook better than Ree and their food is very basic as well. So I don't understand how somebody whose only focus is food is the least talented cooks on the Food Network and yet is the most popular to the point that Nancy Fuller and Amy Thielen, who do actual down-home cooking that PW should be doing, get canceled.

[Lura]

I wish you would just copy and paste your post, Automne, and send it to the FN.  IMHO, it gets to the very core of our frustrations about Ree.  When I harness my anger and take a calm look at things, I am still mystified as to why her popularity is so great.  I would like to know what people see in Ree as a cook.

Last night I watched Ina make a simple potato frittata for brunch (which I'm making tonight), and I wondered why Ree can't make a dish like that for her family.  It's perfect for lots of people. and it's so versatile.  You can add almost any meat or vegetable leftover to it.

[ariel]

Ree is very popular with the Christian homeschool crowd.  Did she homeschool her kids herself through high school or did she hire tutors to come out the ranch to hs them?

[chessiegal]

I read she hired tutors.

[Lura]

6 hours ago, ariel said:

Ree is very popular with the Christian homeschool crowd.  Did she homeschool her kids herself through high school or did she hire tutors to come out the ranch to hs them?

I just finished watching one of Ree's shows called "School Day."  In it, she teaches her kids all morning, then they stop for lunch, and she teaches them in the afternoon.  Of course, her "teaching" amounts to quizzing them.  Having taught for a number of years, I'd say her "teaching" is nothing more than what any parent would do.  Of course, she could always hire tutors at the same time.  It's odd that she doesn't mention them.  Maybe she wants us to think that she's the Great Fountain of Knowledge!  BUZZ!  Wrong again, Ree!  Grab your hammer, and get back to that inn you're building with its unique bathrooms!  (What's going to be so unique about them?)

[Automne]

She hired tutors. It was a minor scandal in the days of her blog's peak, but before she got a show. She outright played everyone with the idea that she helped out on the ranch, homeschooled four kids in four different grade levels, did the domestic chores, and ran a successful blog. Turns out she hired tutors and a lot of other help.

I don't remember the details or the woman's name, but there was a significant falling out with a major Christian homeschool mom who was a contributor to that section of the PW site back in the day.

[grisgris]

I think that the popularity of G-Ree-dy's show and the overall lack of instructional cooking shows on FN are more or less an accurate (and sad) reflection of what the majority of Americans prefer to eat. I can't begin to count the number of posts I see from my Facebook friends (with the exception of one!) that are those fast-forward videos of semi-ho (not specifically Aunt Sandy but same idea) crappy meals that are designed to be made as quickly as possible, as well as be cheap and filling. They are getting a bit better in that they are veering away from adding processed foods like cream-of-?? soup and jarred pasta sauces and feature quick tomato sauces with canned tomatoes and fresh herbs or an honest-to-God white sauce. Still, they are very bland looking and usually loaded with dairy products. The most disappointing are desserts that are made from cake and instant pudding mixes but a lot of time is spent creating the frosting from scratch, which makes me scratch my head.

I also read plenty of entries of people who despise cooking so much that preparing something from Blue Apron is too daunting.

I think that the type of people who post here as well as some of the hipster foodies or actual chefs are about the only remaining folks who appreciate good food and cooking from scratch these days. I was lucky that when I was growing up that my mom was able to stay at home and she watched whatever cooking shows were on during the 60s and 70s, as well as read women's magazines and liked to try new recipes. It also helped that her mother was a fabulous cook and baker. I recall that we were literally about the only family in town that went out to eat "exotic" Chinese food. Opening of a DQ and McDonald's made front page news of the local paper.

I guess it's just a sign of the times and they are sad ones, indeed.

[Automne]

On 9/18/2017 at 8:28 PM, grisgris said:

The most disappointing are desserts that are made from cake and instant pudding mixes but a lot of time is spent creating the frosting from scratch, which makes me scratch my head.

Dessert being overlooked and glossed over has been a trend for a while. So many restaurants, even high-class expensive ones, outsource desserts. Few places have an in-house pastry kitchen, which is very dismaying for a person like me who went to culinary school for pastry and baking. And the ones that do don't want to properly invest in it, which is the problem I'm having at my current job. For example, I have to make 400 popsicles for a huge wedding on Saturday (it's some new-fangled thing of putting a popsicle in a glass with champagne. It's about as stupid as it sounds). TPTB knew about this for four months; I only found out about it a couple of weeks ago. So I found the perfect molds to execute this, but was told that the $800 it would cost for the number of molds I needed is too much, so the director of purchasing was in charge of finding a cheaper option. He fucks around and I don't get the molds until yesterday morning - three days before the event. And he buys me molds of varying shapes and sizes, so the popsicles aren't going to be consistent which is a problem. And I only have 30 molds, which is going to make getting 400 popsicles in three days nearly impossible. Meanwhile, they charged $5.50 per popsicle, which means netting $2200 for these. Never mind the fact that we were just bought by a Chinese billionaire overlord. So where in there is the $800 for proper molds "too much?" Especially when those molds can and will be used for other desserts in the future. I basically always have to try and shine a turd because I work for cheap bastards.