All Episodes Talk

[patty1h]

My eyes were hurting from the decor of those rooms.  Blergh. 

Yes, she did say those were jacks and a goddamn finger puppet. I guess Ree thinks those things are fun and charming.  Nah.  Those are fine little treats for any guests who have young kids, but only a certain type of person (the die-hard Ree fan) would appreciate that.   Otherwise, right in the garbage or left behind for the next lucky lodger.  Also, a journal was put into the gift box, which I find egotistical.  I guess the idea is that a guest will want to write down their every thought about staying in a boarding house/inn in a dinky cattle town in the middle of nowhere.

ADDED:  I got curious how much those puppets costs and went to the PW website.  The price is sort of reasonable ($6), but the last line of the description is what made me gag.  Some copywriter, who has been brainwashed to think that everyone has a little Ree inside them crafted this line about those puppets:  "Prove you're as wacky as Ree and collect them all!"   Yeesh.

Edited May 6, 2018 by patty1h

[WritinMan]

23 hours ago, grisgris said:

I'd really love to know what the long-range plan is.

It kind of looks like owning the town is the plan. Perhaps she will set herself up as some sort of dictator.

[Lura]

Will it be Drummond, OK, or Reeville?  J/K  Actually, we've seen or read enough about the Drummond influence in Pawhuska.  I doubt seriously whether there is anyone in town who hasn't heard of the Drummonds, and there isn't much doubt that they're known statewide.  That's why I questioned once whether Ree hadn't already had some knowledge of the family when she met Ladd.  Chuck and her father were fraternity brothers in college.  I think they can do pretty much anything they want to do in town.

[grisgris]

I think it was a modern day arranged marriage!

[novhappy]

How long was she married/ living on the ranch prior to her blog taking off?

[Sweedish Fish]

On 5/9/2018 at 11:49 PM, Lura said:

Will it be Drummond, OK, or Reeville?

Reeville!  Yes!   It will be like her own 'Pottersville.'

[grisgris]

Yesterday's new episode was underwhelming and always such a letdown after watching "Baked in Vermont," (because I record the shows.)

The only interesting thing I learned is that Ree's mother is an oncology social worker and that she made the career decisions later in life. Good for her! However, her gift of the blood orange pound cake with rosemary might not be such a noble gesture. Ever since trying Giada's recipe for lemon thyme bars, I have been very leery of citrus baked goods laced with strong herbs. Also, the hue of that glaze was pukey looking. It resembled canned salmon.

Hyacinth always looks slightly annoyed when Ree shows up bearing treats. It always leaves me feeling that Ree doesn't really spend much time with Hy unless it's a command performance for the show or to do some uncompensated work for "The Merc." Hy's disheveled appearance yesterday made her look like she'd been either doing some serious day drinking or Ree interrupted a tryst with one of the cowboys.

Those teenaged boys couldn't have been any less interested (or embarrassed) to make those stupid edible arrangements for that kid's mother's birthday.  I thought that apple slices dipped in chocolate seemed strange. Couldn't Ree have done the traditional strawberries instead? Also, nice story to share about how Todd's conception was a complete surprise and thus, Ree looks out of sorts in all of the wedding photos of her father and stepmother.

[peacheslatour]

Quote

Hyacinth always looks slightly annoyed when Ree shows up bearing treats.

Lol, wouldn't you be? I agree with about using strong herbs in baking. I've just about given up on roesmary all together. It just overpowers everything you put it in. The only thing that seems to be able to stand up to it is pork.

[chessiegal]

I have a grilled chicken breast recipe that uses rosemary and is delicious - you marinate the chicken in olive oil, lemon juice (fresh), Dijon mustard, and dried rosemary.

[Kohola3]

2 minutes ago, chessiegal said:

I have a grilled chicken breast recipe that uses rosemary and is delicious - you marinate the chicken in olive oil, lemon juice (fresh), Dijon mustard, and dried rosemary.

Day-um , that sounds delicious!  I am a huge rosemary fan but a lot of people aren't so you really need to be subtle with using it.  We all know that subtle is NOT a trait that Ree possesses.  

Can you message me the recipe?

1 hour ago, grisgris said:

I thought that apple slices dipped in chocolate seemed strange.

Oh, yuck!  Caramel goes with apples, not chocolate!  Save the chocolate for strawberries or oranges.  She really doesn't have a clue, does she?

[Lura]

I'm a conservative when it comes to pound cakes.  If I'm making a lemon one, I like a lemon glaze.  Ditto for orange.  I save herbs for savory dishes. 

I've long since nearly dropped rosemary from my herb usage.  There for a while, after Ina made rosemary potatoes, every cook on TV was adding rosemary to their dishes.  We both tired of it.  It's strong and so distinctive anyway.  I much prefer more subtle herbs these days.

I liked the edible arrangement.  The best-selling apples at holiday time are covered with caramel and chocolate.  Nothing wrong with chocolate on apples in my book.  The project did seem to me to be more for girls than boys, however, but who's to say?

[grisgris]

If I were Todd's friend's mother, I would have been much happier with one of Gesine's beautiful cookie flower bouquets.

[Lura]

On ‎5‎/‎13‎/‎2018 at 5:14 PM, grisgris said:

If I were Todd's friend's mother, I would have been much happier with one of Gesine's beautiful cookie flower bouquets.

Yes, yes, yes!  Wasn't that pretty?  I wanted to get right up and make one.  Ree's looked pretty amateur by comparison.

Kohola, I can only think of one way that Ree could make you dislike her more.  We could learn down the road that she hates whales!  In her quest to be an expert in Chinese cookery, I'm waiting for her to make shark's fin soup, thereby breaking the law and incurring the wrath of half the country.  It may only be a matter of time.

Edited May 15, 2018 by Lura

[Kohola3]

She goes after my whales and I'm taking my harpoon to Pawbackwater.

But I doubt she'll ever do Chinese.  You know how her political types hate them pesky furriners.

[peacheslatour]

1 hour ago, Kohola3 said:

She goes after my whales and I'm taking my harpoon to Pawbackwater.

But I doubt she'll ever do Chinese.  You know how her political types hate them pesky furriners.

She won't ever call it Chinese food. It will be some street food she got in New York, cause she's just such a cosmopolitan girl.

[Lura]

On Ree's cattle moving episode, she made lasagna for the cowboys, using cottage cheese.  She said that ricotta could be used, but that it's a little more assertive than cottage cheese.  I have a couple of iffy recipes, and both call for cottage cheese, which I detest.  If you make lasagna, which cheese do you use, cottage or ricotta?  Thanks. 

[Kohola3]

Ricotta. 

Assertive?  This from the woman who uses jalapeno peppers in everything she makes?

[peacheslatour]

Ricotta. My mother made the best lasagna and she too always used ricotta. I've seen cottage cheese in lasagna only once at some potluck type thing. Nobody was eating it and I felt really bad for whoever had taken the trouble to make it and had to see it left untouched.

[Gam2]

The best lasagna I’ve ever eaten was one I found in a magazine years ago. The fire houses in NYC had a cook off and the winner was a lasagna with sausage and pepperoni rather than ground beef. I made that for years and years and everyone I served it too just loved it! I also called for ricotta not cottage cheese.

[Lura]

That settles it.  I'm making mine with ricotta from now on.  My SIL, who prides herself on being the country's best cook, makes a lasagna that uses cottage cheese and has no discernible Italian herbs.  It makes me want to gag every time she makes it.  Thanks to those of you who replied.

[Westiepeach]

Not to gross anybody out, but cottage cheese to me looks like vomit. There. I said it. 

[grisgris]

I like to eat cottage cheese but have never had luck cooking with it. It's too liquidy. I don't make lasagna very often, but I always use ricotta.  I am finishing off a yummy dish that i make every now and then. It's a casserole with roasted eggplant, tomato sauce, ricotta, eggs and lots and lots of Parmesan cheese. You can season it however you like. I did the called-for Italian flavor profile, but I could see this easily going Greek with oregano and lemon and feta. To make it a complete meal, I add cooked orzo. Even with lower fat ricotta, it's still a very rich dish.

[Lura]

Grisgris, your casserole sounds good if you like eggplant.  Did you grow up eating eggplant?  I did not, and I don't care for it.  After several tries, I finally ordered an eggplant dish at Alice Waters' Chez Panisse restaurant, one of the finest restaurants in the entire Bay Area, certain that Alice could make me like it.  Sadly, I just couldn't handle the sour/bitter flavor and gave up.  My husband also doesn't care for the flavor, so I've never cooked with it.

[grisgris]

No. I never had eggplant growing up and am not sure why, as my mom was a pretty adventurous cook.  I am sure that my dad and brothers wouldn't touch it and I was kind of finicky eater when I was a kid. So, I don't remember at all when/where I first tried it. I like eggplant parm and ratatouille.  These is this Spanish tapas place that used to have this fabulous dish that was kind of like a cheesy puffy souffle with eggplant and had aromatic grilled shrimp on top. It was so yummy! I found a similar recipe in at Mediterranean cookbook but it didn't have the shrimp. I tried to duplicate it and added shrimp and of course, the shrimp was rubbery and dried out. Oops! There are some things you just don't try at home!

[peacheslatour]

Has Ree ever used eggplant as an ingredient?

[Kohola3]

57 minutes ago, peacheslatour said:

Has Ree ever used eggplant as an ingredient?

I seriously doubt it.  It's definitely not a cowboy ingredient.

[Lura]

Yes, she did in one episode, but don't ask me which one.  I remember thinking how great it was that her kids were eating it while they were young.

[WritinMan]

On 5/17/2018 at 1:14 AM, Lura said:

Sadly, I just couldn't handle the sour/bitter flavor and gave up.

Could have been an issue with the preparation. There are ways to counter the bitterness. Also eggplants get bitter the longer they sit around after being picked. Fresh (and smaller) eggplants tend to not have that issue.

[grisgris]

I've always read and heard to put a generous amount of salt on the sliced/diced eggplant and leave it alone for about 20 minutes then rinse it thoroughly. That's supposed to draw out a lot of the bitterness.

I think Ree made some "new-fangled" Middle Eastern dip, baba gnanoush?  Baba O'Riley? (LOL! For us old Who fans out there!) I am sure that she added her cowboy touch to it with healthy additions of jalapenos and Tabasco. /eye roll

[peacheslatour]

Quote

 Baba O'Riley? 

I could see that being the Drummond's theme song, meanwhile they miss the entire point of the song. Like when the NJ legislature wanted to use Springsteen's Born to Run as the unofficial State song.

 

Baby this town rips the bones from your back 
It's a death trap, it's a suicide rap 
We gotta get out while we're young...

[Lura]

Netflix managed to load an episode I hadn't seen before -- a joint birthday party for Caleb and Todd, held at Missy's house.  Borrrring except for one scene.  Ree, looking at all the decorations and balloons hanging everywhere, volunteered to come back over to Missy's the next day, and while Missy took her nap, Ree promised to clean her house.  In fact, Ree made the offer twice in case any viewer happened to miss her generous nature.  It just goes to show that Ree isn't so busy after all if she has time to offer housecleaning services to her SIL  I wonder whether Ree would do my house next week.  What do you want to bet that Ree gets 10,000 letters from adoring fans, saying, "Ree, you are the sweetest thang!"

Edited May 20, 2018 by Lura

[Kohola3]

13 minutes ago, Lura said:

In fact, Ree made the offer twice in case any viewer happened to miss her generous nature.

Whilst at the same time making herself look the savior to her poor clueless slob of a SIL.  And, of course, no mention of the undocumented immigrant maids she paid $2 an hour to actually do the work.

[HyeChaps]

I’m sure they both have paid cleaning help. 

[Lura]

When you think about what they track into the house, straight into the kitchen, I hope they have an entire cleaning crew on 24-hour stand by.

Edited May 21, 2018 by Lura

[HyeChaps]

Keep in mind we only get to see the spare house. 

[Lura]

I thought we saw both houses.  We don't?

[Westiepeach]

We just mainly see the lodge. We *may* have seen peeks of the main house, but not much.

[txvoodoo]

On 5/15/2018 at 9:49 PM, Lura said:

If you make lasagna, which cheese do you use, cottage or ricotta? 

Ricotta, lest my Sicilian ancestors all roll over in their graves.

And ricotta assertive, my butt! Cottage cheese is both the wrong consistency and too wet. 

[txvoodoo]

On 5/16/2018 at 8:06 PM, grisgris said:

I like to eat cottage cheese but have never had luck cooking with it. It's too liquidy. I don't make lasagna very often, but I always use ricotta.  I am finishing off a yummy dish that i make every now and then. It's a casserole with roasted eggplant, tomato sauce, ricotta, eggs and lots and lots of Parmesan cheese. You can season it however you like. I did the called-for Italian flavor profile, but I could see this easily going Greek with oregano and lemon and feta. To make it a complete meal, I add cooked orzo. Even with lower fat ricotta, it's still a very rich dish.

Do you have the recipe for that? Sounds yummy!

On 5/18/2018 at 12:57 PM, grisgris said:

I've always read and heard to put a generous amount of salt on the sliced/diced eggplant and leave it alone for about 20 minutes then rinse it thoroughly. That's supposed to draw out a lot of the bitterness.

I think Ree made some "new-fangled" Middle Eastern dip, baba gnanoush?  Baba O'Riley? (LOL! For us old Who fans out there!) I am sure that she added her cowboy touch to it with healthy additions of jalapenos and Tabasco. /eye roll

Taught by my grandmother: slice the eggplant, layer it with salt in a colander, weight it down (I put a plate on it with a weight/can/whatever on top). Let it sit for at least a half hour.  Pat the salt off , cook. All the bitterness will go away. 

Oh, make sure there's something UNDER the colander to catch the liquid.

I lightly pan fry the slices. Then freeze them up so I always have them on hand, either for quick eggplant parm, or eggplant and sausage sandwiches, or whatever.  I'll do half breaded (Italian breadcrumbs), half not. 

[Lura]

I'm totally fascinated by Ree's Honeydew Melon Spritzer, which she made on the episode "Party in the Fridge."  I have to try it sometime when summer gets here.  I never ate honeydew as a child.  My mother never bought one.  But I like it now for a change, and something tells me that I'd like this drink.  Has anyone tried it?

[Lura]

Ree put something I thought was a bit unusual in a baked bean recipe the other day, so I went to Google to find out what it was.  WHOA!  Ree has SIX --count 'em, six -- recipes for baked beans listed on Google!!!  They include:

Perfectly Baked Beans

Quick and Easy Baked Beans 

Slow Cooker Baked Beans

Ree's Quick-n-Easy Baked Beans

The Best Baked Beans Ever

Quick Southern-Style Baked Beans 

On the episode I was watching, Ree called beans "cowboy food" about six times.  I guess she must think so if she makes six different recipes for them!  I never did find out what ingredient I thought was unusual. 

Incidentally, as Ree was adding her yellow mustard to the pot, the squeeze bottle gave forth its usual gross sound, the one that she and her boys love, the sound of passing gas.  Ree chuckled and had to repeat her oft told story of how much her boys love that sound.  I guess she was hoping there was one soul left in America who hadn't heard that story.  Apparently, if you live out in the middle of nowhere, a story is good for the telling any number of times, but I think Ree can give it up any time now, including the squeeze bottle and any further bean recipes.

[Kohola3]

5 minutes ago, Lura said:

Apparently, if you live out in the middle of nowhere, a story is good for the telling any number of times, but I think Ree can give it up any time now, including the squeeze bottle and any further bean recipes.

Isn't flatulence humor reserved for young teen boys?  You'd think she'd have outgrown the need for using it by now.

But then she's so tasteful....

[peacheslatour]

Beans, beans the musical fruit

The more you eat

The more you toot

The more you toot

The better you feel

So lets have beans for every meal!

[Lura]

32 minutes ago, peacheslatour said:

Beans, beans the musical fruit

The more you eat

The more you toot

The more you toot

The better you feel

So lets have beans for every meal!

LOL  I didn't know there was a second verse.  Glad you included it!  Maybe that should be Ree's theme song at the top of the show.

[peacheslatour]

I think we had best not talk about songs anymore. Beans!

[CharlizeCat]

As in  "spilling the beans?" 

Has anybody met this new cat? She used to belong to an old friend of y'all! Charlize, ring a bell?

[Lura]

CHARLIZE!!!  I know a lady in here who loves cats!  I'll bet that's who you are!  I like the name Charlize.  It sounds French.  Are you a slinky, sophisticated cat with a French accent?  Or are you an alley cat who exists on the remains of old tuna cans and old bean cans?  Whatever.  It's great to see you.  *stroke, stroke*  I think I hear you purring.  :)  Welcome, Charlize. 

BTW, in an episode that loaded in my DVR today, Ree took two of the most beautiful rib-eye steaks I've ever seen, grilled them, and then cut them into slices for quesadillas, I think.  That last part seemed like a shame to me because I can't seem to get excited about her Tex Mex recipes.  I kept thinking how delicious those steaks would be without all those spices on them.  She served them, naturally, with yet another pot of beans ("cowboy food"}.  With six recipes for beans in Google, she must go through bags and bags of them per week.  Yuck!  (No offense to those who love Tex Mex).

Edited May 26, 2018 by Lura

[film noire]

On 5/7/2018 at 1:27 PM, WritinMan said:

Perhaps she will set herself up as some sort of dictator.

Welcome to Reeworld! Live without a buncha limits.

(We always knew she was some kind of robot :)

On 5/16/2018 at 2:00 PM, peacheslatour said:

Ricotta. My mother made the best lasagna and she too always used ricotta. 

Ricotta here as well. (I mix carmelized-until-jammy fennel into the ricotta -- the licorice flavour disappears, and it tastes faintly of celery -- plus a ton of red pepper flakes for heat.)

I recently  watched Ree make her cheesy twice baked potato casserole:  Four sticks of butter, 16 ounces of sour cream, two cups of chedder jack, 2 cups whole milk, 15 slices of bacon; mix with sixteen potatoes (baked and slathered in olive oil). Place in baking dish and cover top with more chedder jack.  Serve alongside defibrillator.

Edited May 26, 2018 by film noire

[patty1h]

The menu today wasn't too bad, as two of the dishes (8 layer dip, lemon icebox pie) looked fairly tasty and nice additions to a BBQ.  The other two... I would probably walk past.  I am VERY picky about my potato salad and the idea of BBQ sauce in it would put it on my Nope list.  I would most likely skip that cornbread/blueberry thing too, just for being too complicated and weird.

[Kohola3]

1 hour ago, patty1h said:

I am VERY picky about my potato salad and the idea of BBQ sauce in it would put it on my Nope list.

Are you kidding?  She actually did that?  Oh, just puke!