Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

I didn't know about Julie's blog but I found her book and I really enjoyed reading it (much of it contains excerpts from her blog anyway.) And I quite liked the interstices of Julia and her life, and thought as a whole it was cleverly done. Many people didn't like Julie's political and other (non-food related) views coming through in the book, but I argue that it's a memoir and this is who she is; you don't have to like her on every level to appreciate the process she went through and the humor in her efforts.

Was it great literature? No, but I do think Powell is talented and I applaud her success from something that started out first as a project and later as a blog from home. And I wish I'd thought of it, dammit! The film could be even better than the book, in my opinion, if they do it right. Meryl is a good start.

I have lots of favorite pasta dishes with just a little bacon or pancetta. Mmmmmm, bacon........

I'm not sure if it's funny or not, but I carefully planned last Thanksgiving's meal, making certain things in advance including the pie crust. Early Thanksgiving morning, in my efforts to be so on top of the rest of the day, I planned to bake the pie and started rolling out the pie crust which had chilled overnight in the fridge. It stuck - I added more flour - it still stuck - I added more flour - again and again this continued until I realized that, whatever I had done wrong, this pie crust was not going to make it and I'd added so much flour at this point it would be tough as hell even if I could get it to roll out.

So I started over with a new one. It put me "behind schedule", but the new crust turned out perfectly. It is still a mystery what I did wrong the first time, as it was my foolproof recipe....But thankfully Thanksgiving was saved :)

When I'm dieting, mayo is definitely an easy thing to cut out to reduce fat content, but I get tired of mustard and I don't think "light" or fat-free mayo tastes anywhere close to the real thing. (Miracle Whip is gross and not even an option.) I'm not sure I would call mayonnaise a "treat", but I do miss it on my sandwiches more than I miss sweets or snacks.

What's sad is that margarine is #3! Not real butter? I never have anything to do with margarine, diet or not. Trans fats, people!

I thought Ariane had some moments of talent (or luck) that allowed her to move past missteps that nearly got her kicked off early on. She hasn't been consistent enough for me to really root for her or feel like she has what it takes to go all the way. And if you don't know how to tie meat to roast, you probably shouldn't be there anyway.

That being said, it appeared as if (who really knows, with editing) Leah kind of threw her under the bus; when she stepped in to "help" her with the tying while admitting to the camera that she knew she wasn't doing the best job at it, I thought that was pretty slimey.

And andytseng is right; they've always gone by each performance individually and not a cumulative performance, which doesn't always sit well with me; there have been many seasons in which the bottom three include the same contestants over and over again, but if someone else performs just slightly worse than they did in a particular challenge, they continue to just barely skate by. I'm not really interested in continuing to watch mediocrity, and would rather those who have performed consistently well be given a "pass" when they've had an off day, allowing the most consistent chefs rise to the top.

You should go to Turkey, it is a beautiful and friendly country - I never tried dondurma but there are oh, so many other culinary delights to enjoy. I get cravings for lahmacun, sort of their version of pizza, and börek, little savory pastries....yum.

I have to agree with Buckethead: "Toby's schtick was funny for a moment three weeks ago, when I saw it in the previews after the 'Christmas' episode. But the reality of his criticism seems to be that he picks his snarky comments in advance and just looks for the opportunity to recite them."

Toby's attitude and comments seemed forced; if it was a snarky judge they wanted to bring into the mix, please bring on Bourdain! At least he's the real deal, and funny!

And the comment about fennel having "an anise flavor"?!?! Give me a break, is this Toby guy a real food critic with food knowledge, or does he just play one on TV?

To go back on the diet, except once a week when we have "gourmet night" and cook whatever we want - hopefully digging into the cookbooks and trying new recipes and being more adventurous.

Ribeye for my husband, filet for me, then we share! Best of both worlds....

Salt Lick near Austin!

Bagel, lox, cream cheese, and lots of capers!

Pork belly at Bouchon in Las Vegas...Yum!!!!

Bagels, lox and cream cheese. Lots of capers, please.