Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

Both. Mayo for most things, but there are some sandwiches that just have to have miracle whip.

Full disclosure: My family only likes original Welch's grape juice because it has a more robust grape taste than any other brand. Plus, the kids get Welch's sparkling juice on all major holidays and at any family gathering when the adults have wine or champagne.

Alton can do no wrong, in my mind. He's the best home ec teacher I ever had. I have learned so much from him about the science of cooking and baking--he did all the testing and the research, but I get all the glory when I use his recipes for popovers and pickles and crockpot overnight steel-cut oatmeal. . .All those wasted years struggling to keep the heat low enough long enough to keep the McCann's from scorching but getting them cooked all the way through.

I have a hard time thinking of Alton as a shill. I'm sure he thought long and hard about his image/brand before saying "yes" to Welch's. Paula Deen, on the other hand, with her line of baked goods at Wal-Mart--well, it's pretty bad when people are too lazy to make her recipe for gooey butter cake (which starts with a cake mix, for heaven's sake), but buy it fully prepared from Wal-Mart instead.

Martha, Ina, Paula, Rachael, Giada, Bobby, Mario, Emeril, Sandra--be it food products or equipment, they've all tried to get me to buy something with their name and photo on it. And I have, from Mario's jarred sauce to Martha's sheets. Mario, Ina and Alton (and a pinch of Martha) are the only personalities I trust with my money.

Uh, this is just Alton Brown we're talking about here right?! It's not as though he's endorsing canned ravioli. We're talking about grape juice for the love of pete! There are far worse things he could be hawking, such as evoo with his face on it (yummo), or some awful spaghetti sauce, spice mix, etc....

I don't believe I have ever seen him endorse any product on his show. Take ritz crackers for instance, he'll say "you know what they are" without mentioning the name. Or "zip top" bags instead of ziplock.

Come on people, let AB make a few bucks. I'll have a different opinion of the guy if his face shows up on a box of chicken broth like someone else I've seen (*cough, cough, Bull$#!%, cough*).

Grape juice is very, very good for us? I thought it was chock-full of unnecessary sugar and lacking the fiber (and other nutritional components) of just eating grapes. I'm seriously not trying to snark or be mean with my questioning, @lemonfair. I'm just surprised at that statement, because I wrote fruit juices off a long time ago as being 'so-not-worth-it.'

Alton's a great guy. Have watched him for years, own some of his books and continue to be amazed by his talent.

However for those who don't watch the Food Network, people don't really know him. He's yet to jump into the mainstream media. With the exception of his books and I don't think he's got a restaurant like Bobbie, Mario and Symon. Nor the name like Giada. Nor his own national talk show aka Rachael.

The commercial interest regardless of the product, will help him draw additional coverage. Thus open up some additional opportunities for him.

I wish him well. Would be nice to see him on a few of the major network shows.

It's a Welch's commercial and not an episode of Good Eats... just because he's on the screen doesn't mean it'll be directed in the same manner. He doesn't have crazy props on Iron Chef America. I think he's a great spokesman, but there's definitely a better way to use his talents.

I love grape juice and I never paid much attention to the health aspects (it's juice it must be healthy). I think it's good that he's earning his share with respectable products instead of fast food/diet coke.

Miracle Whip - real mayo makes me want to puke!

In theory there is no single correct answer, but in practice labrown13 is 100% right.

There's so much good information here, but just thought I'd comment on the herbs:

The choices you list (rosemary, thyme, oregano, basil) could possibly work together, if balanced carefully, but rosemary is something that has to be used very conscientiously--its flavor is so distinct.

However, the sofrito base you linked to would clash with most everything except, possibly, the oregano.

A sofrito is great for stews and so many other dishes, but you might look into playing around with the components of yours when you're after a non-Latin taste. For example, Italian or Spanish cooking might use a sofrito based simply on onions, olive oil, tomatoes (or tomato paste) and garlic. You could also try adding carrots or celery, esp. for Italian cooking. Once you add the annatto, the green peppers, cilantro and lime, you have a very distinct flavor profile that might not get along so well with other 'European' herbs.

Me too Jojo....me like pretty pics of foood....I'm saving up all my chicken bones and am gonna make chicken stock this weekend. And next time I'll go easy on the spices. Too bad I'll have to throw that stew out....it tastes really weird.

I love Paula Deen. She cooks the way I do, and she has fun doing it.

There seems to be a lot of food-snobbery backlash against most of the Food Network hosts and it's just Paula turn as a target.

I don't find Paula's recipes to be workable; there's no subtlety, just a lot of showing off.

Maybe some recipes would be good as a step-up from fast food; we all have known parties where everyone has a lot of fun and, for whatever reason, The Colonel is the only caterer you need, and a Paula dessert would go well with that.

I think the recipes on Paula's Parties are written for maximum ooh-and-ahh from the audience. A pound of cream cheese! An apple pie as big as your head! a "Cinnamon Roll" flavored smoothie!

For workable recipes which result in edible food, I rely on Alton. for impressive food which might just break the bank, Ina Garten.

I would love to see Ina and Paula head-to-head on Iron Chef... when Paula made a play for Ina's beloved Jeffrey, we'd see murder, middle-aged style.