Everybody has a story of something someone did or does habitually that violates some sort of unwritten pot luck or holiday food rule of etiquette.
Once my place of employment held a holiday cookie swap. All those who wished to participate showed up with homemade goodies, the assistant manager brought a box of Dunkin Munchkins and took home a plate of cookies that others had slaved over in exchange for her "contribution."
Let's hear some dishing!
What's your best kitschy recipe? My friend takes Ritz crackers, spreads a goodly amount of peanut butter between two of them, then dips them in melted chocolate, lets them set up and they become an awesome "cookie"/candy.
What have you got?
Sorry, but I loved her. And I cracked up when she said the word "crap." She was refreshing to me. Her personality is a lot more appealing than Rachel Ray with her idiotic giggling.
Ever had the Jello-strawberry-cream cheese thing with the pretzel crust? I love it. I told my mother in law I was going to make some for some event several years ago and she said that she would not eat it if I did. Well, I made it, she ate it and said the nuts that the crust was made of made it really great. Ahhhh.....
Brought back some Blue Mountain beans from Jamaica. I grind them and use the French Press. NO sugar, just some evaporated milk and it's great hot or iced!
Then there are my sisters-in-law who show up at holiday dinners with uncooked food. Just when you are at the point of maximum stress, in comes one with a ham and wants to take up all the oven space. I had plenty of other things and did not even ask for the ham. She took it back home with her.
The other usually comes with something that has not had time to finish cooking or with some raw fresh kielbasa that takes awhile to get out of the danger zone.
People wonder why I drink.
In these parts, the Brownie Chocolate Trifle recipe is known as Death by Chocolate and often includes dousing the brownie component with Kahlua.
Does anyone remember/have the recipe for those cookie things that had fried Chow Mein noodles in them?
To keep the chicken upright, I buy the disposable aluminum pan they call a casserole. It is about 8 inches accross, round and has high sides that keep the bird from toppling. You might want to try this.
"Secrets" were what we were hoping for and I think she missed two great opportunities. In the first show, she could have shown how to drop the eggs in the poaching water, which is critical, taking a few minutes to speak about the movement of the eggs in the water, (keeping the camera on the eggs) actually timing them, and then watching her remove them. Breaking to a commercial and coming back to all those perfectly poached eggs annoyed me. On the recent show, she has an "already de-boned' leg of lamb when she could easily have taken the time to 'teach' the home cook how to do it. Also, I don't know if anyone noticed, but she said she was putting the lamb in the oven for 20 minutes and then she took it out after 20 minutes and turned it over and put it back in the oven. The next time we see the lamb it is perfectly cooked and is being sliced, but god knows how long it was actually in the oven. I agree that Bob and Susie are absolutely clueless about the needs of their public, and all one has to do is take a look at the new crop of " Next Network Food Star" ..OMG . where and how do they find these people? Couldn't they find anyone else to appear on Rachel Ray's show?
If we were looking for entertainment, we wouldn't be watching the food network. Why don't they get it? They aren't actors....they are regular people who cook. Personally, I don't think any of them are star quality. Being on the food network is like being "a flash in the pan." None of them have lasting power. You're in....and then your're out. Not so on PBS
Reaching back to a past life in PR and marketing ... stick with the K.I.S.S. rule, especially for naming a product or company.
I like the ones that are unambiguous and tell it like it is. Soups of Columbus, Columbus Soup Company, Grassroots Soups, etc. Frankly, overly cute or clever names can be trite and incredibly irritating. Personally, I often think twice about trying a place or product if the name is annoying (KD's Kountry Kitchen was a great little cafe near my office that I almost didn't try).
Good luck! Soup is my favorite food, so I'm hoping to try out your company sometime!
Keep in mind that if the name is too clever, there will be a certain number of people who won't "get it" and you'll have to explain it. Over and over and over. You'll want to be talking about how good the product is, and they're be talking about the name.
Also, as much as the Soup Nazi on Seinfeld was funny, there are some people who will be immediately offended by the word Nazi, no matter that it's named after something that was on TV. And hard to believe, but there are probably people who didn't watch Seinfeld enough to understand the context.
Is this going to be a restaurant-type place, or packaged goods? If it's packaged, you might want to make it homemade sounding. Grandma's Recipe or something with that feel.
If it's a restaurant, personally I prefer to have a clue what the place is about from the name. Souper Soups would tell me that you probably server a lot of soup. Something more obscure might get attention, but people might not be as willing to just stop in on a whim if they haven't a clue what they're find inside.
Golden Bowl is a common Chinese restaurant name...might want to avoid that.
Otherwise, I like Village Soups...and I'm in Springfield, so let us know when you open and we'll come visit!
Please serve cream of mushroom soup. =)
Anyone who thinks that performing for a camera is easy has never tried to do it themselves. It takes time and practice to become comfortable. Cut her some slack.
Note to FN: You should immediately fire the stylist and the set decorator. Both looked cheap and cheesy. Put her in a proper kitchen with a chef's coat and watch her comfort level rise.
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Last bite on earth: Fried Chicken