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Serious Green: Freeze It Now, Eat It Later
My husband keeps threatening to get me a chest freezer but we've no room for one. Unfortunately the ice maker and raw frozen medallions of dog food take up most of our freezer but you've inspired me to take on the challenge. I'll get to the farmers' market late rather than early and see what I can find as winter is already on its way! Thanks, cookingwithdee.net
Grilling: Mexican Roadside Chicken with Green Onions
Wow, I cooked great ribeyes for my husband and his parents who flew in for the first time today. This looks better and I can practically taste it. That goes on the menu this week! Thanks so much for sharing it. dee@cookingwithdee.net
How Do You Define a Grilled Cheese Sandwich?
No Wonder Bread or Velveeta for me. A nice rye, extra sharp Canadian cheddar, butter. Toasty on the outside, weeping on the inside. Yum.
I'm a cooking school grad and hubby can't cook a thing. One day, years ago before we married, I was making grilled cheese for lunch and he walked in and said "so that's how you do it!" I've a photo from his mom of him making toast at age 4. Nearly 33 years later he hasn't progressed to a grilled cheese sandwich.
I remember the Campbells Tomato Soup as well, but it would go so much better with a mid-summer pappa al pomodoro.
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Paula Deen Is Trying to Kill Us, With Cookware!
I won't buy any celebrity-endorsed product for the endorsement. When we moved to a fully-furnished home temporarily, a few months ago, I couldn't live with the lightweight scratched teflon frying pan they had. It had cancer written all over it. So the best pan Wal-Mart had was a copper sandwich teflon pan with, you guessed it, Paula Deen's name on it. It's served us well the past few months. When I buy cast iron, it's Lodge. btw, my husband keeps laughing at me and my "Paula Deen" pan! All because 98% of our lives, including my kitchen, is in storage 1,500 miles away! Dee
Serious Green: Freeze It Now, Eat It Later
My husband keeps threatening to get me a chest freezer but we've no room for one. Unfortunately the ice maker and raw frozen medallions of dog food take up most of our freezer but you've inspired me to take on the challenge. I'll get to the farmers' market late rather than early and see what I can find as winter is already on its way! Thanks, cookingwithdee.net
Grilling: Mexican Roadside Chicken with Green Onions
Wow, I cooked great ribeyes for my husband and his parents who flew in for the first time today. This looks better and I can practically taste it. That goes on the menu this week! Thanks so much for sharing it. dee@cookingwithdee.net
How Do You Define a Grilled Cheese Sandwich?
No Wonder Bread or Velveeta for me. A nice rye, extra sharp Canadian cheddar, butter. Toasty on the outside, weeping on the inside. Yum.
I'm a cooking school grad and hubby can't cook a thing. One day, years ago before we married, I was making grilled cheese for lunch and he walked in and said "so that's how you do it!" I've a photo from his mom of him making toast at age 4. Nearly 33 years later he hasn't progressed to a grilled cheese sandwich.
I remember the Campbells Tomato Soup as well, but it would go so much better with a mid-summer pappa al pomodoro.
Cookout Etiquette
I beg to differ with myself. "Waifs" are a special case. These are folks who've been laid off, newly divorced, family lives overseas. These are the people who grace our homes year after year on holidays and impromptu brunches/dinners. We have one friend for Christmas for years and she always brings bones and used tennis balls for our dog, as well as wine and other goodies.
Cookout Etiquette
We're in a fully-furnished townhome on a short-term basis and left 99% of our stuff in storage 1,500 miles away. If we have a few neighbors over to get to know them better, I've no problem asking them to bring chairs. Normally, I might ask a few close friends for chairs/tables but I prefer small gatherings.
I also prefer to plan the menu and do the prep, cooking and cleanup myself. If there's a great dessert cook coming who wants to bring something, whatever it is will certainly trump my vanilla ice cream with fresh fruit. If I don't know someone well and they offer, I might ask them to bring a salad. Most people show up with something, flowers or a bottle of wine.
One thing I believe is rude is to require each guest to bring their entire meal. Then it truly is a bunch of strangers getting together to use a grill. Where's MY chicken? I need to cook MY veggie burger before any meat is placed on the grill! Ask if your guests have any food allergies. If you've vegeterians add a main or make sure your veggie sides are substantial.
Anyone under two years of age should ask his/her parents to bring the perfect meal for the little darling. As for college and just post-grad, I don't see the harm in budgeting for burgers, dogs, buns and sides, throw in a keg and pay for some of it but perhaps ask guests for $5 per person or so to cut down on the damage. They'll be happy for the party!
That said these are guests entering into a "social contract." If I make a four-course Tuscan meal for eight guests and no-one reciprocates by inviting my husband and I over/out to dinner in six months, those folks aren't on another guest list, period. I don't care if they brought a bottle of Chianti.
'Top Chef Masters,' Episode 2: The 'Lost' Dinner
I tried to watch this episode but in Mountain time it comes on at 11:00 on a weeknight and living in a furnished place on a temp basis, I've no way of taping it. Why does it come on so late?
French in a Flash: Parmesan and Gruyère Gougères with Jambon de Bayonne, Arugula, and Dijon-Chive Butter
Sounds wonderful. Though I could cheat, if a picnic was imminent, with a store-bought croissant/brie or ciabatta/Bel Paese. Arugula is a constant. Thanks for your passion! I do get bored from time to time and look for inspiration - you provided it today. Thank you. Dee
Meat Cards: Business Cards Made of Beef Jerky
My husband will love this - his father is a cattle rancher, too! And forget "dog attacks," you'll have dogs sitting at your feet awaiting a bite. Of jerky, that is.
Dinner Tonight: Shrimp and Grits with Bacon
Looks darn tasty! I got this from Serious Eats and will try it not tonight, but soon. Thanks for sharing! dee@cookingwithdee.net
Snapshots from the UK: The English Foodstuff Lexicon
Yes, please do the Scots next. I lived there for three months last year and learned a lot. Fish & chips always come with mushy peas. Don't ever ask for an appetizer at a restaurant, as you'll end up with Appletizer, a carbonated apple beverage. Don't EVER order a burger, as they are the size and texture (and probably taste) of a hockey puck.
In Scotland drink the water, it's from local sources pure as the driven snow. Drink the whisky. Eat Loch Etive mussels (Mussel Inn, Glasgow where you order mussels by weight and choose your sauce).
And if you really want bacon, as my husband did when I cooked breakfast every morning in our flat, try frying up two slices of pancetta from Tesco.
No, I didn't bring myself to try even a veggie haggis. But the pizza over there is fantastic. I won't say it gives Italy a run for its money else I'll not be allowed back to Florence!
Dinner Tonight: Scalloped Potatoes
Simplicity is the key. Peeled and sliced russet potatoes. Half and half. Layer potatoes in appropriate pan. Season first layer with salt and pepper and dot with butter. Second layer, same, third, same (if you get that far). Slowly drizzle in enough light cream (half and half) to nearly cover. Bake at 425 degrees for 45 minutes to an hour until brown on top and bubbly. I use a nonstick tart pan and place it on a cookie sheet for spills. This is my favorite potato dish, sorry Rosti, you're second.
How Far Does Restaurant Loyalty Go?
Oysters, land based restaurant in Utah. Had them twice before and they were great! No alcohol (Utah) and we drove less than 1/8 mile before I had my husband pull over. We were only there a few weeks for work so didn't go back. But we should have told the manager afterwards. I was busy at the time praying to the porcelain god.
In general, we do best eating from our own kitchen because I practice good sanitation that we can't expect in a local eatery.
Top Ten Worst Halloween 'Candies'
I got around the parent inspection trap by spending the night at my girlfriend Debbie's downtown where there were apartment complexes and we could go door-to-door and get a great haul.
I haven't had a trick-or-treater in 13 years. But the day before Halloween I go to the store and buy what's left of the shelves... raisins. Sorry, kids.
What do foodies do?
Left work as NYC real estate lobbyist to spend life savings on cooking school. Loved apprenticeship in Mendocino but not job in SoCal. Broke my finger going from an interview 2nd day working at hotel scraping old cheese off French onion soup bowls so became non-profit consultant!
I teach cooking when I can and cook for my husband and feed my dog but do not cook for her. My mother just died so I'd like to gather her recipes together with photos and stories and write a book.
Why Pepperoni Pizza Sucks
Thanks machineman, I'll check out those places next time I fly back to Buffalo. My favorites are thinly sliced potato with rosemary and a sprinkling of parm. That was at a takeout place and we ate it sitting on the main piazza in Siena, Italy.
Spinach, goat cheese and roasted garlic on a thin wheat crust. Thinly sliced roasted butternut squash with Fontina. And the classic Pissaladiere with caramelized onions and anchovies. I love pizza and am still looking to make the perfect crust. I'm almost there...
Mayo vs. Miracle Whip
It is sweet. My aunt used to use it on her otherwise superb potato salad but the sugar ruined it for me. Now I make my own version of her salad but with... Hellman's. And now I live in the South where everything is laced with sugar, from "sweet tea" on down.
Rescue food from the depths of the cupboard!
We have no pantry in our urban space, so have made one in the laundry room with a seven-shelf mounted plastic-coated metal deal from Home Depot. It houses pastas, rices, canned goods, other dried goods, herbs and spices I don't use every day, and on top, dog stuff (heartworm meds et al).
I still overbuy. But this summer brought on a financing drought with an unexpected loss of income and we started eating our way through the pantry. My goodness, did I overbuy! Now I need to perform total inventory and stock up on what we're missing. Thanks for the inspiration!
Classic Cookbooks: Elizabeth David's Ratatouille
I was taught in cooking school that the French like their ratatouille fully cooked, bien cuit. So I don't understand the preference for cooking everything separately a la Julia. I don't go by amounts except by personal bias in having summer tomatoes, eggplants and zucchini. I just start some onions and garlic, add peppers and the rest and stew for at least 1/2 hour, concentrating the juices.
Sorry but I'm having a little mental trouble imagining caraway seeds in there. I serve mine warm the first time, then refrigerate overnight and try to serve at room temperature in following days. It is one of my favorite dishes and my husband will eat it if he can take out the eggplant.
Newspaper Food Sections Cutting Jobs; What Can Be Done?
As the food section goes, so goes the newspaper, especially if the Times is restructuring as I've read here. I read The Times, Houston Chronicle and Slate and Washington Post online nearly everyday. Chronicle is for hurricane and weather coverage.
My question is not where I'll find information on food and trends and recipes, it's what the local paper will become when the bluebloods can't find photos of themselves on the society pages at the art fundraiser, or photos of precious Constance at the debutante ball? Wait, that blog can make some money! But I'm more interested in food.
How far off-menu should a restaurant be expected to go?
It only took one stone-cold look from me to my boyfriend, now husband, to stop him from putting steak sauce on a NYstrip I lovingly prepared. You can do that at at a diner with steak and eggs but not in my kitchen!
Years ago in Florence, I only had a day or two left on this visit and had yet to get my "fix" of a classic dish, bistecca alla fiorentina, which is rare chianina beef usually served for two.
It was a top-notch restaurant and I found a fellow guest with which to share the steak. Yea! Then I was mortified when he demanded it well-well-done. The water was afraid he'd be fired if he asked the chef to accommodate that request. I believe that request was not only an insult to the chef and restaurant, but to Tuscan cuisine not to mention the cow. And me, who wanted it in the traditional fashion.
I immediately suggested that we each order separate non-steak entrees and thus far, am still welcome in Tuscany.
Food Network... Let's give them a hand!
RIP Food Network. It's now called PBS, Fine Living and Travel Channel, with a bit of Bravo thrown in just for Tom Colicchio, Eric Ripert, Tony Bourdain and my favorite, Ted Allen.
I hear what FN did is demand a cut of everyone's restaurants, including those who built up the network in the first place (Mario, Emeril). After hearing that from a reputable source, I view any new "talent" chosen by the bean-counters with suspicion. No wonder they need contests to determine the next "personality" and use home cooks with no experience whatsoever. Like Sandra Lee, whose only expertise seems to be "tablescapes," color-coordinating Kitchenaid and kitchen window coverings, and cocktails.
What started as a novel concept is now mainly drivel because most of the people who can cook moved to other networks. Those who can cook (you know who you are) must have good agents/publicists to have sweetheart deals with FN that don't allow them to keep their hand in your pocket for part of your restaurant's gross profits.
Anthony Bourdain, I AM NOT SOUTHERN
Fresh figs, no stuffing. Apples, peaches, strawberries and figs with goat cheese and water crackers. Perhaps some Soppressata. Wine= Cetamura from Badia al Coltibuono.
Cocktail party tomorrow for six. Bourdain has introduced me to several new cuisines. The club room above the "Bo" room in Kitchen Confidential is hilarious, and a reason I don't work in restaurants any more.
It's interesting that I grew up in the North and the Civil War was something we'd spent 1/2 hour on in History each year. Down here it's the War of Northern Aggression and is catalogued every day.
The Most-Stained Cookbooks
James Beard's Theory and Practice of Good Cooking. It's been out of print for years but can be found on Amazon.
Check out www.cookingwithdee.net for other cookbook inspirations. There are two lists, all referenced to Amazon because many are out of print.
Stain-wise it's Volume 1 of Mastering the Art of French Cooking.
Top Ten Worst Halloween 'Candies'
I disagree about a lot of the candy items mentioned here.
I, for one, LOVE the fun-sized (or mini, if you prefer) candies. It's a tiny bit of something insanely tasty, enough to give pleasure without causing tummy pains. When I was a young'un and I went trick-or-treating, one house gave out mini Clark bars. Yum-o-delish! I polished those off first.
I think the chewy peanut butter kisses taste absolutely divine.
Candy corn, I think is plenty of tasty, as are the candy pumpkins made of candy-corn base. Think little dollops of hardened cake-frosting.
As for apples and raisins, those I didn't mind in the least.
However, some items, I do agree about.
Toothbrushes -- a boring reminder
Religious pamphlets -- disappointing and WEIRD to boot.
Packages of "normal" food -- oh, for crying in Manhattan, what kid wants to receive a can of baked beans or a box of oat bran in his little plastic jack-o-lantern.
One time I received cough drops -- and not the Ludens or Pine Bros or Smith Bros or F&Fs, which are tasty and could pass as hard candy (as can the Ricolas). These were nasty little green pellets that were -- and tasted like -- MEDICATION. Like I said, for crying in Manhattan! For crying in Manhattan, Chicago, and San Francisco
Oh well. At least I didn't get a ROCK
Top Ten Worst Halloween 'Candies'
If I didn't live in an apartment building with no kids in it I'd be giving out and full sized candy bar AND a red bull to every kid. HAHAHA!!! HALLOWEEN IS FOR KIDS! SUCK IT PARENTS!
Grilling: Mexican Roadside Chicken with Green Onions
I prefer an Achiote rub... looks similar, but better. Tastes better too.
Paula Deen Is Trying to Kill Us, With Cookware!
and..........all of her regular cookware as well as casserole/baking dishes are for sale @ Ollie's..........how low can you go? I guess not too many people are falling for the junk FN sells. What's with these people so much greed the a tv show isn't enough?
Paula Deen Is Trying to Kill Us, With Cookware!
Glad to see this post. Her cast iron cookware is on clearance at Wal-Mart... no wonder.....
Serious Green: Freeze It Now, Eat It Later
@ DAFOXFL - In my research I've read and heard plenty of stories of grandmas canning everything in a water bath, or not canning at all - just heating the food up, screwing the lid and rings on tight, and hoping for a good seal. Many people say they never had problems, but I follow the new guidelines which say that low acid foods (corn and beans) require 240 F which can only be reached by creating steam under pressure. Better safe than sorry.
Paula Deen Is Trying to Kill Us, With Cookware!
I notice that QVC no longer has any of Paula Deen's cast iron cookware available at this time. Probably for the reason mentioned. And they certainly were made in China. Her choice of a manufacturer for the cast iron was a poor one. Just like her choice for her favorite President Jimmy Carter.
Serious Green: Freeze It Now, Eat It Later
My biggest problem in my side-by-side freezer is losing things then finding a nasty old freezer-burned brick of something that never makes it to the table. I've tried to keep an inventory sheet for the freezer and my pantry - works for awhile until I forget to update it ...
I'm glad you mentioned the FoodSaver vacuum sealers. I just bought one at Sam's (about half the Amazon price) and have been having a ball dividing up two-person portions for my wife and I. Boneless chicken breasts are on sale this week so I pounded some cutlets, chopped some up for stir fry, seasoned some and left others plain. They are all neatly vacuum sealed, labeled and ready to grab.
As to labeling, sometimes I prepare and season things so I have a start on a specific recipe. I usually put a note on the freezer container as to what recipe the item goes with, along with the date.
I'm a bit surprised at your comment about canning corn and beans. My mother and grandmother canned bushels of corn, green beans, apple sauce, peaches, and tomatoes using a standard water bath canner and we never had problems - maybe we ate it all up between seasons.
As an aside, my grandmother had a food drier and my uncle LOVED dried corn. It had a very different taste from any other preservation method that I never acquired . . .
I like to freeze snack-size zipper bags full of salsa makings (everything but the tomatoes). A bunch of cilantro, several limes, a couple red onions, and a handful of jalapenos turn into about a dozen little frozen batches ready to thaw and add to chopped fresh tomatoes.
Paula Deen Is Trying to Kill Us, With Cookware!
Actually, Lodge is THE made in America cast iron. Is her line made over seas?....
Grilling: Mexican Roadside Chicken with Green Onions
I've got this on the grill right now for the second time. The first time I smoked it and it was very good, but I thought that the long smoking may have taken some of the flavor of the wet rub away. This time I'm doing it as per your recipe, and am having a hard time keeping my charcoal fire at 350-- it's staying more around 300. It is taking a LOT longer than 45 minutes. :^( Also, I see you recommend cooking to 165 degrees, but all my thermometers say 180 for poultry. What's up with that? Thanks for passing along the great recipe.
Serious Green: Freeze It Now, Eat It Later
LABEL & DATE ! LABEL & DATE ! LABEL & DATE ! I can't stress it enough. I learned my lesson after too many tossed mystery packages! You may think as I did 'oh, I can tell what it is just by looking and/or feeling, but much to my surprise time and time again freezing does something to the visual and tactile senses percieption so I open it up and smell it then taste it and so on freezing temp's mute flavors and smells. Duh to my surprise is it a marinara, a hearty tomato base stew, chili w/ tomatos or just plain tomato sauce and so on. I reiterate, LABEL & DATE ! LABEL & DATE ! LABEL & DATE ! the rest is up to you great post thanks.
Serious Green: Freeze It Now, Eat It Later
Loved the article but it won't let
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Serious Green: Freeze It Now, Eat It Later
Freezing is such a quick, easy, time saving, and inexpensive way to enjoy the fruits of your labor [no pun intended] in the middle of winter, or anytime you want to take advantage of good price deals. I have pick-your-own peaches & sour cherries in my freezer now, for midwinter pies & cobblers. Also have sweet peppers that I got @ a steal from our local farmers market. It seems I never have peppers on hand unless I'm making sutffed peppers. They're an ingredient in so many recipes, and this way I always have them available. The other really nice feature of freezing is that you can do it in a few minutes on a daily basis, as opposed to all the equipment you need to drag out for canning, & having to wait for a huge amount of edibles to work with make it worthwhile. I grow Roma tomatoes, and currently have about 8 Ziploc quarts in the freezer, from just a single plant [I have 2 plants]. I just rinse them, quarter, put in the vacuum Ziploc bags and that's it. I don't bother peeling.....skins are good for you, but like Lemonfair said, they come off easily when thawed. I will try her suggestion of just cutting in half with my next daily harvesting. I don't core them or take any juice/seeds out however........ they are all natural/organic and edible parts!
I will add for the novice freezeperson, as Tressa stated.........DO MAKE SURE YOU LABEL........you won't remember exactly what you did in January. Also, with fruits, you will want to jot down the NUMBER OF CUPS and whether you added SUGAR or not. I try to freeze the amounts used for my average pie or cobbler recipe, it makes it a whole lot easier.
I hope a lot of people get inspired.........it's a way to "put up".
Grilling: Mexican Roadside Chicken with Green Onions
This was the best chicken. It's impressive and has a lot of flavor. Delicious.
Grilling: Mexican Roadside Chicken with Green Onions
Scallions are okay, but try this the real Mexican way, with knob onions. Swipe them with a little oil and then grill them over hot coals, along with your chicken.
Cristina
http://www.mexicocooks.typepad.com
Grilling: Mexican Roadside Chicken with Green Onions
made this recently after seeing it on Rick's show...it was just wonderful.
Grilling: Mexican Roadside Chicken with Green Onions
I took a cookbook, in which the binding failed a month after purchase, to Kinko's. A few bucks later it has a new plastic binding and plastic cover. It was a paper back, i dont know if they would do a hard back.
Grilling: Mexican Roadside Chicken with Green Onions
Chicken looks great, guess I'll have to buy a copy of his book.
Rest assured your book IS NOT DEAD it has moved on to another phase of it's existence! It's now a loose leaf, just make use of a 3-hole hole punch and put in a binder. It'a cheaper in the long run as it can transform many good cookbooks to binder form when they wear out too, since the quality of binding has gotten so cheap to keep costs down. Can you imagine how much it would cost to make a book with a good, durable binding and the finished book would be extremely expensive.
Dinner Tonight: Shrimp and Grits with Bacon
I made these tonight, they were great!
How Do You Define a Grilled Cheese Sandwich?
I think good bread is important - not just white bread OR Wonder Bread (which to me isn't bread but something too soft) - 2 slices of cheese (either american cheese BUT NOT Cheddar - it gets greasy) - American, Monterey Jack, Pepper jack, Muenster, all good. With or without bacon fine with me! Also I've also been known to put pesto sauce and a slice of good heirloom tomato. One important point - all cheeses should be American in some way - made in the U.S.A. - nothing Italian. If you are putting Mozzarella, fontina, provolone or any of them, then it is a panini, not a Grilled Cheese. Even Havarti is good (I know that isn't American - that is my one exception).
It must be made in a cast iron pan with something on top to press it down a bit. I use either my tea kettle OR a heavy pot lid. If made in a panini grill or a George Foreman Grill, it is a panini, not a grilled cheese.
Also no weird combos like Sugar said - cheddar with maple or apple butter or grape jelly. Ick. Nothing sweet. It is a savory sandwich, not a sweet sandwich. If you are putting cheese and sweet together then it is an appetizer bruschetta or something like that. Not Grilled Cheese.
Just my very long 2 cents...
How Do You Define a Grilled Cheese Sandwich?
OOOOOH, I love the "Honey Pot" idea! I love anything that combines savoury & sweet. So with that I suggest...
Good bread is important, something like sourdough...
REAL cheese is a must, it makes a world of difference.
Mozzarella with mango chutney
Gouda with marmalade
Cream cheese with cherry jam
Havarti on raisin bread
Goat cheese with red pepper jelly
Old white cheddar with apricot jam
Old cheddar with Granny Smith
Cheddar with grape jelly
Cheddar with apple butter
Cheddar, dipped in maple syrup...
mbhebert SERIOUSLY... Wonder Bread & Velveeta? That' s not lunch, that's revolting.
I also recommend everyone try cooking a grilled cheese Benny & Joon style...
How Do You Define a Grilled Cheese Sandwich?
The proper name is a Grilled Cheese Sammich as defined by GCI (Grilled Cheese Invitational). GCI has also defined Grilled Cheese Sammich in three categories, Missionary, Kama Sutra, and Honey Pot.
The Missionary Position: Standard bread, standard cheese (or cheeses), standard butter and NO ADDITIONAL INGREDIENTS.
The Kama Sutra: Any kind of bread, any kind of butter, and any kind of cheese PLUS additional ingredients (the interior ingredients must be at least 60% cheese).
The Honey Pot: Any kind of bread, any kind of butter, and any kind of cheese (the interior ingredients of the sammich must be at least 60% cheese), and with an overall flavor that is sweet and would best be served as dessert.
Cookout Etiquette
Wow, I can't believe the date of the original thread and I just signed on to this today! @fatcat is right-it's all relative and I also agree that @hefloats should not be called names and diminished for wondering and asking advice (what is it about this site????).
As it seems this is a very subjective issue. Chairs-my potluck at Christmas has me begging for them ( have 12 and need more for my 25-30 friends-aren't lucky to have so many-friends, that is). I would have a hard time asking for everyone to bring everything from the plates to the ice and then their own main, but that is my age and my income bracket.
However, I would imagine if there are people that never contribute or host and always have their hands out that I would separate myself from them. It is always better to have people think of you as a doer/contributer than as a taker. It is hard to be a giver and never have someone to reciprocate. Toxic relationships and hard feelings. I am lucky that when I have a dinner party or bbq that someone will appreciate that and I will be invited to their homes and have an opportunity to bring my side/beer/wine/chair. I hear you @ tdl1501.
I think that as time passes you will find out who really wants your company at their events and not just your chair. It may take some time to find those people who truly cherish you. Until that time try to be open to as much as you can...serendipity.
'Top Chef Masters,' Episode 2: The 'Lost' Dinner
Actually, I find PADMA to be way more annoying than Kelly Choi. I'm not there to see the host, I'm there to see the chefs. The more the host can be in the background, the better. Padma has spun her host duties into a series of commericials and endorsements, one of them for a hamburger that I wouldn't give my dog. "Food porn" indeed!
'Top Chef Masters,' Episode 2: The 'Lost' Dinner
@pbj88 I sort of figured that she's not vapid in real life. Also, after I wrote that I read a blog entry of hers on the Bravo website and she reads more intelligently. This isn't the first time that I've read the writings of a female TV host and noticed the disconnect between how they're portrayed on TV (often vapid, ditzy etc.) vs. how they appear in writing (often intelligent, witty, with personality). I remember reading Teresa Strasser's website years ago and being both shocked and impressed with her intelligence and writing experience. She seemed like such an airhead on TLC's While You Were out.
I guess the challenge then, is to convey a host's personality on TV and not make them into airheads (there might be a thesis in gender studies in there some where).
I revise my above statement from "Kelly Choi makes me wonder if there's a guideline or standard in TV broadcasting that states that female reality TV hosts must be vapid." to "Kelly Choi makes me wonder if there's a guideline or standard in TV broadcasting that states that female reality TV hosts must be portrayed as vapid."
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I won't buy any celebrity-endorsed product for the endorsement. When we moved to a fully-furnished home temporarily, a few months ago, I couldn't live with the lightweight scratched teflon frying pan they had. It had cancer written all over it. So the best pan Wal-Mart had was a copper sandwich teflon pan with, you guessed it, Paula Deen's name on it. It's served us well the past few months. When I buy cast iron, it's Lodge. btw, my husband keeps laughing at me and my "Paula Deen" pan! All because 98% of our lives, including my kitchen, is in storage 1,500 miles away! Dee