Shannon_Elise

Sandra Lee of the unfortunate Semi-Homemade show is the current spokesperson for this dish, what more needs to be said? Seriously though, I am a definite white girl, although I never had this growin up. That probably had to do with being a military brat and moving around all the time. No green bean casserole at our house on the base in Misawa, Japan. My mother did make something pretty nasty once in a slowcooker with packaged beef, bottled french dressing, and I think sauerkraut. Hell, I didn't know you could make Mac and Cheese without the blue box until I was 10 and started cooking for myself. Thirteen years later, my dad always asks me to fix them dinner to "give my mother a break." My Father complained about his lunch my mom packed the other day: Wonderbread (naked, no mayo or mustard) and thick slices of Ham Loaf (?). Once, during a health kick, my mom tried to make her cream of chicken, sour cream, chipped beef, and chicken slowcooker deal with fat free sour cream and reduced fat soup...needless to say, she wondered why the thing was so dreadfully seperated and nasty looking (to me it just looked a lot nastier than usual). So, it actually is surprising that the greenbean casserole did not show up on our table. Now, as for the cranberry sauce with no attempt to hide the ridges from the can it came in (and that no one eats), that is a holiday must! Sweet potatoes from the can used to be a staple, with the marshmallows, until I showed my family how easy it is to work with fresh sweet potatoes and how much better they taste roasted or mashed with a bit of cinnamon and butter, no marshmallows needed since they are sweet enough. I do have to say thought that the ladies in the classifed ad section of the newspaper I work at talk about these sorts of casseroles all the time (Columbus, Ohio weekly paper). Once they talked about mixing canned green beans with cream of mushroom and cream of chicken soup, cheese (probably "american"), onions and putting this in a casserole dish, covering it with leftover mashed potatoes and then sprinkling more cheese. Sometimes they add whatever leftover meat they have in the fridge (I think at the time they were discussing ground beef). Ewwww...

Got my free copy too. A lot of the recipes are actually from old catalogues, I recognize them from one day when I worked there, got bored, and organized old copies of the catalogue. Am I the only one who thinks it looks extremely jaundice? Shannon

Don't get your hopes up for correct grammar and appropriate use of punctuation. They ended up hiring and apparently letting go most of the original writing staff (at least that's what I hear through the gossip, I stopped working there a long time ago). Bill and his fellow "writers" wanted to do it all themselves. It was supposed to go to print last November. By now it should have been in its third or fourth issue. Gourmet? No. Bon Appetit? No. Saveur? Hell No! Taste of Home? Probably.

All these sources are amazing thank you so much, and keep them coming! I know this was a large span of time, but I am hoping after intial reading to narrow down the time period to a span of around 50-80 years. The class is English 541: Early Modern England and we are required to do a research paper on anything pertaining to that time period. Most of my classmates are doing things such as weaponry, Richard, Mary, battle tactics...etc. But since I absolutely love all things food (cooking, reading, the history of...) I thought I would break away from the pack and take this as my project. Thanks again, Shannon

I apologize in advance if this has been asked before, but I was hoping that you guys would be able to point me in the right direction. I am doing a research paper (I have yet to find a distinct focus) on the Culture of the Kitchen in early modern England. The time period I am looking at is 1465-1714. I am in America, but I was hoping people might be able to shove me in the right direction towards good, primary sources. Any information at all would be very helpful. Thank you for taking the time to read this, Shannon

My perfect burger: ground buffalo, charred on the outside with a very pink center (an added bonus would be to make the patty square, don't laugh, I've grown up with Wendy's, White Castle, and Rally's, all have square burgers). no toppings (if I even seen an onion....) great quality Kaiser roll, buttered and toasted Diet Dr. Pepper

When you go to a restaurant and people hand you their plate to take a taste to ask you what the dish is missing or to identify some ingredient. The most recent example of this was when I unhappily accomponied my mother to Olive Garden, she says "Something is different about my soup, taste it" I taste and promptly gave her a smirk and said "They forgot to salt it." My sister and grandmother will bring over food from restaurants or local delis and say "make this for me please". I am 22 years old, and my guilty pleasure magazines are not Cosmo and Glamour, but rather Bon Appetit, Gourmet, Gastronomica, Chocolatier (well, not so much the newer "easier!" issues). My book shelves are chock full of over 150 cookbooks, along with great novels. I'm with what someone said about "cream of ..." soups, my reply to queries on how to fix a problem someone is having that includes them in a dish is "re-do it without all the processed crap". You know your a foodie when your friends ask you to cook them a meal for their boyfriends and pretend they made it (I don't mind). I also make all the baked goods for my nephew's first grade class. I wrote a column for the paper I work for all about a cake my sister made for my birthday, it was her first creation from scratch and I cried with joy when I saw it. She was a tried and true cake mix girl, but now she is even doing Carrot Cake from scratch, I am so proud (keep in mind she is five years older, married with two kids, and I am still in college living at home). When your father looks at your mother when he arrives home and says, "What's Shannon (me) cooking for dinner?" I'm big on presentation and my nephew recently asked me to make his cinnamon toast "look pretty" like I do with dinner. He also wanted to learn how to decorate his grandfather's breakfast plate so he could give it to him and tell "papa" he made it special. That was the sweetest thing ever. Shannon

First off I will say that I am a total Steingarten groupy (if he ever reads this, I was that 21 year old college student at the banquet last year at Ohio State, the only person under 50 in attendance , I was the one who asked for a picture with you). I think his comments, while coming off as a complete ass compared with the other judges, are at least critical. But at least he is a critic. The judge that got on my nerves was the Zagat woman (does she know anything about food, she looked like a complete deer in headlights). A purely technical question from a person not currently working the food industry, is it common place for a woman to wear a skirt in the kitchen? To me it looked like Mario Batali's female sous chef was wearing a skirt. Now don't get me wrong, if I was cooking with Kevin Brauch around (I know it's a little crazy, but I think he's hot) I would be wearing my old cheerleading uniform. But in a fast paced kitchen, is this accepted? It's nitpicky and makes no difference, just pure curiousity. Alton rocks, there is nothing else to say about him. I'm looking forward to the episodes when Ted Allen is a judge. And the reference to Steingarten being the Simon Cowell of FoodTV, I think that's dead-on. Shannon

I used to love McDonald's Chicken Nuggets before they made them all-white meat. Bring back the dark, unidentifiable chicken parts. And I must have at least 5 cartons of the Sweet and Sour sauce for dunking my 9-piece portion. Arby's Roast Beef is another one of my favorites, with about 3 packets of Arby sauce on it! This is one where I hang my head in shame: fun-fetti frosting strait outta the jar. I am the most anti-cake mix, anti-canned frosting person (as a personal choice, they are fine for others). But that vanilla frosting with multi-colored "chips" eaten with a spoon.... Shannon

I love Babette's Feast, I had to watch it in a college french class and was mesmerized. I think that sealed my interest in working in the food industry some day. It was an artform in that film. I also adore Chocolat. I'm with KatieLoeb, Johnny Depp with an accent is like gilding the lily. I am also a sucker for accents. My mother saw a preview for the new "Willy Wonka" with Mr. Depp and she also said it looked interesting. I think I might have to go see "Lemony Snicket" just so I can see the preview for "Willy Wonka", which is one of my favorite all time movies. Period. I must admit an affection for a newer foodie type film, although it leans more towards the wannabe wine geek in me, Sideways. Not the best movie I have ever seen, but just so genuine and beautifully acted. Shannon

I recieved: miniture bundt pans a larger bundt pan (I sort of collect them, this one is the one with all the diagonal lines on it) Chocolate and the Art of Low Fat Desserts by Alice Medrich The Gourmet Cookbook A Coffee Maker and a Salt Pig (coolest non-food item: an at home hot stone massage thingy)

I saw this on Saturday with my father (He's 52, I'm 22). We both really enjoyed it. He is not a wine guy by any means, and I am an up and coming Wine enthusiast, but we both laughed out loud many, many times. Particularly when they get the wallet.... Like bloviatrix said, an adult comedy, but one that not just wine and indie film fans can enjoy. Paul Giamatti was excellent. Shannon

Les Halles Cookbook Bouchon The Gourmet Cookbook Baking and Pastry: Mastering the Art and Craft (CIA) The Professional Pastry Chef 4th edition The Secrets of Baking by Sherry Yard The King Arthur Flour Baking Companion American Pie by Peter Reinhart The Slow Mediterannean Kitchen Shannon

I am with those above who are floored by how much credit they get for making things from scratch. I am a dessert fiend and personally refuse to use cake mixes, I have the time to make things from scratch, it is just as simple most of the time and I know what is going into my food, so why wouldn't I? Also, I can't get it through some people's heads that baking my own bread is not an ordeal for me. I am not saving any lives here, it's just BREAD! Yet always, the fact that I bake french bread and have a sourdough starter living in my fridge is always met with astonishment. What else floors me is that "the enemy of good food: Sandra Lee" continues to have a show on the Food Network. Granted the network has downgraded severly since its inception, but come on, from David Rosengarten to Sandra Lee. No wonder disgusting products like Homestyle Bakes line the shelves. It is being drummed into the populations heads that this stuff is real food. My sister is a married mother of two small children, she works at an oral surgeons office two days a week, while taking care of her two and seven year olds the rest of the time. It took only a few times of making a pork roast and baking cookies from scratch for her to realize how much better doing it yourself is. She is a former box dinner person, now she serves dinner with pride instead of simply setting it down on tv trays. Another thing that bothers me is that salt (and pepper) situation. I have encountered so many people that say "I can't cook, I try, but I can't". My first question is always if they have salt in their cupboard, and most of the time the answer is no (along with no pepper). How does one eat without salt and pepper? Shannon

Candy Corn, love the stuff, I'm in the white tip camp. The pumpkins are heaven, eaten very slowly and allowed to melt. Although I don't really like the Brachs version, they taste too waxy. I love everything about Halloween, in fact this year I offered to let my sister and her husband both takes the kids trick or treating so that I could dress up and hand out candy. Shannon

Couldn't do without: (Salt and Pepper are a given in my world) Cinnamon Vanilla Hungarian Sweet Paprika Garlic Ginger

I wish this concept would transport itself to the "fast cuisine sit-down" restaurants here in the midwest. If I want to have dinner with my family I am usually forced to go to an Applebee's or TGIFridays or worse (BOB EVANS!). I am a small eater and I don't typically enjoy the food at those places , so the huge portions of bad pasta or overcooked fish are awful in the first place let alone being able to choke down a third of it. Usually my family opts to put my leftovers in a styrofoam container that will sit in the fridge for three weeks before being thrown out. Now the Cheesecake Factory, I can't go in that place. I would sooner sit outside it while everyone else gorged on bad food. At the nicer places here in Columbus, the portions aren't quite so bad and they will accomidate you for the most part. Although I wish the option was presented on the menu in the first place so that I did not have to ask if they would downsize. Unfortunately finer dining is usually only a couple of times every few months with way too many visits to Applebee's in between. Shannon

Yup, it's going to be one of those "No Advertising" type magazines (except of course for all of the Penzey's Spices). I think they want to continue with the same type of writing and recipes, exactly the same stuff that's in the catalogs. Shannon

Your guess is as good as mine (and I work at one of their retail stores). Apparently, they wanted to do a cookbook, but decided they wanted to have something more often. It is supposedly going to begin with 6 issues a year. We just heard about this a week before the catalog came out. I think they are interviewing for writing staff right now. I offered up my services ( I write about food and city council, what a combo, for a local paper), but they want the entire writing team to be located at the warehouse in Brookfield. Shannon

After making the pseudo-Strawberry Shortcake from "The French Laundry Cookbook", I have fallen in love with the sweetened Creme Fraiche sauce that went with it. We have since used it on ice cream, strawberry sorbet and hell, eaten it alone with a spoon. All it included was the creme fraiche, a small amount of sugar, and the seeds from a vanilla bean. Warm it up and it's heaven. Shannon

I want to take a trip just to sample the "Tart Cherry and Hazelnut Brioche" and the "Roasted Shallot and Cheese Croissant". I am melting. Thanks for the pictures. Fantastic job Mel. Shannon

She will live on forever. She taught us not only how to eat well, but to enjoy the process. Shannon

As I suspected, thanks for saving the money and the time as I am not generally a fan of chick-lit either. Mags, I will have to do what you suggested next time I visit B&N:) Shannon

Saw this at Barnes and Noble the other day and was wondering if anyone here had actually read it. Looks like pure fluff, but in the summer (in between reading an anthropology and comparative religion textbook) I am not really in the mood for Tolstoy. However, if it just plain sucks I don't want to make a complete waste of time. Thanks, Shannon

Here's a northerer with a question for all of you experts: What is the general consensu on gumbo file powder? Do you use it? Is it a sin? We sell it at the store I work at and was wondering if it has a purpose in authentic gumbo. Shannon