annabelle

It sounds like Ree, for sure. Her show is called "The Pioneer Woman Cooks", I believe. She is a blogger who published a couple of cookbooks and now has her own show. She is the wife of a cattle rancher and the show is filmed at their home.

A man after my own heart, gfweb.

The sob story has been de rigueur on Chopped for years now. A beloved deceased grandmother/father (preferably an immigrant) for whom the contestant is playing, being the favorite. Having a misspent youth or a period of homelessness runs a close second. After that, the themes are first responders, lunch ladies, grannies, teens, television personalities and the hosts themselves competing for charity.

So last weekend I watched the first installment of The Worst Cooks in America, now hosted by Anne Burrell and a chunkier Tyler Florence. Words fail me in describing how truly awful it is. Chock full of freaks and geeks, "artists" and characters, there is not one normal or likeable contestant in the bunch. It's gone from mildly entertaining to cringeworthy in three seasons.

I like it for wrapping sandwiches since cling wrap tends to stick to itself and make a mess. The waxed paper is sturdier and cushions the sandwiches as well as providing a placemat when unwrapped. It's good for wrapping slices of snackcake or even pieces of pie. If you have a lunch bandit at work, they will pass your lunch by as they can't see it through the wrap or steal your plastic containers that you aren't taking anymore.

"Gastro rom-com" Bwahahaha!! That's exactly what I thought after watching the ads for this movie. The fact that Spielberg and Winfrey are behind it insures that it will have extra schmaltz.

I have those stainless steel cutters that are part of the bundle Amazon is pushing. They are great for cutting up carrot coins and slices of cukes. I use them for making salad garnishes, but kiddos would love them, too. Hootie Mama will have so much cool stuff at her house, they'll be telling their friends for ages!

Do the kids like hard-boiled eggs? There a whole bunch of molds in the shapes of animals and anime characters that are sold for bento boxes. If you have them all day (yikes!) they could be a nice snack with vegetables and ranch dip.

I throw caution to the wind and warm leftovers in plastic containers in the microwave all of the time. I usually smoke a cigarette while it's warming up, too.

Knox blocks are lots of fun. They are made with powdered gelatin and juice and are so firm that they may be cut into shapes or plain cubes. They used to be called finger jello back in the 70s. Recipe on the back of the gelatin box.

My mother used to save the scraps from pie crust and roll them out, spread with butter, sugar and cinnamon. Then rolled them up like a jelly roll and sliced and baked like cookies. Alternately, you can spread with butter, sugar and cinnamon and cut into strips and twist and bake. They are like churros without the frying. My boys loved them.

jmacnaughton, pudding is like custard (not pouring custard). Pastry cream is richer and thicker and not meant to be eaten alone. Depending on the number of egg yolks and thickening added, it may be molded. Blanc mange is the closest I can think of to American pudding.

I must just be heartless since I don't find the phrase "suck it up" harsh at all. The server is there to wait on people not turn the dining room into a fiefdom.

Me either. Box grater, zester, yes I have those.

CatPoet, your society is structured entirely differently than is our in the US. What works in Sweden wouldn't work over here. I stand by what I have said whenever this topic crops up: The waitstaff themselves are not driving a reform to our tipping couture. If that were the case, it would have been changed decades ago.