Entertainment
My Fox Baltimore TV Appearance for the Food Lion Frugal Cook Off Win
You might remember waaaaaaaay back in July when Roni, Sarah and I took part in the Food Lion Frugal Cook Off. We WON! Along with goodies and a trophy, it turns out we also landed ourselves a spot on Fox Baltimore’s Saturday morning show in August. We had three incredibly short long minutes to make our meal, talk about the food, and show the finished plate. Wanna see? I think we did pretty good for a bunch of amateurs!
3 Reasons Why I Don’t Diet
Low-fat isn’t always good for you—this is only one of the three reasons why I don’t diet. Keep reading to learn more! I. Don’t. Diet. I know many chronic dieters, however. The ones who find some sort of new trend to follow every year: pills, cleanses, all protein, no fat, Paleo, and gluten-free (yes, for some going gluten-free is a necessity and for others it’s the latest and greatest diet thing since sliced rice bread), and so many others. Some adopt a new diet program for health reasons, and others in a desperate (and hopefully easy) attempt to lose weight. In our house we thought my husband might have to…
Children’s Book Giveaway: “Minette’s Feast”
Late last year I received an email from children’s book author Susanna Reich. She found my post “Julia Child’s 7 Best Quotes,” and thought I might like to have a copy of her new book to review, as well as one more to giveaway to my readers. Then a series of events happened: I changed our fourth bedroom in the basement into my home-office and brought all of my blog and freelance related work down there to get organized. It stayed organized for a few weeks, but I found myself upstairs in the kitchen working more often than down in the nice, organized basement space. Realizing the…
The Whole Fromage – Literally
This post was inspired by The Whole Fromage by Kathe Lison, who traveled to France in search of its artisanal cheeses. Join From Left to Write on August 22 as we discuss The Whole Fromage. As a member, I received a copy of the book for review purposes. “Cheese, glorious, cheese!” Where do I remember this from… Broadway? Community theater? A movie? Oh no. It’s better than that, especially if you grew up in the ’80s. Feast your eyes on this little number and let the nostalgia roll in: Wasn’t that fun? “Cheese, glorious, cheese!” (Get it?) In all seriousness though, our current From Left to Write book is about cheese –…
Last Meal Requests on Death Row
This post about last meal requests on death row was inspired by online book club From Left to Write’s July book choice: The Execution of Noa P. Singleton, by Elizabeth L. Silver. Did you ever wonder about the last meal an inmate gets? It’s kind of a sobering thought, really. And one that I really hope to not think about too much. Ever. But, considering the July book centered heavily on a character who’s sitting on death row, the thought occurred to me. Gawker shared some interesting choices after the execution of Teresa Lewis in Virginia a few years ago, and confirmed that—alcohol aside—inmates can pretty much choose whatever they want for…
Downton Abbey Authentic Recipes with Cheese
It’s Sunday, which means it’s a Downton Abbey night! It’s also January 20, which means it’s National Cheese Lover’s Day. So, in honor of both events, let’s take a few minutes to talk through some Downton Abbey-themed cheese-focused loveliness across the interwebs, shall we? This [paraphrased] quote stuck out to me during the indoor picnic scene when the ovens broke and the house workers were eating their mish-mosh of a dinner. New footman, Alfred, kept bringing up cheese. Over, and over… He’s a bit of an odd bird, don’t you think? And speaking of cheese… These Crunchy Fig and Blue Cheese Tarts are just one recipe from a book called…
Open Letter to Food Network About Programming
Dear Food Network, I have been an avid watcher of your network since 2000, when I moved into a little one bedroom apartment down in Savannah, Ga. At the time I wouldn’t have considered myself a “foodie,” per-say. I enjoyed eating, especially eating out (and boy, was Savannah the place to do that!), but didn’t really cook. As in, at all. Like, burn-a-fried-egg-to-a-pan-and-let-a-bag-of-potatoes-rot-in-a-drawer-because-they-were-forgotten, “at all.” Then I discovered your little network that mixed both chefs and everyday people up with programs that were user-friendly for novice cooks, and had—gasp! —variety in styles and personalities, unlike your competitors on public television. Fun little shows like $40 a Day were interspersed between cooking demo…
Alton Brown’s Food Network Star Persona: Alton Tweets Back!
So, it turns out Alton Brown tweets back. He. Reads. His. Tweets. And perhaps I’m a little unnerved humored by the fact that he may have but probably didn’t read my blog post from earlier this week where I suggested that his attitude might improve if he put on 10 pounds. You know, because sometimes I get cranky when I get too hungry, and perhaps that’s affecting his temperament? That. On Wednesday I asked people if they thought Alton Brown’s persona on Food Network Star was the real “him.” If it was genuine. And I received a myriad of comments on Facebook and Twitter, and on the the blog. Some longed for the…
