Here is the NerdPie’s Cake from last week. Because this is Wordless Wednesday I will save the instructions for the next post;).
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See I Teach My Kids History!
Thomas Edison-the first extreme athlete!!!
Hint Cards and California Flowers!
Who doesn’t like flowers? If you said that you don’t, move along because this post isn’t for you;). I was pleased to get a box with a delightful bouqet! (You might remember the flower I posted a while ago)
Flowers are a delightful gift for all holidays. I have to say that I don’t give them as often as I should or even as often as I have an opportunity. Flowers are an awesome gitft for birthdays, baby showers and just as a congrats gift.
According to statistics from the California Cut Flower Comission 42% of women don’t recieve flowers as often as they would like. So the CCFC has come up with a solution. They have these adorable hint cards. They are little cards that you can slip into someone’s lunch bag, briefcase or pocket. They say things like “Don’t let all of my hard work go to waste! -Mr. Bumble Bee”. There is also one for when your favorite flower is in season.
So how would you like some of these hint cards? Better yet, how would you like an opportunity to win free flowers? I will give out 25 sets of hint cards and then those winners will get a survey. By completing the survey you get a chance for free flowers!
Leave a comment here telling me who you would give a hint card to and how;)! I will choose 25 people ramdomly June 24th! Make sure that you leave an email so I can contact you!
(This is an FRN review)
Next Food Network Star (6/14)
So here we meet again. I am interested to see what this “holiday” episode will hold for us. I don’t think you will last long on Food Network if you can’t make it through the holidays due to all the specials that they do. Let us see who will make the cut!
So everyone comes in for their mini challenge. An editor for Esquire magazine is the guest judge and the winner’s recipe will be featured in the magazine. They are given typical “man” ingredients. They all seem to be a meat paired with an relatively odd ingredient. Like coffee beans, cereals, syrup, pistachios, etc. Jeffrey really seems a bit bewildered to tie in pistachios. It is a standard nut crust, right?
Then they got to do a direct to camera presentation. Eddie needs to not use lovely when presenting man food. Melissa was a bit of a mess and the food was bland. Jamika was smooth at the start but forgot her ingredients and so she froze. Jeffrey ran a little long because he just shared the food and not himself. Teddy and this mind of the chef thing bugs me. He seemed to yell a little so it was off putting. Brett seemed to be trying too hard and was also yelling. Michael never said his name (I had to go look it up) and ran short. It was a bit painful. Debbie seemed really pleasant and easy going. Katie was all about sneaking health and not tasting good. The winner was Eddie.
Our contestants all go over to Hearst Corp and Good Housekeeping. Giada walks in. The winner will get their recipe and a feature in Good Housekeeping (with their 25 million readers, wow). They have to do a simple, creative holiday dish. Eddie got to assign holidays to the other finalists.
Once everyone is assigned, they got props off the table to decorate. I wish Jeffrey and Brett would have been more literal. April Fool’s Day would have been great time to do a cute literal take. Melissa was a bit chaotic but I think Teddy and Brett, who were helping her plate, were making it seem worse.
Eddie: Valentine’s Day: Seared Ahi with Orange Ginger Sake Glaze
Melissa: Mother’s Day: Oven Scrambled Eggs and Orange Coconut French Toast
Katie: Earth Day: Roasted Shrimp with Cannelini Beans and Roasted Radicchio
Debby: Mardi Gras: Cajun Mandu with Country Rice and Black Beans
Michael: Halloween: Wonton Wrapped Tuna with Butternut Squash Salad
Brett: April Fool’s Day: Pan Seared Filet Mignon and Lobster Tempura
Jeffrey: Groundhog Day: Lobster and Chorizo Stuffed Avocado
Teddy: Labor Day: Surf and Turf with a Marinated Filet and Lump Crab Cake
Jamika: New Year’s Eve: Spiced Collard Greens with Sweet Corn Bread
Service/Judging:
Melissa did well both with the food and the presentation. They liked her but once again the comment comes up to harness her energy. Jeffrey says that spring makes him want Mexican food? Jeffrey’s presentation was good but the food was seperate. Jamika went to sex in her presentation. They liked her food. Katie started well but then she went a bit diareahal in the nutrition bit. They thought the food was boring as was her education. Teddy was a little much , to me, in the presentation. Bobby Flay said he was doing the “acty” thing. Brett did an April’s Fool joke that he was quitting. I thought it was a little dorky. He didn’t connect his food to the holiday. There was shell in Bobby’s lobster. Debby did well but not as good as usual. They thought the recipe might have been a little to complicated. Then it was Michael’s turn. He was really entertaining. Eddie came in with a magnum of champagne. He went a little salesman for me and stodgy. He also went a little to TMI on his first date. He also talked about cooking for women is different. Giada was a bit offended. Now I think that Katie should be the one sent home tonight. But we will see.
They thought Jeffrey and Debby did well. They hit Katie for educating and not entertaining. They liked Michael’s presentation but thought the food was to complicated. Eddie shared to much. Giada slammed him on “cooking a certain way for women”. Jamika did well with her New Year’s side dish and her presentation. Teddy’s food did well but that he needs to stay true. Brett got hit on the shell and that his presentation had nothing to do with April’s Fool. Bob said that he didn’t seem to fit food but that he just seemed to want to be on tv. Bob said that Melissa seemed to be hit by mommy mayhem. Teddy said that she should be able to do this on her own. Brett said she wouldn’t have been able to do it on her own. What jerks!! They helped her so they could use it against her here. I hope that weighs against them at some point.
The winner of the challenge was Jamika. The top 3 were Jamika, Debby and Melissa. Brett was the contestant who was cut. I think it was obvious that this was what he hoped would bring him to tv. Jamika’s recipe will be features in July (different than the challenge recipe).
So will anyone trust Teddy? Will Katie quit lecturing? Well, I will meet you back here next week to find out!
Meal Plan Monday
So I am still recovering so I am trying to take it easy. So I am pulling things out of the freezer that I can just put in dinner so NerdDad doesn’t have to cook a full meal every night.
Monday: Chicken Pasta Bake (made 6 Sunday with NerdDad’s help)
Tuesday: Pasta Carbonara Florentine
Wednesday: Chicken Kiev, Beer Bread, Broccoli
Thursday: Salmon, Crockpot Mac & Cheese (this is a new recipe to me and I am going to make a double batch), Broccoli
Friday: Pork Loin Chops, Beer Bread, Broccoli
Top Chef Masters
I am so excited! Real chefs competing, this should be good! I recognize lots of these chefs from various magazines and shows. My favorites at this point are Wylie Dufre and John Besch but someone could impress me;). I also am excited to see the $$ go to charities.
It looks like they aren’t all competing at once but in groups. So our chefs this week are Michael Schlow, Huber Keller, Christopher Lee, and Tim Love. I don’t know if you remember Keller from season 1 of Top Chef, but he is the chef from the first show who tossed Colin (?) out of his kitchen.
They are getting a quickfire just like the orginal Top Chef. They are getting dessert. They have to make the most creative dessert possible for a table of Girl Scouts. The have 1 hour.
Keller wants to try to get a meringue in an hour. I don’t know how that will go. Schlow is trying a chocolate cake/brownie and ice cream. Getting ice cream to set up is going to be hard. Love is going with what he knows. He is making a bunch strawberry stuff including a “chicken-fried” strawberry. Lee is going with a French Toast on a stick kind of thing with maple syrup fluff and carmelized bananas. Love and Lee both seem to be doing something simple, yummy and time appropriate. Schlow struggled (as I thought he would) getting his cake to cook and his ice cream base won’t set up. He ended up just serving the candy and sort of some cake. Huber got his meringue and the plate looked great! He rightfully won the quickfire!
The quickfire scores will be added to the final. The quickfire judges awarded them up to 5 stars each. For the elimination challenge they can get a total of 20 stars. 5 from the diners and 15 from the judges. The winner gets to move onto the Championship Round and $10K for their charity.
Elimination Challenge:
They have to make a 3 course meal using only a microwave, toaster oven and hotplate. They are feeding the critics and some students at Pomona College. They get $150 to shop and access to a limited pantry. Then they will get 2 hours to prep and cook. Watching them shop was quite entertaining. It looks like a few of them are buying stuff on the fly. Love didn’t see ground pork but I know if he would have asked them to grind some. Whole Foods does that kind of stuff. Tim Love stuck all his groceries in the freezer including all the produce. This could be horrible and he didn’t have much of a plan to begin with. Keller and Schlow seemed befuddled over the microwave and how to use it;).
They actually get to cook in the dorm rooms. It looks like the student judges are the room owners. Keller drained his pasta and shocked it with cold water all in the shower. I don’t think Love is going to be ruling when it comes to braised kale and anyone but especially not California college kids.
Michael Schlow: Salmon Crudo, Cabbage Soup with Bacon, Pork a la Apicius
Hubert Keller: Fresh Scottish Salmon, Carrot and Pea Soup with Cinnamon, Macaroni and Cheese with Prawns
Christopher Lee: Red Snapper Ceviche, Creamy Risotto, Pan Roasted Pork Chop
Tim Love: Scallop Carpaccio, Squash and Corn “Pozole”, Skirt Steak and Breaised Kale
Service/Judging:
Keller’s first course seems the best received of all the first courses. Though everyone of the first dishes were well received. They thought Love’s pozole was great football/dorm food. The second courses did fine. Everyone liked all the tastes but the texture of Lee’s risotto was in question. Love’s 3rd course was a bit salty. The students thought the kale was bitter. The judges thought Schlow’s pork was overdone. Keller’s Mac & Cheese was a big hit with everyone. Lee’s pork chop was well accepted.
Critic’s Table:
The panel was torn on Heller’s soup and the cinnamon level. It was love or hate. They thought the flavor profile on Schlow’s pork was good but that it was over cooked. Schlow’s soup would have been better in another hour. They also liked Love’s stew and thought his steaked was well seared but a little over seasoned. They thought that Lee’s risotto’s flavor was good but the texture was off. They also thought Lee’s pork was well executed. Hubert Keller won!
Let me interject here that the Master’s stew room is much better than the normal Top Chef room;).
All in all this is pretty good! This week all the chefs seem to be friends and they were laid back. I don’t think that will be the case every week. I think I respect Tim Love even more than before and I was already a fan of Keller.
This is going to be an interesting season!
Flash Mob Show Promotions?
This is stunt to promote the new MC Hammer show on A&E. I want to know where that store is so that I won’t go there;). Though the old guy with the headband is familiar from the dance show TLC tried to do. This just didn’t have the same wow effect as the train station in Europe.
Celebrate Truffles
I recently got to try some truffles from Celebrate Life. These are not only good truffles they also help suppress your appetite. They work best if eaten 15-20 minutes before a meal or whenever you are hungry. These were really tasty! I am a huge snacker in the afternoon and, while a serving is actually 3, I ate 1 and was totally satisfied. They have a variety of flavors and styles. I got the classic sampler and the fruit/nut sampler. They have a great chocolate taste. If you don’t like real chocolate, ie lots of cocoa, they may not be for you. But most women, this will be right up our alley. Would you like to try these?
Win it!
How would you like to win some of your own of Celebrate Truffles? The winner will receive the same 2 packs that I got!
To enter:
* Go bookmark the Celebrate Life site and tell me 1 health fact you find!
* A random winner will be selected and notified on Jun 15th.
* The winner will then have 2 days to claim their prize.
To earn extra entries, you may do one or all of the following. Each one counts as an extra ticket but you must leave a separate comment for each one.
* Subscribe to my feed (if you already do, that counts).
* Mention this giveaway on your blog with a link back here and to Celebrate Truffles.
* Subscribe to my Twitter
* Tweet about this!
This giveaway is open to addresses within the US and Canada. Please leave a way to contact you in case you win.
If you want to see more giveaways pop over to Making Money Keeping Money to see more giveaways on Contesting Monday!
(This is a FRN review)
(A warning: the pictures on the Celebrate Life Nutrition site are a little racy, nothing beyond the pale but racy. I promise, all I see them selling is food)
Cool Guys and Explosions
I think that is really JJ Abrams. But not Neil Diamond;). What a good sport he is.
Royal Pains
If Michael Westin likes him, why wouldn’t we;)?