Hell's Kitchen

I'm not a huge fan of reality shows, but I am a fan of Gordon Ramsay, so I had to watch last night's new show. I know there are those who find Ramsay crude and unbearable, but he strives for perfection. In the restaurant business, as customers, we expect a fluid kitchen. I'm sure I'd tend to agree that cooking, managing new staff, especially inexperienced staff, and dealing with imbeciles who supposedly are experienced can be very emotional work. So I'm not surprised he blew up a lot last night.

I'm not convinced I could handle a restaurant myself; I wouldn't put myself in that position. However, the "contestants" on this show had to have had an idea of what would be expected of them. The woman that got booted, I'm surprised she was so shocked. The kitchen was struggling--and I mean struggling--and she was sat back there toying with desserts. Isn't it common knowledge that to get to dessert, the actual meals have to go out. After an hour of entrees being prepared and prepared again, you'd think she would have been on the ball and realizing that she should help out the slower "cooks" and then go back to her own.

I think Hell's Kitchen is going to make for some pretty gritty television, and I can't wait to see who makes it to the end. I have my suspicions already, but only time will tell.

Memorial Day Festivities

I'll be bbq'ing tomorrow with friends and family, so I am going to skip the blog then.

I do want to wish everyone great weather and happy times for those who are getting together. And drive safe!

In the kitchen

I have this addiction...an addiction to cookbooks. I have a shelf full of them, yet I always feel the need to add more and more to my collection. So last night, I was looking through a newer book that was sent for review -- The Food Journal of Lewis & Clark -- and found this incredible recipe that now I'm dying to try.

Imagine a raspberry pie. We all know just how tasty a raspberry pie is--especially if you top it with vanilla ice cream (and the Breyers Low Carb version is pretty tasty!) Raspberry Pie and Vanilla ice cream remind me of my grandmother's cooking. So it's a nostalgia thing, but I digress.

This "pie" recipe actually uses a pastry crust, raspberry filling and then instead of forming a pie, you roll it up into a pinwheel like creation. I have a feeling that this is about to become a family favorite. I just can't wait to test the recipe out today. It's supposed to rain AGAIN, so I think an afternoon of baking is in store.

And speaking of baking --- my rhubarb is ready. Anyone have recipes to share?

Yesterday's adventure

I did get my tattoo yesterday. I'd already chosen and tweaked a Celtic symbol that signifies the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. I liked it because of the three intertwining figures, but I wanted to make it more personal to me. So the square was done in purple for my birthstone, one of the two ovals in sapphire for my daughter and then my husband and son share a green stone, so green was used for the final oval.

I find the process amazing. This tiny needle runs at an insanely fast pace. It did hurt over the anklebone, won't I lie there, but it wasn't a pain that couldn't be managed. In the other areas, it didn't bother me. And even then, the pain is more of a quick pinching sensation than that of getting a shot.

I'm happy I did it!

Weather Blahs

I swear, if I see one more day of rain, I might just scream. In a little more than the past month, we've had about 5 days of sun to 30+ days of rain. And the forecast for today is another straight week of rain...

On the brighter side, I am taking the plunge today and getting a tattoo. I can't say I'm fond of needles, but that's half of my goal. If I can give birth to two children (one almost 11 pounder at that), I think sitting through a tattoo appointment should be a piece of cake in comparison. But we'll find out, won't we?

Season Finales

You know, now that the season finales are hitting the televisions, I have to say I am watching a lot more TV than normal.

I'm excited to see what happens on tonight's LOST episode. I guess they will be killing off a number of characters, I just hope Sawyer isn't one of them!!

So what was up with last night's NCIS episode?????? If you haven't seen the show because you are in a different country, stop reading...




KILL off Kate. What on earth were they thinking. Now where are we going to the romantic tension and quibbling between Kate and Tony? That whole issue threw me for a loop. I was certain that it would be McGee that got killed off. So how many others were peeved with the ending?

No more discussion boards, gonna try this.

The discussion boards were a bust. You had to sign on to post, and most are not interested in that, so I'm going to try the webcraze, blogging, instead. I did a search and this is the site that looks the most user friendly. Everyone will be able to post their comments, and you should be able to do so anonymously if you choose, and I still have the freedom to delete the garbage and allow the rest. :-)