I kept my name when we got married.  Part of it was an issue of practicality, as my husband is Swedish and no one here can pronounce his name correctly.  But in all honesty, I would have kept my name no matter what.  I had spent almost 30 years with that name by the time we married—it's the name that went to college…

I really wanted to cuddle with the Gastrognome.  Oh, Yukon Cornelius, why hast thou forsaken us?

@avclub-d542a3419c3ad57206a96bcc86155ebc:disqus I believe that Padma will not only make the eliminated chef (let's call that chef "X") watch the final two cook, but also force X to eat the final two chefs' meals and describe how each course is better than what X would have made.  And then she will strip X to X's…

I guess your classic "non-couple-y" approach would involve lots of raw garlic and/or onion.  And probably asparagus.

Well, you know what wrestlers are like.  When they're not pinning guys on mats, they're all about the sous vide machine.

I've never made sablefish.  I vaguely recall hearing that it's delicious but very oily.  Is that correct?  Is it the same thing as black cod?

Note to Bravo: When your viewers have to specify whether something is the "final finale," your chef-elimination structure may be a bit too complicated!

There were two "casting" episodes, and then two elimination episodes, in each of which two chefs were sent packing.  I think that's right.  I felt that the episodes where they chose their teams were a bit awkward, but the elimination episodes are picking up steam.  Everyone seems more comfortable, Bourdain is drinking…

I think that my absolute favorite thing about that show, which is actually growing on me week by week, is the part of the opening/theme that shows extreme closeups of each chef chewing and making odd faces.  Every week, I just can't believe that shots of people chewing are featured so prominently.  Yes, I know it…

I went to a David Sedaris reading once, and he said that he uses the post-reading book signing as an opportunity to get new ideas for stories.  It makes sense—your research even pays to come to you!

I'm sorry that was your experience.  I swear that it can work, though.  I met my awesome husband on eHarmony.  And yes, I know it has the reputation of being for conservative Christians, and yes, I think it's unfair and wrong that there is (was?) no option for gay singles.  But my husband and I are both liberal…

The truly disturbing thing about this commercial to me is that the woman totally looks like she's going to start fucking that bear at any moment.

Shit. Wrong thread. Sorry.

So I hesitate to say this, because I am a committed feminist and this book has a terrible reputation among my tribe, but you may want to read (while ignoring the gender in the title) "He's Just Not That Into You."  No joke, it changed my life.  Everyone seemed to interpret it as a slap against women who were proactive…

This is very much unlike me, as I have a vivid imagination and am loath to add to my nightmares, but I'm in the midst of reading The Monster of Florence by Douglas Preston and Mario Spezi, about a series of gruesome murders of couples found in coitus (or shortly after) in cars in the hills and orchards of Florence at…

I don't think you're alone concerning The Casual Vacancy.  It's still pretty new, and there are tons of copies sitting idle on the library bookshelves.  I haven't heard anyone say anything too fantastic about it.  When I compare that to how you couldn't get copies of the Harry Potter books for years without having to…

I made farinata last night in a cast-iron skillet.  It's like a thin dough, crispy on the edges, made out of chickpea flour, and it was really delicious.  I topped it with roasted grape tomatoes (since most other tomatoes are terrible at this time of year), sauteed onions, and asparagus.  It was yummy.

He totally should have been auf'ed for that hideous sack he made for the veteran.  It was complete bullshit that they decided to keep everyone in that challenge, and a transparent ploy to save him, a la Anya Part Two.

I can't tell you how many times I've had to hurriedly skip past "Fuck You" (the uncensored version, which I find much superior to "Forget You").  A couple of times I didn't make it to the remote in time and just had to loudly sing over the objectionable word: "And I'm like FORGET you!"

I think some of the awkwardness of the lyrics may result from the origins of the song.  If I remember correctly, it was originally meant to be on the soundtrack for a movie about a serial killer or murderer.  Dancing was not really the point of the song, and just got shoehorned in when it went on the Flashdance…