My MIL thinks it’s *just terrible* that I ask for practical things. She says gifts are supposed to be frivolous. But I LIKE practical stuff. I’d be thrilled to get the utensil crock, rolling pin, and dish towels from my Amazon wish list!

Piven looks pretty good...I thought it was Jon Hamm! I’ll see myself out.

I don’t have kids, so I don’t have a dog in this fight, but I can’t say I blame the other commenters. I wouldn’t discount someone just for being a Republican, of course, but if I got to know the person and thought they believed in things that were detrimental to my child’s future, I wouldn’t be thrilled.

Wow, that’s crazy. And I thought it was weird when my cousin ordered her son a video from Santa that said “You had a good year, but you need to get better about going to the potty.”

You’re a lot nicer than my mother. I had to move home when I was 25 because I got super ill and had to have surgery twice. Not only did I have to do the dishes every day, sweep the floor, etc. right when I got home from the hospital with a big abdominal incision, she set the AOL parental controls so that I could only…

I’m in the southwest US now, but I just moved here from the northeast. The price of eggs went up significantly before I moved. I think they were $2.99 per carton a few months ago. You can get them on sale for $2.49/dozen right now, but the regular price is quite a bit more.

Eggs have actually gotten pretty expensive recently due to a shortage! It’s actually cheaper to buy a pound of chicken breasts or thighs than it is to buy a dozen eggs ($1.99/lb. for chicken compared to $$3.99 for a dozen eggs). I still remember when eggs were like 79 cents a dozen; I must be getting old.

I put my MIL in charge of the mashed potatoes because I didn’t think it was possible to really mess them up. Turns out I was wrong. She was cooking the potatoes when I got to her house at 11:20 a.m. She was STILL cooking the potatoes at 1:45...all of the food I made was done at 1:30. She finally mashed the potatoes at…

It’s really a shame they canceled that show. I’ve learned a ton from Alton.

I’m about ready for bed, and it’s only 9:15. I did a lot of my cooking today, so all I have to do tomorrow is make yeast rolls, roast two chickens, and finish what I started today. I just finished the stuffing (cornbread and sausage), and I spent this morning making cheesecake, strawberry topping for said cheesecake,…

I didn’t realize one of my Thanksgiving recipes required evaporated milk. I refuse to go to the store today, so I made my own. I am a big fan of homemade stuff, but I can totally see why people buy canned. It’s easy to make, but it takes a long time!

Thanks for the link! I don’t have a cast-iron pan, so I’ll have to stick with the roasting rack for now, but I’ll bookmark this for later. I have a membership to America’s Test Kitchen, so I can watch every episode from the last 15 seasons, and I have access to their premium cookbook collection as well, so I’m excited…

I’m doing a chicken, too. I recently subscribed to America’s Test Kitchen, and I am using their method (roast for 15 minutes with one thigh up, 15 minutes with the other thigh up, and then turn up the oven and roast the breast at a higher temp; this is supposed to ensure even cooking and crisp skin). I did a test…

I don’t know if it’s only Catholic, but not every Christian denomination believes in purgatory.

Ever since manufacturers had to find a way to get rid of the trans fats in their products, nothing made with shortening tastes right to me. We’ve used the same pie crust recipe for 50+ years; with the “new” shortening, it’s not right. I used to make dozens of pumpkin cookies (with chocolate chips) every year, from an…

I have a question for the cooks in the group. Our local market has an insane deal on celery and carrots right now (67 cents for a nice bunch of celery, and 99 cents for 2 lb. of carrots). I make a very basic chicken soup that uses a mix of carrots, celery, and onions, so I’d love to buy a ton of the veggies, cut them…

Ugh. Sounds like my mother. She is firmly of the opinion that you shouldn’t wear anything sleeveless or strapless unless you’re a size 0. She constantly makes comments about people’s wedding pictures.

I believe it. The nastiest, most miserable people I know are the devout Catholics: priests, nuns, Eucharistic ministers, etc. They serve mass on Sunday and then spend the rest of the week being complete assholes.

I feel you. My brother is five years younger, and he bought a house a year ago, but it will probably be five more years until my husband and I can buy. Just try to remember that we all have different circumstances. In our case, I have extensive health issues, and I had a HUGE hospital bill that I couldn’t pay...so it…

I’m sorry you’re going through this. I don’t have any advice, but I wanted to let you know you are not alone. My mom and dad have been replaced by GOP robots. I honestly end up in tears sometimes when I think about how much they have changed (my mom just turned 59 and my dad will be 60 in two weeks). I certainly…