Had it with the Food Channel...

[cassiesmom]

New season of "Next Food Network Star" starts June 5th and there is a guy from the west suburbs of Chicago in this cast -- Jeff Mauro from Elmwood Park, Illinois. I'll have it on!

[RICHARD]

Here's another observation I had about Paula Deen and her show.

We came across her program and she was making some kind of Rice Krispies Treats - RC and marshmallows, shaped and put on a popsicle stick.

PD's son was helping her while she played with a small child that was also on the set with them.
PD sat the kid on THE CUTTING BOARD next to the area where the food was being prepped.

Holy Mole!

Does that woman have a brain?

I remember going to the bank with my mom, when I was a kid and getting yelled at for hanging on the counter..."People sit their kids on the ledge!"

I never forgot her words.

[cassiesmom]

Oh my, what happened to the finalist that got eliminated? I had high hopes for that person! I am BUMMED!

Did the NFNS producers intentionally tell the finalist shopping for the quinoa to purchase two boxes instead of ten? Felt that way to me, but I'd like to try that recipe.

And Mary Beth left me with a strange impression. She felt to me like "Food Network Star" meets SNL.

[Karen]

That elimination was so abrupt! And the quinoa thing - he repeated back to her two when she said ten, one or the other of them should have clarified, given the quality of the cell phone connection! I thought Susie adapted pretty well, considering.

Justin seemed like a nice guy, but turned completely wooden whenever the camera was one - he seems he'd better made for a Top Chef contestant than a Food Network Star, cared more about the food than the presentation part. We were hoping they would get rid of Penny, for the burnt macaroni and cheese that she was in denial about, but it was obvious the judges somehow "like" her more than I do!

[cassiesmom]

I'm surprised that xxxxxxxxxxx (won't put the name in case anyone hadn't seen it) got eliminated last night. This person got mowed down by their team's stronger personalities. I thought xxxxxxxxx had a really good thing going and I'm sorry about their elimination.

I'd love to try making Vic Vegas's Philly cheese steak burrito or Penny's middle Eastern steak wrap. And Jeff's meatball sandwich - well, he's from the Chicago area, so I think I might have a chance to actually get my hands on one of those. Why did Mary Beth bring up the onion chopping thing in the eval room? I thought that was a bad decision.

Edited to ask: What's on a Philly cheese steak sandwich besides the steak? (Bell pepper? Onion? Tomato? I think I'd like it with a slice of tomato under the melted cheese.) What kind of cheese do you usually find on the sandwich, and do you toast the roll first? Is it on a hoagie roll, or can I make it with good Chicago Italian bread? Vic Vegas's wrap looked gooey and yummy to me and I think it would be easy to prepare, but I'd also like to have it as a traditional sandwich some time.

[Karen]

I was not surprised, it seemed like she was giving up, she just didn't have the energy she had when she first came into the competition.

Mary Beth brought up the onion chopping, because Penny was claiming she had no help from her teammates, and listing everything she did by herself, and when she listed chopping all the onions, Mary Beth spoke up.

[cassiesmom]

So I was thinking... If Penny and Mary Beth ran at each other at high speed and collided -- together they'd probably be a contender for the NFNS. Penny's food has ranked high with the judges; Mary Beth's hasn't but the camera likes her. It's a good thing they can't, because I'm rooting for Jeff from Chicago (and Vic Vegas, but don't tell Jeff).