As we near Valentine’s day, we can expect to see more butter-filled, over the top recipes to make that special someone who doesn’t care about getting Diabetes or Heart Disease.
Today we were treated with Ree’s Chocolate Valentine Cookies. Ree’s is very far from a professional recipe. I can’t believe this shitty recipe would even make it into a cookbook. These cookies as otherwise known as Chocolate Sugar Cookies or Chocolate Cut Out Cookies. Cute. From her commenters, you would think Ree is the first person to make a cookie in a heart shape. If you are thinking of making these for your sweetie, don’t. Here’s why:
- What Ree doesn’t tell you is that her cookies are hard as rocks. They are little heart-shaped hockey pucks. Why? TWO STICKS OF BUTTER!!! (for only 2 1/4 cups flour) Too much butter in a cookie recipe makes them hard. Here’s a reference: the standard Nestle Toll House Cookie recipe calls for 2 sticks (one cup) of butter, to make….60 cookies. Please notice, REE’s recipe yields 12-18 cookies. So, if you knock back two or three of these little guys, you just consumed a quarter cup of butter.
- As some commenters have pointed out, three seconds after you take the time to stencil the cute powdered sugar letters, the door will open, a breeze will blow and the powdered sugar will be all over your countertop, instead of spelling out the special message you wanted to send. What a complete waste of time.
- I would like to emphasize this again, REE’s cookies are hard, I guarantee it. See how thin they are? 2 sticks of butter, + 12 minutes of baking at 350 degrees + 1/4 inch thickness is a recipe for disaster. They will be slightly burnt. Your sweetie will ask you to never make them again.
If you are sold on the “idea” of these cookies, do a search on allrecipes.com for “Chocolate Cut Out Cookies”. Every recipe I found uses less butter and recommends a shorter baking time.
I really believe if Ree posted ANY of her recipes on allrecipes.com, or any other true cooking site, she would get picked apart!
~MyReeHurts
{ 79 comments }
Thank you for writing this guest post! Maybe someone could make PW’s recipe, take some pics, and let us know how they turn out? LOL
Oh oh oh…my hand is up to give the recipe a try! i’m a terrible baker and when i tried her texas sheet cake, reading all the palaver about how simple and wonderful it would be, it was a total utter disaster. icky, dry and no one wanted to eat it. argggh…. now let me see if i can manage to make a silken cookie out of a cow’s ear
I also tried her sheet cake – it was absolutely disgusting. We threw most of it away.
I tried the sheet cake also and wondered what all the fuss was about. No one, except for my daughter’s then boyfriend, cared for it. I also tried her crash hot potatoes (no success, even after two attempts), and when all the fuss was going on about the cinnamon rolls. So much butter oozing out, it was a complete mess. I ended up finding two recipes on Allrecipes and sort of combined them and came out with what I thought was a much better cinnamon roll.
I’ll just make this blanket statement about Ree’s cakes: cakes are better when made with oil instead of butter! The cake is more moist, and it rises more. That is probably problem numero uno with her shit cake.
@admin: Just sent you an email before I read this post. I would be more than willing to make some of her recipes.
I cook and bake as a way to get some good stress in my life.
Also how cool would it be if people looking for a review of Ree’s recipes came to this site. I was thinking of trying to write an impartial review of her recipe and if I happened upon a good one then I would review that one as well. I think that approach lends credibility to the site and will be more convincing for the reader. Most people are going to think that everything on this site is done out of hate towards Ree, but if we keep with the tone that as been set and continue in the same vain, along with trying for some impartiality then I think that the site could bring in all the PW fans that are on the fence,
I will say that my family really likes the apple dumpling recipe of hers. I tweaked it by reducing the butter and sugar and instead of using Mt.Dew, I used apple juice.
Agreed, Kelley. We like that one, too. I also cut back on the sugar and butter and use 7up or ginger ale in place of the Mountain Dew.
The apple dumpling recipe isn’t hers…… It’s an old Pampered Chef recipe.
If you ever want to know if one of her recipes is one she came up with herself, all you have to do is check sites like allrecipes.com or food.com. That’s where she gets most of her recipes from.
http://www.food.com/recipe/mountain-dew-apple-dumplings-61755
This was posted in 2003.
I’ve been making that recipe for years, she didn’t come up with it. Although I think she does say to use more butter than I have ever used.
That is really one of my biggest problems I have with her site, all the comments of people just kissing her ass. If someone wanted to say “this is good, but mine turned out dry, next time I will add more milk.” it will never get posted. Her site is very unrealistic in that way. After all, isn’t that what the internet is for? So we can all come together and share our experiences?
Apparently you need to write comments such as “Ree Turn the heart upside down, cut the tip off and you have a girly butt!!!.Now ice the butts with bikini bottoms and thats a man pleaser for valentine day!!!” WTF???? Who comes up with this shit?
I actually saw on a blog where they did that with heart-shaped cookies. They turned them upside down, and decorated some to look like a bra, and some to look like a thong. Classy.
Oh dear God… that’s all we need. Ree decorating “Hiney Tingle” cookies… Can you imagine that post? — These are MM’s FAVORITE decorated cookies. I just love watching his forearms flex while eating such tasty tidbits –
I can’t even write this without retching!
Hilarious!!!!! I read that comment too. Like, for Valentine’s Day I am going to bake my husband a big thong-butt cookie!!!! Wow, there are so many things wrong with that.
Okay first yuck. Mouton Dew. That is almost as bad as cool whip.
Also I agree with you My Ree Hurts. Almost every recipe site also people to post hints and suggestions and to comment on what worked and what didn’t work even Bon Apetit which posts recipes from some of the best chefs in the country. Why is she so afraid of feedback? It would go along way towards increasing her credibility if she allowed in contesting opinions, but since her brand is at it zenith. There are enough fawning sheep to worry about any of the naysayers. Also it would shatter the fantasy world that appeals to so many if every comment was full of rainbows, unicorns, and puppies. Oh and Jesus.
Reminds me of the people that follow Oprah. She could pull her pants down and sh*t on the stage and getting a standing ovation for it.
MyReeHurts -
Many thanks for your honest assessment of yet another PW disaster recipe. Looking forward to further constructive criticism and improvements!
AMRDw/4pp
@My ReeHurts I too agree with what Anne MaReeDee had to stay about your review. I loved that you linked to other recipes that were similar to Ree’s to show how the cookies should be made, but also to show that her recipes are almost a carbon copy of those recipes. She made a thai red chili paste and her recipe was the exact same as the recipe found on About.com. It would be great to put them up side by side. If she didn’t already change hers. ALso she made it with ketchup and I make a lot of Thai food and have never once used ketchup.
Also did you see that shrimp dish she made recently. Well most the ingredients were veggies that should only be eaten in the summer. I love how she just doesn’t care what season we are in. She is just going to post a recipe that calls for avocado, sweet corn, tomatos and a couple other summer like ingredients. She is so out of touch. Also the name of the dish was rather rude towards hispanics.
Maybe next time you review the bread! I hope that you come back as a recipe reviewer. Loved it.
Your post imspired me to do a demonstration of one of her dishes and I might bake something so I could take it in to one of my classes and get reactions from other people. Or make a simple dinner and to get feedback from my guest. I want to do to show that other people think her cooking if awful too and not just us. You know because we are only critical of her food because we either hate her or are so jealous of her. It couldn’t be that we are critical of her food, her blog, her book because she really isn’t all that good when it comes to all of those thinngs
When did it become wrong or not okay to be critical of someone? When did it stop being okay to give an honest opinion of a person’s work from writing a book, producing art, cooking, signing, blogging. Why is it not okay to give an honest appraisal of person’s skill level and talent? And if a person acts like a douche or it is a complete fraud and fake if you say that about the person then you are the one who is mean or jealous. If someone isn’t good at something, but presents themselves as expert, and while everyone sings their praise. Then people with opposing view points should also voice their opinions with being called jealous, hateful, losers.
Well said.
I was just thinking the same thing. Why is the “you’re just jealous argument” only played among women? As if we can have no valid reasons for disliking or disagreeing with things. I think some things Ree does are unethical and just plain wrong. I have a right to speak up about it. I’m not jealous. Is it hard to believe that some people are happy with their life as-is, and want to speak up when they see injustice in the world? Or are all women just “jealous?”
Can you please critique THE BREAD? If you haven’t seen the barbie version of THE BREAD then I strongly suggest getting over to Rechelle Unplugged and click on The Pie Near tag. You won’t regret it.
Oh, dear sweet fancy Moses. I can’t believe we forgot about THE BREAD.
Oh, I know the critique of THE BREAD, and I can’t come close. There was a lot of time and work (and butter) involved in that review. “You have to BURN it! That’s where the flavor is!!!” Plus, I don’t own dolls that look like Ree, et. al.
THE BREAD! OMG! Oh how about her recipe for cinnamon toast? I stopped reading the blog, but still check out TK. Although I’m getting irritated by that too, I still find some good recipes from other people on there. Her mozzarella sticks recipe was just a way for her to plug Kikkoman’s. Kikkoman’s even submitted recipes to the site. How much money did she get for that? Whatever happened to everyday cooks submitting everyday recipes to share? The sticks had no flavor. Some of her tips for her recipes are just wrong, but you really don’t see anyone pointing that out. I came across PW from Bakerella and liked that she claimed to use things around the house for cooking. Nothing fancy because she’s so far from town. She still claims that, I think, and then uses things like pancetta or goat cheese. How does she get those things if she’s so far away from a city like she claims? Who has a sushi chef come to their house? I just wish she would be more honest to her readers. Thanks and I’m really enjoying the comments.
Thanks MyReeHurts (love the name, btw) for giving us the scoop on this recipe. I’ve used Paula Deen’s chocolate sugar cookie recipe for a few years now, with much success. I always get about 3 dozen cookies from the dough, even if I use larger cookie cutters. They come out soft and slightly chewy, like a regular sugar cookie. I agree with all of her posters who commented on how unlikely it is that the powdered sugar will stay on the cookie.
I loved this critique. I hope this can become a regular series!
I would try the recipe, but it would be a waste of butter. Plus, I bake a lot, so I would have a hard time following her recipe exactly. I would want to adjust it, and thus, my results might not be her results.
Thanks, MyReeHurts.
I appreciate MyReeHurts sharing her expertise. I also tried PW’s sheet cake recipe. It turned out awful and my husband, who will eat anything that sits still long enough, didn’t want to eat the thing. I went back to my old standard Texas Sheet cake recipe out of an old church cookbook from the 70′s.
I have no idea how blogging pages, etc. work so I have a couple of questions(forgive me if they sound dumb but I really don’t know): On her Tasty Kitchen page, do all those recipes sent to PW’s site by others become exclusive property of her site? Does that mean she can actually use them in another cookbook without giving credit?
Jan that is a good question and I wished I had thought of it. Hopefully someone knows.
I’d like to know because I submitted several way back when (mind you, one of the worst sites I’ve added recipes to – the layout is terrible). I’d like to erase my account from there, but there doesn’t seem to be a way to do it. Anyone know how?
BA, I tried logging in to Tasty Kitchen yesterday to see if there’s a place where I could delete my profile, but there isn’t. I tried editing the profile and taking out all the info, but you have to leave at least your name.
Thanks, Kelley. I could go in and manually “erase” each one but I think I added over 20. Ugh. She was supposed to be updating the site as of 2/1, but I don’t see any changes yet. Maybe, if a new setup comes along, we can opt out then, but I’m not counting on it.
I really don’t know anything about her Tasty Kitchen site and how the TOS work. I can’t imagine she would be so bold as to lift recipes from there though, surely not! Perhaps you could email someone on the invisible staff to ask them?
See my comment above regarding oil working better in most cakes. Ree’s butter may have made the cake dry and flat.
I tried to do some investigating on Tasty Kitchen. If you posted a recipe, she would have to make it public via terms and conditions or something like that stating that the recipe is now her property. The risk in posting a recipe on her site, is that people don’t understand copyright laws, and users of her site can re-publish them at will.
If you are concerned about this, don’t post your recipes there, or anywhere. If you do, you can always post a little blurb at the bottom of your recipe saying “copyright___your name” May only be used with permission.
I did find a little blurb on Tasty Kitchen explaining their take on Recipe copyrights:
“The intent of Tasty Kitchen is for folks to submit their own recipes and creations. We’ve had a few people ask if they can submit their all-time favorite recipe from another source, and we say go for it—provided the recipe is not copyrighted material. But if you do this, please make sure to give credit where credit is due and quote the source at the bottom of the Preparation Instructions section of the recipe. You can also give credit in the Short Description.
You can view more information about copyright laws as they apply to recipes here. Basically, ingredient lists are fair game, but recipe instructions aren’t. So if you have a favorite recipe from another source that you’re dying to share with everyone, please make sure the instructions are in your own words and help us keep the feds happy.”
This is not entirely true. You can read more about recipe copyrighting here:
http://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl122.html
That is actually true. It’s why you can find so many of the same recipes everywhere, with the same ingredients. It is the description of the process that holds the key to copyright, not the ingredient list itself, just as the list of ingredients on (say) a package of brand name cookies and store brand cookies is not something against which copyright claims can be made. The method process on the back on the Nestle chocolate chip bag is theirs, and someone copying it verbatim and claiming it as their own would in fact be infringing on the copyright held by the company. In order not to infringe, you would have to scrap the original wording and create your own description of the process. Given the limited talents of many of the posters over there, I suspect this might require too much work…
I swear thaty she does not test these recipes-where the hell would she find the time?
She finds a cookie recipe online (probably Allrecipes) and then adds butter and calls it her own.
Real cooks and bakers spend hours and hours perfecting recipes before they put them in books or online.
I have never made a PW recipe and I never will. I bake and cook alot too and I can tell hers are “off”.
Baloney is less phoney than that woman.
Thanks for the great review-keep ‘em coming!
I was thinking today about all those old standby cookbooks that everyone has. Betty Crocker, Good Housekeeping, etc. The reason those books are bibles is because there recipes are tested dozens, sometimes even hundreds of times by the time they make it to a 4th edition. Ree threw her cookbook together in less than a year, how many times did she really test, proofread, and edit each recipe? No thanks, I won’t be spending $25 on her cookbook.
Hell, I saw that damn cookbook on a sale table at Dillards during the holidays. I never had any interest in it and I sure wasn’t going to waste my money because it was marked down. I read somewhere that it had a recipe for a fried egg in it. WTF?
Yep, she has 2 pages and probably 10 photos for making toad in the hole/nested egg/whatever they call it in your area. Make a hole in the bread and fry an egg in it. Really? We need a recipe for that?
It makes me think that when she first got married she didn’t know how to cook even the most basic dishes, so she figured she better put a fried egg recipe in her book for all the other newbies out there.
My guess would be the latest cookie one was not done by her but some nameless person on her staff. That looks like a pretty time-consuming recipe to do. Unless she did it a while ago, I don’t think she would have the time. Wonder why it’s such a big secret with her about having a staff. Other cooking sites admit it. Seems strange to me.
Geesh Admin. All that PW stalking is getting to you! How much are you paying your guest writers? UGH!
I’m always up for knocking one of “Ree’s” recipes. Just this morning one of my FB friends posted “good friends, good memories, and PW Chicken Pot Pie.” Break out of the bubble ya’ll! She didn’t invent it!
Great review! I tried one of her cakes last year (I’m ashamed to admit) and it was THE WORST!
Would love for you to look at it and get your take based on the ingREEdients.
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2009/08/coffee-cake-literally/
I’m pretty sure I followed it to a “t” and it was completely inedible. AUGH!!
I remember this recipe! What I don’t get is why wouldn’t you want to dissolve the instant coffee before you add it to the frosting? Because I don’t think flecks of coffee would taste very good…
I tried this one, too, Ncme, and if I remember correctly, the coffee flavor was really overwhelming. Not very good. One that was worse was from a year or two ago that used strawberries in the frosting. I’m all about strawberries and gave it a try. I remember the frosting was disgustingly sweet. Again, not another keeper. I do have to say, however, that we like the pasta vodka recipe (probably not her own, by any stretch of the imagination) and the Penne a la Betsy (I think that’s the name).
That is weird! I think I would need a break from all the coffee flavor. That is why there aren’t too many cake recipes with just coffee as a flavor in the cake, and just coffee flavor in the frosting. Add some chocolate or cinnamon to balance it all out. 1. The cake should be made with oil, not butter. 2. Add another flavor to the cake. 3. Frosting= yuck!!! I think it would look disgusting an hour after the cake is made and the coffee crystals dissolve into the frosting a little.
Maybe you can write a review of the cake for this website? I know that admin. is looking for guest writers. It could be short. Admin asked at the top of the comments if anyone would be willing to test Ree’s recipes and since you already have, maybe you could write about it. Just a thought. I just want to help this site and the more content on it, I think makes it a better site. That is where I am coming from and so I hope I didn’t sound too pushy.
Not at all Bridget, that’s an excellent idea!
Not all the recipes she posts she claims as her own, she gives credit to her sources. That doesn’t make me love her though.
I can see for a new cook, or for the aspiring cook who didn’t grow up around people who knew what they were doing in the kitchen, or for that oddball 40 something woman who never figured out how to make a good biscuit, then her recipes will be very helpful.
But dayum, do they eat all that butter and red meat every day?
Since we’re dishing, can I bore y’all with the stuff I’ve made and my opinion? With the exception of one or two these were all for “special occasion” meals:
MM’s favorite sandwich: I liked it, my cowboy did not. *It’s meat and bread*
cinnamon rolls: I never heard of adding baking powder (or was it soda?) to a yeast dough, but I accept that I don’t know everything in the world, so I gave it a try. A lot of hard work, not horrible but not super, and I tasted the baking powder in the end product, still not sure what purpose it serves. This is just not one of the better yeast doughs I’ve worked with.
crash hot potatoes: taste good, look like mistakes. Probably a fun side dish for kids to eat.
cauliflower soup: someone at work went to a farmers market and brought in these giant-ass heads of cauliflower for everyone, so I had to find some ideas. This soup will not be made again; but to be fair if you LOVE cauliflower, you might like it. But you also gotta like cream.
rustic dinner rolls (made from the same dough as the cinnamon rolls) (this should have been my first clue): did not blow me a way. Funny how “rustic” is a euphamism for “lazy” — I use that one too.
her mother in law’s burgundy mushrooms: these I gotta tell you are the bomb, in a good way. Though you can cut back on the butter and the salt in this one and they will still be great.
pecan pie (not the throwdown version): it was fine. I’ve had better.
mocha silk pie: this was pretty good. extremely rich.
chocolate peanut butter pie: this was pretty good but again, way rich.
and finally, the blue cheese onion cream sauce (to go with steak) (talk about a heart attack!): that was good.
You made THE MUSHROOMS? Are those the ones you bake for 9 hours? I saw that recipe, and it is the most freaking ridiculous recipe I have ever seen. I’m sure they’re good, but who is willing to turn their oven on for 9 hours???? To bake a pot of mushrooms????? No offense.
My beef with Ree, no pun intended, is that she doesn’t really cite the source. She cites an old church lady, or her mother’s old recipe collection. By law, she has to cite the original recipe writer, and say that she adapted the recipe from them. She is making millions off other peoples recipes.
And, I’ll admit that not all of her recipes are complete shit. Just last Sunday I made her Tres Leches Cake for the second time. I read about 5 other recipes from other sites, and hers was pretty standard. Nothing out of the ordinary, and it’s pretty good. Again, her recipes are far from original, or spectacular.
Thanks for the review the one’s you tried. This isn’t my website, but I would love to see some honesty here about her recipes. Some are good, sure, but are they really worth the hype.
Fyi: I love smittenkitchen.com. Deb actually was invited to the ranch. Anyway, Deb states very clearly the source from which she adapts each and every recipe. It is very clear. Anyway, I always make her cream biscuit recipe (I did again tonight) and I finally noticed the little blurb about tinny-ness in biscuits. It’s because of the aluminum in baking powder. I just happened to use up the last of my jar on these, so I am going to hunt around for an aluminum-free baking powder. Which isn’t really necessary at all in a sweet bread dough. I have made cinnamon rolls several times and never used baking powder, just yeast.
MyReeHurts -
I too love smittenkitchen.com. Her recipes and sources are always written in a friendly, easy-to-read manner, convincing me that yes, I can make this – and I have successfully made many of her tasty dishes. Deb’s recipes are never too photo heavy and she really reads and responds to comments after her posts, even months later.
As far as PW recipes, I made her ‘Chicken Spaghetti’ and with my own substitutions it was edible, it was the first time I encountered a recipe like this. I received her cookbook as a gift and made the linguine with clam sauce recipe, again it was OK, but I had to make nutritious substitutions. My real shame is when I attempted to make her ‘Holiday Bacon Appetizers’ on her website. Why I wanted to make it I’ll blame it on raging hormones, but there was no way that I could get a half strip of bacon to wrap a few times around a cracker covered with cheese. As you can imagine that effort ended up in the trash.
MyReeHurts, I look forward to further postings and recipes from you.
Many thanks -
Anne MaReeDee
Yes, Deb went to the ranch and mentioned it once, maybe twice. She really low-keyed it. The only reason Ree invited her was because of the popularity of Smitten Kitchen. Drummond was hoping to ride Deb’s coattails to culinary fame. That didn’t happen. Deb has since distanced herself from CindeREEla as well she should. You would have to do some serious digging to find the post about that trip. I suspect Deb regrets the whole experience. Like Rechelle.
Deb’s Smitten Kitchen is top-notch professional blog. Her recipes are tested multiple times before they’re posted. Deb ALWAYS credits the sources of her recipes. She takes absolutely gorgeous photos and the accompanying text doesn’t sound like it was written by a hormonal teenager.
Deb is writing a cookbook which I believe will be published in 2012. She’s been working on it for several years. Unlike CindeREEla’s hastily written piece of garbage.
LOL yes I made the MUSHROOMS! But you make them on the stove top, not in the oven — and yes 9 hours is insane. I made them on the stove top the first time, and the second time I used the crockpot. Because crockpots were made for 9-hour-cooking-time dishes.
Did something happen between her and SmittenKitchen? What about Pastor……ah, I’m having a brain fart. He’s got his own blog and also came to the ranch and she used to feature his recipes a lot on her site.
I like SmittenKitchen. One of my favorite recipes I got from her site was a pizza (if you can call it that) using goat cheese and green and yellow squash. Fantastic!
Pastor Dan! Yeah, I don’t think he’s been around in a while. I love his chicken tikka masala recipe. It was easy and most importantly, it tasted great. I recall that not a lot of her followers thought much of it, though. I know that Indian food is an acquired taste, but there were tons of comments on that post that said, ‘omg, that looks disgusting’, and ‘that looks like vomit’, and ‘we don’t eat that stuff here in Americuhh’. Ok, maybe I made that last one up, but you get the point. I thought it was a bit rude. Maybe Pastor Dan told her to buzz off. And what about the woman who used to post recipes on her blog; the one who lived in Holland? What ever happned to her?
Here name is Kay, her site is http://www.kayotic.nl/blog. She used to be Dutch Girl Cooking or something like that. Ree used to have her do guest recipe posts. Then when people commented how wonderful the recipes were and how great Kay was and how pretty and how cute her kid was. She suddenly disappeared off PW’s site. Kay has gradually been re-posting those recipes that were on PW’s site because people have come looking for them. Including me! Kay’s cooking is great and her recipes work wonderfully. She takes step by step pics but she puts them all together so they are not overwhelming.
I am sure the good ol’ pastor has been subjected to the same treatment.
Was it Pastor Ryan? http://www.thisisreverb.com/
Deb did a post a couple weeks ago saying that she was busily working on a cookbook, and no, she would not be posting all the recipes on her blog first. Smart. I can’t believe all the people that paid $25 for Ree’s book, when all the recipes could be had for free on her site.
As an aside, I was looking for something on Amazon last night, when on the sidebar was a little advertisement for the Queen Ree. I clicked to see some reviews of her new book, and cookbook. If you want some entertainment, click on the one-star reviews, which are honest critiques of her writing style, and pricey cookbook which has, maybe 50 recipes. Her negative review are fiercly defended by her Reebots. I thought “who does this?” There are many things I like, and if someone else doesn’t like what I like, oh well- to each his own. I am not going to go out there and post a defense to my favorite book or CD.
I will, however, probably buy Deb’s cookbook when it makes its appearance. Her recipes are practical, yet interesting enough for me to be intrigued by them, and make me want to get out of a recipe slump.
Thanks for the link to Kayotic Kitchen. But again, she has 25 pictures for Roast Potatoes. Sorry, I love cooking and looking at recipes, but I don’t like wading through pictures and picture of pouring in salt, basil, pepper, olive oil, chopping an onion, etc. etc. That is just my personal preference. Get to the content.
Thanks, ladies, for the link to Pastor Ryan! And to Kayotic Kitchen!
I agree with you MyRee on the overuse of photos in recipe posts. I don’t mind a picture of the ‘cast of characters’ as gREEd would call them and I don’t mind one or two photos of how things should look maybe halfway through the cooking process, but I just don’t see the need for a photo of each and every step.
MyReeHurts -
Sorry I wasn’t able to post this under your post about missing the write up about the ranch visit on Smitten Kitchen. You can start here:
http://smittenkitchen.com/2009/04/big-crumbs-and-small-pretzels-in-oklahoma/ and continue over the following three posts. There is a charming photo of Ree in the cinnamon raisin bagel post towards the bottom – she really looks like the Mister Rogers puppet.
Anne MaReeDee
I honestly don’t know what happened. You kinda’ have to read between the lines. Deb’s way too classy to say anything negative and the polar opposite of Drummond. If memory serves me, it seems like there was a lot of excitement generated prior to the ranch visit and afterwards… not so much.
CindeREEla name-dropped Smitten Kitchen at the National Bookfair in Washington, D.C. last year when asked what her favorite cooking sites were. PW of course would love to align herself with Deb, but I cannot imagine that ever happening. Martha Stewart loves Deb’s blog and has had her on The Martha Stewart Show a couple of times at least. CindeREEla is probably seething.
Deb also has a link on Smitten Kitchen called “Good Reads.” Under the main heading are two categories: Food Sites and Everything Else. The PW link was filed under “Everything Else.” That speaks volumes. I doubt we’ll ever see one of CindeREEla’s church cookbook recipes prepared by Deb. Mountain Dew, Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom soup and Jello are not you’ll see on Smitten Kitchen.
Maybe that’s what our problem is- we’re all ardent SK fans!!! I don’t know, she has the mix of ingredients that are accessible, yet not already residing in our cupboards.
I didn’t see any write-up on SK about the ranch visit, but I may have missed it. Either way, Deb doesn’t need the glory, or to rest on anyone else’s laurels. Her recipes stand alone.
The only recipe of hers I have tried that has worked for me is the Firecracker Shrimp.
Yeah, that’s it – Pastor Ryan. I’ve tried a couple of his recipes and they were pretty good. I remember hearing about some fallout with Kayotic but never heard the particulars. PW comes across as all sweet and aw shucks but it sounds like she makes her enemies along the way.
I love your name! Great review.
I’ve actually made the mushroom recipe twice. Once for Thanksgiving (2009), once for Christmas (2010). The first time I made them, I didn’t read the directions until about 3 hours before dinner so didn’t realize that they were supposed to cook for 9 hours. I just threw them in the pot and turned the heat up, they turned out fine and everyone that had them requested them for Christmas dinner this year. I didn’t mind making them again since you just throw them in a pot and forget about them until it’s time to eat. I cooked them the full 9 hours the second time and I guess they tasted the same as the first time I made them.
I hate mushrooms, but I needed another side dish and as stupid as I am, bought Ree’s cookbook back when it first came out (kicking self).
I had the same thought about the confectioner’s sugar on the cookies…wouldn’t it all shift and blow away when you moved the dang things? I call bullshit on her story of a perky teenager making those for cute boys. Seriously, who DID that?
I tried the sheet cake recipe, too. Even factoring in that I used gluten free flour mix, it was so flat and dense and flavorless, we tossed it. That whole “pour the icing on the cake while warm” is a bunch of bull. Any baker will tell you that most cakes need to cool before frosting.
BTW, does anybody else get annoyed when she goes on and on about her sister’s nut allergy? Describing how she would swell and choke and die if she got near a piece of pecan? As a person with food allergies, I find that just…irritating.
I will admit, grudgingly, that I like the restaurant-style salsa recipe she posted last year. I make that regularly and my friends love it. But I highly doubt it’s her original recipe.
I was right: There’s another recipe just like her salsa recipe, here: http://hubpages.com/hub/Restaurant-Style-Salsa-Recipe
Looks like it was posted 14 months ago or so. And PW posted her “restaurant style salsa) recipe about a year ago, January 27, 2010. Veerrrrry interesting.
I have pointed this out before and it was brought to my attention by Shay, over at Rechelle Unplugged, and I think that she may read this site as well. Well she noticed that the Thai Red Curry Paste recipe that Ree posted was exactly the same as the one posted on About.com. She even made a comment about it on Ree’s site and we were amazed that the comment didn’t get deleted. I think because of how the comment was worded. Ree didn’t give credit to About.Com for the recipe and she just pass it along as if it was her own.
Karen you might be a good candidate to write a review of Ree’s recipes since you already have tried to make one and you have made one that you like. Even though it isn’t hers which would be funny to point out. You probably already saw that Admin is asking if anyone would be willing to do a review of a dish they cooked, so there is a need for guest writers. I would like to see this site be successful and have a variety of posts on it especially any that show directly how crappy her recipes are since she claims to be an expert chef. So that is why I brought it up to you and I apologize if I am being pushy.
And I apologize to the great almighty- ADMIN- if I am saying stuff I shouldn’t or if I am stepping on your toes.
Today her frickin’ post was the same god-damned one that she posts EVERY TIME she goes to a meet and greet or book signing or something. No babies. PICTURE PICTURE PICTURE blah blah blah. PICTURE PICTURE PICTURE. And then how you should keep bringing them. I saw it coming when I heard she was on another one of those tours. I knew it and her repetitiousness did not disappoint. Still makes me want to scream. Cause you can bet it won’t be the last one just like it to appear in the next few weeks.
I would be happy to write a guest post if Admin would like that. I have also made her cinnamon rolls. I didn’t care for how labor-intensive the dough was. I have a potato refrigerator dough that I have always used for cinnamon rolls, and my family likes those just as well, if not better, than the PW cinnamon rolls. The PW cinnamon rolls are harder to make than my usual, and don’t taste any better. I’d be happy to write a post about those.
I will admit to making the roasted chicken legs, and my husband loves them. But I do not use the whole amount of butter she recommends, partly because I never make 24 legs at a time, and partly because I like my husband and I’d like to keep him around for a while. And you have to bake them a lot longer than she says, unless you want pink, raw chicken legs inside.
To my shame, I have a few PW recipes printed out and in my recipe binder…but looking back, most of them have needed tweaks or have been tried and never used again.
@Karen: All you had to do is let Admin know that you are interested in doing a guest post and you will get an email very shortly after that. Admin told me that he/she??….is very busy with work and is very appreciative of any help we can give towards keeping the blog going. It doesn’t seem like Admin has a ton of spare time to make regular post which will keep people coming to the site, so guest posts are a necessary contribution. I just like supporting a site that offers some different content with dissenting opinions when it comes to the Pioneer Woman which may explain why I appear so gung ho. Or maybe I just need to get a life and/or a hobby and/or a job. It is funny I have all of those things, but I still seem to spend my down time surfing the internet or watching tv. Wow. I must be just like everyone else.
To Admin: I made the artery clogging, cholesterol laden meatball sliders. Nothing but grease, grease and more grease. My dog loved them. If you would like me to do a write up, let me know.
HA! Just had to share this blurb I just read on Kayotic Kitchen-
“As a food blogger, you have to give credit where credit is due and not use someone’s recipe trying to pass it off as your own (Major pet peeve of mine. You see it happening a lot).”
Hmmm….
I remember when Kayotic Kay was dumped by PW. She said she had no idea it was coming, and she had developed some of those recipes specifically for Ree’s site. She didn’t even have some of them saved and had to recreate them. Ree just deleted them all. Kay took the high road, though, and didn’t say much about it after the initial shock.
I see negative comments on her site all the time, and they crack me up. Check out her post for pan-fried steak–lots of people complaining about the sodium levels in her lemon salt/lawry’s rub, one person saying a rancher’s wife should be ashamed for using canned salts instead of coming up with her own rub, and the best–someone listing cookbooks & suggesting she read them.
I am not a baker, so I haven’t tried any of her cookies/cakes but thought these chocolate pucks looked disgusting when I saw them on her site. Loved this post, and would also love more recipe shakedowns. Especially if photos are included to really illustrate the reality of her recipes vs. her photoshopped fakeness.
I was feeling hormonal one day and thought her recipe for olive/cheese bread would satisfy my salt cravings, but woah–it was one of the nastiest things I’ve ever tried to eat. I love olives and almost cried when I saw how many I had sacrificed to make such a nasty meal–ended up throwing the whole thing away.
I was just reading a mommy blog, and the author is totally enamored with Ree’s recipes. She made two (!) of them today, and they looked like they were laden with fat and sodium. If someone has the program or software available to evaluate recipes, I would love to see some nutritional information on PW’s recipes.
I am a food blogger and only bake from scratch and would only post recipes from scratch. (Actually, I don’t look down on anyone who bakes with mixes, I actually do once in a while when I am back home visiting my mom. But I would never post one.) I never read PW, loathe her appalling writing, but a couple of times I have gone and randomly clicked on posts to get an idea of her content just so I could know what I was talking about. So, I randomly, I mean completely randomly selected and clicked on two different cake recipes posted a few months apart. BOTH were made with boxed cake mix, canned frosting, canned fruit, boxed pudding. OMG my DAD was baking like this in 1972!!! Ree should be ashamed of herself for posting such trash on what she considers a food blog.
maybe someone should just post her recipes to allrecipes and see what the comments are, then link those to PW
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