1362 replies to this topic

[lonewolf0425]

The Food Network is offering a sneak peek at The Pioneer Woman before the official debut on Aug. 27.
Looks like she's going to give Paula a run for her money in butter consumption. In all likelihood, I'll tune in to episode one, but this just looks like another Food Network show I won't be interested in watching. Chicken fried steak? Mashed potatoes? Isn't this what Paula's show offers?

[Lava VaVoom]

What makes The Pioneer Woman is not her recipes so much as the story of her life. The recipes on her blog are lovingly and deliciously photographed, and she has a huge following. It remains to be seen if that online charm translates to a TV show. As for the butter'n'stuff, on her ranch she cooks for people who burn it off. I am looking forward to it. She may be replacing Paula for all I know.

[Paxton]

Agreed, Lava VaVoom. Ree's appeal is due at least in part to her stories about life on the ranch, with the cowboys and cute kids and adorable basset hounds (Ree and I share a deep love for goofball bassets). I watched the clip and I enjoyed the "lifestyle" feel of it. As she says, she lives in a rather isolated area and she can't run to the grocery store every five minutes, nor does she have regular access to gourmet groceries. She's a lot like me in one sense, in that she herself likes a lot of different types of food but she's cooking for folks who aren't adventurous eaters. She posts recipes on her blog that are vegetarian, lighter, and/or more "gourmet," so it isn't all fried sticks of butter, and hopefully we'll see some of that on the show too.

[choochi]

I found her blog a couple of years ago and have tried some of her recipes. The high fat ones are good for special occasions. Her blue cheese and onion sauce is sublime, but only once or twice a year.

[Kodiboku]

Isn't this what Paula's show offers?

Without Paula is the key ingredient.

[may2]

Ree is on Paula's show this coming Saturday.

[Candy Moocher]

I am pretty excited for this show. I just love her website and the recipes that I've tried have been really good. I also spied Walter and Charlie in the preview clips on the FN website, so I'll definitely tune in every week if they make cameos!

I'm probably biased because I'm admittedly a big fan of The Pioneer Woman, but I don't think she'll be anything like Paula at all. Paula doesn't have a trademark on butter (Ina Garten uses quite a bit of it herself on her show). Ree seems to have an incredibly active, country lifestyle and seeing her running around with her young children and hunky Marlboro Man husband is a lot more appealing than ...er, Paula. I guess what I'm getting at is that I can't see Ree making a casserole out of Krispy Kremes. She'll actually make real food.

[Holliday]

This is the same woman who beat Bobby Flay on Throwdown with her Thanksgiving dinner, right?

If so, then I remember liking her and will probably tune in at least once.

[jeanine0123]

Yes it is. And I liked her on that episode too, so much that I actually watched the whole thing. I like her sense of humor on her blog and hope it'll come through on the show.

[hoosier]

Ree is terrific. Her column and website are the bestest. Funny and good recipes to boot. I'll be watching.

[Tackhead]

I guess what I'm getting at is that I can't see Ree making a casserole out of Krispy Kremes. She'll actually make real food.

Real food like Mountain Dew Apple Dumplings or Cuppa, Cuppa Cake? Featuring, respectively, crescent rolls doused in sugar and Mountain Dew and canned fruit cocktail with an extra cup of sugar? Served on $145 plates for that reg'lar folks touch.

Don't believe the hype with this one. She's about as much of a cook as Sandra Lee, and I hope she's even half as entertaining.

[stixx23]

And let's not forget http://www.thepioneerwomansux.com/ and http://www.pienearwoman.com/ as well.

If she can get supporters AND detractors watching the show, like Sandra Lee, it will be Susie Fogelson's wet dream!

[Arizonaguy]

I know nothing about this show or the host, but it sounds like an interesting concept and is filling a niche which hasn't been done yet.

[wallybear]

I will admit that I'm a follower of Ree's blog & am very interested to see her show. I have made several of her recipes- her cinnamon rolls (buns) are the best EVER. They take a long time to make, so I make 4 batches at Christmas & give them as gifts for people to bake on Christmas morning. Every year I get calls telling me that they are sitting by the tree, having a cinnamon roll.

I've also made her apple fritters (fantastic), brandy snaps (good but probably won't make again), lemon crumb squares (fantastic), & whiskey maple cream sauce (to DIE for). Unlike Aunt Sandy, Ree does cook real food (Cuppa Cake not withstanding). Her blog is very interesting & I'm hoping her show will convey what I enjoy about her blog.

[LivenLetLive]

So I watched it, and my heart is doing flip-flops at the thought of all that cholesterol. It is good to keep in mind that her family is burning calories big time and that normal folk, unless they are long distance runners, don't. Ree is sort of wooden in delivery, but I expect that she will get better. Not appointment viewing for me, not the kind of food I am interested in, but not awful (yet.) Where is this ranch, BTW?

[BelleCurve]

The ranch is in Oklahoma somewhere.
She's better than Aunt Sandy and Pauler and that family of hers better never stop ranching because they will all be bigger than houses. But she's more entertaining than I figured. I got to hate her blog because her life is so perfect and it irritated me.
But boy I still get the heebie jeebies from chicken-fried steak. As a kid I could never understand it or get past one taste. Ick. And could her mashed potatoes have any more fat? Seriously there was more fat than potato in there. The poor tomatoes never had a chance on that dinner table.

Edited by BelleCurve, Aug 27, 2011 @ 11:15 AM.

[schnauzerlover]

I enjoyed it more than I expected to. Ree's voice is a little irritating, but for a first show it was fine. Same production company as Ina, I noticed. It will be intresting to see if the family and the cowboys are featured so prominently in every episode. The food all looked wonderful, but with most lifestyles decidedly unhealthy.

LiveneLetLive, the ranch is in Oklahoma. Do have to say that the Lodge makes Ina's barn look down right small! IMO, of course.

[whitepepper]

I really enjoyed the show. Being a Texas girl, I love love love chicken fried steak with cream gravy. The mashed potatoes looked good too, although I'd definitely reduce the amount of butter mixed in, and the tomato salad and breakfast sandwiches looked tasty as well.

I think I will start recording this show... I know it's not the healthiest fare, and perhaps she'll do more balanced dishes in the future, but ultimately, I don't care that her dishes are heavy on the butter or cream. I doubt she eats like that every day, and if her family can eat it and still stay healthy, more power to them.

[Baysu]

Where is this ranch, BTW?

In Oklahoma, Tulsa area I believe

Didn't look like her family cared for the tomato salad very much.

Edited by Baysu, Aug 27, 2011 @ 11:45 AM.

[wallybear]

The Drummond Ranch is the biggest cattle ranch in Oklahoma, I believe. They own tens of thousands of acres of land. The Lodge that she cooked in is not the house they live in; it is on the property, though.

She honestly states that her food was born of the need to feed hard working cowboy's & hungry kids who are cowboy's in training. For the rest of us, moderation is the key when it comes to all of that fat.

Not surprised she started her series with chicken fried steak; it was one of the 1st things she learned to cook when she 1st got married. The potatoes are very similar to ones my cousin makes at Christmas every year- only once a year, because they are soooo bad for you! She adds sour cream in addition to eveything Ree used, & let me tell you, they are too DIE for, so that dish made me smile.

I love a breakfast sandwich, & that one looked great, & certainly easily slimmed down with substituting a tortilla or low cal bread, turkey sausage, etc. It looked yummy.

Liked getting names for her kids finally! On her blog she never refers to them by name (understandably). And I loved seeing Charlie & Walter. Overall, I enjoyed the show & I'm interested enough to watch next week.

[jeanine0123]

She did state when she was making the meal that it's not something they eat on a regular basis but because they had been up at the butt crack of dawn working cattle for the past couple of weeks it was time for a treat. Yeah, it was over the top heavy on fat and calories and butter and not at all realistic for the average city dweller but when you're working a farm all day long, you need the calories. It's not like you can stop working cattle to grab a snack, you need food that's going to stick with you for a while.

I liked it. I also though she was a bit wooden, she was more relaxed on the Throwdown Thanksgiving episode but I think a lot of that had to do with having people around her to play off of. I'd imagine it would take a good deal of getting used to being alone and talking to a camera with noone to take the pressure off. I'm thinking that as she gets used to it she won't be as wooden or stiff.

[Candy Moocher]

I enjoyed it. It was nice that we (finally!) learned her kids' names.

I can't imagine how such a pleasant and harmless woman came to inspire hate blogs and websites. In any case, I'm looking forward to more episodes. I thought she did very well for her first show and she'll improve with time.

[Baysu]

I thought it was interesting ( for me ) to see the cattle herding etc. Having family that raises Longhorn cattles myself, it was something I have actually experienced/ watched. I could relate.
The mashed potatoes I am sure were delicious, something I would make maybe once or twice a year for the holidays, not everyday meal.
Chickenfried steak is very popular in my part of the Country, south Texas, something that I have made myself.

[spenserscampi]

I can't imagine how such a pleasant and harmless woman came to inspire hate blogs and websites.

Agreed, it is sad to realize that in the day and age of the Kardashians, Paris Hilton and Jersey Shore some people waste their time spilling such anger over a woman who just wants to showcase a pretty decent existance.
Who cares about her cooking skills, we're talking about a network that promote some pretty sloppy male characters and compete over cupcakes for goodness sakes.
I for one will support the Pioneer Woman for it's simplicity......hunky husband, unhealthy comfort food, normal kids and two of the cutest bassett hounds around.

[Candy Moocher]

Who cares about her cooking skills, we're talking about a network that promote some pretty sloppy male characters and compete over cupcakes for goodness sakes.
I for one will support the Pioneer Woman for it's simplicity......hunky husband, unhealthy comfort food, normal kids and two of the cutest bassett hounds around.

Agreed (especially about the bassets, although my own thinks she's the cutest thing ever). Most of us learned how to cook from our mothers and grandmothers, or are self-taught. I certainly didn't study at Le Cordon Bleu. Ree is easy to relate to, IMO.

[chriscraft1958]

I'm going to step up to the plate and be the bad person. I use to love to read her blog before she became a brand. I'm not a fan of people who don't "keep it real". I think this has to be a kick in the face for real ranch and farmer's wives. She grew up in an upper middle class family (her pop's a dr and they lived on a golf course) and she married into a wealthy cattle ranching family. She does not do everything. She has lots of help and teacher's that teach her kids. Although she did start off homeshcooling herself. Before you going saying that it's a jealousy thing because they're wealthy, it's not. I am by no means poor but she tries to come across like she is a "real" hard working ranch wife. (who gives away her $100 anthropolgie shirts she's only worn once or not at all) Please don't get me started on her recipes. I think even Paula Deen would cringe at the amount of butter and fat she uses.

[Tackhead]

There's no accounting for taste. I find Ree--among other things--unpleasantly self-absorbed, a hack cook who "borrows" recipes without attribution, and considerably less than candid on her very calculated blog. Any of the "hater" sites will have loads of details on the preceding, for the curious.

Consider this sweet exchange from yesterday on GMA:

Ree: It's called The Pioneer Woman and it's basically a slice of life cooking show that was shot on our cattle ranch in Oklahoma where I'm headed this morning before the hurricane moves in. (Giggles) I'm outta here, guys!

Uncomfortable silence and crickets.

Robin: (Sour tone of voice) Can you take all of us with you?

Ree: Um. Yeah. Well...

Nice lady. I take her show for entertainment purposes only.

[skiperdee123]

I think there will definitely be an audience for this show. I can see that her existing fans are probably going to embrace it. As someone who doesn't know of her or about her at all, I thought the show was horrible. And I love a good brand. I am all about finding a niche and branding yourself. And I'll concede that this brand/show could get better. But as it stands now, it was terrible. I watched up until the last 5 or 10 minutes and just couldn't stomach it anymore. She's not a natural for t.v. I think she was full up with recent botox which might have added to her stiffness. But the entire show looked scripted. I completely understand the intention, but the execution was a fail for me. I'm sure I'll check in with it periodically, but it's not appointment t.v by any means and I'm not running to follow her on Twitter or her blog.

[grisgris]

I've just recently heard of Ree. I looked at her blog once and was bored. I didn't find the show horrible, but nothing extraordinary that would make me watch it on a weekly basis. It wasn't even snark-worthy.

I thought that the scenery of the ranch was pretty and the lodge looked pretty cool. Is this her take-off on Ina and the barn?

It bugged me, though, by the way she said, "Bal-SAM-ick" vinegar.

Why the whining about getting up at 5 a.m.? I, along with millions of people, have to get up that early to go to work.

What is the issue about wearing hats at the dinner table? I thought that went against the grain of good manners.

So, that was the "hunky" husband? I saw nothing handsome about him. He had those ice-blue soul-less eyes like Sandra Lee and he seemed kind of chauvinistic and arrogant, with the "little lady, your place is behind the stove and taking those pretty pictures of yours" attitude. OTOH, I've had a tiny bit of exposure to being around cattle, etc., and it really does hinder the experienced ranchers to have somebody around who doesn't know what they are doing. It hinders their work and puts the "helper" and in some cases, the livestock, in danger.

I haven't even gotten to the food. My arteries hardened just watching Ree prepare the meal. I am probably one of the few people in the world who doesn't like chicken friend steak. Hers looked so greasy. Why stop when you're ahead with those potatoes. All it needed was a nice topping of shredded cheddar cheese! Those poor tomatoes were just drowning in all of that oil. No wonder the husband didn't want any. I'll bet, though, that he never eats salads, other sides of vegetables, etc.

There was nothing interesting nor special about the breakfast sandwiches. Was that drink supposed to be take-off on the old Orange Julius?

I thought the clip from GMA was funny. To me, Ree seems clueless, not arrogant and self-promoting. I laughed out loud at the chicken blazing away in the background and everybody was oblivious to what was going on. The chicken/peach dish didn't look or sound that bad, but I would not serve it over cheesy-bacon grits. To me, that would have too much stuff going on. Plain grits would have been just fine and I am sure they'd be loaded with heavy cream and butter.

Like I opened with, I really don't know much about Ree at all. Did she sell herself out to FN or something? To me, it was like FN put Barefoot Contessa, Paula Deen, Melissa, and for good measure, a bit of "Dallas" into the mix and this was the result.

ETA: I keep wanting to call her Bree. I guess it's because REE has long red hair like Marcia Cross.

Edited by grisgris, Aug 27, 2011 @ 5:42 PM.

[Fishyswa]

Being a follower of the Pioneer Woman blog, I was very interested to see the show and I enjoyed it. Thought Ree was a 'natural' in front of the cameras. The property was beautiful and I enjoyed the background information on running a cattle ranch... certainly not something this city girl knows anything about.

Not especially interested in the recipes, but if I was, at least they weren't as 'hoity toity' as some of the other cooking shows. And at least I can be sure I have the ingredients at hand instead of having to make a special trip/search for them.