
We start off in the kitchen today, for another idea for a value packed meal. Today’s Meals for a Steal are a New England Past Bake, and a Chicken Chickpea Curry Bowls. They price them out by using the national average, and both come up around $10 - for 6 people. Not bad, huh?
Next up, it’s Thandie Newton at the kitchen table, who has two movies out right now. She plays Condoleezza Rice in the new Oliver Stone movie W, as well as a powerufl woman in Guy Ritchie (the future x-Mr. Madonna)’’s RocknRolla. When told that Thandie is glowing and beautiful - she says that it’s because her husband is backstage, and the lunch was wonderful in the green room.
When asked how long she worked to become Condy Rice - it was an hour and a half in makeup, but there was alot of preparation and research before hand, for about six weeks. She did everything - Youtube, Wikipedia, Amazon, plus recordings of her when she didn’t know she was being watched. That’s how she discovered the postuer, the way she holds her neck, her shoulders, everything was different.
The movie is an overlap of familiar moments, with an Oliver Stone backstory, with all the moments in between. You’d expect it to be heightened, being Oliver Stone directed, but there was so much story there, it’s really quite simply what happened.
In RocknRolla, a movie on the totally opposite side of the spectrum, with a group of unique hilarious crazy characters, a bunch of criminals that she manipulates as their accountant.
She talks about her kids - Ripley is named for Ripley in Aliens, absolutely! Because she was absolutely amazing, and the other girl’s name is Mika. She admits that when she’s away, her husband lets them eat pizza in bed in the middle of the night!
She’s also worked with some of the big wigs. Of Tom Cruise, she says he’s lovely, and she’s never met anyone who tries harder to be a good person. Will Smith is “Ok, Willard.” He’s they type who would just invite you over to bbq. She declares herself very lucky to have worked with all of them. Her husband is extremely supportive, even with the group of hotties she gets to work with, and says Thandie “We have a good thing.”
Next up - it’s the age old debate in many families: Who makes it best? This family has been debating it for 30 years! It’s all over a stuffed artichoke dinner, and Jim says that mom’s are better, declaring his wife’s good, not great. His wife tries to keep it healthier, while Mama does it all the old Sicilian way. Jim says his wife is about a 6, but mama is a ten and a half. His wife Joanne says that he’s just a mama’s boy, his mother does everything right… but she likes her artichokes better then Mamas. Mama says what’s the difference? just brown the breadcrumbs, it takes 2 minutes! She’s just stubborn, and wants to do it her way.
Time to put the cards on the table - who’s better, once and for all. Rachael tells Jim he’s either the bravest man in the world.. or the dumbest. Did it ever occur to him to declare them both good, just different?! He says he’s in the middle, and Rach laughs and says no, it sounds like he’s on Mama’s side.
Joanne says that she makes it the same way her mama does, it’s the way she knows how it to be, and she’s pretty sure hers will never compare. If he wants it like mama’s, go eat it at mama’s! It’s not that she’s trying to make it like his mom, it’s the way she’s always made it. Caroline/Mama, says the recipe is just tradition, it’s the way they do it. It’s not printed on paper, and she doesn’t want it to skip a generation. The only way to judge the cook-off? Call in Mario Batali!
Rach wants to know what they promised him to get in the middle of it - he jokes “A new car!” He says he’ll be tasting blind, and give them an honest opinion, but they just should not lose their traditions. The loser? Gets a sandwich board that declares the other one the better Stuffed Artichoke maker while walking on the city streets. Loads of laughter - and Mama says “Bring it on!”
And they’re off to cook, while Mario gives a big announcement: the winner of his Ultimate Grilling Challenge! He announced the contest on the RR Show, and now he’s going to announce the winner. People sent in their videotapes of best grilling recipes. And the winner will be flown to tailgate at the Teas Motor Speedway with Rachael and Mario! The winner is - Jim Webster of Tampa Florida! He started out conceptually with turducken, and as they went trhough, he removed one and put pork in it’s place. So it’s pork wrapped in pork, stuffed with pork, which of course you cannot go wrong with at all.
Mario also has his latest endeavor - Spain: A Culinary Road Trip. It’s a PBS series, where he and Gwyneth Paltrow drive around Spain, with a food writer and Spanish actress. They tell them where to go, and it’s like a roadshow - no script, just talking about what they taste and see. What might we not know about Gwyneth Paltrow? She eats like a truck driver! “The way she stays so thin is that she exercises litterally three hours a day!” hit up the giveaway button for a copy of the book for yourself!
First, it’s what’s for dinner - Peperonata Stoup, and then FINALLY it’s time for that Family Cookoff result!
While Mario is trying them, the ladies get to taste Rachael’s family recipe, Emmanuel’s Artichokes. Mario says they’re both excellent, they each chose different races of artichokes. Both are cooked beautifully, fragrant, excellent ingredients, very tender, and he says if he was hubby, dude, he’d say it was a tie - but he’s not married to them. The winner gets to go to Babbo in NYC. And the winner is? Mama in law! But Mario does say they are BOTH excellent, and poor daughter in law heads out to the streets for her walk of shame with her sandwich board. Awwwwwwww! Outside, Mama in law milks it a bit “Cookoff, we had, she lost!” and there are smiles all around.
Cept maybe for Hubby when he got home that night. Just sayin’!