Recently I have watched three very interesting Culinary documentaries. I am definitely NOT a foodie but you would not know it by how much I LOVED all three of these movies. I think I loved them because of each chef’s story, because of their passion, and because I found them all so likable and interesting.

First Course

I have been out for sushi only once and I tasted a small piece from my daughter’s plate. I thought it was fishy. So imagine my surprise over how much I loved “Jiro Dreams of Sushi.”

Jiro Ono from Japan may be the greatest sushi chef in the world. His restaurant has earned the remarkable three Michelin stars. Sushi is his world, his life. Watching him prepare the sushi is mesmerizing. Seeing how he and his son choose the fish is fascinating and watching Jiro serve his little pieces of art to a handful of customers was unreal. It is a world I will never visit, but I still found it captivating.

Second Course

By the same director who made Jiro, David Gelb, comes a wonderful piece called “Spinning Plates.”

This documentary follows unique chefs from very different worlds. We get an intimate look at Grant Achatz, Mike and Cindy Breitbach, and Francisco and Gabby Martinez.

This is Gabby. She is Francisco’s wife. Francisco thinks she is the best cook ever. They have opened a restaurant in Tuscon named La Cocina de Gabby. Their story is one of hard work, love and family.

 
The restaurant business is remarkably difficult and to be a success is rare. This story gives you a glimpse into that world.

 
The oldest restaurant in Iowa is featured as well. Breitbachs is run by the Breitbach family and it has run the business for over 100 years. It sits on a hill in northeastern Iowa with the most beautiful view you ever saw. They are famous for their chicken, mother’s day buffet and pies. You will love this family, too. They are good folk.

 
The local fellas come by every morning for breakfast. They open the restaurant and start the coffee. It’s like Mayberry—only smaller.

 
Thirdly, you will meet Grant Achatz. His restaurant in Chicago called Alinea was given three Michelin stars. He is a visionary and master. Achatz opens amazing restaurants and fights cancer at the same time.

 
Just remarkable.

Third Course

Netflix has a new series called Chef’s Table. Six different episodes with six interesting and fascinating chefs from around the world.

You will meet;
Ben Shewry from Australia
Magnus Nilsson from Sweden
Francis Mallmann from Argentina
Niki Nakayama from California
Dan Barber from NY
Massino Bottura from Italy

I especially liked Massino Bottura, Dan Barber and Magnus Nilsson.

All three of these wonderful documentaries are available on Netflix and/or Amazon. I just loved them and I hope you will too! Please share if you’ve gotten to see any of these as well.

Bon Appetit!

Miz Boo

Everything I know, I learned from the movies.

You’ve Got Mail.

Chin Up.

Family Man.

Solid Advice.

The Wizard of Oz.

Home.

Gone with the Wind.

It’s true.

Ghost Town.

You Matter.

Here is the rest of the quote from Ghost Town,

“We just get the one life, you know. Just one. You can’t live someone else’s or think it’s more important just because it’s more dramatic. What happens matters. Maybe only to us, but it matters.”

I don’t know why, but these quotes stick with me. They remain in my heart and always, always on the tip of my tongue.

Encourage one another,

Miz Booshay

Select the best answer for each of the questions. After you submit your answers, you’ll be shown a percentage result.

If you score 100%, check back Saturday to see if you’re one of the winners!

PRIZES

1. The first person to correctly answer all questions wins a $300 Amazon.com gift card.

2. The second person to correctly answer all questions wins…a $200 Amazon.com gift card.

3. Three randomly selected players (out of all players) who correctly answers all questions wins…a $75 Amazon.com gift card.

Ready…

Set…

Go!

Feel free to shout out your scores when you’re finished!

***NOTE: If the quiz does not load below, click here to open up the quiz in a new window.

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By BooMama.

I have no idea how old I was when I heard James Taylor’s music for the first time, though I do have a pretty vivid memory of dancing around my parents’ den to “Mockingbird” when I was 3 or 4 years old. His music was a staple in our house throughout my childhood, and by the time the summer before my senior year of high school rolled around, I had decided forever and for real and for always that he was my very favorite recording artist. My sister and I actually got to see him perform live in Nashville that same summer, and it was a concert that remains one of my most treasured memories.

About eight months months ago James Taylor performed here in Birmingham, and four of my friends and I decided that we wouldn’t miss it for the world. As we settled into our seats and waited for JT to serenade us for a couple of hours, it dawned on me that it had been 25 years since I attended that first concert in Nashville. I wondered for a split second if I was going to be disappointed, if the night would feel like too much nostalgia and not enough here-and-now. I need not have worried, though, because I am here to tell you that the music this past November was just as sweet as it’s ever been. I walked away totally inspired by James Taylor’s affection for people, his commitment to his craft, and his continued level of excellence as an entertainer. He was absolutely delightful and sounded every bit as good as he ever has.

Just a couple of days ago my son and I were driving down the road, talking about everything and nothing as we listened to the James Taylor channel on SiriusXM (it’s channel 17, and I think it’s only devoted exclusively to James Taylor for another couple of weeks). In the middle of our conversation, “Country Road” started to play, and I looked at my little boy, grinned, and said, “Hold on for just a second. I’m gonna have to sing.”

I sang so loudly that I managed to embarrass the fire out of him and make him laugh all at the same time. It was a parenting win. Afterwards I tried to explain why James Taylor’s music is so special to so many – how his songs are a perfect combination of catchy and smart, how he seems to attract incredibly talented musicians, how he can sing the same song 1,000 times and it’ll never sound exactly the same.

“Oh,” he replied. “Kind of like Justin Timberlake.”

And, well, yes.

After all, that other JT is in fact responsible for this.

But I won’t get ahead of myself. That’s probably a different discussion for a different day.

In the meantime, I’ll continue to enjoy the original JT and his gorgeous, timeless, classic songs, as well as his new album that was released on June 16th.

Is there a particular musician who has been a favorite over the course of your life? What singer from your childhood or teenage years would you go see in concert over and over again?

To take the quiz, just answer the questions below. Select the best answer for each of the questions. After you submit your answers, you’ll be shown a percentage result. Answers and winners will be revealed Monday night!

&nbsp

If you score 100%, check back Thursday night to see if you’re one of the winners!

Feel free to shout out your scores when you’re finished!

PRIZES

1. The first person to correctly answer all questions wins a $300 AMAZON gift card!

2. The second person to correctly answer all questions wins…a $200 AMAZON gift card.

3. Three randomly selected players (out of all players) who correctly answers all questions wins…a $75 AMAZON gift card.

Ready…

Set…

Go!

Feel free to shout out your scores when you’re finished!

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STATS

9,516 people took the quiz.

1,060 scored 100%!

The question most people (57%) missed was…#8!

The question most people (96%) got right was…#12!

ANSWERS

Q.3

“Now I have a machine gun, _____________”

Time to send me another

Say hello to my little friend

Ha Ha Ha

Ho Ho Ho

Q.4

When John says to himself “Come out to the coast, we’ll get together, have a few laughs!”– where is he?

On the roof

In the car with Argyle

In an air vent

In the elevator

Q.5

Hans and his crew are planning to steal over $600 million in:

Diamonds

Bearer Bonds

Cash

Gold

Q.6

True or False: When John McClane arrives at her office, he sees that his wife Holly is using her married name for her work.

True

False

Q.7

In which building are the hostages being held?

Nakatomi Plaza

Yokohama Tower

Toranomon Hills

Sumitomo Building

Q.8

As part of their demands, Hans list each of these groups be released from prison, EXCEPT:

Asian Dawn

Warriors of the Boer Nation

Liberté de Quebec

New Provo Front

Q.9

True or False: On the television broadcast, the hostage crisis expert says that the hostages are likely undergoing the Helsinki Syndrome.

True

False

Q.10

Hans’ group of terrorists was:

Russian

Dutch

German

Irish

Q.11

Which of the following quotes was in Die Hard?

“I’ll be back.”

“Never leave your wingman”

“Snakes. Why’d there have to be snakes?”

“Yippee ki yay…”

Q.12

“Put down the gun. And give me back my _____________.”

Machine guns

Detonators

Safe code

Q.13

“You asked for miracles Theo, I give you _______”

The F.B.I.

The final safe code

Our C4 and detonators

Q.14

What falls onto Sergeant Powell’s police car from the high floors of the building?

A bag of C4

A dead body

A gold brick

Q.15

What food does Sergeant Powell purchase at the convenience store?

Ding Dongs

Ho Ho’s

Twinkies

Cupcakes

Q.16

John is a police officer in which city?

New York

Philadelphia

Washington DC

Boston

Q.17

“‘And when Alexander saw the breadth of his domain, he wept, for there were no more worlds to conquer.’ Benefits of a classical education.”

Theo

Hans

John

Ellis

Q.18

What is John’s limo driver’s name?

Hamish

Argyle

Angus

Oscar

WINNERS

The first place winner is…Wendell M.

The second place winner is…Kate S.

The third place winners are…Corey C, Jason H, and Michael M.

Congratulations, winners! Contact prizes@thepioneerwoman.com to claim your loot!

Here are the details:

WHAT: Die Hard Movie Quiz

WHEN: Saturday, May 2 at 9:00 pm Eastern/8:00 pm Central/7:00 pm Mountain/6:00 pm Pacific

WHERE: Here, baby!

WHY: Because…John McClane is as tough as it gets.

Prizes will be shiny and fun.

See you Saturday night!

To take the quiz, just answer the questions below. Select the best answer for each of the questions. After you submit your answers, you’ll be shown a percentage result. Answers and winners will be revealed Thursday night!

&nbsp

If you score 100%, check back Thursday to see if you’re one of the winners!

PRIZES

1. The first person to correctly answer all questions wins a $300 TARGET gift card!

2. The second person to correctly answer all questions wins…a $200 Target gift card.

3. Three randomly selected players (out of all players) who correctly answers all questions wins…a $75 Target gift card.

Ready…

Set…

Go!

Feel free to shout out your scores when you’re finished!

***NOTE: If the quiz does not load below, click here to open up the quiz in a new window.

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The winner of Movie Madness 2015: Best Actor/Actress is…

Tom Hanks!

Here are the final voting stats:

At the beginning of the tournament, I had a feeling Tom Hanks would wind up being toward the top…and sure enough, he took the prize!

The randomly selected winners of the $250 Amazon.com gift cards are…

Sam H.

Debbie C.

Congrats, winners! Contact prizes@thepioneerwoman.com to claim your prizes.

Thank you for participating in Movie Madness, everyone! It was lots of fun.

This is going to be exciting.

PRIZES

For this round of voting, three randomly chosen voters from each round will win a $250 gift card to Amazon.com. Winners will be posted when the final result is posted.

Are you ready?

Are you set?

GO!

(And feel free to share your vote in the comments!)

(The winning movie and winners will be posted Friday morning!)

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