Since people are homebound these days, I thought it would be a good idea to head back to the folks at Epicurious for another of their fun "50 People Try to..." videos.  Today, we go to something which should be pretty easy -- making a grilled cheese sandwich.  But not only do an inordinate amount of people surprisingly have difficultly with this basic task, but there are some tips it's good to know from their chef at the end that everyone probably doesn't do.  The fun here though isn't so much learning how to make a grilled cheese sandwich properly -- since, honestly, it's pretty basic -- but the challenge far too many people have.

At my local grocery store yesterday, amid the hoarding, almost all varieties of soup were sold out. All except one type. There were empty shelves -- and dozens and dozens of cans of cream of mushroom soup.

What's odd is if it clearly is such an unpopular soup there, why does the store carry so much of it??

Mind you, I know that once upon a time, cream of mushroom soup was in most-every recipe in the 1950s.  And I can see them selling a lot around Thanksgiving for that spinach-fried onion crisp casserole .  But not being Thanksgiving (let alone Thanksgiving in the '50s...) and clearly it isn't selling now, that's what's so weird about them having SOOO much of it. 

It was really funny -- empty shelf after empty shelf after empty shelf, except for all that cream of mushroom soup.  People really didn't want cream of mushroom soup.  Even in a hoarding panic.  I mean, seriously people cleaned out ALL the cans of soup.  All of it.  Except the cream of mushroom soup.

I wrote about this on social media, and people were trying to come up with explanations and not all the things people really do use cream of mushroom soup for.  What I tried explain was that -- whatever the reason it's the only soup still there and however many reasons there are to use it -- the only point is that it's odd.  Odd that cream of mushroom soup is the only one left on the shelves, and odd that the store still stocks a soup that clearly isn't being bought like all others.  (Shelf space is tremendously valuable and competitive.  If a product doesn't sell enough, it's replaced.)  So, that's the only point -- that it's odd.  And really noticeable.  And funny.

This photo doesn't even do it justice, since you can't see how far the looooong rows of empty shelves go -- empty except for the cans of cream of mushroom soup.  And yes, all those cans are only cream of mushroom.

I always like heading back into the kitchen for the fun videos from Epicurious on "50 People Try to...".  Today, what their 50 people try to do is poach an egg.  And then when they finish, an expert chef will come along and explain the proper way.

Today's guest contestant on the 'Not My Job' segment of the NPR game quiz show Wait, Wait...Don't Tell Me! is New York Times and Bon Appetit recipe writer Alison Roman. Her chat with host Peter Sagal is enthusiastic and fun.  And the quiz topic is a very funny twist on her regular job.

Today's guest contestant on the 'Not My Job' segment of the NPR game quiz show Wait, Wait...Don't Tell Me! is the wonderful celebrity chef and humanitarian Chef José Andrés, whose World Central Kitchen provides relief food after disasters around the world -- and who pulled his restaurant from the new Trump Hotel in Washington, D.C. after Trump insults to Mexicans.  His enthusiasm with host Peter Sagal during  the interview is infectious and often hilarious, most notably his discussion of canned food -- which trust me is not what you think it is..  
​

We head back into the kitchen for another of the wonderful "50 People Try to..." videos from Epicurious.  And this one was particularly fun for me because it's one that I actually have wanted to do but have been uncertain.  It's "50 People Try to Peel and Chop a Butternut Squash."  The good news is that I was pretty close in my assumptions on how to best do it.  But it's still more involved, and most of the those trying were pretty amusingly lost.

It's time to head back to the kitchen for another of the fun "50 People Try to..." videos from Epicurious.  Today, we take a look at trying to crack open and then separate an egg.  Even if this is something you do, there still are some nice tips at the end.  Besides the fun of watching the 50 giving it their best...
​

Today we head back to the Kitchens of Epicurious for one of their fun "50 People Try to..." videos.  This time, they gathering of folk attempt to open a coconut.  Get your goggles and protective gear ready (and in the end, find out the surprisingly easy way...)
​

Let's jump back to another of those amusing Basic Skills "50 People Try to..." videos from Epicurious.  Last time it was 50 people trying to open a bottle of wine.  Today, we have 50 People Try to Slice an Avocado.

The other day, I discovered a series of videos from the Epicurious website.  They're funny, entertaining and actually informative.  As you see below, they're Basic Skills Challenges, which I'll try to post from time to time.  This first is a good example of them -- it's about how to properly open a bottle of wine, as they record a wide range of people trying their best, and then have an expert come in to show you how.