Socal Stuff: Reviews by Donna Schwartz Mills

My Near Meet with Bobby Flay

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I've published a new product review statement on the site - but I think I left out one important detail: I brake for celebrities. If you've got a famous person looking for a blogger to talk to, I'm your gal. And after our delicious afternoon with Wolfgang Puck, I had decided that my favorite celebrities to visit with are chefs. I'm easy. Feed me and I'm yours. On Monday, I was invited to the set of a series of new cooking webisodes for Hellmann's/Best Foods mayonnaise, featuring Food Network star, Bobby Flay. The purpose of the series is to provide tips and strategies to help busy moms (like me!) serve more "real food" (uh... I think that means less frozen mac and cheese).

I've actually been doing a better job of this recently - ever since we finished work on our new kitchen. But there are days when serving a freshly cooked meal is HARD, and I expect I'd benefit from a few pointers from a superstar chef.

My husband had other ideas.

"You've got to ask him about disrespecting Kitchen Stadium," he said.

I'm not sure that's the kind of question the man would want to deal with, so it's probably just as well that the shoot ran long and I had to get home to an anxious dog. I had a great time hanging out with Yvonne in LA and Rockin' Mama Caryn (whose beautiful baby daughter had me feeling all broody).

And they're sending me an autographed copy of Flay's cookbook, "Burgers, Fries and Shakes" - just in time for barbecue season. Not a bad consolation prize.

DISCLOSURE: I received no compensation for writing this post, other than the cookbook I mention above. The link to the cookbook is NOT an affiliate link (i.e., I do not get any kind of commission from people who purchase it). I have no relationship with Hellmann's, Best Foods or Unilever.

Blockbuster's $25 Cheap Date Challenge

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So here was the challenge: Dinner and a movie for under $25. The folks at Blockbuster Express helped out with a free DVD rental. The rest was up to me. "Blockbuster? Are they still in business?" my husband asked. Yes, they are. New technologies may have forced a change in their business model (i.e., all of the retail stores in our area have shut down over the last year), but the company is still around. They've quietly shifted their business to a subscription plan... ...and a new network of kiosks, allowing you to pick up a DVD in the same store where you're already shopping.

My daughter didn't understand.

"Why are you renting a DVD when you haven't watched the one you already have?"

She had a point. We do subscribe to a DVD rental service and I have a bad habit of keeping the titles around for months before I get around to seeing them. I'm afraid I waste more money with the DVD subscription than I ever did in late fees. Perhaps I should go back to renting my movies one at a time. Maybe finding a nice, convenient, store-based kiosk would be the answer.

I just wasn't sure I would like using a kiosk. For one thing, I didn't trust that I'd find a good selection at one. How do I know it will have the movies I want?

Those questions were answered with a quick visit to the Blockbuster Express website, where I was able to view the entire available inventory at my own local kiosk (with plenty of new and popular movies). I reserved my film ahead of time and then picked it up with a swipe of a credit card. Easy Peasy.

I noted that the cost of a DVD rental for new customers is only $1. And if that's not enough, I have a code that will allow anyone to rent two DVD's for the price of one (through the end of this month): 145G13B*.

So that part of the challenge was pretty easy. Coming up with a special date night dinner was a little bit tougher, especially since I wanted to be able to sit back and enjoy the film...

...and the fact that my husband and I have foodie tendencies. We don't consider a meal special unless it's accompanied with a glass of wine.

I took care of the latter issue by picking up a bottle of "Two Buck Chuck" at Trader Joe's. And I started feeling downright smug when I settled on a meal of roasted chicken, potatoes and broccoli - which meant all I had to do was stick the food in the oven and wait for the timer to go off. (We love Jamie Oliver's recipe for roast chicken and potatoes - it's simple and tastes just as good as what you'd be served in a fine restaurant.)

But I blew it when I made the decision to purchase organic chicken and vegetables. Along with the wine, the cost of my cheap date came to $25.88 - just over the $25 limit.

If I'd gone with a conventionally raised bird and produce, there would have been enough in the budget for dessert. But then again - I'm better off without those calories. Dinner and a movie for just over $25 isn't bad at all.

DISCLOSURE: This was a compensated post. In addition to the free DVD rental, I received a gift card from Collective Bias. There were no guarantees made regarding what I would write. The experience recounted in this post is true and the opinions are my own. The rent one, get one free code in this post is valid until 3/31/10 - more information is below.

*Rental Code is valid thru 3/31/2010. When you rent a movie at the regular price, you'll receive the first night's rental on a second movie FREE. Extra night charges and taxes apply. May not be combined with any other offer. Rental terms and conditions apply. Not valid at Blockbuster store locations.