Dillards 72: Peak Pathetic

[Maggie Mae]

I wish someone would show Jill a "how to photograph food" website/youtube video. 

She also needs a binder for her stuffing on the "stuffed mushroom" recipe. I'm not really sure of the point of the bake - normally it would be to melt the cheese and get that nice crust. But there's no cheese. I guess the mushroom caps need to cook, but .. ugh I just don't think I like this recipe. 

[HarleyQuinn]

Someone needs to unplug the Dullard's internet.

[Snarkasarus Rex]

4 hours ago, Maggie Mae said:

I wish someone would show Jill a "how to photograph food" website/youtube video. 

I don't know why her family is letting her flounder.  Even if she didn't listen to her sisters, she'd listen to Meechelle or Cathy.

[Georgiana]

I always try to do my part to prevent giving people click$ (and appreciate it when others post things here for the same reason!), so here is the Dillards' latest food post: Mom's Stuffed Mushrooms.

As always, this is a Jill Duggar Dillard recipe, so view at your own risk.  For the curious, "Mom" here is actually Cathy, not Michelle.  In my family, we add an identifier after any family title for clarity (e.g. "Grandma Y's Soup") and I would suggest Jill start doing the same ("Mama Cathy's Stuffed Mushrooms" sounds better to me anyway).  But that's a small quibble.

Overall, this is an improvement over some of her past recipes.  Her intros are still rough and the photos are yikes, but there's improvement!

Spoiler

Lord hammercy, Jill, there is NO FOOD that is going to photograph well on a LIME GREEN backdrop.  I know this well because acid green is an accent color in my home, and I occasionally have to move things/change angles to get a good photograph.  These would look fine if they were on a more neutral surface (like a plate), but the green is reflecting onto them, which is giving them a sickly green pall and making them look distinctly unappetizing.  

Then we have a Jill Dillard trademark poorly constructed sentence.  It makes me sad that Jill doesn't seem to know how to re-work that sentence to make it clearer.  "My mother-in-law made these mushrooms for us at Christmas.  She said this recipe was the first recipe she made to take to an event after she and Rick (Derick's dad) were married."   

Props though for her ingredients list which is MUCH improved!

 

This part isn't bad.  Jill could still do with reading some recipe blogs to get a feel for better and more fluid recipe writing, but it was clear, ordered, and easy to follow.  

 

[HarryPotterFan]

Dear lord I hope they don’t homeschool 

[Snarkasarus Rex]

8 minutes ago, HarryPotterFan said:

Dear lord I hope they don’t homeschool 

Derick's made several posts about Jill homeskooling the boys.  Guess there won't be any more Pistol Petes in the family...

[bella8050]

Homeschooling it is. Sorry boys, for many reasons.

 

[EmmieJ]

There are a couple blogs I follow for the recipes.  One thing Jill might consider is adding the nutritional information for some or all of her recipes.  Many people need to watch what they eat, whether they are counting carbs, fat, sugar, salt, etc.  I think she enjoys sharing recipes and hope she gets better with practice.

[HarryPotterFan]

15 minutes ago, bella8050 said:

Homeschooling it is. Sorry boys, for many reasons.

 

Yeah, but successful homeschoolers have teachers who are literate.

[Sky with diamonds]

14 minutes ago, EmmieJ said:

There are a couple blogs I follow for the recipes.  One thing Jill might consider is adding the nutritional information for some or all of her recipes.  Many people need to watch what they eat, whether they are counting carbs, fat, sugar, salt, etc.  I think she enjoys sharing recipes and hope she gets better with practice.

Does she even know about the nutritional value of the food she cooks? I doubt it.

[AtlanticTug]

15 minutes ago, EmmieJ said:

There are a couple blogs I follow for the recipes.  One thing Jill might consider is adding the nutritional information for some or all of her recipes.  Many people need to watch what they eat, whether they are counting carbs, fat, sugar, salt, etc.  

I'm sorry but anyone who needs or wants to watch what they eat wouldn't want to eat anything that she makes. This is the least of her problems.

The mushroom caps sounds ok, probably because they are Cathy's, and I bet she didn't cook with exclusively canned food her whole life. Could use a bit of shredded cheese on top but overall this is at least edible compared to some of Jill's gems. The photo is horrific. If her husband cared for her, he'd get her an intro to photography class for her birthday, or a cooking class, or better yet, both. 

[Georgiana]

10 minutes ago, AtlanticTug said:

The photo is horrific. If her husband cared for her, he'd get her an intro to photography class for her birthday, or a cooking class, or better yet, both. 

It's the onions.  There is very little that looks grosser than sauteed onions with a lime green tinge.  They just look sickly.  A plate under the mushroom caps would have made ALL the difference in this photo.

And at this point, I honestly think Derick gets enjoyment out of Jill's humiliation.  I got that sense during that infamous instagram video, and I can't shake it because it actually explains a lot.  I've started to wonder if he "proof reads" and encourages Jill to post these entries because he doesn't want her to look better than he does.  I do think Derick would have a real issue if Jill regained a following while he remained a failure and a pariah.  

[HarleyQuinn]

48 minutes ago, bella8050 said:

Homeschooling it is. Sorry boys, for many reasons.

 

Oof. With Jill as a teacher no one will be exceeding their peers in anything.

[VeryNikeSeamstress]

^^ Except canned food cooking.

[nst]

1 hour ago, Sky with diamonds said:

Does she even know about the nutritional value of the food she cooks? I doubt it.

should i send some kale salad express post 

i made more tonight 

43 minutes ago, VeryNikeSeamstress said:

^^ Except canned food cooking.

I can't hear you

 

[Belugaloo]

1 hour ago, Georgiana said:

I've started to wonder if he "proof reads" and encourages Jill to post these entries because he doesn't want her to look better than he does.  I do think Derick would have a real issue if Jill regained a following while he remained a failure and a pariah.  

Sometimes reading this thread makes me feel incredibly validated and other times it makes me incredibly sad (both for me and, if this is true, for Jill.)

 

It honestly sounds like something my ex did. While my ex was a borderline genius and truly was more book smart than me, he always seemed to want to make me feel stupid. While I knew the main thing that attracted him to me was my intellect and our conversations, he also seemed very insecure about that fact. All the girls before me were  much less smart and driven than him and even though I wasn't as book smart, I was almost more driven than him and could hold a good conversation. 

 

When I watched the instagram live I was laughing but uncomfortable. It reminded me of my ex. Then, I read the comments about how abusive his behavior was and suddenly it all clicked. You guys have no idea how relieved I felt- even though it was about Jill I felt like someone was pointing out that I wasn't the problem and that that behavior is not okay.

 

Ive only started posting again in the past few days, but things like this are the reason I've been such a long-term FJ reader even though I often dont have snark-worthy things to add to the discussion. 

[DarkAnts]

My stuffed mushrooms have sausage, cream cheese and Parmesan cheese. There are other ingredients but those are my favorite.

[candygirl200413]

Have we figured out how Jessa and Jinger have steered to healthier foods while Jill just sticks to cans?

[bella8050]

Going back to past thread drift...I think mushrooms are vile. Jill could post them in the best light possible and I'd still be gagging, especially since their evil cousin onion is visible in the picture.

I do wonder how serious she is on the blogging in general and the receipes. If either mean anything to her besides a quick post for $$ I do wish that she could take a class (or two or three) to improve her skills. 

Sadly with her oldest son in school for the next 2 1/2 years I don't see her able to do that.

[PainfullyAware]

I have a blog and have looked into photography for recipes and things. I didn't end up going in that direction but it's amazing how many free resources there are to teach lighting, composition and food photography. There are also inexpensive sites like Skillshare that offer lots of courses per month with a small subscription fee. If I had millions of followers and decided to become an influencer, my first stop would be a photography course. Food photography is its own special genre as well.

I'd change my site appearance, because hers is quite clunky and doesn't feature photos very well.

Jill could easily do videos if writing doesn't come easily.

I'd look up multiple recipe variations on what I'm posting to get the best tips (liking adding cheese to stuffed mushrooms!). I'd feature more DIY hack ideas, like decorating, which is something the Duggars do pretty well. I'd just get Jana or whoever to give me a tutorial, and with permission, give her credit and take photos too. I'd also talk more about 'Mom life'. Like what do her and her sisters chat about in terms of challenges and coping? It doesn't have to be deep- I don't expect that from Jill- but things like bedtime routines or play dates.

The most obvious thing would be for Jill to write about pregnancy. Like "Yay, Jessa's pregnant! That reminds me about a challenge in the first trimester, when mamas feel...I used to try this wonderful solution that always made me feel better..." It's actually a topic she has a lot of experience with and cares about (I don't mean medical advice, just tips and tricks for feeling better).

Again, I'm expecting too much. She lives in an alternate reality and doesn't think strategically.

But I really have to give her props for trying here. I find it totally bizarre that none of the sisters have taken advantage of their large followings and become an online influencer, even just posting one or twice a month. It would be such an easy (and "gender appropriate", barf) way to generate some income and ensure that money keeps coming in after the show eventually ends. Except for Austin, none of the husbands makes a significant income. The Duggar sibs aren't exactly avoiding publicity. The only reason I can think of is laziness. 

Also, not a surprise.

[Pibblesmiles]

My stuffed mushrooms recipe (which I got from Allrecipes.com) uses shredded fake crab, green onions, bread crumbs, and Parmesan cheese.   

And I feel inspired to make it this weekend.

[allthegoodnamesrgone]

Did any of you see Jana's insta post about the bread?  She put out a real recipe that made sense the photos she took were very attractive. Some yummy homemade bread with a nice bowl of soup, great for a cold winter day at home.  Day 2 on Instagram and she's a better food bloger than Jill.  

I am starting to think that Jill is in a very bad place and that things are going to get worse. ?

[SorenaJ]

Jill should take food photography advice from Jana. She has nailed it. 

But I don't like Jana's recipe. She should put the measurements so people can weigh it instead. Who in the right mind would count out 17 cups? You'd lose count halfway through and have to start all over. Put it in bloody weight units. 

[acheronbeach]

2 hours ago, SorenaJ said:

Jill should take food photography advice from Jana. She has nailed it. 

But I don't like Jana's recipe. She should put the measurements so people can weigh it instead. Who in the right mind would count out 17 cups? You'd lose count halfway through and have to start all over. Put it in bloody weight units. 

Who in North America has a food scale? They're not common here like they are in Europe.

That said, it might've been easier if she used litres or gallons.

[mollysmom]

Over the weekend I was visiting my ex-husband & my dog (weird to most people I know, but we still get along very well. We are only exes because he is gay) I was downstairs doing my laundry & I was singing "Sweet Caroline" (Neil Diamond) at the top of my lungs (cause....if you know me...that's what I do lol) My ex came downstairs unbeknowst to me & videoed me while I was singing/doing laundry. Once I saw him I got all embarrassed and stopped of course. I watched the video and it was cute and funny but embarrassing. Big difference between my ex and Dwreck? My ex didn't post it all over the internet to embarrass & humiliate me!! He saved it for us.....not the whole world. Dwreck is just a jerk. Plain and simple. He's a bully and a jerk.