Last week, I was speaking with my grandmother who told me that she didn’t have time to talk because Dallas was coming on. I said “Hello – 1980!” The classic television soap opera is back as TNT picks up the story two decades later. I decided to check it out. Dallas reenergized the prime time television soap when it first aired on CBS as a five episode mini-series starting on April 2, 1978. In the late 70’s television was full of big name sit-coms, but a winning dramatic soap had been missing for almost a decade. Initially, the producers wrote the mini-series to be self contained, but once the ratings skyrocketed, the network immediately ordered a second season of 24 episodes that would begin airing the following September. The series centers around the Ewing family and the battle for control of the Ewing Oil empire. J.R. Ewing, played by Larry Hagman, is the head of the family who schemes, double-crosses, and sleeps with just about any woman to advance his oil empire and rake in a profit. Lying, cheating, and stealing served him well. The original series ran for 13 seasons from September 1978 – May 1991 for a total of 357 episodes. The show was appointment television at the time, especially after a move to Friday night during the second season. The original series is known for two of TV’s most classic moments: On the very final seconds of the third season finale A House Divided, while working late in his office, J.R. is shot by an unseen figure. The event skyrocketed the summer finale ratings with everyone guessing “Who Shot J.R.?” This was the first time a cliffhanger was used on TV to keep the audience hooked during the summer reruns. The hysteria was so great, Las Vegas and International...

. A blogumn by Debra Barlow My Kitchen Obsession I don’t know when it happened.  Maybe it was the day the dial switched from 29 to 30 or maybe it was the moment when my dear husband slipped that band on my finger.  But I suspect it’s been longer than that.  Really, I suspect it’s been buried deep down under piles of clutter for most of my life. The awful truth is…I’m domestic. I am obsessed with all things house and home.  I blame William-Sonoma.  When their catalog comes in the mail I devour it like it was the latest issue of Us Weekly.  And from this obsession comes one of my favorite things:  the Kitchen-Aid ice cream maker attachment. First, if you like to cook or bake or just like to have an enviable collection of kitchen appliances – stop now and go out and buy a Kitchen-Aid standing mixer. They are the greatest things and, let’s be honest, a kitchen status symbol if there ever was one.   And while you’re out buying the mixer, go ahead and buy that ice cream maker attachment.  If you like ice cream – and clearly, you have to like ice cream – this will be your new best friend.  Gone are the days of those clunky old machines.   This attachment is stored in the freezer and is ready to make a delicious quart of ice cream at a moment’s notice. My parents are visiting this week and to demonstrate my new found frozen-dessert making expertise, I tried a Buttermilk Peach Ice Cream Recipe from Homesick Texan, one of my new favorite blogs.  Being from Texas and, let’s face it, a little homesick, I have fond memories of this sweet peach treat.  We had some last night...