More than you ever wanted to hear from Jenny Crusie.

I Know You’re Getting Tired Of This But . . .

We need another tagline.

I know, I KNOW, we tried to do this one on our own, but it’s not working.

Here’s the deal: We’re working on the merchandising (yes, FINALLY) and we’re at the Cranky Agnes stuff. This is not about Agnes and the Hitman, this is the merchandising that would have been done to promote Agnes’s column and her first book, Mob Food in Agnes and the Hitman.

So not promoting a novel here. You are now IN the book and Agnes is looking at you saying, “I need a tagline for the merchandising to sell my column and my Mob Food book.”

With me so far?

In the book, there are two promotional items that Agnes has in her kitchen because the publisher always sends you one to show you what they look like. I still have my Fast Women coffee cup. It’s fab. Where was I? Right.

Agnes has a white apron with her logo (the face) on it. From the book:

Agnes took a white apron off a hook by the door and put it on–it said Cranky Agnes’s Mob Food on it under a drawing of Agnes in her glasses–and tore open a package of sausages.

And there’s a promo mug:

The coffeemaker beeped and Shane took a mug from a hook under the cabinet–it had the Cranky Agnes logo, too–and poured out a cup.

But instead of just the logo, Mollie and Mara who are working on the designs right now would also like a tagline for Agnes’s column and/or for the Mob Food book. The columns, as I’m writing them now, argh, are a low rent approach to food in general. Here’s Agnes talking about FoodTV:

There are people who can make everything those chefs make, they live for the recipes on FoodTV. They have springform pans and apple corers and microplane graters. You are not that person because if you were, you’d be spitting on this column. Then there are the people who can make most things and will carefully select the recipes they watch based on their own abilities. You are not that person, either. Then there are the people who drool at the TV thinking, God, that looks so good, I’m going to make that, and end up with half a jar of capers in their fridges and the other half in a recipe that goes down their garbage disposals. You are that person. I am that person. Most of America is that person. Food TV is like porn; we dial it up even though we’re pretty sure we can’t do that, in fact we’re pretty sure we don’t want to do that, but it sure is fun to watch. And then sometimes, in the heat of watching, we try to do that. It’s usually not pretty.

Or from another column:

Another way to increase your chances of surviving is whole wheat pasta. It tastes a little different, but again, when was the last time you said, “Oh, good, pasta!” and meant a plate of naked noodles? Pasta is almost always the delivery system for the sauce (I’m ignoring fresh noodles here because, come on, you’re not making fresh noodles because if you were, you wouldn’t be reading my column, you’d be out milking the goat) and the sauce is almost always tangy (tomatoes and basil and garlic and onions and peppers, oh my) or creamy (alfredo, parmesan, the blond heart attack on a plate). You’ll adapt to the whole wheat in no time and up your fiber consumption considerably. Try whole wheat tortillas, too; they actually taste better. Whole wheat pancakes, on the other hand, are like those people in the synthetic shoes who tell you leather is a sin: you want to like them but they smell odd and you just end up avoiding them so the ingredients sit on your pantry shelf and age while you feel guilty. High fiber does not have to mean “tastes like a wet dog.” Any food that has a gram of fiber for every fifty calories is high fiber so check to make sure. Those manufacturers will slap whole wheat on anything, but the fiber/calorie ration does not lie.

And she ends every recipe with “Eat.” As in:

5. Season with salt and pepper to taste (less is more because you can always add more at the table).
6. Toss with the hot pasta. Top with cheese if you want.
7. Eat.

So that’s the kind of column you’re selling. What would be a good tagline (very short, very pithy, has to fit on a mug or apron) for Agnes? Or what would be a good tagline for the Mob Food cookbook (she wrote it with Joey, it’s part cookbook, part memoir, part Joey and Agnes hanging out)?

The contest ends when we get a tagline or taglines we like. Because did I mention they’re working on the merchandising right now? As they’re trying to finish by the end of the week? And they won’t let me see any of it because as soon as I get any jpgs, I post them here. As Bob always says, I’d last ten seconds in covert ops. So I don’t get to see the designs until they’re done which is until we have taglines. It’s an emergency. I’m dying of curiousity here.

Oh, and if we pick your tagline, you get an Agnes ARC and one of the merchandise items we make using your line.

Thank you. I know this tagline stuff is getting old. It’s because I’ve got three books coming out in the space of four months (Coffee At Luke’s, the Gilmore Girls book, is out and I still haven’t see it) so we’re in a PR perfect storm at the moment. I’ll do a real post soon. I found most of the DLD cover designs, too, if you want a walk down Memory Lane. And I have some deep thoughts I need to share. Plus, I think Bob’s coming to visit, and that’s usually good for a post. I swear, it won’t always be “Give me a tagline.” Really.

Off to drive to the store. I get really good ideas when I drive.

147 Comments so far

  1. sara c on June 20th, 2007 at 12:44 pm

    Cranky Agnes Column Tagline Ideas: (what is the column called, anyway? just Cranky Agnes?)

    Food, not fluff.
    Just eat it already.
    Food for real people.
    Recipes for real people.
    Food with attitude.

    And, I’m with you on whole wheat pancakes. They sound like a good idea but they really aren’t.

  2. roben on June 20th, 2007 at 12:49 pm

    Spaghetti Sutra … suck it up.

    Okay, okay, I’ll go think up some more.

  3. kim on June 20th, 2007 at 12:57 pm

    Food is always greener on the other side

    How the other half eats

    Food for the cooking-challenged

    It ain’t pretty but it tastes great

    Even a caveman (cave person/woman) could cook it

  4. Karen on June 20th, 2007 at 12:59 pm

    For the Mob food… what about “…Make the Cannoli.” (or does that step on Coppola’s trademark?).

    For the Agnes column, why not just a call back to her recipes go with a one word tag: “Eat.” (or, “…eat.” I love my ellipses).

    Will try to think of more later.

  5. kim on June 20th, 2007 at 1:01 pm

    Forgot one!!

    So easy, even a cave man (person, woman) could cook it.

  6. Jenny on June 20th, 2007 at 1:02 pm

    I tried to talk Mollie into “Eat” or “You Should Eat” but she said it was confusing; if you saw a T-shirt with the Agnes face coming toward you and it said “Eat” . . .

    The column is called “Cranky Agnes.”

  7. ang on June 20th, 2007 at 1:07 pm

    Low rent food
    Food for thought
    Thoughts on food
    Snarky food
    Cranky food
    Food you can eat
    Food you can actually eat
    Food you actually want to eat
    Food to eat
    It’s not Food TV

    Hey, I’m new at this, cut me a break…

  8. AbsoluteCherry on June 20th, 2007 at 1:17 pm

    Mob Food: Good for the Whole Gang
    Mob Food: The gang will love it
    Mob Food: Make Them a Pasta They Can’t Refuse
    Mob Food: Keep your friends close, but your Cuisinart closer
    Mob Food: Leave the gun. Make the cannoli.

  9. JulieB on June 20th, 2007 at 1:18 pm

    Pasta with balls.

  10. AbsoluteCherry on June 20th, 2007 at 1:18 pm

    Whoops - I have to share credit for the cannoli line with Karen…

  11. Rae on June 20th, 2007 at 1:21 pm

    What about:

    For those who just want to eat.

    Mollie’s point remains valid that it’s probably still confusing unless it also has the title of the column on it.

    Working with sara’s ideas: “Food for those who just want to eat.” I’d use recipes but it do all of her columns contain a recipe at some point? If not, food is the better qualifer.

  12. AbsoluteCherry on June 20th, 2007 at 1:21 pm

    Or for a kinder gentler alternative:
    Mob Food: Leave the flan. Make the cannoli.

  13. GatorPerson on June 20th, 2007 at 1:27 pm

    Gobs of food for mobs and snobs.
    Lob cobs. Cook Mob Food.
    Lob cobs. Fix Mob Food.

  14. me on June 20th, 2007 at 1:37 pm

    Mangia, damnit.

    Goomba gumbo.

    You’ll like it. Because I said so.

    Cannoli for Dummies.

  15. ang on June 20th, 2007 at 1:37 pm

    Food for The Family

    “Pasta with Balls” LMAO!
    I like
    “It ain’t pretty but it tastes great” and “Food for those who just want to eat”

  16. me on June 20th, 2007 at 1:44 pm

    Or, to go all Italian: Cannoli per fessi (cannoli for idiots)

  17. Diane (TT) on June 20th, 2007 at 1:48 pm

    I liked “Make them a pasta they can’t refuse”.

    How ’bout “If I can make it, you can make it”, or
    “Too cranky to spend my life cooking, but I sure like to eat!”?

    Or, “If you don’t eat, you’ll be cranky!”

    My sister has a great recipe for whole wheat pecan waffles. Part of the marvelousness may be that she typically serves waffles with fruit (frozen and thawed is fine for waffles) and (here’s the important part), a choice of lemon curd or ginger jam. Sorry - it seems to be the pumpkin waffles (also yummy) that are from Cooking Light, so I can’t link you to the whole wheat pecan ones. Did you know (I just discovered) that now you can search CL and Southern Living and Sunset (my mom has been a Sunset subscriber for 40 years, they have great recipes!) all at one site? Plus a couple of others.

  18. J on June 20th, 2007 at 1:50 pm

    Food the whole Family will love.

    Recipes for Everybody.

    Recipes for the non-Gourmet in us all.

  19. Rae on June 20th, 2007 at 1:51 pm

    Food with a mob-mentality.
    Cooking with a mob-mentality.
    Mob-mentality Cooking

    1. Read it. 2. Cook it. 3. Eat it.

    Stir-up the mob in you.

    Eating with the mob and the masses.
    Cooking with the mob and the masses.
    Food for the mob and the masses.

    Practice SAFE FOOD!

    Ok, clearly I’m having way more fun doing this than my actual work and now I’m getting a little kooky with the ideas.

  20. Rae on June 20th, 2007 at 1:52 pm

    One more…

    Mob Tested. Mob Approved.

  21. J on June 20th, 2007 at 1:56 pm

    Cranky Agnes: How real people cook.

  22. Rae on June 20th, 2007 at 2:01 pm

    For the cook book:
    The Godfather of Cookbooks
    Godfather Gourmet
    Recipes You Can’t Refuse
    The Food Boss
    Cooking with the Mafia

  23. Rae on June 20th, 2007 at 2:03 pm

    Been Made Gourmet

  24. J on June 20th, 2007 at 2:11 pm

    Mob Food: The Inside Story

  25. LauraB on June 20th, 2007 at 2:12 pm

    Eat. Or else.

  26. me on June 20th, 2007 at 2:13 pm

    OK, this tagline thing is addicting. I can’t stop. How about:

    Because you have to eat sometime

    Shut up and eat

    Take this cannoli and stuff it!

    You are what you eat

    If you are what you eat, then I’m fast, cheap, and easy.

  27. J on June 20th, 2007 at 2:15 pm

    Mob Food: Everything you wanted to know but were afraid to ask.

  28. Marilyn K. on June 20th, 2007 at 2:19 pm

    Cranky Eatin’
    Eating by Cranky Agnes
    Real Food for Real People

  29. roben on June 20th, 2007 at 2:25 pm

    Don’t Knock the Gnocchi!

    Macaroni Mama!

  30. Marilyn K. on June 20th, 2007 at 2:28 pm

    Crank it up by Cranky Agnes

    Ooh La Food!

  31. Kellie Hazell on June 20th, 2007 at 2:34 pm

    Mob Food: Crime Takes a Bite

  32. Kellie Hazell on June 20th, 2007 at 2:35 pm

    -or- (should’ve waited to hit submit)

    Mob Food: Crime Bites Back

  33. Caryle on June 20th, 2007 at 2:36 pm

    I’m terrible at these things, but I can’t talk myself out of suggesting:

    Mob Food: You want food that’s fancy? Fuggetaboutit!

  34. Kellie Hazell on June 20th, 2007 at 2:40 pm

    -or- (argh, I really didn’t expect a third idea)

    Mob Food: Take a Bite With Crime

    Cranky Agnes: What, you were expecting Julia Childs?

    Cranky Agnes: Rachel Ray Meets Simon Cowell

  35. dee on June 20th, 2007 at 2:41 pm

    First of all - COFFEE AT LUKE’S ? Totally LOVE it. I have it. I got it for my oldest child, Gretchen, the biggest GG fan in the entire world. My plan is to bring it with me to Nats and to NJRW (and to Ohio in August) where I can collect autographs, then give it to the young miss for Christmas. She’s going to just have a fit, since it has two of her favorite things - a GG theme, and Jenny’s name on the cover! (I have let her read Santa Baby, and she LOVED it, and can’t wait to read more).

    Second, for taglines (this is so much fun!) -
    For the cookbook -
    It’s better than sleeping with fishes
    Buy the book, cook the food. Or else.
    Cooking for Mobsters. And everyone else too!
    Mob+food= EAT

    For Agnes -
    Cranky Cooking
    Just EAT already
    Cranky Agnes says…EAT (this would look good on a mug, with the “Cranky Agnes says…” above and the “EAT” below the pic of her face)

  36. Amanda B. on June 20th, 2007 at 2:42 pm

    dishing up no-nonsense, yummy meals… with attitude

  37. J on June 20th, 2007 at 2:59 pm

    Cranky Agnes: Sassy Food.

  38. Lori on June 20th, 2007 at 3:02 pm

    Caution: Eating this food may dispel crankiness

    If you say BAM! you’ll be sleeping with the fishes

    Snark and Serve.

    Recipes for people who don’t even care what a scallion is.

    Cooking the Type A Way

    The Cranky Agnes Style of Cooking: Because I said so.

    The Food You Don’t Take Home to Mother

  39. Chrissy Deffendall on June 20th, 2007 at 3:06 pm

    I’m submitting these without looking at anybody else’s first, so forgive me if I repeat yours.

    Cranky Agnes merchandising taglines:

    “Just eat it.”

    “Cranky Agnes: A meal to die for.” (from my dh)

    “I’ll make you a meal you can’t refuse.”

    “A meal you can’t refuse”

    “Garlic presses are for sissies.”

    “Real cooks use butter.” (homage to Bet Me)

    Mob Food taglines:

    “Meals you can’t refuse”

    “An offering you can’t refuse”

    “Cranky Agnes’s ‘family’ cookbook”

    Can you tell I’m hung up on the Mob references? I’ll read everybody else’s after I submit this and then go hide my head in shame.

  40. roben on June 20th, 2007 at 3:08 pm

    Mob Food: it ain’t for sissies!

    For the apron: Squisito!

    or Delizioso (delicious)

    or Buonissimo (very good, delicious)

  41. Cary on June 20th, 2007 at 3:10 pm

    Okay, for an ARC, I’ll give my copywriting skills a try. How ’bout

    Cranky Agnes Orders a Hit on Food

    Mob Food: Just like Your Sicilian Grandma Made

    How to Eat, Drink, and Stay One Step Ahead of the Feds

    Okay, obviously, I should stay out of the advertising field. But I REALLY want a Cranky Agnes apron.

  42. Kathi on June 20th, 2007 at 3:18 pm

    About her column:

    “The quickie of food porn.”

    If you can boil water, you’re home free.

    Food Porn made easy

    Drive-by Food Porn.

    Expecting someone fatter…

    Cook with a Cause

    Column & tag:

    Cranky Agnes’ Fast Food

    “Because someone has to do food right.” or:
    “Not only will you eat it, you will like it. Or else.”

    Under her logo sketch:

    “Read. Cook. Eat. Any questions?”

    Mob Cookbook:

    A cookbook to die for…
    A cookbook you can’t refuse
    *********

    Back to work –

  43. Victoria on June 20th, 2007 at 3:29 pm

    Mob food tag lines:

    Knives, forks and guns.
    It’s not a head on a plate.
    There’s cooking and then there’s cooking.

  44. Victoria on June 20th, 2007 at 3:35 pm

    Is it too late to self-edit?

    There’s cooking and then there’s Cooking.

    (the italics and funky capitalization are important.)

  45. Sheryl on June 20th, 2007 at 3:41 pm

    Pretty’s got nothing to do with taste. Eat.

  46. K.L. on June 20th, 2007 at 4:09 pm

    Cranky Agnes
    (face here)
    Eat Your Food

    or

    Don’t Make Me Come Over There

  47. K.L. on June 20th, 2007 at 4:10 pm

    Or
    Do it My Way

  48. colognegrrl on June 20th, 2007 at 4:12 pm

    Eat it. Or beat it.

  49. heather on June 20th, 2007 at 4:12 pm

    How about…

    Food=Porn

    Food Might Not Be Porn, but it’s still Good.

    Mob Food: Guns, Cannollis, and Other Necessities of Life

    Mob Food: VERY Secret Family Recipes

    (the porn comment struck me, obviously….)

  50. Sheri on June 20th, 2007 at 4:20 pm

    Good food–no fuss. (mugs and apron)

    Food without the fuss. Or “Good food w/out the fuss.”

    Feed your face (with Cranky Agnes face in between)

    Cranky Agnes says “Eat…”

    Cook book:

    Mob Food for the Masses

    Memoirs and Manicotti: Cooking for the Mob

  51. Sheryl on June 20th, 2007 at 4:21 pm

    Or
    Taste’s got nothing to do with pretty. Eat.
    Feed the Mob. NOW!

  52. Pam W. on June 20th, 2007 at 4:29 pm

    The only virgin here is my olive oil.

    Food that sticks to the knife between your ribs.

    The Thin Man never tasted my food.

    I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to make this anymore.

  53. RCanuck on June 20th, 2007 at 4:29 pm

    For the column:

    “Food for the rest of us.”

    For the Mob Cookbook:

    “Cooking for the Mob, the Family and the rest of the gang.”

    (seriously, how much do I love the built in spell checker in Firefox 2 since it keeps saving me from myself.)

  54. GatorPerson on June 20th, 2007 at 4:30 pm

    Ferme la bouche et mange.

    My Italian is poor to non-exitent. That is supposed to be Italian for “Shut your mouth and eat.”

  55. RandomRanter on June 20th, 2007 at 4:35 pm

    Eating for the rest of us.
    (although I see that R Canuck has a very similar one.)
    Just Plain Eating
    It’s food, not rocket science.

  56. Pam W. on June 20th, 2007 at 4:47 pm

    Say hello to my little fork.

    You can get further with a kind word and a spoon than you can with just a kind word.

    Stir me deadly.

    Public Enemy #2

    Marinarad to the Mob

    Pasta Nostra

  57. ang on June 20th, 2007 at 4:47 pm

    Good food for real life
    Good food for real people
    Good food for life

  58. ang on June 20th, 2007 at 4:49 pm

    Good Eating

  59. CathyS. on June 20th, 2007 at 4:49 pm

    For “Mob Food”:
    “Making Meals with the Made Man”

    -or-

    “Bringing the Family to the table.”

    Cranky Agnes:

    “For Food that Fools the Foodies”…nah…too much alliteration.

  60. CathyS. on June 20th, 2007 at 4:52 pm

    I love RandomRanter’s “It’s food, not rocket science”.

    Although I have to admit that in real life I am semi-addicted to Alton Brown, and he does explain a lot about food science in his shows….

  61. Jennifer on June 20th, 2007 at 5:01 pm

    (These are SO not going to win. Oh well.)

    Cooking for Lazy People
    Cooking for Slackers
    Cooking for Actual Real People, Not the Pros
    Cooking for Wannabe Food Snobs Who Can’t Hack That Fresh Ingredients Thing
    Turning Food Porn Into Tasty Reality

  62. Teble on June 20th, 2007 at 5:02 pm

    How ’bout, “Eat, Drink, and be Cranky.”

    Merry is for wimps.

  63. wendy on June 20th, 2007 at 5:12 pm

    Cranky Agnes-Kitchen Diva

    Cooking for the Mob-Family Fare

  64. K.L. on June 20th, 2007 at 5:16 pm

    I got it.

    Cranky Agnes
    Food with Attitude

  65. Cary on June 20th, 2007 at 5:20 pm

    Breaking bread and taking heat

  66. Eva Gale on June 20th, 2007 at 5:20 pm

    Whack It.

    Whole wheat banana pancakes need strips of bacon in between. The trick is real maple syrup warmed in the nuker with cinnamon in them. And butter. It’s the salty sweet thing going. Heaven, I promise. Regular ones are like cardboard disks, no matter what the heck you put on them.

  67. Cary on June 20th, 2007 at 5:21 pm

    Cranky Agnes: Outta the Frying Pan…

  68. Cary on June 20th, 2007 at 5:34 pm

    For Mob Food - The food is real, the names are not.

    Cranky Agnes - Don’t Mess with the Food.

    Appetite Required, Attitude Optional

  69. Brooke on June 20th, 2007 at 5:51 pm

    Mob Food: Too good to be legal.
    Mob Food: Feed the Family.
    Mob Food: Feed your gang.
    Mob Food: Come off like gangbusters.
    Mob Food: For dinners that come off like gangbusters.

  70. ZaZa on June 20th, 2007 at 5:56 pm

    Food you can cook.
    And eat.

    It ain’t food porn, but it’s edible.

    Recipes for the cooking/kitchen-challenged

    Recipes for the rest of us

    Cranky Agnes says,
    “Eat.”

    It’s edible and it won’t kill you.

    And you know, Jenny, that we love doing these. Even if some of us *ahem* are really rotten at it.

  71. Sally J. on June 20th, 2007 at 6:07 pm

    I like the one about a meal you can’t refuse, but Copola may fuss.

    Cook, talk, eat. You’ll feel bettah.

    I could give you the recipe, but then I’d have to kill ya.

    I’m no good at this, but I should get points for participating, like in Gym Class

  72. Cary on June 20th, 2007 at 6:09 pm

    Mob Food: Breadsticks & Bullets

    Cranky Agnes: The Fat’s in the Fire Now!

    Mob Food: How to Hide $50,000 in a Tuna Casserole

    Okay, I really should stop now….

  73. Cary on June 20th, 2007 at 6:10 pm

    But not yet…

    Cranky Agnes: Taking a Whack at the Family Dinner

  74. ZaZa on June 20th, 2007 at 6:19 pm

    Feed your inner Goomba

    Sorry on a couple of those earlier ones. I didn’t read the other comments before adding mine. What else is new?

  75. zette on June 20th, 2007 at 6:50 pm

    Thinking in terms of Mob Food…

    Killer Food

    or

    Killer Dinners

  76. dee on June 20th, 2007 at 7:03 pm

    For the cookbook -
    More than just spaghetti
    Food the whole Family will love
    Things YOU can cook that The Family will eat.
    For a Fun Time in YOUR Kitchen
    Fun in the kitchen with The Family

    For Agnes -
    The food is easy. The cook isn’t.
    It’s not food porn, but your mouth won’t know that.
    Tastes like food porn.
    The cook is Cranky, not the food.

  77. Jean on June 20th, 2007 at 7:20 pm

    For the cookbook:

    Mob Food: It’s Da’ Family Way

    For Agnes:

    You Food

    or, maybe,

    U Food

  78. CathyS. on June 20th, 2007 at 7:22 pm

    Mob Food: Meals for the Made Man

  79. CathyS. on June 20th, 2007 at 7:28 pm

    Mob Food: Angel Cakes with Dirty Faces

    (couldn’t resist)

  80. BCB on June 20th, 2007 at 7:29 pm

    Nothin’ But Good Food Ahead

    Beat It. Heat It. Eat It.

    Mob Food: It’ll be a Hit in Your Kitchen.

  81. AnnieG on June 20th, 2007 at 7:33 pm

    Tagline:

    Cranky Agnes - If you can’t stand the heat…

    Cranky Agnes - Don’t try this at home.

    Cranky Agnes - Watch and Learn.

    Cranky Agnes - No Mess, No Pain

    Cranky Agnes - Food on the Run (or Recipes on the Run)

    Cranky Agnes - Cooking for Cretins

  82. Courtney on June 20th, 2007 at 8:10 pm

    Okay, I’m late to this party, so I’ve only seen the excerpt from the first chapter, but here goes:
    (Oh, and I’m not reading everyone else’s answers, because they would just stick in my head. If there are repeats, that’s just because great minds think alike. ;)

    For the Cranky Agnes column:

    Read It and Eat.

    Taking the bite out of the kitchen.

    Grouchy About Good Grub.

    Food with a side of sarcasm.

    For those who just want to EAT, already.

    For Mob Food:

    Cooking for Goombahs

    Cooking for the Godfather

    Eat. Or Else.

    Because You Never Know When It’s Your Last Meal.

  83. Marie on June 20th, 2007 at 8:19 pm

    Can I try?

    Cranky Agnes: Plain-speaking on fancy food.

    Cranky Agnes: Common-sense culinary

    Cranky Agnes: Food for the rest of us.

    Cranky Agnes: Repasts and real recipies

    Mob Food: Just like your sainted mother used to make

  84. Eva Gale on June 20th, 2007 at 8:27 pm

    It’s About the Brasciole.

    *snerk* Mobster double entendres.

  85. Eva Gale on June 20th, 2007 at 8:36 pm

    For Agnes: Shut Up and Eat.

  86. downundergal on June 20th, 2007 at 8:46 pm

    Okay, she’s Cranky Agnes right?
    So how about - Bite Me.

    Got nothing on the mob food bit.

  87. Jenifer on June 20th, 2007 at 9:11 pm

    Cranky Agnes:
    I write, you eat.
    Cranking up the heat.
    Too hot to handle.
    I like to watch (people cook).
    Here to eat and tell.
    She’ll tell you where to go. (assuming she does restaurant reviews)
    Shut up and cook.

    This is harder than it looks. :)

  88. MJ on June 20th, 2007 at 9:28 pm

    Mob Food: Every Meal a Hit

  89. Mary Stella on June 20th, 2007 at 9:50 pm

    For Mob Food: Feeding the Famiglia; Good Eating Isn’t a Crime; Good Food Isn’t a Crime; Cooking Well Isn’t a Crime.

    For Cranky Agnes: Food Fast — Not Fast Food or The Hard Part’s Over, Now Eat. Maybe, Cooking’s the Hard Part. Now Eat.

    Cranky Agnes: The Hard Part’s Over, Now Eat!

  90. micki on June 20th, 2007 at 9:59 pm

    (-: I’m not looking at the comments, so if this sounds familiar, blame zeitgeist. Here are three ideas:

    Food you can actually make. Food you can actually eat.

    When the Godmother says, “Eat,” you eat.

    Cranky Agnes: the Godmother of Home Cooking

  91. MJ on June 20th, 2007 at 10:03 pm

    Cranky Agnes. Friendly Food.

    It’s not cuisine–it’s FOOD.

    Screw cuisine!

    You want cuisine, or supper?

  92. micki on June 20th, 2007 at 10:09 pm

    OMG! There are some *great* ones here! I’m glad I’m not judging. But I really, really love: “Read, cook, eat. Any questions?”

  93. me on June 20th, 2007 at 10:25 pm

    GaterPerson, that was French. It’s chiudi il becco e mangi.

    More ideas:
    From the witness protection program to you.
    Eat if you know what’s good for you.

  94. MJ on June 20th, 2007 at 10:28 pm

    From my dh:
    Mob Food: What, you don’t like it?

  95. Rosa on June 20th, 2007 at 10:59 pm

    For the apron with her face on it:

    Killer food, killer smile.

  96. patmc on June 20th, 2007 at 10:59 pm

    I know 13 ways to kill with a spoon, eat!

    recipes learned at my Godfathers side

    recipes i learned by…um, don’t ask

    don’t be cranky, cook!
    don’t you be cranky…cook!

    sorry all, 4yr old grandkidlet gave me love and cold, all at the same time arggggggggg

  97. roben on June 21st, 2007 at 12:37 am

    Book/ Column:

    Mob Food: Cuisine with Attitude

    Mob Food: It’s all in the slicin’ and dicin’

    Mob Food: Pasta, that’s the ticket!

    Mob Food by Due Amici

    Agnes:

    Caution: Knife in hand.

    Bad Girl Chef

    Angel in the Kitchen

    Guru Chef

    That’s it, I’m all tapped out. Going to bed.

  98. ZaZa on June 21st, 2007 at 12:50 am

    Maybe change that Feed your inner Goomba to Godfather, Mobster, Don etc.

    For the book, When a hitman comes to dinner…

  99. The Great Dane on June 21st, 2007 at 2:20 am

    KISS
    Keep It Simple, Stupid

    For both the column and the book. :-)

    Anette, The Great Dane

  100. Strop on June 21st, 2007 at 2:34 am

    Easy cooking: easy eating

    Easy and edible

    Eating for Dummies

    Cooking for Dummies

    Cranky Agnes: your life in a pan

    Easy living: easy eating

    Cranky Agnes: Not for Chefs

  101. Shoshana on June 21st, 2007 at 2:38 am

    I haven’t read all of them, so pardon me if any of these have been done, but…

    How long is the column, usually?

    A meal in ___ words
    or
    A meal in ___ lines
    or
    Pass me the column, please
    or
    Book’s out and dinner’s up: Mob Food
    or
    Snappy Service: Mob Food
    or
    Snappy Service: Cranky Agnes’ Food Column
    or
    Food to Drool For
    or
    Food to Cook For

    okay, I’m done for now

  102. Shoshana on June 21st, 2007 at 2:46 am

    No, I’m not.

    Why Stop at Seconds?
    Everyone deserves desert
    No book left behind
    No column left behind
    No cook left behind
    Mob Food: it has Zing!
    Mob Food: you want it, we’ve got it
    Whatever you want: Mob Food

  103. Shoshana on June 21st, 2007 at 3:00 am

    Mob Food: A book with real meat to it
    Try this at home!
    Food, faster than a .(some number here, I don’t know guns -21 or something? No, that’s the gambling game) bullet
    Easier than Pie
    Mob Food: no limits here
    You don’t have to be hungry; we’ll help
    Mob Food: are you going to finish that?
    (face or ‘Cranky Agnes’) I want what she’s having
    (face or ‘Cranky Agnes’) I’ll have what she’s having
    or
    (face or Cranky Agnes): I’ll have what she’s cooking
    (face or ‘Cranky Agnes’): I want what she’s cooking

    NOW I’m done.

  104. Shoshana on June 21st, 2007 at 3:19 am

    Um… I take that back. Not done, yet.

    Mob Food: Sizzlin Hot
    Mob Food: Turn up the Heat
    Mob Food: It’s OVER the fire
    Out of the pan, into the stomach
    Cranky Agnes: I drink it up!
    Cranky Agnes: Words to sip by
    Mob Food: Live and let cook
    Cranky Agnes: Words to eat by
    or Mob Food: Words to eat by
    Mob Food: One in the pan is worth two in the store
    Cranky Agnes: Witchin’ in the Kitchen
    Words to cook by
    Truth in in Cooking
    An everymeal book
    An everymeal column
    Tabletalk

  105. Shoshana on June 21st, 2007 at 3:30 am

    Is there a limit to how many we can do? This is really entertaining!

    1. Read
    2. Cook
    3. Eat

    Mob Food: it’s KISS the cook!
    Don’t kill the cook: Mob Food
    Mob Food: dying to cook
    Quoth the maven: there better be more!
    Mob Food: How many servings can YOU take?
    Cooks, Crooks, and Really Good Food.
    Stealing the home’s plate
    Good to the last page
    Good to the last bite
    Cranky Agnes: Temper in a Teapot
    Temper with a teapot

    Right, I’ll be good, I’ll stop.

  106. Shoshana on June 21st, 2007 at 3:31 am

    Wait, just ONE more?

    Mob Food: Sugar and spice; not everything’s nice

  107. Shoshana on June 21st, 2007 at 3:55 am

    Aaah! Help! I can’t stop!

    Agnes: Whine and Dine
    Sautee and expose’e (how do you do that accent thing?)
    Mob Food: the quick and the bread
    The good, the bad, and the bread
    the good, the bad, and the food
    the good the bad and the cook
    between leaven and hearth
    Mob Food: stealing leaven
    Cranky Agnes: some leavening for your life
    Bread and Board

    does she DO any bread recipes? oh, nevermind, I shouldn’t be doing any more anyway!

    between a cop and a hot plate?
    Dishing out the good stuff
    Mob Food: out of the fire, into the fry pan
    Mob Food: in the line of fries

    This is WAYYYYY too much fun!

    Yes, you can have some more.
    On the mug: Fill ‘er up!
    Cranky Agnes: a saucy wench
    Mob Food: Sugar and spice and things not so nice

    Okay, at this point I really will stop.

  108. CathyS. on June 21st, 2007 at 4:37 am

    Weird things happen in my brain when I am up all night babysitting computer systems:

    Mob Food: Spaghetti and Goombas

  109. Ingrid on June 21st, 2007 at 5:05 am

    Unlike Teble I like “Eat, drink and be merry”. For me the second bit “for tomorrow we die” always follows in my head, whether it’s there or not.
    With the first and visible part you have the message that eating and drinking makes cranky people merry (well, my mood does not improve when I’m hungry), and with the second invisible part the whole dying/being killed/mob thing.

  110. Mel on June 21st, 2007 at 5:14 am

    Mob Food: You can’t refuse
    or Mob Food: Food you can’t refuse

    Cranky Agnes. Eat. Or else.

  111. L. on June 21st, 2007 at 6:02 am

    Cranky Agnes: It’s About Time

  112. L. on June 21st, 2007 at 6:13 am

    Mob Food: Killer Family Recipes

  113. Laura Vivanco on June 21st, 2007 at 6:28 am

    Not a tagline, just a query. In the post you wrote that ‘the fiber/calorie ration does not lie’. Is that American usage or should it be ‘ratio’?

  114. J on June 21st, 2007 at 7:50 am

    Food to Live for.

  115. Susanna Hugo on June 21st, 2007 at 8:11 am

    Okay - immediately started channeling my grandmother, a very tough, first generation Italian immigrant:

    Mangia! (Eat in Italian - heard often in her house, and it wasn’t a request)

    Mangia already - like a toothpick! (also heard often in her house - but probably not as appropriate here)

    Probably too long & stereotypical but: You want I should make you eat?

    Even Made (wo)men can make good food. (scans better with men, but it’s Agnes’ column)

  116. L. on June 21st, 2007 at 8:15 am

    Cranky Agnes:
    Recipes for the rest of the world
    Cooking doesn’t have to be difficult
    Food for regular folks
    Easy food for busy people

  117. Shawn Reed on June 21st, 2007 at 8:41 am

    Frou-frou free food zone
    Food you WANT to eat

  118. J on June 21st, 2007 at 8:43 am

    Mob Food: The Tough Guy’s Guide to life and food

  119. Jane on June 21st, 2007 at 9:03 am

    Food you’d kill for. . .And How You Make It.

  120. Jess on June 21st, 2007 at 9:05 am

    Sorry if any of these are repeats; that’s a lot of comments to wade through and I admit I just skimmed. ^_^

    Making food fun again.
    Feeding the Masses. (could also work for Mob Food in a way)
    The No Fear Kitchen.
    For people who just want to eat.

    I thought “Cranky Agnes, Friendly Food,” but I noted that MJ already had it.

  121. AMC on June 21st, 2007 at 9:40 am

    For the mob cookbook,

    Meatballs and Chitlins: Food of the Southern Mob.
    (or any other Italian-American dish you’d care to substitute.)

    Southern-Fried Mob Food.

    For Agnes’s column,

    Just Eat It, Already!

  122. MJ on June 21st, 2007 at 9:54 am

    For Cranky Agnes: What’re YOU cooking?

    Still messing with my earlier ideas:
    Mob Food: Make Every Meal a Hit

    Cranky Agnes: You want cuisine, or food?

  123. JulieB on June 21st, 2007 at 10:13 am

    Shoshana,
    Tell me you are getting paid to be up at 3 AM!

  124. Chris on June 21st, 2007 at 11:10 am

    Mob Food: Try it- couldn’t hurt.

  125. Chris on June 21st, 2007 at 11:17 am

    Food for the rest of us.

  126. Jenny on June 21st, 2007 at 11:49 am

    When you’re self-employed, there is no time clock. So basically, yes, I’m getting paid to be up at 3AM.
    OTOH, I can sleep until noon if I want to. Don’t cry for me, babe. It’s a good life full of interesting people with great taglines.

    “Ration” was a typo, thank you.

    And some of these would make great Cranky Agnes column headers. You people are brilliant.

  127. Shawn Reed on June 21st, 2007 at 12:00 pm

    For the cook book –

    Recipes you can’t refuse.

  128. Lee on June 21st, 2007 at 12:27 pm

    My good brother, who would be a mobster if he wasn’t already a commercial fisherman, always says

    “you don’t eat, you die”

    and then when anyone hesitates, he says

    “so eat already”

  129. J on June 21st, 2007 at 12:32 pm

    Just because it amuses me:

    Mob Food: We don’t need a protection racket to sell this book.

  130. Gin on June 21st, 2007 at 12:47 pm

    For the column:

    Just do it. Then eat.

    For the book:

    Mouth-watering Mob morsels

    More eating off the dishes than sleeping with the fishes

  131. Wag on June 21st, 2007 at 1:12 pm

    Mob Food: Body Bags not Required
    Mob Food: Slay your appetite
    Mob Food: The K.I.S.S of death. How to slay those mobster appetites.

    Cranky Agnes: Create Real Appetizing Nummies w/o Killing Yourself

    Cranky Agnes: She’s got the Chops
    Cranky Agnes: Hit me with your best chop

    Cranky Agnes: Food is not a four letter word
    Cranky Agnes: Because eating should not be a four letter word

    Cranky Agnes: Foodies need not apply.
    Cranky Agnes: Cooking made so easy, it should be a crime

    Cranky Agnes: Relish her K.I.S.S.
    Cranky Agnes: Eating with a K.I.S.S.
    Cranky Agnes: Cooking with a K.I.S.S

    Cranky Agnes: Create Mouth-watering Food w/o Killing Yourself
    Cranky Agnes: Chop. Spice. Toss. Now Eat!
    Cranky Agnes: Shoot, fire and eat the food (southern idiom takeoff)
    Cranky Agnes: She takes the cake.
    Cranky Agnes: She won’t make you holler like a stuck pig.

    Cranky Agnes: Small bites for the foodie in all of us
    Cranky Agnes: Either cook or throw the plate
    Cranky Agnes: She’s plum crazy
    Cranky Agnes: Raising your dander one ingredient at a time
    Cranky Agnes: Parsing sage advice for a merry ole time

    That was kind of fun.

  132. lilyblues on June 21st, 2007 at 1:18 pm

    Crunchy Thoughts

  133. Carla on June 21st, 2007 at 1:23 pm

    I’m from New York, so I have to go with:

    “Mob Food: You got a problem with that?”

  134. Kelly on June 21st, 2007 at 1:46 pm

    Forget the Professionals - Try this at Home

  135. Kelly on June 21st, 2007 at 1:57 pm

    or “Ignore the Professionals - Try This at Home”

  136. J on June 21st, 2007 at 2:13 pm

    The way cooking should be.

  137. J on June 21st, 2007 at 2:19 pm

    K.I.S.S. the Cook

  138. Kelly on June 21st, 2007 at 2:23 pm

    “Mob Food - Breaking down the Barricades of Haute Cuisine”

    I know this refers more the French Revolutionary mobs rather than the Mafia, but I like it.

  139. Jennifer on June 21st, 2007 at 2:32 pm

    I did not read the other entries so I apologize for any duplicates!

    Cranky Agnes: Food without Pity
    Cranky Agnes: Cook, undefined.
    Cranky Agnes: Crotchty Cuisine
    Cranky Agnes: Crass Cuisine.
    Mob Food: Bang! Your eatin’ now!
    Mob Food: Executions of Eats
    Mob Food: Violent Vittles
    Mob Food: Enraged Entrees
    Mob Food: Go Ahead, Make Me a Meal!

  140. roben on June 21st, 2007 at 4:10 pm

    For the column:
    Dish and Diss with Cranky Agnes

    Mob Food: Italian Dishes to Die For

    Apron and stuff:
    Cranky Agnes: A Real Dish

  141. MJ on June 21st, 2007 at 4:40 pm

    Hey, Roben, change one word and I think it’s even better:
    Cranky Agne: The Real Dish

  142. glee on June 21st, 2007 at 5:05 pm

    Mob Food: Hit Recipes

  143. Brandy on June 21st, 2007 at 5:52 pm

    It’s simple food for simple people.

    If I can cook it, so can you.

    Cookbook: Bullets and Braises

    Apron: Get whacked!

  144. Bonnie C on June 21st, 2007 at 6:32 pm

    Cranky Agnes - Not for the Experienced

    Cranky Agnes - Professionals Need Not Apply

  145. JulieB on June 21st, 2007 at 6:51 pm

    Are mobsters different in the south? ‘Cause I’m still close enough to Chicagoland to get big-city news, and _our_ boys were on the news last night saying things like, “I don’t remember that. . .,” “He’s just a friend,” and “Run the mob? I can’t even walk around!” I’m just wondering how far they will go to promote the book. . . .

  146. ChelSierra on June 21st, 2007 at 7:45 pm

    Just goofing around mostly, but ya never know if one might turn out to be a winner:

    —————————————–

    Have Skillet, Will Fry

    Have Stomach? Will Fill

    No Stomach Goes Unfilled

    I Know My Way Around A Kitchen

    I Know My Way Around A Kitchen, And So Can You

    I Have A Skillet, And I Know How To Use It

    I Have Many Skillets, And I Know How To Use Them

    My Skillet Mantra: Fry Them All!

    Deep Frying My Way To The Dark Side

    Weapon Of Choice: My Skillet

    Cooking R Us

    Cooking M.O.

    Cooking Mojo

    —————————————–

    Cranky Agnes: Cooking My Way To Happiness

    Cranky Agnes: Cooking My Way To Inner Peace

    Cranky Agnes: The Sourdough Confection

    Cranky Agnes: The Sourdough Conspiracy

    Cranky Agnes: The Sourdough Connection

    Cranky Agnes: Sourdough Filly

    Cranky Agnes: Embrace Your Sourdough

    Cranky Agnes: Embrace Your Inner Sourdough

    Cranky Agnes: Embracing Your Sourdough

    Cranky Agnes: Embracing Your Inner Sourdough

    Cranky Agnes: Let’s Cook!

    Cranky Agnes: Got Food?

    Cranky Agnes: Got Food? Let’s Cook!

    Cranky Agnes: Got Food? Let’s Eat!

    Cranky Agnes: Into Your Hearts One Stomach At A Time

    Cranky Agnes: Happy Cooking

    Cranky Agnes: Crabby Cooking

    Cranky Agnes: Cooking Can Be Cantankerous

    Cranky Agnes: Cooking The Cantankerous Way

    Cranky Agnes: Cantankerous Cooking

    Cranky Agnes: Grouchy Cooking

    Cranky Agnes: Cooking Grouch

    Cranky Agnes: Cooking Grouch (er, Guru)

    Cranky Agnes: Forgo Mojo

    Cranky Agnes: Forgo The Mojo

    Cranky Agnes: Good Eating Ahead

    Cranky Agnes: Good Cooking Ahead

    Cranky Agnes: Nothing But Good Cooking

    Cranky Agnes: Nothing But Good Cooking Ahead

    Cranky Agnes: Nothing But Good Eating

    Cranky Agnes: Nothing But Good Eating Ahead

  147. J on June 21st, 2007 at 8:01 pm

    Cranky Agnes: Real Food, Snark on the Side.
    or
    Cranky Agnes: Real Food with Snark on the Side.