"All's Fair in Oven War" is the second episode of the sixteenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 14, 2004. In the episode, Marge gets her kitchen remodeled and the dishes she makes inside it get rave reviews. The suggestion of Ned Flanders leads her to enter a cooking contest. However, Marge realizes the competition is harder than it seems. Meanwhile, Bart finds Homer's vintage Playdude magazines and decides to adopt the lifestyle he sees within the articles. Matt Selman wrote the episode, and Mark Kirkland served as director. Thomas Pynchon and James Caan guest starred as themselves. The episode features cultural references to songs such as "Separate Ways", "Boplicity", and "Take Five", as well as references to the film The Godfather and various fictional food mascots. The episode received positive reviews from critics. Plot Discovering that the house next to theirs is up for sale, Homer and Marge marvel at its extensive kitchen. Marge asks Homer to hire a contractor to upgrade their kitchen, but Homer decides to save money by doing the job himself. His ineptitude leads Marge to hire a contractor; the upgrade ultimately takes two years and costs the family $100,000. The first dish that Marge cooks in the completed kitchen earns rave reviews from many Springfieldians, as well as author Thomas Pynchon. While shopping at the Kwik-E-Mart, Marge learns that the Ovenfresh company is sponsoring a baking contest in which the grand prize winner will become Auntie Ovenfresh, the company's spokeswoman. Encouraged by Ned Flanders, she enters her recipe for a dessert styled as hot dogs and is accepted. Angered at the other contestants' mockery and sabotage of her food, Marge secretly taints theirs with Maggie's ear medicine to ruin the taste. Lisa sees Marge cheat and confronts her, but Marge defends herself by saying that the others bullied her into it. Marge reaches the finals, competing against Brandine Spuckler, and considers cheating again. She changes her mind after finding a note from Lisa, admits her wrongdoing, and withdraws from the contest, restoring Lisa's faith in her. Brandine becomes the new Auntie Ovenfresh and leaves her husband Cletus for James Caan. Cletus' friends ambush Caan at a tollbooth and shoot him repeatedly, reminiscent of the death of Sonny Corleone, Caan's character in the film The Godfather. He survives the