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I used to watch a lot of FN back in the early days. I enjoyed Jack McDavid, Mario Batali, Sara Moulton. Now, I never watch FN. The turning point, for me, was when Rachel Ray became a "star" (gag).
Now if I want to learn something about cooking, I tune in PBS, and watch Jacques Pepin, Lidia, or the two ladies on America's Test Kitchen.

I have to agree with many comments here.I have studied culinary arts for years and these housewife cook wannabees do not know the difference between a good Veloute and a bowl of gravy.
Where does the food netwok find these people?
Sandra Lee gets so excited over her booze,you would think she was an alcoholic! Rachael Ray acts like the host of Sesame Street with her ignorant, goofy, childish sayings. Paula Dean serves so much fat in her food, it is more rich than her fake,overpronounced accent which is comparable to fingernails on a chalkboard.Giada dresses like a street walker and tries to sound italian with her fancy pronouncing og food.What happened to credible culinarians? are all we are left with are women's day readers like these four women who think they are teaching cooking? please!!!

My favorite is Ina and my very least favorite is Giada. Can Giada's tops get any lower without this show being rated as porn? I have nothing at all against showing some cleavage, but please...this is a cooking show, and if her cooking isn't good enough to stand on its own, they should take her off the air. Actually, I tried several of her recipes and thought they we just "okay". Her books are loaded with photos of her rather than of the food, and she is way too full of herself. She should stop the annoying Italian accent when she pronounces Italian food items. She was born and raised in California for goodness sakes!

I used to watch this channel frequently for info on cooking techniques, and good recipes; not on much anymore. Weekend getaways at $40 and such rot are a waste of time. I have no problem with the dumbed-down shows for the chef-boyardee crowd, but I have the travel channel, with Bourdain, for the other stuff.

Faves: Alton, Mario, Sara

Middling: Sandra, Giada [OK....just eye candy....no turtlenecks needed]. Flay....I like the genre, so I follow his recipes. Emeril....shelf life date gone by......he's now a shill on the "green network".....and, not convincingly so. Paula.....on the fast track to Emeril status.

Least: Ray Ray. Well, Sandra too...although S doesn't annoy me me nearly as much as does RR.

FAVE: jamie oliver -- i LOVE jamie at home. also nigella -- apparently i love brits.

LEAST FAVES: sandra lee, hands down. not even a competition!

Favorites: Paula Dean, her recipes I can make and have. Sandra Lee because her recipes are very doable. Why do so many dislike her? I love to watch her. I also like the fact that with Sandra Lee, you can take common packaged stuff and make something great. Alton Brown, definitely a fav of mine. I can't stand Emeril. His recipes are so complicated, why bother? Ina Garten's recipes are too complicated as well.
Least Favorite: Obviously Rachel Ray is an amature when it comes to cooking. Come on folks, I mean, my teenage son can concoct what she comes up with. Also, she is extremely irritating with all of her hand gestures and her EEVO and her rolling eyes. I deliberately turn off the FN when she is scheduled. I just don't get it. She's awful. BEST: Alton Brown WORST: Rachel Ray

I've made it on occasion and people love it. I first roast the squash with an apple, and then simmer in vegetable broth with some apple cider, ginger and nutmeg. Serve piping hot. No need for anythng dairy.

@joejoe, in the US, very little of the corn grown is fed to humans directly, since that's usually not sweet corn. Much of it goes for non-food items like biofuel, and a lot goes for HCFS.

And yes, a portion goes for animal feed. But, in a best-case scenario, the cow wouldn't be eating corn, it would be grazing on grass, which is what it evolved to eat. Eating corn is pretty unnatural for a cow.

Cattle can graze where farming is difficult, so it's not an either/or thing. And in fact, at the beginning of their lives, those corn-fed cows are grazing on grass. They're sent to feedlots later.

So if the cow isn't fed any corn, that acre of land could grow crops that humans could eat while the cow grazed elsewhere, and you could have your steak and your potato without any conflict.

I often add 2% milk with some powder milk mixed in when making soups that call for cream. It's an easy way to make a soup healthier.

I'm lactose intolerant, and I've made the soup substituting chicken broth and 2% lactose-free milk for cream. I just kind of guessed at amounts, and it was still pretty tasty. Good luck!

I roasted squash and pears, sauteed carrots/onions/celery; and whizzed it all together with chicken stock. After tasting a friend's soup over the holidays, I am going to try it with plain water for a "cleaner" taste.

I always put a tablespoon or two of Mascarpone cheese in my butternut squash soup. It's delish

I know of several pumpkin soup recipes which are very healthy and great. I think you could sub the squash for the pumpkin with great results.

Tuscan Pumpkin-White Bean Soup

Thai-Style Pumpkin Soup