That Pyrex shattering one scared the crap out of me. I was making a quick hollandaise with some dear friends (people that I would really miss if shards of glass went flying at them) and I used a shallow Pyrex dish to melt the butter... on the stovetop... at the lowest heat. My wise roommate expressed some hesitation, and it did work out fine, but... holy crap. Maybe Pyrex in Iowa is way stronger than... where you are.
I think Food Network made the gradual decision to make the channel more about food and life and less about cooking technique... what with the average American's non-stop hectic life. Cue: 30 Minute Meals and the like.
I supremely enjoyed Batali's program with the three guests observing, asking questions and sampling his dishes - it was a beautiful and simple concept for a cooking show. It was what cooking should be, about learning and sharing with people. To whoever said he moves too fast and undercooks everything, I am going to fight you.
I don't like Rachael Ray or Sandra Lee either. A lot of people go bananas over Ray though. I've never watched an entire Sandra Lee.
First of all I have to recover from laughing sooo hard at the remarks from:
Nance- re: Sandra Lee on the Kwanzaa cake (topping in with corn nuts) please tell me your joking, I don't know if you or Sandra's Kwazaa cake recipe want to kill ME. rotfl.
Jensings- your comment also made me roll off the couch, well put.
Alssa- same as above
Thanks y'all for a very good laugh.
Now who I like:
Alton - becuz he is silly and informative, I like that.
Emeril- becuz of due respect, but he needs to (or has) retire, his "bam" has gotten a little too old.
Ina- like her soft spoken demure and her recipes seem very good, but did she make a pact with the devil? Read her bio eveything thing she did she is successful at... hmmmmmm. That nervous laugh does get to me though.
Tyler- tried some of his stuff....really good.
Sara Moulton- like her alot, she is so relaxed, I like her cooking, she teaches, and she covers UP!! I miss her.
Cat Cora-total professional, she is very pretty but like all chefs ( iam one myself) cover's UP!! She wears a chef coat. I like her demure and professional knowledge.
Anthony Bourdain- Love his shows, they tell the real shit that goes on in cultures.
Mario- real authentic chef. Love his shows and his foods. Wll miss him too.
Duff-I like but other then his oux and Mary Alice many of his workers seem liike there on drugs.
Guy- I like him. his show makes me sick becuz my city has very few diner, drive-ins and dives anymore( I live in Seattle). His other show I only saw a few times, but I liked what he made so far. He's funny.
Symon- I like him. He's professional and his giggles crack me up. I like his food.
Flay- His actual shows bore me to sleep but I do respect his success and I 'm sure his food is good. I hear good reviews about his restaurants.
Ming Tsi- I miss him, he too is a Pro. and I loved his show. I made a dish of his for Mother's Day once and it turned out great but man, I almost had to hop a plane to Asia to get some of the ingreds. for it.
Now for my dislikes:
Paula Deen- I like her home program (she's somewhat mellow) but the shit she makes.......
Paula's party- That is enough to make my ears bleed. Is she drunk on that show? She is flirting, forgetting what they are doing she is hamming it up. Nooooooooo!!
Robin What her name- Boring.
Giada- I liked her pogram when it first aired, but now it is a joke. Yes that phoney accent, the Farrah Fawcett smile, yes the low cut shirts. Shit she is making Italian food (maybe), she should be professional and wear a chef coat. You get shit all over yourself making Italian food. It's food food porn.
Sandra Lee- Ah wtf is she doing on FN? Yes she has a concept for making things go easy in the kitchen, yes someone above wrote that some chefs use canned this and that for fresh and its true, and that is good, but she can at least come through with some dishes that are homemade 100% for the times one has day off or special occasions ect. Anyone can open a box or packet and just add shit to it, but I thought the FN was to educate people how to make real dishes.
Bobblehead aka Rach Ray- She is over the top of WHAT???? Yes I play a game with my boyfriend, everytime 30 mins. airs we get beers ready and when she says her imfamous words "EVOO, sammies, delish, garbage bowl, awesome, eyeball it, giggles, ect., we take a drink. Guaranteed your tipsy (if not drunk) in 30 minutes. FN needs to restructure what their goal is really quick. Do they want the true chefs that really show people methods, ideas of real cooking or do they want to have circus acts like they are airing?
Rachael, Guy and SLoP should be BANNED. Every Rachael recipe I've tried has come out like s**t.
I love just about everyone else on the FN.
Wow.....the animosity towards Sandra Lee in some of the comments is quite interesting. I’ve worked with and have hired professional chefs over the years and the short cuts they use in their cooking isn’t much different from Sandra Lee’s. She’s just honest about it. I know of one 5-star restaurant that opens a can of Campbell’s tomato soup, adds some garnish, gives it a fancy name and charges a ridiculous price. Anyone who utilizes a can of San Marino for a tomato dish cannot possibly sit in judgement of others.
I’ve tried some of the recipes of the highly rated “chefs” mentioned here and found them to be quite disappointing. The end result is what it’s all about....not how much one slaved in the kitchen.
Sandra Lee makes cooking fun....especially for those just starting out. And nowadays, with so many young folks working many hours in serious careers, I’m sure it’s nice to have a quick, fun recipe when one finally gets home at 7:00 pm and the kids are famished. I can’t wait to try some of her recipes with my grandson when he gets old enough.
I liked Alton Brown better before he went gimmicky and goofy.
I watch Food Network much more for technique and principles than recipes. Travel shows and food competitions are time-wasting. How about healthful cooking, vegetarian recipes, dairy substitutes, ethnic cooking other than Italian, bread baking? I can't eat pork or shellfish, or mix dairy and meat. How about cooking with those limitations.
FAVORITES: Alton Brown. More time and less clowning, please.
Giada. Reasonable recipes; fewer distractions (2), please. Maybe her body is too small.
Robin Miller. I respect her as a wife and mother. Realistic recipes. A nice lady.
WORST
Paula Dean, Ina Garten are toxic. Rachael Ray has too much TV and commercial exposure. Why does every one of her recipes have to contain cheese and pork? Emeril is generally boring, but occasionally he shows an excellent technique. His "Live" show is dreadful. Sandra Lee: I just turn off the sound and watch. I don't care what she's doing.
I am sooooooo glad you guys are still alive to tell these stories. I am lucky i have not had any fires, just plenty of cut fingers and hands.
This one happened to a friend of mine in front of me... never grab the handle of a pan or skillet without a pot holder after it's been in the oven for a while... she used the pot holder to get the skillet out of the oven, but forgot after a few minutes and went to pick it up to place it in the dishwasher and burned her hand... a few seconds later someone helped her do the task again without a pot holder and also burned their hand...
it was painful to watch.
Do not cook sausages in a roasting pan in an over the head oven.
We won't talk about the reults of that one, but suffice to say, I was the only one in the kitchen that morning, and I still managed to get brunch out before I went to the ER. (I waited till someone else showed up so I could tell them where everything was)
I'm still learning most of my lessons, too, Traveller... especially the ones about things being hot when they come out of the oven. Or cool-touch handles not *really* being cool when something's been cooking a long time on the stove. Or not reaching into the oven, between the racks, without first pulling out the rack, because NO, I'm NOT that good.
The best hard-learned lesson was about cooking bacon with your belly exposed (crop top). This is a bad idea, no matter how flat and hard your abs. It's now an irrelevant lesson, as I am now somewhat old, and no longer flat bellied. But it's one I bear a scar to prove the learning of!
I second the caveat to use the safety holder when slicing on a mandoline or v-slicer. One slip can really mess you up and, if you ignore the protector often enough, eventually you WILL slip.
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