Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

I have been watching her show and I don't think it's terrible. I haven't made a single thing from the show, which says a lot, that I have not been inspired by anything she's made.

I am a bit suspicious of the concept too - 5 ingredients is totally arbitrary. What is being left out of some of these recipes that would make it taste better, just because it would make 6 ingredients? To me, the little add-ons are what makes something special - chopped chives, thyme, garlic, onions, pepper flakes, two types of cheese, etc.

However, she does emphasize cooking from scratch with good quality ingredients. I think she's kind of on a Sandra Lee type level. If I have to choose between Sandra Lee and this lady having her own show... well, I don't think I even have to finish that sentence!

So like I said - she uses fresh ingredients, makes things pretty much from scratch (haven't seen her whip out a package of pre-chopped onion yet), and obviously using quality "special" ingredients is a big deal to her... so even though she doesn't inspire me, I see nothing wrong with it.

I do have to admit, before I watched her show this weekend, I had no idea that cream corn was made with "corn milk". Anytime I've seen a professional chef make it, they generally add cream or whatever. So I do intend to try that when I have a chance.

Oh, one last thing - I was reading a blog elsewhere that had a lot of comments on this show. The vast majority of them refer to her appearance or mannerisms. No wonder Food Network has become the cult of personality. Call me old fashioned - I couldn't care less what a chef is wearing, or how their ponytail is bedraggled, I want to know how they can cook!!

I don't own any All-Clad cookware but I did recently buy a few Le Creuset items from MissionRS.com. I found their prices to be really competitive and they offer free shipping. Here's a link:
http://www.missionrs.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?

Another vote here for an onion tart - I like one made with manchego. Kale fritattas with aged cheddar is also scrumptious!
I see what's happening, though...one doesn't want to eat eggy things all week. (Well, I do, but...)
Roast chicken w/the meyer lemons and fennel (and carrots?) might be nice over some salad and bread...

Congrats! I find that the cookware that I got from my wedding was probably the best gift I could get. For Le Creuset, I am quite content with my 7 qt and don't feel that I'm missing out by not having something else. Then again, I have a really small city apt, so I couldn't fit another one!

@GinaPet - both?

I watched the French toast episode last night, and I've got to say that much of what she did was well beyond the effort that a lot of people I know would be willing to make. So if she could inspire one of those folks to whip their own cream instead of opening the Cool Whip container, I'd call it a sucess.

But really, if someone is looking for recipes with few ingredients, I also think those people are going to want quick and easy meals, not just those with few ingredients. If that's the case, I think her scrambled egg recipe is going to fail, considering she suggested that it would take 20 minutes of gentle cooking.

@beyondbeeton, I can't see how a show about "locally in season" would work, because what's local and in season varies so much across the country. For example, if you wanted to talk about local and in season where I live...well, it snowed yesterday. Local and in season pretty much doesn't exist in winter. So either you're buying non-local or you're forgoing vegetables for a good portion of the year.

I too just ditched my cheap non-sticks for All-Clad Copper Core, the 10 piece with 8" and 10" skillets, 2- and 3-qt. saucepans with lids, a 3-qt. sauté with lid, and an 8-qt. stockpot with lid.

I kept one non-stick omlette pan, and have a Lodge cast iron skillet for quesadillas (Texas staple!), an oversized Le Creuset skillet, and a Le Creuset French oven. For baking and casseroles (since there's only two of us), I bought the kiwi green Le Creuset square baker set at Sur La Table - a 2-person and 1-person meal sized combo. It's the cheaper LC version (that you usually find at a Marshall's, etc) at $35, but still does the trick.

I really pared down and took quality over quantity! Just make sure to get a can of Bar Keeper's Helper (think that's what it's called!) if you go with All-Clad - great cleaner!

I have 3.5 quart and 7.25 quart Le Creuset dutch ovens, and use them both all the time. Though the workhorse of my kitchen is the 3-qt. hard-anodized Calphalon saucepan, which I've had over ten years and which shows no signs of wearing out. It's much lighter and heats up more quickly than the LC, so it's better for boiling and cooking things quickly.

As for All-Clad and sets...there is actually a great feature in this month's Cook's Illustrated about cookware sets. They recommend buying pieces individually, but did mention an excellent-sounding All-Clad set that's exclusively available at Williams-Sonoma. I recommend reading it, as they have lots of guidelines for how to buy cookware sets, or how to assemble your ideal cookware setup without buying a set.

i find that i do most of my cooking in my all clad 3 quart saucepan, my 8 quart all clad dutch oven, and my lodge 12 inch cast iron skillet. i have a cast iron/enamal dutch oven, but i don't use it very often.