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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 a lot of FN but honestly it's so overproduced these days I just can't get into it. I understand that they get the best ratings with these lame reality shows and camera-friendly cooks, but can't they appease everyone by having a few shows with hosts passionate about a particular part of cooking? Go ahead, play them at some weird-ass time of day, I'll tape it, but to me it's such a waste of a perfect medium to march out these clowns preparing the same bland recipe over and over and over again.

Favorites (none of these exist anymore): Jamie , Mario, Alton
Least favorites: Aida Whatever, Sunni Whatever

Favorite: Ina Garten and Bobby Flay
Least Fave: Sandra Lee (worst), Sunny Anderson, Ellie Krieger, Ann Burell

Favs: Ina Garten, Giada, Alton Brown. Duff Goldman & Mary Alice from Ace of Cakes - do they count?
also sort of Flay because, hey, a good looking guy who can cook? im all for it.

least favs - Paula Deen. something about her annoys the CRAP out of me. Sandra Lee - im in college and even i wouldnt eat some of the disgusting look things she makes

Most: Paula Deen, Alton Brown, and Ina Garten
Least: The Neelys and Sunny Anderson

To paraphrase Popeye, "I yam what I yam!" This sounds like a great dessert.

can this be made the day before thanksgiving and still be just as yummy? thanks :-)

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?

lunapiercook, i am all agog. what a photo!

@renzata, I'd never heard of one with Ramsay, and can't find any such thing via Google Images either. Are you sure it was him and not someone else?

Mario is orange-hot; sigh: I also have had "the dream"...He has that lusty, super-smart, Chaucer-esque thing going on which is pretty hard to resist. Yes, Tony Bourdain fantasies are awfully cheap-per-pound these days, but sheesh, they're awfully good too. He's whip-smart AND whippet-thin, but it just makes a girl want to feed him, and some other, non-seriouseatsian things as well (but forewarned is fairwarned, all I write about is meat, chefs, irony & coitus):
http://happyhoarfrost.blogspot.com/2008/03/bourdain-hezbollah-tofu-cant-take-tony.html
I think you're okay until you start having tandem Bourdain/Ruhlman dreams. Then it's time to seek professional help. But a nocturnal drizzle of Mario?--perfectly normal.