Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

In defense of Sandra Lee: Her style of cooking fills a need. Not everyone in the US is a gourmand, who aspires to perfect the making of scratch puff pastry, clarify their own chicken stock using egg whites and shells, or make their own demi glace using 25 lbs. of beef bones. Many of the cooks in the US are kids who cook for self preservation, because mom and dad work, or mom simply hates to cook and they loathe the thought of another night of Mack and Cheese. I have no problem with Giada, Paula, Mario, Bobby, or the erstwhile Emeril. I've gotten good ideas from all of them. I have been using a Wolfgang Puck roast turkey recipe, from one of his old shows, for years. Unfortunately, RichardCrystal is correct. The Food Network is no longer about food; the shows are about personality and providing entertainment. The Food Network SHOULD air shows that appeal to a variety of cooking levels, and pocket books. Alas, today, in their effort to make everything appear effortless, the Food Network has dummed everything down to the most basic of levels, leaving serious cooks to hunger (excuse the pun) for shows that are more substantial. Despite its shortcomings, I do watch. Michael Chiarello is a personal favorite and watching Cat Cora lay waste to opponents in Kitchen Stadium is an event not to be missed. And despite her plebian affectation, Rachel Ray is the one to watch if you want to make something that is tasty and uncomplicated. One of her ideas, serving crudités’ in a flower pot, was a terrific inspiration. I served a simple spaghetti meal to some friends and served everyone’s individual antipasto/crudités in a clay flower pot. It made for a most charming presentation. I just wish the Food Network would give us less “Paula’s Party” and more of Wolfgang Puck.