Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

Hey gabagool - I think both Ina and Paula are good cooks. Grants their style is as different as night and day, but to put down Ina - you are so off the mark. He food is always good, clean and tasty (as I have tried many of her recipes). Also loving Paula with (everything tastes better with butter) attitude - I have also made some of her recipes and enjoyed them just as much. I personally, choose not to pick one over the other. FN is big enough for the both of them.

gabagool , that was spot on. Well other than the stupid stereotype of Southern States. I really think it's funny how elitist North Easterners are towards the South. I have family and friends in both regions and I can tell you now, people for the North East really need to look in the mirror before they judge others. Most of the more ignorant, backwards, and racist people I know, live in the North East.

Bigfoot Contessa. That's classic.

A couple things here.

Who, in their right mind and in Gods green earth would EVER, EVER pick Ida (hubby, I need my bills paid) Garten (the barefoot part makes me vomit just a little) over Paula Deen? Just who? Well besides a guy who loves reminding his viewers every friggen week about how many drugs he did or how much he loves drinking.

Ida Garten (does she EVER wear ANYTHING but denim shirts big enough to wrap a house in?) does NOTHING. Besides making sure that all the viewers know she is a happening, PC, fag hag.

Deen, on the other had, represents a small part of what southern hospitality is all about. Yeah, it might not be healthy (though wait a few years, it will become healthy, everything does or vice versa) I think the fact that her food represents those backwards nasty southern states may be a good chunk of the reason she gets so much flack.

Kinda like the reason our Bigfoot COntessa is so well liked. "OH you must use GOOD salt, the kind that costs $$$ a pound! Its the GOOD stuff. Yeah ok. Keep selling $35 hot chocolate mix that includes a spatula you bought at walmart.

I give AB a pass because he understands the GREATNESS of Batali. BUt after that.....I don't know. For someone that fits the FN profile of all show and no go.............he should pipe down......don't SOME drugs make you mellow?

Anthony Bourdain is so opinionated that inspite of his inebriation in this video he clearly and concisely provided spot on analysis of what troubles Food TV. He recognizes the limited talent on the network and I am proud to say that I agree. He is an alcohol fumed and formerly smokey breath of (fresh) air. Isn't it a shame his type of candor hasn't pervaded more of our society!

I caught this guy on TV one night. he was in Egypt and was acting sooo rough. Whew-hew! I couldn't turn it off. He explores the real life of all these countries-and satisfies the my sometimes obsessive curiosities about what really goes on behind the tourism brochures. I really look forward to journeying with him to all these countries-and boy does he make me want to cook. Frankly, Rachel Ray, Nigela, etc-boring! Anthony-cool dude!

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.