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The Ten Most Recent Comments By overw8

From Talk

Rachel Ray

Rachel teaches Cooking 101. I don't mind that she repeats herself a lot because that is how people learn. Once you've mastered the basics, you can move on to Alton or whoever you feel is suitable for your advanced level. But if you've never learned how to chop an onion, or which vegetables should be wiped with a damp cloth rather than washed in the sink, or that a pinch of nutmeg is great with spinach, or what ingredient you can substitute if you don't have something on hand, this is the show for you. A chicken dipping sauce made of honey mustard and barbecue sauce may not be your idea of cuisine, but it's simple to prepare, inexpensive and the kids will love it.

I would rather watch Rachel cook something tasty and relatively quick (even if it takes me longer than 30 minutes and isn't "authentic" Italian) than watch some ego-inflated chef prepare a flambe, crack eggs with one hand, chop onions at the speed of light, or demonstrate a recipe requiring numerous exotic and expensive ingredients.

Yeah, her shtick gets old. So did Emeril's. Get over yourselves.

overw8 at 8:02AM on 04/12/08

From Talk

Is there life without a microwave?

The microwave is great for cooking sweet potatoes and corn on the cob. I wrap them in wax paper. My microwave has a sensor so I just press "corn" and go. Not having to wait for the water to boil makes it easier to get all the parts of the meal to finish at the same time.

overw8 at 6:47AM on 04/02/08

From Required Eating

Cook the Book: The Sweet Melissa Baking Book

Chocolate cake with dark chocolate frosting.

overw8 at 9:26PM on 03/31/08

From Required Eating

Cook the Book: Nigella Express

Invest in a good quality chef's knife, it makes chopping veggies so much quicker and easier

overw8 at 4:35AM on 03/25/08

From Required Eating

Cook the Book: 'Arthur Schwartz's Jewish Home Cooking'

Cheese blintzes

overw8 at 6:32PM on 03/17/08

From Required Eating

Serious Easter Artisanal Chocolate Egg Giveaway

A sheet of plain matzoh spread with sweet butter and a little salt, along with a cup of Swee-Touch-Nee tea.

overw8 at 6:11PM on 03/17/08

From Talk

What should I buy at Trader Joe's?

Frozen 3-minute microwave organic brown rice.
Boxes of individually wrapped, 100-calorie dark chocolate bars.
Fresh black bean and corn salsa.

overw8 at 5:01PM on 03/15/08

From Recipes

Dinner Tonight: Bok Choy with Ginger and Garlic


The sauce looks good, but why use only the leaves, especially with baby bok choy? Cut off the ends but don't discard the stems, they're delicious. And steam, as savecara said, or maybe braise in a little stock.

overw8 at 7:19AM on 03/11/08

From Ed Levine Eats

Win Tickets to the 'Village Voice' Choice Eats Event in NYC

Mundo Cafe in Astoria.

overw8 at 1:13PM on 03/08/08

From Required Eating

Candidate Ice Cream Flavors


Baracky Road

overw8 at 4:07PM on 03/07/08

Responses to Comments by overw8

From Talk

Rachel Ray

She's annoying, her voice is fingernails on the chalkboard thing but one thing I'll say she has enthusiasm which most of the FN "chefs" don't have. One that I really like is Giada DiLaurentiis. She enjoys what she does and seems to make those dishes look easy! As far as the recipes goes, I troll for those on FN's website.

furrbrain at 7:36PM on 04/16/08

From Talk

Rachel Ray

heres the thing...hate or love RR(or any of the "horrendous" FN stars...) not all of us can be gourmet chefs every night of the week and if it means that I have to use a few "30 minute" recipes instead of taking the fam to mcdonalds every night then I'm gonna pick the Rachael Special...and she must be doing something right or so many people wouldnt spend their time complaining about her when they could be whipping up some duck confit and chocolate souffle for dinner tonight...sheesh give it a rest....

hungrygrl7 at 3:47PM on 04/16/08

From Talk

Rachel Ray

Eh, potayto, potahto, she's still annoying.

embolini9 at 3:30PM on 04/15/08

From Talk

Rachel Ray

Ok, people, for the record, it's
RachAEL, not Rachel.

PestoGal at 3:07PM on 04/15/08

From Talk

Rachel Ray

I don't think "cooking101" is a good way to describe her show at ALL. Her cooking isn't a gateway into anything more complicated, it's shortcuts for people with limited time, end of story. I guess she does serve her purpose, as I'm sure there are people out there who need to think they're giving their family a good "home-cooked" meal without actually doing any work, but other than that I don't find any redeeming value in her show.

I don't consider myself a really talented cook, or a food snob (in most respects), but I agree with dbcurrie, anyone could go into their freezer and dump whatever's in it over pasta. It's sad that FN is moving away from teaching and inspiring people to cook and enjoy great food...

And her voice is like nails on a blackboard. If I hear her say "EVOO, kids" and then giggle one more time, I might actually throw something this time.

embolini9 at 2:50PM on 04/15/08

From Talk

Is there life without a microwave?

BBCNEWS.com ("Cancer Risks in Microwaved Food")
CambridgeUniversityNet ("Health Risks and Dangers of Using Microwaves in Food Preparation")
Mercola.com("Hidden Hazards of Microwave Cooking")
Guess it depends if the convenience is worth the risks.

Ceinwyn at 1:53PM on 04/15/08

From Talk

Rachel Ray

I don't like her dismissive attitude towards baking. You don't bake? Learn!! If she took a baking course, it could endear her to some of her detractors.

BITTER at 8:53AM on 04/14/08

From Talk

Rachel Ray

I think RR typifies everything that is wrong with the Food Network today - she initially was hired because of her personality, not for her cooking expertise, she has been over-exposed, over-killed, and over-cutsied. The network execs see their audiance as those who are home all day, cannot avoid having the TV on, and having a lukewarm feeling toward food in general. If something works, stand back, 'cause that's what fills the airwaves for the next 10 years.

Instead of The Food Network, it should be called, "The Iron Chef Network" - will someone please shoot it and end this misery! I don't think it is possible that the current bunch of decision makers at TFN can save it from certain death - either, they need to depart en masse and be replaced, or go off the air by default of re-runs.

Bourdain was right.

drfugawe at 10:51AM on 04/13/08

From Talk

Rachel Ray

I think she serves a purpose in that she may make people who think they can't cook at least give it a try. She also can grab the people with hectic schedules who think they have to run through the drive thru to grab their meals, see that they can put together a meal for their family with a little planning and in relatively a short time. I don't watch her much, but I have heard her promote local ingredients and cooking at home vs fast food and prepackaged meals. I disagree about the baking and dessert comments (respectively!) - I have heard many chefs proclaim that the skill they lack is baking and pastry making. If any of you watch Top Chef, all of the contestants and guest chef judges groan at the thought of doing dessert/baking. They don't have the patience for the exact "science" that baking requires. Granted, not all chefs, but I have heard it more often than not.

I don't watch her because I find her over the top annoying. I hate the yummo's, stoup, etc., etc. I soooo hate "EVOO"! Why in the heck does she use EVOO when she ends up saying "extra virgin olive oil" right after it?!? I cannot watch a second of her daily talk show.

radley24 at 9:37AM on 04/13/08

From Talk

Rachel Ray

I think Rachel Ray is great for people who don't know how to cook or who want to learn how to cook reasonably easy and healthy meals for their family. She doesn't use a lot of packaged garbage. On the occasions I've seen her show, never has a can of cream of _______ soup come out. I use organic packaged salad mixes from the market, and canned stock when I'm out of real, and without canned tomatoes in their various forms and canned beans I'd be up the creek, so I can't get all high-handed about her ingredients. I pretty much use the same ingredients that she does, though I do agree with @chiff regarding the poppin' fresh biscuits. I would just buy decent rolls, etc. from the market. As far as I'm concerned, in terms of cooking, she's fine, but as noted, Cooking 101.

Thing is, I just don't like her. I am not a fan of her fakey bubbly EVOO-ey personality. I think that when she's lumped in with SLop, it's more about the whole likeablity factor than it is about the food. They do not, as far as I'm concerned belong anywhere near the same category when it comes to food.

chisai at 2:56PM on 04/12/08