Elections are over. And I'm so happy. The bloodless coup is complete.
===================================
In the nearly 20 years of television and broadcasting, I have to admit I don't watch a lot of television. The extent of my boob box viewing consists of cartoons, sports, and food shows.
In fact, I love Food Network. More specifically, I love a handful of shows on Food Network. My favorite show is Good Eats hosted by Alton Brown.
Alton's shows combine culinary skills with science and humor. It is quite good.
There is also another show called Iron Chef where two chefs match skills while preparing dishes with a secret ingredient. The flair and inventiveness amazes me -- although I will NEVER make ice cream out of fish eyeballs.
It is no secret that I cook. It is also no secret for my apparent dislike of another chef on Food Network -- Rachel Ray. It isn't that I don't like her per se -- I'm just not a fan of her methods, 30-minute meals.
To me, cooking is about flair, style, flavor, adaptation and creativity. There isn't a recipe I haven't met that I don't add, subtract, or change to fit my personality. We can all make macaroni and cheese, but how you make yours stand out shows skill.
Alton does that. He gives you the knowledge, the tools, and the skills to fashion together a group of ingredients into several different dishes. Takes a little more time, but it makes the dish your own.
Rachel doesn't do that. She tells you exactly what you should do with your recipes to get a specific end result. Quick, easy, painless, and slightly boring.
I get why people like her recipes. They are quick, use common ingredients and do taste good. I have made some of them.
But cooking should be about experimentation and inspiration. Cooking is art. You can't create masterpieces from a recipe.
Yes, I am a cooking snob. But you'll still eat my food, won't you?
And we'll have some fun too!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
7 comments:
Yeah and it is obvious you don't have a two 1/2 year old. Plus you get home and have plenty of time before your wife leaves. There is no pressure in your cooking schedule.
While I would love to have flair and style, getting a good quick meal
(Long John Silver anyone) is concern #1.
I also dislike her voice and her speech. she accents certain words or something... and she's ALWAYS excited and everything ALWAYS tastes wonderful. some of that crap has to taste like crap!
I see it as two different worlds. There is FoodAsFuel and there is FoodAsArt.
Rachel is not targetting you FoodSnobs. Her material is geared toward people like me (or those with 2.5 year olds) who are doing FoodAsFuel. In my world, the alternative to what she is presenting is not Food Exploration and Adventure. It is Mac&Cheese from a box or a TV dinner. Anything that encourages me to use fresh ingredients to make a fast meal is a good thing. Especially if you look at the labels of packaged food.
Of course, I do pick and choose from her recipes. Some of them are too close to the stuff that comes out of boxes. Others fail the PickyPartner test. But I've had to pick and choose with every source of information I've ever come across.
(And yes. While Rachel is not my favorite on the Food Network, she is a way to spend time waiting for Alton to come on.)
I love Iron Chef. Wouldn't miss it. As you know, I also love the food channel (maybe it is hereditary). Some of the chefs do well, some don't. Something for everyone I guess. I'll come eat your cooking anytime (or you can come eat mine anytime). Mom
Rachel Ray has some good ideas I agree, but her perky nature sure can grate on your nerves. If you have ever watched her talk show it makes you want to hate her even more. Now as for Alton Brown that man is a genius. I took a year of Cooking school, but he makes even the most simple minded person able to create the most wonderful things just by giving you some extra ideas. I would much rather watch Alton or for that matter Paula Deen before Rachel Ray.
Julie
Julie -- I like Paula Dean as well. She cooks like my mom used to. One of these days, I'm going to go to cooking school and they are going to tell me I'm an idiot. But I'll show them!! I'll show you all!!!
I like watching both Rachel Ray and Alton Brown, but for different reasons. Being that I have a 7.5 month old, the recipes on Rachel's show are easier to do for someone who doesn't have much time. I love watching Alton because he does have creative stuff on his show and one day i plan on trying some of his recipes.
Post a Comment