Kwea obviously has good taste in the culinary arts.
Good Eats is a Food network cooking show hosted by Alton Brown. Think "Bill Nye the Science Guy" meets Julia Child. Punchline humor, odd camera angles, energetic eyebrows, and some serious science. Zippy, punnish, and yummy.
It's all Good Eats.
Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
Great show!
Posted by Sara Sasse (Member # 6804) on :
According to his (intermittant) blog, he has cut out trans fats and high fructose corn syrup from his diet. I have modified the earlier recipes accordingly.
Posted by Sopwith (Member # 4640) on :
He's definitely one of the most entertaining tv chefs ever. Great fun and great recipes.
And his cookbook is fabulous, too!
Posted by ludosti (Member # 1772) on :
I, too, love this show - great recipes and I love learning the science behind the cooking.
Which cookbook do you have of his, Sopwith? I know he has a couple different books, only one of which is a cookbook in the strict sense, but I'm not sure which one it is.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
I love that show!
Posted by Stray (Member # 4056) on :
Me too! My roomie bought I'm Just Here for the Food a while ago, I need to borrow it and read it sometime soon.
Posted by Sopwith (Member # 4640) on :
I'm Just Here for the Food... Posted by Verily the Younger (Member # 6705) on :
I love that show. I watch it every day, when I can. I can't watch most cooking shows because they're either boring or obnoxious (I despise Emeril), and frankly, simply sitting there and watching someone follow a recipe is only marginally more helpful than just doing it yourself. What I like about Alton Brown is that he explains what's going on so that we can actually understand the cooking process. Any TV chef can tell you what to do, but AB tells you why you're doing it.
Posted by Ryoko (Member # 4947) on :
Another endorsement for AB and W.
I'm not a nutritional anthropologist, but...she is...
Posted by sarcasticmuppet (Member # 5035) on :
I *love* Alton Brown! I made the exact comparison with Bill Nye, and I *loved* Bill Nye! I love how he takes you through the steps and shows you what happens on a molecular level, and what'll happen when you're doing it wrong.
Alas, I have no Food Network in Provo. Maybe he'll make it to a network...*crosses fingers*.
Posted by Verily the Younger (Member # 6705) on :
Actually, W is the cooking gadgets expert.
Posted by Ryoko (Member # 4947) on :
You're are of course right Verily, I was mixing quotes haphazardly.
"Stuffing is Evil!"
Posted by Christy (Member # 4397) on :
I like Good Eats, Food 911 and Sara's Secrets (both the show and the above poster's *grin*) I'm addicted to the food network.
Of course, I'm rather partial to Ted Allen as well. Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
I also like Rachel Ray's show - I like knowing which shortcuts don't destroy food and which ones do.
Dagonee
Posted by Traveler (Member # 3615) on :
"Good Eats" has been one of my regularly Tivo'd shows for quite a long time. I even have a number of them permanently saved for reference. I love learning the science behind the art of cooking. This show has definately had an impact on me by making me a much better cook.
Posted by Vána (Member # 6593) on :
I love Alton Brown. Posted by dawnmaria (Member # 4142) on :
He just came out with a 2nd cookbook about baking. I am going to go get it Friday. I love this guy. I might actually leave my husband for him if he asked me! Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
JenniK is the one who turned me on to this show. I had seen it, and I liked what I saw, but I don't like to watch a lot of TV. JenniK loves TV, and the Food Network is one of her favorites...and the more I watched this show the more I loved it.
He explains things in a very quirky way, very similar to Bill Nye the Science Guy, who I use to watch every Sat morning. I know it was geared to kids, but I found his way of explaining things very entertaining as well as informative...and Alton Brown reminds me a lot of Bill Nye.
I love this show, and will probably buy his cookbooks. I am a fair cook myself, and Good Eats is one of the few cooking shows that teaches me something new every single show I watch.
Kwea
[ November 09, 2004, 06:53 PM: Message edited by: Kwea ]
Posted by kwsni (Member # 1831) on :
I have a big crush on Alton Brown. I even hang up on ken so I can drool. It's pretty sad.
Ni!
Posted by maui babe (Member # 1894) on :
Good Eats is truly my favorite show. I am in Atlanta this week and tonight my cab drove past the Whole Foods store that he always films in (unless there's more than one Whole Foods?) I was so excited. I wanted the driver to stop, but I wasn't alone, so we had to keep going. Posted by ludosti (Member # 1772) on :
Don't feel too bad - Whole Foods is a chain. They even have one here. Posted by maui babe (Member # 1894) on :
Bummer. I was afraid of that. At least I didn't make a fool of myself by having the driver stop. But it *could* be the same one I suppose.
Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
I was shocked to find out that Whole Foods originated right here in Texas.
Of course, that may explain why they evilly bought out most of the mom-and-pop health-food stores in the area where I grew up... It's that oil baron mentality.
Oh, well, at least they are all over the North Dallas area, so I can find alternative baking products to make things my daughter can eat before she's one without setting her up for food allergies.
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
We have Whole Foods out here too, and they're not bad; but Trader Joe's will usually have the same thing -- and for substantially less. (If not, Erewhon will, and for slightly less. )
Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
I was so sad to move away from Trader Joe's. Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
Actually, back when Whole Foods was Mrs. Gooch's, they weren't half bad. But the name change (which I assume meant they were bought out) came with a snooty-factor upgrade -- and an across-the-board price "upgrade." Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
JenniK loves Trader Joes, but I have never been in one. Ther are a few that have recently opened up in this area, so I am sure she will drag me to one eventually.
ELJay said they have good chocolate, I think...
Kwea
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
They do indeed. And good-quality, less-expensive alcohol. And really great prices on Tofuti Cuties, prewashed salad, various soy products, baby artichokes, tiny sweet tomatoes . . . *drools*
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
Here in MA I don't think they sell liquor, MA still is funny about that stuff. They have all sorts of weird laws left over from the old blue laws, although I think they have gotten rid of a lot of them in the past few years.
Kwea
Posted by mackillian (Member # 586) on :
Meanwhile, NH has state liquor stores just off the freeway.
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
WEll, yeah...they had to get the MA liquor sales, didn't they? That is wh there are so many of them right over the border....no liquor sales on Sunday here, or at least there didn't use to be, and plus it is cheeper.
Sara, thanks for posting that website for Good Eats , I used it yesterday, and when I told JenniK about it she was excited. I think I will make some parmesean crisps in honor of him tonight....
Kwea
Posted by Farmgirl (Member # 5567) on :
I guess this is one of those times I kinda wish I had cable or satellite TV.....
FG
Posted by Sara Sasse (Member # 6804) on :
Farmgirl, it is a great show, but there are pros and cons to everything. Maybe just keep an eye out for it if you are in a hotel or staying at a friend's house. Definitely isn't a half-hour wasted.
quote:I have a big crush on Alton Brown. I even hang up on ken so I can drool. It's pretty sad.
Brains and self-confidence are very sexy. Not your fault.
And um, hmm, I should point out that Alton is balding, somewhat geeky, with a great sense of humor. Check out his websites above. There's more than a little feminine Hatrack drool pooling on the floor, so -- Nice Guys, take heart.
quote:parmesan crisps
You go, dude.
[ November 10, 2004, 09:30 AM: Message edited by: Sara Sasse ]
Posted by quidscribis (Member # 5124) on :
Yeah, I seem to recall his show from back when I still lived where there was more than two English channels. And I remember being seriously geeked out. In a good way.
On another food-related note, I just got home from doing yet another restaurant review, and the one we went to tonight is the one that makes all the others worthwhile.
Seriously excellent food in a seriously wonderfully decorated restaurant. As in, I want my house to look like that.
Indian and Sri Lankan food. Incredible. Nummy. Flavorful. Tasty. Perfect. Exceptional. Yeah, just toss in a liberal dose of superlatives and you got the idea.
It's so good it's worth the plane fare here. That good.
And I get paid to do this. Oh my, have I got the best job in the world or what? Posted by Verily the Younger (Member # 6705) on :
Alton Brown is a sex symbol? Wow. Maybe there's hope for me after all. . . .
Posted by quidscribis (Member # 5124) on :
Verily, sexiness rarely has anything to do with actual looks. I have no idea what you look like, so I don't know if you'll find this comforting or insulting.
There are plenty of bald men, old men, big men, skinny men, and unattractive men who are just plain sexy, so ya, there's hope. My favorite sexy men include Patrick Steward and Sean Connery - never mind that they're at least twice my age. I've always been attracted to muscular built men, but then along comes my husband, skinny scrawny, and he's sexy as all get out.
Seriously, Verily, there's hope. Major hope. And it only takes one.
Posted by Verily the Younger (Member # 6705) on :
While I don't look anything like AB, the fact remains that he's a dork . . . and I'm a dork. So it's comforting to learn that a fellow dork is a sex symbol. So maybe one needn't be a macho tough guy to be sexy anymore. Bring on the ladies. Posted by Psycho Triad (Member # 3331) on :
*squeek*
Posted by Hobbes (Member # 433) on :
I'm a sex symbol too ... well kind of an anti-sex symbol actually, but the point is ummm ... well maybe there is no point, it's just late.
Hobbes Posted by Sara Sasse (Member # 6804) on :
Okay, Good Eats freaks -- some new AB links.
(And from what I read at Television Without Pity AB thread and elsewhere, we 'Rack chicks are not alone in finding him totally hot. )
The best Good Eats fan page is one that Alton himself refers to when he forgets a details about a show.
AB answers questions at Slashdot. I want to know why the fool claiming to cook a chicken in hot magma ever thought "shovelling" the magma was remotely plausible.
And as for why it still takes 45 minutes, that probably has to do with Newton's Law of Cooling (and heating) and the high insulation factor of ti leaves.
Posted by ElJay (Member # 6358) on :
Actually, if you keep reading the comments at slashdot, there is a lot of speculation about that... the theory that seems the most plausable to me is that the water in the leaves converting to steam keeps the chicken from burning or cooking too fast.
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
I confess to not paging down far enough to see that. But that makes sense -- it's the Leidenfrost effect! Same as what allows fire-walkers to not get burned (mostly).
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
ElJay, thanks. Every once in a while I like to disprove "Those who can, do; those who can't, teach." Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
rivka, that's GREAT!
quote:I have walked over hot coals on five occasions. For four of the walks I was fearful enough that my feet were sweaty. However, on the fifth walk I took my safety so much for granted that my feet were dry. The burns I suffered then were extensive and terribly painful. My feet did not heal for weeks. My failure may have been due to a lack of film boiling on the feet, but I had also neglected an additional safety factor. On the other days I had taken the precaution of clutching an early edition of Fundamentals of Physics to my chest during the walks so as to bolster my belief in physics. Alas, I forgot the book on the day when I was so badly burned. I have long argued that degree-granting programs should employ ‘‘fire-walking’’ as a last exam. The chairperson of the program should wait on the far side of a bed of red-hot coals while a degree candidate is forced to walk over the coals. If the candidate’s belief in physics is strong enough that the feet are left undamaged, the chairperson hands the candidate a graduation certificate. The test would be more revealing than traditional final exams.
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
Yeah, well, most places that do group firewalking (like the Tony Robbins people) do it in the early morning or early evening, adjacent to a patch of grass. At that time of day, the grass is almost guaranteed to be moist.
[Addit, cuz I haven't decided if I'm landmarking or not . . .]
I think the shovel DOES melt a bit around the edges. Which is probably why one of the many blogs that linked to it mentions using a shovel "that you don't plan to use again."
[ December 12, 2004, 09:30 PM: Message edited by: rivka ]
Posted by Sara Sasse (Member # 6804) on :
Thanks, rivka. I was unable to believe that the shovel would not melt, but I suppose it does not.
(I got tired of reading the Slashdot thread too soon. )
Thanks for the explanation and links.
Posted by Ryoko (Member # 4947) on :
Best Xmas gift so far:
Alton Brown-style kosher salt container (Salt Cellar) and AB's Plunger and Plunger Jr.
[ December 25, 2004, 02:25 PM: Message edited by: Ryoko ]
Posted by Sara Sasse (Member # 6804) on :
Lucky dog. Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
OK, rather than start a separate thread for another Food Channel show, I'll hijack this one.
I made Rachel Ray's Sunday Gravy and Macaroni for Christmas dinner. It's excellent. Absolutely great. Very flavorful, with tons of leftovers I'm looking forward to. I've got to get one of her books.
Of course, I substituted 4 0z of Yellowtail Shiraz for the half the beef broth, which I think helped a lot.
Dagonee
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
No hijacking this thread....GE rocks!
RR is pretty darn cool too, and a lot better looking, but not even CLOSE to AB and his show.
Nice try though...
Kwea
[ December 26, 2004, 09:05 AM: Message edited by: Kwea ]
Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
The two shows work great in combination.
Plus, it's nice to know what time-saving techniques work, and which ones create concotions your dog wouldn't eat.
Dagonee
Posted by Sara Sasse (Member # 6804) on :
Ahhhh ... so you've watched Semi-Homemade with Sandra Lee, too, eh? Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
Hmmph. I know 2 people that aren't getting any Christmas Pasghettis. Posted by Sara Sasse (Member # 6804) on :
Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
Sorry - I thought that said Sara Lee and you were picking on me. I've never heard of that show, but will now check it out. It was the wink that threw me.
*Hands Sara a plate of Christmas Pasghettis with parmegian, assiago, and romano cheese.*
Dagonee
[ December 26, 2004, 10:45 AM: Message edited by: Dagonee ]
Posted by Sara Sasse (Member # 6804) on :
(Yummm!)
Sandra Lee is ... amazing. A wanna-be Martha Stewart. I thought your reference to "what shortcuts would lead to something your dog wouldn't eat" was a veiled reference.
My favorite recipe is the Kwanzaa cake (store-bought angel food cake, canned frosting, cold apple pie filling from a can dumped in the center hole -- garnished with corn nuts, popcorn, and pumpkin seeds). Check out the close-up.
A close second is the Hanukkah cake, which uses blue canned frosting and -- wait for it -- the center hole is filled with extra-large marshmallows.
My favorite of her tips? For Valentine's Day, you should spice up your love life by powdering yourself and your bedlinens with a mixture of sugar and Pixie-stick powder. Yes, I'm serious.
Posted by quidscribis (Member # 5124) on :
Okay, now I gotta check her out.
But . . . powdered sugar and pixie stick powder? Wouldn't you get all sticky and stick to the sheets and stuff? Posted by Sara Sasse (Member # 6804) on :
Yep. Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
Yeesh. Now I see why you thought that was a veiled reference to her.
Is all her stuff like that?
Dagonee
Posted by Sara Sasse (Member # 6804) on :
Mmmmm, well, yeah. It's all taking prefabbed high-sugar high-cholesterol high-trans-fat (i.e., highly highly processed) food and recombining it in ways that really aren't helpful, for the most part.
Weird tacky decorating tips: boudoir-style "tablescapes" with ostrich feathers and beta fish trapped in wine glasses under a layer of floating plastic pearls. She used to sell Kountry Kraft curtains on QVC. They are the plastic frames you loop fabric through to give your windows that bouffant look.
Nothing says classy like fake autumn leaves clothes-pinned to the stems of your wine glasses. Lots of odd alcoholic drinks (beer with limeade mix, marichino cherry "juice" and canned pineapple Champagne punch, etc).
It's supposed to be 70% premade (store-bought) combined with 30% of your own inspiration and know-how to taste 100% homemade. RRay does the concept so much better.
Television Without Pity has a 695 page rant about Sandra Lee. Caution: they are pretty rough on her, and there is some nasty language in the snarking. I found it after I caught the Kwanzaa cake episode, was pretty horrified, and googled "Sandra Lee" + "creepy."
[ December 26, 2004, 12:35 PM: Message edited by: Sara Sasse ]
Posted by Sara Sasse (Member # 6804) on :
Amanda Hessner of Gourmet magazine eviscerated her in a NYT review last year.
ContraCosta Times has a free log-in to view the entire article. You can use "claudiatherese@chickmail.com" with password "hatrack1" to view the entire piece. I've excerpted below.
quote:Cutting corners can also cut taste By Amanda Hesser
NEW YORK TIMES
In the world of Sandra Lee, cookbook author and self-proclaimed "lifestylist," life is hectic and people are busy. Cooking food from scratch takes too much time and is too difficult and too expensive. While Lee believes that cooking food for someone is the greatest gift, it really isn't worth too much of your time.
... Lee explained her philosophy: "The Semi-Homemade cooking approach is easily done by combining several prepackaged foods, a few fresh ingredients, and a 'pinch of this with a hint of that' to make new, easy, gourmet-tasting, inexpensive meals in minutes."
... Any good cook knows that a roasted chicken and a salad take about two tries to perfect and about 15 minutes of actual work time, but such classic food does not leave much room for the kind of product references Lee likes to have in her recipes.
... Gnocchi Dippers, whose problems don't end with their name, are sauced with olive oil, onion, jarred garlic, milk, Tabasco sauce, sour cream and thyme -- all good, so far -- but then she adds Velveeta. With hundreds of delicious and interesting cheeses available in this country, many of them in supermarkets, it is difficult to understand how a responsible author could choose a tasteless, industrial cheese like Velveeta to prepare what she calls "gourmet-tasting" food.
... Lee's reliance on brand-name products feels forced. There is a chapter in "Semi-Homemade Desserts" devoted to celebrity recipes. It is hard to believe that when she rounded up recipes from people like Katie Couric and Nathan Lane (not to mention Edwards), they all happened to call for brand-name products.
In a recipe for Anjelica Huston's Having-It-All Caramel Shortbread, Lee calls for 20 Brach's Milk Maid soft caramel candies, unwrapped. I timed myself to see how long it took to unwrap them. Three minutes. It's not a long time, but it is an incredibly annoying task. The caramels must then be melted in a microwave oven, which takes another few minutes. It took me only 15 minutes to make the same amount of caramel from scratch. The difference in time was negligible, while the difference in taste was significant. Homemade caramel has the texture of taffy and tastes of butter. Brach's have a waxy texture and taste of sugar.
[ December 26, 2004, 12:50 PM: Message edited by: Sara Sasse ]
Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
quote:Mmmmm, well, yeah. It's all taking prefabbed high-sugar high-cholesterol high-trans-fat (i.e., highly highly processed) food and recombining it in ways that really aren't helpful, for the most part.
This is what I like about RR - I can avoid anything with high fructose corn syrup or trans fats and have very, very good food without spending hours in the kitchen.
Sometimes I like to spend hours in the kitchen, but until recently my two cooking modes were half-day cooking affairs or tossing a Tombstone in the oven. Alton Brown provides a lot of the same capability to make medium-prep meals with wholesome ingredients. And both provide recipes that make it pretty easy to adjust fat or sugar quantities, at least in some meals.
With what I've learned recently about canned tomatoes, I don't even have to feel bad about using them.
So now I think I'll skip Ms. Lee.
Dagonee
Posted by Sara Sasse (Member # 6804) on :
Good call, Dag.
RR and AB are great for anyone at any level of culinary skill (IMHO), but they are perfect for neophyte cooks. Their DVDs would make great high school graduation gifts for those moving out of the house. But even for people who've been cooking for years, they both still have some great lessons to teach. I learn something every time I catch either show.
Kwea turned me on to Rachel Ray.
I think Paula Dean is fun, too, but man -- comfort food all the way. No cutting back on calories there. However, I'm going to be making her Savannah Bow Tie cookies for a friend. I'll dip 1/2 in Dagoba dark chocolate and let it set instead of making a fudge dipping sauce, as these are going through the mail.
[ December 26, 2004, 01:21 PM: Message edited by: Sara Sasse ]
Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
Yeah, so far there's pretty much nothing of hers I could put in the regular rotation without exploding in the middle.
Her stuff looks sooooo good though. Especially what she can do with corn bread.
Dagonee
Posted by Sara Sasse (Member # 6804) on :
quote:We've got some beans and some good cornbread Now listen to what the preacher said He said to the Lord let praised be It's time for dinner now let's go eat
Ooooh, on this year's Thanksgiving special, Emeril was wickedly naughty with his iron skillet cornbread. Rubbed butter all over it.
AB does some awfully yummy things with corn, too.
*happy just remembering
Posted by dkw (Member # 3264) on :
Sara, I clicked on those links to Sandra Lee stuff.
I mean,
And I know this is by far not her worst, but why on earth, when using pudding in a recipe, would you buy individual pudding cups and dump them together instead of just mixing instant pudding? Timesavers should actually save time, no?
Posted by Sara Sasse (Member # 6804) on :
I know. Homemade pudding isn't that hard, but sure, sometimes you just want quick & easy. It doesn't get much easier than "empty packet into bowl of milk and stir with whisk." I don't mind instant pudding, certainly not for a quick at-home meal. Paula Dean does something sinful-looking with instant pudding, bananas, whipped cream, and Pepperidge Farm Chessmen butter cookies.
But why the expense, waste, and hassle of instant pudding cups? I don't think SL likes to handle food any more than she absolutely has to. But that doesn't explain all of it -- in her recipe for Lemon Chiffon Pie, she uses both Cool Whip and Dream Whip (powdered topping you beat with milk to make something like Cool Whip).
WTF? If you are going to use the mixer, why not use real cream? Or just use the Cool Whip, if that is your thing. Food Network won't let her specify brand names, but that's all she does in her cookbooks and magazines. The only thing I can think of is that she wanted to get both sponsors in.
[It's like the recipe cited in the NYT review above: rather than make caramel, which takes about 10-15 minutes, instead unwrap 20 Brach's individually-wrapped caramels and microwave. ]
I've been perusing the TWoP thread for fun, and I can't believe some of what she comes up with.
[ December 26, 2004, 03:40 PM: Message edited by: Sara Sasse ]
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
I know that JenniK uses a book, I think it is called The Cake Doctor, and uses boxed cake mixes to make wedding cakes that are wonderful. It tells you how to make a amazing tasting cake from boxed cake mixes by substituting certain ingrediants.
That can be a real time saver, and it actually improves on the tastes. If you are doing something to a mix or a pre-preped fod shouldn't it make it better? Or waht is the point of doing it?
RR is very cool, JenniK likes her a lot, but AB is the best I have seen so far. He makes me want to watch his cooking show, something I don't usually want to bother with.
Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
RR helps me make particular meals better, as well as providing tips that will help adapt other recipes.
AB makes me a better and more knowledgable cook all around. In the long run far more valuable.
Dagonee
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
Re: Sandra Lee. I have never watched her (or even heard of heard before today), but the ridiculous things you're pointing out all reek of paid product placement. Neh?
Posted by Christy (Member # 4397) on :
I'm going to hijack again
After spending Christmas with my family and watching my dad load on butter and her cook with shortening all weekend, explaining all the while that they were practicing moderation, I got to thinking about my love for the food network and the net for good low-fat recipes.
However, I don't think its likely that they will use the internet and they do not have cable, so I was wondering if y'all have any suggestions on good low-fat/fat substitution cookbooks. I haven't tried any of the food network cookbooks, just watched the shows.
Posted by jexx (Member # 3450) on :
I got a Rachael Ray cookbook for Christmas (I *begged* my mom for it), and she uses Extra Virgin Olive Oil in just about everything, and that's one of the 'good oils', from what I understand.
I got the 30-minute meals cookbook, and it is easy to read and doesn't use a lot of fancy stuff. That's why I like Rachael Ray (and Alton Brown), I can find the stuff I need (or reasonable substitutions) in my supermarket.
I love Rachael Ray for her enthusiasm and down-to-earth attitude (she calls herself 'beer from the bottle' hehe). Alton Brown is nerdsexxy with the science and obsession with the way things work.
I highly recommend Rachael Ray's cookbooks. Word of warning, though, she doesn't bake, so no cake recipes. Not to say that she doesn't have dessert recipes in there, she makes a mean dessert sauce (to pour on top of store-bought ice cream, of course!).
Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
Good lord. I hadn't made it into this thread until now, but I am just in awe of the Kwanzaa cake. And the use of clothespins and fake leaves. The mind boggles.
Posted by Sara Sasse (Member # 6804) on :
Flabbergasting, no? Just ... wow.
And her show is currently one of the most popular on Food Network.
*hangs head in hands
Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
Is it popular in a "it's so horrible I can't look away" type fashion, or in a "wow, these handy cooking tips will make me the hit of the neighborhood!" type way?
Posted by Sara Sasse (Member # 6804) on :
Jury's still out. Apparently, people are buying the books like hotcakes, and at TWoP, people have posted about having friends or family members rave about her.
When you first watch, it seems so normal. A little overblown, but you know, live and let live. Then she makes Hamburger Dogs (see close-up for full effect) and suggests serving them at a barbeque attended by adolescents.
No.
Just, no.
Posted by docmagik (Member # 1131) on :
My wife, incredible woman that she is, got me the new AB baking book for Christmas.
The first 100 pages are just about ingredients. No recipies, just discussion of flour, sugar, eggs, etc.
And when you do get to the recipies--well, as an example, one of the ingredients in the pizza dough is children's asprin.
He shall make a baker out of me yet.
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
Christy, do they have a DVD player? AB has the Good Eats out on DVD if I remember correctly...
And his cookbook looks awsome.
Kwea
Posted by Sara Sasse (Member # 6804) on :
He treats heat as a primary ingredient.
*adores AB
Posted by Sara Sasse (Member # 6804) on :
*giggle* Hey, this is the same woman who gave me an "oldie but goodie" pregnancy book that recommended that you have half a stick of butter every day while pregnant. *shudder*
Posted by Sara Sasse (Member # 6804) on :
Me?
What was I thinking? (Which book?)
Posted by Christy (Member # 4397) on :
*laugh* No, sorry, my mom.
Posted by Sara Sasse (Member # 6804) on :
Whew!
(*leaving now)
Posted by sarcasticmuppet (Member # 5035) on :
1/2 a stick of butter? Straight???
Posted by Traveler (Member # 3615) on :
I don't care for RR but I do have a crush on Giada De Laurentiis who hosts Everyday Italian .
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
quote:He treats heat as a primary ingredient.
*adores AB
Heat IS a primary ingredient...
I saw that one! Recently!
Posted by dkw (Member # 3264) on :
I was thinking about Sandra Lee’s concoctions while making lunch today, and I realized something – while I can’t imagine writing a recipe "from scratch" using the ingredients she uses, it is the kind of thing I might do to use up stuff I had around the house.
For example, I would never buy a Hickory Farms Almond and Swiss Cheese Log to use in pasta sauce, but if someone in the house got one for Christmas and there was still a good three-quarters of it left after serving it at our New Year’s Eve party I might chop it up and toss it with whole-wheat pasta, steamed green beans, leftover smoked turkey, and a big glob of Harry and David’s Red and Ancho Chille Pepper Relish. Not bad, and very festive looking too.
[ January 01, 2005, 04:30 PM: Message edited by: dkw ]
Posted by Verily the Younger (Member # 6705) on :
So I was watching "Good Eats" yesterday, and he was making omelets. He put the eggs into hot water for a few minutes before he broke them open so they'd cook faster. "That's a good idea," I thought, as I often do when I watch "Good Eats".
Then he said you'd never find that step in a fancy French recipe because "the French don't refrigerate their eggs."
Um . . . what? The French don't refrigerate their eggs? Why the deuce not? I refrigerate all my persihables, because if you don't, they tend to . . . well, to perish.
Posted by quidscribis (Member # 5124) on :
At the grocery store here, eggs are on shelves, same as bread, crackers, laundry soap. Not refrigerated. They're not sold in styrofoam containers or cardboard containers, but in flimsy clear plastic, 10 eggs per. No size differences, either.
Fahim says they bought their first fridge around 1977-1978. Before that, produce was stored in baskets or something. Eggs were probably something similar, but he doesn't remember.
Here, only about 62% of the country had electricity before the tsunami hit. I don't know the stats now. But that would mean that a maximum of 62% of people in this country store their eggs in the fridge. Is it common practice here? Don't know.
I know it's not France, but it is another perspective. Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
Their eggs are a lot fresher than ours, remember. That makes a huge difference....
Kwea
Posted by jexx (Member # 3450) on :
Am watching Alton Brown right now, and he's got a "good Alton" and "bad Alton" (sweet and sour) thing. Am I wicked to be attracted to the fictional "evil brother Alton"?
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
*likes when this thread gets bumped*
I never tire of the opening of the first post on the second page.
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