TV We've Just Watched discussion
Reality TV
>
Food Network Shows
I love to watch Rachael Ray, Paula Deen,and Tyler Florence. Tyler's How To Boil Water show is really good for people like me who are just learning!!
Rachael Ray has a great personality and she makes everything she does seem so damn easy...I love it. :)
Paula Deen cooks like my grandma cooks so I love watching her!!
I've got two of Paula Deen's cookbooks. Most of the recipes are fattening, but as a treat every now and then they're really excellent.Have you ever noticed how the women on Tyler's show are dressed really seductively? I've seen several young women who don't know how to cook (maybe...maybe not) with made up faces and showing lots of cleavage.
I love Rachael Ray's cooking show but not her talk show. That show sucks. I love to watch Martha Stewart cook. And I love Barefoot Contessa. She makes it look so easy even though what she is cooking is tough.
Alton Brown is interesting from an educational stand point... When I watch him make something I find that I am more interested in the lesson he teaches... I still remember the episode where he went through all the type of salt, where they were mined and what they were good for... kinda cool...As far as the rest... I agree Paula Deen is my favorite... that is just my style of cooking. Rachel Ray is entertaining and he recipes are relatively easy... but overall, I can only take her in small doses and I actually like her, so I can only imagine what she is like to people that find her annoying to start with!
I agree on the Sandra Lee - likes her coctails too much... not really into that or her style... the "shortcuts" she uses are kind of lame.
The barefoot contessa just annoys me for some reason...
I used to really dislike the Barefoot Contessa. She made an offhand comment about how she got mad when guests spilled red wine on her table clothes. I wanted to tell her, "Lady! If you don't want your precious cloth to get stained, keep it in the drawer!" OK, this is terrible of me but I thought the Barefoot Contessa married her wealthy husband not long before she became known in the cooking world and that she was a gold-digging nouveau member of the uppity Hampton society. I saw a biography about her and she and her husband met in their early twenties and both worked hard to get where they are. She started a catering business in the Hamptons and then opened her own store and worked her butt off.
I saw Bobby Flay act like a horse's @ss on The Iron Chef a few times and really kept a negative opinion about him for years. But he's kind of grown on me over time. I really liked his Throwdown show.
Mario Batali really grates on my last nerve...and I only got one. What the heck was that Italy show with co-host Gwyneth Paltrow? I can barely stand her in movies.
I agree with Bobby Flay's personality yet often when I watch his shows I do pick up some good practical suggestions.
Flay does know how to grill. Except his uses corn quite a bit, lol. My husband and I laugh about corn as an ingredient in everything he cooks. Corn Cheesecake anyone? (I just made that up.)
Tressa wrote: "I saw Bobby Flay act like a horse's @ss on The Iron Chef a few times and really kept a negative opinion about him for years."Somehow in our house, he got the nickname "Bobby McFlay" after his actions on Iron Chef (which is a favorite here in our house) and I tend to avoid his shows.
I like Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives for entertainment, Good Eats for actual recipes.
I love Iron Chef and Diners, Drive-Ins Dives... neither of which are "how to" shows... I do like to watch the Barefoot contessa from time to time.
barefoot contessa is good I watch her. Love Diners, drive--Ins and dives too.
When I have time, I like to watch Rachel Ray too. Her magazine also has some good recipes :)
I don't watch Food Network super often, but I like the Italian woman (Gaia?). I can't stand Rachel Ray or Paula Deen. I like the "how it's made" type shows, I can't remember what it's called, but they go over how lollipops are made or slushies etc. I don't think it's called "How It's Made" because that's a Discovery Channel show. . . . but it's something similar.
I like Giada, too. Her recipes look simple enough to prepare and they're always made with fresh ingredients.Did anyone see Rachel and Giada face off in the Iron Chef competition? Of course, they had help. Rachel was joined by Mario and Giada was joined by Bobby Flay. Rachel and Mario won.
I love those shows that show how foods are made. The shows that make me most hungry are the ones that go to popular sites in different cities all over the U.S., especially diners. Philly cheese steaks or hot dogs or the best meat & three place in the south.
I think the only cooking show I've never liked is that Cookin' in Brooklyn. That man's personality just grates on my nerves and his stuff always looks awful. He'll make a meatloaf and throw in everything but the kitchen sink. It'll have a thick, crunchy coating on it that makes me want to upchuck. Ugh, he's terrible.
Giada's my fave. I love to cook and all her recipes, that I've tried, turned out great. They're fool-proof. I can't say that about any other chef on the foodnetwork channel that I've tried, except Tyler Florence.
Giada did a show the other day about cooking for a block party. Her little girl is so cute. Her food always looks healthy, simple, and easy.I enjoy Unwrapped because I like to know the history of a food and watch how it's made.
Emeril has always gotten on my nerves. I'm not into frenetic people. He's too loud and annoying. I always get a kick out of the audience who is so enraptured with his food. "Oooh!" "Ohhhh!"
LOL, Tressa. They have to act that way or he will "BAM!" at them. :) Emeril gets on my nerves, too. I've never made it all the way through one of his shows.
Yeah, Emeril might throw some cayenne pepper into their eyes and screech "BAM!" He has always gotten on my nerves. OMG, did he have a sitcom for a short while or did I just dream that?
YES! You're right...NBC, 2001As one critic said "Just because he knows how to throw around a loin of pork doesn't mean Emeril Lagasse can bring home the bacon as a comedy star on broadcast television."
LOL!!!
I don't know if it's considered a cooking show, but I love, love, love Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations.
Hannah, we are big fans of Anthony Bourdains. He can cut someone off at the knees, but he is also self-deprecating. Have you read his books? They are hilarious, especially the autobiography of how he got started in cooking. He even wrote a novella on Typhoid Mary. He is really intelligent and talented.
I love Rachel Ray and Paula Deen. RR because her meals are quick and easy.... PD, well because she is a southern cook... and all the recipies of hers that I have tried have been wonderful!
I agree Kat...I like them both too! Do you ever watch Rachael Ray's morning show? I love it!
I do watch her morning show when I am off! I love her personality!!
Kat, I have several Paula Deen cookbooks and her recipes are tasty but fattening if you don't watch it. I've never seen RR's morning show. I love her personality, too. I think her bubbliness gets on some people's nerves but I like it.
BTW, I'm not big on celebrity cookbooks but Trisha Yearwood's is excellent. Simple but good southern cooking. We love her macaroni & cheese dish.
Anyone ever watch Man v. Food? He goes to places all over the US that serve huge meals or spicy meals and tries his hand at many eating contests. He visited one donut place that makes a donut as big as a toilet seat.
Tressa you would love her morning show. She's hilarious!! She interviews people and is just so real with her questions...I like it......I'm going to check out that Trisha Yearwood cookbook for sure.
All Trisha's recipes are old family recipes. She makes everything seem so simple to prepare. She has some easy pickle recipes, too. I've just gotten into pickling and canning. Can't wait for the summer cukes to come out.Oh, and being from the south we love boiled peanuts and Trisha's recipe is wonderful. You can make them in the crockpot.
Hi, Will Kester here. I love to cook and watch wayyyyy too many cooking shows. I like Rachel, I like Giada. I even like Bobby better, recently. I used to like Emeril; don't hate him, just grew tired of him. I ate at several of his restuarants and was disapoointed each time. I tried one of his winning contest pie recipes and it might have been the worst thing I ever cooked; too over-the-top with too many "layers of flavor".
I love "Iron Chef; America". I find Mario a bit annoying but he wins. He must be a good cook. Cat loses often but I love watching her toast with ouzo at the end of each round.
I've started watching "Chopped" but won't highly recommend it; it's okay. Barefoot Contessa; not my fave, but okay. Alton Brown has taught me more than any other show. I get more ideas from Rachel than any others. I don't use her recipes so much as her style. I watch her and then go cook, inspired to do something new and different, combined as she might do.
My kids watch Man v. Food but I can't find it. They ate, recently, at some place that was featured on the show--twelve egg ommelette. My son-in-law can eat more than I could at his age and I could eat a lot, then. He was dissapointed he didn't get a T-shirt like they did on the show.
When Bobby Flay first popped up on my TV, he was so annoying and egotistic that I couldn't bear to watch him. I must say that he has mellowed over the years, though. I enjoyed his throw down show where he went around the country competing with regular people known for their specialties. Rachel Ray always makes me want to go into the kitchen and start cooking. I like the simplicity of her meals.
I really want to be at the restaurants where the Man v. Food guy is and chow down. I am going to New Orleans in June and plan on eating again at Mother's. They do have the best po' boys around. I've eaten at Acme in NO and didn't really care for it.
I love Rachel Ray and Good Eats. Alton Brown just makes it so interesting with science!
Thanks to this thread, I found Man v. Food. I was entering it as Man vs. Food and the DVR found no match. Now, I'll get it...thanks.
We Tivo Man v. Food too, Will. Even my little boy likes to watch them. He laughs when I remind him about the donut as big as a toilet seat.
I find Man v. Food, now that I can watch, a bit gross, yet strangely intriguing. It's soooo about excesss. I've never understood eating competitions or the fascination of eating a 72 oz. steak. Okay, I did consider trying that when I was younger. But five pounds of burrito in three minutes? That's gross! But I definitely HAD to watch it.
I think food competitions are gross too, and just exaggerates the world's opinion of Americans as fat-assed gluttons. And image shoving all that food in your stomach and the journey it has to take to make it out. Gross.The hot food contests aren't as bad; the food isn't so much, just spicy.
I watched it with fire eaters (pretty fire eaters), who didn't finish their dish. I don't blame them. The owner/chef won't even try it. I love food and food with spices, but...NO!
Last night the guy was at some German restaurant and finished a sausage that wrapped around the edges of a large platter. Imagine all that meat going through his intestines later on that night. They should have a crew filming him on the toilet about two in the morning.
I'll pass on that; the visual is enough. Watching it go in was enough for me. The most recent one I saw was in Amarillo--The Big Texan Steak House. That's where if you eat a 72 oz. steak w/ the sides dishes, it's free. I've been there, several times, and never seriously considered doing that to my system. 48000 people have tried, though, and 8000 have succeeded. Wow!
They also featured The Stockyard Cafe, which if you're ever in the area and like chicken fried steak; it's awesome there--best in the world, maybe. No prizes for over-eating, though.
I think I recently watched the one with the chicken fried steak. Was the meat as big as the plate? I live in the south and chicken fried steak (for those who don't know it's not steak but a flattened piece of chicken seasoned, dipped in flour, and fried) is a staple. I don't eat meat anymore but if I did, this with a side of my mom's creamed potatoes would be on my menu.
Will, have you seen the Man v. Food where he tries to drink 15 milkshakes? He couldn't finish because he got sick and puked.
I love Man vs. Food and the No Reservations with Anthony Bourdain (and to a lesser extent Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern). The cooking shows I like are any with Paula Deen or The Barefoot Contessa. I can't stand Rachael Ray now that she's invaded several tv stations, book racks, magazine racks, AND her face is in every other isle at the grocery with chicken and beef stock, olive oil, pots and pans and even dog food! BAH!
Jenn, DH and I get a kick watching Anthony Bourdain. His books are hilarious. I love how he's not afraid to make fun of himself.I like Rachel's first show but I have no desire to watch any talk show with her. She talks too much and is too Pollyanaish for my tastes. I see no reason to buy her brand of EVOO either. It's just olive oil. Did she press the olives herself? I also don't care to know how she lost 35 pounds either.
I love the Barefoot Contessa. She loves food, she doesn't care how many calories are in it, and she lets it all hang out.
I've never seen "No Reservations" with Anthony Bourdain or "Bizarre Foods" with Andrew Zimmern. I'll try to remember to add them to my DVR. I didn't see the one where he tried to drink 15 milkshakes. I did see "Food Detective" where they explained why you can't drink a gallon of milk in an hour.
Chicken fried steak is not chicken, Tressa; it's tenderized beef. If they make it where you live with chicken, it would be a chicken cutlet. It's called "chicken fried" because it's floured and fried like southern fried chicken.
Hey, you're right, Will! I do have that backwards. Maybe I forgot since I haven't eaten meat in almost twenty years. Thanks for clearing that up.I think the reason I cringe while watching Man V. Food is because I know a body shouldn't be allowed to handle that much food or liquid in such a short amount of time. I've heard of people dying because they drank too much water during some frat initiation.
Iron Chef. Its so fun and fast paced and creative
I used to watch Sandra Lee, but her methods of cooking are bizarre. I've seen her actually buy an already-made cheesecake in order to scoop out the cheesecake and put it into her own cheesecake crust. Too weird! Plus she loves her cocktails.
Alton Brown's anal-retentive nature and voice get on my nerves, but my husband loves his show.
I love The Barefoot Contessa's show. Her food always makes me wish I could grab some of whatever she's cooking.
We love to watch any kind of cook offs. The cake decorating ones are our favorites.