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Wednesday, June 23, 2010

I have a confession to make

Hi. My name is Pat.

I am an addict.

A Food Network addict, that is.

I L-O-V-E watching the Food Network channel. No matter what time of day or night it is, I can tune it in and get my fix. It's always available.

You can't always find that with other additions. Also it is pretty cheap seeing how the channel comes with basic cable or satellite dish.

I feel I am like this (crossing my two fingers together) with Paula (Dean), Giada (De Laurentiis), Rachel (Ray), Ina (Garten), and I'm working on my friendship with new chefs.

You gotta love Paula.



She opens her show with a big, "Hey, y'all!" and cooks in this huge, beautiful southern home. It has a built in deep fryer right in the counter. Now that's someone who LOVES deep fried foods!

Yesterday she actually deep fried a cheesecake!

Yes, ma'am she did!

Paula cut a piece of cheesecake and placed it on an egg roll wrapper. Then she rolled it up and deep fried it.

One would think that would be enough.

Oh no. Then she sprinkled powered sugar over it.

Done?

Uh no. THEN she put some whipped cream on top.

Done?

NO! Then she drizzled some caramel sauce on top of that. NOW it was complete!

And what I really love about Paula? She takes a big ole bite of whatever she makes! She doesn't care if it gets all over her face! She just laughs it off.

Paula doesn't have a really heavy southern accent but she says things like, "I'm fixing to make". It took me a while to understand that when she said, "all" she meant "oil"; the same went for "ball" as "boil".

Giada De Laurentiis makes me glad that I'm half Italian.



Although she can be too "cutesy" for me at times, her recipes are good and I love watching her cook them. You can tell that she loves to cook and be around food. Why she can eat that much pasta and still stay skinny is way beyond my comprehension. I love the way she pronounces the Italian dishes perfectly, since she was born in Rome. She grew up in a large Italian family. She is grand daughter to Dino De Laurentiis.

Now Ina Garten? I would LOVE her life.



She has this gorgeous house in the Hamptons. Her husband teaches at Yale and only comes home on weekends. (No wonder they act so lovey-dovey on the show!) Ina actually started out working in the White House on nuclear energy policy and switched to cooking.

Although she is WAY out of my league, her recipes are all very good. I just have to chuckle when she says things like, "use GOOD vanilla", as opposed to what, the crappy 2-for-1 blue light special kind at K-Mart?

Ina's garden is the size of a small house. She MUST have a gardener to keep the weeds at bay. Just imagine to walk out your double doors that are thrown open to let in the fresh sea salt air, and go to your garden to cut fresh herbs for your dinner and fresh flowers for your table. Aahhh, now THAT's the life, for sure!

Rachel Ray was really the first love of my life. Well, as far as chef's go.



She's famous for her "30 Minute Meals", and now she has a talk show on CBS. I watched her religiously - she was on twice a day! Then she started doing a traveling show, too, and I got "Rachel-Rayed" out! Rachel has the gift of gab and talks through the whole show, and REALLY cooks the meal in 30 minutes. Some of her trademark sayings are, "E-V-O-O" meaning "Extra Virgin Olive Oil" and "GB" for garbage bowl, which she recommends putting on the counter for easy clean up. Her recipes are usually good. Now she's hawking all kinds of cookware, pots/pans, knives, you name it.

The one chef I just couldn't tolerate was Sandra Lee.



Don't get me wrong. I mean she seems nice enough. Her show was called, "Semi-home made with Sandra Lee". The thing that would set me off is that she'd have a color theme going for that day. Let's say it was PINK.

EVERYTHING would be pink.

The curtains above the sink. Some platters on the shelf. The MIXMASTER. The toaster. Her BLOUSE. The canisters.

It was enough to make me puke.

And she would do this with EVERY show. In a different color, of course. Like as if THIS portrays real life.

Yes, I match my curtains to my blouse, DAILY. Oh, and my small appliances. Right.

So I was able to flip the channel when she was on.

I am starting to open up my addiction to newer shows like Cooking for Real, and Five Ingredient Fix, and the list goes on and on. Plus, they've just added ANOTHER cooking channel to the mix.

It's called The Cooking Channel. Original. I know.

You may notice that I didn't mention any male chefs. Well, after I found out that "The Naked Chef" wasn't REALLY naked, I wasn't really interested in watching men cook.

note: all photos courtesy of www.foodnetwork.com. That's a great website for recipes, too!

28 comments:

Lynda said...

We love watching Bobby Flay's, Throwdown and Chopped and Diners, Drives, and Drive-Ins and Iron Chef and Unwrapped. Food Network is great!

Brian Miller said...

back when we used to have tv...we used to watch food network all the time...esp iron chef...i so wanted to be a judge...

Unknown said...

WHAT? The Naked Chef isn't really naked??? the nerve!

Carletta said...

Top Chef! :)

Lindy said...

My faves are Ina and Paula, though I haven't seen them for quite a while as our cable company in Indiana doesn't include them on the basic programming. =(

I love watching Paula tasting her finished recipes, especially when it might be a dessert in a small dish and she's using a huge serving spoon to taste it! Or when she'll add a mint leaf to the whipped cream on her dessert and declare it "healthy!"

Sunny said...

I enjoy Food Network but I don't get to watch much during the day
:(
Some of the shows I like are Throw Down with Bobby Flay, Iron Chef America and Chopped.
There seems to be something for everyone.
☼ Sunny

SquirrelQueen said...

I've seen Paula's Party (is that the same channel?) a few times and I love her. Mostly I like Iron Chef and Chopped.

Valerie said...

Goodness, our cooking shows seem a bit mundane after reading about yours. Whenever a cookery show comes on Hubs says 'not ANOTHER one' and promptly switches it off. Thank goodness for on-line viewing!

Anonymous said...

I LOVE The Food Network. Ina is my fave. Best recipes. I think Paula adds fat now just so it's her trademark. Rachel's recipes I don't care for much, and Giada's call for stuff I don't usually have. Okay, I KNEW you really wanted to know what I thought, so there you have it.

Anonymous said...
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Anonymous said...

I adore Paula and her love of butter, something we have in common...and Inga, Gawd I just want to hang out wioth her for an afternoon.....what do ya think about the new cooking star show...love it;)

BigSis said...

I'm a Food Network addict too. I think I like ALL the shows everyone has mentioned. I just don't understand how they aren't all 800 pounds with the yummy food they make!

Meeko Fabulous said...

Ok, I love Paula! I love Giada! I love Rachel! There's just something about Ina that bugs me . . . and Sandra? She bugs me too. I like watching Dinner Impossible with Chef Robert Irvine. In fact . . . I met him while I was vacation in Puerto Rico! :)

Teresa said...

i never did care for sandra lee, either. not overly fond of rachel. she's just too fakey for me. could be really her - if so, i wouldn't like to be around her too long.

i like diners, drive-ins, and dives. we watch that late at night, too. and i always like to watch the one about how it's made.

love watching paula and ina. i think the concept of having doors open wide is great - but what about the BUGS? can't stand little flying things in the house. lol

Historical sites with charmine said...

Who doesn't love food shows?I've seen Rachel on Oprah and yes,she's very upbeat.A looooong time ago I used to watch Yan can cook,He's a Chinese chef.

becky said...

What about Bobby Flay? I like it when he does those throw downs & shows up to challenge someone in their hometown... the funniest one was with this young, singing, dancing, hip pastor... who just happened to be a BBQ champion! I don't watch much TV, but I'm not totally out of the loop! :)

Wanderlust said...

Ina Garten's husband only comes home on weekends? Well that explains a lot. And I'm with you on Sandra Lee and her color schemes. Ugh. I haven't watched cooking shows in forever. Well, since I went back to work at least. They were fun.

Mike said...

Oh, how can you watch that stuff! Just go to Olive Garden and call it a day! haha

Gail said...

Hey, ya'll, I have Rachael Ray and Paula Deen cookware.

AiringMyLaundry said...

She deep fried a cheesecake?!! I'd love her....yum...

I watch the Food Network sometimes and then get really hungry.

Donna B. said...

LOL!!! LOVED THIS POST!! I too love Paula Dean and Rachel Ray. I love how Paula is so down to earth. How I would LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to eat with wild abandon, like she does! Great post!

Maude Lynn said...

I love Paula Dean. That's the way we cook around here. Deep fry that thing! Bless your hearts.

Betty Manousos said...

Great post!
I'm an addict too, Pat.
I pretty much like watching those shows, and anything has to do with FOOD!
hugs!
~B xx

Linda Pendleton said...

I like Paula, too. You forget to mention, butter, and butter, and butter!! I enjoy Ina, and Rachel, and my least favorite of all the shows on Food Network is Giada (and hey, I'm half Italian too.) I like the guys too, Bobby, the Chef shows, and love the Next Food Network Star show each season...

A good part of the time daily my TV is tuned to Food Network..

Ebie said...

The food network channel is the best! Love all these ladies for their recipes and show hostess, but I frequently watch Iron Chef (watching while blogging...hahahaha)

Ruth said...

I don't watch TV much, but when Don has the Food network on, I do.

Paula: Yes, such healthy food. Yikes!

Giada: Can she try cooking without cleavage as an ingredient, and what teeth whitening product is she advertising?

Ina: LOVE her. Isn't it great how quietly she talks? I didn't know she worked in the White House.

Rachel: Can she just stop?

Sandra: Agreed. I heard from a friend who is a test kitchen chef that she actually asked her TV crew if they wanted to touch her new fake boobs.

Joann Mannix said...

I love Paula Dean. I live in the South and southern food is just Nirvana. It is so utterly delicious, but I have to ration myself or I would have to sign up for The Biggest Loser.

I love, love, love Giada. Her recipes are fantastic and see, I love her whole approach. I find her very soothing to watch.

But, Ina. She is IT. I mean IT. I have every one of her cookbooks. I love her food. I LOVE the way she roasts vegetables. I've never made anything of hers I didn't love.

Rachel, you can keep. Not a fan. And her grating voice drives me crazy.

And you are absolutely right about that Sandra Lee and her food is not that good.

Tyler Florence, now that's, a guy cook I love to watch and I love his recipes.

I do also love Anthony Bourdain. More for his irreverent sense of humor.

Do you get the Bravo channel? I think, Pat, you would love Top Chef. That is one of my favorite shows on tv.

Joann Mannix said...

Oh, and I forgot to say, I love the way Ina just lights up whenever her husband is around. It's just the sweetest thing.