Questionable Skills of Cooking Show Hosts on Food Network

[Evo]

Wow, that was actually a great show, and I went in already condemning it.

Turbo, we would do good together. I've won every cooking competition I've been in. I've been told my food is orgasmic. My recipes have been published in local cookbooks. I am a phenomenal cook. No brag, just fact, as the old cartoon character used to say.

My younger sister and I almost started a catering company. But she left to pursue a PhD in psychology and then she was offered a position managing a restaurant and she never looked back. She loves it.

And did I mention that I was the one that introduced her to cooking? I am 7 years older than her and she never had any interest in cooking before I sucked her into my weekly Sunday brunch. I taught her everything she knows.

 

[Evo]

How anti-climatic. One of the couples wimped out.

I guess they wanted to preserve the tension with the team that everyone will hate at least another week.

Yeah, they saved that brother team. They really did screw up.

 

[LowlyPion]

In the world of Food Network gossip, Cat Cora and her wife are now both pregnant from the same sperm donor. How's that for togetherness? And they swapped ovum? Oy.

http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=445852724&blogId=475591464

 

[Evo]

In the world of Food Network gossip, Cat Cora and her wife are now both pregnant from the same sperm donor. How's that for togetherness? And they swapped ovum? Oy.

http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=445852724&blogId=475591464

Both pregnant?

 

[turbo]

Both pregnant?

Yep! Very attractive lesbian preggos! Cat's celebrity status should help raise awareness about single-sex couples, and none too soon.

 

[LowlyPion]

I note that Gordon Ramsay may be having a few restaurant nightmares of his own:

Gordon Ramsay sells flagship Paris restaurant after a year as credit crunch bites

http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/tvsho...aris-restaurant-year-credit-crunch-bites.html

Maybe it's just a banking nightmare? Though I note he's managed to trot off with a fair purse the last couple of years.

 

[Evo]

Watching chopped tonight, there was this moron that claimed to have food allergies that obviously did not. "Eggplant" Oh no! I am deathly allergic, I will swell up!". Well, guess what, he didn't. He had zero reaction.

Then "grapefruit!''' I am deathly allergic, the first time I had grapefruit I was hospitalized and I will swell up and die". Guess what, he had zero reaction to the grapefruit.

There is someone that I care about, but they think they have a deadly reaction to airborne substances and they don't. They have anxiety attacks. They have physiological symptoms, not real real symptoms. I wish that I could help them. They have never been tested by doctors to actually have any reactions by having tests performed like scratch tests that confirm reactions. Yet they truly believe that they have symptoms.

Their only claim to having a "life threatening" reaction is having a high systolic blood pressure reading which only indicates an anxiety attack. Anxiety attacks are NOT life threatening.

I have friends that truly have life threatening allergies that require that they carry epi-pens and their throat will close and kill them. It's called anaphylactic shock. They could truly die. It's not an anxiety attack, it's not a high systolic blood pressure reading which is due to anxiety.

What do you do when someone thinks they have a life threatening allergy/reaction when the lack of tests and symptoms prove that they are only having anxiety attacks? And showing them this is the truth would greatly enhance their life?

 

[lisab]

Watching chopped tonight, there was this moron that claimed to have food allergies that obviously did not. "Eggplant" Oh no! I am deathly allergic, I will swell up!". Well, guess what, he didn't. He had zero reaction.

Then "grapefruit!''' I am deathly allergic, the first time I had grapefruit I was hospitalized and I will swell up and die". Guess what, he had zero reaction to the grapefruit.

There is someone that I care about, but they think they have a deadly reaction to airborne substances and they don't. They have anxiety attacks. They have physiological symptoms, not real real symptoms. I wish that I could help them. They have never been tested by doctors to actually have any reactions by having tests performed like scratch tests that confirm reactions. Yet they truly believe that they have symptoms.

Their only claim to having a "life threatening" reaction is having a high systolic blood pressure reading which only indicates an anxiety attack. Anxiety attacks are NOT life threatening.

I have friends that truly have life threatening allergies that require that they carry epi-pens and their throat will close and kill them. It's called anaphylactic shock. They could truly die. It's not an anxiety attack, it's not a high systolic blood pressure reading which is due to anxiety.

What do you do when someone thinks they have a life threatening allergy/reaction when the lack of tests and symptoms prove that they are only having anxiety attacks? And showing them this is the truth would greatly enhance their life?

My (very limited) experience with this: once people are in an emotional state of fear, speaking facts and data to them will only make them think that they are being lied to. You first have to connect with them on an emotional level. After gaining their trust, transition to facts and data.

Good luck, and if you are successful, please let me know how you did it .

 

[turbo]

Their only claim to having a "life threatening" reaction is having a high systolic blood pressure reading which only indicates an anxiety attack. Anxiety attacks are NOT life threatening.

I have friends that truly have life threatening allergies that require that they carry epi-pens and their throat will close and kill them. It's called anaphylactic shock. They could truly die. It's not an anxiety attack, it's not a high systolic blood pressure reading which is due to anxiety.

What do you do when someone thinks they have a life threatening allergy/reaction when the lack of tests and symptoms prove that they are only having anxiety attacks? And showing them this is the truth would greatly enhance their life?

Not all episodes of high systolic blood pressure are due to anxiety attacks, Dr. Evo. The last time I had a severe reaction to fragrance chemicals (BP 208/90), the ER staff did not want to let me go home (even hours after I had stabilized somewhat) and the ER nurse (school-mate of my wife) called her at work to get her to the hospital. My hands and feet were blue and cold, and I was not frantic, etc, just slipping into delirium and pretty much unresponsive. After 5-6 hours, my systolic had inched down to around 170 or so, and the doctor allowed me to leave so my wife could drive me home, though he argued that I should be admitted instead. He said that he thought my body had shut down circulation to my extremities to preserve blood-flow to my brain and core organs. Not a fun time.

Years before, after ingesting food laced with glutamates I showed up at the ER in Lincoln asking to be treated with epinephrine, and the ER doctor decided that I should ride it out instead because I had already downed a couple of Benadryls when I felt the reaction coming on. I was losing consciousness as the ER nurse monitoring my BP was screaming at the doctor "We're losing him! Epinephrine NOW!" (Systolic was about 20 or so - patients really can hear and remember stuff when they appear to be about dead.) It took all 3 of those women (2 nurses and the doc) to hold me down during the ensuing convulsions. When I woke up (how do you sleep for hours after a huge slug of epinephrine?) the doctor was by my bed, and she was crying. She probably figured that her internship was over. I should have told her that I accidentally ate a peanut, so I would have been treated properly. Instead, I spiraled into anaphylactic shock and nearly died.

 

[Evo]

Oh NO!

More misinformation from Rachel Ray!

She just announced that Worcestershire Sauce is made from soy sauce.

 

[chroot]

You people sure seem to spend a lot of time watching television you don't even like. I suggest using the "on/off" button.

- Warren

 

[Oscar Wilde]

I hate Bobby Flay. On Throwdown, he is such an arrogant...you know. I cannot stand him, and I refuse to watch any show that features him. Granted, I don't watch a ton of Food channel, but I watch enough to know that I dislike this guy.

 

[turbo]

When we had cable at our last house, my wife liked Alton Brown enough to watch his shows, so I got exposed to the Food Network that way, and sometimes ended up getting exposed to shows before and after his, too... Not a lot of choice, with a single TV in the common-room that I shared with my home office. Most of the shows were useless, or nearly so and many gleefully handed out misinformation. It was disheartening.

And Oscar, Bobby Flay's Boy Meets Grill "offerings" were reminiscent of the little creations that dogs leave in the grass. Watch your step. The guy is a joke. Set him up with a top-of-the-line grill (a pro-quality range on wheels) sous-chefs, marinades, lots of dishes and utensils, and he can pretend to make a real meal. I'd like to see what he could accomplish using the old Char-Broil on my back deck, while chopping and preparing food on the patio table while visiting with guests. When my cousin's daughters are here, they need to see the whole process from start to finish, and I feel like a table-side chef at a Japanese restaurant. One of the girls is married to a restaurant manager (sweet guy) and he is constantly asking questions and you can see the wheels going in his head regarding prep-time, portion-control, etc. I don't mind a bit - if his place is more successful, my favorite young lady will have a bit more financial cushion as she pursues her Masters in speech therapy. When she was a little kid, she rushed through presents, etc on Christmas morning and bugged the hell out of her parents to get to our place early so she could help me prepare food, cook, test it, and serve it. For 10-12 years, their family spent every single Christmas day at our house, and we cooked and ate (between playing games and talking and listening to music) all day long. When pre-teen and teenage girls want to get past opening presents, trying on new clothes, etc and get to a place where they are allowed to help prepare food (and they get to call the shots as in "OK what should we cook next?") you've got a pretty good draw.

Could you say "no" to these sweeties? The blond was in college at the time (and still insisted on Christmas Day at our house) and the brunette was a junior in HS.

 

[LowlyPion]

I hate Bobby Flay. On Throwdown, he is such an arrogant...you know. I cannot stand him, and I refuse to watch any show that features him. Granted, I don't watch a ton of Food channel, but I watch enough to know that I dislike this guy.

I think you miss the point of the script for Throwdown. Bobby Flay never wins. It's a show that highlights regional cooks and spreads the cooking love around the country. His trash talk is the set up for his not succeeding at beating these local cooks. (Otherwise, why would anyone agree to let him do a throwdown with them, if he is going to come out better?)

This way the locals can take pride that this time ... this time ... the big city boy got whupped by the local restaurateur. It's good for their business. And Bobby gets a show out of it. It might as well be a WWF production as any kind of cooking challenge.

 

[Evo]

You people sure seem to spend a lot of time watching television you don't even like. I suggest using the "on/off" button.

- Warren

Can't help it, when I come across her show, it's like I'm a deer in the headlights. "No, she didn't really just say that!"

 

[Evo]

I think you miss the point of the script for Throwdown. Bobby Flay never wins. It's a show that highlights regional cooks and spreads the cooking love around the country. His trash talk is the set up for his not succeeding at beating these local cooks. (Otherwise, why would anyone agree to let him do a throwdown with them, if he is going to come out better?)

This way the locals can take pride that this time ... this time ... the big city boy got whupped by the local restaurateur. It's good for their business. And Bobby gets a show out of it. It might as well be a WWF production as any kind of cooking challenge.

Out of the last 5 "Throwdowns", Bobby won 3.

I used to really dislike him because he pretended to be a chef. Throwdown makes him seem likeable. I don't know if it's real or staged, but the show puts him in a better light.

 

[LowlyPion]

Out of the last 5 "Throwdowns", Bobby won 3.

I used to really dislike him because he pretended to be a chef. Throwdown makes him seem likeable. I don't know if it's real or staged, but the show puts him in a better light.

Honestly, I've never seen him win. Of course I have a visceral dislike of his arrogant presumptuous style and generally click away to something not quite as mindless. But the several I've seen to the end seem to give it to the local, at worst in a split decision. I think his taste a little coarse and designed to look imaginative, but to no real effect to my palate.

And you don't know if it's staged? Or you have no proof that would stand in court?

Please don't tell me you don't know if Iron Chef is staged either. Either version - foreign or domestic.

 

[Evo]

Yes, I was in the other room when Rachel (I am clueless) Ray started making mashed potatoes. Never ceasing to amaze me with her incredible lack of culinary knowledge, she explains to her audience that for mashed potatoes, you do not want to use potatoes like new potatoes because they fall apart in the water, that you should use potatoes like russets that are high in starch and don't fall apart. Well, first of all, you do want a potato that is starchy like a russet because it DOES fall apart. You don't use potatoes like new potatoes, which are waxy, because they are excelent for boiling because they do NOT fall apart, mashing waxy potatoes will result in gummy potatoes.

At least she told them the right potato, but for all the wrong reasons.

 

[turbo]

Well, at least you know that she will proudly proclaim that her mashed potatoes (pons asinorum, here) are "delish". God, what a moron!

 

[Evo]

Well, at least you know that she will proudly proclaim that her mashed potatoes (pons asinorum, here) are "delish". God, what a moron!

Unfortunately, generations of Americans will boil baking potatoes and wonder why they keep turning to mush, since they know, thanks to Rachel Ray, that waxy potatoes are NOT for boiling.

 

[turbo]

Before we became "Vacationland" Maine was the lumber capital of the US, and later potato country (and still is, in some areas). As such, people have developed ways to cook new red potatoes, new white potatoes, winter "keepers", bakers, etc that make them eminently usable for multiple purposes. I doubt that RR has even a fraction of the experience needed to span a bit of that. For instance, new potatoes (both red and white) tend to have high water contents. They are wonderful fried in butter (an early summer treat!), but you'd better not put a cover on the skillet unless you want to get burned by hot fat spattering every time you disturb the cover. You need to let those 'taters cook and brown, and be willing to mop up the spattered fat off the stove-top after the fact. Heaven, though.

They are great boiled, too (with the skins on, of course, like the fried ones!) - just don't over-do them, and serve with a little olive oil and herbs drizzled over them. Then, they are good cold, incorporated into a salad.

 

[LowlyPion]

Another Cholesterol Nightmare from Paula Dean:

Corn on the cob.

How is that possible I was thinking. But Paula found a way.

Of course it starts with Paula's favorite condiment mayonnaise - "slathered generously" - her words - over the cobs.

Next roll and sprinkle - actually "heap" - a generous amount of parmigiana and then sprinkle chili powder and salt.

Wrap in foil and throw on the barbie for 20 minutes.

Before serving then the pièce de résistance - unwrap and spray them with butter.

Paula commits vegicide.

 

[turbo]

I used to grill corn a lot when I was a kid. I'd fire up some charcoal (or clean scrap wood) in our old grill, and while that was heating up, I'd pick some fresh corn. Carefully peel back the husks while not removing them from the stem, remove the silk, spread butter on the corn, season with salt and pepper, fold the husks back into position, twist the ends a bit and put the corn on the grill, turning from time to time. The corn gets steamed by the water in the green husks, and also picks up the flavor of the wood/charcoal while cooking. This works best on a grill that has a cover.

Luckily, my sisters preferred corn that was boiled to within an inch of its life, so if I had to make extra for supper, it was only for my parents and me and I had enough room on that little grill to make enough for 3.

 

[Evo]

Another Cholesterol Nightmare from Paula Dean:

Corn on the cob.

How is that possible I was thinking. But Paula found a way.

Of course it starts with Paula's favorite condiment mayonnaise - "slathered generously" - her words - over the cobs.

Next roll and sprinkle - actually "heap" - a generous amount of parmigiana and then sprinkle chili powder and salt.

Wrap in foil and throw on the barbie for 20 minutes.

Before serving then the pièce de résistance - unwrap and spray them with butter.

Paula commits vegicide.

You missed her "grilled" onions.

Make a cross cut about halfway into the top of a large onion, place it on a large square of foil.

Shove an entire stick of butter and one beef bouillion cube into the onion.

Wrap tightly in the foil and grill for one hour.

She said it's like onion soup.

With 1/4 pound of butter per bowl.

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

You missed her "grilled" onions.

Make a cross cut about halfway into the top of a large onion, place it on a large square of foil.

Shove an entire stick of butter and one beef bouillion cube into the onion.

Wrap tightly in the foil and grill for one hour.

She said it's like onion soup.

With 1/4 pound of butter per bowl.

She sounds like she would be my grandmothers favourite tv cook! Except that her food probably actually tastes good.

For a snack my grandmother makes onion sandwiches. This calls for two slices of bread, one thick slice of raw onion, and god's own supply of mayonaise.

 

[turbo]

A stick of butter and a bouillon cube to season one onion? Now THAT's cooking. Those TV "cooks" are disgusting.

 

[Moonbear]

For a snack my grandmother makes onion sandwiches. This calls for two slices of bread, one thick slice of raw onion, and god's own supply of mayonaise.

NO, you can't make onion sandwiches with mayo. Onion sandwiches should be spread with butter. I LOVE onion sandwiches. I learned it from my grandparents...it's Depression Era food.

I make my mashed potatoes out of any potato I happen to have in the fridge when I get hungry for mashed potatoes, and really, I've never noticed any difference whether they were red potatoes or baking pototoes. It's just rather a shame to waste more expensive red or new potatoes on mashed potatoes where you're not going to appreciate their taste as much.

 

[turbo]

It's just rather a shame to waste more expensive red or new potatoes on mashed potatoes where you're not going to appreciate their taste as much.

True. New potatoes (red or white) should be fried in butter until they have some crispy surfaces. When I was a kid I always ate them with ketchup, but these days, I often mix up a little concoction of mayo and tomato-based hot salsa to dip them in.

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

NO, you can't make onion sandwiches with mayo. Onion sandwiches should be spread with butter.

Sacrebleu! You are right! It was butter, and it was still disgusting. ;-p

 

[Moonbear]

Sacrebleu! You are right! It was butter, and it was still disgusting. ;-p

Well, you've never had MY onion sandwiches. It's okay, I know most people think it's a very strange thing to eat. I enjoy it though.

 

[LowlyPion]

She said it's like onion soup.

More like melted butter with onion garnish.

I've been eating lots of onion soup since I got my slow cooker. 4 batches so far and counting. I haven't used a stick and half of butter for all of them total even yet. She should just be sued for encouraging such totally unhealthy cooking. Sadly she thinks her food is just sinful, as she waddles around her kitchen stuffing those disgusting dishes down her mouth, encouraging her legion of viewers to clog their arteries.

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

Well, you've never had MY onion sandwiches. It's okay, I know most people think it's a very strange thing to eat. I enjoy it though.

Yeah, I enjoy some things that a lot of people would probably consider gross. For example I love eel.

More like melted butter with onion garnish.

I've been eating lots of onion soup since I got my slow cooker. 4 batches so far and counting. I haven't used a stick and half of butter for all of them total even yet. She should just be sued for encouraging such totally unhealthy cooking. Sadly she thinks her food is just sinful, as she waddles around her kitchen stuffing those disgusting dishes down her mouth, encouraging her legion of viewers to clog their arteries.

Now let's not get onto liability issues. ;-)
(as I sit here smoking, drinking vodka and red bull, and considering how best to throw my money away gambling)

 

[Proton Soup]

onion sandwiches is not the way i was taught. it's got to be either onion or radish and cornbread. if you're going to be working out in the field, you take a wedge of onion and a piece of cornbread in your pocket to snack on.

 

[Evo]

I make my mashed potatoes out of any potato I happen to have in the fridge when I get hungry for mashed potatoes, and really, I've never noticed any difference whether they were red potatoes or baking pototoes. It's just rather a shame to waste more expensive red or new potatoes on mashed potatoes where you're not going to appreciate their taste as much.

Actually, using the wrong type of potato will result in a dense, gluey consistency, instead of light and fluffy mashed potatoes. But some people like dense and gluey, just like it has become popular today to have lumpy potatoes instead of the original, smooth, lumpless recipe. I like both kinds, although I was raised on traditional style potatoes put through a ricer for the silken finish that made them famous. Another no-no was skins in the potatoes, something else I don't mind a bit of. My mother would die if she found out I eat gluey, lumpy potatoes with skin.

 

[turbo]

Actually, using the wrong type of potato will result in a dense, gluey consistency, instead of light and fluffy mashed potatoes. But some people like dense and gluey, just like it has become popular today to have lumpy potatoes instead of the original, smooth, lumpless recipe. I like both kinds, although I was raised on traditional style potatoes put through a ricer for the silken finish that made them famous. Another no-no was skins in the potatoes, something else I don't mind a bit of. My mother would die if she found out I eat gluey, lumpy potatoes with skin.

I love mashed potatoes with skins on, and just a bit lumpy, too. I like to boil them with garlic cloves and onions and mash everything at once. Mmm! I have a younger sister who (if given the chance) would always put in too much milk and mash the potatoes into a wet, gloppy mess. She actually preferred the dehydrate potato flakes that were served as "mashed" at the school lunch program to real mashed potatoes. I think she was switched in the hospital for an alien baby - she wouldn't eat spinach, fried liver and onions, and a whole bunch of other stuff that the rest of the family enjoyed.