Who watches the Food Network?

[Hogarth]

I usually do, just to get the juices flowing for supper.

Favorite Show: Iron Chef

Most God-awful show ever: 30-Minute Meals, with Rachel Ray. She says the most mundane things, then giggles, as if what she said was really clever.

[mlawson]

1. Sometimes. But one thing most of them do

that makes me gag, is put their HANDS in the food, WAAAAAAY too much.

Shoooo.....

[mopinko]

10. julia says this is ok

back in the old french chef days. and believe me, in restaurants, if you can do it with your hands, you do. there are lots of stories about 'old guys' that picked things out deep fryers with their fingers. could be urban legends, i never saw one.

[mlawson]

15. Then let her eat it....

Really, I have seen some cooking shows, in which the 'chef' literally runs his/her fingers through every ingredient, for no apparent reason. I have to turn the show off at times, or I lose my appetite completely.

Oh, I bet that if I saw the goings-on in restaurant kitchens, I wouln never eat out again. If SC, cooks and staff are forced by law to wear plastic on ther hands. I like that.

[Maddy McCall]

20. Then never eat at Taco Bell. LOL

I saw the food prep gal fixing tacos, picking up fresh ingredients with inch long fingernails WITHOUT GLOVES and I thought, you know, I am eating everything she has touched in the past couple of days. GAG!

I am with you. I don't like the hands in the food stuff. ONly if you are kneading bread is it ok.

[SpaceCatMeetsMars]

2. I liked her at first, but she says the same things so often

that my husband and I think there she be a drinking game everytime she says those same things over and over! "Grandpa loved nutmeg!" drink!

I like IronChef and Good Eats the best.

[supernova]

23. Don't let GOPisEvil

hear you. He has a thing for Rachel. ;-)

[forgethell]

3. Alton Brown -good eats

I love the food science behind the show.

Although he makes several mistakes when talking about the metallurgy of pots and pans.

But, hey, his recipes WORK. I had the dry-aged standing rib roast for Christmas. Oh, boy!!

[lpbk2713]

31. Yes, Alton Brown

Gives "good-to-know" info along with the "need-to-know".

[ChemEng]

39. Agreed! I loved using his brining recipe for a roast turkey (n/t)

[tinrobot]

45. I love Alton...

But I tried his brining recipe on thanksgiving and it turned out pretty bad. Salty and kind of dry...

Went back to the old tried and true for Christmas... much, much better.

[MaineDem]

4. Barefoot Contessa rocks!

She used to work in the White House as a nuclear consultant or something. I love her style.

I like Molto Mario and that woman who does Everyday Italian.

[Kathy in Cambridge]

5. I do, but I like the PBS Cooking Shows Better

America's Test Kitchen
Michael Chiarello's Napa
Jules and Jacques Cooking at Home
Ciao Italia
Lidia's Italian Kitchen
Simply Ming

On my local PBS affiliate WGBH on Saturday afternoons.

[mopinko]

11. julia and jacque

'cooking in concert' the funniest cooking show i ever saw.

[Ramsey]

12. Ming Tsai

I saw his show for the first time last week. he has everything! He was the X-games/adventurer/dardevil/fighting/kicking-ass/outdoorsman chef.

He went rock climbing up some ice cliff, hunted down some deer then cooked up a venison dish outside on a big grill! I was laughing the whole show, it was so over the top.

[LadyDemocrat]

6. Rachel Ray & Tyler Florence are my favorites

How about 24/7 does that sound like I am a Food Network junkie?

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

7. I really miss the two fat ladies

They were my all time favorites with their country cuisine and their cigs hanging out of their mouths while they cooked.

[Maddy McCall]

9. Oh I adored two fat ladies. Remember the motorbike with the sidecar??

LOL!

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

19. Yep!

[Hogarth]

16. They were the best!

But then Jennifer died, and the show died with her. I wish someone would show their reruns and those of the Cajun Cook episodes, I gah-rone-tee!

[Maddy McCall]

18. Justin Wilson...I met him...actually cooked for him one time...

He made homemade biscuits and I canned some fig preserves for him. HE was a cool old guy. He lived only a couple of miles from me during the last five or ten years of his life.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

21. I loved that guy!

Have a few of his books!

[Maddy McCall]

24. Ya know, he had an image as a grandfatherly old lush, but in all actuality

he was a very smart, practical businessman. His home was really cool...a lake house with a huge bar in it, covered with paperwork that he himself kept up with.

And in "real life" he didn't act or talk like the tv Justin. He was kind of cocky too.

But he was nice and I liked him. (He liked younger women...LOL!...and was going through a divorce from a woman much his junior when he moved to my hometown. ;-) )

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

36. Wasn't he married to that pretty photographer?

[Hogarth]

27. Good old Yoo-stahn!

I'd love to see some channel run a marathon.

[trof]

57. Get out! You knew Justin?

I'm impressed.
I used to have a couple of his comedy albums.
Love to watch him cookin' his soul/comfort food.
I GAHR-ON-TEE!

[Maddy McCall]

8. Remember the show Taste, with the guy who presented tasteful things?

I guess that's the best way to say it. He seemed REALLY pretentious.

The set was simple--just a couple of chrome racks with vases and the like behind him.

What was his name? David something? I can't remember.

The only thing he ever did that I tried was a pizza crust and sundried tomato topping recipe--it was delicious and the crust was to die for.

What was his name. Is he or his show still on the Food Network?

[mopinko]

13. long gone

i though the was a dork, too. david rosengard? something like that.

[Carni]

14. David Rosengarten (sp?)

He put out a cookbook called "The Dean and Deluca cookbook" a few years ago. I have it and it's OK... although I think the success
of the recipes in his book depends mainly on the quality of the ingredients. (In other words if you didn't have access to great markets the recipes would leave a lot to be desired!)

[Maddy McCall]

17. If I could find that pizza crust recipe I would buy his cookbook...

I am telling you, it was delicious. It called for flour, yeast, and MILK. Yes, MILK. And you cooked it at 550 degrees. It was soooo good.

[Sentath]

33. Thats the man, now appearing

as a guest wine expert on 'the splendid table'

[kixot]

22. FN watcher checking in.

Favorite hosts:
1. Ming Tsai
2. Alton Brown
3. Tyler Florence

Least Favorite hosts:
1. Jaqui Malouf (Flay's co-host)
3. Sara Moulton
4. Wolfgang Puck

Cutest host:
Rachael Ray

Favorite Show:
Iron Chef

[SheilaT]

25. I love 30 minute meals!

She actually fixes meals that are edible and anyone can make.

I kind of like Nigella also.

[supernova]

26. I love Food Network

They seem to remember what other channels forgot a long time ago. That is that you really have to entertain people before you sell them stuff.

Unwrapped is a fun show.

[Whitacre D_WI]

28. Rachel Ray makes me want to stick my Henckels filet knife...

UNDER MY GODDAMN FINGERNAILS!

My GOD! is that woman tedious!

Otherwise, yes, I watch a great deal of TVFN.

On second thought, Rachel isn't so bad on $40 a Day -- but I can't watch 30 Minute Meals without reverting to an infantile state (complete with drooling and pooping myself).

[supernova]

29. (Insert City) on $40/day

The only thing that irks me about that show is she doesn't tip the wait staff, which I think is wrong. Esp since she's bringing in a TV crew (who also have to be fed) to advertise the establishment.

[LadyDemocrat]

30. I think that their meals are 86'ed also

They are not paying for their food because the restaurant is getting free advertisement.

[SpaceCatMeetsMars]

32. Also, Chairman Kaga is the greatest. I loved the time when

he was pouting in France and wouldn't come into the kitchen because he was mad about his chefs losing. I thought he was going to burn down the castle.

Also, I thought Bobby Flay was embarrassing the time he was on the Iron Chef.

[sleepyhead]

35. Bobby Flay

Not only stood on his cutting board, which was gross, but was disrespectful of his cooking implements (cutting board included) according to the chefs who observed him. I hear from people who know him that he is totally insufferable, which I can truly believe from watching him. Other than that, I love the Iron Chef!

[tinrobot]

47. ...and then he came back

For a second time and put a rag on the cutting board before he stood on it. But he still stood on it. Jerk.

I swear they let him win the second time just to shut him up.

[Hogarth]

46. I second that observation

He played the rude, unsophisticated, ugly American--not unlike our president. I can stomach him when he does his own shows, but his performance on Iron Chef was nauseating to watch.

[tjdee]

34. Jamie Oliver...what even is his show called anymore LOL...Pukka....Naked..

Jamie Oliver is adorable--and I like the idea of just taking stuff and making it for a bunch of friends (even if the "friend" situation is manufactured for the show LOL). I dig his show whether it's "The Naked Chef" or "Pukka Tukka"...maybe I should say "dug" his show...don't even know if it's still on!

And why isn't Nigella Lawson's show on the Food Network?

The Iron Chef is classic though. Really fun to watch.

[T_i_B]

54. Jamie Oliver is the devil

Regardless of the fact that I saw him on the big anti-war demo in London last year Jamie Oliver really gets on my goat. I think that the Sainsbury's ads, the "mockney wanker" routine and the massive ego might have something to do with that.

[Bertha Venation]

37. I did when it was good. Now it sucks.

The only thing I enjoy on there now is "Unwrapped," and sometimes "Good Eats." I miss "Two Hot Tamales" and "Two Fat Ladies." (I know, one of the FLs died. But they were a scream.)

The only person more inane than Rachel Ray is the woman on "Sweet Dreams." Ugh. If you want to show me how to cook dessert, get off the set and get a decent pastry chef in there.

I much prefer "WETA Cooks" -- cooking shows on one of my local PBS stations, four hours on Saturday afternoons. Julia & Jacques and Lydia super-Italian-last-name are my favorites.

[supernova]

40. The Southern Lady

grates, on me too. I forget her name right now. The Lady from Gawja. And I had saying that about fellow southerners. But she's just way too precious.

[Dirty Hippie]

56. Paula Dean - Paula Dean - Paula Dean

From Awl-binny Gawga. Her recipies are the only ones my partner will allow me to cook. We are both southern gals. I love her show, even more for her accent.

Do you know Egg Nog has a "W" in it? - Egg Nawg.

Edit- Spellin'

[Zomby Woof]

38. Coming in 2 weeks...

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/show_ld



Rock musicians and food lovers Dweezil Zappa and Lisa Loeb are hitting the road in search of musical and culinary adventures. From dining on Southern specialties with the Indigo Girls in Atlanta, to chowin' down at the Zappa family's breakfast pancake party, this dynamic duo is out to find good times and great food. Join them as they discover new regional culinary delights with famous chefs and friends across the country.

Dweezil & Lisa premieres on Friday, January 16 at 10 pm ET/PT.

[grasswire]

41. hate Iron Chef

Just cannot stand to watch it. Ever.

And how surprising that in this whole thread there isn't one mention of Emeril!

Agh Bobby Flay. Thumbs down.

I love Mario's food but his voice grates on me sometimes.

[grasswire]

42. If you ever....

.....get hold of David Rosengarten's pecan pie recipe, you'll never let it go. It's divine. I had it, and lost it.

[Hogarth]

49. Emeril would do well to use new lines...

...instead of using the same ones over and over and over:

"'Cuz I don't know where you buy *your* chicken,
but in my neighborhood, it don't come seasoned."

The audience laughs every time he says it; and then there's that "Are you with me, so far?" (What?--are they supposed to be taking notes?) Yet they all respond in the affirmative. I'd love for an audience member to say, "No! Can you repeat that last step, please?"

Still, I like the show ... not for his personality (Bam!), but for the content of his menus.

Bam! Bam!

[supernova]

43. Emeril is so-so

Sorry, I don't understand the hype. Sara Moulton is way more educated than he is and a better teacher, IMO.

Emeril is only fun if you think of him as a refridgerator equivalent of that guy who follows letterman.

I adore Iron Chef. It's the pefect parody of the WWF.

[Kathy in Cambridge]

44. Sara Moulton is great

I don't like Emeril either.

[tishaLA]

51. Yeah Sara is wonderful

but I wish she wouldn't play "ditzy" so often. She's my favorite on the netowrk though, followed by the wicked Barefoot Contessa, who is like a Martha Stewart on prozac who doesn't give a fuck. She made a bread pudding with COISSANTS on her holiday show. What more do you need to say?

I thoroughly despise Ereril and Rachel. Rachel's crap with her sayings like "EVOO"--you always tell us what it IS anyhow, Rachel, so just say it the first time--and her accent make me nuts.

[DEM FAN]

48. TFN Is GREAT. I Wonder What Happened To Robin Dorian. She Is A

BABE. ;-)

[GOPisEvil]

50. If y'all are gonna hate on my Rachael, at least spell her name correctly!

She rules! Yeah, she's cutesy, but who cares? She's HOT, and she can cook! Plus, the 30 minute meals leave more time for "dessert". ;-)

[SpaceCatMeetsMars]

52. That's right, you and she have time for dessert" together

because SHE doesn't bake. Her sister's the baker!

[RebelOne]

53. Yes, Iron Chef here, too.

[Zech Marquis]

55. hey man, don't be dissing Rachel!

she's MINE!!! :evilgrin:

I like Saturday night the most, when they show the different international cooking contests (the really big one in France--actually there are at least 2, one for baking, the other for cuisine). I was wondering why Nigella was stuck on E! myself...