# What happened to the Food Network? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 7, 2009, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-food-network/484820 "2009-02-07T18:30:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2009, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-food-network/484820/101 "2009-02-10T15:23:10Z")
Choie, I’m glad you noticed that about Ina Garten’s “expensive, perfect for that East Hampton beach house recipes”. I only watched her show once and all I remember is her packing up a big picnic basket and RUNNING on her teeny little feet, like a dancing hippo from Fantasia, to put it into her expensive little car. And driving off to that beach house picnic 90 miles an hour. Creeped me out for some reason. I’d rather watch RayRay making some mess that she swore the family was “just gonna LOVE”. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2009, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-food-network/484820/102 "2009-02-10T15:54:45Z")
> [@salinqmind](#): > > Choie, I’m glad you noticed that about Ina Garten’s “expensive, perfect for that East Hampton beach house recipes”. I only watched her show once and all I remember is her packing up a big picnic basket and RUNNING on her teeny little feet, like a dancing hippo from Fantasia, to put it into her expensive little car. And driving off to that beach house picnic 90 miles an hour. Creeped me out for some reason. I’d rather watch RayRay making some mess that she swore the family was “just gonna LOVE”. Ooh, yes, she bugs me. All of her wealthy and/or ‘artiste’ friends, her I’m-sorry-but-he-just-acts-like-a-closet-case husband, everything. I laughed my head off when I saw an episode where she obviously had a cold, and instead of her very focused and precise, softened accent, a very harsh and blatantly New York accent (I couldn’t quite pick which variation seemed closest) was present. It made her seem like she’d been covering up a less “posh” accent but couldn’t manage with her sore throat. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2009, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-food-network/484820/103 "2009-02-10T16:01:16Z")
Well, I think he is a professor at Yale or something. ---
**Author:** ![choie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/choie/32/7829_2.png) [@choie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/choie)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2009, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-food-network/484820/104 "2009-02-10T16:10:52Z")
I just remember my tipping point with Ina was her making some kind of seafood stew or lobster pot pie that contained lobster, scallops, and a bunch of other ingredients that would’ve made the dish cost a week’s salary. Not that I expected her to showcase dishes made of Cheez Whiz and Ritz crackers (that’s Sandra Lee’s province) but come _on_, lady! Also her obsession with lemon zest was kinda hilarious. ---
**Author:** ![Mahna\_Mahna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e47c2d/32.png) [@Mahna\_Mahna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahna_Mahna)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2009, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-food-network/484820/105 "2009-02-10T18:15:44Z")
Funny, I don’t mind Ina Garten’s food at all. In fact, she’s one of the few FN chefs whose recipes I use. Her recipes are perfect un-fussy dishes you can serve to company - not too convoluted in terms of prep work or technique, usually made from relatively easy to find ingredients, and just fancy enough to be impressive. She doesn’t skimp on butter or salt for the sake of playing healthy, nor does she substitute ingredients for the sake of being cheap… I can relate to that, at least more so than someone who tries to convince me to make a seafood pie using imitation crab flakes and a can of cream of mushroom soup. The only problem I have with Ina is Ina herself. That nervous giggle… it makes my skin crawl every time she titters over something not even remotely funny. Add to that the obnoxious friends and the I-can’t-believe-he’s-straight husband, and I can’t make it through more than a few minutes of her show. ---
**Author:** ![Sapo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Sapo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sapo)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2009, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-food-network/484820/106 "2009-02-10T18:41:48Z")
Ina Garten is the barefoot contessa, right? She bores me to no end, but I love her food. She is better read than watched. We once got a free subscription to some home magazine that featured a column by her. It is the only thing I miss from that magazine. ---
**Author:** ![Lightray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightray/32/391_2.png) [@Lightray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightray)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2009, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-food-network/484820/107 "2009-02-10T18:49:50Z")
Every one of Giada’s recipes I’ve tried have turned out fantastic. And I’ve tried quite a few of hers. Less of Ina’s, but they’ve all turned out quite well (even when I don’t use the “good” vanilla). I find their shows okay; their personalities and guests annoying. I’ve only tried a few Nigella recipes, but watching her show is like food porn. Good Eats is fantastic, but I tend not to try Alton’s stuff because I’m not interested in kit-bashing my kitchen together. Rachael is _really_ hit-or-miss. Mostly miss, since all she does is variants on burgers or pasta glops. Pauler and Sandra seem to think it is perfectly acceptable to throw cans of cream of \ soup into their recipes. I’m just puzzled as to why people like that are even allowed _near_ food. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2009, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-food-network/484820/108 "2009-02-10T19:04:11Z")
> [@Sigmagirl](#): > > Well, I think he is a professor at Yale or something. Close, but a tad misleading: [Jeffrey Garten](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeffrey_Garten) ---
**Author:** ![Prelude\_to\_Fascination](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Prelude\_to\_Fascination](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prelude_to_Fascination)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2009, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-food-network/484820/109 "2009-02-10T19:13:55Z")
I like Ina. Boring to some, I think she’s mellow, and a good counterbalance to Rache and Paula’s incessant screeches. Plus I like the music they use for her show. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2009, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-food-network/484820/110 "2009-02-10T20:34:30Z")
For other shows that actually feature cooking and which I like to watch: - The short-lived Party Line with the Hearty Boys, with Steve and Dan, winners of one of the Next Food Network Stars competitions. They’re very party-centered, which is kind of a limited audience for a show, so I can kind of see why it didn’t become that popular. They did do a good job of making their topics appealing and of making neat food pretty simply. Plus they’re good at joking around without being loud and obnoxious about it. - Healthy Appetite with Ellie Krieger. Appealing personality, good nutritional info (from a registered dietician), yummy-sounding healthy food. She’s very pleasant, makes things seem accessible to home cooks, and doesn’t get all brown-rice-and-tofu voice of doom about nutrition. - Quick Fix Meals with Robin Miller. I hate the show’s theme song (listen, I really don’t care if a TV chef has a hectic life, I care about my **own** , OK?) but that’s my worst quibble about it. She should be more popular than Rachael Ray, but doesn’t have the cutesy phrases and incessant mugging for the camera to “endear” her to the audience, I guess. Plus she actually mentions things like pre-planning for meals later in the week with your prep time, and less emphasis on packaged foods, so I suspect that scares more people off too. I like recipes from Giada de Laurentiis and Ina Garten, but am not a big fan of watching their shows. The cleavage display on the former is not something I like to see (and certainly gives a whole new meaning to the concept of FN shows being “food pr0n” - something appealing to watch but which you’ll probably never do :eek: ) and her ‘overpronunciation’ of Italian words grates after a while. For Garten, I’ve already listed my personality clash with her. Tyler Florence has some good shows on basics of cooking; don’t overlook him. Of course Alton Brown’s praises have already been sung sufficiently. I thought the “Rescue Chef” show was cute but lightweight on first view. Repeat viewings have shown the conceit to be “soccer-playing/cooking hottie picks up serious babe at supermarket to cook with her.” :smack: ---
**Author:** ![badbadrubberpiggy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/57b2e6/32.png) [@badbadrubberpiggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/badbadrubberpiggy)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2009, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-food-network/484820/111 "2009-02-10T20:53:42Z")
> [@Lightray](#): > > Rachael is _really_ hit-or-miss. Mostly miss, since all she does is variants on burgers or pasta glops. > > . I’ve tried a few of her recipes, some have been good. But her 30 minute meals only take 30 minutes if you have someone to do both the prep\* and the cleanup. \*She also buys a lot of pre-cut veggies and stuff, which is more expensive than cutting them yourself ---
**Author:** ![SaharaTea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@SaharaTea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SaharaTea)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2009, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-food-network/484820/112 "2009-02-10T21:43:06Z")
Has Bobby Flay sufficiently atoned for his past assholery? That’s what the whole concept of “Throwdown” seemed to be about. I loved _Boy Meets Grill_ and wish Flay would get a real cooking show again. The thing that annoys me most about FN (besides RayRay) is the number of stupid food challenges, and they’re usually about cake. Best wedding cake, best engagement cake, best birthday cake, best I-just-took-a-dump cake. Enough with the challenges already!! ---
**Author:** ![DoctorJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctorj/32/2904_2.png) [@DoctorJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DoctorJ)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2009, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-food-network/484820/113 "2009-02-10T22:17:49Z")
> [@](#): > > I loved Boy Meets Grill and wish Flay would get a real cooking show again. _Grill It!_ is pretty good. (If it’s still on.) Ina Garten has a lot of really great and useful recipes–probably more than any other Food Network chef–but it’s hard to take them seriously because her show might as well take place on another planet. Just how many gay florists are there in the Hamptons, anyway? ---
**Author:** ![Unintentionally\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unintentionally_blank/32/5418_2.png) [@Unintentionally\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unintentionally_Blank)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2009, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-food-network/484820/114 "2009-02-10T22:48:18Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > I’m never soothed by a 30-minute-long commercial for the most fake and processed comestibles in the world. Okay, someof them are my favourite junk foods. That doesn’t mean I want to watch a commercial narrated by an oily 50s-deejay-voiced dude. I like the fact that they interview people (I think they’re people, the look like people) that are completely wired differently to someone that, I dunno, cooks. You thicken a gravy with flour…they ‘enhance the flavor profile of the product with an emulsifier that’s as satisfying as it is cheap’. Food is NOT a product. And yeah, I like my orange cheetos, but don’t freeking care than an unflavored cheeto is a collette. ---
**Author:** ![oliversarmy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/eb8c5e/32.png) [@oliversarmy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/oliversarmy)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2009, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-food-network/484820/115 "2009-02-10T23:00:18Z")
I’ve never tried Ina Garten’s recipes, but they seem they should be good. I don’t like her for some reason, but when I watch the way she cooks and the ingredients she uses, it seems they would work. I’ve tried recipes by Tyler and that woman on “Secrets of a Restaurant” chef and they came out great. (Her recent braised chicken was wonderful when I tried it, but it did take awhile). Also, Giada’s recipes always seem to work. Not so much Rachel, but I don’t dislike her. Although I really enjoy Alton Brown, I find his recipes don’t come out the way I expected, with the exception of Good Green Bean Casserole. It really is good. ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2009, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-food-network/484820/116 "2009-02-11T05:54:49Z")
> [@oliversarmy](#): > > Although I really enjoy Alton Brown, I find his recipes don’t come out the way I expected, with the exception of Good Green Bean Casserole. It really is good. You need to try his chocolate lava muffins. You can foul this up all ways from Sunday and it is still good (omit ingredients, substitute ingredients, etc.): Recipe Summary Prep Time: 20 minutes Cook Time: 11 minutes Inactive Prep Time: 1 minute Yield: 1 dozen 8 ounces semisweet chocolate chips 1 stick butter 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/2 cup sugar 3 tablespoons flour 1/4 teaspoon salt 4 eggs Butter, to coat muffin tin 1 tablespoon cocoa powder 1 cup vanilla ice cream 1 teaspoon espresso powder Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Place a small metal bowl over a saucepan with simmering water. Melt the chocolate and butter in the bowl. Stir in vanilla. In a large mixing bowl, combine sugar, flour and salt. Sift these into the chocolate and mix well with electric hand mixer. Add eggs one at time, fully incorporating each egg before adding the next. Beat at high until batter is creamy and lightens in color, approximately 4 minutes. Chill mixture. Coat the top and each cup of the muffin tin with butter. Dust with the cocoa powder and shake out excess. Spoon mixture into pan using a 4-ounce scoop or ladle. Bake for 10 to 11 minutes. Outsides should be cake-like and centers should be gooey. While muffins are in oven, melt the ice cream in a small saucepan. Stir in the espresso powder. Serve over warm muffins. ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2009, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-food-network/484820/117 "2009-02-11T06:44:34Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > A long time ago you could turn on the Food Network and be pretty sure that you’d see someone making food. My favorite early Food Network show was Taste with David Rosengarten. It was the most educational cooking show I’ve ever seen, more even than _Good Eats_. David would talk about a particular food, and show all the ways it would be made wrong. > > One very memorable show was about scrambled eggs. He showed three examples of terrible, typical scrambled eggs - “extended” with milk or other fillers, overcooked dry and tasteless, etc. Then he showed three amazing ways to make scrambled eggs - the French double-boiler, mixing in cream cheese and my favorite - cooking them very, very slowly so they turn orange and are almost like cheese. > > The production value of the show was non-existent. It was a stove and a counter top in a empty, white studio. Food made in the Featureless Void. But it was compelling television. I had to jump back to respond to this. _ **Taste** _ remains my all-time favorite show on the FN for the reasons stated. (e.g., the best hamburgers require five different cuts ground and mixed together.) I think I have all of the recipes with my added notes from the show. Given enough time and technology (they are on my old Mac SE-30, which is in storage), I might be able to educate a new generation of \*\*\*Taste \*\*\* fans. One episode made me into a hard core foodie. Retsina is a Greek wine which is pretty nasty - it smells and tastes like turpentine. But it matches perfectly with: \*\*Spinach And Olive-Stuffed Chicken Thighs \*\* Yield: 6 Servings Ingredients 6 Chicken thighs; boned 1/4 ts Salt 1 tb Lemon juice 6 tb Olive oil; divided 1/2 ts Ground marjoram 12 Kalamata olives; chopped 1 Garlic clove; coarsely chopped 1/2 lb Spinach; washed, stemmed 8 tb Butter; divided 1 c Snipped dill; divided - plus 1/2 tb Chopped fresh dill 1/2 c Crumbled feta cheese Salt; to taste Freshly-ground black pepper; to taste 2 Leeks; chopped 2 c Chicken stock 3 tb Flour 4 Eggs 1/4 c Lemon juice 2 tb Plain yogurt Instructions Marinating chicken thighs: In a mixing bowl rub thighs with salt, lemon juice, 2 tablespoons olive oil, marjoram and pepper. Add the olive pieces and garlic, mix well. Cover and marinate for 6 hours. Spinach stuffing: In a large pan melt 1 tablespoon butter over medium heat. Add spinach and 3/4 cup dill, cook for 3 to 5 minutes, or until spinach is wilted. Remove from heat. When cool enough to handle squeeze excess moisture from spinach mixture and toss with feta cheese, salt and pepper. Reserve. Avgolemono sauce: In a small saucepan saute leeks in 2 tablespoons butter. Add chicken stock and simmer for 30 minutes. In a separate saucepan melt 3 tablespoons of butter. Add flour and stir over medium heat for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and strain stock into the roux all at once, whisking until thickened. Reserve. Stuff and saute chicken thighs: Remove olives from the marinade. Chop into small pieces and mix with spinach mixture. Remove chicken thighs from marinade, discard garlic pieces. Smooth out skin of each thigh and create a pocket. Divide spinach mixture and stuff each thigh between skin and meat. Dust with flour on both sides. Heat two skillets over medium-high heat and melt 1 tablespoon of butter in 2 tablespoons of olive oil in each. When foam subsides, add 3 chicken thighs to each skillet. Saute for 5 minutes per side or until golden brown. Yogurt garnish: In a bowl mix together yogurt and 1/2 tablespoon chopped dill. To finish: Beat eggs, 1/4 cup lemon juice and remaining 1/4 cup dill into sauce. Taste for seasoning. Warm gently over low heat; do not boil, it will curdle. Drain chicken thighs on paper towels. Place each on dinner plate and pour warmed sauce around. Top with 1 tablespoon of yogurt garnish and a small sprig of dill. This recipe yields 6 servings. Recipe Source: TASTE with David Rosengarten From the TV FOOD NETWORK - (Show # TS-4747 broadcast 04-21-1998) Downloaded from their Web-Site - [http://www.foodtv.com](http://www.foodtv.com) ---
**Author:** ![Sapo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Sapo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sapo)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2009, 9:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-food-network/484820/118 "2009-02-11T09:39:25Z")
> [@oliversarmy](#): > > … > I’ve tried recipes by Tyler and that woman on “Secrets of a Restaurant” chef and they came out great. (Her recent braised chicken was wonderful when I tried it, but it did take awhile). Also, Giada’s recipes always seem to work. Not so much Rachel, but I don’t dislike her. > … The female Guy Fieri on Secrets of a Restaurant Chef does cook stuff that looks right. It took me a bit to get used to her (and I will never get used to her humor), but she cooks food that makes sense in a very Tyler/Giada kind of way. ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2009, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-food-network/484820/119 "2009-02-11T11:55:56Z")
> [@oliversarmy](#): > > Although I really enjoy Alton Brown, I find his recipes don’t come out the way I expected, with the exception of Good Green Bean Casserole. It really is good. One thing I find with his recipes is that you do have to follow them closely in terms of ingredient amounts and technique. His schtick is to show how to do it right. Robin ---
**Author:** ![Lightray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightray/32/391_2.png) [@Lightray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightray)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2009, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-food-network/484820/120 "2009-02-11T15:09:07Z")
> [@Sapo](#): > > The female Guy Fieri on Secrets of a Restaurant Chef does cook stuff that looks right. It took me a bit to get used to her (and I will never get used to her humor), but she cooks food that makes sense in a very Tyler/Giada kind of way. I’ve only watched her a few times (and was later surprised when she showed up as a sous chef on Iron Chef US), and while her food looked great, the sheer volume of _salt_ she used almost made my heart seize up. Explains a whole lot about why I’m always complaining that restaurant food is way too salty. I’m also curious how she escaped the FN makeover machine… hell, even Pauler got put through that. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-food-network/484820.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-food-network/484820.md?page=7)