Questionable Skills of Cooking Show Hosts on Food Network

[Evo]

Why aren't the original Iron Chef shows available on DVD? I would buy all of them.

 

[Moonbear]

In the original Iron Chef, not only was the ingredient usually unique, they also spent some time talking about the ingredient and showing where it came from, so you had some understanding.

Another HUGE difference that turns me off to the Amercan version is that they are forced to prepare 5 dishes. In the original Japanese version, there was no minimum number of dishes, which allowed the chef to focus more on quality and not on quantity. Part of the surprise was in hearing the announcement of how many dishes the chef was going to try to prepare, and then see if they were able to make them all. In the American version, all you see is the camera flying from one close up to another while Alton is talking a mile a minute. You don't actually get to watch more than 5 seconds at a time of anyone actually cooking. You see a flash of something being peeled, wine being splashed into a pan, a flame, someone's hand dropping meat into a pan. It's ridiculous. You can't get a feel for what they are preparing or why. Suddenly at the end after all these haphazard snippets, you see food appearing.

I hadn't realized there was a rule on number of dishes (you can tell I don't watch the American version very much...I used to watch the Japanese version every chance I got). Yes, I remember that from the Japanese version, they'd actually pause on one chef for a while as they did something really interesting, and you could see some of how the technique was done.

Well they talked about it on a nightly news program. They said that they give the chefs 3 possible secret ingredients and one will actually be presented to them. I don't find it to be too much of a challenge if you can plan what you are going to cook ahead of time.

Ah, that would be consistent with the comments I heard on the show...if they were told a couple possible ingredients, and I heard them talking about strategizing about those, not that they were thinking of as many possibilities as they could ahead of time.

Too bad, the "ingredients" are pretty normal. I remember the time on Iron chef Japan, the secret ingredient was a large tuna. Morimoto went and grilled the eyeballs of the fish. That was entertaining.

I saw one where they garnished the ice cream with a sugared fin of a fish. I can't remember if the judges ate the fin though...they might have. That was half the fun, watching the judges eat fish ice cream just to see how they reacted. "Mmm, it's interesting. The fish gives a saltiness to the ice cream, and the squid ink is a nice touch."

Leftovers anyone?

THAT would be a great secret ingredient! Give them something like a roast chicken and see what they can do with it.

I thought that was on the American version. (I remember some sort of tool they brought in..a screwdriver and nails) I think that the competition is ruined if they know what they are cooking ahead of time as opposed to having extra tools.

Oh, I must not have been clear. Yes, the American version let's them bring their own tools. I was just wondering if the Japanese version did too, or if those chefs had to rely more on what they could find there. It's really no contest at all if you both know the "secret" ingredient AND can bring all the tools and other ingredients you want to bring. They might as well not even bother and just go to their restaurants to get served a meal featuring the ingredient.

Did anyone but me notice that the Iron Chef America cameras always turn away when it comes to killing things? Like fish? (seriously people) The Japanese version just gave it to you like it was.

I hadn't noticed. I don't pay a lot of attention though. Then again, Iron Chef America wimps out and usually gives them things that are already dead. The Japanese one would just put out a tank of eels and give them a net.

And the announcer in the Japanese show would say something like "oh, I see what he's doing. He's going to chill the fish eyes and reduce the urine into a syrup." then they cut to the actress who says "MMMM, chilled" I wonder how accurate the translations were.

And, the Japanese version wouldn't ask the competitors what they were doing...if the announcer couldn't figure it out, you had to wait until the judging to find out what was made. There was more suspense. On the American version, they'll pester the chefs until they tell them what they're doing.

 

[wolram]

They should give them some country ingredients like hedgehog and nettles, that would stump them.

 

[Evo]

I had planned to watch Paula Dean's "deep Fried NY Party" the other night, but got the time wrong.

I had seen the preview that mentioned "deep fried bagels". Well, it's not only deep fried bagels, it also has battered and deep fried tomatoes and fried capers on it as well.

It actually sounds yummy, if it doesn't matter that it's all deep fried and and a million calories compared to the unfried version of it.

Deep-Fried Bagel Sandwich Recipe courtesy Paula Deen, 2008
Show: Paula's Party
Episode: Deep Fried NY Party

Peanut oil, for frying
2 everything NY bagels, sliced in 1/2
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup milk
1 cup self-rising flour
6 ounces smoked salmon, thinly sliced
1 red onion, sliced thin
Chive cream cheese, recipe follows
Fried tomatoes, recipe follows
Fried capers, recipe follows

Preheat oil to 375 degrees F.
Beat eggs with milk in a 9 by 9 by 13-inch baking dish. Dip the bagels in the egg mixture and dredge in flour. Carefully transfer bagels into the deep fryer. Remove when golden and brown; turning once half way through the cooking process. Transfer to a paper towel lined sheet tray to drain with tongs. Let cool completely.

Top with chive cream cheese, slices of smoked salmon, thinly sliced red onion, fried tomatoes and fried capers.


Chive Cream Cheese:
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, room temperature
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh chives

Stir together cream cheese and chives in a mixing bowl until evenly combined.

Fried Tomatoes:
1 large firm tomato
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 cup self-rising flour
Vegetable oil, for frying
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat deep-fryer to 375 degrees F.

Slice the tomatoes 1/4-inch thick and sprinkle with salt. Place the tomato slices in a colander and allow time for the salt to pull the water out of the tomatoes, approximately 30 minutes. Dip the tomatoes in buttermilk, then dredge them in the flour. Deep-fry until golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes, turning them halfway through the cooking process with tongs. Drain on paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Keep warm until serving.


Fried Capers:
Vegetable oil, for frying
1/4 cup capers, drained

Preheat deep-fryer to 375 degrees F.

Dry capers on a paper towel. Fry for 40 seconds. Remove with a spider or fine sieve to a paper towel lined sheet tray to drain.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/deep-fried-bagel-sandwich-recipe/index.html

 

[Evo]

Gordon Ramsay not Food Network

Tonight is a special 2 hour Gordon Ramsay "Kitchen Knightmares" where he will be revisiting restaurants he tried to save last season to see if they took his advice.

I LOVE THIS MAN!

So, aside from commercial breaks, I will be glued to the tv set for the next two hours.

 

[Math Is Hard]

They should give them some country ingredients like hedgehog and nettles, that would stump them.

Tonight is a special 2 hour Gordon Ramsay "Kitchen Knightmares" where he will be revisiting restaurants he tried to save last season to see if they took his advice.

I'd like to see that. It sounds like a really good idea for a show.

 

[wolram]

My bean pie?

1 200grm tin red beans in chili sauce
1 200grm tin baked beans
1 cup plain flour
2 fried sausages chopped up
200grm strong cheese
200grm butter
1 carrot
Put beans in baking dish
Add sausages
Thinly slice carrot and put on top of beans

Crumble cheese and mix with flour, season , add 200grms butter and form a rough crumble,
sprinkle onto beans and bake for 30 mins

 

[Evo]

I would have sworn it would never happen, but I now like Paula Dean, and enjoy watching her deep fry anything she can get into a deep fryer. She reached a new height the other day. She was making a cake, and after the cake layers had cooled, she dipped them in batter and DEEP FRIED them. She then assembled the deep fried cake layers and put a thick coating of heavy cream cheese frosting over it. I am in awe of this woman. Sometimes you have to admit that eating healthy isn't always satisfying and if I'm going to take risks in life, let it be with food. :!)

On the other hand, Rachel Ray. She was cooking a piece of meat and told viewers to get a good caramelization on the meat. "you want to get all of those sugars in the meat caramelized". Uhm, Rachel, you can caramelize onions, but you "brown" meat, which is referred to as the browning or Maillard reaction. Has anyone put together a list of misinformation this bimbo has spewed out? It has to be lengthy.

Perhaps I should send her a link about the differences? http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3289/is_/ai_n30917291

 

[Moonbear]

I would have sworn it would never happen, but I now like Paula Dean, and enjoy watching her deep fry anything she can get into a deep fryer. She reached a new height the other day. She was making a cake, and after the cake layers had cooled, she dipped them in batter and DEEP FRIED them. She then assembled the deep fried cake layers and out a thick coating of heavy cream cheese frosting over it. I am in awe of this woman. Sometimes you have to admit that eating healthy isn't always satisfying and if I'm going to take risks in life, let it be with food. :!)

There's nothing wrong with having deep-fried food...as long as you don't do it all the time. Deep-fried cake sounds like a calorie nightmare, but since when is dessert supposed to be healthy anyway. Just have a smaller piece.

On the other hand, Rachel Ray. She was cooking a piece of meat and told viewers to get a good caramelization on the meat. "you want to get all of those sugars in the meat caramelized". Uhm, Rachel, you can caramelize onions, but you "brown" meat, which is referred to as the browning or Maillard reaction. Has anyone put together a list of misinformation this bimbo has spewed out? It has to be lengthy.

There is now some sort of Rachel Ray clone on the Food Network too. I don't know who it is, I just heard the show come on while I was in another room, and quickly returned to change the channel. She was also using really cutesy expressions, but if E-V-O-O wasn't bad enough, this one kept calling oil, "Erl." "Then you add the erl, extra virgin of course."

 

[larkspur]

I would have sworn it would never happen, but I now like Paula Dean, and enjoy watching her deep fry anything she can get into a deep fryer. She reached a new height the other day. She was making a cake, and after the cake layers had cooled, she dipped them in batter and DEEP FRIED them. She then assembled the deep fried cake layers and out a thick coating of heavy cream cheese frosting over it. I am in awe of this woman. Sometimes you have to admit that eating healthy isn't always satisfying and if I'm going to take risks in life, let it be with food. :!)

On the other hand, Rachel Ray. She was cooking a piece of meat and told viewers to get a good caramelization on the meat. "you want to get all of those sugars in the meat caramelized". Uhm, Rachel, you can caramelize onions, but you "brown" meat, which is referred to as the browning or Maillard reaction. Has anyone put together a list of misinformation this bimbo has spewed out? It has to be lengthy.

Perhaps I should send her a link about the differences? http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3289/is_/ai_n30917291

My mom and I went to Savannah a couple of years ago and ate at Paula's restaurant. Mom is a fan and asked to meet her. They took us back behind the buffet and we met Paula and her husband. They were so nice and much thinner looking in person. I bought her cookbook and she signed it for me. Now I am a fan too!

 

[Evo]

Oh no! Paula Dean has just battered and deep fried individual asparagus spears. There is nothing this woman will not batter and deep fry. She deep fried an entire ham too!

I think the worst thing I ever saw was battered and deep fried slices of bacon. A deep fried heart attack waiting to happen. Oh, and they were served with cream gravy.

 

[Evo]

Oh no. They just made barbecued pork sushi, battered and deep fried. I'll bet it tastes good, but battered, deep fried seaweed?

 

[LowlyPion]

Oh no. They just made barbecued pork sushi, battered and deep fried. I'll bet it tastes good, but battered, deep fried seaweed?

Is that Paula Dean frying up pork sushi?

I think there's one exercise her family doesn't get much of and that's pushing themselves away from the table. Some of the cholesterol laden stuff she creates makes the hair on the back of my neck just pucker right up.

 

[Evo]

Is that Paula Dean frying up pork sushi?

I think there's one exercise her family doesn't get much of and that's pushing themselves away from the table. Some of the cholesterol laden stuff she creates makes the hair on the back of my neck just pucker right up.

No, the deep fried, battered barbecue pork sushi, was in Diners, Drive-ins,and Dives, with Guy Fierie. He has some great food on his show.

 

[LowlyPion]

The diner food - some of it any way - is all right.

Diners really are a reflection of America. There is such variation and local one of a kind dishes to be found. I think West Coast diners offer up healthier foods in more interesting combinations than East Coast diners that often seem to me any way to be in competition to see who can out calorie/cholesterol the next guy.

(I'm sure this like all generalizations, has massive numbers of exceptions. But it does seem that way to me. And I just feel like I've had more good on the road in the west.)

 

[Evo]

The food on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives looks to die for, in most cases. Of course he could be eating mud and rocks and make it look tempting. (I like him)

 

[turbo]

Oh no! Paula Dean has just battered and deep fried individual asparagus spears. There is nothing this woman will not batter and deep fry. She deep fried an entire ham too!

Real asparagus (I have a small patch and really need to expand it) is food of the gods, but only if it is snapped by hand (it breaks at the place where the woody texture starts) washed and steamed al dente. That woman has no business being around actual food.

 

[LowlyPion]

That woman has no business being around actual food.

Food isn't apparently around her for too long, unless you count it's being packed inside.

But that can be said of most of the Food Network stars. I'm certain that almost all of them have porked up since coming on air. (Maybe Alton Brown hasn't.) Occupational hazard no doubt.

 

[Ouabache]

The other day his show was about grits. His first statement was "grits and polenta are identical, only the name is different". No, yellow cornmeal and grits are not the same thing. And no southerner would ever boil yellow cornmeal in milk and call it grits, they'd be run out of town. I was horrified that Alton of all people would make such a mistake! He's my idol.

Unfortunately, Food Network is either still airing the wrong version, or I somehow missed the inserted correction.

He sounds like he knows his grits on this clip from his True Grits episode. The country gal in the first scene is calling it corn meal. Perhaps this contains the edited footage you described. He does go into some detail about various millings of dent corn, including making of white hominy.
I do enjoy a hot bowl of grits on a cold winter morning


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofJ3v_a6UUE

 

[Ouabache]

I liked, chef Robert Irvine, even if he was a liar. It's not like he bragged about his fake resume during the cooking.

I found his shows to be quite entertaining.
On http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Irvine" , there is a note, in November 2008, that Food Network is putting him back on..

Food Network announced that they were rehiring Irvine to host six episodes of Dinner: Impossible that are scheduled to begin airing in March 2009

 

[Evo]

He sounds like he knows his grits on this clip from his True Grits episode.

That must be the "corrected" version, that isn't the one they aired that I saw.

Funny, in one part he is correct saying that southern style grits are coursely ground hominy corn while polenta is finer ground regular corn, he still is wrong later when he says that they are identical and only the cooking method is different.

Polenta is a finer grind of dent corn, usually yellow.

http://www.ansonmills.com/polenta.htm

Grits are a coursely ground hominy corn, usually white.

http://www.ansonmills.com/grits.htm#2

Hominy is corn soaked in lye. There AIN't NOTHIN' SIMLER between the two! Not the taste and not the texture.

Of course, he didn't grow up eating grits and apparently neither did the person that did the research for his show. If they had, they would have known the difference.

The country gal in the first scene is calling it corn meal.

That's because she's an actress hired to read the script.

What Alton cooks as "grits" in this segment is what we call "cornmeal mush" in the South. It ain't grits. It don't look like grits, it don't taste like grits, and you could be shot fer sayin' it was grits.

This is cornmeal, which he claimed was grits. Wrong.

http://www.ansonmills.com/cornmeal.htm

Thanks to the misinformation from this show we will have a generation of people making icky cornmeal mush and thinking that it's grits and wondering why people say that grits are so delicious.

 

[Nick M]

Cooking Shows!

I started with Julia and Yan on PBS. Then I started watching Great Chefs and Graham Kerr on the Discovery Channel.

I must admit that I was quite excited when we first got The Food Network. I started watching when David Rosengarten had his show "Taste", and "Ready, Set, Cook!" was the only cooking game show. I also used to like Two Hot Tamales.

Now the shows I enjoy are "Tyler's Ultimate", "Good Eats", "Molto Mario" (although I preferred the older seasons from 7-8 years ago), "Secrets of a Restaurant Chef" (a GREAT new show), "Throwdown" (fun show), and "Iron Chef America" every now and then. I did like the original dubbed Iron Chef, but I also enjoy the new version.

Bobby has really come along way in developing I think. I used to watch "Grillin' n' Chillin" (one of his original shows) and used to love the antics with the southern guy who cooked on charcoal (which I also prefer). He certainly leans on "modern" south-western cuisine, but I don't hold that against him - it's his preferred area. Just like I wouldn't have expected Julia Child to have prepared killer Hunan cuisine.

I do despise those "Semi-Homemade" shows... but in the end it comes down to ratings, and many people (not just Americans) cook that way now. A good deal of Paula Deen's recipes are "Semi-Homemade" as well.

"Secrets of a Restaurant Chef" is my favorite new show. We watch it Saturday mornings in bed (after I get home from work). She has an off personality, but most cooks I've met seem to have that quality. Most of her recipes and techniques are excellent.

 

[Evo]

I'm watching Guy Fieri's "Ultimate Recipe Showdown" and one thing I don't understand is the crtieria for winning the show. There are two judgings. To win the prize, they keep saying that whoever has a score in the second round that can beat the high score of the first round wins. I don't get it.

Let's say that the high score in the first round is Jim, with 95 points. The low score is Don with 80 points. In the second round, Jim scores 94 points and Don scores 96. Don wins the entire competition? Obviously Jim, with a total score of 189 points has the highest total score, but according to what they keep saying, the score to beat in order to win is 95. So, although Don only has a total score of 176, he wins the entire competition because he scored the highest in the second round? I don't get it. Jim loses the competition with two good dishes and Don wins with one terrible dish and one good one.

 

[turbo]

My wife and her siblings have ordered cable TV for their mother's house. They take turns tending her for 24-hour shifts (senile dementia) and her old TV and antenna only pick up channel 5 - CBS broadcast channel. About the only shows my wife misses from when we had cable are cooking shows, so hopefully the Food Network is in the line-up. It should be - cooking shows are very cheap to produce, and with all the "incidental" product placement, endorsements, etc, it ought to be a real bargain channel for the cable company.

 

[Evo]

My wife and her siblings have ordered cable TV for their mother's house. They take turns tending her for 24-hour shifts (senile dementia) and her old TV and antenna only pick up channel 5 - CBS broadcast channel. About the only shows my wife misses from when we had cable are cooking shows, so hopefully the Food Network is in the line-up. It should be - cooking shows are very cheap to produce, and with all the "incidental" product placement, endorsements, etc, it ought to be a real bargain channel for the cable company.

Food Network should be in the basic lineup. She can record the shows so you can watch at your house!

I want to start a petition for a Rachel Ray/Anthony Bourdain throwdown! Bourdain just *loves* Rachel.

 

[Evo]

Paula Deen's son is deep frying lasagna. Coat a square portion of refrigerated lasagna in flour, then in egg, then in cracker crumbs and deep fry.

I'm waiting for them to deep fry a cheeseburger.

 

[Math Is Hard]

There's a deep fried cheeseburger here, Evo:

http://offthestripdining.blogspot.com/2008/08/throwback-thursday.html

and deep fried pizza and lots of other stuff. Even deep fried Coca Cola! How is that even possible??

 

[turbo]

Food Network should be in the basic lineup. She can record the shows so you can watch at your house!

I want to start a petition for a Rachel Ray/Anthony Bourdain throwdown! Bourdain just *loves* Rachel.

She doesn't have to record cooking shows for me - I have cooking running through my head lots of the time anyway. A couple of days ago, I woke up just having dreamed of a snack. Cut slices of Jewish Rye bread into quarters and toast them in a broiler-pan. Put a slice of extra-sharp Vermont cheddar on each piece of toast, top each with an apple slice and pop them back under the broiler to melt the cheese and slightly brown the apple slices. Serve with sweet pickles, hot mustard, etc for garnishes.

We had no apples around, so I haven't made these yet, but I remember thinking they were delicious in the dream.

 

[Evo]

there's a deep fried cheeseburger here, evo:

http://offthestripdining.blogspot.com/2008/08/throwback-thursday.html

and deep fried pizza and lots of other stuff. Even deep fried coca cola! How is that even possible??

aaaarrrgghh!

How about deep fried marshmallows or deep fried Rice Krispys treats? Deep fried chocolate covered cherries?

Here's the deep fried coke and marshmallows.

http://www.wftv.com/foodnews/9789814/detail.html

 

[Evo]

This Christmas MIH and I are going to kidnap Kurdt and we're going to dress up in our matching flannel polar bear pajamas, with our matching glittery polar bear footies and have a Paula Deen deep fry party. We can deep fry fruitcake, christmas puddings, chocolate biscuits and gingerbread cookies.