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Friday, April 5, 2013

My gastronomical paradox

food network photo: food network food-network.jpg I'm not a great cook. (If you recall my attempt at potato soup, this statement will not surprise you.) Often I can't think of what to cook. If I do have any idea of something to cook, it's not unusual for me to be without the time or ingredients to get the dish made successfully. And if I have an idea, the time and all the food necessary, then I put dinner on the table to hear my boys groan and declare, "I'm not eating that."

So of course, what is my favorite thing to watch on TV? The Food Network. It started years ago when I got hooked on Ready, Set, Cook. Who remembers that show? That's old school Food Network. Then it was Emeril and Mario Batali. Now my list of Food Network faves includes:

Worst Cooks in America
Chef Wanted with Anne Burrell
Chopped
Food Network Challenge
Diners, Drive-ins & Dives
Next Food Network Star
Iron Chef America
Unwrapped

In a pinch, I'll watch Cupcake Wars, though it's not one that I would DVR.

I could watch food TV all day. Chopped is probably my all-time favorite. At this point, I can start to predict what flavor combinations the chefs will go for and which dishes the judges will like.

With the exception of Diners, Drive-ins & Dives and Unwrapped, all the Food Network shows I like to watch are competition shows. So maybe I like the competition more than I like the cooking? And although she hosts two of my favorite shows, I don't care for Anne Burrell. The wacky hair, the clunky shoes with the short skirts. The attitude. Not my taste (pun intended).

I LOVE Alex Guarnaschelli, especially as a judge on Chopped. I think she might have a straight-up cooking show of her own, but I don't watch it. 

And I can't watch Restaurant Impossible. Chef Robert Irvine usually finds too much gross stuff going on in the kitchens of those restaurants. It makes me not want to eat out. Not eating out means more cooking and I've already established that as something I'm not too keen on.

Are you a food TV foodie? What do you like to watch? Does that translate into good cooking?

3 comments:

kimybeee said...

no food network for me - i have watched a few minutes of cupcake wars, but only when absolutely nothing else was on and only for a few minutes.

lately i have been in the mood to bake though. and not just plain stuff, unusual stuff with weird ingredients. very good so far lol

and i work days, my husband works nights, oldest kid away at school and youngest kid always on the run - we always eat out. cooking is rare for us anymore. if we do cook, it is usually chili. my daughter and i are both great at making chili. i did break down a few weeks ago and make meatloaf and it was so good. can't wait to make it again soon. i could make one for each of the four of us and we could just eat it with a fork out of the pan lol

Beth Zimmerman said...

Definitely a foodie (TV variety)! I watch pretty much the same list you do except for Chef Wanted. Just can't handle that much of Anne Burrell. =)

Mike Magan said...

you're not as bad as you think, lol