Sandra Lee - Real Foodies, please read...

[redace1960]

i am creeped out that there is even a show like this on the air. we've thought about fn and decided no,
since public tv has a lot of good ckg shows. now i'm glad!!!!!! is this broad
from h***? this concept is straight out of a jane and michael stern book!

[chiffonade]

TVFN has decided that hardcore foodies are simply not enough. They are making concerted efforts to woo viewers who wouldn't describe themselves as accomplished or even avid cooks. Pros? Forget it. There are so few shows left on TVFN that really teach straightforward cooking anymore.

TVFN is barely a shadow of its former self.

Just picture ESPN airing Wedding Garter Catching and calling it sports.

TVFN was already doing Semi-Homemade - it's called 30 Minute Meals which is, far and away, the better show. I'd much prefer something made with frozen vegetables than LaChoy in the can.

[KeeperOfTheGood]

Hey oh

Hands UP!! All those that have buried a mother, sister, daughter, aunt, grand mom having DIED of cancer.

Really, when a bottle of shampoo can contain "real extracts of..." and boxed food only contains long lists of latin words.......

I have NO idea HOW many of those latin words have been banned in my life time. There have simply been too many of them.

Frankly, those shows are JUST as dangerous as shows like Fear Factor, and SHOULD be plastered with warnings. It isn't food. Its a powder in a box.

[Kerryclan]

Today Sandy made a "meal" with a cue ball theme (how do they think of these themes and who does this stuff?!) refrigertor bread dough, sage sausage, packet of Mexican taco seasoning and peppers made to resemble a pool ball rack. I can't imagine sage breakfast sausage with mexican seasoning, but, this is SandySlop.

Then she makes pre-made, frozen meatballs in a thick vomit-like gravy. Oh, her secret ingredient in the gravy? Sour cream. Since when is that a big secret? It looked absolutely gruesome.

To top off this stomach turner, she made a chocolate hazelnut torte (thing).
Two boxes of chocolate pudding, lots of eggs, batter was poured on top of chopped hazelnuts. Some people should not be allowed to even say "chocolate"! At least she didn't throw cool whip on it, but I bet she wanted to.

I agree that FN is sinking low in their choice of "chef" and shows. Has anyone else noticed that lately Rachael Ray is getting very loud and hyper. Makes her voice really grate on the nerves. What is she on? Even 30 min. meals is getting to be a difficult alternative.

[chiffonade]

Originally Posted by Kerryclan

Some people should not be allowed to even say "chocolate"!

ROFLMAO!

I agree that FN is sinking low in their choice of "chef" and shows. Has anyone else noticed that lately Rachael Ray is getting very loud and hyper. Makes her voice really grate on the nerves. What is she on? Even 30 min. meals is getting to be a difficult alternative.

That's called Emerilizing. Soon, Rachel Ray will have her own sitcom that will flop after three episodes. It's a shame. RR's got some good ideas for people to eat fast and well - which is especially important during weekdays.

TVFN has no clue how to manage their "stable." They nuke Martha's show - some real, straightforward cooking instruction by someone who knows how to do it - and offer garbage like Semi-Homemade featuring an implant jiggling, self-proclaimed "non cook" hack who has no place anywhere within a mile of a Kitchen Aid. Now they're overexposing Rachel Ray. They're not going to be happy until they are featuring IHOPs as "Food Finds."

[Kerryclan]

Chiff, you are so right! TVFN replaced a credible show with SLop and are now trying to make RR into a superstar. The problem is that RR is just getting obnoxiously "ain't I so cute", and Sandy Bunny Cakes is making mealtime an excrutiating experience in many households, I fear. As well as providing unintentional comedy.

Oh, gotta go, I'm making a meatloaf - I think I have some twizzlers left over from Halloween and cool whip, maybe I'll make it a Bunny Meatloaf to go with my Cute Animals theme!

[MarkV]

We have to remember that the Food Network is not about promoting the level of quality that we, as professionals uphold. The Food Network is about ratings and ultimately, makaing money. And there are FAR more amateur cooks out there and people who want shortcuts and on;t want to cook, than there are professionals.

Nevertheless, I like watching Sandra Lee.

I think she's hot! Her little witch costume at halloween gave me a better rise than my souffle!

Mark

[Kerryclan]

We have to remember that the Food Network is not about promoting the level of quality that we, as professionals uphold. The Food Network is about ratings and ultimately, makaing money. And there are FAR more amateur cooks out there and people who want shortcuts and on;t want to cook, than there are professionals.

Mark, I agree with you except that I think even amatuer cooks should learn to make a meal without using loads of processed, nasty stuff. It is just as easy to learn how to make a roux which can then be used for many things, than to open a can of cream of mushroom soup.

BTW, I suspect Sandy's boobs are semi-homemade also! LOL

[Andy M.]

Originally Posted by Kerryclan

BTW, I suspect Sandy's boobs are semi-homemade also! LOL

She probably bought the "Boobs-In-A-Box" kit online.

[KeeperOfTheGood]

Originally Posted by Andy M.

She probably bought the "Boobs-In-A-Box" kit online.

Would that be the one with the instruction "add water to desired consistency"?

[Andy M.]

Originally Posted by KeeperOfTheGood

Would that be the one with the instruction "add water to desired consistency"?

No, "Boobs-In-A-Box comes with a mini turkey baster and a box of Jell-O (more realistic than water).

[chiffonade]

Originally Posted by Kerryclan

Mark, I agree with you except that I think even amatuer cooks should learn to make a meal without using loads of processed, nasty stuff. It is just as easy to learn how to make a roux which can then be used for many things, than to open a can of cream of mushroom soup.

BTW, I suspect Sandy's boobs are semi-homemade also! LOL

No one expected the TVFN to teach how to glove bone a turkey but making a basic stock or properly roasting a chicken hardly takes a culinary degree. Depending on boxes of shelf-stable garbage is not the way to teach others to cook a simple meal.

As for the "semi-homemade" assets of the Trophy Wife, we, the anti-Sandra contingent refer to them as Puddin' Cups. On one of her original shows, Sandra dem0nstrated how to make a Tiramisu using pudding snacks. The moniker just worked itself out from there.

[Kerryclan]

...another example of how SLop is bad for amateur cooks is her Safari Dinner. She used pre-cooked chicken breasts. She dropped them in a pan, and a minute later, poured wine in to "deglaze". DEGLAZE WHAT???

Then she took the whole mess out when the chicken could not possibly have been heated through yet, wine was still raw, she put some mango slices on the chicken and called it "zebra chicken."

I don't think I'm a food snob by any means. I have no problem with taking a shortcut or even microwaving a frozen something as desired, but do we really need a how-to program that cant even do that right?

As Rachael Ray is seriously on my nerves now, I am down to Paula Deen and her stop your heart, high fat southern cooking, and Gaida (Little Big Head) and Everyday Italian. Their recipes are pretty simple most of the time, look good, and have better instruction for any cook.

Little Big Head's mozzarella sticks are great, my current family fav.

[Pete]

Once again I must point out that FNTV is not in the business of educating, they are really in the business of entertaining, though it takes the guise of education. They sell what the majority of their viewers want. These shows don't make it on the air without a lot of research and test marketing. It is obvious that the majority of the people want this crap. Someone mentioned ESPN in an earlier post. It used to be that every once, in a great, while, late at night, they would show the professional poker championships, now they have them plastered all over the place. You know that the hardcore sport freaks just hate it, but it's what the general public wants. As long as these shows make FNTV lots of money, they will continue to air them. As a chef I am appalled by them, but if I were a shareholder I would care less as long as it brought revenue in. The Execs. at FNTV have no responsibility to teach the public how to cook, from scratch. Their responsibility is to their shareholders only. To turn a profit. Yes it is sad, but don't blame FNTV, they are just giving the public what they want.

[chiffonade]

And once again I must point out that for better or worse TVFN began its life portraying itself as the place to tune to learn how to cook. This image remained intact for nearly 10 years with minimal fluff shows. Its decision to segue from this philosophy is where it lost its integrity and its credibility.

Now TVFN has decided not to air Sarah Moulton - they lost Ming Tsai, David Rosengarten and Martha Stewart (to jettison Martha was a terrible blunder in judgment). Who's next? Mario? Ina?

TVFN's descent into powdered and canned food is akin to Whole Foods deciding to sell Hamburger Helper "to increase its customer base."

Re: Big Head...LOL. I can watch her show anytime unless she cooks spaghetti. If I hear her say spaghitti one more time, I'm going to kick the TV.

I'm classically trained; have learned at the elbow of both parents who are phenomenal cooks (and have a brother who cooks); have owned a restaurant and continue to be an avid home cook and baker. If I had my druthers I'd again be a restaurant owner or a bakery owner but alas, I'm being held prisoner in Florida by my family (who love it here) and there's already too much food here for an independent to be competitive. I still get jazzed when I see something or read something that teaches me something new. And that used to be possible watching the old TVFN. There's so little worth watching now, it's nearly impossible. It's gotten so out of hand, there's barely a place for new cooks to learn the basics!

On another board, I suggested that the recently emancipated worthwhile chefs should start their own network and give people a choice between garbage fluff shows and actual cooking instruction. It could be a throwback to when TVFN was actually worth watching. The only one with that kind of loot is Martha and right now she's in repair mode. who knows...Maybe in a year or two after she reaps the benefits of her "new more approachable" image she'll be in a position to begin such a project. God, I hope so.

Rescue budding cooks from the likes of Shamdra Lee and her puddin' cups.