larapu2000

I actually like Michael Symon's insane giggle. He just seems like a legitimately nice person, and I really enjoyed the episode where he cooked with Ina. His show is okay, I've gotten a few good recipes off of there (a peach bleu cheese salad, I think?), and I do use his tip of putting some ricotta in meatballs to help lighten them up and make them less dense. And the episodes where his parents show up are adorable. But I could see why he might not be someone's cup of tea. I've liked almost every Bobby Flay show he's done, including Throw Down. I don't watch Food Network Star, but I remember liking him the first time I saw "Hot Off the Grill" and Jackie Malouf(?) was a host with him. I've gotten quite a few winning recipes from Mr. Flay over the years, but I think I read in the BC thread on TWOP that some people didn't have the same good fortune. Yeah, he's kind of smug. He's less smug than most of the chefs I've worked with over the years, and he has twice their talent. I never really liked Emeril Live, but I thought his show Essence of Emeril was really good. He was really quiet and laid back, almost like you see him on Top Chef now. Good stuff.

He was on the show today! The potluck episode, where Ina "skims the fat," but is really taking delicious meat juice out of the pot.

I'll give him (New Scandinavian Cooking) another try. I've already given John Besh too many tries, and I don't know why I just can't get into him. I've been to August-it's amazing food. I love it when he guest judges on Top Chef. I think he's handsome. I think NOLA/Cajun cuisine is the greatest thing on the planet. And yet I can't make it through 5 minutes of his show. Coastal Cooking will pop up every once in a blue moon. I have to set my auto record to catch it. TOTALLY WORTH IT. I said the show was like an SNL skit, and it is, but he's a very earnest host and likeable. I made it to the 20 minute mark easily when the tune and graphics for "Andrea the Kitchen Goddess" popped up, and then I wondered if the show was a joke. It's kind of adorable.

I have, but it seems like he's always outdoors, isn't he? I'm way too distracted to pay attention to what he's doing, LOL. I highly recommend everyone searching and recording a little show called Coastal Cooking with John ____ (Something). And if you watch it, and think "this is SOOOOOOO lame, please watch until at least the 20 minute mark for a segment called "Andrea: The Kitchen Goddess." This show is like a SNL skit.

That host of Bitchin' Kitchen bothers me more than Christopher Kimball. The whole "put on" thing about it all is really unappealing to me. Am I just not getting the joke?

When I was a kid, we also watched the PBS cooking shows. I still use the phrase "If Yan can cook, SO CAN YOU!" I also like to take a chug out of a wine bottle after adding some to the dish I'm making like Justin Wilson. I even liked the Frugal Gourmet, I wish it still aired, because I can't remember anything, really, from the shows when I was a kid. Just Yan's INSANE knife skills.

Just wondered what other cooking shows Ina's fans liked. I watch Martha Stewart Cooking School and Martha Bakes on PBS, the Ming Tsai show on PBS, America's Test Kitchen/Cook's Country on PBS, and every once in a while, I'll catch a Bobby Flay show. But for me, PBS is where it's at. I can also catch Julia Child and Jacques Pepin with old episodes on that channel, and they are awesome because Julia kind of yells at Jacques at least once an episode, or passive aggressively insults his preparation-it's amazing. I do like the new "Heartland Table" show on the Food Network. In terms of reality cooking shows, I love Top Chef and the now defunct No Reservations. I just started watching a Bourdain narrated series called "The Mind of a Chef," which is REALLY fantastic-also on PBS. I really should make a donation.

I THOUGHT that's who that was!! I didn't recognize him without the hair and terrible wardrobe, lol. I agree, it was nice to have Erlich be something other than a buffoon. They had made him seem like his startup was a total fluke up until this point. Now it makes more sense. I loved when the crazy entrepreneur called Flo-Rida "Florida." That made my night.

I had to pause the DVR, I was laughing so hard. I also had to pause it when the Pied Piper guy said something about shitting (can't remember the line), and Richard said, "people say that? People think you do that? DO you do that??" I think this was the best episode ever. Donald is his real name!

There are cornsilk remover gadgets on the market that work pretty well. The one I have is kind of football shaped, with soft rubber bristles. It really works. I know Alton Brown always discouraged "unitaskers," and I agree with him, but that's one gadget that I think is worth its own purchase. Mainly because I live in Indiana and eat corn in the summertime with an appetite of an insatiable pig.

Right??? I mean, I did, but I think all of my relatives got a kick out of my rhubarb love. Now, granted, the only way I would eat rhubarb was either dipping it in sugar and eating it like celery, or in a pie. So it definitely had to be covered with sugar for a kid to like! I couldn't believe Ina used a jarred tomato sauce either. Marinara is like the easiest sauce in the world. She makes her own sauce in the episode where she makes spaghetti and meatballs for her boss, right?

Why did Ina say in her salmon tutorial that it had been something like 15 years since she sliced smoked salmon? Did she forget about the television crew at her house when she did it on her show? Several times?

Best dinner party ever. I'm also jealous Danni got to make out with Shep in the kitchen.

You guys, I just got a call to fill in for a coworker for a trade show in...CHARLESTON! I feel pretty sure I can find T Rav's house easily, I'll just look for the one with the half empty glass of bourbon on the windowsill.

Maybe if Jeffrey got a boat, Ina would see him even less than she does now! Although if he did get one, she could make him snacks and meet him at the dock. "I brought Jeffrey a faaaaabulous chicken sandwich and delicious brownies because he now sleeps on the boat instead of coming home on Fridays."

I have also made the Beef Bouguignon, and it's a great recipe-I use the one with chuck. I agree with whomever said it's a waste of filet. Ina's roasted vegetable soup is one of my favorites! I don't even really use a recipe anymore, you just take the roasted veg and puree it with chicken stock and finish with parsley, etc. Sometimes I add cream to gild the lily a little. And sometimes I roast vegetables JUST to make that soup. LOL I've had good luck with her Indonesian chicken recipe. And the Ham and Cheese in Puff Pastry will make you the star of ANY get together. But make sure, as Ina would say to use "good" ham. Like Bavarian style ham, even if it's $8/pound. WORTH IT. The only shrimp for shrimp cocktail I've had that were better than Ina's roasted ones were grilled shrimp, and that's not Ina's fault. It's pretty much the same concept, plus some tasty charcoal flavor.

Hello, everyone! I also used to post at TWoP with many of you! I come from the world of food, literally, figuratively, and everything in between. I grew up on a farm in Indiana (where I just moved back to), and started cooking as soon as my mother could pawn off the responsibility onto me. I've worked in hotels/restaurants/catering since I graduated college, and now work for a food manufacturer in sales. I love Ina and swear by her Beef Bourguignon, Vegetable Tian, Indonesian Chicken, Roasted Vegetable Soup, Ham and Cheese in Puff Pastry, and Mushroom Lasagna. I'm a single girl, so I sometimes avoid the Ina recipes that I can't freeze, because her yields are made for families of 8.

I liked it, even though it was slow in some places and I agree, the dialogue was a bit muddy at times with accents and even just the volume. I still don't know anyone's name other than Abraham, but I do know that one guy is a Captain. And a dick. One bit I liked in particular was that guy's wife being clever enough to distract the rapey Captain without resorting to stabbing. I also liked the bits with the old friend of Abraham's that's now in the army, mainly because he is a very pretty pretty man. I thought all of the cabbages were ruined, but he sold the smuggled ones? Also, why did he have to resort to smuggling? Was the innkeeper the only one that buys cabbages and he refused Abraham's? I'm not sure why I'm so hung up on the damn cabbages, but it seemed like he turned to a life of crime kind of on a whim. I, too, love Jamie Bell and will give this several episodes to pick up the pace. I would also like some Revolutionary celebrity sightings if possible. I mean, besides Georgie. I'm sure he'll show up at some point.