Valerie's Home Cooking - General Discussion

[Irlandesa]

I had to laugh in today's episode when she was making her spumoni dessert.  She was clearly using Talenti Gelato even though they were trying to hide it.  I don't blame her.  I do like Talenti.  But for her middle layer, she took vanilla and mixed in cherries.  The thing is, Talenti already has a Black Cherry flavor that would save her some work.  And it's amazing!

[parrotlover]

1 hour ago, Irlandesa said:

I had to laugh in today's episode when she was making her spumoni dessert.  She was clearly using Talenti Gelato even though they were trying to hide it.  I don't blame her.  I do like Talenti.  But for her middle layer, she took vanilla and mixed in cherries.  The thing is, Talenti already has a Black Cherry flavor that would save her some work.  And it's amazing!

Yeah she made sure she kept the container turned around. I think the reason she didn't just use the black cherry flavor is because she wanted to use amaretto cherries so the spumoni had an almond flavor to it.  

Two things about this episode made me laugh. Valerie said she was doing an Italian dinner for her husband's family because that's what they always ask her to cook, but the salad was Asian and didn't go with that meal. Also the description of the episode said she was doing heart healthy versions of Italian dishes for the cousin who had a heart attack, but then the only thing she made that she said was "healthy" was the veggie pie that uses crescent roll dough and 4 cups of mozzarella!

[Westiepeach]

14 hours ago, parrotlover said:

Two things about this episode made me laugh. Valerie said she was doing an Italian dinner for her husband's family because that's what they always ask her to cook, but the salad was Asian and didn't go with that meal. Also the description of the episode said she was doing heart healthy versions of Italian dishes for the cousin who had a heart attack, but then the only thing she made that she said was "healthy" was the veggie pie that uses crescent roll dough and 4 cups of mozzarella!

I am making that as we speak. It is in the oven right now. I used nowhere near 4 cups of mozzarella! My 4 cup bag of mozzarella cheese got divided between this dish, homemade ravioli, and an egg dish for my breakfasts. There is no way I could have added 4 cups just to that one dish!

[parrotlover]

1 hour ago, Westiepeach said:

I am making that as we speak. It is in the oven right now. I used nowhere near 4 cups of mozzarella! My 4 cup bag of mozzarella cheese got divided between this dish, homemade ravioli, and an egg dish for my breakfasts. There is no way I could have added 4 cups just to that one dish!

That has to be a mistake in the recipe but that's the amount listed on Food Networks site. 4 cups is crazy!i have to say Valerie 's recipe looked really delicious. Please post and let us know how it turned out.

[Westiepeach]

18 minutes ago, parrotlover said:

That has to be a mistake in the recipe but that's the amount listed on Food Networks site. 4 cups is crazy!i have to say Valerie 's recipe looked really delicious. Please post and let us know how it turned out.

OMG. It is beautiful. Definitely will do again. But I don't even think I used 2 cups of cheese! And it is seriously cheesy! I did use more mushrooms, too. My package was 12 oz. and the recipe called for 8 oz. Perfect amount. Recipe win with a lot less cheese. And I am a certified cheese-a-holic. Very, very good.

Edited April 2, 2017 by Westiepeach
Apparently I am not familiar with correct punctuation.

[parrotlover]

6 hours ago, Westiepeach said:

OMG. It is beautiful. Definitely will do again. But I don't even think I used 2 cups of cheese! And it is seriously cheesy! I did use more mushrooms, too. My package was 12 oz. and the recipe called for 8 oz. Perfect amount. Recipe win with a lot less cheese. And I am a certified cheese-a-holic. Very, very good.

Thanks for sharing! Can't wait to try it.

[Snarklepuss]

I liked the idea of the spumoni dessert and I have that loaf pan, which I see on almost every show now (it's from Crate & Barrel).  The spumoni was a semi-homemade thing sort-of like Aunt Sandy used to make.  I suppose Valerie had to put something in there to make it more original, hence the cherries, which now that I know about I MUST find.

But really her artificially plumped up lips are annoying me no end.  I wouldn't mind people doing that if they looked good with it, but they usually don't! 

[Fostersmom]

On 03/04/2017 at 9:54 PM, Snarklepuss said:

This show annoys me because it keeps changing location.  This season it's the same as last but the decorating is different.  Plus I get tired of every show being about her umpteen thousand friends.  Not that it isn't nice that she has friends but in almost every episode?  Ugh.  And the food is just meh most of the time.  Also, someone should tell her that wearing those baggy tops only makes her look heavier.  Her hair this season looks like she wanted to go back to the 80s.  WTF?  Plus something is different about her face.  Rejuvenation procedure, perhaps?  Different makeup or lighting?

I swear she's trying to do something retro with her hair, I'm just not sure what though. Isn't there a Netflix remake version of her old show on now? I'm gonna blame that for the hair.

[roughing it]

I was sorry to see that Valerie's dad passed away just before Christmas.  My mom passed away the year before around the same time.  Christmases won't be the same. 

I don't notice any lip plumpage on Valerie.  I think she looks great. 

Wolfie seems extremely uncomfortable when he appears on her show.

[Westiepeach]

3 hours ago, roughing it said:

I was sorry to see that Valerie's dad passed away just before Christmas.  My mom passed away the year before around the same time.  Christmases won't be the same. 

I don't notice any lip plumpage on Valerie.  I think she looks great. 

Wolfie seems extremely uncomfortable when he appears on her show.

Oh, I did not know that. So sorry for her.

[Qoass]

Yeah, her lips seem the same to me although when she wears a light frosty lip gloss, it makes them look a bit bigger.

I love watching Wolfie squirm in his appearances.

[Nessie]

I didn't know that about her father.  My father passed away a couple of weeks before Christmas last year too.  Christmas will never be the same, and it was always my favorite holiday.

Wolfie reminds me so much of my younger son, it's crazy, not so much the way he looks, but his personality and the way he interacts with Val, so I always enjoy when he's on the show.

[opus]

Yay. Just won a Daytime Emmy 

And by the way, new season premieres this Sunday (May 12)

[opus]

Double winner!!

[Yeah No]

On 5/5/2019 at 9:30 PM, opus said:

Yay. Just won a Daytime Emmy 

And by the way, new season premieres this Sunday (May 12)

That's strange, considering no new episodes have aired since 2017.  But I'm actually happy it's coming back.

[biakbiak]

15 minutes ago, Yeah No said:

That's strange, considering no new episodes have aired since 2017.  But I'm actually happy it's coming back.

According to IMDB and Wikipedia 20 episodes (Seasons 7 and 😎aired in 2018.

Edited May 9, 2019 by biakbiak

[Yeah No]

5 hours ago, biakbiak said:

According to IMDB and Wikipedia 20 episodes (Seasons 7 and 😎aired in 2018.

The most recent episode aired just under a year ago.  I thought the series had ended since there was never that much time between seasons before.  Usually with FN, that means it's done-zo.

[Vixenstud]

I was so happy at her double Emmy win....she looked genuinely surprised and loved her 'Holy Shit' when she won the first one.

She's come a long way from Barbara Jean Cooper-Royer.

Mazel Tov to her!

[Kathcart]

Eeeeek! Somebody went out and bought herself a new face. She sounds like Valerie Bertinelli but alas, she no longer looks like her.

[Fostersmom]

There's a new show on right now. I'm not sure what she's done to her face, but she looks like she's had some work done. She's got surprised eyebrows going on at the very least. She's making pistachio gelato and its not the artificial green people have grown used to. She said something about keeping it natural. I literally said out loud to my cats, "too bad she didn't fallow that theory with her face." My guess is eye lift and cheek fillers. 

Edited May 12, 2019 by Fostersmom

[annzeepark914]

I just watched her new show & thought she looked a bit different...but grown up at last (teenage hairstyle gone) and she's lost weight. She looked good. So did her mom's lasagna. It inspired me to make it (after many years!) And that kale salad looked good too. I'd heard about the massaging of kale, but thought it was a joke. I think I'll make that salad too.

[Yeah No]

2 hours ago, Kathcart said:

Eeeeek! Somebody went out and bought herself a new face. She sounds like Valerie Bertinelli but alas, she no longer looks like her.

I came here to say the same thing.  I watched a second season episode on "on Demand" after this one and the difference in her appearance is shocking.  That was only 4 years ago so it's not like she would have aged a ton since then to need to go that far overboard with the makeup and procedures.  She looks like she's trying too hard.  I did appreciate the top she wore, though.  I don't think she's lost that much weight.  I just think she didn't wear one of those unflattering blousy tops that actually made her look heavier. 

I like this kitchen better than the one she used in the prior few seasons.  She seems to change kitchens a lot.  I liked the lasagna recipe because it was old school.  It was similar to my own Sicilian grandma's recipe.

[Sunnyday]

OMG! I saw a picture of the new plastic surgery version of Valerie and thought it was a  new cook! 

Then I saw her on her new show.  She can barely open her eyes or move her mouth ! Her eyes are pulled so right they look like slits and not her normal shape .  And she’s had some weird cheek implants and had her face tightened !

Her hair also looks bad on her complexion. She should have highlights not be mostly blonde!

WTF?? Why did she turn from a woman who looks Italian to a weird , bad version of a blonde woman ? 

Is it now a sin for someone to look ethnic ?  And are women not allowed to age at all?

The men are allowed to be fat and look old and gross ! Look at Duff, Guy and the gross chefs on Guy’s grocery games ! They are huge and older looking !

Valerie is a beautiful woman, but she’s about 60! Let her age without looking fake  and making her unable to love her eyes and mouth!

[Yeah No]

12 hours ago, Sunnyday said:

OMG! I saw a picture of the new plastic surgery version of Valerie and thought it was a  new cook! 

Then I saw her on her new show.  She can barely open her eyes or move her mouth ! Her eyes are pulled so right they look like slits and not her normal shape .  And she’s had some weird cheek implants and had her face tightened !

Her hair also looks bad on her complexion. She should have highlights not be mostly blonde!

WTF?? Why did she turn from a woman who looks Italian to a weird , bad version of a blonde woman ? 

Is it now a sin for someone to look ethnic ?  And are women not allowed to age at all?

The men are allowed to be fat and look old and gross ! Look at Duff, Guy and the gross chefs on Guy’s grocery games ! They are huge and older looking !

Valerie is a beautiful woman, but she’s about 60! Let her age without looking fake  and making her unable to love her eyes and mouth!

I hear you!  I think the reason she went lighter is because stylists always tell women that going lighter makes them look younger.  But this is overkill and it actually makes her look older, in my opinion.  I don't think it's an ethnic thing (at least I hope not!) but I do think you're right that women on TV are not allowed to age at all.  The thing is that I think Valerie would actually look younger if she didn't do all that she is doing to herself right now.

I also hear you about the male chefs. It bugs me that there are so many expectations of women on TV but there is no expectation by the network or anyone that the male chefs keep up their appearance.  The one person that bugs me the most is Alton Brown because he actually used to be more attractive and could really benefit a lot from paying just a little attention to his appearance.  Duff and Guy can only improve so much because let's face it, even at best neither of them is that attractive.  I know what you mean about the gross guys on GGG.  That guy Aaron May, Carl "the Cuban" and Eric Greenspan are all in a tie for most repulsive looking chef on FN.  The one older male chef that hasn't let himself go and strikes me as obsessive about his appearance is Bobby Flay but he is a little stuck on himself so there is that.

[Kathcart]

Nominations are open for The Opposite-of-Emmy award for "Person Who Shows Up Semi-Regularly on His Mom's Cooking Show Who Clearly Despises Said Cooking Show and Has to be Forced to Participate and then Makes it Completely Clear How Much He Hates the Whole 'Let's Pretend This is My Mom's House and She's Throwing Me An Album-Release Party With Two Friends and One Aunt and Uncle and My Girlfriend' Thing Aaaaaack No Please Don't Make Me Do It!!!!"

I'll go first: I nominate Wolfgang "Wolfie" Van Halen.

Edited June 10, 2019 by Kathcart

[scorpio1031]

5 hours ago, Kathcart said:

Nominations are open for The Opposite-of-Emmy award for "Person Who Shows Up Semi-Regularly on His Mom's Cooking Show Who Clearly Despises Said Cooking Show and Has to be Forced to Participate and then Makes it Completely Clear How Much He Hates the Whole 'Let's Pretend This is My Mom's House and She's Throwing Me An Album-Release Party With Two Friends and One Aunt and Uncle and My Girlfriend' Thing Aaaaaack No Please Don't Make Me Do It!!!!"

I'll go first: I nominate Wolfgang "Wolfie" Van Halen.

We are going to need a bigger award to print that on😂

[annzeepark914]

Wolfie gets the Beast Mode trophy for all his humiliations on mom's show. So where is Valerie's husband? Does he still appear on the show? (I haven't seen the show much lately).

[Yeah No]

13 hours ago, annzeepark914 said:

Wolfie gets the Beast Mode trophy for all his humiliations on mom's show. So where is Valerie's husband? Does he still appear on the show? (I haven't seen the show much lately).

I was wondering where he was on this episode as he usually appears when family is around.  He just appeared on the last episode when friends came over.  I did think it was weird that he didn't appear when Wolfie came over.

[annzeepark914]

I watched the show today & couldn't get over how OTT her female guests were, raving wildly about the food. It was a bit much.

The man sitting next to Valerie's husband looked like the character actor on Seinfeld who was so quiet when he was behind Elaine that she spilled her coffee. So she gave him TicTacs that made a noise (which drove Peterman crazy). The only difference was that this guy's hair was darker (but he had the same goofy looking face!)

[Westiepeach]

Valerie's mother just recently passed away. I follow her on Twitter. So sorry.

[Kathcart]

I can't get over her creepy new face. It's okay when you don't look at the screen, though. :)

Something she made in this last episode where the friends from Italy came over and they made pasta looked good but I don't trust Valerie's recipes ever since I made her turkey chili and it was the worst thing I ever made.

[Yeah No]

8 hours ago, Kathcart said:

I can't get over her creepy new face. It's okay when you don't look at the screen, though. 🙂

Something she made in this last episode where the friends from Italy came over and they made pasta looked good but I don't trust Valerie's recipes ever since I made her turkey chili and it was the worst thing I ever made.

I made her apricot barbecue chicken thighs and I loved them so much I make it all the time now.  Plus I'd eat that sauce off my shoe it's so good.

Her new face is really starting to annoy me especially because I keep watching repeats and she looks so different (and better) in them.  I really doubt she needed to change her appearance that much.  Just another celeb. getting addicted to "procedures".  I especially hate the hair and whatever injections she's getting in her lips that make her look like she has a permanent pout/grimace all the time.

[Homily]

On 6/11/2019 at 12:14 PM, annzeepark914 said:

Wolfie gets the Beast Mode trophy for all his humiliations on mom's show.

He totally seems uncomfortable that's for sure but to me he isn't being humiliated so much as he's being downright bratty to Valerie.  He treats her like he's still a knowitall teenager who finds mom embarrassing.

[buttersister]

The face work is unfortunate. Doesn’t look natural whatsoever, or go with her hands or make sense when she’s with her brother. There’s a year separating their ages but now he looks like her old uncle.

Also, recipe failure alert: when you make an antipasti pasta salad in advance, do not cut basil and add until you’re ready to serve. If her basil comes out of the fridge looking anything other than black and yucky, it’s stand-in basil. Herb Use 101, Val, Val’s producers, etc.

[Vixenstud]

On 6/25/2019 at 3:42 PM, Homily said:

He totally seems uncomfortable that's for sure but to me he isn't being humiliated so much as he's being downright bratty to Valerie.  He treats her like he's still a knowitall teenager who finds mom embarrassing.

I thought I was the only one that recognized that!  He always acts like she gets on his nerves.

RIP to Val's mom, Nancy Bertinelli....she passed away in the beginning of July.

[opus]

5 hours ago, Vixenstud said:

RIP to Val's mom, Nancy Bertinelli....she passed away in the beginning of July.

It was on June 18 😔

(I only remember that  because it was my birthday)

[Vixenstud]

Ah, thanks for the correction....I guess it was July by the time I got to see her obit.

[PennyPlain]

On 7/8/2019 at 1:50 PM, Vixenstud said:

I thought I was the only one that recognized that!  He always acts like she gets on his nerves.

I thought that as well.  Could be he's just not comfortable being on TV but it really seems to me more that his mom drives him crazy.  He doesn't seem quite as bad now that he has a girlfriend.   Still doesn't come across to me as a particularly nice person though.

[Fostersmom]

Considering Valerie talks to and treats "Wolfie" like he's 3, I get his annoyance. I'm all but ready to hear her ask him if he needs to potty one of these days. She trots him out for show fodder, so I can't say I blame him. I suspect there's more than a bit of badgering mom guilt to get him to do these episodes too. Does anyone see him clamoring to be the focus of the show? I certainly don't. 

I caught and old episode and the new one this morning, the horrible work she had done was even more startling when you watch her old face and her new face in the span of like 2 hours. I swear I did watch today's episode, but other than focaccia, I have no clue what she made. And honestly, while her focaccia looked good, that is not something I would ever take the time to make. I can buy decent pre-made focaccia at the grocery store, but I live out side of Cleveland and we have a LOT of Italians in the area so I probably am spoiled in that aspect. 

[roughing it]

23 hours ago, Fostersmom said:

I caught and old episode and the new one this morning, the horrible work she had done was even more startling when you watch her old face and her new face in the span of like 2 hours.

Could it just be makeup?  I saw an episode of Beat Bobby Flay last night and Val was one of the hosts and she looks like her normal self.  I checked the date and it was a 2019 episode.

I feel bad for Val with the passing of her mom.  I read that they were close.  I lost mine 3 years ago and it's still hard.

[PennyPlain]

1 hour ago, roughing it said:

Could it just be makeup?  I saw an episode of Beat Bobby Flay last night and Val was one of the hosts and she looks like her normal self.  I checked the date and it was a 2019 episode.

I was wondering about this too.  I saw some adverts for a new show she's judging and she looked the same to me - different hairstyle but that was about it.

[Kathcart]

I think the facelift is settling. She doesn’t look quite so weird now (as of the episode that aired last weekend with David amenable from QVC as a guest). I’m glad because that new face was freaking me out. 

[opus]

Season premiere Sunday (11/17) 11:30 am ET

[Yeah No]

Valerie acted like putting turnips in a lamb tagine is non-traditional, but it is.  My grandma, whose Sicilian family lived in Tunisia for a while before immigrating to America always put turnips in her lamb tagine and there are a zillion recipes on the internet that include them too.  She also acted like putting pomegranate in it was just her little quirk but several Google search pages of recipes on the internet beg to disagree.  The one thing she did that wasn't traditional was to not serve the stew with couscous, but she didn't mention that.  I thought that episode was all over the map in terms of cuisine.  It didn't really seem like a cohesive menu.

[Irlandesa]

Hmm, I think Melissa was too nice about the lefse. It was way too thick.  It is a lot thinner than a tortilla in general.  For the size of Valerie's balls, it should be twice the size.  Honestly, I think it's really hard to get right without the right lefse making equipment (board and a cloth.)

 

[sheetmoss]

Valerie's Home Cooking ...  New Season Begins Sunday May 10th, 11:30a|10:30c.

[cynicat]

Did anyone else watch the show where she cooked for Mackenzie Phillips?  I thought their friendship was really sweet and enjoyed seeing the two of them together.

[chick binewski]

16 hours ago, cynicat said:

Did anyone else watch the show where she cooked for Mackenzie Phillips?  I thought their friendship was really sweet and enjoyed seeing the two of them together.

I like seeing Mackenzie on the show, too. I think she was on once before - they walked their dogs?

I can't imagine going to the trouble of making homemade crackers but folks who do say they're great when fresh.

[buttersister]

Started to watch the Sicilian menu today but zzzzzzzzz. Yep, raisins, pine nuts, check. Gosh, she’s boring.

[Yeah No]

Valerie appeared on Rachael Ray's show about a month or so ago (from her home kitchen) and said she had to stop filming at 10 episodes this season because of the pandemic.  They were originally supposed to do 13 episodes.  I wonder why she didn't do what others have done (like Rachael) and filmed the rest from home.