Past Episodes: Chicken 100 Ways, Jeffrey, and Hampton Elite

[Gam2]

I'm not a florist but love to buy flowers for my home. The first thing I learned was to remove the lower stems before you submerge the flowers into the water. Really, Ina. You know better than that.

Oops-meant to say lower leaves, not stems. Sorry!

[Lura]

When I think of Ina's platters, my mind always goes back to the one she created for Eli and his wife.  I thought it was stunning, especially the way Ina cut and arranged the fruit.  She seems able to put a platter together in no time.  Maybe she's made a lot of them for catering jobs or at the store, and it's second nature to her.  I also remember that episode because it was the first time I ever heard the expression "a dog's breakfast."  My husband overheard her and still uses the expression from time to time.

The salmon platter that Ina arranged for the college girls (?) wasn't too shabby, either.  She definitely has the knack.

This post is popping up on two pages, and I can't get rid of it.  I'm sorry.  Please delete this one.  Thank you.

Edited January 9, 2017 by Lura

[merriebreeze]

RIP Frank Pellegrino

Restaurant Rules at Rao's with Frank Pellegrino

[annzeepark914]

Sorry to hear about that.  I've never been to Rao's but I got their cookbook from the library after watching that episode.  IMO, it tasted like regular ol' plain roast chicken. I just looked at the reviews and made note of various tips and will try it again.  One of the reviewers cut back on the lemon juice so I think I'll follow her revised sauce recipe + I'll season the chicken before roasting.

[ariel]

3 hours ago, merriebreeze said:

RIP Frank Pellegrino

Restaurant Rules at Rao's with Frank Pellegrino

I love Rao's sauce & Frank was great on the Soprano's.

[sunsheyen]

Rao's is definitely my most favorite jarred sauce (high priced though it may be). Their Vodka and Marinara versions are to die for if one isn't in the mood to make homemade. I remember and enjoyed this episdode. Rest In Power.

[Gam2]

I used to make my own marinara sauce but since I tried Rao's, I've used it exclusively. I saw Ina's show when she visited Frank in his restaurant and discussed their favorite dishes. RIP, Frank. Job well done.

[Lura]

Oh, Frankie!  I was so sorry to read this.  He was a favorite of mine.  Last year, on a very small radio show out of Cleveland, I heard him on my car radio giving an interview, claiming that he could tell all of his secrets because, he joked, "nobody listens to the radio in Cleveland, do they?"

He said that he has three or four marinara recipes that he likes, and he enjoys switching them around so that no one knows how to copy it.  The first is his easy marinara, which he taught Ina.  Second is his aunt's, which he ate when he was older and took a liking to, sometimes served in the restaurant, but seldom.  Third is his mother's and another aunt's, which he grew up on, and he said that's the one that contains "the true essence of marinara and what it should be," and that's his secret recipe kept in the family.

I have Frank's cookbook, too, and sometimes make his marinara.  So good! 

[Bastet]

I just saw the episode where Ina has a friend and her two kids over to make pizzas and decorate a chocolate cake with candy (I normally don't watch the episodes with kids, but nothing else was on and I was delaying getting out of bed).  I love that she tried to keep the cake from being quite as ugly as it would inevitably be after letting kids decorate it with candy, by choosing color-coordinated candy.  But, oh my god, what was up with those giant portions she cut for everyone?  Four of them, and half a sheet cake was gone.  The slices took up entire plates!  (And those were salad plates, not little dessert plates.)  That was gross, and I really don't see the point of it.  Plus, they were these weirdly shaped slices, because she basically just hacked into the cake at random.  It was like this odd little, "Fuck it, you made me do another damn episode with kids, I'm done" ending.

[Mondrianyone]

I remember that episode, and I remember posting about the hugeness of the cake slices and how revolting the whole thing was.  But giant-size portions are kind of a thing with Ina.

A friend of mine has an annual women-only potluck dinner, and one year I brought Ina's lemon bars.  I cut them in exactly the same way she'd cut hers--diamond shapes, and each bar was the size of a paving block.  Almost no one ate any of my offering, which was puzzling, because those lemon bars are divine.  So I waited a few years and brought them again, same dinner, same women.  The second time I cut them in normal-person sizes, and people were inhaling them and filling their pockets with them to bring to their husbands or whatever (i.e., eat them in the car on the way home).  My conclusion was that the Ina-size bars were terrifying to people.

[Bastet]

23 minutes ago, Mondrianyone said:

But giant-size portions are kind of a thing with Ina.

Oh, I know; I always know if she says a recipe serves four, I can feed it to at least six if not eight.  But those slabs of cake were out of bounds even for her, especially since they were so sloppy.  It was jarring.  And disgusting.

[biakbiak]

Tivo recorded an ep I hadn't seen "Fun in the City" where Ina and Jeffrey go to NY, he makes cheese and she goes to The Standard Grill for their million dollar chicken? Has anyone made it? For the most part it isn't really different than Ina's typical chicken but I was intrigued by the creme fraîche glaze and was wondering in anyone had tried it.

[Iguessnot]

On 3/24/2017 at 2:11 PM, Mondrianyone said:

I remember that episode, and I remember posting about the hugeness of the cake slices and how revolting the whole thing was.  But giant-size portions are kind of a thing with Ina.

Unless you're her architect. Then you get a wee little hammer shaped cookie.

[chenoa333]

On 1/5/2017 at 5:56 AM, Spunkygal said:

@Lura, the first time I ever heard "a dog's breakfast " was from Two Fat Ladies. Goodness how I miss that show and those two darling women. I may have to see if I can find them on DVD. Also the fIrst time I had heard of bubble and squeak, kedgeree (sp?), and other British traditional food. 

ETA: yay for YouTube! Found Two Fat Ladies!!

I've never heard of the "Two Fat Ladies" cooking show but i found a lot of episodes on you tube for anyone who's interested. I'm definitely going to check it out. 

[ariel]

2 hours ago, chenoa333 said:

I've never heard of the "Two Fat Ladies" cooking show but i found a lot of episodes on you tube for anyone who's interested. I'm definitely going to check it out. 

 Go for it.  The TFL are fun.  I miss them.

[chenoa333]

I love the Two Fat Ladies! I have difficulty understanding them sometimes due to their accents and certain british lingo, but I can't cook anyway so it doesn't matter! Lol!

[tvchick]

I watched an older episode today where Ina hosted a cocktail party with special drinks. The appetizers looked delicious--salmon tartare, soppressata/gruyere puff pasty squares, and rosemary/chipotle mixed nuts.  I would love to throw a party and serve those, with the great cocktails or wine. 

[Joan van Snark]

Can someone please tell me the Season and episode number of the show with the famous....or should I say infamous BATHTUB SCENE?????? I adore Ina and I can rewatch the old episodes over and over. The earlier seasons were her most inspired, I think. Something about the show really changed when she moved to the barn and "Back to Basics". I loved how they always showed her making things in real time in the original series. Hated all the flashbacks (so this is how I made it) in Back to Basics. I have not seen her new show yet. How is it?

[annzeepark914]

Awww...this morning I just happened to turn on the TV and there was Ina, mixing up a watermelon inspired cocktail while Jeffrey was using the grill chimney to get the fire going (instead of setting fire to the charcoal bag).  I love these two.  They had a steak-grilling throwdown and Ina cheated (she put a pat of butter on her version which made her steak very moist & tender).  Wish they were my neighbors...no wait!  I wish I lived next door to them in the Hamptons!

[Spunkygal]

Today was one of my favorite reruns because of the grand slam of delicious and easy recipes. It was the Cook like a Pro:Weeknight Dinners episode with salmon tacos with slaw, cider roasted pork tenderloin, lemon capellini and garlic and herb roasted shrimp. I had forgotten about the shrimp and plan on making that this week. I do the salmon tacos on a pretty regular basis. Has anyone been to April Bloomfield’s The Spotted Pig restaurant in NY? I’ve seen her on various shows and always love what she cooks. The segment of her gourmet grilled sandwich——OMG! Yes, please! 

[biakbiak]

5 hours ago, Spunkygal said:

Has anyone been to April Bloomfield’s The Spotted Pig restaurant in NY? I’ve seen her on various shows and always love what she cook

I have and it was delicious. However, it was ground zero in the #Metoo NY Chefs edition. It’s upstairs lounge was nicknamed the rape room (its was the location of one of the assaults that Mario Batali is being investigated for) for years. In the fallout April and her business partner split and she left The Spotted Pig but kept some of the other restaurants in their partnership.

Edited September 16, 2018 by biakbiak

[Mandolia]

On 4/22/2017 at 11:53 PM, chenoa333 said:

I love the Two Fat Ladies! I have difficulty understanding them sometimes due to their accents and certain british lingo, but I can't cook anyway so it doesn't matter! Lol!

I know your post goes back to April 2017 but it has made me laugh because of my own "Englishness" and using expressions that the rest of the world wouldn't have a clue about!

The Two Fat Ladies was great television, and it was a masterstroke to put the two of them together - the food the duo produced was almost incidental to the programmes.  I've got a couple of their books and the recipes - without the jovial banter seen on tv - are brilliant.