The Kitchen - General Discussion

[Maya]

I can't believe I'm about to say this but... Sunny is becoming the only reason to watch this show IMO. She's enthusiastic and has a good attitude. Katie seems to be phoning it in each week, GZ always looks like he can't wait to leave, and Marcela is awkward and desperate. Jeff is ok, he's funny sometimes and can cook. But Sunny brings a little spark and hasn't even lunged for anyone's food in a couple weeks!

[bichonblitz]

22 hours ago, Mammalou said:

What was the purpose of having Susan Lucci there? She's awesome but they gave her nothing to do

She was very gracious but really...WTH? she didn't make anything food or 'craft" related. What a complete waste of time. It was sort of embarrassing for her when they showed the picture of her with her grandkids and she started talking about them and they totally cut her off mid sentence...weird.

Marcela's look she's been sporting with the thick black glasses and ponytail lately is almost as bad as the phase Sunny went through with the purple and blue lipsticks. 

GZ- his recipes have been so underwhelming. Most of us know how to make french toast. I don't need an iron chef showing me how. What was that big deal special ingredient he put in it? I can't even remember. The finished product looked soggy. Then chicken salad. Basically add what ever the heck you want to a cut up rotisserie chicken and mix. It took 4 people to pull off that recipe. 

Edited May 14, 2017 by bichonblitz

[Irlandesa]

1 hour ago, bichonblitz said:

I don't need an iron chef showing me how. What was that big deal special ingredient he put in it?

Chamomile tea, which I don't like but I can see why people might not think of it and therefore it's a special recipe.

[Mondrianyone]

12 hours ago, butterbody said:

Thanks so much for posting this. I keep thinking about that caramelized bread soaked with chicken juice, and I am dying to try it but dont know why I am letting it intimidate me. I'm gonna do it this week!

You're very welcome.  It's about the least intimidating recipe for roast chicken I can think of, so don't let that stop you.  You don't even have to truss it (the trend now is not to truss birds, so that the meat on the insides of the thighs can cook through).  All I did was tuck under the wing tips to keep them from burning.  The herbs perfume the meat just fine, without having to go under the skin.  It was easy and delicious.

[Snarklepuss]

On 5/13/2017 at 9:21 PM, Spunkygal said:

She and Giada could be bookends.

You guys are are really cracking me up now!!!

I finally watched this episode - Yeah, I didn't get Susan Lucci being there at all.  With all the possible guests they could have, why her if she's not really bringing anything to the table?  She has actually cooked on other shows before - I Googled it - she made her grandmother's apple cake on the Wendy Williams Show and on some show on the Hallmark Channel.

http://www.hallmarkchannel.com/home-and-family/recipes/susan-luccis-apple-cake

I actually found this video interesting - and learned something about Susan's family too.

Edited May 15, 2017 by Snarklepuss

[LazyToaster]

Do you ever wonder why in some segments one of the hosts suddenly is missing and then returns later? 

[Spunkygal]

10 minutes ago, LazyToaster said:

Do you ever wonder why in some segments one of the hosts suddenly is missing and then returns later? 

I think it's so they can take turns to go backstage for liquid encouragement to finish the show! 

[SoCal Mema]

On 5/14/2017 at 8:30 AM, Maya said:

I can't believe I'm about to say this but... Sunny is becoming the only reason to watch this show IMO. She's enthusiastic and has a good attitude. Katie seems to be phoning it in each week, GZ always looks like he can't wait to leave, and Marcela is awkward and desperate. Jeff is ok, he's funny sometimes and can cook. But Sunny brings a little spark and hasn't even lunged for anyone's food in a couple weeks!

My dislike for Katie is endless, so I'm on board with a revamp of personalities for this show.  I seem to be among the few who don't find Sunny annoying.  Just in general, the network needs to stop recycling the same chefs for every show.  So tired of all of them and the gimmicky concepts.

[Mammalou]

On 5/17/2017 at 0:04 PM, SoCal Mema said:

My dislike for Katie is endless, so I'm on board with a revamp of personalities for this show.  I seem to be among the few who don't find Sunny annoying.  Just in general, the network needs to stop recycling the same chefs for every show.  So tired of all of them and the gimmicky concepts.

I agree about Katie.. she is blander than bland and her presents recipes which are easily found on Pinterest.. nothing innovative or different. I'm over watching her stuffing her face with whatever is on the counter while she looks right into the camera

..speaking of stuffing her face... someone needs to tell sunny to close her mouth when she is speaking.. her lip smacking is gross.. oh and having Jeff pour olive oil in your Palm so you can LICK it off is BEYOND nasty

[Spunkygal]

@Mammalou, I was just coming here to tell Sunny to learn some manners! That lip smacking when she was eating the lemon chicken was disgusting. And she couldn't taste the olive oil with a spoon? This show is consistently the second highest rated show on FN. They are lucky they have this Saturday timeslot when a lot of us have the TV on while doing laundry and other chores.

[biakbiak]

So I could have sworn that Angie Mar said that her mother was Ruby Chow which made me do a double take because Ruby Chow was old when I was a kid so I looked it up and she is her aunt not her mother. Did all three of us mishear or did she actually say mother? I wasn't Tivoing so can't go back and check.

[Maya]

I have never heard of leaving ground beef patties out on your counter for two hours to dry out. I am a food safety freak and can't imagine doing that. Is that a common thing?

I also was disgusted when she licked olive oil off her hand. 

[chessiegal]

I saw a promo for the 2nd season of Katie's show Beach Bites on Cooking Channel. I was wondering if she's been getting voice coaching because her voice didn't seem nasally like the few times I've seen her on other shows. I don't watch The Kitchen. Anyone notice a change?

[LazyToaster]

I didn't like the leaving meat out for 2 hours either - I wouldn't be able to eat it. 

[biakbiak]

I do it all the time, nothing has ever happened. Even the USDA which is very conservative on these matters says that up to 2 hours is fine (unless it's super warm in the room as in over 90 degrees and than they say 1 hour.

[Spunkygal]

I've often heard to let your meat come to room temp before grilling, roasting, etc., because it doesn't have to work off the cool temp of the fridge as it cooks and therefore cooks better. When I make my Christmas tenderloin, I set it out of the fridge at least an hour before putting in the oven and I usually set out roasts and hamburger meat a bit early to get the chill off. 

[Qoass]

If there's a vocal coach who has improved Katie's voice, please let me know who it is so I can buy them a car...

[Spunkygal]

On May 20, 2017 at 6:21 PM, chessiegal said:

I saw a promo for the 2nd season of Katie's show Beach Bites on Cooking Channel. I was wondering if she's been getting voice coaching because her voice didn't seem nasally like the few times I've seen her on other shows. I don't watch The Kitchen. Anyone notice a change?

I have caught snippets of her show and her voice did not seem as monotone and nasally and she had good interaction with her guests. It's not a show that I would DVR, but I liked her much more on Beach Bites than The Kitchen. 

[Snarklepuss]

On 5/20/2017 at 3:15 PM, biakbiak said:

So I could have sworn that Angie Mar said that her mother was Ruby Chow which made me do a double take because Ruby Chow was old when I was a kid so I looked it up and she is her aunt not her mother. Did all three of us mishear or did she actually say mother? I wasn't Tivoing so can't go back and check.

Angie said she was her aunt - I'm thinking great aunt?

Re: Jeff using a vegetable peeler for the lemon - I never see TV chefs use an old fashioned lemon zester anymore except for Jacques Pepin.  That would probably work too with already cut lemons.  I never see those zesters in the stores anymore either except for one by Oxo that I found online.  I have one from years ago.

Marcella looks different to me since her pregnancy and I can't put my finger on why.  Her face is fuller perhaps?

[Spunkygal]

2 hours ago, Snarklepuss said:

Angie said she was her aunt - I'm thinking great aunt?

Re: Jeff using a vegetable peeler for the lemon - I never see TV chefs use an old fashioned lemon zester anymore except for Jacques Pepin.  That would probably work too with already cut lemons.  I never see those zesters in the stores anymore either except for one by Oxo that I found online.  I have one from years ago.

Marcella looks different to me since her pregnancy and I can't put my finger on why.  Her face is fuller perhaps?

Regarding Marcella's face....maybe too much filler? She now reminds me of one of my former assistants who had that shiny, smooth look after a "refresher" at her dermatologist. 

[Snarklepuss]

Just now, Spunkygal said:

Regarding Marcella's face....maybe too much filler? She now reminds me of one of my former assistants who had that shiny, smooth look after a "refresher" at her dermatologist. 

Interesting - I also noticed her hairline appears to be receding gradually too.  That pulled back look is starting to look a little scary on her.

[Maya]

Why is GZ wearing a heavy zipped up black leather jacket during the summer grilling episode. 

[Irlandesa]

On 5/22/2017 at 1:25 PM, Spunkygal said:

Regarding Marcella's face....maybe too much filler? She now reminds me of one of my former assistants who had that shiny, smooth look after a "refresher" at her dermatologist. 

I think she looks a touch fuller all around--still slim but fuller.  I just chalk it up to her recent pregnancy.  I've heard pregnancy can do weird things to the body and it can be different each time.  She just had her 3rd.  She's 38. The body doesn't bounce back as quickly any longer.  In fact, this was perhaps the first episode where she felt as peppy as she has in the past. 

Maya, that's a great question.  I also want to know if I was the only one who couldn't follow Sunny's grilling tip.  Does that tower go in the grill?  Under the grill and then you pick it up and dump it?  Maybe it's because I don't grill but I was very confused.

Edited May 28, 2017 by Irlandesa

[Mondrianyone]

26 minutes ago, Irlandesa said:

 I also want to know if I was the only one who couldn't follow Sunny's grilling tip.  Does that tower go in the grill?  Under the grill and then you pick it up and dump it?  Maybe it's because I don't grill but I was very confused.

You mean the charcoal chimney?  We don't grill much either, but we did get one of those based on seeing how it's used on America's Test Kitchen, I think.  You set the chimney on a nonflammable surface, fill the cylinder with briquets, crumple up a bunch of newspaper in the space underneath the cylinder, light the paper, and then wait for the coals to catch and turn gray with ash.  Then you dump them into the grill and they're ready to cook.  It works better than anything, and it's a lot safer than liquid fire starter.

[Irlandesa]

1 minute ago, Mondrianyone said:

Then you dump them into the grill and they're ready to cook. 

That makes sense but they were talking about it as a way to make grilling last longer. I'm not sure how that would work.

[Mondrianyone]

I don't remember that part specifically, but maybe what they meant is that while you're grilling with the coals from the first batch, you can start another batch in the chimney.  Then you dump those already hot coals on the existing bed of coals to make it all burn longer, rather than adding unlit charcoal to the fire, which tends to put out the coals in the grill before the new ones catch themselves.  At least that's how we've done it.  Depends how long you need to keep the fire going.

[chessiegal]

1 hour ago, Mondrianyone said:

I don't remember that part specifically, but maybe what they meant is that while you're grilling with the coals from the first batch, you can start another batch in the chimney.  Then you dump those already hot coals on the existing bed of coals to make it all burn longer, rather than adding unlit charcoal to the fire, which tends to put out the coals in the grill before the new ones catch themselves.  At least that's how we've done it.  Depends how long you need to keep the fire going.

That's what I've seen ATK do.

[jcbrown]

I start the first chimney of charcoal in the grill and can start another one on a pile of concrete blocks I keep adjacent to the grill.

[Kathcart]

Quote

Why is GZ wearing a heavy zipped up black leather jacket during the summer grilling episode. 

Because he is soooooooo cool? Yeah, that's it.

[Mammalou]

IM all for doing away with tool takedown or showdown or whatever they call it lol

[Irlandesa]

3 minutes ago, Mammalou said:

IM all for doing away with tool takedown or showdown or whatever they call it lol

That might be my favorite thing they do.

[Mondrianyone]

Mine, too.

[Spunkygal]

Updating my previous post to say that today I watched two episodes of Beach Bites. It's really not bad. Many times her voice sounded normal and not so nasally. And the food looked amazing. She visits chefs at beach locales and either they cook for her or will show her how to cook one of their specialties. It has much more creative food than The Kitchen. And is on Cooking Channel, not FN. I am a bit jealous that she looks so good in skimpy beachwear. Back in the day, I did too. Sniff, sniff......

also, in one segment she had her hair pulled up in a high loose bun. It looked so cute. She should wear it like that more often.

Edited June 1, 2017 by Spunkygal

[LazyToaster]

GZ (hate that nickname; but, there you are) continues to confuse me with his various "personas".  On Chopped he's the almost stern, no-nonsense judge a lot of the time - on The Kitchen he's usually the dapper, buttoned-up gentleman type who make cocktails - on Iron Chef well, he's Iron Chef in the flesh - then, on Cook vs Cons he's a big huge goofball.  

[Wings]

I don't watch regularly, really not much at all.  I have to laugh at the herb infused ice containers this morning!  Come on.  

[VioletNevermind]

Did anyone see the guy who made the chocolate brownie pie (or whatever it was) lick his fingers as he plated it?  I'm sure they're all such wonderfully close friends, but that's disgusting.

The final segment where they made the Moscow mule really highlighted how crowded the stage is.  Half the time, there are so many people talking at once that you can't even understand what anyone is saying.  Between Sunny's braying (which I will grudgingly admit has been toned down a bit), Katie's inane commentary, and Jeff's perpetual comedy routine that no one asked for, it's difficult to grasp any useful takeaways from this show.  They could easily lose two hosts, as long as one of them is Marcela.

Edited June 3, 2017 by SuzyLee

[Spunkygal]

I have seen the "freeze the herbs, flowers, citrus" in ice many times before...buckets, cubes, etc. I live in north Texas and making that stuff would be wasted energy. It wouldn't last long in our unrelenting heat. And that long ice stirrer which was taller than the glass...looks like it would get messy as it's dripping.

I see Sunny is friends again with the blue/black lipstick. So flattering! ?

I FF'd through the brownie pie guy coz I don't have a sweet tooth. 

At least Marcella has had her baby and we don't have to hear her whining "I can't drink" anymore.

[Uncle Benzene]

The best part this week was Marcela's face when Sunny (to her right) was trying to talk past her to Jeff who was seated at the left side of the set/counter, and Sunny literally yelled (to Jeff) right in Sunny's ear. Marcela just kinda bristled for a second and then rolled her eyes as if to say "Of course she just did that." Hilarious.

Katie's grilled shrimp/onions/peppers were nothing groundbreaking or anything (because nothing they do on this show ever is) but it was definitely the best looking thing they've done on this show in quite some time. Real food, nothing crazy or gimmicky, no shilling for any pre-packaged something-or-other, no "clever supermarket shortcuts" and it was beautiful on the plate. I'm so old, I can remember when they used to do that kind of stuff on a regular basis! Too bad Katie went to all the trouble of mixing up that spice rub, then seasoned the shrimp first, and then brushed half of it off while applying the oil. 

Edited June 3, 2017 by Uncle Benzene

[Spunkygal]

Darn it! I missed the Marcella eyeroll! I, too, thought it was strange for KL to season then oil the shrimp and veggies. But I would have happily eaten it. This show is so lucky it is in a day and timeslot where it can coast through the ratings. I wish FN hadn't stuck Ina's new series on Sunday mornings.

[MerBearHou]

Marcela was especially annoying in this episode, IMO.  Extra "sing-song, uptalk" voice.  God, it drives me nuts.  She drives me nuts.

Even though I thought the same thing about the flowers in ice melting quickly (good for indoors, not outdoors), I still thought it was sooo pretty.  

Loved Geoffrey and Jeff giving each other a hard time like buddies.  They enjoy each other's humor.

[imjagain]

The radishes   dipped in butter was amazing!!! I had never seen it, thought of it, so I absolutely loved it. Butter and radishes is my summer snack so this was great for me. 

I missed the eye roll too lol. I might have to rewatch. 

[Mammalou]

Not sure why Katie didn't place her shrimp on skewers... it did look delicious but nothing any of us couldn't do on our own

i feel like when I watch Marcela prepare a dish, i actual learn something.. the dip looked awesome too

[Mammalou]

Felt like the guest was auditioning for his own show also!

[Irlandesa]

5 hours ago, Mammalou said:

Not sure why Katie didn't place her shrimp on skewers... it did look delicious but nothing any of us couldn't do on our own

Isn't that the point?  Showing us things we may not have thought of but we could do on our own as opposed to things we'd need to practice a lot to be able to do?   The sugar was an interesting tip I hadn't heard of before.

Quote

i feel like when I watch Marcela prepare a dish, i actual learn something.. the dip looked awesome too

The most informative thing during that segment for me was to see GZ cut the corn in half.  I've seen people put it in a bowl but I never considered cutting it half even though it's so obvious.

4 hours ago, Mammalou said:

Felt like the guest was auditioning for his own show also!

I did too.

Edited June 4, 2017 by Irlandesa

[Spunkygal]

A few seasons ago, GZ showed how to cut corn off the cob by placing the cob in the opening of a tube cake pan and slicing the kernels off, which then fell into the cake pan. The tube opening gave the cob stabilization while you held the top. I was surprised he didn't show this method again.

[Irlandesa]

12 minutes ago, Spunkygal said:

A few seasons ago, GZ showed how to cut corn off the cob by placing the cob in the opening of a tube cake pan and slicing the kernels off, which then fell into the cake pan. The tube opening gave the cob stabilization while you held the top. I was surprised he didn't show this method again.

Probably because his corn cutting wasn't the focus of the segment.  He was just doing his helper bit when some of the others recognized how he was going after the corn.

[Maya]

13 hours ago, Mammalou said:

Felt like the guest was auditioning for his own show also!

He was really annoying. I thought he was very condescending towards Sunny. He somehow made chocolate brownie pie look unappetizing too. 

[butterbody]

Brownie pie guy was super annoying. Not only did he lick his fingers, (gross) he also neglected to serve any pie to the rest of the hosts, and instead stood there eating directly from the pan and mugging for the camera. 

[Mammalou]

wanted to thank the kitchen for teaching us to keep our food cold by using ice lol..  Jessie decker is adorable but she didn't cook a la Hilaria Baldwin... She put some items into a bowl.. thought Marcelas cashew dressing was interesting... 

[Irlandesa]

3 hours ago, Mammalou said:

Marcelas cashew dressing was interesting

It did.  I'm going to try it. See if I could make a chicken salad out of it.