Had it with the Food Channel...

[Daisy and Delilah]

Chef Mehta did a regular Iron Chef not too long ago. I forget who it was against. He almost won the battle. He seemed more versatile in that one than he has on the Next Iron Chef competition. I am voting for Chef Garces right now. Chef Mehta just seems like somebody I wouldn't want to watch on a regular basis.

I'm still shocked that Amanda Freitag was eliminated. We needed another woman in the Iron Chef group !!!

[Pinot's Mom]

I'm following the Next Iron Chef, too, and I was rooting for Amanda Freitag as well. In lieu of that; I actually like Chef Mehta - I think he is a more versatile chef. I wouldn't argue with either, though, they both seem very good.

[RICHARD]

I think Chef Mehta will win.

Again, the TVFN is searching for the ethnic angle...

------------------------------------


LOLOLOLOL,

I just busted Tyler Florence.

(I do have a love/hate relationship with this channel.)

TF was making turkey mole (moh-Leh) - turkey cooked in a chocolate/cinnamon sauce.

Ewwww.......I have never cared for anything sweet with meat. I don't like it.

Anyway, TF starts with "mexcan cinnamon"-they look like regular cinnamon sticks to me, then he breaks out the "Oaxaca Chocolate".

"Chocolate from Oaxaca"- he says..

(Oaxaca is a state in Mexico!)

DUDE!

He pulls it out of plastic wrap and I see that it's a mexican style of chocolate
called "La Abuelita"-The Granny/Grandmother.

It comes in wheels that have the name stamped on them - Nestle' is the company that mass produces the chocolate for the Mexican market.

Now, people will think that TF is cooking with a 'real mex' chocolate, and in a sense he is....But, you can get the same stuff all over Mexico and in your local Mex restaurant.

That's the kind of tom foolery that makes me laugh and dislike some of the programs and hosts on TVFN.

Yeah, I understand the idea of wanting to make a dish that is true to the original, but when they try and pass off regular ingredients as original?

[Daisy and Delilah]

Good for you, Richard. I saw part of that show but I wasn't able to pay close attention.

I like Tyler Florence but he talks so fast, I have a hard time keeping up with him sometimes.

[RICHARD]

From the link...
I was curious who sits in the audience at the IC tapings...

The smell is intoxicating, even for savory foods at 8:00 a.m. As the shooting wrapped by lunch time, I was horrified to see the crew dump all the food into the trash. I guess next time I'll come as a judge -- I can't watch, hear, and smell all that food without tasting it!

http://www.superchefblog.com/2005/05...f-america.html

Seriously,

How can they do that? They advert the "food for millions" food drives they have, yet, they toss top notch food items into the trash?


I think I get it.

[Daisy and Delilah]

I can't get the page to load for me for some reason. Probably my computer ignorance.

I know what you mean, Richard. It kills me how they so willingly throw away such a large amount of good quality food. The advertise how needy kids are, etc., all the time.

On the show, Iron Chef, they use the most expensive of ingredients available sometimes. Don't they at least have a hungry crew that could make use of the food?

I've always thought the prepared food on any show was going to the camera people, set people, etc. They throw it in the trash?? That's crazy.

[RICHARD]

I can't get the page to load for me for some reason. Probably my computer ignorance.

5/12/2005
In the Audience of Iron Chef America
By JULIETTE ROSSANT

Recently, I joined the studio audience for a taping of Iron Chef America. I knew both teams of chefs: Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger (see Super Chef, chapter 5) versus Iron Chef Bobby Flay. While all of us signed away our rights to write about what happened or what the secret ingredient was, there is still the audience story.

We were told to arrive by 7:30 a.m. at the studio. In the second of two waiting rooms, Bobby came out to meet and greet. Then, crew led audience members out in groups to sit down, and we sat through segment shoots of the president's greeting of the contestants Susan and Mary Sue, his choosing of the iron chef to combat, and the revealing of the secret ingredient. The actual kitchen battle really took only one hour.

Even from the audience section -- right behind the spice rack on the Iron Chef side of the studio -- the frenetic pace of both chefs and camera crews as they raced about the half-hidden set were exciting. We got an extra bang the when a camera cable caught on fire and momentarily added its own pungent smoke to that of the cooking food. Flat screens showed one of the sous chefs peeling a hard boiled egg, while Alton Brown made light of the cable disaster.

It is amazing to watch how parts of a dish are brought together on a plate from scattered places all over the kitchen. Logical steps begin to reveal themselves in the flurrying parade of preparation. It was like a three-ring circus, with something exciting all the time in each ring. To watched one was to miss the others, but that is part of the magic, circus or kitchen. Besides, it was marvelous to see a gaggle of top chefs at work rather than interviewing them.

For Foodies (or unfed breakfasters, take your pick), it was hard to keep seated throughtout. The smell is intoxicating, even for savory foods at 8:00 a.m. As the shooting wrapped by lunch time, I was horrified to see the crew dump all the food into the trash. I guess next time I'll come as a judge -- I can't watch, hear, and smell all that food without tasting it!

---------

altho the article was written in '05? I doubt that they now would have taken the time to package all the stuff up and try to find a charity to donate it to.

I have noticed that the product placement in Top Chef -Glad storage items- and have to roll my eyes that TVFN hasn't really lent itself to getting anyone/any company on board to sponsor or donate their products. I'd like to see Reynolds Wrap donate some foil pans and a driver to take the stuff to a homeless shelter once or twice?

LOL, I know what Umami is, kinda, and rolled my eyes when the NIC did the whole program/commercial on soy sauces. So, if you get someone to sponsor a whole hour of soy sauce cooking, how much harder can it be to get a small donation to help out the needy?


-----------
Like the T Florence 'chocolate' thing there is a slight 'integrity' issue I have with the channel, but I keep coming back. I only pay attention to the competition shows and the rest are background noise to my indoor chores should I tune in.

Looking back at all the great food I have seen on that show, and knowing that it went into the trash at the end?

My mom used to tell us that wasting food was a sin. If so, That means I will have to share hell with Alton Brown.

[Daisy and Delilah]

Thanks for posting the article, Richard.

This absolutely makes me furious. How can anybody be so wasteful? Are there laws that don't allow sharing with the audience like they used to on Emeril's shows?

Paula Deen shares with the audience too.

What in the world could stop them from trying to find someone that could take the food and put it to good use? Homeless shelters would love to get the donation. Heck, the audience would love to taste it, as we can read for ourselves.

As I've said before, Dinner Impossible is a show where RI seems to enjoy tossing food in the trash.

$70 a pound lobster in the trash?? It's insane.

I would write to FN and complain but I have sent them a half dozen emails in the past and none of them were ever answered, as I recall.

Maybe I'll fire off another email anyway.

[cassiesmom]

Is anyone out there (besides me) following The Next Iron Chef? I was rooting for Chef Mullen, but he's been eliminated. If Chef Mehta wins I might need to have a chat with the Chairman. Chef Mehta's kaiseki preparation was over the top with all those flowers. Go, Chef Garces, go!

Morimoto, BF and (especially) Michael Symon seemed to like Chef Garces better than Chef Mehta. Interesting to listen to the judges and the Iron Chefs discussing the competitors. I got the impression Mehta had a couple of mistakes in his dishes that should not have occurred at that level.

[Karen]

I knew as soon as someone said their burger was raw that Chef Mehta's chances were low, serving raw pork is a complete no-no. It was sad, I was kind of rooting for him until that point!

[RICHARD]

When I die?

I am not going to heaven.

And it's all Paula Deen's fault.


------------

I saw last night that she was at some kind of charity event and was hit in the face with a ham.....


I really laughed more than I should have.

She's O.K., but mom always said?


Don't play with your food!

[RICHARD]

Jennifer Garner likes the Barefoot Contessa...

She really loves Ina Garten's 'Barefoot Contessa:' "I tried to get on Ina's show. I tried to use my, well, you know...I say, use what you have to make the world better or for yourself! But eventually she just said, 'I'm sorry, I only use my real friends on the show.' I felt like, What are you saying? That we're not friends? I know everything about you!"


http://www.popeater.com/2009/12/09/j...-w-magazine%2F

-------------------
Guy Fieri is doing a tour....
I'll post the link later!

http://www.dailynews.com/lalife/ci_13953666

[RICHARD]

I love (hate) the Food Channel.

If I am feeling crappy or have to deride someone, I load up on the NERF gun and tune in the the FC.

After a few minutes of target practice, I feel better.

Today, I tuned into Raychul Rae and she was doing some kind of hour long special on Christmas party food.

She was making cheese balls in olive oil and herbs and goes off to the local cheese shop to buy cheese for the party. She is making an antipasti platter?

I was trying to check out the prices-they had the little signs that have the little wire prongs on the bottom that get pushed into the cheese.

She checks out some 9.99 (looked like) cheeses, then the clerk pushes a 23.99 dollar a pound cheese on her-which, of course, she has to buy.

She walked out with two bags that I guesstimate weighed about 6-7 lbs.

I figure she spent about 75 bucks there.
She goes off to a meat market and buys some sausage and other meat.

I had lost interest by that time.

I love to watch food programs, but, I still get irritated by the claim that it's a meal that you can put up in your kitchen.

That 24 dollar cheese is probably 32 dollars in lost angeles.

I really doubt that RR would even consider her purchases if the FC didn't pay for them?

-------------------------
Christmas really is a time for family and feasting.

I have always thought that if you invite me into your home and feed me a meal, I would gladly eat a can of dog food on account of your courtesy.

(Cat food smells too funny....)

So, I could buy a brick of velveeta, toothpicks some chips, stuff for salsa and a 12 pack of Pabst and have a rocking party. All that for 24 dollars and maybe I'll have a paper dollar to buy a lotto scratcher?

And to all?
A good night!

[Medusa]

I have always thought that if you invite me into your home and feed me a meal, I would gladly eat a can of dog food on account of your courtesy.

(Cat food smells too funny....)

So, I could buy a brick of velveeta, toothpicks some chips, stuff for salsa and a 12 pack of Pabst and have a rocking party. All that for 24 dollars and maybe I'll have a paper dollar to buy a lotto scratcher?

And to all?
A good night!

I love this, RICHARD. My sentiment exactly. I'm always thrilled when I receive an invitation. It's the company that I appreciate and the effort that's put into serving a meal or snack or whatever.

Hey, have you tried Mario Batali's jar pasta sauce? I usually have a container of sauce in the freezer b/c I make a batch when the boy comes home, then I freeze it. But I didn't have any left this time and I was in the mood for spaghetti but didn't feel like making a batch so I tried his sauce. The tomato basil is really good. It's light and isn't made w/puree. If you want a quick, light, meatless sauce, give it a whirl. I'm sure I'll play around w/it later and add a few ingredients but for right now, it's good. If you've tried it, let me know what you think.

[RICHARD]

I love this, RICHARD. My sentiment exactly. I'm always thrilled when I receive an invitation. It's the company that I appreciate and the effort that's put into serving a meal or snack or whatever.

Hey, have you tried Mario Batali's jar pasta sauce? I usually have a container of sauce in the freezer b/c I make a batch when the boy comes home, then I freeze it. But I didn't have any left this time and I was in the mood for spaghetti but didn't feel like making a batch so I tried his sauce. The tomato basil is really good. It's light and isn't made w/puree. If you want a quick, light, meatless sauce, give it a whirl. I'm sure I'll play around w/it later and add a few ingredients but for right now, it's good. If you've tried it, let me know what you think.

I am very old fashioned about food and eating at someone's home.

I would rather see a table of 'real' food, than a spread of fancy stuff that I cannot pronounce or spell. One funny part about that RR show was her discussion with the clerk/owner of the cheee store.

I think the expensive cheese had truffles in it....during the clip she mentions that the viewers can pick up a cheese with mushrooms in it if we can't find the truffle kind. Hmm, I guess us suckers will have to make do with what we can find?

I have never seen the MB sauces.

I tend to stay away from 'name brand' sauces. The get kinda pricey and sometimes are too sweet.

I do stock up on canned, flavored sauces, then, as you do, punch them up with other ingredients when I make spaghetti.

I'll keep my eye peeled for it next time I go shopping.

Thanks!