Cooking Shows
Dana
September 29, 2012
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Sorry folks, I haven't been doing a ton of new cooking this week. I was thinking, though, it'd be fun to talk about where I get my inspiration. I'm an unapologetic copycat, standing on the shoulders of giants and all that. I mean, yes, I usually end up tweaking recipes to my own tastes, but very few come completely from my own noggin. Firstly, there's Pinterest. Of course there's Pinterest. I currently have 277 recipes to try pinned on Pinterest. That kind of goes without saying. :) Then there are cooking shows...
Cooking shows are kind of a mixed bag for people. Personally, I love them, though I do think some are far better than others. Then again, I recently found out a favorite activity of a friend of mine is watching his fiancee watch cooking shows. She really dislikes the hosts most of the time. So, like I said, mixed bag. Nevertheless, for your reading pleasure, I now give you my top five favorite cooking shows.
#5 - 30 Minute Meals (Rachael Ray)
To be honest, I no longer DVR this series, as it filled up my DVR in a matter of days. Rachael Ray also tends to grate my nerves, but I can't knock her know-how. She has some really great quick meal ideas, and always has at least one clever shortcut in every show. 30MM is where I learned how to roast red peppers. Sadly, a lot of her meals are pasta-based, and that's difficult in a GF household.
#4 - French Food at Home (Laura Calder)
This is an example of a really good but understated show. There are a lot of things on the show that I will never make, but watching and learning the techniques is really cool. Plus, the hostess is fun and charming and makes cooking really casual and fun. Of course, being a show about French cooking, there is a lot of cream...and butter...and cheese...and duck fat...
#3 - Cooking For Real (Sunny Anderson)
Possibly the most charming, personable cooking show hostess out there, Sunny Anderson is adorable, and I want to be friends with her. She's also a bigger girl and is totally okay with that, as should she (and everyone else) be. Her food is fairly down to earth, and she makes the whole process really fun. I have also seen her knock a guest down a peg when they got ugly on her show, and I really respect that. Love her and her cooking.
#2 - Five Ingredient Fix (Claire Robinson)
Five ingredients per dish. Salt, pepper, and water are freebies. Great recipes. What more could you ask for? And the hostess is really fun and cute. Love it. Too bad she hasn't made any new episodes in a good long while. Come on, Robinson, get on it.
#1 - Nadia G's Bitchin' Kitchen - Hah! I didn't have to include the chef name, as it's already in the show title. This is a show unlike any other. It's funny and kooky and ridiculous and honest and hilarious. And Nadia has fabulous shoes! See?
Mike hates this show. You see, Nadia is kind of the Italian version of Paula Deen as far as personality. It's exaggerated (a lot), but that's part of what makes it funny. Some of her recipes are a little too fancy for me, but I always have a great time watching the show. And, in case you're interested, the new season just started this week on Cooking Channel. :)
What's your favorite cooking show and why?
