Food Crushes

While not terribly unusual, it seems like the Food Network was on our television quite a bit this past weekend... so I thought it was time to devote a post to some of my Food Network "crushes."

Who would have ever thought that someone other than Emeril would be the dominant Food Network personality?

Rachael Ray has pretty much taken over the network with four regular shows - 30 Minute Meals, $40 A Day, Inside Dish, and Tasty Travels... plus some other specials thrown in every now and then.  Now I have been watching Rachael long before she became monopolized the network (not sure what's going to happen to all these when she starts her own Oprah-blessed nationally syndicated talk show next year... update: Rachael Ray Talk Show a Go).  She is pretty much the anti-Martha... not prim and proper in any way... easy, no-fuss recipes... she rarely measures her ingredients (a palmful of this, a few splashes of that)... and often tells you to swap out ingredients with whatever you have in your cupboard or your personal preferences.  But Todd will tell you (without much complaint, I think) I am a 30-Minute Meal aficionado.

As I mentioned in a recent post, she is a love/hate type of personality.  She has become more wacky (ok, annoying... at times I found her Inside Dish celeb-interview show almost unwatchable) as the years have gone by... just check out an episode of 30 Minute Meals that is a few years old to see how much Rachael has loosened up on camera (hint: her hair color is a big clue... the lighter and longer it is, the "newer" the show is).  Others have been critical of her on $40 A Day, with her often stingy tips.  I think she should just call the show Around $40 A Day, so she doesn't have to try so hard to "make her budget."  I don't take her tipping (or lack thereof) tipping all that seriously ... but on a special 2005 "Holiday New York" episode that just aired, she made it just under $40 thanks to her "honey John" completely paying for an afternoon cocoa.  Not that was bad!   But I still love her!

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Next up is one of the network's newer personalities, Dave Lieberman - the 25 year old host of Good Deal and a new Internet only show, Eat This.  I couldn't find a picture that does him justice, but he is just adorable.... puppy-like adorable, great smile and kind of hunky in a non-threatening way (but I think a lot of it is is that he has youth on his side).

Unlike Rachael, I haven't been inspired to re-create any of Dave's culinary treats... and ok, I will admit that I occasionally even lose track of what he is even making when he is on the TV screen.  He does have a new cookbook, Young and Hungry: More Than 100 Recipes for Cooking Fresh and Affordable Food for Everyone... hmm, young, hungry, fresh, affordable... "eat this" you don't think he is courting a gay audience?  Might just as well throw "hung" in there somewhere for good measure... haha!

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Although she has been around for awhile, I have just recently stumbled across Paula Dean.  Host of Paula's Home Cooking, this Southern Belle is simply a hoot.  A lot of her recipes seem to call for a stick of butter, so can't go wrong with that!   

Again, not sure how many recipes I will be looking up ... but thus far I have been basically just viewing this as another half-hour sitcom... think of it as a slightly older Suzanne Sugarbaker hosting a cooking show.  I have the TiVo all set to record Paula's Southern Christmas special.

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Finally, any talk of the Food Network would not be complete without mention of my very first FN crush, Tyler Florence. Tyler is not on as often as he used to be, but I loved watching Food 911 and eventually Tyler's Ultimate... again, not so much for the food (which tend to be a tad too involved for my taste).  Much like Dave, he is an easy-going personality and has a smile that lights up the screen... and hunky in that "just an ordinary guy" kind of way.   This weekend, I stumbled onto an episode of How To Boil Water... I did not realize that he was co-hosing this show... so might have to start watching!

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Maybe it's time for a Food Network-themed W&C banner... haven't made a new one in a long time!

Bon Appetit!

Comments

[Beth]

Ah, the Food Network! I just love it too. I've been bitten by podcasts and found one from KCRW.com called Good Food. Pretty interesting. One of their recent shows had an "critic" who runs a website called The Cookbook Critic (http://www.thecookbookcritic.com). I believe she did 'critique' Rachael Ray's (gotta love her!) cookbook. Don't recall if it was good, bad or ugly.

[Jeff]

Ooh, food crushes: one of my favorite topics! Mmm, I do love that Dave Lieberman. Such a cutie. Another show I've been watching now and then is "Everyday Italian" with Giada De Laurentiis. I should also mention my local TV food crush, whom I rediscovered when I was visiting my parents over Thanksgiving: Joey Altman, who hosts "Bay Cafe" in San Francisco.
http://www.kron4.com/Global/story.asp?S=514217&nav=menu130_14

[clh]

I have a huge crush on Tyler Florence, even though he's gained a bit of weight in the last year or so.
I read something about Giada that referred to her as "Little Big Head". LOL.
And Rachael? I don't know. I like 30 Minute Meals, probably because she's actually *doing* something. I hate her on $40 a Day. I hate the way she practically has an orgasm every time she takes a bite of food.

[souha elmoussawi]

hello paula my name is soha . im waiting you show to watching you . your food is yummy and your are soooooooooooo classy and funny in the same time i love you paula