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Post by kungfuzu on Jul 9, 2019 11:24:57 GMT -8
These days, when I watch TV, the odds are that I am viewing some type of cooking program. One can feast one's eyes on beautiful food and learn something at the same time. What's not to like?
One of my favorite cooking programs is Dining with the Chef which is produced by NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corp.) and broadcast in the USA on the Create TV channel.
As one would guess "Dining with the Chef" deals with Japanese Cuisine and it does so in a very Japanese way. The hosts get about their business in an understated manner which I love to watch.
Chef Saito is the expert cook who demonstrates how to prepare the many different dishes. Yu Hayami, is the beautiful lady who translates much of what the chef is saying as well as gracing the TV screen with more than just beautiful food. They work together well.
Generally, an episode will deal with 2 or 3 different dishes, explaining the ingredients needed and showing the techniques required to make each dish. At the end of an episode, the chef and Yu sit down together to sample what has been cooked on that particular program. Yu then has a bite of each different food and comments on the different tastes of each. I can tell the reader that I wish I were there with Yu and the chef sampling to various dishes.
I have seen a number of the different episodes over the last year or so and highly recommend them. They give a very good idea of the simplicity and complexity of Japanese Cuisine.
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Post by artraveler on Jul 9, 2019 22:27:36 GMT -8
Darn, I was looking for a remake of the original Iron Chef. They did't teach you anything about cooking but the commentary was much superior to Elton Brown. The American version just never had the right formula of criticism, sarcasm and irony to make it was much fun as the Japanese show. When I lived in Sacramento it was on the Asian channel.
I am so tired of celebrity chefs most of them, I'm allowing for an exception, are assholes who claim the title of chef because they can not do anything else then be an ass, Gordon Ramsey, Batiali, Rachael Wray, what's his name with diners and dives and that creep Boradine do you hear me? You can have a much better discussion about food with someone who is a cook or a baker or your grandmother. No pretension just good conversation.
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Post by timothylane on Jul 10, 2019 5:59:38 GMT -8
I know Robert Morley, who certainly knew good eating (and appeared in the Alfred Hitchcock Presents episode "The Specialty of the House" as well as the movie Who Is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe?), had some sort of show about cooking or whatever.
I will also note that I once read about a website devoted to hating Rachael Ray. It was a reminder that public life attracts enemies no matter who you are or what you do.
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Post by kungfuzu on Jul 10, 2019 16:40:41 GMT -8
I have to agree with you. I also don't think much of Nigella Lawson (I can't help but think of Godzilla when I hear her name) or Jamie Oliver. I do, very much, like Jacques Pepin, Lydia Bastianich and those people at America's Test Kitchen. There is some American woman who has lived in Greece for decades who specializes in Greek food. I have only seen her a few times, but I like the food she presents.
I also thought Bourdain was an ass. Clearly he was mentally unbalanced, which would seem to be a resume' enhancer for some of these people. That guy Zimmerman (?) has made a career out of eating rubbish. He reminds me of a teenager taking a dare to eat something.
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Post by timothylane on Jul 10, 2019 17:19:35 GMT -8
Elizabeth got a Greek cookbook at a local Greek festival, but I don't know that she ever used it. Of course, many of the ingredients would be hard to find in most grocery stores. But I can think of a number of Greek dishes that I would very much enjoy, from appetizers to desserts (especially kataifi).
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Post by Brad Nelson on Jul 12, 2019 9:36:48 GMT -8
I always enjoyed those two chicks on America’s Test Kitchen. Certainly Pepin is the real deal. You know you’re dealing with someone of quality when they make something look so simple but when you try it yourself, it gets all bolluxed up. (I’ve seen Pepin make an omelette. Simple as pie…until you try it.) Mary Ann Esposito from Ciao Italia is the Italian aunt most people would love to have. She seems so un-full-of-herself. She’s a pleasure to watch. And as much as people like to make fun of Martha Stewart, I find her cooking shows to be practical, entertaining, and straightforward. But for me, these shows are about entertainment. I rarely find myself trying to reproduce someone’s recipe. Here’s somebody’s list of The Top 100 Cooking Shows of All Time. #25 on that list is Wok with Yan. I can remember watching some of those. Frankly (and feel free to disagree), I don’t trust any list that has Jeff Smith’s The Frugal Gourmet at #8. The same with The Galloping Gourmet. Although Graham Kerr was entertaining, I see this less as a cooking show and more as pure entertainment. Nothing wrong with that, but this would never be my go-to show for learning a new recipe or the techniques of cooking. However, the list redeems itself (a little) when it puts Julia and Jacques: Cooking at Home at #1. Much like The Galloping Gourmet, I don’t think I’d tune this in to learn how to cook or get practical recipes. But these two were probably the best pairing ever in terms of entertainment value. |
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Post by Brad Nelson on Jul 12, 2019 9:40:09 GMT -8
What do you all think of Italian chef, Nick Stellino? I guess you could see him as one of those TV blow-hards. And he certainly exudes a lot of personality. But I kinda liked his presentation. He seemed to really love what he was doing.  |
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Post by timothylane on Jul 12, 2019 9:57:43 GMT -8
The only cooking show I ever recall seeing was whatever they had on at times when I was on jury duty. I think it may have been Rachael Ray, but I don't recall for sure. It will probably come as no surprise that I will always brought a book with me to read. Same thing when I went to donate plasma for a living of sorts, except that I don't think they had cooking shows on. (What I've seen of The Sound of Music was at Alpha Plasma. I think I saw just about all of Miss Congeniality there, a movie I'd never heard of until then.)
But Italian cooking I could appreciate. Greek might be even better, and German would also be good. (One German restaurant across the river from Cincinnati has a wide array of schnitzels. I've had a number of them over the years.) I like a lot of good old American cooking, especially Southern comfort food, but I also like a lot of foreign stuff. (And then, macaroni and cheese is after all technically Italian.)
Of course, my ability to taste all these wonders would be limited. I have no sense of smell due to chronic sinusitis, so my sense of taste is limited to the basic tastes. (What most people think of as taste is actually a combination of smell and taste.)
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Post by kungfuzu on Jul 12, 2019 11:37:00 GMT -8
Good that you mention Mary Ann Esposito and Martha Stewart. I like both. I particularly like Esposito as she concentrates on the food not the film. I think Stewart's programs are very good at providing useful info for anyone who wants to cook and bake. And although she is one, she doesn't act like a diva on her programs.
I used to watch Nick Stelino. His recipes are good and I think he loves what he does, but I finally tired of his Sicilian schmaltz.
I have been watching Martin Yan off and on for some thirty years or so. He has improved quite a bit from where he started. What he does particularly well is theme programs where he will film a dozen programs in Malaysia or around Szechuan, for example.
If you like grilling, I can also recommend Steven Raichlen.
One of the things I really like about Pepin is his concentration on technique. He constantly reminds us that one should learn the basic how and why of cooking to be good at it.
I agree that the main purpose of these programs is entertainment. But I also find them educational. While my wife or I will rarely try to cook something exactly as it is done on a program, we do gain some ideas for combining certain herbs and spices or other tastes in ways we would not have thought of without having seen the cooking program.
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Post by kungfuzu on Jul 12, 2019 11:56:08 GMT -8
I looked through the list and thought it near to useless. To rank Joanne Weir at #17 and Rick Bayless at #98 shows a real lack of taste. Forgive the pun.
A sign of good taste is that the list includes "New Scandinavian Cooking" which is a very good series.
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Post by kungfuzu on Jul 13, 2019 14:33:32 GMT -8
I just watched a Stellino episode and this reminded me of one of his strong points. He presents cooking in a very practical way and designs his dishes so that a regular person could cook them. They are delicious looking, but not complicated. I find that very positive as it shows he is thinking of the viewer who may not be a gourmet chef, but likes to cook good food.
He still spreads on his Sicilian schmaltz, but this is now somewhat diluted by his reminiscences, about his parents, all of which are related to some experience they had together with food.
Perhaps I am odd, but I enjoy people reminiscing about their past, because one often hears some very interesting, beautiful and positive things. In any case, to complain would be hypocritical as what are my many stories, but reminiscences about the past?
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Post by Brad Nelson on Jul 14, 2019 7:52:20 GMT -8
Food and family is a very Italian thing from what I understand. How many great memories are to be derived from sitting at the dinner with your nose in your iPhone? Schmaltz or not, a man like this can be forgiven an awful lot. HIs books and videos can be found here. They have season two and three on Amazon Prime. Season one is listed there but is officially "not available" at the moment although it looks as if it can be purchased separately. I watched half of the first episode of season two of Cucina Amore. He's quite a ham. But he did indeed present a practical dish: pasta carbonara. Episode Guide. |
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Post by Brad Nelson on Jul 15, 2019 8:06:23 GMT -8
That looks about the way I like it. I remember going into the Red Lobster (my one and only time) and ordering prime rib. I ordered it medium rare as I have always done anywhere and anyplace I’ve eaten.
The piece of prime rib brought to my table was as rare as rare could but. It was inedible. But, of course, this wasn’t their fault. They explained to me (they may even had shown me a chart) the various grades from rare to well done. I’d had never seen medium-rare be passed off as rare-rare.
What you show in the photos comes across clearly enough. It’s the way I like it. Medium rare. Glad to hear that “Milk Street” has gotten their act together a little.
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Post by Brad Nelson on Jul 17, 2019 15:25:23 GMT -8
I watched the first episode of Mary Berry’s Absolute Favourites on BritBox. She’s a cheerful and engaging presenter who concentrates on the food rather than inserting herself in it too much. But she does show the flare of a lovely personality. She states her philosophy for the show in the first episode. These will be good dishes that will wow people but they won’t be complicated to make. From what I’ve seen of the first episode, she holds to that. Her crab cakes look delicious and easy. And if you can tell me what a “knickerbocker glory” is before looking it up, you get points. I’d never heard of that. She also makes goats’ cheese and shallot tarts. They look suitably easy to make. In all cases, it’s getting the ingredients on hand that will be the main part of the job. There’s also an interesting segment where she goes right to the sea shore in search of prawns which she nets herself and then cooks on the beach in sea water. She doesn’t confine the show to her kitchen which I think makes it a little more interesting. For example, if you don’t know what a knickerbocker glory is, it’s a fruit-and-ice-cream sundae. She visits an ice cream parlor where we learn a little about making gelato. and where she is served a knickerbocker glory, a treat that reminds her of her childhood. She then presents her version of it. |
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Post by kungfuzu on Jul 25, 2019 10:57:37 GMT -8
I want to let you know that for my birthday celebration tonight, we will be having another Cowboy Steak similar to the one pictured above. This time we will smoke it at about 195 degrees for 1.5 hours and then sear it in a very hot cast iron pan.
Along with it will be very fancy baked potatoes and salad. To my mind, that is still the best meal that can be had.
We will wash it all down with a Rose bubbly from the Chandon vineyards in California.
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Post by kungfuzu on Jul 25, 2019 14:30:13 GMT -8
My wife just surprised me with a great birthday present. Brunello di Montalcino 2011 from the Banfi vineyards. BrunelloAs I have mentioned before, this is probably my favorite red wine. It has been close to thirty years since I have tasted it so I am looking forward to tonight's dinner. I don't think she paid the price mentioned on the link. |
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Post by Brad Nelson on Jul 25, 2019 18:00:07 GMT -8
I'm not a big fan of cannibalism, but I know that Texas barbecues can take any kind of meat and make it great. No wonder cowboys are disappearing from the West though.
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Post by kungfuzu on Jul 25, 2019 19:48:38 GMT -8
Here is a site which might give one pause (from laughing) as regards cannibalism. I did not get far enough into the site to see if there was any mention of cowboys. There are a number of items which are humorously damning of the satanic abortion crowd.
I only resort to cannibalism on my birthday. It builds anticipation through the year.
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Post by kungfuzu on Jul 25, 2019 19:54:46 GMT -8
Apparently, my wife's great uncle or some similar relation lived in Sawarak and received a gift of fresh Long Pig leg from a group of friendly Dayaks. He woke up one morning went out on his porch and there is was hanging from the ceiling. This must have been pre-war. I have no idea as to whether or not he ate it. I tend to believe he did not.
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Post by timothylane on Jul 25, 2019 19:55:58 GMT -8
Alfred Packer, a great connoisseur of long pig, said the breasts provided the best meat, and those don't look like breast meat. Of course, different people have different preferences, but Packer was the expert.
Human meat plays a major role in Donald Kingsbury's Courtship Rite, which involves human colonization of a planet where they have no animals except honeybees and humans. So their only meat source is human, roast suckling baby being a particular favorite.
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