Out of the people I hang around with, I'm usually lambasted as the one who could care less about NPR (I know, I know...I should care) and who turns my nose up at any kind of crunchy, granola mass media choices for the loud and flashy shallowness of E! or VH1. But, I was perfectly content to snuggle in with America's Test Kitchen, Check Please!, and Everyday Cooking. Since I've been looking for viable alternatives to most of the shows on the Food Network which have become so carnivalized since their inception, I was overjoyed to find just what I was looking for on WTTW11. So, let me give a rundown of the actual shows I watched today:
America's Test Kitchen: This is a great alternative to 30 Minute Meals (and don't we all deserve one?). What they do is present one meal that the test kitchen has perfected over several trials. What I really appreciated is that they break down what can seem like very complicated recipes into very simple steps and make great suggestions on how to make it simply but still retain the "best it can be" quality. Extra special is a 10 minute segment in the middle where they do a taste test of a particular product featured in the recipe. Informative and practical. Warning: Of all the episodes I've seen (5), I've never seen a vegetarian dish featured. But, the cooking tips and the way they teach working with flavors could probably translate into vegetarian meals.
Real Simple: Alright, confession: this is not a cooking show. But it's one of those "lifestyle shows" that's good brain candy. The episode I saw featured segments on stenciling, whether or not price clubs are worth it, and other "lifestyle" artsy-craftsy lessons. While not deep or really showing anything new, it seems to capture the essence of the "Real Simple" magazine which I love but cannot afford at a cover price that's nearly $5. These are three lovely people (obviously not paid for their brainpower) but willing to relate to me the virtues of table-scaping. A GREAT and BETTER alternative to Stupid Cooking with Sandra Lee, as it features neither stupid cooking nor Sandra Lee.
Everyday Food: Exec-Produced by Martha Stewart(grrrr), this show is a nice conglomeration of what you might find on 30 Minute Meals, Barefoot Contessa, Tyler's Ultimate, and any other of the barrage of semi-annoying shows the Food Network offers. Again, very simple recipes that end up looking really elegant. This cast mixes up entrees, appetizers, and dessert recipes nicely and run the gamut from country fried chicken to the best peanut butter and jelly sandwich ever. It's just a nice show to watch and the recipes are easy to replicate.Personally, I think the only show on Food Network that will not be replicated anywhere else is Alton Brown's Good Eats, which I will still happily tune in for at every chance I get.
And, while I love the fact that PBS now offers a quasi-food network feast on Saturdays, I have to wonder how much this means that PBS is changing its original oatey, crunchy granola platform to be able to compete with flashier networks. PBS has always been the home for some tie to more intellectual, certainly high(er) culture, efforts offered to everyone who has a television. While there are 8 ESPN channels, there's always been only one PBS with a distinctive ability to fill a small yet important niche in local programming that will never include a discussion of Britney Spears or "super simple, spicey and savory, savvy suppers" touted by a Barbie-doll proportioned know-nothing. So, I feel a little conflicted about my joy that now their shows are mostly produced by the people and companies that it was able to distinguish itself from for so long. Even though they still offer programming without commercials (a fact that overjoyed me to my core) what does that mean when the programming itself turns decidedly commercial?
Aw, hell...I'm still watching...and I'm telling all my pop culture junkies to do the same.
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1 comment:
You are inches away from tuning in to Car Talk.
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