The Food Network

[ribbue]

I'm starting to get tired of the themed weekends, but oh well.

I agree that Sara seems a bit boring, but a great chef. I was very lucky, though, as last year I had a chance to take a cooking class that she taught. She knows her stuff, is so nice and very down to earth, and tiny! (I towered over her and I'm short). Her assistant cracked me up too.

Despite the love I've had for her since, I still can't watch her show without falling asleep.

[hottuna]

Thank the Webmaster in the Sky for this site! No sooner did I discover the hilarious FT forum when it closed down.

I like to assess the FN “chefs” first of all on the nutritional content of their typical dishes. I use either MasterCook or AccuChef (the latter uses USDA figures). As you might guess, Paula Dean should be on the other side of the grass if she eats what she makes. Ray Ray’s food is usually quite healthful, even with her pasta fetish.

But there are some surprises. Giada made a chicken tetrazini a while ago that looked like it would plaster your arteries. But it is surprisingly well-balanced, with lots of vitamins across the board, fiber, and at around 750 calories, on the lighter side for a main meal. Of course, she could up the servings from 8 to 12 and it would be only 500 calories.

And there is the issue of Giada’s Large Head. I made this point on FT and I must repeat it here: They film her show with a wide-angle lens placed at or above eye-level because they want to get her and the counter-top in the same shot. The camera distorts perspective, which you can see because the cabinets behind her are wider at the top. It makes her head seem as wide as her shoulders. She won't be posing for Mount Rushmore!

I’ll get to Emeril and the Contessa another time.

[Deleted]

I remember when FN first came on the air. Jane Curtain hosted old Julia Child episodes and the network had cheap computer animations demonstrating a recipie. Remember this was when the "information superhighway" (internet) was gaining momentum, so it was an exciting time to actually download a recipie and not have to copy it off the TV screen.

Emeril has got to go. Tired, boring, done. I don't know why FN is so loyal to him. Please take him off the primetime slots!

[marywebgirl]

I got up at 7:30 this morning just to see Tyler's Ultimate Pizza because I'd seen part of it before and the pizza looked amazing. Everything was fine until he stuck his finger in the sauce not once, not twice, but three times to taste it. I expected the woman making the sauce to flip out but she didn't bat an eyelash.

[hottuna]

Emeril has got to go. Tired, boring, done.

Emeril just fascinates me. His food often looks good, but his own apperance is so brutish, I just don't want to try any of the recipes. He's always rubbing his hands and scratching himself. And does he have ADD or some other mental condition? He forgets to finish sentences. He seems like he might forget to wash his hands after flushing, you know? But at least once an episode, you can count on him to create alternatives for proper speech, so I watch in awe. ("You should see how dis smells!") Give him a metaphor, he'll mix it. Give him a participle, he'll dangle it. Give him a modifier, he'll misplace it. His virtuosity is astounding.

If the TV camera is Emeril's friend, he needs no enemies. Yet I watch, transfixed. But then, I rubberneck when I drive by car accidents.

[Deleted]

And there is the issue of Giada’s Large Head. I made this point on FT and I must repeat it here: They film her show with a wide-angle lens placed at or above eye-level because they want to get her and the counter-top in the same shot. The camera distorts perspective, which you can see because the cabinets behind her are wider at the top. It makes her head seem as wide as her shoulders. She won't be posing for Mount Rushmore!

But don't other shows use this technique also? Her show can't be the only one! And yet, she's the only one rocking the Pez dispenser/lollipop look.

Next month Giada is coming to a department store here to do a cooking demo and to sign her new book. Although I'll probably go, not for the book signing or the demo, but just to see the Big Head in person. Yes, I'm that curious about her head.

[hottuna]

But don't other shows use this technique also?

The other shows seemed to be taped while inside the studio - Everyday Italian looks like it is on film, for one thing. And the technique has to be different. Again, look at the vertical lines (cabinets, etc.) behind the other hosts. They are not wider at the top as on EI. Outside, at the end of her show, when her friends are mooching off her, Giada is filmed with a normal lens and her head has metamorphosed from Gargantuan to merely Very Big.

Still, I'd like to see a Bobble-Head of Giada, complete with that vast, tusk-filled grin.

[mansonlamps]

Awww, I love Emeril. I hope he sticks around awhile.

However, I LUST after the guy on Secret Life of...(I guess I should learn his name since I want to marry him). Did anyone see the Secret Life of Diners? When he came out in that pink waitress outfit is when I realized he needs to become Mr. Mansonlamps! I rarely laugh out loud watching the Food Network. Unless, of course, Ray Ray and Inside Dish are on.

[Deleted]

However, I LUST after the guy on Secret Life of...(I guess I should learn his name since I want to marry him).

Jim O'Connor.

[polygal]

mansonlamps is gonna have to fight me for Jim's affections. He finally got me during the cola episode when he wanted the full soda jerk experience, which is totally what I would do.

*sigh* I shouldn't post and watch TV this late at night.