In recent years, the latest trend in home cooking has been the “30 minute meal”, and for the most part, we have Rachael Ray to thank (or to blame, depending on your point of view), for this phenomenon.
Rachael has her admirers and her detractors, but I’ll admit it, I’m a fan. Sometimes her perkiness grates on my nerves, since I am the polar opposite of ‘perky.’ I don’t subscribe to all of Rachael’s tips; for example, she recommends you prep all your fresh herbs by washing, drying, then chopping them, right when you get home from the grocery store. Seriously, this is just NOT realistic for me. Half the time when I return from the supermarket, I’m trying to multitask between putting away perishable groceries, soothing a cranky 10 month old, and dealing with a dog whining to be walked. Chopping herbs for future use is not at the top of my to-do list. But some of her other tips have saved me time; making extra rice for use in other dishes, or chopping extra onion and storing it for later use.
Critics of Rachael will say “She is not a chef,” (most notably, some of my culinary school instructors). But, she’s never claimed to be a chef. Her recipes are based around busy lifestyles, something I can appreciate.
Along with Rachael’s “30 Minute Meals” show, other quick fix type cooking shows have sprung up on the Food Network; “Quick Fix Meals with Robin Miller” and “Semi-Homemade with Sandra Lee.” Neither of these shows have quite the following that “30 Minute Meals” has. I’ve watched Robin Miller’s show a few times. Her show has that ‘infomercial’ vibe; in fact, I thought I was watching an informercial when I first tuned into her show. I quickly glanced at some of her recipes on the Food Network website, and some of them do sound pretty good; it’s just that I never seem to tune into her show, the way I do with “30 Minute Meals.”
Finally, Sandra Lee. If I were to list things I actually liked about this show….well, it provides me with a good laugh, at least. I’ve watched her show many times for the pure entertainment value of it, and sat there in horror watching her ruin good alcohol with her cocktail ‘concoctions.’ In a recent episode centered around a bachelor party, Sandra decided to create ‘flavored’ pitchers of beer; one contained Kahlua & beer, another contained Grand Marnier & beer, and so on. My husband ranted about this for hours after watching this episode.
I’d also love to know the nutritional content of some of her recipes. In nearly every main dish recipe, you have to use those handy ’spice packets’ that are loaded with sodium; as if it’s THAT difficult to figure out what dried spices to add to spaghetti sauce. Even a simple side dish of mashed potatoes includes 2 teaspoons of powdered Alfredo sauce mix. I wonder what Sandra does with all those partially used spice & sauce packets; I’m picturing a giant pantry full of hundreds of these ’semi-used’ packets.
Finally, the most ridiculous feature of her show is the ‘tablescape’, in which she pretties up the dinner table with cloth napkins, vases & floral arrangements, et cetera. Seriously, if the whole point of her show is to get a quick meal on the table, I am not about to bother with folding my napkins into a cute little pocket to hold the silverware. In a recent episode centered around auto racing (in which she set up her ‘tablescape’ at a racetrack, while clad in racing coveralls), she gushed over her ‘vases’ made out of oil cans, and her ‘napkin rings’ which were actually filter clamps. Then she tried to convince two race car drivers how “cuuuuuuuuuute!” her tablescape was. I don’t know how those two drivers were able to keep a straight face during this whole exchange, but I can tell they were struggling.
So, I guess I will stick with the originator of the 30 minute meal show, Rachael Ray. While her megawatt smile can be a bit much sometimes, at least I don’t feel like she’s trying to get me to buy something, a la Robin Miller, or kill me with an overdose of sodium a la Sandra Lee.
Chefker
