Sep 27, 2001 06:24 PM
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A whole channel devoted to cooking shows, ''sounds boring'' you say? It's anything but. You can choose from shows that will only entertain, those that will give you real skills and those that will not only entertain but will give you a glimpse into other cultures and countries. Here's a sampling.
Ming's Quest Ming takes you on a journey all around the US. The emphasis is on the area and the ''ingredient''. He will take you salmon fishing in the Northwest, alligator farming in Florida and much more. In the last segment of each show he prepares recipes using that food. The combination of scenery and unusual ingredients makes this a great watch.
Cooking Live Want recipes you can actually replicate? Check out this or any other Food Channel show with Sara Moulton. Her easy going style and detailed explanations make it all look easy. Her shows are the most entertaining from a showmanship viewpoint but are very watchable.
My Country, My Kitchen. In this newer series, professional chefs return to their native countries and share some of the culture and foods. This week Argentina-previous weeks have focused on the south of India, Vietnam and southern France.
Emerill Live and Essence of Emerill. Emerill Lagasse complete with a Jazz Duo in the ''Live'' series makes cooking fun. I find him very entertaining although occasionally over the top. He uses ingredients and recipes from all over and I often find things I can try. Bam!
The Iron Chef This is a Japanese show. You have to see this to really understand it's appeal. It's pageantry meets sport meets haute cuisine with bad voice overs(think Godzilla) and it works! Each week, a challenger enters Kitchen Stadium to challenge one of the four Iron Chefs. Once this is done, the host,Chairman Kaga, unveils the theme ingredient for the ''battle''. These range from the mundane-brocoli, duck etc. to live squid, rare mushrooms, octopus and more. The chefs then have one hour to complete a variety of dishes using the theme. At the end, the dishes are tasted by a panel of four. They vote and then the winner is announced. The Iron Chef has been running in Japan for more than 5 years and remains a favorite. There are apparently fan clubs for the regular chefs and the results are taken quite seriously. The voice overs in the US version seem to be not very well translated-using odd slang at times and because they always use the same voices the result is campy. It's great fun to watch.
Unwrapped You don't want to cook or watch people cook? Check this out. Each week the show goes behind the scenes and looks at some typical American convenience foods. Bottled drinks (Yoohoo etc.), penny candy, peanut butter, boxed cereal and more. Here you can finally know how they get the cream in the twinkie.
There are many, many more from classic reruns of Julia Child and the Galloping Gourmet to Wolfgang Puck's oscar menus. Be sure to check out Mario Eats Italy and Britain's Two Fat Ladies(sadly now there is only one) for great views of the countryside.
All the recipes and show schedules can be found on FoodTV.com.
Now, where's that pizza menu..................
