DU Cooks - Stay Away from Emeril Lagasse's Mac & Cheese Recipe

[NashVegas]

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_20042,00.html

I just made a tray.

It calls for WAY too much parmesan, the flavor overpowers everything. Plus, I had to sop up all the milkfat off the top with a paper towel. Yow.

It's edible, but nowhere near worth the price of the ingredients.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

1. Why would anyone want to dress up mac and cheese?

Doesn't it defeat the purpose? :D

[daligirrl]

3. You're right. . .

My grandmother's recipe: macaroni, cheddar and Velveeta cheese, and Carnation condensed milk. Heavenly. And artery clogging!

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

10. Right..then bake it to make it crusty :)

[daligirrl]

16. That's right. .

You have to have the crust on the top! How do you season it?

[NashVegas]

13. Variety

I normally use milk/velveeta and Crisco's secret spices, but lately I've been branching out into white mac & cheese territory.

[Heddi]

2. As an Ex Chef (professional level)

i've found that either Emeril has no tastebuds, or he never actually tastes what he makes, because I've NEVER had one of his recipes come out tasting good. Ever.

I can't stand to watch his show because he's the most unsanitary chef I've ever seen. I saw him cut raw chicken once, then without washing or changing the knife or cutting board, or without even WASHING HIS HANDS, he put some lettuce and carrots on the board and made a salad, then used the same knife to prepare something for a dessert. No cleaning, No washing. No nothing. Totally disgusting, and reinforcing bad habits that home-chef's have with regards to not properly changing or cleaning utensils between preparing raw meat and raw veggies.

Yuck yuck yuck.

[bratcatinok]

4. Yuck is right!

I'm obsessive about raw meat. When I'm cutting raw meat I have my clorox cleaner handy and I use it on everything the meat has touched except for it's final cooking pan.

[Heddi]

6. I think it's very unprofessional for a 'professional' chef

who makes MILLIONS of dollars in TV/product endorsement alone, not even counting his restaurants.

It really makes me wonder what an example he's setting for those who work in his restaurants. I, personally, would never eat at any of his establishements for the mere reason that if he's not concerned about sanitation while ON TELEVISION, then how unconcerned is he about sanitation in a closed off, public-never-sees kitchen?

Rule 1 in cooking school:
Never trust a skinny chef

Rule 2 in cooking school:
The way a chef lives is the way a chef cooks

meaning---if a chef lives in a slobby house with dishes piled up and narry a clean knife in the house, then they're going to be that way and WORSE in the professional kitchen (worse, because there's going to be someone there to clean up after them in the restaurant, while that's not always true at home).

If a chef is a slob at home, they're more a slob at work. If they're unsanitary at home, they're even more unsanitary at work.

I have no respect for someone who treats health and wellbeing of their customers in such a cavlier way. That's not a professional. That's a hack that has good knife skills that got a cushy job from other chef's who pay no attention to "stupid sanitation" rules.

I actually worked with one guy who felt it was a SACRELIGE to wash his hands while cooking. "My sweat is my food" he used to say. G-R-O-S-S

[tridim]

5. He's just a bad cook

Simple as that. Only thing he has going for him is his catch phrase.. Which BTW became annoying the 2nd time he said it.

[Heddi]

7. I hate BAM

and what the eff is up with the "sprinkle salt on the food with your hand 8 feet above the table" act of his? All that does is cause the salt (or whatever spice/seasoning/etc) to go all over the floor and table, and not on the food.

He's one of those entertainers who never even had 15 minutes coming to him. He was tiresome before I even knew who he was.

And I was quite delighted that his television sit-com sunk faster than a stone.

[daligirrl]

8. BAM!

Sorry. . . I won't say the other one.

[supernova]

9. Ewww. Ewww. Ewww.

I never used the same knife for veggies as for meat. That's gross. :P

[BigMcLargehuge]

11. I've seen that too

and Blech is right!

Let's kick up the salmonella a notch! BAM!!!

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

12. That's because he has ZERO integrity where accuracy is concerned

Same with his books...the food almost never comes out like the show nor the book...that's one thing I like about Martha Stewart..no matter how small the error..she makes good on it if she makes a mistake and most of the things she does, you can do by simply following her instructions

and yeah...emeril's a pig...he also adds wines and liquors in a manner most chef's would cringe at.

[Bluebear]

14. Plus hawking his damn icky "Essence"

The whole premise of the show is "kicking up a notch" which means overseasoning everything and buying his lousy spices. Thank you.

[NashVegas]

15. I Watched it the Other Night

People go wild everytime he adds garlic to something.

I love garlic, but to applaud it?

[Bluebear]

17. Amen, like they've never seen it before!

"Let's add a little garlic..."

Audience: WOooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooooo

I like Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa. Delicious things presented without the hysteria!

[NashVegas]

20. I Like Alton Brown

Only thing of his I've tried was the basic tomato sauce. It came out VERY sweet, but also really yummy.

[daligirrl]

18. He is a hack. . .

And people who don't ever experiment on their own take his word for gospel. I love to cook, and some of my creations don't come out the way that I expect, but I learn from my mistakes. Emeril ropes in that crowd that is too lazy to work with a recipe.

[SOteric]

19. As another professional, his theory sucks the farts out of dead cows

and he's hygienically challenged.

Also, he's a gas bag.

It’s a little vigil I’m holding folks, nothing to see here. Move along.

---

[DS1]

22. Wow, even I wash the knife, the cutting board, and my hands

after handling raw meats :eyes:

[Susang]

21. To everyone who is dissing Emeril

I have worked with the man. He is not unhygenic when his working and he is an excellent chef. Try to remember that its just a TV show and they have limited time to show the celebrity chef cleaning up. They assume that you know how to do that already.

Also, he does taste what he cooks. I worked with him three nights in a row when he was guest chef at the restaurant I was employed at at the time (Heaven on 7 in Chicago, the original one if you're familiar). He may be overrated, but he's hardly hack. Having worked with many other famous cajun chefs, I can honestly say that his cooking is appropriate to the style of cuisine. I also worked with Susan Spicer, the Bryson family and Paul Prudhomme while at Heaven on 7, among others. :-)

Hey, I love to diss chefs almost more than anyone, but only if they really deserve it. Now, if you want to talk about Michael Kornick......:evilgrin:

[Zomby Woof]

23. his on-air persona annoys me

But I trust your judgment from first-hand experience when he is off-camera.

The chef I really can't stand is Jeff Smith. Being a Seattle native, he used to make apearances locally all the time when I lived there.

I worked at Barnes & Noble when he came to the store to do a signing for his latest book (this was late '94). My shoft began not long before he arrived, and I noticed a bottle of gin by the sink in the breakroom. He requires gin to be served straight in a water glass when he makes appearances. He drank more than half that bottle within a 2 hour time frame. He was loud, red-faced, obnoxious, and overbearing.

He is also a pedo creep, and as evidenced above, an A-1 drunk.

[Deja Q]

24. Emeril's a corporate shill of a whorish wuss

He's no Julia Child either and she was the best!

[Taverner]

25. Emeril is a hack and a freeper

Regularly calls fries "Freedom Fries."

Go for the Naked Chef over Emeril ANYDAY!

[ironflange]

26. I find him rather annoying, but. . .

I love the way he makes the recipe for his Essence (which I like a lot) available for free to anyone who wants to make it. I do, but I leave the salt out, much better that way.