Rachel Ray - Love her or hate her?

[GoneOffShore]

Poll question: Rachel Ray - Love her or hate her?

Rachel Ray has gotten a lot of attention and I personally find her annoying in the extreme.

She sautes in EVOO (an annoying turn of phrase), she's a rotten tipper on her $40/day show and in my opinion , she should not be allowed near knives or hot pans.

So, what's the feeling here on DU?

[Warpy]

1. Aw, give her a break

She's annoying mostly because she's overexposed. Were she limited to a half hour show a day five days a week, that agressive perkiness wouldn't be such an issue.

I'm not particularly nuts about the stuff she does, but she shows people how to slap an edible dinner on the table after they get home from work and picking the kids up at daycare and she's the only one addressing the need for speed. It's certainly much better than the alternative of fast food or frozen stuff. All her stuff is fresh, at least, and she doesn't use a lot of convenience foods.

The one that drove me nuts when I was in Florida was the drip on "Semi Homemade." She seemed to try to figure out how to use the maximum amount of processed dreck in her stuff and was just as annoying as Rachel Ray.

[GoneOffShore]

2. She uses Hormel pre cooked bacon

in some of her recipes.

And her technique is appalling.

And as far as putting an edible meal on the table, I do the same thing in 30 to 40 minutes without resorting to using any processed foods. Rachel is constantly going for the factory farmed, processed rubbish.

I'll agree with the 'Semi Homemade' assessment - Rachel is a bit easier on the eyes, and doesn't look anorexic.

[Warpy]

3. She doesn't make her own sausage, either

but her aim is to put decent food on the table in as little time as it would take to stop at a fast food joint on the way home, and for that I applaud her.

[anitar1]

4. But, but,, but, Sandra Lee attended Cordon Bleu. Hope that is the

correct spelling. I do not like her show at all. Rachel does get on the nerves a bit , and I seldom watch her. Yes, over exposure is a big problem. I notice many others are now saying," How cool is that?" She does have some good ideas for working Moms. More people are discovering cooking now, and that is a good thing. My graddaughter has graduated from Rachel's show and is tackling more difficult recipes, and she loves it.

[Dora]

6. Sincere question: Is there something bad with precooked bacon?

I've never bought it - we don't eat bacon very often at all. However, I've eaten it, and I've found it tasty and less greasy than the old-fashioned-cook-it-myself kind. Is there something particularly unhealthy about the precooked? Are there additives?

I fry up a pan of bacon every once in a blue moon just so I can keep some bacon fat on hand in the fridge. I imagine that when our son gets older I'll have more of a need for bacon and if the pre-cooked isn't bad for us, I can see myself going for it.

[supernova]

8. Bacon

The thing you have to be careful of with bacon, and all deli meats, really, is the nitrites and nitrates that they use in the curing process. Look for Nitrites on the package list of ingredients. Those are carcinogens that one should eat sparingly, if at all.

I like bacon and reserve it for the weekends. I just use an organic brand that isn't cured with with nitrites added in.

Bacon isn't, or shouldn't be greasy when you fry it right. You fry the fat right out of it, leaving a crispy stick. I cook it on medium high heat, turning it twice, until it looks brown and has shrunk to about 50-60% of it's original size.

[Dora]

11. Thank you. But I still am curious if pre-cooked has any health concerns.

I'm specifically curious if the pre-cooked bacon has more nitrates or other additives, or if there is something in the processing that renders pre-cooked bacon less healthy than the home-cooked variety.

If the poster's bias against pre-cooked bacon is strictly on aesthetic grounds, I can respect that: I have similar culinary hangups. I'm just seeking clarification.

edit: to correct excessive hyphenage :-)

[supernova]

12. Well, other than

looking for nitrites and nitrates on the label, I don't see a health difference between precooked and cooking it yourself.

Personally, I prefer the taste of freshly prepared bacon. Most places don't get it crisp enough for me! :D

[Tab]

14. Aside from the cost

and the fact that it's not done to whatever level YOU prefer, and may not be the kind you like, I don't think it's any worse than any other cured thing out there, healthwise.

If I eat bacon by itself, which is rarely, I like it to have it the way I cook it. But for some things, like a bacon cheeseburger, or maybe a quick BLT, or other sandwich, it's just a hassle to make the bacon, and sometimes for those occasions I'll use the pre-cooked, and chances are you wouldn't notice the taste much anyway, given that it's part of the whole cheeseburger package.

You can also microwave the pre-cooked for a few seconds.

For that matter, regular bacon cooks pretty decently in the microwave. I still prefer mine done in the pan, by hand, so it can cook in its own fat, but for a compromise between doing it by hand, and pre-cooked, microwaved isn't too bad, although you have to practice to get it to where you want it (hint: use paper plates, not regular plates - one less thing to get heated up).

[GoneOffShore]

16. My reservations are in two areas

One, if you use pre cooked bacon you don't get the great bacon smell.

And then there is the factory farmed aspect of any Hormel product. I don't like factory farms and they are not an efficient way to manage natural resources or a particularly good way to provide nutrition.

[Dora]

19. Ah! I understand.

It's about socio-environmental-economic concerns... all is good.

I'm cooking up a pan of bacon tonight - I want green beans with my dinner, and green beans need just a little taste of bacon. BLT for lunch tomorrow!

[wryter2000]

7. Semi homemade

Gawd, that one drives me nuts. If I have to watch her open one more package of pre-shredded cheese...

[Tab]

5. She's wicked cute

and she likes to eat, and not spend much in the process.

What's not to like??

[supernova]

9. She's getting to be overexposed

I don't hate her. Like Ina Garten, she does cook stuff I'd actually want to make.

But I do find it irritating that when I have an hour or so and flip over to Food TV, look at my schedule for the next 90 minutes, there is ALWAYS, a "30 Minute Meals" either a) just going off b)On now c)On next!

It drives me batty! I wish they'd run Tony Bourdain that much!

[Warpy]

13. I wish they'd bring Jamie Oliver back

I loved his stuff. It was generally quick, didn't take a lot of fancy equipment or ingredients, and was tasty.

I'd even perfer reruns to the endless hours of Ray and Lagasse.

[trotsky]

10. Yes, both.

I can't stand her on 30 Minute Meals, but find her adorable on $40/day. (Apart from the tipping thing, yeah. That show should just not include the tips in the $40 total.)

[Lorax]

15. Holy cat, look at that!

I hate her annoying sayings. "Holy cat, look at that!" just grates on my nerves. I miss Jamie Oliver too. What happened to him?

[Warpy]

17. I think he's temporarily retired on the royalties from his cookbooks

or at least started a real job in a real restaurant, maybe even his own.

Like I said, I wish they'd do reruns if he's not doing new shows.

[politicat]

18. Eh. Take her or leave her. She's by no means the worst out there.

She's got some irritating turns of phrase, but who doesn't? Alton Brown's incessant pop culture references get on my nerves if I watch him too much, and ten minutes of Paula Dean makes me want to claw my eardrums out and give myself a suborbital prefrontal lobotomy with my ice pick.

I'm glad RR exists, because I know enough people who can't cook much at all, and others who don't have tons of time, that Miss Sammies and Salads Thang is a help for them. She's also a good role model for young women who have food issues - she's not too thin, not too fat, makes relatively healthy food and shows them that it can be fun.

She bores me, but that's because I find her recipes exceedingly simple.

I don't watch $40 a day because she never goes to places I find interesting.

But for truly evil and annoying "food" people, my top three are
3. Paula Dean (Bacon around corn on the cob?? Krispy Kremes + 1 lb. butter + heavy syrup fruit cocktail + sweetened condensed milk... I just had a heart attack and went into hyperglycemia from writing her recipes.)
2. Giada de Laurentiis (too many teeth... and what does she eat, virgin's blood? And her food's so over-produced that I'm pretty sure the only way she got her show is because her granpappy is Dino and her aunt owns her production company...)
1. A show so bad it hasn't made it to FoodTV... Johnny Nix's Campfire Cafe (RFD TV). Cajun accent so thick a spoon would stand up in it, scary food, really REALLY bad production values (handheld minicam, maybe?), and the guy carts a metric ton of equipment into the back of beyond to make meals over a campfire (or a bottled gas stove) that most people wouldn't make in their kitchen with a full time cleaning staff on hand. (I'm sorry, but neither lasagna nor Tater-tot Hotdish should be made over an open fire. Ever. And in the latter case, probably not in a kitchen, either.) He makes "vegetarian" recipes with cream of chicken soup and cheese (what part of "vegetable matter only" does he not get?)

And his biggest sin... he puts tomato sauce in Cast Iron.

[GoneOffShore]

24. Virgins blood?

:rofl:

:rofl:

And yes, her relatives are how she got the show.

Now I'm going to have to search out Johnny Nix, just to see how bad it is. Though the Cajun accent won't bother me. I remember watching Justin Wilson (don ferget tha onyons an it'll tase grate Eye garantee) back in the 80's.

(added on edit)

Paula Deen is so totally annoying, and such a transparent Republican - I can't abide her, And the cooking? What cooking?

I actually hadn't thought about the zaftig qualities of RR. The whole body image is a good thing, especially in light of the giraffe thin anorexic/bulimic on Semi Home Made who obviously lives on a saline IV.

[politicat]

26. Semi (truck) (Mobile) Home Made

That woman's liver has left her already. She drinks enough for three people.

And I wonder how much she makes in corporate kickbacks.

Okay, I'm done being catty.

[mike_c]

33. you know, one of the best lasagnas I've ever eaten was actually cooked...

...over an open fire, sort of. It was cooked in a dutch oven, set onto coals raked from the fire. The person who made it was a pro river guide and she clearly knew what she was doing-- I wouldn't have attempted it. It was awesome-- and the dinner setting was pretty nice, too. I don't know about the Tater-tot Hotdish, however....

[Duer 157099]

20. Well I don't think she's "yummy" but I enjoy her shows

Gosh I didn't know people hated her so much. I like her 30-minute meal shows especially, and I now have some cool Santoku (or whatever) knives because I was jealous watching her use them all the time :-) (and they are awesome knives, too -- from Costco, where else?)

Her $40 a day show is sometimes a bit annoying, because DAMN she gets to go everywhere and eat everything, it's just not fair.

[ernstbass]

28. Yes, but is she YUM-OH?

I'm fascinated by how she talks out of the side of her mouth, much like a stroke victim! I'll never forget the episode where she made hamburgers with pieces of hot dogs in them!!

[troubleinwinter]

21. If she'd not say

"Eee-veee-oh-oh-extra-virgin-olive-oil...eee-veee-oh-oh-extra-virgin-olive-oil" every two minutes, I wouldn't need to change the channel so fast. How 'bout just "olive oil"? No kidding, I had her on for just a couple of minutes last night, she said it twice, I couldn't bear it and changed the channel.

[Duer 157099]

22. See, I'm sort of like that with Emeril

When the audience oooooooooos and aaaaaaaaahs (and applauds!!) whenever "garlic" or "onions" or "butter" or "bacon" is uttered, I just have to change the channel.

I really used to like watching him when he didn't have an audience.

[troubleinwinter]

23. I'm with ya alla way on that.

[GoneOffShore]

25. The audience is probably prompted

on those those things.

I like watching Emeril, because he is a real chef. He came up through the ranks and he knows what it's like to work in a real restaurant.

Have you ever seen the Julia Child episode with him and the crab boil? Just wonderful. There was a real connection to the food and to Julia. (Now there was a wonderful cook and national treasure!!)
I think that's why I still can watch him on the Food Channel.

[lakemonster11]

27. I've never watched her cooking shows,

so I can't speak to that, but I like $40/day and her new "Tasty Travels" show.

I did find her sort of annoying at first, but after watching a few of Samantha Brown's travel shows (her Hawaii ones are particularly disconcerting), I realized that Rachel Ray is actually quite pleasant and normal.

The $40/day concept is a little bit weird at first glance because, first of all, it's really not that tight of a budget, and, second, she would have to spend additional money just to travel between the restaurants (which might be on totally opposite ends of a large city), not to mention the recreational activities she fits in.

As someone who hates fast food, though, I do appreciate the show's championing of real, affordable food. I also like that it encourages people to do some restaurant research before they travel, so that they can avoid chain restaurants and get a real taste of local cuisine. I know the places she visits on the show are good, too, because I eat at Agua Verde, the restaurant she had dinner in when she visited Seattle, all the time. (Of course, if she had asked me, I would have directed her to Thai Tom, a few blocks north.)

As for her tipping, I was under the impression that she always tipped 15% on the show to keep it consistent, but I guess I haven't really paid that much attention.

Tasty Travels is very similar, except that she isn't limited by the format of $40/day. She does try to cover some cheaper options in each location, but she also goes to more expensive restaurants.

I wouldn't say she's "yummy" and I don't love her, but I like her fine.

[calico1]

29. She is INSANELY annoying! n/t

[Neecy]

30. Food Network is almost unwatchable

Ray is everywhere. much as Emeril used to be. Her ridiculous giggle and inane commentary is really barf-inducing.

She isn't a trained chef, and it shows in her cooking. In fact, most of the Foot Network 'chefs' aren't professionally trained but chosen for their bizarre on-air personalities.

Paula Dean soaks everything in grease and it's the unhealthiest crap you could produce in your kitchen - yet Food Network touts her as some kind of superstar, even though the cooking is probably better in a prison.

Give me dull PBS cooking shows any day - they feature the food and not the giddy, off-the-wall "personalities" of the host.

[BamaGirl]

31. I can't stand her lol. nt

[AValdoux]

32. Yeah, she's annoying...

...but I watch her show to get "30-minute" cooking tips. I haven't used one of her recipes "by the book" but her short cuts are good for converting my recipes to quick meals. I have my own version of her sloppy joes. My family calls them "Pamwiches" (My name is Pam). They originally liked the name "Sloppy Pams" but I nixed that.


AValdoux