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dave88

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Everything posted by dave88

  1. Big business dictates (in the US of N. America) how people spend their money. I have lost much faith in the ability of the people in the US of N. America to be able to think independently and/or not be manipulated by clever, greedy, liars as exist in these monopolistic times we USA'ites live. It seems to me now, quantity is the answer, not quality. People here don't know or care about quality. The one's who are able to develop incestuous relations with P.R. agencies and make friends with the 'untouchables' are the one's who make it. Food and the ability to create emotions relating to food will only go so far. Sure, there will always be folks who know what's good and what's bad, but they're old money. There needs to be a need to take new money and old money. It's as simple as creating a demand --increasing demand. As Emeril once told me, "You gotta be a people person."
  2. True.. you would think they would have shows with these chefs. Nope. [edit: they do have a couple]
  3. the Travel channel? Well the Travel Channel is telling me that more tornadoes are on the way. That's in addition to the 60 that ripped through here a fews days ago and killed as many people in Jackson, Tn. Maybe I'll just go cook. Actually, on the travel channel at 4 (edt) would be Great Chefs. A fine, fine show.
  4. I like pizza with a bit of fontina, fresh oregano, crushed pepper flakes, fresh garlic and a stream of aceite de oliva. I suppose this means a white pizza?
  5. Chef, flip to the weatherchannel, put the remote down, take a deep breath, a long pull on your beer and chill. I mean, if he really bugs you that much, don't just sit there and watch him while the stupid shit he does gets under your skin. Get off the ledge, man! the Travel channel? Well the Travel Channel is telling me that more tornadoes are on the way. That's in addition to the 60 that ripped through here a fews days ago and killed as many people in Jackson, Tn. Maybe I'll just go cook. Actually, on the travel channel at 4 (edt) would be Great Chefs. A fine, fine show.
  6. Chef, flip to the weatherchannel, put the remote down, take a deep breath, a long pull on your beer and chill. I mean, if he really bugs you that much, don't just sit there and watch him while the stupid shit he does gets under your skin. Get off the ledge, man! I'm so disgruntled with the decline in programming quality and intelligence that I had a friend come over last week and block the channel with the 'parental code' control. Only he knows the code. FTV has lost me for good.
  7. Talk about milking something for all its worth. I liked the part where he says he's looking forward to developing some great programming. I believe this means he's now the majority shareholder if already wasn't. I feel some sort of Faustian situation has happened, either with FTV or Emeril --maybe both-- but I can't say for sure. FTV is the whore and Emeril is the pimp The 'essence' show is tolerable (surprise).
  8. dave88

    Smokin' meat

    Pics no workin' fer me no matter how I try. Just the thought of pork... --wait, did you say Cuban sandwiches? Sorry, gotta go e....
  9. dave88

    Paw paw

    Ohio, really? Donna Hay (Australian) calls for tthem a couple times in her books, and in the pictures they are usually julienned so I have no idea of what they look like, and of course I had never heard of it before. There is also a town in WV called Paw-Paw. They are a semi-tropical plant, almost weedlike in numbers where I live (D.C. area) and produce a fruit unlike any other I've had at this lattitude. They taste like slightly tart bananas with a hint of apple, have a creamy texture, and are full of seeds about the size of M&Ms with almonds (do they still make those?). A fortunate find if you live in the mid-atlantic --they fruit in late summer. Anyone living in the D.C area, you'll find tons of Pawpaw trees in the MD side of the park at Great Falls, along with myself waddling out of the woods with a sack full of fruits at the end of summer. About pawpaws (edit: apparently more widespread than I thought)
  10. dave88

    The Baked Potato

    Are we talking Yukon Gold, or Idaho Russet?
  11. dave88

    Crackers

    Thanks! I'm getting the feeling that certain toppings use certain crackers; or vice versa using the cheddar and apple separate from the sopressata and cracker example especially. I prefer the blue cheese/apple combo personally, but cheddar slices would be an excellent sub. for crackers as blue tends to be crumbly. What about a firm, well-aged sharp cheddar/golden delicious/home-smoked beef jerky chunk as an amuse? Would you separate the three into a cheddar/jerky and cheddar/apple combo with twice the servings? Bah, this was originally about crackers... who needs 'em now?
  12. dave88

    Crackers

    What brand of crackers do you like to serve your sopressata and cheddar upon? If you don't like crackers, then what alternatives do you use (homemade melba, etc...)? I usually like triscuits, but sometimes to find them too crunchy. I gave a brief search, but was unsatisfied with the results. TIA
  13. This is only a short thread (so far) but I think you'll find the answers to your questions are already in it. Sorry, what were the times FTV aired that again?
  14. Don't tell Rachael Ray or FTV about this. Wait, isn't there already a show like this that used actual chefs who cooked a meal in 20 minutes (not 30!) already on?
  15. This is New York. What are you? John Rocker?
  16. Really, I understand that FTV is in the business to make profits through whatever means, though I wouldn't be so quick to trash PBS for being a "welfare junky." Their most popular shows now, such as "This Old House," etc. have become much, much more subtly commercial. Bob Vila was fired for hawking Craftsman wrenches. Now all TOH episodes are ad's for GM or whatever. Again, the original show has been lost to corporate, well, capitalism. This absolutely has to do with ratings and it keeps PBS on the air, but it also jeopardises quality at the expense of the viewer's intelligence. Christ, maybe I should be pissed at PBS too, but FTV has made me so bitter that I can't do anything but attack with gutter vitriol its execs and their decision-making. (edit: typo after misspelling after grammatical error and It's still not quite right)
  17. Scripps-Howard has put a lot of money into FoodNetwork and their other cable products over the years. Haven't made much money, from what I've read. I'd bet hard core foodies aren't enough to sustain a 24/7 product. My cable system only carries FN for 16 hours a day. Sells the rest of the time to Ron Popeil, tummy stretchers, and no money down real estate. My sense is they're cutting back on original investments in new programming and buying cheaper syndication / foreign origin materials. The 1992-1995 Martha Stewart block is an example Does anybody have a rate card / guarantee with the viewership by program? The supplementary sheet will give you the demographics I think the paid advertising on late at night is a network thing because it's the same from my end, too. I don't see how buying new, syndicated shows cuts expenses as opposed to showing old shows produced by themselves or showing newer versions of the same shows as they did with some shows. How long has it been since they aired Two Hot Tamales? They replace that with "Date Plate" which is a new show, perhaps produced by someone else (who knows.. they never run any credits). Doesn't make sense. They are copying other network television show formats trying to take market share and not succeeding. This is not what attracted people to the channel in the first place. I have a feeling there's a corporate order to try to bump up the shows to an Emerilized standard, where entertainment takes precedent over food. All these new shows have the same look to them and none are of any substance other than perhaps showing how to make viewers sea-sick or dizzy and annoyed. This formula wasn't the way the channel built its core audience. It's their fault for going in over their heads (DIY, HGTV, etc.) and not being able to cover their ass. Now, I could care less if FTV goes belly-up. There isn't anything worth watching. I know, I know... "A Cook's Tour." I just don't see FTV worthwhile when PBS airs much better quality food shows. Don't forget, Scripps isn't some small company. It's revenue certainly could be on par with PBS, yet the quality of PBS and the lack there-of on FTV is the difference. FTV has sold-out. Hard-core foodies weren't the only ones watching from the early days. Still, the viewership grew and grew. As the viewership grew and Emeril flourished, the network cancels all the good shows and uses the Emeril formula to try an gain even more viewers. All this has done is alienated the foodies and left them with Emeril and his fans. FTV, you need to, as the Beatles once sang, "get back to where you once belonged." Or at least lose that constantly moving camerawork. (edit: just because)
  18. I don't see why they just won't air syndicated shows like "Great Chefs.".
  19. My mother-in-law has a recipe for Detroit style Coney Island Chili. I'll try to get it from her. She cut it out of the Free Press a long time ago. I do miss Detroit Coney Islands, although I always went to Lafayette Coney Island. Detoit style Coney Island chili (adapted from Detroit Free Press): Coney Island Sauce::one half pound ground beef one quarter cup water quarter cup onion 1 clove garlic, minced 8 oz. can tomato sauce one half to three quarters teaspoon chile powder one half teaspoon Accent one half teaspoon salt Brown gound beef slowly but thoroughly, breaking with fork until very fine. Add water, onion, garlic, tomato sauce, chile powder, Accent and salt and simmer over low heat about 10 minutes or until mixture is well blended. Who would have known the secret was MSG? No, the secret is the brand-name of the "8 oz, can of tomato sauce."
  20. You people are doing this just to piss me off.
  21. All FTV employees on this board: kiss my ass. That goes for Bourdain, too. If Bourdain were serious about real food, he'd say "f*ck FTV" and sign with PBS. (second edit: maybe not) FTV/Scripps-Howard/HGTV/DIY, you're like school on Saturdays. No class. You're obviously Kraft/ConAgra's b*tch. (edit: sorry, I forgot to add YUM brands) I hope you go bankrupt and all your execs go to jail for fraud. FTV is not about food anymore.
  22. All --that's every one of-- their new shows have that same annoying choppy editing with extreme close-ups and constantly sweeping camera work. Who needs to see what the molecular structure of flour looks like? What's with this soft-focus crap? I have little or no problems with the hosts, but the producers need to go back to MTV. This does nothing to keep viewers tuned in, in fact it nauseates so much that any viewers gained with shows like "Molto Mario" are lost due to extreme vertigo. They've taken the food from Foodtv and replaced it with, well, shite. It's not even for casual foodies, it's for the coveted 18-19 year-old male college market who play drinking games while watching Iron Chef then go out for Taco Bell and stuff their mugs full of Chipizza or whatever they serve there. It's unwatchable. I'd like to see all these new producers all taken out and hung by the short-hairs.
  23. Chef/Writer .... and whomever said FTV changed with the Scripps purchase/debt buyout/Kraft-ConAgra sponsorship got it almost right. All their shows are the same now. Nigellabites=Barefoot count chocula=naked chef=paula's whatever=thirty minute joke=martha out-of-focus=Essence of schlock=.... ITS ALL THE SAME CRAP. Rosengarten's show used to also take one dish and take it all the way. I'd rather watch David Ruggiero's show than Date Plate (GIVE ME A BREAK!!!!). FTV SUCKS ASS NOW. MAY THEIR STUPID, GREEDY ARSED OWNERS BURN IN HELL. It's not about food now. It's about ratings. Ratings do not = food. I could write pages on the rise and fall, rise and demise of. Four years ago I watched it when the TV was on. All the time. Now, I HATE FTV. IT'S A JOKE. Thanks for NOTHING, TVFN.
  24. I too drank the water and ate ceviches in Quito and Cuenca but never got sick. Maybe I have an iron stomach? The cheese thing -- tough call. The US has a tough time duplicating cheeses from other countries and this is no exception. I think the typical farmer's cheese here is a bit too salty and even too dry. I have yet to find a source in the US for naranjilla (LOVE it) or tomates de arbol. The trip to Ecuador alone is worth it once you try that first jugo whether it be maracuya or naranjilla or a helado de guanabana. The fruit there is about the best in the world. I once took a cab (yes cab) from Quito toward the coast to San Antonio de los Colorados (one of many indiginous areas) and on the way there were fruit stands each with maybe 20 varieties of bananas alone. Incredible. The scenery was even better. I love Ecuador and make an effort to return, not only to see old friends, but to experience the country --food and culture (tons of each) each year. I love it. In fact, I had best hamburgers in my life there. Yes, I did try cuy (guinea pig) only after about half a bottle of Zhumir (cane alcohol) and some casual pleas from my friends. By then, I would have eaten whatever they handed me. Oh.. the memories! What a great time. Some of the best of my life!
  25. In Cuenca, the Hotel Crespa is really called the Hotel Crespo and there is an even better restaurant called Villa Rosa on iirc 12 de Octubre. It's the best and finest restaurant in Cuenca. They also use a condiment called aji, which is another word for chile peppers. There are as many varieties of aji as there are chiles. Usually, they contain chiles, white onion, sometimes tomates de arbol (tree tomatoes) and sometimes not. The ceviches of concha and camaron (shrimp) are usually traditionally garnished with canguil. (edit: a type of popcorn made from huge kernals of corn, some popped, some toasted.) There are traditional soups called "locro" usually with potatoes. Chicharron (cuchi cara) are thin pork skins fried until crisp and served with the aji. Outstanding if you know your source. Frightening if you don't. The fritada is pork chunks marinated and fried until crisp --it's one of my top three favorite dishes. How do I know this? I lived in Cuenca for six months. I have a ton of recipes from a book given to me called Viejos Secretos de la Cocina Cuencana (old secrets of the Cuencan kitchen). Visit Ecuador if for the food alone. Plus, they use the dollar as their national currency, so no exchanging!
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