Rachael Ray

[bao]

There's an excellent book by Laura Shapiro entitled Something from the Oven-- basically a history of home cooking in the 50's-- concentrating on popular cooking figures of the time.  Sandra Lee reminds me a lot of a woman named

Poppy Cannon...

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It's funny that you mention Sandra Lee in correlation to the 50's because I have cruised by her show a few times and thought "What's up with the 'Leave It To Beaver' set?" After pausing to see what her niche was I realized, "Oooo... this is the crap I grew up on. Now I see why the set is the way it is."

I'll have to take a look at that book. Thanks for the heads up!

[Angela Alaimo]

Tsk! I am shocked, shocked at all this nattering negativity to the wonder that is Sandra Lee! Don't you know who she is?...

http://semihomemade.com/sandra-lee/biography.htm

I don't think I've read a bigger crock of hooey in my life. Keep your tray tables up and barf bags in hand whilest perusing the Semi Homemade World O'Aunt Sandy.

Angela

[ingridsf]

Tsk!  I am shocked, shocked at all this nattering negativity to the wonder that is Sandra Lee!  Don't you know who she is?...

http://semihomemade.com/sandra-lee/biography.htm

I don't think I've read a bigger crock of hooey in my life.  Keep your tray tables up and barf bags in hand whilest perusing the Semi Homemade World O'Aunt Sandy.

Angela

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How ironic that she who pimps canned frosting and Velveeta supports the National Colorectal Cancer Research Alliance.

Sandra Lee makes me lurv Rachael Ray. And that. Is. Sad.

[MarketStEl]

"Semi-homemade"?

Which her home page then defines as "70% premade + 30% fresh."

Which means she doesn't even meet her own standard--the prefix "semi-" means "half" (or "twice" as in "semimonthly").

But I'll bet the major food processors absolutely adore her.

--Sandy, who nonetheless also uses prepackaged foods on occasion

[Brad Ballinger]

From Sandra Lee's bio:

Semi-Homemade has translated beautifully from print to television. The debut of Semi-Homemade® Cooking with Sandra Lee on the Food Network was one of the highest rated new show launches in the network’s history.

I'm not surprised. I'm also not surprised that her cookbooks were NYT Best-Sellers. I'm also not surprised she's from Wisconsin. Here in the upper Midwest, where cans of cream of mushroom soup are pantry staples, there's a whole bunch o' folk who would cook like SL and call it 100% gourmet. I'm related to many of them.

[chefzadi]

From Sandra Lee's bio:

Semi-Homemade has translated beautifully from print to television. The debut of Semi-Homemade® Cooking with Sandra Lee on the Food Network was one of the highest rated new show launches in the network’s history.

I'm not surprised. I'm also not surprised that her cookbooks were NYT Best-Sellers. I'm also not surprised she's from Wisconsin. Here in the upper Midwest, where cans of cream of mushroom soup are pantry staples, there's a whole bunch o' folk who would cook like SL and call it 100% gourmet. I'm related to many of them.

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I'm glad you said and not me. I was thinking that more people than not can relate to the semi-homemade stuff or RR's 30 minutes or less. I've only seen one episode where she made this semi-homemade cake and gave it some nonsense French name I think. The thing was a foot high.

I'm a busy working parent as well and realiscally I don't always have the time to spend 5-6 hours making a fancy version of chicken with olives and preserved lemons. Most weekdays dinner is prepared in an hour or less, sometimes 30 minutes. But there LOTS of dishes that can be made in less than an hour. 30 minutes or less is where it gets challenging to add variety without taking shortcuts or packaged ingredients.

I think RR makes people who aren't as confident about cooking feel validated, feel good against the serious gastronomes who might make an elitist sneer. And her recipes usually use affordable ingredients. Not everyone can afford Niman Ranch beef, Hudson Valley foie gras, etc...

[Bux]

"Semi-homemade"?

Which her home page then defines as "70% premade + 30% fresh."

Which means she doesn't even meet her own standard--the prefix "semi-" means "half"  (or "twice" as in "semimonthly").

But I'll bet the major food processors absolutely adore her.

--Sandy, who nonetheless also uses prepackaged foods on occasion

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Poor Rachael Ray. The left handed compliment of being better than Sandra Lee may be the cruelest cut of all. She's much better, but I posted to respond to the 70%/30% comment. To that I might reply that it's close enough for government standards.

We live in a world of varying tolerances and standards. Lee doesn't seem to meet any standard for taste, nutrition, economy, efficiency or literacy, but you never caught Barnum or Menken mentioning any of those as criteria for making a buck in America.

[DaleJ]

I believe if one wanted true thirty minute meals one would have to look no further than Jacques Pepin's Fast Food My Way. (I bought the book.)

[moosnsqrl]

The problem I have with RR beyond finding her incredibly annoying is that she says things matter-of-factly that are just plain wrong and there are a lot of people out there with a "it must be true, it was on TV" mentality.

That and just the huge disappointment at what Food TV has degenerated into. It had so much potential and it's just gone straight into "appeal to the lowest common denominator" hell. What we need is someone (HBO...are you listening?) to come up with a high-quality alternative. I wouldn't care if RR had her own 24/7 network, but wish she were taking up space on Lifetime or something instead of a channel I once had high hopes for. I would cheerfully pay a premium for a *real* food network.

[chefzadi]

I believe if one wanted true thirty minute meals one would have to look no further than Jacques Pepin's Fast Food My Way.  (I bought the book.)

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I hear they don't want French accents on FTV and somehow I don't think RR's audience base would relate to Pepin as one of "them" in the same way.

[DaleJ]

Didn't mean to imply that he move to FTV. He's fine where he is on PBS.

[DeVeaux]

My Daughter, who loves Rachael's show, asked me why I don't deep-fry fish & chips in EVOO, since it's all Rachael seems to use. Sigh.

[Lone Star]

My husband calls her the "Yum-Yum" girl.

I think some of her ideas are good, especially for tired working people with kids clamoring for dinner. Fresh and fast, if you can get over the cutesy bits.

I don't recall ever seeing her use any "boxed" things like that Semi-Homemade lady. What kind of name is that anyway. I cannot even stand the sound of her voice. RR uses canned stock, tomatoes, beans etc..., but never have seen processed, packaged type foods.

[Megan Blocker]

And her recipes usually use affordable ingredients. Not everyone can afford Niman Ranch beef, Hudson Valley foie gras, etc...

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That's one of the things I actually like about Rachael Ray. She's very good at explaining where to scrimp and save, and where not to. Her recipes are very geared toward quick, everyday cooking, which I think is great.

As opposed to Sandra Lee, whose recipes are just...scary. And expensive, I would think, with all that pre-packaged stuff.

[Megan Blocker]

I don't recall ever seeing her use any "boxed" things like that Semi-Homemade lady.  What kind of name is that anyway.  I cannot even stand the sound of her voice.  RR uses canned stock, tomatoes, beans etc..., but never have seen processed, packaged type foods.

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I've seen her use bake-off biscuits and packaged pizza dough, but nothing that makes me cringe too badly. Certainly no cake mix or canned frosting. Dessert-wise, she tends to stick to ice cream with warmed fruit, etc. - yummy and fast. She constantly brings up the fact that she's not a baker...apparently she doesn't enjoy measuring.

[oggi]

I like the fact that even though its "30 minute meals", she makes her own salad dressing. She always stresses the fact of quality ingredients, fresh herbs...the only cans or jars of food items I recall her using are things like olives, roasted peppers, capers, tomatoes, and chicken or beef stock/broth.

My wife says I just watch her because there is the obligatory "booty shot" near the beginning of every show when she first goes to the fridge.

My wife may be correct.

$40 a day. No thanks. I agree- she's got to come up with some better expressions and reactions. I'd really like to see her get a BAD meal. Then I'd watch it.

She's got a new show coming up I think? Tasty Travels? Oh my. $40 a day, but with a much larger per diem it seems....I think I'll pass.

(edited to include the $40/day)

Edited July 29, 2005 by oggi (log)

[BCinBC]

One of my pet peeves (of which RR is guilty) is when someone takes a bite and immediately, immediately starts going on with the Mmms and Yummos etc. You haven't even tasted it yet, stop telling me how good it is! Chew, swallow, then report.

Personally I think there is better porn factor watching Nigella anyway.

[Tess]

One of my pet peeves (of which RR is guilty) is when someone takes a bite and immediately, immediately starts going on with the Mmms and Yummos etc. You haven't even tasted it yet, stop telling me how good it is! Chew, swallow, then report.

Personally I think there is better porn factor watching Nigella anyway.

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Nigella beats them all by a mile, in my opinion.

[rich]

If we're talking about the porn factor, I would have been interested to see how Ina Garten appeared when she was thin (as shown on the covers of her old books).

[OnlyTheBest]

I just noticed this thread.

The first time i saw RR ...i could only watch her for about 10 minutes.

The woman comes off as SUCH an IDOIT that i couldnt even concentrate on the food!

The facial expressions and the tone of voice are like friggin NAILS on a BLACKBOARD!!!

Honestly... does this woman really SEE herself????

Can't she see how BAD things are???

AND the constant GIGGLING!!!!! I mean WHATS THAT all about???

It was like watching some kiddie show....plus all the dumb comments.

Can this woman REALLY be THAT STUPID that she doesnt see what kind of crap this is !

She may be a good cook....who knows?

I , for one, cant get past HER to find OUT!!!

I have been in the broadcasting business for almost 30 years..and her stuff ranks as some of the WORST shows I have EVER seen!......ALL of them....ESPECIALLY $40/ day !

But hey.... thats just my opinion.

What do i know....... I like Nigella!

Edited August 1, 2005 by OnlyTheBest (log)

[tommy]

I have been in the broadcasting business for almost 30 years..and her stuff ranks as  some of the WORST shows I have EVER seen!......ALL of them....ESPECIALLY $40/ day !

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i find it odd that someone in the broadcasting business for that long would characterize someone as successful as Rachael Ray as "stupid".

[hjshorter]

I have been in the broadcasting business for almost 30 years..and her stuff ranks as  some of the WORST shows I have EVER seen!......ALL of them....ESPECIALLY $40/ day !

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i find it odd that someone in the broadcasting business for that long would characterize someone as successful as Rachael Ray as "stupid".

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My thoughts exactly.

[Grub]

I have been in the broadcasting business for almost 30 years..and her stuff ranks as  some of the WORST shows I have EVER seen!......ALL of them....ESPECIALLY $40/ day !

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i find it odd that someone in the broadcasting business for that long would characterize someone as successful as Rachael Ray as "stupid".

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My thoughts exactly.

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While my objections mostly run along the lines of her being an annoying bint, I hardly think that success automatically proves that a person cannot be stupid.

[-Y2Jay-]

I remember sitting around with my fellow musicians many years ago and playing our favorite game: trashing other musicians, especially lead guitarists and singers (they were, after all, the most visible).

"yeah so and so sucks he can't play real music or that lead singer is an asshole she has a big ass and can't sing....." etc. or "I'm better than that jerk, I am really serious about music..."

One day I realized that we were bashing people who were engaged in careers and were recording --making records--something we aspired to. I stopped bashing other musicians.

I am suprised at the level of vituperativeness in some posts, especially those railling against the food network and specific personalities. (Tod English, Emeril, Flay etc).

Even within the industry; for eg Amanda Hesser's attack on Emeril years ago.

I contrast this with the few professionals I know personally, who are incredibly generous and deferential--once I told Wayne Nish of March that I thought he was one of my favorite chefs along with Charlie Trotter, he was genuinely embarrassed and humbled--especially suprising because, really : who was I? other than an anonymous patron of his restaurant.

I read a piece in Elle magazine (latest issue) wherein the writer "confesses" to Thomas keller that she could not eat his fois gras and cut it into pieces and "hid" it on the plate. His response was amazingly deferential and understanding.

The point is, the level of discourse lately (I would include many topics: politics, religion--the usual culprits) as well as those that are meant to enrich our lives like music, the arts and, of all things, food etc has become especially shrill and relentless.

The internet is a reason, some critical threads can easily become "feeding frenzies"

The art of criticism is often lost in favor of personal attacks.

Different people approach food and cooking and dining out with varying degrees of importance in their lives. The Food Network is TV they are trying to reach the largest possible audience.

I enjoy cooking and going to fine restaurants, I also like hot dogs and see the "entertainment" value in some "not so serious" programs.

One can certainly be critical of Rachel Ray, she is fair game, but it seems to me attacking her as though she were the antichrist is a bit over the top. Putting things wildly out of perspective.

At the very worst,  she will certainly not destroy fine cuisine or the culinary arts and at  best, she may introduce some people to cooking and food who might not otherwise "discover" these things and who will move on to more "serious" and "authentic" programming.

After all, I "discovered" fine wines by ordering a white zinfandel once!

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This is the first time I have posted here on Egullet. After reading this person's post, I wanted to quote it so that it can be read again, as it echoes my feelings about this topic exactly. Now, you can probably post whatever you like here (within reason), but consider that it might be a good idea (and a productive one) to stop trashing people. Criticism is one thing; but comments like "fie on her, and those like her" and "let her burn under our laser gaze" seem to be a bit misguided and mean-spirited (as opposed to Bourdains's 'Rocco's Rat Restaurant' which I found to be relevant and funny, if not truthfull). Have something of substance to add, for once.

For instance (yes, I have something to add), my sister and bro-in-law (both younger than me) watch the FoodNetwork. They know next to nothing about cooking. To them, Rachel Ray is fun, out-there, experimental, off-the cuff. Alton Brown? Not ready yet. Iron Chef (original)? No -ing way. But Rachel will lead them to Alton Brown, who will lead them to, okay, their six-year-old likes Emeril Live (who can account for taste), but will ultimately lead to ... Anthony Bourdain! No!!!

The point is, their only hope for culinary enlightenment is through the FoodNetwork and TravelChannel etc. They're just not going to check out Keller's French Laundry cookbook at the local library and start cooking (although I did!)

Help them.

Help me help them.

[Jaymes]

The first time i saw RR  ...i could only watch her for about 10 minutes.

The woman comes off as SUCH an IDOIT that i couldnt even concentrate on the food!

"IDOIT"? Well, "I DO IT," too...cook from her books, that is. I find them helpful and handy at the end of a long day. In addition, I gave RR's "30 Minute Meals" cookbook to my daughter when she was in college. Her sophomore year, she moved into an apartment with three girlfriends. The apartment had a kitchen. The girls were busy. I thought giving them a few tips on getting started in the kitchen might slowly wean them from pizzas and burgers.

It worked.