No, its not a post about the inner workings of my GI tract, nor does it have anything to do with me and my rockin’ abs.
Nope, this is a post about food on TV! I’ve been whipping up batches of dried fruit/ fruit chips all week long (nectarines, sweet treat pluots, bananas, and dapple dandy pluots). A proper post will be sure at some point, but in the mean time… just turn on your TV! If you don’t know where to start, I’ll give you a primer…
Meri’s Belly-vision Telly-vision Awards
Keepin’ it Hot in the Kitchen Award: Giada DiLaurentis, (from whatever her program is called). This woman has the spark of a feisty youth and the wisdom of a goddess. Her smile lights up the kitchen and she is excited about everything. All cleavage aside, she is a marketer’s dream. Hell, she’s everyone’s dream!
Best TV Program for your inner nerd or attention span problem: Alton Brown’s “Good Eats.” The camera work and fancy tricks. The actually useful kitchen strategies. The dorky knowledge and history thrown in before you even notice you are learning. This show is super addicting.
Most confusing Foodie Crush: A Tie!
Contender #1: Bobby Flay (Grill it! etc) Is it the ginger crew cut? The lisp? The possibility he’s a wife-cheater? ( can’t remember if that is him or someone else)? The fact that he primarily grills things I’ve never eaten and have no desire to start eating? I have no idea, but despite his not adding up on paper and being sort of old, I still have a bizarre crush on him.
Contender #2: Anthony Bourdain (No Reservations). Now Anthony has more obvious appeal as a lady killer (or at least he did 5-10 years ago). He’s charming, funny, he hates Rachel Ray… but the reason this one is confusing for me is that he is probably 50 years old (not my general dating pool) and more importantly- he consistently degrades vegetarians. Hmmm. Do I have a strange penchant for uber-carnivores?
Most over the top: Paula Dean. No explanation necessary, ya’ll.
Food show I love to watch even though I never want what they are cooking: Lydia’s Italy. She is simply the most adorable TV personality, and the way she cooks food makes me feel like I’m getting a neck massage on a beach with a side of Xanax. And perhaps some stuffed olives. Viva Lydia!
Most obvious man-crush: Jamie Oliver. Again, no explanation necessary.
Best use of Theatrics and tension-building music: Iron Chef. The topic could be beets, and you’d think the world’s very security is at stake. Plus, I like Cat Cora and I don’t know where else to find her on TV.
There you have it my little foodies! Now who makes your list? Do you have any celebrity foodie crushes like me? Am I confusing hunger with love for another human?
Meri
My chef crush is Eric Ripert. French, talented, silver fox.
Oooh, I’ve never seen him- I’ll have to check him out, perhaps it might end up being a three way tie!
I don’t really have a celebrity foodie crush (although I do agree with you on Jamie Oliver :P)
I watch pretty much any show that focuses solely on desserts and pastries and candy – pretty much anything in which sugar is a prime ingredient. So shows like Food Network Challenge (the cake ones and the random cookie one), Unwrapped (since most are on candy, ice cream, etc.), Cupcake Wars, Ace of Cakes, and Top Chef: Just Desserts. I mostly just like to drool (sadly, in a figurative sense only) and satisfy my sweet tooth vicariously 😀 I know I could never do what the contestants do (although when I’m randomly flipping through and pass by a show that just happens to be doing desserts, I’ll stop and/or look up the recipe online).
I like the ones that I can just take little pieces and ideas from, or learn tidbtis. I’m not much of a recipe follower, but I did make Alton Brown’s Mac and cheese once, and it was incredible!
lol this post cracks me up. bobby flay – yes, i have a secret celebrity crush on him too. its not his food, i think its his culinary creativity and his willingness to try new things. i love “bobby flay showdown” – my favorite!!
sometimes I have utterly no idea why I think people are attractive, or fun to watch, but they just have good personalities for TV i think 🙂
I love Top Chef 🙂
I don’t have any foodie crushes, but what I do not get is how Adam off manvfood always manages to get the pretty girls to crowd around him- even when he is stuffing his face and about to throw up. I just do not get it! We have “unwrapped” over here, which is american, and can be interesting.
I like Top Chef too- although I cannot stand most of the judges. Tom is the worst, I think. He is so pompous. And Gail never makes sense.
Giada never fails to make me crack up. Have you ever been to the site foodnetworkhumor.com? So funny. Guy Fieri annoys the bejesus out of my me, and I have celebrity chef crushes on Jamie Oliver & Anthony Bourdain, for sure. 🙂
Oh man, don’t get me started on TV foodies I DON’T like.. Rachel Ray, Guy Fieri, Sandra Lee to name a few…
Libby introduced me to the food network… at first I was like why would any one watch people cooking. It’s like torture you don’t even get to know if it’s any good! But the shows are pretty amusing and the t.v. personalities pretty ridiculous. My favorite is that boozy sandra lee. Keepin’ it semi-homemade with a cocktail and smile all whilst crafting uber cute “table-scapes.” She has the beautiful mind of 8 yr old.
“The beautiful mind of an 8 year old”… with 80 year old fake baked skin, surely. A frightening combination… “You can get FOUR HUNDRED HOT DOG WEINIES with your KRAFT MAC AND CHEESE for only $50! That’s only 12 cents a weiner people. and THEN, you can cut the boxes out to make your own HOMEMADE FORK!”
Hahaha my mom loves Alton Brown! She’s a Home Ec teacher and shows his program in her foods classes sometimes. You’re right about blog design stuff being really difficult…luckily I’m not the one doing it. Dan is going to school for computer and information systems, and he’s the one doing all of the work. I like your new WordPress blog a lot!!!
Lucky you- I can’t wait to see it! I’ve been taking it really slow with adding stuff/ changing stuff on my new blog, because looking stuff up and plug-ins can take so long and then sometimes they dont’ even work… baby steps!
Paula Deen FTW. And I love Ina Garten–The Barefoot Contessa is the most soothing show ever. And I love Chopped! It’s so much fun to see what whacky or unique things the chefs can come up with.
I have never seen chopped- although now I have the Cooking Channel so I’ve been watching some of those shows, which are a bit odd at times!
Ok, now you are just creeping me out. We really are blogging twins!! I love “Good Eats” as mentioned before. Always have. And I CANNOT FOR THE LIFE OF ME explain why I am attracted to Anthony Bordain. Let’s just have a big Travel Channel/Food Network marathon together. I think we could put a dent into it all!
He is an enigma, his hotness. Let’s not try to figure it out… let’s just have the abovementioned marathon!
I want to be the Iron Chef just because he has the coolest name. IRON CHEF. It sounds so bad-ass.
http://www.glamkittenslitterbox.com/
Twitter: @GlamKitten88
Perhaps you could be Iron Blogger? Iron (clothes)horse? Iron Lifter (at the gym, that is…)
i LOVE anthony bourdain. he’s uber cool as shiz!
and, even though the guy who eats all the weird stuff…drawing a blank, drawing a blank…gah…anyways, even though he isn’t anything to look at, i just think he’s cool for trying all that stuff that doesn’t seem like food to me. and i love watching his facial expressions, lol!
also love ina garten, barefoot contessa. i want to eat evvrything she makes, i love the way she packages it, plates it, shares it!
[oomph.]
Ina has beautiful presentation, you’re right!
Anthony Bourdain is my celeb crush hands down! Tyler Florence was one too when I was younger…then funny thing a few years ago him and his family moved to my town, opened a restaurant and a shop and now I see him almost every day (and I live a few streets away from him!)
Is he attractive in person? or is it different without the whole “show” around him?
I too have a crush on Jaime Olive…Oh dear. He’s nice to look at.
Amber
Ambersmouthwash
He’s nice to look at… AND he’s running around trying to change the world. double hot.
dude, top chef is the pinnacle of reality television.
What is your take on it? Do you like it?
Iron Chef is my sunday night ritual…even though i know that means tomorrow is Monday!
I have a show I watch on Sunday nights too- its sort of my unwinding ritual!
I am definitely a huge Giada fan!
She’s so exuberant, its hard not to like her! And the food of course…
I get your Bobby Flay thing…and it is the ginger hair…..BUT…I love Anthony Bourdain. He is smart and crass and confident….all good things. I am not a big Rachel Ray fan. I love Paula because she is pro-butter. I ate at Emeril’s in New Orleans and it was DELICIOUS but his personality is odd. But all in all, I love the chefs.
I do think, unfortunately, that you are right and that something about a cocky kind of jerk personality can be really hot. WHY???
OH and I dig Andrew Zimmerman (sp?) he has great recipes on his blog.
Ah yes, i always read him in citypages! I don’t know what he looks like though, which is different than other foodies! Was he on TV ever or just a writer/critic?
Oh, I love watching “Good Deal with Dave Lieberman”. He’s so cute!
I haven’t seen that- what channel?
LOL oh I just love Paula Deen…her southern home cooking…it’s just fabulous!!! I LOVE Anthony Bourdain and Giada…amazing at what they do.
Jamie Oliver is quite the cutie
I’d have to say the most annoying on the Food Network is Jenna Neely…or is it Genna..who knows, who cares. I like the husband, but she annoys me to no end!
I haven’t watched the Neely’s very many times because they kind of irritate me. The other one I don’t like very much for some reason is the Melissa Darabian show.
I love bobby flay too 🙂 Something cute and boyish about him that makes me kinda drool. Hope the wife cheating rumor is false 🙁 Have you seen his wife?! She’s gorgeous and she’s a Law and Order star, what more could he ask for? hehe
The story I’m thinking of I think is with a previous wife to the Law and Order one… but I can’t seem to find the story again, so I’m wondering if I made it up or something? Odd!
I LOVE Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. Heck, I even went to one of the diners featured when I went to Milwaukee 🙂 (Frank’s Diner in Kenosha, WI) So my pick is Guy Fieri!
They have come to Minneapolis a few times, I think they went to Kramarzchuks maybe once, or matt’s for a Juicy Lucy.
This is a fantastic blog! I cracked up multiple times! While I like watching Bobbly Flay and Anthony Bourdain. I do not have crushes on either, but to each their own!
I think my crushes are all with the women chefs. Cat Cora, Giada, Sandra Lee (nope just kidding on that last one!)
I haven’t watched the food network in so long, makes me sad, and now we no longer have cable, so maybe when I am over next time we can watch a little!
My favorite thing about the food network is getting all hungry watching a show and then heading to the grocery to try out one of the recipes. I used to do it all the time. Now I mostly go to the website and browse the recipes and then try one out.
Well you might have some luck with Cat Cora haha, but I know Giada likes the mens cause she has a husband. Why is Sandra Lee even on TV? she is utterly ridiculous! Your husband and I had a little tantrum over her already haha.
Yes, you can come over and watch either food network OR cooking channel! Yea direct TV!
Ha!! Giada is awesome. I actually really enjoy Rachael Ray – she is kind of corny and annoying, but I love her cookware, recipes and the fact that she makes all her food on camera. There is something about 30 min meals and no tv-kitchen-magic that has me intrigued! I also love the travel shows where they go do different restaurants around the country or other countries. Except I don’t have food network or any cable anymore, so I don’t watch any of these shoes nor remember what they are anymore!!!
I really like the travel shows too- even if I don’t end up going the places they visit when I go to those cities, its fun to see some of the other places!
What a great writing talent and resource for who to catch on “telly-vision” to expand your “belly-vision” and opportunities for “foodie crushes”. I can’t say much about my fave TV foodie stars, but I’m ga ga for Sue Ann Gleason, “Chocolate for Breakfast” of web-foodie fame.
As to your fickle feelings over, Anthony Bourdain, don’t fret. It is a sign of your openness to Other and perhaps an opportunity to explore your animal Power vicariously. I suggest you eat Chocolate for Breakfast while viewing “no reservations” to welcome this paradoxical whim and enhance your power in the physical, material world.
Mary- I am on board with ANYthing involving chocolate for breakfast- perhaps some M&Ms in my oatmeal will do the trick!
My wife likes Jamie Oliver as well, for me I watch anything food related.
Even if he wasn’t cute, he is so likeable and makes good looking food!
I’m definitely a Giada fan. I don’t know who some of the personalities are any more since I can’t really watch during the day and in the evenings it’s all cupcake wars (which I cannot stand).
I know- I get frustrated that the actual cooking shows are on while I’m at work (or on weekends… when I’m still sleeping hahaha). I’ll have to get some more of them from the library like the Good Eats I have now!
Ahh Jaime Oliver.. you’re so right, there is no explanation necessary hehe. 🙂
I thoroughly enjoy all your tv/movie related posts, our taste in television is very similar I think 🙂 hehe
Thanks for stopping by my blog, and your sweet comments (and for catching the Anchorman quote, I think a lot of people get a bit confused by that statement).
Sweet blog btw, I’m your newest follower 🙂
~Tammy
http://www.bayparkdream.blogspot.com
Anchorman is one of the best recent movies for funny quotes, I think haha!