Hot Dog, It's Michael Chiarello Hitting A Home Run With His Lunch For The Little Leaguers

Easy Entertaining with Michael Chiarello

Little League Tailgate

Best Hot Dogs
Home Made Quick Pickle Relish
Hot Sweet Mustard
Homemade BBQ Potato Chips with Smoked Paprika
Warm Potato-Tomato Salad with Dijon Vinaigrette
Apple and Blueberry Hand Pies
Lemon-Grape Coolers

To get the recipes:
Click here

Who would have thought there was a gourmet way to cook hot dogs? Well, there is, as Michael Chiarello shows us in this episode. He's having the Little Leaguers over for lunch after the game. He's putting out a particularly nice spread for them.

He starts with “Hand Pies”, which are homemade versions of those little pies, which I think you can still find in the back of a supermarket shelf. Gosh, weren’t those good? Cherry was my favorite and I loved the overly thickened cornstarchy artificially flavored super sweet filling. Those were the days!

Anyway, Michael is making his own, higher quality version with frozen puff pastry.

He starts the filling by coring and cutting up peeled apples and tossing them in lemon juice. And he is actually TOSSING them. No spoon for him. He adds 3 tablespoons of butter to a hot pan. As soon as the foam subsides (the butter is slightly browned), he adds the apples.

Whenever you’re adding an ingredient to a hot pan with fat, ALWAYS add it away from you, so you don’t get splattered. This is particularly true when you’re adding something wet, as in this case. Michael adds 3 tablespoons honey. He says he tries to stay away from white sugar when he can, and honey is a wonderful choice here. He adds a pinch of salt “to come up underneath that fruit flavor”.

He continues cooking them in the oven. That’s a good way to go - starting them on top of the stove and beginning the evaporation of water, which will lead to the apples caramelizing. They don’t need that much time in the oven, maybe 15 minutes. When they come out, mash them slightly. He adds blueberries, because he likes the combo of those flavors.

For the pastry, make sure to thaw it well in the fridge. He cuts out large rounds using a bowl. You should get 4 to a sheet of puff pastry. On a floured work surface, he brushes the edges of the rounds with an egg wash. Well, not really, it’s just a beaten egg. He’s not using the standard 1 egg to 1 tablespoon of liquid to make the egg wash. I wonder why. Maybe he wants a thicker glue for the pies. I think I would go with what I know, which is to add a tablespoon of milk or water to the egg and use that.

Michael puts a big heaping spoonful of filling in the middle of each round. Folds it in half and presses the edges together very well. He butters a baking sheet, use nonstick if you must, he says, but he prefers butter. He places the pies on the sheet. Cut vents in each one “so some of the air can escape. It keeps the pastry nice and crisp and makes sure that the pressure of the steam doesn’t open” up the little pies. He brushes them with egg and then sprinkles cinnamon sugar over and bakes at 400 deg. F for 20 to 25 minutes.

Oh, now he’s outside picking luscious looking tomatoes.

On to the potato salad. He’s making a German style potato salad, which means no mayonnaise. He quarters Yukon gold potatoes and puts them into cold water. He tells us to always start potatoes in cold water and to add lots of salt, because “that’s your only chance to get the salt into the potato.”

While that’s happening, he makes a couple of condiments for the hot dogs. He starts by mixing Dijon and honey together for a hot and sweet mustard. Then he takes some of that mustard to make a relish. He mixes it with a chopped dill pickle and some pickle juice. A whole lot of fresh dill gets added right before they eat, NOT BEFORE. Michael is as passionate about that as he is about how much he hates salads which are tossed 45 minutes before serving, which he told us on a previous show. He likes the “nice pop of fresh herb flavor”, which, obviously, you wouldn’t have if you had mixed in the herb, hours before.

The potatoes are done when a knife goes in easily. You don’t want them “furry like a teddy bear”. I know EXACTLY what he means, because mine often are. I really have to watch that. He spreads them out on a baking sheet to dry off a bit, because he doesn't want the water in the potato to dilute the dressing. My goodness, he's astute! This is EXACTLY what I paid my money for (if I had, that is) - to get this kind of expert tip from someone who's a real professional. It's like learning how to tune up your car or caulk your windows from an expert. You can still do whatever it is without that information, BUT you'll have a more efficiently running car, less draughty house or, most importantly of all, a fuller-flavored potato salad if you follow this advice. Kudos to the chef.

Michael sprinkles the cooked, and still warm, potatoes with red wine vinegar to give them more flavor. He starts the dressing by “blooming” the onion in red wine vinegar “to tone it down a bit.” He adds mustard, lots of pepper and salt, olive oil and, unfortunately for me, fresh tarragon, which I abhor.

Michael salts and peppers his tomatoes separately (which he doesn’t say in the recipe), because he thinks that “they take all the seasoning out of the dressing.” He tosses the potatoes into the vinaigrette and then adds the tomatoes.

My unabated admiration for MC notwithstanding, I think I would serve the tomatoes separately from the potatoes. Also, I would add a bit of crunch to the potato salad. I know there's red onion in there, but I want more crunch, whether it's finely diced celery or red pepper or both.

He shows us a quick trick to spice up store-bought potato chips. He starts with good quality “olive oil kettle chips”. He may mean the "Kettle" brand or just some other higher end chip, made in the kettle style. He warms up the chips in the oven, so the oils come to the surface and the spices will stick to the potato chip. He mixes together smoky paprika, garlic powder, sugar and salt (do we REALLY need the salt?) and tosses the warm chips, very carefully, with the spice mixture. Yummy.

For the hot dogs themselves, he seasons cold water with salt. If there were one thing I would think ISN'T needed, it would be salt, but it IS Michael, so I’ll let him deal with the dogs however he wants. He puts them into the cold water and brings them just to a boil. He leaves half of them in the pot until ready to serve, so they stay hot. He splits the other ones in half lengthwise, not quite all the way through, and fries them in olive oil, open side down. Then he flips them and fries the other side, until they’re slightly browned. They really look good and they’re only hot dogs for goodness sakes! (I DID wonder if the Cheese Whiz was coming out, but there was none to be seen anywhere.)

He rustles up a pitcher (not nearly enough) of a grape juice concoction for the kids. He goes out to greet them. After a bit of rough-housing, they dig in. They like everything, even the homemade relish and mustard.

While I would make a few changes to the recipes as written, I wouldn’t change a thing about our adorable chef, who, in my eyes, is the Most Valuable (and Cutest) Chef in the Major Leagues of the Food Network.

The Barefoot Quandary of Extra-Large Eggs and Bleu Cheese

Barefoot Contessa - Ina Garten
Barefoot Reunion

Barbecued Ribs
Blue Cheese Cole Slaw
Chocolate Ganache Cupcakes
New Potato Salad

To get the recipes:
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Ina tells us about her store, Barefoot Contessa, which she sold in 1996. It almost sounds like another icon...this time on the big screen: "I had a farm in Africa". Anyway, Ina has invited 6 of her longtime co-workers from "the early years'" to dinner and she's making several of their famous dishes. And she can't wait to see how they're all doing.

She starts with barbecued ribs. Apparently, this recipe was a long time in development. They had several recipes they were working with and she decided to put them all together - Asian, Tex-Mex, traditional - to come up with what became the signature Barefoot Contessa Barbecued Ribs.

She cooks the onion and garlic in olive oil until soft. Then she adds chili powder, cumin, red pepper flakes, ginger, lime zest and juice. Goodness, there's more! She's adding vinegar, mustard and orange juice. She wasn't kidding about merging MANY different recipes and she obviously kept each and every ingredient from them all. She simmers it for 15 minutes.

I don't approve of something so far. Can you guess what it is?

Very good, if you guessed that Ina didn't cook the spices first, before adding all the liquidy stuff.

WHENever, HOWever, WHEREever, WHOever (ok, that last one doesn't make sense) you're adding warm spices, i.e. chili powder, cumin, coriander, turmeric, paprika, cinnamon (usually to sautéed onions and/or garlic), they should be stirred over the lowest heat you have for 3 minutes BEFORE you add anything even vaguely liquidy. This takes away the raw taste and develops the flavor of the spices. This can be the difference between a so-so dish and one that really sings. And, of course, I'm talking about sautéed dishes here, not baked goods, like cakes or rolls with cinnamon other spices.

To clarify, before you add the entire left side of your pantry to this barbecue sauce, stir in the entire right side (the spices) for 3 minutes on low heat...I just checked the recipe and the Contessa goes halfway. She cooks the chili powder, cumin and red pepper flakes for ONE minute. Not enough, but, at least, she didn't skip it altogether. You and I know know what we have to do, right? 3 minutes, super low heat BEFORE the wet stuff goes in.

Luckily, we're moving on to the chocolate cupcake recipe. She creams room temperature butter with sugar, until it's light and fluffy. Then she adds 4 extra large eggs, one at a time.

Hold on just a minute. Just what exactly are we going to do about The Barefoot Contessa's use of EXTRA LARGE eggs in every recipe?

Very few food writers use extra large eggs in their recipes, the standard is large. I almost think Ina's doing it as a way to stand out and make it harder for anyone to copy her.

THIS is the problem: a large egg is 2 ounces. An extra large egg is 2 1/4 ounces. Obviously, this matters when you're baking, not making omelets.

What to do? I have NEVER used extra large eggs. EVER. After great thought, this is what I've come up with. When I crack open an egg, I make sure to get every drop of egginess from the inside of the shell. That could be an extra teaspoon or so. I may not be using the size she specifies, but at least I'm getting every last bit of the egg that I AM using into the recipe. AND when I'm adding liquid to her baked recipes, I intentionally add perhaps a teaspoon more.

Even though I've baked plenty of Barefoot Contessa recipes, I've never used the correct size egg and it doesn't seem to matter (although theory says it should).

However, if you have a recipe that uses A LOT of eggs, 8 extra-large for example, that WILL make a difference - a 2 ounce difference to be exact, which conveniently is the size of a large egg. So that one is easy...8 extra-large eggs equal 9 large eggs exactly. It's when it's less than that that you have the issue.

Here's a rather confusing chart that seems to say that if the recipe calls for 4 extra-large eggs, do what you want, use 4 OR 5 large eggs. After that, use one more large egg than extra-large. Thus, if the recipe says 5 extra-large eggs, use 6 large and so on. Got it?

Ok, so you've added whatever the heck eggs you're going to add, and now she's adding a 16 oz can of chocolate syrup!!! What? It's the secret ingredient. Ok, if you say so. And I guess all that liquid deliciousness will make up for the exactly 1 oz shortfall of egg protein that my cupcakes will suffer from. Add vanilla extract and then put the flour in the bowl. Beat only until it's JUST mixed, or you'll have tough cupcakes and noone wants that for you, least of all the Contessa.

This batter makes 12 cupcakes. She uses an ice cream scoop to get them into the muffin pan. VERY CLEVER IDEA! They bake at 325 deg F. for 25 to 30 minutes. She says 30 in the recipe - check after 25 minutes.

We're back to the everything-but-the-kitchen-sink marinade. Set aside some to be served with the cooked ribs. The rest gets spread all over the meat and it goes into the refrigerator to marinate for as long as possible - a few hours, overnight, a day or 2. She likes Country Ribs the best, which you may have to discuss with your butcher in advance. Ina doesn't think baby back ribs have enough meat on them and that spare ribs are too fatty.

Her friend, TR, arrives in a wild shirt. He's in charge of the grill. She cracks open the Veuve Clicquot and he starts the fire. She heads back into the kitchen to finish cooking.

For the cole slaw, she slices green and red cabbage in the food processor. Put it in sideways to get long slices. The red cabbage goes ON TOP OF the green cabbage. Don't mix them together yet. She grates the carrots with the grating disk and puts them on top of the red cabbage. She makes the sauce, starting with 16 oz. of mayonnaise. "This makes a lot", she adds rather sheepishly. Dijon and whole grain mustard get mixed in with apple cider vinegar, celery salt (tell me the truth, is your celery salt from the last quarter of the 20th century?) and salt and pepper. "Put enough sauce on so that it moistens it, but not so much that it's wet and sloppy." Ok, maybe I wouldn't have put it exactly that way, but you get the idea.

Ina adds Roquefort. "I know there are those of you who think this smells like gym socks, but it's really delicious." She adds parsley now. "I'm going to put it in the refrigerator and it's just going to get better and better as it sits." (Kinda like gym socks?)

I have mixed feelings about the bleu cheese. One thing I am completely sure of: the cole slaw doesn't need it. I do defend her right to add it, but I really prefer to enjoy bleu cheese on its own, where it doesn't taint, I mean overpower, the rest of what it's being served with. I think the best way to present it is at room temperature with a generous portion of good honey lavished overtop, dripping all down the sides and surrounded by well-toasted walnut halves and sturdy crackers or bread.

Back to the cupcakes. She's doing her ganache thing - heavy cream and chocolate get melted together with a bit of coffee powder in a double boiler arrangement. Stir until just melted. By the way, the usual way to make ganache is to heat the cream, just to boiling, and stir in FINELY chopped chocolate until smooth. No less an authority than Rose Levy Beranbaum loves to make it in the food processor, so that it's silky smooth.

TR lights the coals. The ribs are on. They really don't have to cook that long, maybe a half hour. They get turned once or twice. Ina sets the table with Barefoot Contessa colors - red and white. She puts bags of candy down the middle, tied with BF ribbons. BIG napkins (for the ribs) go on and she reminds TR (and us) that the coals should be even and not too thick.

Back in the kitchen to ice the cupcakes. She spoons a LARGE amount of ganache over each cupcake. The recipe says to dip each one, I like using a spoon. Ina places a large candied violet on each cupcake and they go on cake stands. That's an attractive way to present them. They look gorgeous.

The Barefoot friends arrive. They toast to the Barefoot Contessa - the store AND the person, I guess. They take a lot of pictures and hunker down with the ribs (they turned out BEAUTIFULLY) and cole slaw, these original foodies. And Ina didn't forget to serve the extra marinade.

The Chocolate Ganache Cupcakes come out. They remember them well. To old times, old friends and old recipes.

Weeknights...And The Eating Is Easy

Everyday Italian with Giada De Laurentiis
Weeknight Wonders

Roasted Cod with Lima Beans
Wilted Greens with Ricotta Salata
Artichoke Gratinata
Fusilli with Spinach and Asiago Cheese

To get the recipes:
Click here

Giada has a busy week. The show starts with her picking up her cleaning. (Who here believes that Giada actually picks her own cleaning?) Anyway, she doesn't want to, or want us, to get take-out for dinner. She wants to show us how a quick meal can be made, even on a busy night. Thank goodness, she didn't use the word "strategy", which never portends a good meal, OR the expression "30 Minute", which I guess would be stepping on a certain someone's toes.

Pasta with a few other ingredients can become a full dinner. Show us Giada, please. She starts by very well salting the pasta water. (If you are in a hurry, the second you walk into the house, you should put that water on the stove and get it boiling. You want the water to wait for you, not the other way around.) She adds the fusilli to the pot. Giada likes the shape, because "the sauce gets stuck in the little spirals. Every single time you take a bite of the pasta, you get all the of the flavors" in that one bite. Right you are, good choice of pasta.

1/4 cup of olive oil goes in the pan. It sounds like a lot, but that, along with the well-flavored pasta water, will be the basis of the sauce. She adds finely minced garlic. If she doesn't stir that quickly, it's going to burn...She gets the spinach and starts talking about how you need a lot, because it cooks down. Don't forget about the garlic! She rough chops the spinach. How about a rough stir of the garlic? Blah blah blah about the spinach. Move it, honey, if you don't get it in there, it'll be curtains. FINALLY, she adds the spinach and gives it a good stir. The spinach brings down the temperature of the pan quickly, but between you and me, the garlic looks a bit too brown...

She halves cherry tomatoes and stirs them into to the pan. (What do you think about her pale pink nail polish? I like it.) She tastes the pasta for doneness straight out of the pot. I refuse to do that anymore. Very quickly, I take one piece out with a slotted spoon and run cool water over it and then taste it. I just got sick of burning my mouth. (When my kids were young, after I drained the spaghetti, I would let them throw a strand or two against the wall. They really loved that. The trick was to not let them eat the ones that had fallen on the floor, after it hit the wall.)

The pasta gets tossed into the pan with the spinach and tomatoes. She's grating Asiago and Parmesan. She likes Asiago here, because it's stronger. I have to admit that everytime I buy Asiago, I regret it. I just don't like it. I would mix Parm and Pec - pecorino. So Giada adds the cheeses and seasoning. The recipe says to add pasta cooking water. I guess I looked away when she did that, but add a bit just to loosen the ingredients and make it a bit saucy (just like her).

We move on to a vegetable dish, using Giada's favorite secret weapon to a great weeknight meal - frozen artichoke hearts. Again, she infuses oil with garlic. (I personally NEVER chop garlic on wood.) She says to thaw them slightly (the recipe says THAWED, not slightly, just thawed). I think we BETTER thaw them, otherwise, they'll take forever to heat up in the oven. She adds the artichoke hearts to the garlic, that again looked like it had browned too much.

Ok, let's settle something here and now. I can't remember who first spelled this out to me. I actually think it was Nigella. Don't add chopped garlic to hot oil. Pure and simple, it'll burn. Start the garlic in cold oil and watch carefully. You'll also get a better flavor, because the oil will have had longer to be indoctrinated with all of the garlic's wiles and charms.

Ok, so we've heated up the oil and garlic together and THEN added the artichoke hearts with parsley, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Cook until the artichokes are a little brown around the edges. Mmmmm, yummy caramelization.

In a separate pan, Giada gets some butter melting. She adds it to storebought unflavored bread crumbs with Parmesan. (If all you have is flavored breadcrumbs, don't worry about it, just use those.) She adds 1/2 cup of chicken stock to the artichokes to keep them moist and some Marsala, which adds a light but rich (huh?) flavor. She tells us to cook it down a bit to evaporate the liquid. Puts artichokes and liquid into a baking dish and covers with crumb mixture. This gets baked for 10 minutes at 450 deg f. Frankly, I loved the way the artichokes looked at the caramelization stage. I'm not so sure I would bother with the stock and Marsala and crumb-stuff. I think they would be great in just the garlic scented oil. But I guess this is a bit heartier.

Usually I don't mention the commercials, but this one got my attention. "Wanna cook like Rachael Ray?" NO, I REALLY DON'T! "Get these knives and you can." Remind me to put that on my list of things NOT to get.

Giada goes on to a quick vegetable dish that you can serve instead of a salad, which involves wilted greens. Don't turn up your noses. All these industrial type of greens really pack a powerful nutritional punch.

She starts by softening onions in olive oil. Adding lots of flavor with garlic and onion is what makes the Swiss Chard so yummy, she tells us. "Yummy" isn't the world I would use to describe Swiss Chard, but ok. She adds 4 garlic cloves to oil. That's not too much, because the Swiss Chard can really stand up to it. Is that code for it being so strong that you need to overpower it with other flavors like garlic?

She rinses the bright green huge leafy chard in water. (Food porn alert.) Don't dry it off. She cuts off the stems and roughly chops the leaves. She reminds us that she's using 2 bunches, because it cooks down so much. Adds the Swiss chard to the onion and stirs it around. She adds chicken stock and 2 tbls. soy sauce, instead of salt. "Stir often so you rotate all the greens and they cook evenly."

Ok, this is fine, but if you're new to greens and maybe even if you're not, you may want to blanch them before sautéing. Blanch Swiss chard for a minute or 2 in a large pot of boiling salted water, kale a bit longer, maybe 3 minutes. Some recipes even say up to 10 minutes, before sauteing. If it's your first time cooking heavy duty greens (Swiss chard is a bit more tender and less bitter than others), definitely blanch them first. You can also use different ones together. Just put the kale in first to blanch, wait a minute or so and add the chard.

Her sautéed chard looks really good - all wilty and garlicky. She crumbles Ricotta Salata right on top and she's done. I would add a bit more stock to give you more juices and then serve it over brown (Basmati, remember?) rice.

You can get chard in a wonderful variety of colors. Rainbow is gorgeous. Red is pretty too. Mix and match them.

Now Giada is telling us about a quick and easy main dish with no pots or pans: Fish gets cooked in foil packets. She starts with lima beans. That can NEVER be a good thing. (Actually, I don't mind them with lots of other beans in a really zesty vinaigrette.) She adds chopped parsley to the frozen lima beans with a bit of olive oil and salt and pepper. She readies a piece of foil. She puts some of the lima beans in the center of the foil as a bed for the fish. Places 6 oz piece of cod on top. I suppose she mentioned the weight of the fish, so you know how long to cook it. Salt and pepper the fish and pour over a few tablespoons of white wine. Fold over top and side and fold up the edges so nothing leaks out. Cook at 375 deg F for 20 minute.

It looks ok, but would you EVER make this? I didn't think so...Try this Penelope Casas recipe, which I think would be an improvement. Just substitute the cod and lima beans and obviously, the lima beans don't need to be cooked so long.

There are a few Spanish recipes that sound really weird, but are really good. There's one for fish with green sauce, which is made with lots of parsley, peas and clams. It's amazingly flavorful. I wish I could give you Penelope Casas' recipe, but it not mine to give (The one above is on her website and fair game). It's in her The Food And Wines Of Spain, which I've mentioned before is a fabulous book. If you only make the tortilla and gazpacho, it's worth it. But now here's another recipe - Merluza a la Vasca, Fish Steak in Green Sauce.

Good show, but are you getting the feeling that sometimes Giada is running out ideas, especially for themes? She's made that pasta many times before in different guises. And for a show which is about weeknight dinners, I don't think she included enough main course type dishes.

Arugula - The New Pomegranite

If you don't like arugula, you really ARE out of the loop as far as the Food Network chefs go. I think someone sent out a memo, because EVERYONE is using arugula. At last look, 443 recipes came up on the Food Network website for Arugula. You know what the first one was? Illinois Rabbit with Wilted Arugula, Goat Cheese, Nuts, and Arugula Puree. That's just silly. (I must say their recipe index is one of the worst. They list ridiculous recipes first and they give no misspelling help). Epicurious listed 380 recipes, and while the first one WAS Arugula and Goat Cheese Ravioli - probably not what 99% of people are looking for when they type in Arugula - 7 out of 10 recipes on the first page of the search WERE for some type of Arugula Salad.

But back to the Food Network, even if the recipe doesn't list it, they're adding arugula. Remember last week? Michael Chiarello's peach salad called for spinach, but, on the show, he added arugula instead. It's being thrown around with complete abandon. On Giada's Kitchen Basics episode, running all this month, she uses arugula in a salad AND adds it to a linguine dish...ON THE SAME SHOW. What did the Barefoot One add to her Cobb salad for it's "freshness"? Arugula.

Arugula has become the dried cranberries of 3 years ago, the dried cherries of 2 years ago and the pomegranate of last year. I just hope no one starts making martinis with it or putting it in oatmeal cookies.

The only thing I really hate about Arugula is that every time I type it, I misspell it. I always type A-R-U-G-U-A-L. It's really annoying.

Just as in fashion where trends change all the time: gray is the new black, pink is the new gray, brown is the new...well, I guess just brown, but it's real popular, I hear...so it goes with food. Here are a couple other candidates for the new pomegranate:

Pears, finally something we can put in an martini.

Dark Chocolate, with higher amounts of cocoa content and branded by place of origin

Really exotic fruits that you not only have never heard of, but have no idea how to pronounce

And, not a single ingredient but something really good AND huge on the West Coast: Cupcakes

How did I get from Arugual...there I go again...ARUGULA to CUPCAKES? I'm not entirely sure, but I sure know which one I'd rather have just about now....maybe with a little organic milk, another hot trend of 2007.

Rachael, Ground Turkey Does Not (Necessarily) A Healthy Diet Make

Well, I HAD to see Bill on Rachael. I do love him and he looked fabulous. But before he came out, she talked about how lucky she is to have a family that gave her such a wonderful relationship with food. She wants to use that as a vehicle to give back to the world. Even SHE sounded sheepish about the name of her foundation - The Yum-O! Organization - as she announced plans for it. I get that that's one of her trademark expressions, but it's kind of dumb, even if the goals are lofty.

The three goals for the Yum-O! Organization* are:
Get People Cooking
Get Rid of Hunger in America
Give Culinary Scholarships

Then she introduced a family she's working with who eats junk food three times a day. I think it's great that she's their cheerleader, but the recipes she suggested for them will not change their lives. I'm sorry, but ground turkey is not the answer to the obesity problem in America. (And she did a similar horrible thing that Giada did. But, at least, Rachael MADE hers from scratch). She diluted a Turkey Bolognese and called it soup. AAAARRRGGGHH!!! I'm not sure why that bothers me so much. Just make the soup and call it SOUP (see next paragraph).

Ok, Ms. Blogger, you may say, what do YOU suggest to cure the eating crisis in the U.S?

There are 2 simple things that we can add to our meals that will make a huge difference.

The first is to serve a cup - that is 8 oz. - of soup before you eat. If you're only eating 8 oz, it almost doesn't matter what the soup is, but obviously here's an easy place to go really low fat and pack in the vegetables. Studies have shown that people actually take in fewer calories at meals following soup, than those served soup-less. You can make literally gallons of soup on the weekend and freeze it. Put a container in the fridge in the morning and by evening, you're ready to heat and go. You can also freeze cold soups. Obviously, gazpacho is best fresh, but if the alternative is no soup, then go ahead and freeze it. (Who wouldn't love slushy gazpacho in a martini glass with a little vodka? Oh, that's for another day...)

The other solution to increase healthy eating is to really buckle down and serve a salad every night. This is made easier by a few things:

• Make the dressing in advance and it's ready to go. Make it on Sunday (blender...great emulsion...remember?) and you'll have it all week. If you use only 1 tablespoonful of dressing per person, again it doesn't really matter what the dressing is. If you use only balsamic vinegar, you can use ladlefuls.
  
  Have a few high quality ingredients always in the house to go with the lettuce. The 2 easiest: broccoli and red cabbage. (I always ask my supermarket to cut a head of red cabbage in half and that lasts for the week.) If you're on the fence about raw broccoli, steam it for 60 seconds. It's amazing how that improves the flavor.
  
  Always dress the salad in a bowl big enough to handle a vigorous toss. If every element isn't touched by dressing, it won't be flavorful, your family won't eat it, you won't bother to make it, you'll be less healthy and on and on and on. Do you see how much trouble you could have saved yourself by just using a BIG bowl for the salad?!
  
  Put the salad on the plate BEFORE the other stuff. I like to use the salad as a bed for whatever I'm serving. If you're one those have-to-eat-everything-separately people, put the salad in a big ring around the plate and whatever you're serving in the middle. (I LOVE salad right on top of slice of pizza. And it has the added benefit of cooling down the slice.)

Where were we? Oh, at the Rachael Ray Show with Mr. President. Rachael WAS nervous, as the article yesterday said, when she introduced him. He gave her mother, a special visitor today, a kiss as he strode out. You can hate him, but you can't deny that he's incredibly charismatic.

He talked about HIS foundation's initiative on fighting childhood obesity and partnering with the American Heart Association. He and Rachael chatted with a couple of kids and, unfortunately, she took him into the kitchen, where she showed him the stuff she'd already cooked earlier in the hour. Does she only know one recipe to turn into meals for the week? I DID like it (I admit it) when she added a can a black beans to the turkey bolognese and called it chili. The President didn't flinch when she added cheese and BAKED chips to the top. He actually talked about the huge difference between baked and fried chips. OK, but let's try new things too, instead of just substituting something less crummy for something really bad.

Believe me, I LOVE cheese, but we really have to learn to escape the tyranny of cheese (mayo, which I LOVE LOVE LOVE, is the other one.) When I make chili, I serve it scalding hot, with plain yogurt and tons of salsa (which has outsold ketchup since 1991!). Why scalding hot? Because then you HAVE to add the yogurt to cool it down. (I admit I also like to dump my salad on top of that too.)

But anyway, Rachael had an important visitor today, when she made her important announcement. I just hope Rachael, herself, learns new healthy cooking tricks. Mostly, I hope that she expands her recipe base to include more vegetables and less meat and stops calling everything Yum-O.

*The name IS a little confusing. Is it The Yum-O Organization, or is the "O" meant to represent the word "Organization" and it's just Yum-O? This is the problem one faces when normal English isn't in place. (Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know she's in the dictionary now for evoo and who knows maybe for yum-o too.)

Rachael Ray: "Hello Mr. President"

I caught a 3 minute snippet of Rachael Ray's show this morning and I was thinking that my opinion of her was really right on the money. I can't stand her food, it's all a lot of the same thing, just using different combinations of ground meat and as much cheese as necessary to camouflage the lack of inventiveness.

Oh wait, she did REINVENT a Caesar Salad the other day, by making a substitution for the croutons. You know what she put in instead? FRIED CHEESE RAVIOLI! That's as awful an idea as I've ever heard. Why didn't she just add Fritos and dispense with the frying?

BUT that's my opinion of her cooking. My opinion of her daytime talk show hosting abilities is quite different. I think she's a very solid, stalwart, capable leader of her own show. I just wish she would get a real chef (I know, I know she never calls herself a chef) to do the cooking segments.

Anyway, this part that I saw today was entertaining, although the pay-off was a bit lame. She had 3 television judges - I only recognized the older guy with the moustache - (I can't be watching the Food Network and all these judge shows too) and they were there to judge between a New York pizza and Chicago pizza. That's funny, right?

It turned out the the whole thing was just a giant commercial for Delta, who just started a many flights daily New York-Chicago service. (Half the audience was flown in from Chicago along with the Chicago pizza-meisters.)

But still it was a cute premise to have judges judging the pizza contest, except one of them - the guy that was familiar to me - couldn't make up his mind and he deferred to the other two. How exactly would that work in a courtroom? Oh wait, that HAS happened before...The New York pizza won...natch. Chicago pizza is ok, but it's more like a BREAD product than a thin crispy DOUGH item.

ANYWAY...after RR was in my radar this morning, I see a story (look at it quick, those folks start charging for their articles before you've even gotten to the last section) in this morning's New York Times food section. Former President Bill Clinton is going to be on with her tomorrow, talking about his crusade against childhood obesity. The show has been taped already and, apparently, she had the grace to be nervous and he put her at ease (I wish he'd come to my kitchen and put me at ease) and it all went very well.

The other noteworthy part of the show is that she's announcing (probably Rachael Ray fans already knew about it, but I didn't) the launch of her Yum-O Foundation, which will give away culinary scholarships and educate the public on healthy eating. They can start by staying away from her recipes.

I like that she's using her immense influence and power for good. But did she really have to give her foundation such a stupid name? After a quick perusal of her website, I learned that's what she calls her brand of extra virgin olive oil, but please...How would you feel if you were totally excited about earning a scholarship to culinary school and you were being interviewed by the local paper and they asked you all about it and you had to say, "Yes, I received it from the YUM-O Foundation." That's pretty lame. I wouldn't even have minded if she'd self-named it.

But money is money and good works are good works, so I'll give her credit for taking some positive action and trying to make the world a better place. Who knows, maybe she'll even overhaul her own recipes in the process...

Michael Chiarello - Master Of Salads And My Heart

Easy Entertaining with Michael Chiarello

Salad For Dinner

Raw Corn, Arugula, and Pecorino Salad with Grilled Chicken Breast
Warm Peach and Prosciutto Salad
Old World Italian Fruit Bowl on Ice
Pecorino with Honey and Hazelnuts
Prosecco Digestif

To get the recipes:
Click here

This was a really interesting show where MC used many different techniques and showed us some great ways of doing things, as well as producing his usual topflight recipes.

Michael loves salads so much that he wanted to do an entire show about them and use them as an excuse for a party. He's going to host a salad supper (I hate that word, because I think it implies an diminution of an incredibly important part of the day - dinner) right in the middle of the garden.

He starts with a robust spice blend for chicken that's going to be grilled. He loves to toast his own whole spices and then make a powder. That does result in an amazing flavor and is well worth the effort. Fennel seeds aren't my favorite, but I'm willing to give them another try in this mixture. He's toasting the fennel seeds with coriander seeds and peppercorns until smoky. He pours them out onto a dinner plate to cool. They go into a grinder and he gets them nice and fine. He pours them out onto wax paper. I do that too! He mixes in chili powder, salt and cinnamon right on the wax paper. He sets that aside while he makes the vinaigrette.

Now this is a little DIFFERENT. He's going to use an entire orange - pulp, skin, pith, EVERYTHING - in his vinaigrette. He cuts the orange into small slices, puts it into the blender with a small red onion, sage, the juice of another orange and a little water "which gives it something to move around in." Then he adds the olive oil. (Here's another time when we're told to add it slowly with the machine running. I just can't go into it again* - at least today - but you can add it all at once and the world won't end.) He pours this thick very nice looking dressing into a jar. Why didn't he taste it? Won't it be bitter with the whole orange?

*Check the second to last paragraph in this link.

We see Michael buying prosciutto. A strong handshake ends the transaction. I love to see him out and about. He's so self-assured and manly when he goes into the world and hunts and gathers, i.e. procures, the stuff he needs to feed us.

Back in the kitchen...I really like his almost-black dark green shirt. It's got a little shine to it that catches my eye when he moves. Of course, he could be wearing a sackcloth and it would catch my eye when he moves. He's just so darn cute! Why are we here? Oh yeah, there's "supper" to be made.

It's an hour before the visitors arrive. He's peeling the peaches with a vegetable peeler. The peaches need to be "slightly firmer than you would eat out of hand, because they're going to get heated up." So he wants them to be "a little bit crisper." He halves and pits them, then cuts them into wedges. "The peaches can't be any bigger than the smallest mouth at the table." He mixes lemon juice and water together and soaks a paper towel in it. That gets laid directly over the peaches to keep them from browning. That's smart. The recipe says to just pour the water and lemon juice directly over, but I like this way better.

The peaches will be served with the prosciutto. Michael says that when you're buying something for $20 a pound, buy it by the slice, not the pound. I do that too, especially for lox...gosh, he and I are really on the same wavelength. What do you think that means? He cuts each slice in half width-wise and arranges 2 1/2 slices on each plate (5 half slices). He wraps each plate tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerates it until ready to go. I don't think that's really necessary. That's A LOT of plastic wrap to use (it WAS just Earth Day). Throwing the prosciutto on the plates isn't so time consuming that it can't be done just before serving.

He goes back to his chicken. For the salad he's making today, his favorite, he likes to use a bone-in breast. It stays much juicier. I'm with him on that. Boneless chicken breasts are the Wonder bread of the meat and poultry kingdom. (If you have to use them, use the biggest fattest ones you can find.)

Mike salts and puts "a good amount" of toasted spice rub on each side. He reminds us not to forget the other side, even if it's mostly bone. That little piece in there will taste "flat" if it's not treated the same way as the top. Then he brushes the chicken with oil. Brushing oil on something that's covered in a dry rub isn't the easiest thing in the world. Of course, for MC it's no big deal. The best way to do it is to kind of dab the oil on, with a wide brush.

Grill for 8 minutes on each side. Preheat the grill (today he's using a grill pan) on high and then after the chicken goes on, turn it down to medium. Remember that after you put the chicken on the grill, skin side down, don't move it for 3 or 4 minutes - you want those nice grill marks.

He's dealing with the corn now and telling us that a beautiful salad can be ruined by not cleaning the corn properly. Bits of corn silk do not a good salad make. He gives us a couple of great tips. After you've removed the husk and most of the corn silk, rub the rest off with a kitchen towel and that will take care of that. To cut the kernels from the ear, he places the ear of corn in the center of a bundt pan and then cuts down each side. The bundt pan holds the corn in place AND catches all the kernels as they fall from the ear. Very clever.

He's apparently using the corn uncooked in the salad. The recipe does say to use absolutely fresh corn. If you want to cook it, just blanch for less than a minute in boiling water.

MC doesn't want to toss the salad with the dressing until just before serving, but he can still get it ready to go in the bowl. With his beautiful blue(?) eyes flashing, he tells us, "Nothing displeases me more than a salad that's been tossed 45 minutes before you eat it." Ooh, I love finding out what makes you tick, Chef. Let's see if he gives us any more dirt...No such luck.

He puts the dressing, the whole orange one, in the bottom of the bowl. Then the corn, "Corn has a thick skin, so it can have bit of dressing" on it, then the arugula. He seasons up the arugula and shaves pecorino over, not mixing it yet.

Next we see him walking in the garden with a long-haired blonde. He leaves her (a bit reluctantly...am I imagining that?) and goes back to the kitchen. He takes his lemon-ed peaches out of the fridge. He's going to heat them in a beurre noisette based sauce.

He adds butter to a hot pan. He tilts the pan back - this is important - so that the butter stays on the edge of the pan. If he allows the butter to go every which way, part of it will brown prematurely and you'll have a bitter result. As soon as the butter foams (now you can let the butter seep back to the middle of the pan) and subsides (it should be light brown now), add the thyme and balsamic vinegar off the heat.

He is such a master. Season when warm, "so the salt melts nicely." Peaches go in. Toss. Toss. Flip. Flip. You want the peaches warm on the outside, cool on the inside. (Reverse that and that's how I feel about you, Michael.) The peach slices go on top of the arugula and then he places both (artfully) on top of the previously arranged prosciutto.

The recipe says to use spinach. Either would be good. I'm not sure why he's using arugula here, when he's about to finish another arugula salad. He gets the corn and arugula salad out and tosses it all together. He shaves the pecorino overtop and adds the chicken. Dee-licious.

Next shot is him talking to the blonde's cleavage. "Peaches are like asparagus." They are?! "When they come in season, you eat them 3 or 4 times a week and when they're done, they're done."

He pours the Prosecco, adds a raspberry and a slice of peach to each glass. I do love that. He likes Prosecco, because it's low in alcohol and high on flavor.

Then remembering a scene from his childhood, he shows his tablemates how his grandfather used to peel an orange, leaving the peel in a single piece. He puts the fruit in a bowl, adds some pecorino cheese and toasted hazelnuts. He drizzles over honey. Wow, what a ravishing chef, I mean dessert. He reaches over...to a brunette this time, and wipes the corner of her mouth, "Hold on, you got a little nut right there."

Oh, Michael, Michael, I dropped an orange slice down my blouse. Can you help me? I'm visualizing being in the garden...I close my eyes...I'm drinking his Prosecco Digestif...He reaches over...and I...I...I hear EMERIL talking? Oh my gosh, what's going on? I open my eyes and glance up. Oh no, they're repeating the Food Network Awards. I run from the room. My special moment with Michael has ended terribly abruptly, but his recipes live on forever.

Ina, Slow Down A Minute And Smell The Lemongrass

Barefoot Contessa - Ina Garten

Lunch in a Box
Lobster Cobb Salad Rolls
Brown Rice, Tomatoes and Basil
Mini Orange Chocolate Chunk Cake

To get the recipes:
Click here

Ina's friend, Edwina, is bringing her a big box with herbs, so Ina thought she'd whip up a little dinner in a box as a thank you. She's including Lobster Cobb Salad. LOBSTER COBB SALAD!!! Ina, here's a pot of parsley, what can I have? What would happen if Edwina brought you some marigolds? Would that be dinner for 20? I guess for tulips, you would cook all summer for her. You are nothing, if not incredibly generous.

Ina likes to take recipes that she knows really well and play with them. Today she's adding orange zest and chocolate chunks to a favorite cake. She creams the butter and sugar until light. It can take up to 5 minutes. Then she adds the eggs one at a time.

She readies the dry and wet ingredients separately. Flour, baking powder, baking soda. Whoa, slow down Contessa! She knows this recipe so well that she's rushing! Mix fresh orange juice with buttermilk (shake it first). "It'll look curdled. don't worry." Oh, I almost missed the vanilla that she was adding at lightening speed. Wait for me..I'm trying to get this down. The ingredients get added alternately. "Don't overbeat or you'll end up with bread not cake."

"And now, the reason we're making this cake - Chocolate Chunks." Of course, she chops up her own. I'd call those chocolate boulders, instead of chunks, but whatever. She tosses them with a bit of flour (extra flour, which worries me a bit) so they don't sink. I've never done that and I have never had a problem with sinking ingredients.

The only time I think flouring something is called for is when you're making an old-fashioned fruit cake. Then you should flour all that horrible dried fruit, because that WILL sink. In that case, though, it would be a good thing, so you could just cut that part away. And does ANYONE really like fruit cake? I believe it's the same fruitcake year after year that was actually baked in 1804 and people just keep pouring more booze into it. Here's the tale of a guy who used a fruitcake to drive a nail into a board. Anyway, I'm concerned about that extra tablespoon or so of flour affecting the texture of the cake. So, Ina, I'm leaving it out.

The BC tells us it's fun to make individual cakes. Why? "Because then you don't have to share." She is so witty, my Ina. Ok, yours too.

Ooh, she's using a silicone red muffin pan. The little cakes go in the oven at 350 deg F. for 30 minutes, then get soaked in an orange syrup THEN get drizzled with a chocolate glaze. Ina, are you sure I can't bring you SOMETHING in a pot?

We switch to Edwina. I love her spiky hair. She's not only planting the herbs, she's PAINTING the box.

The cakes are done. Oh darn, I wanted to see her get them out of those molds.

She starts the glaze. Bring to boil..spoon over. Ina, WAIT, what were the ingredients? Why do I feel like she can hardly wait to get these finished. I know they're going to be delicious, but give me a minute here. Well, now she's on to the chocolate. She says to use 1/2 lb. of chocolate chips with 1/2 cup of heavy cream. She pours in the entire bag. Ina, that bag is 10 oz, not the 8 oz. that you said to use. She adds the usual coffee powder that she is so right to say brings out the flavor of the chocolate.

She says you can be casual about the amount of chocolate, but the mixture is a little thick. OF COURSE, it's thick, you added an extra 2 oz of chocolate! I have to say I always weigh my chocolate for ganache, it's just easier in the long run. Now she has to play with adding more cream, which for her is child's play. For us, it's a pain. Another thing, she's using twice as much chocolate and cream here compared to what she says in the recipe, which tells us to use 1/4 cup cream and 4 oz. chocolate. What the hay? Use the double amount. You're just having one little cake, for goodness sake.

She drizzles the ganache over the syrup soaked cakes. Oh, I forgot to say she used fresh orange juice in the syrup, that she bathed the cakes in. Of course, she did it so fast, it was more like a sponge bath than a good soak.

Back to Edwina, "Oh, I'm so happy with the herbs I got online." Honey, you're going to be happier with dinner.

Ina begins the brown rice salad. She thinks it suits Edwina because "she's kind of a hippy." I love that Ina thinks only hippies eat brown rice. She's so démodé, but in a good timeless way. Her recipe calls for Texmati brown rice. That's the kind I use. I LOVE IT! Brown BASMATI rice, which this is, is so much more flavorful than regular brown rice. It tastes almost nutty and smells so good when it's cooking. BTW, Indian brown basmati rice is much stronger, I guess to keep up with all the spices.

Ina's already cooked the rice, remember she's hurrying in this episode. Her recipe (and the Texmati jar) says to use 2 1/4 cups of water to cook one cup of rice. You don't need that much. 2 cups will do it. And Ina says to simmer it for 30 to 40 minutes. Do it for 45. Oh heck, just follow these cooking instructions:

BROWN RICE (Basmati or otherwise)

2 cups water and or stock, orange juice, tomato juice or any other liquid you can come up with

1 cup Texmati brown basmati rice

salt, if you have to

Bring liquid to boil. Stir in rice. Bring to hysterical boil. Cover, and turn down heat to lowest heat possible. Cook for 45 minutes WITHOUT DISTURBING POT. No peeking. Can be left at back of stove up to an hour after cooking. Stir with fork before serving.

(You can get away with cooking it for 40 minutes, if you have to.) PS If you're serving the basmati rice plain with a hot entree, cooking it with just one teaspoon of butter, adds a luxuriousness that's hard to beat.

Ina whisks up a vinaigrette to go over the rice - champagne vinegar, olive oil, way too much sugar, salt and pepper. She dresses the rice when it's warm, so it absorbs all those wonderful flavors. She dices the tomatoes and adds those, impressed by the wonderful tomato flavor that will also be absorbed by the rice. Ina tells us it's fine to make it in advance, so the taste can really develop. Looks wonderful. This is served at room temperature, so you can make it early in the day and just let it hang out until you're ready to serve.

Ok, now the centerpiece of this whole enterprise - Lobster Cobb salad. "I think I've made this more than anything else in all of my books." That's saying alot. Think of Jeffrey's Friday night Roast Chicken, my favorite orzo recipe of hers, the famous brownies, the chocolate cakes...I could go on. But for her, it's Cobb salad, in many different guises. Today it's with lobster.

She starts with Hass avocados from California, her favorites. They're the brownish ones. Boy, those are really beautiful avos. Adds fresh lemon juice to them. It looks like she keeps a bowl of lemons around, just like Giada. Our friend is smart. She bought 1 1/2 pounds of lobster meat, already steamed. She cuts it into large bite sized pieces. "Good for a fork - no knives." Grape or cherry tomatoes go in. They can be red or yellow.

Back to Edwina. Boxes (she made one for herself too) are done.

Ina prepares the dressing for this succulent salad. 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice -about one lemon, 1/3 cup olive oil, 1 1/2 tbls. Dijon, salt and pepper. She just whisks it up in the measuring cup. Pours a lot of it over the lobster and tomatoes and saves the rest for the remaining ingredients. She didn't make the dressing in a blender, which is my cardinal rule for dressings. Do I care? Not really, because she's using all of it for this one salad. The reason I'm so devoted to the blender is because it allows you to keep the dressing for a week in the fridge and it will stay really well emulsified. If you like this dressing and you want to double or triple it, then do use the blender.

Avocados go in and bacon, which she has baked on a rack, goes on top. She adds bleu cheese and tosses everything together with arugula, which gives it a fresh flavor.

She's quite chatty as she loads hot dog buns with the salad. "It's fun to have a special treat where everything is individual. Like a kid at a birthday party, having his own cupcake. " And "I always say this is a mother-in law salad. When your mother-in-law comes, make it for her. She'll love it and love you." You see, not only does she give us superb recipes, but also ways to promote family harmony.

I would have preferred a ciabatta roll, but she was trying to do a take on a traditional lobster roll, which is served in a hot dog bun.

The food goes into a bakery box lined with parchment paper and is wrapped with Edwina's favorite - a raffia ribbon. Remember when Jeffrey spent hours looking for the perfect ribbon with which to wrap Ina's anniversary present?

Edwina comes to the door and shows Ina her handiwork. It's a deep blue flowerbox with many different herbs, including lemongrass, which is new for Ina. Edwina says, "The blue is for you, because you're always in blue and it's just such a happy color - just like you."

She is surprised (really?) and grateful for the box dinner that Ina has prepared. Just another example of how friendship and food go hand in hand (hand in mouth?) in the world of our Barefoot Contessa.

Salad Days

It's getting to be salad weather, although we should be eating it all the time anyway. It is a lot easier - no matter WHAT time of year - if you have the dressing ready to go. But I'm not suggesting BOTTLED dressing. The only one I ever thought that was acceptable was the Silver Palate's Raspberry Splash. THAT IS SO GOOD. I could eat it by the cupful.

Now that I mention it, I'm not sure if I love the Raspberry Sun Salad Splash, which is a light dressing with 80 calories for 2 tablespoons or REALLY Raspberry Salad Splash, which has no oil and only 25 calories for 2 tablespoons. It DOES have corn syrup, though, which isn't good for anything, so I guess I'd take the Raspberry Sun Salad Splash and use only 1 tablespoon.

But we don't have to worry about that because I'm going to give you a fantastic salad dressing recipe - one of my favorites. Make a batch of it on Sunday and you'll have it for the entire week. You can also use it as a marinade on chicken that you're grilling. Of course, don't use the dressing that you marinated the chicken in ON the salad, but you knew that...And, yes, it has a lot of honey and a lot of oil, but it makes A LOT, and it's so flavorful that you really only need a little. I also serve it on the side for dishes that need a little extra pizazz, like pilafs or grilled anything.

It keeps a week and longer in the fridge.

HONEY MUSTARD DRESSING
1/3 cup cider vinegar
1/3 cup Dijon mustard
1/3 cup honey
1 cup vegetable oil (I like safflower oil here)

Place all ingredients in blender. Blend well. Pour into jar. Store in refrigerator, but use at room temperature. Yum!

Back To Basics, But Shouldn't They At Least Be Good, Giada?

Everyday Italian with Giada De Laurentiis

Giada's Kitchen Basics
Linguine with Shrimp and Lemon Oil
Quick and Spicy Tomato Soup
Arugula Endive Salad with White Wine Vinaigrette
Berry Strata

To get the recipes:
Click here

We see Giada shopping at Wild Oats. Too bad they've been bought out by Whole Foods and we'll have fewer choices of great places to shop. (Whole Foods is great, but Wild Oats has some great stuff too.)

Today, she's going to show us meals that can be cooked from our pantries. Now, just for a moment, let's analyse the difference between what her recipes will be like and what Sandra Lee's (who prides herself on her den of iniquity called a pantry) would be like. First of all, Giada's food won't have any unholy overly neon colors, and the only fizz will come from Prosecco, not a powdery substance. On second thought, let's NOT do that. We know what Giada produces will be worthy of being eaten, while with Sandy's, we have no such assurance.

Giada tell us to keep our pantry stocked with her basics and we'll be ready to cook anytime.

She's starting with a Berry Strata. Am I the only one that notices that she's JUST made a strata? In fact, I commented on how unusual it was to have a sweet strata - it was the first time I had ever seen one. And here we have another. Is that good programming? Even if the shows were made months apart, shouldn't the folks-in-charge have thought of that? I'm not holding that against Giada. I can't even say the number of times I've made Chicken Marbella and called it something else to get away with serving it 3 or 4 times a month, which wouldn't be such a problem...if it hadn't been for the last TWENTY YEARS!!!!

I digress...Giada tells us this is so versatile that it can be made for breakfast OR dessert. She starts by melting some butter with honey. The butter thins out the honey. That's an interesting way to look at it. Then eggs go in. Strata means layers in Italian, says Giada. A layer of custard, a layer of bread and so on, but here she's going to mix it all together. That's fine by me.

Giada always has ricotta in her fridge. It should be at room temperature for making the strata. That gets mixed with milk. "I always have milk in my fridge." Ok, ok, we get the idea that this show is about what food you have lying around the house...stop stating the obvious. I always have gummy bears and fig newtons. That doesn't mean they go into every dish I cook.

The Strata gets finished with orange juice, the butter and honey and frozen berries. (Guess who always has them lying-in-wait in the freezer?) Giada puts it in an oval gratin-type baking dish - exactly what I would use. The recipe says to put it in a 2 quart or 10 inch round baking dish. What would that be? A 2 quart round dish is a soufflé dish, which would be too deep. A 10 inch round dish would be a pie plate, which would be too shallow and the whole strata would be very dried out. Even though we haven't actually gone out and bought new food for this recipe, I'd be pissed if I cooked it in the wrong thing and it didn't turn out. Use the gratin dish.

The strata goes into the oven. I LOVE the oven shots. How DO they do that? She takes it out. Oooh, it smells like berries and cream. She takes a HUGE serving. There's is no way she's going to eat all of that. She takes a bite and SQUEALS with delight, I'm not kidding. Ok, whatever floats your boat...

Giada moves on to the linguine with shrimp and lemon oil. 1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil gets mixed with the zest of one lemon and set aside. The lemon was taken from a bowl of maybe THIRTY lemons, that Giada keeps around. How come the lemons that I keep around always look shrivelled and brown and these look beautiful? She seasons the pasta water really well, so she doesn't have to add too much salt later on. She cooks and drains the pasta. Keep back a cup of the pasta water. That's a good idea, no matter what pasta dish you're making. You may need to thin the sauce a bit or just bring everything together. Now, you have this nice already-seasoned water to do it with.

She sautés the shallots and garlic and adds frozen shrimp and more fresh lemon zest. Shrimp is a freezer staple for Giada, she tells us. But she never thaws them before cooking. "If you overcook them, they lose that sweetness and they get kind of rubbery." Add the linguine to the pan. And she likes to add something "clean and fresh", hence plenty of fresh arugula gets added with parsley. Strain the lemon zest out of the reserved oil and stir that in.

This dish looks tasty, but I must say we've seen something like this a million times from her AND Ina. Ina's recipe will always have more flavor, because when she calls something LEMON, it hits you over the head with its lemon-ness (in a good way). Michael Chiarello seems to have backed away from such an obvious rendition. His version would probably be packed with different kinds of shellfish and lots more herbs. But I guess she was cleaning out her pantry, so we'll have to give her a break.

Next is a "fantastic soup". I'm looking forward to it. Giada heats her oil, so that when the carrots, onions and garlic hit, they can begin cooking right away. Smart, but be careful not to let anything brown, because the garlic will become bitter. While that's cooking, get the beans ready(?) You mean open the can? Oh, you mean OPEN the can and then DRAIN and RINSE them. Oh, ok, that's different.

She's going to show us a little trick now. I wonder what it is...Store bought marinara sauce? What? That's not a trick, as in truc, like a GOOD shortcut. That's just nasty. Do you really want to dilute marinara sauce, add some beans and call it soup? NO! That reminds me of the stories you hear about people who dilute ketchup to make soup. But THAT'S a legitimate cost-cutting measure, when you're really counting every penny.

But to use a jar of tomato sauce, which I have no problem using in a baked pasta dish (which has a lot of other stuff in it) or as the sauce on a homemade pizza, as the base of a soup, is just plain unappetizing and frankly, rather surprising. I don't think Grandma would approve. She's adding low sodium chicken stock and red pepper flakes. Oh, I don't like this at all and if she adds frozen spinach (no doubt she always keeps it in her frickin' freezer), I'm going to punch somebody. Wait, it's worse, she's adding pastina. How many times do I have to say that you should NEVER add UNCOOKED pasta to a soup or stew? It drinks up the liquid faster than a pony at a rodeo. Of course, here that might be a good thing, but still don't do it. Cook the pasta (al dente)... separately...and then add it to the dish. I'm sorry, this is simply a rotten recipe.

I take a quick look at Lidia's Italy to see what she would do for a bean soup. She does use dried beans, which I would rarely do. But what she does do is to make a really flavorful base for the soup with vegetables and some kind of pork product, one recipe uses pork ribs, another sausage. You don't want pork? Get a thick piece of Turkey Ham, dice it and cook it with vegetables. You don't want any meat? Fine, triple the onions in Giada's recipe (and sweat the veggies a good 20 minutes or even longer), and add good canned plum tomatoes, not sauce. And serve it with pecorino. Here's another idea. A few shows back, Giada put a Parmesan cheese rind in the soup. This is the perfect place for that. Gosh, do I have to think of everything???

I'm almost scared to see what she does next. An arugula salad. How original! And how is that in keeping with the theme? I would have been more impressed if she had managed to make a salad using canned beets and frozen lima beans. Of course, I wouldn't have eaten it, but at least I wouldn't have had to go the store to get the arugula and endive.

She makes the vinaigrette in a blender. Finally something I'm down with. Good girl, Giada. White wine, lemon juice, honey and mustard go in. (Mustard is something I always try to have 2 or 3 jars of in my pantry.) Blend for a minute, then add the olive gradually with the motor running, so the ingredients incorporate really well. I'M SORRY, GIADA, THAT'S JUST NOT TRUE!!! You don't have to do that. I have been making salad dressing in a blender, since the 20th century and I'm here to tell you that you may bung in all of the ingredients together and then blend. That's it. End of story. No drizzling, dripping, dropping or dragging your heels. You just blend it A LOT and you will have a perfect emulsion. Even if you use equal parts of oil to acid, the blender will take care of it and mix it beautifully. Do we have that straight?

Giada, who surprisingly seems immune to my rantings, chops up Belgian endive. I hate endive. I know it adds a light light green whitish color that plays off darker green leaves beautifully, but it's too bitter for my, normally, very sweet personality. She combines the dressing with the arugula, endive and toasted walnuts. A not so sensational ending to a not so sensational show.