Martha's Getting All The Good Chefs

I caught a repeat of Martha today. I never watch her, but she had a truly star studded line-up of Italian chefs.

Each chef was wonderful. All the recipes AND videos are on her website. Here are few notes from the show:

Mario made Spaghetti with Green Olive Sauce. He added pasta water at different stages, which he used to cool down the pan a bit and also to build up the sauce to coat the pasta. He tells us NOT to add cheese to this dish, because he wants us to experience the flavor and texture of the two wheat products (the spaghetti and the toasted bread crumbs).

Mario really is masterful. It's as if he was born with pots and pans instead of arms, he moves with such fluidity at the stove. You can get the video here.

Lidia Bastianich makes Sicilian Fettuccine with Fresh Swordfish. She adds a drop of the boiling pasta water to get the onions to "break down", after they've started to caramelize. She reminds us to use a wide pan to sauté the fish, so it doesn't steam. She adds a bit of fruity olive oil at the end, so it keeps more flavor.

Lidia also tells us why she doesn't add oil to the pasta water. (My reason is thaat it just gives you a greasy pot.) But listen to this! The oil inhibits the absorbency of the sauce onto the pasta. That really makes sense. The sauce would just slide off slippery pasta instead of absorbing it. INTERESTING.

Watching Lidia is just like having an Italian mama in the kitchen. Not all of us are lucky enough to have that, but some are.

Ron Suhanosky, from the New York restaurant Sfoglia, made a classic Spaghetti Carbonara. No cream - just pasta, egg yolks, an Italian bacon called guanciale and cheese. Ron made the same point as the other two did that the pasta water is important for marrying the sauce to the pasta.

His rule of thumb - use 1 egg yolk per person, and if the yolk is in danger of scrambling, add some more pasta water. I want that NOW.

Sal Scognamillo of Patsy's Italian Restaurant made Rigatoni Sorrentino. Very easy, basic dish. Cooked rigatoni gets added to ricotta and tomato sauce and baked with LOTS of cheese on top.

The best part was that the chefs didn't have any time-wasting interaction with Martha. She introduced them; they appeared on pretaped segments and they just got on with it and cooked one dish each. Very worthwhile viewing.

O Emeril, Emeril! Wherefore Art Thou Emeril?*

It’s official. The Food Network's connection to Emeril Live will be confined only to afternoon repeats.

Fine Living (shown in a little more than half the Food Network’s 90 million homes) has picked it up. Starting July 7th, they will show a new Emeril Live every Monday night with repeats the other six nights, after an initial premiere week of five original episodes. It will be shown in the same time block as his corporate boss Martha Stewart’s show every weekday evening.

The big news here is that this prolongs the life of Emeril Live and leaves open the possibility of future seasons. The Scripps Network does own both the Food Network AND Fine Living. I guess they felt that Emeril's high profile would be of more benefit to Fine Living.

Good luck to everyone’s favorite Cajun chef.

*Yes, I know that doesn't really mean "Where are you Emeril?" but I couldn't resist the poetic sounding title...

Martha and Emeril Make A Sweet Deal

Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc. announced yesterday that it had bought the rights to much of Emeril’s food empire: his books, television shows, kitchenware, food products and his Emeril.com website.

They paid $45 million in cash and $5 million in stock, but the price could rise if certain financial goals are met. They did not acquire the portion of his company, Emeril Homebase, which is the base of operations for his restaurants and charitable foundations.

Interestingly, the Food Network didn’t see much future in his brand, but Martha did. And her Omnimedia is doing very well these days. They announced a revenue increase of 22% in their 2007 fourth quarter results.

According to Emeril, “By affiliating with a larger company with means, infrastructure and reach, we know we can maximize (our) great potential.” And here I thought the only place left for him to market himself was Mars…

Anyway, good for you, Emeril. Maybe you’ll give RR a run for her (lots of) money in striving for complete world domination.

Sad News From Martha

Her mother passed away yesterday...That's tough, especially right before this most family-oriented holiday. I always enjoyed watching her on Martha's shows...

I Don't Think Nigella Has Anything To Worry About

The (London) Times Online website is reporting that the raven-haired British cooking beauty feels that Martha Stewart has been spending too much time admiring HER - Nigella's - husband, Charles Saatchi.

In an interview with Britain's Radio Times magazine, Nigella says she has suffered a diss or two from Martha. Nigella feels it has to do with Martha having "a soft spot" for her husband. Well, who wouldn't want a fabulously wealthy man, who appreciates art and, perhaps, good food, as well. But Martha has her own billionaire, so I think they can both rest easy.

That's some choice though. Gorgeous great cook with 2 youngish kids from a good family versus a VERY VERY VERY wealthy do-it-yourselfer with a grown daughter and many homes, (oh, and a criminal record too, but I think that was unfair).