TV Chefs - Whose recipes do you make?

[Kirby]

I know a lot of people on this BBS watch the Food Network and other TV chefs, but I'm curious how much food you actually cook from those shows, vs. just watching for the entertainment value.

I mostly cook recipes from Tyler Florence, Bobby Flay, Rick Bayless and America's Test Kitchen. Tyler Florence is probably my favorite, and I've never had a bad experience with any of his recipes.

Sadly, I think Alton Brown's recipes are generally pretty bad, although his braised baby back ribs and pan seared rib-eye are both fantastic. Everything else of his that I've tried is mediocre at best. That said, Good Eats is a highly entertaining and educational show.

Giada DeLaurentis and Jamie Oliver are both good, but their stuff takes way to long for me to prepare so I only do it if I have a lot of time to spare.

 

[ToddKent]

Sadly, I think Alton Brown's recipes are generally pretty bad, although his braised baby back ribs and pan seared rib-eye are both fantastic. Everything else of his that I've tried is mediocre at best. That said, Good Eats is a highly entertaining and educational show.

I've had some good luck with his stuff but sometimes his recipes van get unnecessarily complicated.

 

[Tom Hendricks]

I'm a Alton Brown person, I own all his cook books and pretty use all his recipes. As with anyones recipes, you need to make it a few times and then find the way the recipe works best for you. I make his English Muffin recipe all the time, simply the best.

 

[Mary Ann]

If we can include UK chefs I cook from Rick Stein's seafood books and have several of Hugh Furnley-Whittingstall's books (he's the River Cottage guy). HF-W's basic bread recipe is a staple in my house, though I tend to use lower-fat ingredients in his main course recipes.

 

[pookha]

i use the food network search for recipes so i used several from there.

i do like alton's brownie recipe .

 

[Franklin]

In no particular order:
-- Alton Brown (my hero)
-- Emeril Lagasse
-- America's Test Kitchen
-- Jacques Pepin
-- Julia Child
-- Steven Raichlen

Though I never used one of their recipes, I enjoy watching reruns of "Two Fat Ladies", and there's a new show on The Cooking Channel called "Bitchin' Kitchen" which is very entertaining.

 

[Admiral_Young]

-Gordon Ramsay
-Jamie Oliver
-Bobby Flay
-Giada De Laurentiis (for her desert recipes)
-Guy Fireri

My mom's partner is a big Jamie Oliver fan and uses his books all the time. Same with Ina Garten (Barefoot Contessa).

 

[Spot's Meow]

I enjoy cooking so I'd like to get into these shows but I just can't for some reason. I usually give up watching after a couple of minutes and just find recipes online for a similar item. I am not a visual learner, I need to read everything right in front of me.

There was one item I saw on TV and decided to make, which was a rice salad from one of the seasons of Top Chef. I make it fairly often and it tastes very yummy.

 

[cultcross]

Gordon Ramsey's shepherd's pie is particularly worth a try.
I'm a bit of a fan of Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, and suitably embarrassed about that, too.

 

[trampledamage]

I really need to get myself some of Hugh F-W's books - I have the DVDs of the River Cottage series and I love watching those - great comfort viewing, but I don't have any of the books, I'd like to try some of his creations.

 

[Lookingglassman]

I remember years ago when the Food network was just starting and I watched a chef make baked catfish filets served over a bed of hash brown potatoes. I wrote down his ingredients and tried it and it turned out pretty good.

 

[PKTrekGirl]

Wow, I am truly impressed with you guys. The closest I have ever come to making a recipe I saw on TV was buying the cookbook by that guy from Drive-ins, Diners and Dives for this French Toast recipe that uses Captain Crunch Cereal.

I bought this cookbook about 3 years ago, and have yet to try the recipe.

It's not that I don't cook, because I do - I just prefer using cookbooks most of the time so that I have the instructions in front of me.

Although I love to bake bread...and my favorite bread recipe came from a food series on YouTube that I subscribe to called Food Wishes. And I also follow that little old lady Clara who does Depression Cooking on YouTube. She's a gas!

 

[Canadave]

None of them, to be honest. I usually search out recipes on places like allrecipes.com, and I don't think I've ever bought a cookbook by a celebrity chef. Sometimes if I see something interesting being made on the Food Network, I'll seek out a similar recipe, but I can't say I've ever taken anything directly from a show.

 

[Tom Hendricks]

Gordon Ramsey's shepherd's pie is particularly worth a try.
I'm a bit of a fan of Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, and suitably embarrassed about that, too.

I make Gordon Ramsey's Beef Wellington often. It is my favorite version of it.

I made Chinese food last night and I used my Gordon Ramsey Wok by Royal Doulton to make the Fried Rice. Here is a pic of it in action.

 

[May 20]

I've made a few of Alton's recipes with good success. And I've had good results with Emeril's recipes. But every recipe of Rachael Ray's that I've tried has been terrible. *shrug*

 

[bluedana]

I know I'll get roundly mocked, but I can usually easily duplicate or adapt Rachael Ray's recipes (esp. 30 Minute Meals). She doesn't use too many exotic ingredients OR shortcuts -- I often have everything I need in my pantry for a dish. As I only have about 90 minutes to do dinner/homework/bath/bed duty after work, her recipes are helpful.

 

[Franklin]

I know I'll get roundly mocked, but I can usually easily duplicate or adapt Rachael Ray's recipes (esp. 30 Minute Meals). She doesn't use too many exotic ingredients OR shortcuts -- I often have everything I need in my pantry for a dish. As I only have about 90 minutes to do dinner/homework/bath/bed duty after work, her recipes are helpful.

I have a Mary Hart moment whenever I see Ray Ray (vague Seinfeld reference). Her food isn't so bad, but that toothy Ray-Ray grin reminds me of Martha Rae. And, a woman in her early 40s doesn't need to be going around saying, "Delish," and acting like she's one of the sorority. Only Paula Deen (and her boys) affect me worse. If I hear Paula Deen drawl, "Y'all," one more time, I'll throw up my shrimp and grits.

(Oh, and Sandra Lee merits a mention as the queen of terrible while I'm ranting. Especially a few years ago, her show was so bad it was worth watching for the entertainment value. This is a woman who once opened a show with the phrase, "France, the city of lights.")

 

[An Officer]

I don't often cook from television. I usually Google the particular dish I want to try, look at several recipes, and end up making a dish from a combination - I can usually guess which ingredients I'll like and which I won't. I do end up coming across online Gordon Ramsey recipes quite a lot - so if I had to say a TV chef, I guess it's him.

The only problem with my method is, when something has been a success, it's usually impossible for me to duplicate, as I never remember which part of which recipe I used. I need to make my own recipe scrap book, but I'm not so serious a chef yet. I refuse to start messing about with aprons and scrap books at this age!

The BBC food recipes seem to be a solid bet, most of the time. That's my go-to when in doubt. I find cook-books and television too limited when compared to the internet.

 

[Mary Ann]

I'm a bit of a fan of Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, and suitably embarrassed about that, too.

Wow, I completely misspelled his name in my previous post. Yeah, Hugh's quite a likable toff, isn't he? I only found out recently that he's an Eton boy. I like his shows and his recipes really are good, though they tend to be high-fat, which is why I sometimes adjust them. I live quite close to his Axminster canteen and hope to have a meal there one day.

 

[BolianAuthor]

Primal Grill.