Lunchtime again, and my mind is wandering to food. Perhaps I'm the only one here (although I doubt it), but one of my favorite tv channels is Food Network (FN, or sometimes, FN HD). My favorite two times to watch FN are: (1) while I make a weekday dinner in the kitchen, I put it on in the background in the living room, and (2) Saturday afternoons, while trying to come up with ideas for what to grill for dinner. Some of the shows are instructional, entertaining and inspiring, but others make me want to SMIF so that the last "Bam!" I will ever have to hear will be from a .22 pistol.
I tend to place shows into one of three categories: (1) instructional, for the do-it-at-home chef (often varying levels of difficulty depending on the cook's experience and time available to devote to one meal), (2) competition shows (i.e. Throwdown w/ Bobby Flay, Iron Chef, Top Chef, Next FN Star, FN Challenge, Hell's Kitchen, etc.), and (3) restaurant, travel, or discovery oriented shows, which may share stuff like the best taquerias in Baltimore, how Dippin' Dots are made, or, for some reason, a stupid ass show called Ace of Cakes which is essentially a poofy version American Chopper with cakes.
I tend to find that the 3rd category of shows is the least engaging; Mark Summers should stick to Double Dare, and I really don't care to watch Guy Fieri eat a cheesesteak while wearing a stupid frosted tips hairdo and upside down and backwards sunglasses. I also don't take much interest in the competition shows; that's what sports are for, you nancy boys. However, category 1, the informational, how-to shows, can be awesome. I have frequently used recipes, or parts of recipes, from shows like Boy Meets Grill and Barefoot Contessa to make awesome meals at home (although I somewhat detest Michael Chiarello, for his general poofiness and Sonoma lifestyle).
The food tv personality who makes the food which I'm most inclined to make at home has gotta be Bobby Flay, particularly what he makes on Boy Meets Grill. I also like the show Good Eats, because I find that the zaniness of Alton Brown drives my roommate out of the living room so that I can actually turn on the Cardinals game without complaint. Those are probably my favorite two shows, with honorable mentions going to Everyday Italian (for obvious reasons), Molto Mario (is that even on anymore?), and Barefoot Contessa. People who can gfy: Rachael Ray, Michael Chiarello, Emeril, the Neelys, and Sandra Lee.
That's what I've got for now, anyone else have an opinion?
