Giada ++

Ina ++

Rachel +

Alton no rating because I've only tried 1 recipe and it was good

Emeril - usually too many ingredients for me

Paula no rating because I've not tried any of her recipes

I haven't used a lot of their recipes so I probably shouldn't rate them. I think I've tried one or two by AB and they didn't turn out good.

Giada and Ina are reliable in my book too.

Paula - I don't need a recipe to do her kind of cooking. I was raised on it, so I already knew how to do everything she does.

Rachel - what I've tried I haven't been crazy about

Dave Lieberman- very good

Tyler - very good

Emeril - I tried one that was horrible and some that were fantastic. Too many ingredients in most of his.

Bobby Flay - very good

Guy Fieri - want to try some of his, but haven't yet.

Alton gets a B-. (Not so much recipes as technique & food fact stuff that I enjoy.)

Paula gets a C. (I don't like mayo so I'm in trouble with Paula quickly.)

RR gets a B+. (Have gotten many ideas for changing standard go-to type meals into something different & also some recipes.)

Giada gets a D. (I just don't like her recipes?)

Emeril gets an F. (I don't "do" green pepper.)

Ina gets a B+. (Never made anything bad...but some haven't been as good as I'd expected.)

Tyler gets an A-. (I really like the Tyler Ultimate recipes.)

Bobby gets a B-. (He needs to branch out...has gotten boring.)

Sandra gets a C- or a D. (What can I say?)

Guy gets a B+. (I've also gotten many good ideas from DD&D.)

The Neely's get a D+. (I HATE watching the two of them together...yuck! But, some good ideas for a new twist on standard stuff if you can watch long enough.)

/tricia

Ditto Ina and Giada. I do make their recipes.

Paula Dean's cooking would put us in an early grave. I just watch, dumbfounded.

Emeril has jumped the shark.

I would love an invite to eat with Bobby Flay but I haven't made any of his recipes. I also think that Michael Chiarello's cooking looks fantastic, but again I have not made any of his recipes.

Also on PBS, Lydia Bastianich makes great dishes. I have cooked from her cookbooks. They are very instructive and I have had good results with her recipes.

seagrass

I agree with Ina and Giada opinions, I know I can count on either of their recipes to turn out well. Tyler goes in that category too.

Hit/Miss for me are

Rachael Ray (though I cannot watch her shows, I find her ocmpletely annoying)
Paula Deen
Emeril - some good ideas, but he maked them WAY too complicated.
Bobby Flay
Michael Chiarello - I really want to love his recipes, but some of them are too complicated or use super expensive or hard to find ingredients.

Never, no matter what:

Mario - his recipes are a disaster
Alton - they always sound good, but never turn out as good as they sound and are often really bad.

Lou !!!

I prefer bloggers...and AnnT..lol

But I do like Tyler Florence, Nigella and Ina.

I agree with all of the above posters. Ina, Giada, and Tyler's are top notch. Rarely disappointed. Ina's my favorite, though.

Emeril is just a showman.

Alton is a science geek.

Rachael's over the top giggling and cutesiness I can't stomach. Maybe her recipes are good, but I can't get past the show...

Guy's okay. I love to watch DD&D!

Sandra and the rest of the field aren't even on my radar...

I like America's Test Kitchen and Cooks Illustrated, but I'm about 50/50 on the quality of the finished product -some are just awful. I like Alton Brown, and Ann_T, and SharonCB (I'm making the Osso Bucco right now) and many other forum friends who have posted such wonderful recipes. I find most of my new recipes here.

Unless it's a special recipe, I never really follow them to the last letter, I add and remove based on my taste, etc. But they give a good framework for some really wonderful food.

One, and one only--Jacques Pepin! He understands food. The other TV chefs seem to think that because you CAN do it, you SHOULD do it. Leads to some strange recipes . . . .
When Jacques was cooking with Julia Child, it was the high point of cooking shows. I have never had a failure with any of Jacques Pepin's recipes.

As many have posted Ina's and Giada's recipes are the most reliable in texture and flavor. Haven't been disappointed yet. I also like Lydia Bastianich and Tyler's recipes.

Rachael Ray's recipes are flavorless crap thrown together without much thought. She doesn't give her recipes time for the flavors to meld together.

Paula Deen wouldn't know a healthy recipe if it bit her on her butt. I don't want to die before I reach the age of 55. From what I hear from people that have been to her restaurant the food isn't that great there either.

Sandra Lee, please don't get me started on that show. Expensive to make and unhealthy with all the pre-packaged items she uses. Not cooking at all, imo.

Give me the oldies but goodies- Julia, Jaques, Sarah Moulton, chefs that actually know what they are doing and why. Not just thrown up on TV for their personalities.

Martha Stewart, but the "old Martha" recipes, like from her earlier TV show, and earlier books. Nowadays her magazine and TV show have too many guest chefs providing recipes, or she has "dumbed down" her recipes to the point that the recipes are no longer interesting. But the "old Martha" recipes - I've never had a bad one, they're all winners.

I agree with Momj47 about America's Test Kitchen and Cooks Illustrated. It's weird, because they do SO MUCH research before crafting a recipe, that you'd think the recipe would be the ultimate perfect one for that dish. But it's about 50/50 for me too. I don't know whether it's that their taste is different from mine, or they just go about it badly.

I agree with Seagrass about Lydia Bastianich for authentic Italian cooking, so much better than some of the "pretenders" (IMHO) like Giada.

I don't really trust anybody! My favorite way to try a new recipe is to read several variations of it and most importantly, the reviews. I already know the ingredients I dislike and won't use (and know how to sub) and while I do have a few favorite celebrity chefs I like: Ina, Martha, and yes, Paula: I don't trust them that much because it's their staff who does most of the work anyway.

Epicurus has more sophisticated recipes and reviewers than allrecipes but they often don't have simple recipes I might need.

And I have become fearless! I will change, sub and rework recipes until I am the one that's happy.
A recipe is usually only a starting point.

I wanted to clarify one thing. I said I was raised on Paula's type of cooking. I was, but minus all that butter and grease. My DM knew better than that even back then.

Since we are talking all TV Chefs I want to say that Hubert Keller is my favorite to watch. (Not the man, his cooking) I haven't made any of his recipes yet, hopefully in the near future. He has more talent than the vast majority of TV chefs on any channel.

I have had very good luck using recipes from here and from various blogs.

Ina-reliable
Giada-Reliable
Michael Chiarello-reliable
Ann Burrell-reliable
Tyler-reliable most of the time
Paula-not very reliable
Alton-not very reliable

I agree that the "old Martha" was good, but then I tend to prefer the earlier shows overall anyway. I have relied a lot on Julia Child and the Frugal Gourmet in my early years, and I was never disappointed with any recipes that I've made from either of them, and I have many cookbooks by each. For Italian food, I prefer Maryanne Esposito, although occasionally she will throw in an ingredient that I don't like, but that's not her fault - I simply don't like nutmeg in spinach!

For newer shows, I like Simply Ming, although again not all of his recipes. I've made a few recipes from ATK, and they turned out well for me - none were flops, but then I'm selective about what I make of theirs. I watched Jacques Pin today, but nothing he made inspired me. I was put off by the way he put S&P on almost everything (except dessert) - much the way they do in the NY cooking shows that I find boring. I tend to prefer shows that have more exotic ingredients, such as Thai, Japanese, Vietnamese, Korean, etc., where they use chilies or curry in place of black pepper and soy sauce or fish sauce instead of salt. That's the way I cook every day, and so it's difficult for me to relate to shows that omit soy/fish sauce and chilies in their main courses. I also use a lot of ginger, which eliminates the need for black pepper as well. I would like to see more Indian recipes included also.

Lars

Don't watch TFN very often, but of the few things I've tried:

Ina sounds good, but her recipes, like Paula Deen's, are too high in fat to make it into my everyday repertoire.

Giada's intriguing, and I did try her smoked gouda filo rolls, which were a huge hit at a dinner party. Again, I eliminated fat by spraying the rolls with Pam instead of basting them with melted butter.

The one recipe I tried from Tyler's Ultimate was a huge, huge failure. His bacon-wrapped roast chicken was disgusting: flabby skin, bacon fell off, bland and boring meat.

I prefer my cooking magazines: Fine Cooking (whose 15 yr archive DVD is finally available), Sunset magazine. Cook's Illustrated has a 50% hit rate for me: again, too much fat and salt in most of their recipes, but their recipe for spinach lasagne is a five-star for both vegetarians and meat-eaters.

I enjoy watching Diners, Drive-ins and Dives, and some of the other shows. Giada (sp) is sometimes okay too. Rachel Ray is okay sometimes, but honestly I have never made a recipe from any t.v. chef. I put things together as I like. I don't use recipes per 'se at all. I get inspiration from this forum for meals, but never copy and duplicate exactly a recipe. Am I alone in this? I don't know. I think I enjoy the great people here more than the actual 'recipes'.

Duane

Most of my recipes these days come from this forum, I like the "tried & true" & have added to my recipe file many good recipes. Good to know about Lydia Bastianich & Maryanne Esposito, I've watched their programs & some of their recipes I would like to try. I've watched Rachel Ray some, but haven't felt inclined to try any of her recipes, although a couple she made were similar to mine.
I do like America's test kitchen. I have made a few recipes from America's Test Kitchen, just because they say they have tested, etc. So far I've been pleased with their recipes.

The people on this forum have provided me with the majority of my "new" recipes. Most I have really liked, a few have not worked out.

As for TV cooks:

I have tried several recipes and have not been disappointed in many that I have gotten from Ina and Giada and Rachael.

Alton: Just gives me way more info than I really need/want. Don't think I have made anything of his

Emeril: Most of his recipes are either too complicated or include ingredients that I can't find. I agree, he is just a showman.

The Neely's: Can't stand the kissy kissy crap on their show, but the one recipe I did try of theirs was outstanding!

Sandra: I know a lot of people hate her, but if she can get some of these young people who have been raised on Mickey D's to venture into the land of cooking, she has done her job. Hey, I started out in the 70's by making Hamburger Helper! LOL

Paula: I think it's hilarious when she cusses on the air! There really isn't anything she makes that I can't make without a recipe.

Bobby: Haven't made any of his recipes, but I like him.

Tyler: Haven' made any of his recipes, and rarely even see him on TV these days...

As for publications, I like Cooking Light and have had much success with the recipes I have made from their magazine.

I subscribed to Cook's Illustrated for one year and was not overly impressed.

Linda

Another vote for Jaques and Julia!
I rarely use a recipe....I cook by ideas and concepts mostly. I read cookbooks for ideas and watch shows for ideas and for the showmanship.....but I rarely use a measuring spoon but for perhaps cream of tartar or baking powder....and for sure I never measure anything like sliced carrots or chopped onion.
I mean, if you have 2 carrots and you slice some up and fill a 1/2 cup measure but you have about an inch of carrot left, do you toss it out? Munch it up or just toss it in?

While I like watching a few of the Food Network shows, I don't make a lot of recipes from the celebri-chef shows. I'd prefer to get my recipes from people in this forum, I have MUCH better luck with them. :)

I do have a couple of Ina's cookbooks, and I've never been disappointed by anything from her. It's not everyday fare but it's great for when I want to try something new.

Alton- I try his recipes cautiously, but I think of his program as more entertainment than instruction. I just made a batch of his overnight cinnamon rolls this weekend, they're my dh's favorite so far in our quest for the perfect cinnamon roll.

Giada- I've only tried a few things, but they were ok.

Rachel- I tried a 30 minute meal one time, it took 1 hour to finish and wasn't all that good. I can't stand watching her show, so I think I'll just pass.

Tyler- I've made a couple of his recipes and they turned out ok, but they were very involved for the results.

Michael Chiarello- I love watching his show, but I've never made any of his recipes.

Mario- Another one I love to watch, for techniques and Italian food terminology! I've made a variety of his basic sauces and had good luck with them. I'm also working up the courage to start making gnocchi and ravioli thanks to watching him make them so often!

Bri

Same as y'all:

I also like Giada.

I've liked almost everything I've made from Rachael Ray's recipes, but in part b/c I've avoided recipes that look gross. Some of them just look nasty. I've also used her as a model on nights when I'm just in a hurry. "I can just throw all this in a pan and saute it for 20 minutes. We'll get fed."

I grew up on Paula's food and can cook it without a recipe. I think from watching her show that my version is probably better, too.

I can't make it through an episode of Semi-Homemade.

I enjoy Alton but haven't tried his recipes. I often don't even like the techniques he uses on the show, although I do use a few of them.

Ham on the Street makes me curious (and entertains me no end), but I've never really tried anything he does. I don't think it's a great loss.

I do wish TFN would have a legit, regular-home-cook Latin food show. I've seen one (Simply Delicioso?) but it was really fusion-y and didn't really have any recipes for the "regular" stuff I want to learn to make at home. I'm not a Bobby Flay fan, either. So far, I've been relying on www.texascooking.com since I can't just go buy homemade Tex-Mex really cheaply on any old street corner anymore. (I moved.)

~Amanda

I watch the cooking shows more for entertainment than enlightenment. I think I have only made one from a show I like, and that was from Ina.
Very good.
Jo

I don't really differ from anyone here. I've made 2 of Alton's recipes, and can vouch for one of them. I have his basic muffin recipe I copied from his baking cookbook, and it's very good. I use it when I want to make muffins. The other thing I made using his guidelines/recipe was a brined turkey for Thanksgiving a year or 2 ago. I didn't eat any of it, but others that did seemed to enjoy it. It was a lot of work, though.

Ina and Giada - Rarely disappoint

I've made 2 or 3 of Emeril's recipes. One, the wild rice stuffed onions, was well received, but hard to eat, so I modified it to be easier to eat - I just didn't stuff the onions - I chopped them and made it into more of a casserole instead. The others were 2 different pizza recipes, and again I modified them because I didn't have the exact cheese called for, but they were delicious.

I don't remember if I've made anything from any of the other FN celeb-chefs.

I love Jaques Pepin. He's simply a class act. I was lucky enough to find one of his cookbooks in the clearance section of Half Price Books the other day. I'm looking forward to making something from it, but haven't had time yet. He's going to be on Top Chef this week, I think.

Dorie Greenspan's Baking book (another Half Price bargain) has become my go-to cookbook for baking sweets. All the recipes of hers I've tried have been wonderful.

I agree that this forum is the most reliable go-to for recipes and cooking instruction.

jkom51, can you share that spinach lasagne recipe?

Sally

My Favorites with great results: Barefoot Contessa,Lidia and Marianne Esposito. Worst: Emeril IMO

There are so few "real" cooking shows left on the Canadian food channel, it's annoying!

Of the few that remain I have been rarely disappointed by Ina, Giada and Tyler.

Like others I really enjoy Guy Fieri (both shows) have copied several recipes but have yet to make any. I'm dying to make his stuffed jalapenos, his Italian Beef on a bun and His Mac Daddy Mac and Cheese using penne....it sounds so good!

Here is a link that might be useful: Mac Daddy Mac n' Cheese

My hands down favorite is Ina. I have never been disappointed in any of her recipes. I have all her books and I am never afraid to try something out for the first time on company.

My day-to-day cooking is much healthier than most of her recipes, but I use her techniques for roasting vegetables all the time. And anytime I need cooked chicken in a recipe I buy bone-in breasts and roast them, instead of poaching, which is what she swears by.

Just last night made turkey meatballs and a simple tomato sauce from Giada. Served w/ whole grain pasta it was a healthy and satisfying Sunday dinner.

Rachel is a godsend for inspiring younger cooks, like DD, to save money and their health by staying out of the drive-through lane after work. A little too animated for me, but I think she's great for her target audience.

I love Alton for providing insight to the science of cooking, but the recipes of his I've tried have been only so-so for the effort required.

I miss Sara Moulton's show. She had an even, watchable personality and her recipes had ingredients that were easy to find, but had a little zip. Her Lemon Roasted Potatoes and Blasted Chicken from "Sara Moulton Cooks at Home" are two of my favorite go-to recipes. And her Vermont Apple Crisp with Maple Sauce is one of my family's favorite desserts.

And what can I say about Sandra Lee...? Her outfits and tablescapes...all the processed food...like someone said above, to me it's not about cooking.

Paula Deen used to be fun to watch. Now she's gone over the top, and just one of her meals would derail my diet for an entire week.

I've just seen one episode of "Secrets of a Restaurant Chef" and I really liked the host's style and found it very informative. Wish I found that one on more often when I check in to the Food Network.

I like Giada and Ina as well. I've never been disappointed in any of their recipes that I've tried.

I find Alton very interesting to watch, but have only tried a few of his recipes. His ribs are a staple in our house in the summertime.

But Sara Moulton would be my favorite. I loved watching her shows.

I agree with Lars on "simply Ming", I watch it at Elery's and thoroughly enjoy it, but haven't ever made any of his recipes.

I usually trust Ina, I've never made anything of Giada's or of Mario's.

I like to watch Alton Brown, I find him immensely entertaining, but haven't tried anything of his other than the pea salad with herbs and cheese, which I liked.

Tyler, Michael Chiarello, Nigella, etc. are apparently on while I'm at work, I never get to see them at all.

I like Jacques Pepin but I've never made anything of Lydia Bastiniach's either.

Paula just bugs me with her late night show, always licking guests and flirting instead of cooking, but her day show isn't as bad. I made her cornbread stuffing once for Elery, he said it was OK. I wouldn't know, I've never had cornbread stuffing before and didn't like it any better than I like the white bread stuffing.

The Neely's I cannot watch, I just keep thinking "I'll bet they fight like cats off camera". And she's pushy.

Annie

Oh dear, I forgot Rachel Ray. Which will tell you my opinion of her recipes, I suppose.

Ashley has one of her cookbooks because both girls really like to watch her show. Amanda says she makes it seem like anyone can cook, she's not intimidating. However, they both agree that they wouldn't make a single recipe in the book because they have too many ingredients.

Annie

My main issue with Alton Brown is that he is so dogmatic much of the time about there being only one right way to do something - even times I know he's wrong. He does from time to time admit he was wrong and change his advice on something but he still will insist that that is now the right way. It wouldn't be so bad except my physicist son takes what he says as fact and gets dogmatic about it too.

I like Jamie Oliver. And much of what he does works well for the non-recipe using person who wants to get ideas. Also he tends to make simple good things so is good for beginning cooks. There is a bit on the Happy Days Live video that you can get from Netflix where he orders a pizza and then proceeds to make one on stage beginning with making the dough and finishes before the pizza arrives. What I have made from his recipes has turned out well.

Don't forget some on-line videos. For beginner Indian food recipes that turn out really good, I like Manjula's Kitchen. I tried to put the link in the link box, but this site kept rejecting it. Just google and you will find it or here is the link in text for cut and paste:
http://www.manjulaskitchen.com

As far as books go, Richard Sax is absolutely reliable. Everything I've made from Classic Home Desserts has turned out great the first time. Or to make up for some of the desserts, Quicker Lighter Better which is out of print but available new or used on Amazon. I've tried fewer things from that but they are good and healthy recipes such as white bean dip or a roasted pepper dip that I've made.

I love Giada! She used to drive me nuts, but I've made so many of her recipes that turned out fantastic that I can't help but adore her now!

Ina and Tyler are great too. Most of their stuff is really good. I've got a few Emeril recipes that I really like, but generally I avoid most of them due to the number of ingredients. I tend to agree with the others on Alton as well. Great show, disappointing recipe results. I generally avoid Paula's show now, but I've gotten some great desserts from her show. And Bobby Deen's Salmon with Couscous and Feta is one of my favorite healthier recipes that I actually got from her show.

Chrissy

I like some of Ina Garten's recipes, her lemon cake is delicious. Sara Moulton also had good recipes, I don't know why her show has disappeared. I used to like The Frugal Gourmet, his show was on a long time ago. Very down-to-earth and ingredients you don't have to search for. Alton Brown's show is interesting, but since the Ginger Ale fiasco I am not inclined to try any more of his recipes. :o)

From the TFN...Sara, Ina, Tyler, Giada, and Michael. Alton was cool at first but he gets on my nerves more then RR does...lol. Child and Peppin are classics and I always liked Justin Wilson....a good ole southern guy.....I gurarnteeeee it! Create does have some good shows too and I like some of ATK recipes. Epicurious, for the most part has been good too....then there is this group of great cooks and friends.....all y'all are at the top of my list!!!

David

Virtually every one of Alton Brown's recipes I've tried, and I've tried a LOT, has been a keeper.

His chuck roast and his macaroni and cheese recipes are absolutely out of sight.

Ina Garten and Sandra Lee grate on my last nerves. And Sandra doesn't so much have recipes as she does "open this bag, dump it into a pan with the contents of this box and add this can."

And wait, you're telling me that Giada di Laurentis has a COOKING show?

With RECIPES?

I never noticed before... :-D

Gosh, nobody mentioned my all time favorites, the Two Fat Ladies. Of the current crowd on FN my favorite is Anne Burrell. I also like Mike Colameco on PBS.

--Doug

I have made recipes from Tyler, Ina, Paula, Giada and Alton and the ones I made all turned out really good. I brought Paula's gooey butter cake to one of our office pot lucks and I had to post the recipe because everyone loved it. I've been making her corn casserole for years now too. One of my co-workers brought in her red velvet cake, and it was a hit with everyone. I don't recall every making any of RR's tv show recipes, but my 10 year old granddaughter loves watching her so I bought her one of Rachel's cookbooks for kids. We occasionally make something from the book and if it pleases my granddaugher, that's okay with me!

And Guy's D,D&D's is another night time favorite, but I haven't tried one of his from his day time show. Nigella's double (or is it triple?) chocolate brownies are to die for.

The only Michael Chiarello recipe that I made was his oven roasted vegetables, and it was luscious. And while I normally don't make Sandra Lee's recipes, I do love her table scape ideas. Emeril's recipes look good, but they have so many ingredients that I normally don't have in my pantry.

To be honest, I watch them all! I think a person can learn quite a few cooking techniques from all of them even if you don't actually make one of their recipes.

sally2, sorry it has taken me so long to transcribe this recipe for spinach lasagna. It is very garlicky and everybody likes it. Despite the length of the recipe, it's easy to put together, since you can prep the spinach, ricotta, bechamel and grate the cheeses beforehand, then just assemble everything together after soaking the no-boil lasagna sheets. If your prepped ingredients are cold from the frig, bake it the extra 10 minutes; e.g., 40 min instead of just 30 min.

Spinach Lasagna from Cooks Illustrated March/April 2004
Serves 6 (9x13" pan)

Spinach:
One 10-oz pkg frozen chopped spinach, OR
Two 10-oz bags fresh spinach: rinsed and blanched for 10 seconds in boiling water
If frozen, cook spinach 5 minutes. Fresh or frozen, drain well.

Bechamel (this is a thin sauce!)
2 Tblsp butter
2 Tblsp olive oil
5 large minced shallots
4 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed
1/4 cup flour + 1 Tblsp
4 cups whole milk
2 bay leaves
3/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg or 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Ø Saute the shallots and garlic in the butter/oil over medium heat till translucent, about 4 minutes
Ø Add flour, cook, stirring constantly, for 90 seconds. Do not brown.
Ø Whisk in milk, bring to boil over medium-high heat.
Ø Reduce to simmer. Add seasonings and simmer 10 minutes, whisking occasionally.
Ø Remove from heat. Discard bay leaves. Set aside.
Ø NOTE: recipe can be done ahead to this point

Cheese and Pasta
8 oz ricotta
1 large egg
1/4 tsp salt or lemon pepper
12 no-boil lasagna noodles (a box of Barilla has 16, so you will have some left over)
1 cup grated Parmesan
2 cups grated Italian fontina or mozzarella

1. Blend ricotta, egg, salt and pepper in a bowl. Set aside. Heat oven to 425°.
2. Place noodles in 9x13 broilersafe baking dish. Cover with hot water for 8-10 minutes, agitating sheets occasionally to prevent sticking. Then drain.
3. Wipe baking dish dry. Spray with cooking spray. Spread 1/2 cup bechamel on bottom. Position 3 pasta sheets in dish.
4. Stir spinach into remaining bechamel. Spread 1 cup spinach evenly over noodles. Sprinkle with Parmesan.
5. Layer another 3 pasta sheets. Spread another 1 cup spinach over noodles, and 1 cup fontina or mozzarella.
6. Again layer 3 pasta sheets. Spread with 1 cup spinach, and top evenly with the ricotta mixture.
7. Make a last layer with 3 more pasta sheets. Spread remaining spinach mixture and remaining fontina or mozzarella.
8. Spray a piece of aluminum foil with cooking spray and cover casserole. Bake until bubbling, 30-40 minutes, in a center rack position.
9. Remove foil. Adjust oven rack to uppermost position, set broiler on high. Broil lasagne 4-6 minutes until cheese is spotty and brown.
10. Let rest 10 minutes, and serve.

I don't watch the cooking shows on TV, but there are several newspaper food columnists I find to be consistently terrific:

Melissa Clark
Betty Rosbottom
J.M Hirsch (usually my favorite, although his cookbook, which is vegan, is just so-so)
Mark Bittman (sometimes)
Robin Davis

I pretty much stopped watching cooking shows years ago because I felt the quality of the shows just went down the drain.

I "grew up" watching Julia Child, first watching her show when I was like 11-12 years old. My heritage is Italian, so I pretty much grew up cooking anyway, and I also have an older sister who really got into 'gourmet" cooking, which is how I started watching The French Chef. My sister bought me Julia's two volume Mastering the Art of French Cooking as a gift when I was a teen and between what I knew already from watching my mother cook, I consider that I "learned" how to cook from Julia Child. I really learned technique from her and once you have that, you can make anything!! I did watch Jacques Pepin also, but I really can't come up with any recipes I got from him. I have seen some of Lydia Bastianich and I like watching her just because it reminds me of cooking and my grandparents from when I was a kid. I used to watch the Frugal Gourmet all the time and have several of his books as well. Another one I watched alot of, but haven't seen lately and don't know whether she's still around is Maryanne Esposito - again, hearing people speak Italian brings me back to being a kid. I have her book as well.

When the Food channel or network started, I did watch at the beginning, but I'm sorry - those shows can't compare. I remember watching Emeril for the first time, before he became a superstar, and I lasted about 5 minutes before I couldn't take him any longer. How anyone can stand watching that man is beyond me. I can't take Rachel Ray either, altho I've only watched about 10 minutes of her show just to see what all the fuss was about with her, and I wasn't impressed. I've seen that Simply Ming and I liked that, but again, nothing jumped out at me that I had to try myself.

The one show on that food network that I really liked alot was a show called Two Hot Tamales with two women who owned a Mexican restaraunt and did Mexican cooking - if I do watch a show, it's usually an "ethnic" one, someone doing Indian, or Mexican, Chinese, etc. One of my favorite things to do is cook entire meals focused on a particular culture or ethnicity - Greek, Indian, Thai, etc.

To tell you the truth, I've gotten more recipes from this site than I've ever gotten from cooking shows!

Lisa

Thanks, Jkom51. I'm glad I checked back with this thread!

Sally

I agree:
Giada ++
Ina ++
Rachel +
Sandra + I use some of her crock pot recipes
Paula- to much butter & sour cream for me
Alton I use his beef jerky recipe....very good (DSL) eats it faster than I can make it LOL

Linda

I had cable for a while and now watch it when I am home. I had FN on almost constantly. I loved the cooking shows, but most of the ones I love aren't being produced anymore. I still get a lot of recipes off the FoodNetwork Web site.

My all time favorite Food Network cook to watch is Michael Chiarello, for so many reasons! I have tried some of his recipes, they are mostly good, but not ones I will come back to, most are too elaborate for single me in my tiny kitchen to pull off. But I can dream . . .

As for Ina, I love watching her show, she clearly loves to cook and entertain. But I have NEVER made a single recipe of hers. They all start with, "Take a 1/2 lb. of butter . . . " Nothing wrong with that as far as cooking and taste is concerned. Butter makes everything taste good and is one of the secrets of French cooking. But I simply cannot eat or cook like that. This is not a criticism of Ina or her recipes, she is what she is and makes no apologies. But if the question is what recipes do I use, it would not be hers. But she is a great cook, so if you need a "reliable" recipe that will taste great, yes, Ina can do that. Butter is a reliable friend in the kitchen, that's for sure! :)

I greatly enjoy Giada and Rachel's shows too. My experience with their recipes has been mixed--some are fantastic and some are not good at all. Being vegetarian there are only certain recipes of theirs I can make. As for Rachel, as I once heard Mario Batalli say, "This is how America cooks." Since so many of us are trying to pull together a meal quickly when coming home from work exhausted, I find her approach fun and inspiring, particularly for newer cooks.

Two men whose recipes I often like are Bobby Flay and Tyler Florence. Most of Bobby's stuff I do not make since it is meat, but I find that the man has a real way with other ingredients too--he's a mean vegetarian cook. Tyler just seems to cook the kinds of things I like to eat--emphasis on Mediterannean flavors.

Now, that said, my favorite cooking shows are on PBS, and these are ones I use VERY often for inspiration. My ALL TIME favorite is Lidia Bastianich. Her show comes on Saturdays and I cannot tell you how many times I have been inspired to make something after watching her show. I also love Sarah Moulton's show, "Weeknight Meals." She has great guests, and lots of good vegetarian fare. And MS Everyday Foods show often has a recipe I'm inspired to try. Nothing fancy, just great versions of the classics. I love watching Jacques Pepin of course, but have not made many of his dishes, again, mostly due to the meat issue. I enjoy the "America's Test Kitchen" show, but again, mostly meat, and the recipes I have tried have been OK, but the blather about these being special secret definitive ways to do things just doesn't wash in my experience. I have one of their cookbooks and nothing in it so far has been fantastic. I did have a pumpkin cheesecake at a friend's house from their recipe and it was by far the best I have ever had, in fact the ONLY recipe for that concoction that I have liked. Alton Brown is Too Much Information for me, although this is not a criticism. Again, I just don't cook that elaborately.

I've also enjoyed Steven Raichlin or some such spelling, he has a barbecue show, but I don't barbecue. I like a lot of shows I don't cook from, like Rick Bayless' show, etc. But I just don't use their recipes. I think Emeril is really a very good chef, but like most of you, I find his recipes are just too fussy. But that's the way great chef's cook--it's the little extra steps and attention to detail that make their food so great. NOT my style though. I have to stick with simple things that still taste good for recipes I will actually use.

I don't watch the food network often. It's more entertainment to me than learning about recipes. I agree with lpink I don't eat or cook the way most of the people do on the cooking shows. I know everyone loves Ina but I don't like butter or sour cream so I don't use her recipes. I agree she knows her stuff.
I'm glad I read through this thread. What struck me are the comments about Emeril. I made his red bean and rice and it was good but labor intensive. I just thought it was me! Although it had too much meat in it. I have made a couple of Martha Stewart recipes and liked them. I haven't made any of Rachel Ray's stuff and she annoys me but I love the concept which is "Hey I know you are tired and when you come home from work and the kids are hungry it's seems sometimes overwhelming to cook but here are some ideas."
I love to watch Alton Brown he is so interesting, but have not made any of his recipes. Giada has some great ideas but I think I am the only person in the world who thinks Italian food it ok but it is not my favorite....and I lived in Sicily for two years!
Most of my recipes come from this forum. They are tried and true.

Velodoug - me too! Loved The Two Fat Ladies and would love to see it again. I seem to watch FoodTV for more entertainment purposes. I also love Iron Chef. Totally useless information for me but I enjoy it. For recipes I search the internet or my cookbooks. This forum has also been very helpful.

The only show I like to watch is Alton Brown's (I tape it). I find the show so entertaining and fun. I just don't take him all that seriously. I wish I had his gadget drawers tho! What a hoot.

I've only made one of his recipes, that I can think of, it was the yogurt pumpkin pie. It was ok, but nothing like a baker's square pumpkin pie! Probably won't make it again next Thanksgiving.

I do want to try his mock orange julius recipe. Anyone tried that yet?