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| Photo: Food Network |
But while his aesthetics are regressing, at least his cooking is maturing, from the fussy appetizers of the first two shows to something resembling a real meal.
The fabricated meal-making scenario this time followed an eager Brian ready to impress his handyman in order to gain acceptance into an "international dinner club" -- cue many references to the Wonder Bread-ish Brian's Italian heritage.
For the moment, we'll ignore the incongruous fantasy of a dashing, 40-something French handyman willing to whip up his mother's coq au vin recipe for a bachelor client. (And is it just us, or do the shots of Brian's spacious, garden-facing kitchen and his narrow San Francisco living quarters seem a little... lacking in continuity?)
This is, after all, "Mr. Boitano's Neighborhood," where everyone is a colorful, friendly character with a story to tell and a secret ingredient to share.
With this setup firmly established -- and even punctuated with advice from "Frenchman" Brian and "Italian" Brian, replete with mustaches and berets (groan) -- all that was left was the cooking. Our host acquitted himself fairly well, even if his attractive almond crostata seemed a little too reliant on Philly cream cheese and store-bought almond paste.
And while we should've been grossed out by the concept of his "coq au vin-guine" -- boneless, skinless chicken pieces in a red wine sauce over linguine -- truth be told, the cipollini onions and portobellos seemed to rescue it from Hamburger Helper-style banality. It might be just the thing to whip up after a long work day.
Leave it to Brian to sneak in actual, practical hints among all his campy practical jokes.















