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Who are you to tell us how to be frugal, Sandra Lee? Photo: Food Network.
This year the recession may have hit home, but don't tell that to our cable provider: Food Network ratings were off the charts, indicating that while there are some things we can live without, spatula-wielding self-help personalities are not one of them.
Like a phone-psychic addict jonesing for his or her next hit, we turn to these brave, well-lacquered (and in some cases, well-liquored) men and women under the auspices of improving our lives -- or at least our home-cooked meals -- when actually we just want someone to tell us what we want to hear.
Whether it's the "fuggedaboutit" attitude of the "Cake Boss," the smothering grandmotherly love of Paula Deen or the caffeinated-NASCAR fan energy of Guy Fieri, who you tuned in to watch this year said something about you. Are you from the vicious-disciplinarian school of anal-retentive baking? Then you're no doubt a Martha loyalist. Or do you wipe your hands on your hips, fumble with a few ingredients and whip up something imperfectly tasty? Then, depending on your tax bracket, you're either Rachael Ray or Ina Garten.
Who was the most essential? Who saw us through that layoff-consolation dinner party or Obama-inauguration bash? Who, indeed, could be the Julia to our Julie-like blogospheric devotion?
Each and every one of them was vying for our attention, that's for sure. With all the personalities jamming the airwaves this year, a little anarchy was inevitable: There was the Ray/Stewart throwdown, the Guy Fieri impostors -- even poor, sweet Deen got shocked by an errant Today Show staffer, just weeks before being whacked in the face with a Thanksgiving ham.
But the best moments on TV in the last year came from the veterans of the trade, and not the upstart infotainment crowd. Whether it was Anthony Bourdain's buddy Eric Ripert appearing on PBS, or the preponderance of familiar faces whipping up dishes on morning shows and guesting on competition cook-offs, 2009 seemed to be the year that even the staunchest TV-holdout chefs made an appearance. A case in point. ...
Best: The cast of "Top Chef Masters." Admittedly, the show didn't have the urgency of its normal-octane cousin -- these established chefs had nothing to lose and everything to gain by promoting themselves on Bravo. But it was nice to see a few larger-than-life personalities like Michael Chiarello and Hubert Keller stripped of their sous-chefs, humbling themselves by cooking on hot plates in a dorm. And when we weren't reveling in seeing their stress levels go through the roof, we got to vicariously study their techniques. Seeing a whiz like Wylie Dufresne expound upon the virtues of liquid nitrogen was worth the whole season.
Worst: "Sandra Lee's Money Saving Meals." Give us a break -- the queen of the tablescape, the denizen of the store-bought shortcut, the home-entertainer with a penchant for sartorial excess, she's going to tell us how to save money? For sheer hubris and misplaced "I'm a little person, like you, really!" desperation, no one pandered more than Sandra.
Sure, the "tablescapes" were gone, the wardrobe was toned down to flats and neutral-colored blouses, and the little ticker in the corner of the screen purported to tell you how much money you were saving (over what, exactly, we were never sure). But that didn't change the fact that Sandra's food -- usually leftovers thrown into a pan with pasta and spruced up with parsley and Parmesan from a can -- was still sort of like the thing you'd eat over at your friend's house, growing up, when his mom was too busy smoking Virginia Slims to make you a decent meal.
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12-15-2009 @3:44PM Sally said... I'm no fan of Sandra Lee but did you ever watch an episode of Sandra Lee's Money-Saving Meals? I think your review is based more of your dislike of her than the show.
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12-15-2009 @4:18PM Barry said... Never saw her new show since I cannot stand Sandra Lee.
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12-15-2009 @9:25PM Miss Stevie said... Well forged! I couldn't agree more!
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12-15-2009 @9:30PM Sarah said... I agree with Sally - Sandra's new show is actually quite well done and does not involve leftovers and canned cheese. If the writer had watched the show they might know this.
I have made a couple of the recipes from the show and all worked nicely - and tasted good. And more so, all were "from scratch" recipes. Methinks the writer is a bit confused over the shows. Thinking of Semi Homemade?
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12-15-2009 @11:58PM thewolfman said... Wow, what a half-assed written article. The whole "Sandra Lee is an idiot" movement died out two years ago. Money Saving Meals isn't always perfect but it provides great insight. Going further into it..... Sandra Lee is basically the face of the show. The whole operation involves dozens of people that are very knowledgeable on the subject. They might not be poor but they know how to cook and they understand cost.
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12-18-2009 @8:36AM Finbar Devine said... I rarely watch Sandra Lee, because her earlier show was extremely condescending. However, this season we got Sandra Lee's money saving meals, followed by Melissa D'Arabian's money saving meals. I know times are tough, but some of us do have some imagination!
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12-16-2009 @10:40AM Melissa511 said... To be fair (even though I throw up a little whenever she draws out her "l" words) Sandra Lee grew up poor, and even though she's living large today, she DID apparently have to essentially raise and feed her siblings when her mother checked out ...
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