THE FOOD NETWORK AND ANNE BURRELL

THE FOOD NETWORK AND ANNE BURRELL


I know that many of us have watched The Food Network throughout the years. And I also know hundreds of “ex-fans” that have expressed the disappointment that The Food Network Channel has presented in the past couple years.

Due to that - I, too, have been turned off by many of the programs on The Food Network. There are classics - such as Emeril - that are holding that network together. Without them, The Food Network would be off the air.

And after what I saw today on ANNE BURRELL - SECRETS OF A RESTAURANT CHEF - 3:30 pm EST SHOW - made me actually sick to my stomach.

First let me start with ANNE BURRELL when she first hit the airways. SALT, SALT, SALT by the ton in everything made.

Trying to be original (I think) - this “person” (you see - I am addressing it as a person - man or woman???) has done everything someone can do that is wrong.

The “growling” when speaking is a turn-off. Trying to be a man or a woman with a problem?

The “terminology” used disgusts me to no end.

BROWN FOOD.

CRAP.

Well excuse me ANNE BURRELL - I was brought up to RESPECT FOOD. Apparently you weren’t.

We don’t address food as CRAP in our home.

We don’t serve S.H.I.T. or eat S.H.I.T. in my home - and we don’t address foods as such.

There are other things about ANNE BURRELL that actually piss off everyone.

BUT TODAY’S SHOW - TOOK THE CAKE!

AT LEAST TWICE TODAY - ANNE BURRELL - REFERRED TO FOODS TO BE “TREATED LIKE A STEP-CHILD” - AND WHEN “IT” PUT A COVERED POT IN THE OVEN AND STATED TO “TREAT IT LIKE A STEP-CHILD” - IT WAS THE LAST THING I WANTED TO HEAR.

Does ANNE BURRELL have a problem with step-children. I don’t think a child in the world wants to be known as “the step-child” and then “IT” had the audacity to place a covered pot in the oven and say - “TREAT IT LIKE A STEP-CHILD”!!!!!

Is that what “IT” believes in - gassing children in an oven?

Wasn’t there enough done to innocent children in the concentration camps that were gassed for no reason????

Is this what ANNE BURRELL and THE FOOD NETWORK believe in?

Don’t tell me that the Food Network doesn’t preview these shows before they put them on the air.

NO CHILD SHOULD BE TREATED LIKE THIS ANNE BURRELL - YOU DON’T BELONG ON THE AIR - AND YOU DON’T BELONG IN A RESTAURANT - YOU WOULD PROBABLY TREAT CUSTOMERS AS A “STEP-CHILD” AND POISON THEM!

TO THE FOOD NETWORK - BURN ALL SHOWS AND GET RID OF EVERY EPISODE OR EVERY SHOW THAT DISCRIMINATORY PIECE OF BROWN CRAP IS IN!!!!

I will post this everywhere!

Oh and BTW - YES, I did send a “comment” to The Food Network - but of course - they will never respond!

just another one-skillet meal

Who said you can't enjoy comfort foods when it's too darn hot to cook?

I still cannot take this heat - yesterday was another one of those days and I made a one-skillet meal, so today I'm doing the same thing.

Yesterday was Sausage, Tater and Onion Skillet - http://www.oldfashionedhomecooking.net/2010/07/its-still-too-hot-to-cook.html

Today was Zucchini, Onion and Ham sammies on French bread with bean/beet/onion salad.


Normally, it would have been pancetta in place of ham - but when you haven't got an ingredient - you substitute. And we are zucchini lovers - fixing it so many different ways.


Speaking of ham - I purchased a 2-pound package of Sugardale Sliced Ham - nicely shaped deli ham slices that would be nice to make sammies with. SURPRISE - this ham was SALTY! A total turn-off!


So today I figured I could use up a few slices if I boiled the salt out - so I placed 4 ham slices in a pot of water and brought to a boil; boiled for less than a minute, removed the ham from the pan, emptied the water and rinsed the pan thoroughly, and boiled it again for less than a minute. Boiling it for too long would boil the salt right back into it - this was just right.




Meanwhile, I assembled my salad -

1 29-oz. can cut green beans, drained
1 15-oz. can garbanzo beans, drained (chickpeas)
1/2 large Vidalia onion, sliced
1 15-oz. can sliced beets, sliced

A simple vinaigrette of olive oil, vinegar, Kosher salt, fresh ground black pepper.



I washed and peeled my zucchini - 3 smaller ones and added to my hot skillet that had olive oil in it. In went the remaining half Vidalia onion and one cooking onion. Seasoned with Kosher salt, fresh ground black pepper, garlic, parsley, and onion powder. When the ham was "done", I just cut it into strips and added to the pan and fried until done.



I served this on split French bread with a nice helping of salad.

Crockpot Stew

Well Hello -

It seems like I haven't been here in forever - but with that wicked heat spell we had, I just couldn't hold myself together. With my mom not well, taking care of the babies (their mom is a school bus aide and working for the summer - Bruiser is in summer school and Princess needs to be watched till mom comes home), trying to still help our friend for the past couple months - and I think it all just caught up with me.

I am not a heat person. As a matter of fact - most of my family is olive complected and do well in the heat/sun - meanwhile, I am like my mom and her mom - blonde and white - can't take the heat and can't take the sun. We look like we don't belong to the rest of the family! And dad was a red-head.........

It's still hot - but the humidity has dropped and I am functioning a bit better. I'm up at 3 AM - and I am at the babies by 5:15 AM - their mom goes to work and since it is summer schedule - they keep her between runs and she doesn't get home till 12:45. By that time the little guy is getting off the bus and they can enjoy a nice lunch together. So I spend my mornings giving baths (with this heat I want them comfortable), making breakfast, cleaning up her kitchen, taking him to school, then watching Princess and making lunch for them.

I get home by 1:30 and then I am cooking for us and finishing any housework or laundry I did not get to before I left the house.

With that heat spell for 5 days - in my house it was basically salads, sandwiches, and some "quick frys" such as sausage, hot ham sammies, etc. Whatever I could "cook" in 5 minutes or less. By the last day of the heat I thought I was going to pass out - pizzeria pizza was dinner that day.

After eating like that for 5 days - I was wishing for something good - a comfort food of some sort.

And to think that when I was young - we had no crockpots - and very few appliances. No matter what the temperature and humidity - we cooked and baked.



I had a chuck steak in the freezer that kept staring at me - and I really was wishing for stew. Crockpot to the rescue.



Of course, being frozen solid, I had to do something so that I could cut it up so I placed it in a hot skillet and seared it quite quickly so I could cut off any unwanted fat and cut into bite-sized pieces. I seasoned it well with Kosher salt, fresh ground black pepper, parsley, garlic, and onion powder.



Meanwhile, I prepped my veggies - a couple ribs of celery - sliced, one onion - diced, 4 carrots - cleaned and cut into chunks, 5 potatoes - peeled and cut into chunks. Placed in 6 1/2-quart crockpot and seasoned the same as the meat. Set on HIGH.



When the meat was browned and basically "thawed" so I could work with it, I removed it from the skillet and cut off the unwanted fat and cut the meat into bite-sized pieces.



Added that to the pot with a 14 1/2-ounce can diced tomatoes and 3 beef bouillon cubes. Stirred it up and continued to cook on HIGH.

After cooking for 3 1/2 hours, I added frozen peas and continued to cook another 15 to 20 minutes.



Served with a salad and some rye bread - comfort food - made in the heat - without overheating the kitchen - and done in 4 hours!