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I simply have
to confess…I’m an addict. And, no, I’m not addicted to Oxy, heroin, speed,
marijuana, diet pills or anything else that is either illegal or prescription
only. To be perfectly honest, this addiction came as a surprise and I probably deserve
it since I was so smug about watching television…sorry, haven’t seen that, I
read!!!
It’s been a bit
of a while since I discovered the Food channel and I’ve become an addict. I’m
fascinated by shows like “Beat Bobby Flay,” “Chopped” and will even resort to
watching Guy Fieri’s Triple D and Triple G shows on occasion…I’m not a bit Guy
fan.
In almost every
show, chefs are given an ingredient or ingredients with which they are to make
a dish. Now, that’s just fine. I could do that I’m absolutely, positively sure.
Unfortunately for me, the chefs are given a time limit. Those times range from
twenty to forty-five minutes. I don’t think I’ve yet seen one show where the
chef doesn’t come up with a usually very attractive result on a plate in the
allotted time.
Now, if it were
me, I’d barely have figured out what I was going to do with sweetbreads or
camel cheese or headcheese or a wide variety of other items that I’ve never
either seen or even heard of. While the other chefs would be plating their
concoctions, I’d undoubtedly barely have started because I’d have to Google the
ingredient. I don’t even know if that would be permissible, but it would be the
only way I could come up with a recipe, and I might have to Google, “Sweetbread
recipes.”
These shows
always have judges that are famous or semi-famous. I had never heard of any of
them, including Bobby Flay and he has like thirty-two seasons of I don’t know
how many shows. The chef has to explain to the judges what they’ve made and the
ingredients used. The judges sample each plated dish and provide feedback to
the chefs. The chef who didn’t highlight the ingredient(s) and/or wasn’t able
to make a tasty creation is then eliminated from the contest and the show moves
on.
I do have to
say I’ve learned a few things from watching. Want the seeds out of the
pomegranate, you cut it and then bang it with a wooden spoon over a bowl. The
seeds fall right out. Want to use a lot
of garlic and not spend valuable minutes peeling, squeeze the entire bulb or
hit it with a wooden spoon. I’m even trying a few things like using my garlic
press for the garlic as opposed to chopping and taking chances with some of my
dishes by using spices I’ve never utilized.
The other thing
about these shows I find amazing is some of the ingredients they employ and
which they apparently find in the handy pantry at the back of the room. There’s no way I could ever afford to
use lots of saffron or caviar in whatever I was making. They also are given
cuts of unbelievably expensive cuts of meat and/or fish and then the chefs
don’t begin to use the entire piece. Or, for instance, one chef took a rack of
lamb, cut off the meat and put it through a grinder…horrors. I cringe sometimes
when I see what they are using and how much of it is wasted. That is if it is
wasted, but I don’t really know.
Then, there’s
the final dishes. There’s one from each chef. Usually, the shows begin with
either two or four chefs. There are always three judges, but the chefs prepare
four plates. Who gets that fourth plate? Finally, the judges take bites of the
dish and provide feedback, but I don’t know if they go on to finish the dish or
it’s simply discarded. If it’s simply discarded, what a waste. I’m hoping the camera
crew gets the leftovers.
You’ll have to
excuse me now; I think there’s a new episode of “Beat Bobby Flay” from his
fifteenth season I haven’t seen yet and it’s due to begin in just a few.
So, there you
have it. My name is Paula and I’m an addict.