I'M AN ADDICT

 

          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.