30 Minute Meals

It was a hot summer Sunday, flipping through the channels, when I came across 30 Minute Meals with Rachael Ray. Never heard of it, nor have I ever watched the Food Network prior to this stumbling on. And I was in for a treat. I enjoyed the dishes she cooked up, and her inviting personality made it almost like she was right there in my kitchen chatting up a storm with me. It's like you are getting an educational cooking show, entertaining talk show, and the feeling of spending some time with your best friend all in one. I highly recommend this show for someone who likes to cook on a minutes notice, and likes light hearted, spunky personalities that has the potential to lift your spirits!

I have no doubt that Rachael Ray is a fine cook, but she's just too damned perky. I can't stand watching that ever cheery mug grinning like a maniac at the camera. If I flip the channel and unexpectedly see her face, I'm put off my feed for a week, which is exactly the opposite of what the food network is supposed to do, isn't it? I honestly don't see her appeal. Not to mention the fact that I don't have anyone to keep my fridge stocked with just the perfect ingredients and fresh herbs that she seems to chop and use constantly.

Again, I'm sure she's a wonderful cook, and might be just fine in private, but her public persona annoys the expletive deleted out of me.

What happened to Rachel? First of all her constant yammering is annoying. I don't find her cute as SHE thinks she is. She seems angry and the constant complaint that her oven is too high and she is too short is ridiculous. We get it your short what do you want a metal? The throwing of ingredients and slamming of jars and canning is crazy. She has gotten to be an old angry woman. Cancel this show.

A long time ago when I got my satellite dish, Food Network Canada was one of the more popular channels I would watch and 30 Minute Meals was one of the shows I would watch. Host Rachael Ray cooks up some very good meals with all sorts of themes and she indeed has them ready by the end of the show. Many of her meals are quite good and she was at one point fun to watch...

However, as a Canadian, we have access to programs from all over the world. While Food Network U.S.A. has mostly American programming, the Canadian version has programs from Canada, the U.K., Australia, Japan (Iron Chef) and the U.S. I seem more comfortable watching the cooks who don't rely on over-the-top theatrics or glib personalities (and many of them aren't the Americans). My problem with Ray is that she seems to have some phony mask on; as if she is trying to sell us that her personality is the real deal. However, the fact that a 37 year-old woman thinks that acting 20 years younger on T.V. is cool to everybody isn't the case. The novelty has worn off and now it is painful to see her act like a Valley Girl. It kind of reminds me of Tiny Toons' Babs Bunny, who needed to be a poser to stand out among the otherwise cooler characters at the Looniversity.

Still, the show is pretty good and if you can stand dealing with her mannerisms, giggles, and saccharine personality you'll pick up some good recipes. Otherwise, Ina Garten, Giada DeLaurentis, Mario Batali, or even Emeril (who is genuine in my book) are better and if you live in Canada there are even more good choices. If you really need to see Rachael, just watch $40 A Day or her other new travel show. Here, she fits in better.

I love Rachael Ray, the host of "30 Minute Meals". If Emeril is the John Wayne of the Food Network, then Rachael Ray is June Allyson: pretty, vivacious, and funny. She once apologized to a head of cauliflower because it was a neglected vegetable. The concept of "30 Minute Meals" is simple. In this age of take out food and microwave dinners, it is still possible to prepare healthy and delicious meals in 30 minutes or less with ingredients that are commonly available. Rachael cooks her meals in real time. And that's where the fun comes in. First, you have to understand Rachael almost never measures her ingredients. In fact, one of her recipes calls for a couple of glugs of wine. Second, every trip to the pantry is an adventure. She tries to carry everything in one trip, so the short journey from pantry to workstation becomes a combination weight lifting contest and circus balancing act. But the best part is the food itself. The recipes are really good and the themes are imaginative - from making your own "take out" at home to taking culinary vacations to foreign countries. Rachael is obviously having fun on her show (she says it allows her to play with her food) and the viewer will enjoy it, too. Simply put, "30 Minute Meals" is educational and fun.