848 replies to this topic

[OHgamer]

Debut epi is on Sun 29 June 2008 at 0930 EDT

FN has the details on the first couple epis.

Secrets of a Restaurant Chef
Episode LR0101

AIR TIMES:
Jun 29, 2008 9:30 AM ET/PT

The Secret to Pasta Bolognese

Learn the secret to achieving rich, meaty bolognese bliss with Anne's master recipe, which requires no overnight simmering or pricey ingredients. Her simple technique earns a huge flavor payoff, and leaves time for perfect poached eggs on grilled asparagus.

***********

Episode LR0105

AIR TIMES:
Jul 06, 2008 9:30 AM ET/PT

The Secret to Roasted Leg of Lamb

The thought of roasting a leg of lamb can strike fear into the most adventurous home cook, but with Anne as your guide you'll have a show stopping dinner on the table with minimal effort and maximum "wow!" Anne's famous peach crisp makes the perfect finale.

Can I just say this series looks really, really good, and hopefully will be the start of a long run for Chef Burrell on FN in this role.

Edited by OHgamer, Jun 25, 2008 @ 5:50 PM.

[mushypeas]

This could be the first new FN show in a long time that I am genuinely excited to watch. Following the spate of quick cooking shows, where the emphasis is always on some faux gathering of plastic friends and family, I think it will be fun to watch a "new" chef on FN simply cook and discuss technique.

Oh, and watch out Ina...Anne's making a crisp. Put your gloves on!

[Beccadawg]

This sounds like a show I am going to love, but I am disappointed that I haven't seen a single commercial for it. But maybe that's because I don't watch FN in primetime anymore. And I wish they had given her a better time slot.

[Sumik]

Oh, I had no idea that it was starting this weekend!

What excellent news.

[Stoofy T]

Wow. Awfully frenetic. With the crazy voices and body gestures, she totally reminds me of Jael from ANTM 8. Not that that's really a bad thing... it'll just take some getting used to.

Regardless, this is SUCH the wrong time slot for this show.

[patty1h]

Watching her first show now... she scares me! She's: too hyper, uses wacky extreme arm movements, does this growly voice thing, throws out corny slangy words ('earl' for oil).

I'm tired out from her.

[kennyab]

I really loved this first episode. She broke things down well, explained why certain ingredients were necessary, and it looked like it would be fun cooking the things she did. And I really enjoyed watching her. She cracked me up, but she didn't have a fake cuteness. It was great that she was a bit goofy but didn't make herself giggle like she's the cutest thing in the world (yes, Rachel Ray, that was directed towards you). I'll very happily watch this every week.

[Beccadawg]

I was a little thrown off by the flying hands at first too, but she really grew on me. Plus it's obvious she knows what she's doing. Plus I was learning something, which doesn't happen when I am watching a lot of FN shows. So I can take a little quirkiness.

I was amazed at how much salt she was using in both the sauce and the pasta water.

[slysangel]

I love her! I'm thrilled to death that someone with her culinary expertise wasn't stuffy. First time ever I'd want to tackle a bolognese. I don't have a problem with 'erl.' I'm very impressed and can't wait until next week. I'm going to skip off now to achieve some crud-dom. Hee.

[marymargaret]

It took about the first 5 minutes for me to figure out who Chef Burrell reminded me of - she's the female Bobcat Goldthwait! From the exaggerated gestures to the intermittent "growly" voice - his long lost twin! I do love this premier and hope she can keep on going. Finally someone new who is interesting (not perky) and actually teaches technique. Wish it was on a little later, though. I think her show would go better with a cold beer rather than the morning's first cup of coffee.

[FlufferNutter]

Bad points:
The first episode reminded me of a poorly executed TNFNS audition tape.
The lighting was atrocious.
"Brown the crap out of the veggies", nuff said.
She seems to have extremely messy kitchen habits and dumping the tasting spoon contents back into the bolognese sauce made me cringe.
The "earl" or "whale" instead of "oil" was off-putting.

Good points:
She is passionate about food.
The final plated dishes looked scrumptious.
I loved her crockery.

The voice and arm flailing was neither a bad point nor a good point to me. I can accept the quirkiness if she delivers a decent show.
Even though it isn't polished yet, I think the show has great potential and I will tune in again.

[Ima Pilgrim]

I love her! I'm thrilled to death that someone with her culinary expertise wasn't stuffy. First time ever I'd want to tackle a bolognese. I don't have a problem with 'erl.' I'm very impressed and can't wait until next week. I'm going to skip off now to achieve some crud-dom. Hee.

Woo hoo, a real chef, with real street cred, a non-manufactured quirky personality (I don't care about the arm gestures, as long as she's not grinning like a goob at me for a half hour trying to accomplish glamour shots), I like Anne! Bring on the food!! That bolognese looked to die for, I printed out the recipe before she was done.

[delhigirl]

A real chef.......yay
Who gives tips on how to make things easy, that poached egg tip was great. I had no idea that eggs could be chilled beforehand, excellent .......... yay
now listen to me, you idiots at FN; give her a better slot, we want shows with more cooking, less hysteria, less documentary like features, and less less less of the silly road tasting shows, well except for Alton's show

Edited by delhigirl, Jun 29, 2008 @ 10:05 AM.

[attica finch]

See, many of the things that FlufferNutter disliked quite charmed me. "Brown the crap out of the veggies" especially. Maybe it's because that's how I talk to dishes in progress in my own kitchen. She's speaking a language I understand. I definitely learned things (like the vinegar in poaching water) and though the big arm gestures startled me at first, I got used to them and am not bothered by them.

I liked her noting steps that seem counterintuitive with a 'I know, right?', just to let us know that she knows that's counterintuitive too. That's a reassuring quality in a teacher.

(Instead of a female Goldthwaite, I'd peg her as a cheffy Kathy Griffin.)

Thumbs up.

[mushypeas]

Bad points:
The first episode reminded me of a poorly executed TNFNS audition tape.
The lighting was atrocious.
"Brown the crap out of the veggies", nuff said.
She seems to have extremely messy kitchen habits and dumping the tasting spoon contents back into the bolognese sauce made me cringe.
The "earl" or "whale" instead of "oil" was off-putting.

Heh, none of these things bothered me. I actually laughed out loud when she said, "Brown the crap out of the veggies," because it sounds like something I would say if rattling off a recipe over the phone to a friend.

I liked her show. Her arm flailing was so hippy-esque (like dancing at Woodstock) and oddly charming. Mostly, I was impressed that she actually demonstrated HOW to cook something - from beginning to end. If you didn't know how to do a (very basic) bolognese, you do now. That was nice. And darned if she didn't make me want me want to go poach some eggs.

The only things I didn't enjoy which seemed to come right from the "FN Guide to TV Food Show Hosting" was the way she said, "I'm ALL ABOUT [blah, blah, blah]," and also the, "I'm going back in [for a taste]". Bleh. Ignore the producers, Anne.

Edited by mushypeas, Jun 29, 2008 @ 11:51 AM.

[allfarkledup]

Got salt?

[semigothgirl]

Her personality is definitely out there, but it is a refreshing change from the normal Fembot hosts. I too was a little aghast at the amount of salt she used, but I'm willing to give it a shot. It sounds like a delicious recipe.

[hindymom]

Although the arm gestures bothered me at first, I was more or less used to them by the end of the show. She seems friendly and sincere, not to mention just a hoot. I don't know where she was brought up, but earl for oil is used a lot where I live. That didn't bother me at all, but the way she kept calling all the goodies at the bottom of the pan 'crud' did. Don't ask me why. I'll watch again, but I hope she doesn't do the Tiger Woods fist pump at the end of all her meals.

[BC1795]

Hasn't Guy Fee-Eddy enough on his plate without Food Netquirk puttng him in drag? What a train wreck!

[MissFancy]

I liked this--and Anne. But someone please get her a good bra and a better set. It looked like she was doing the show from her own apartment. The "crud" thing was amusing, but it might start to get on my nerves if she does it too much ("Yummo!!").

I've made Bolognese probably hundreds of times, with recipes from Marcella Hazan, Alice Waters, Bugialli, Mario and others, and this was very different in ways too numerous to mention. It looked good; I'd be curious to taste it.

I saw Martha cook and hold poached eggs the same way on her old show and it was a revelation. Of course, Martha trimmed the scraggly edges to make them *perfect*.

[addicted_aardvark]

Her arm flailing was so hippy-esque (like dancing at Woodstock) and oddly charming.

<snerk>Great description; I'd not have thought of it, but quite appropriate.

Although the arm gestures bothered me at first, I was more or less used to them by the end of the show.

Same thing I found myself realizing by the end - they were still happening, but weren't distracting me as much.

I don't recall her being so physically gesticulating during ICA, but her role there is different.

I'm also on the train that wasn't disturbed by the colloquial references rather than technical descriptions of her techniques. And find myself wondering whether that pan "crud" and "browning the crap" would be "more accessible" to non-cooks than the tech talk?? Particularly as some hosts throw around the "caramelization" multiple times without ever explaining it; the "crud" is probably as clear as "brown bits" and more so than the "fond" (which is usually then explained afterwards).

Now, the "earl" / "oil" thing - that seemed to me something she was doing for humor or emphasis, since she switched back and forth. And *that* to me might get tiring like "Yummo". If she stuck with just "earl" as a gimmick, I'd probably let it pass.

Enjoyed it, particularly as a coherent presentation of several recipes and techniques, with some humor thrown in.

(Re: the NFNS/Suzie/Tuschie tweaks - she did tell a couple of anecdotes - about cooking in Tuscany & her dad the griller - but they fit in, and didn't seem forced. As long as she keeps the "personalization" down at the Mario level, it'll be ok.)

[Teawaddle Hill]

.

Edited by Teawaddle Hill, Dec 26, 2011 @ 6:57 AM.

[Catronia]

I always enjoy Anne on Iron Chef, so was looking forward to her show. She didn't disappoint! It's fun to see someone with a quirky (real) personality, and, other than Jamie Oliver's show, this is the first show in a long time that I thought I really learned something from. I was a little weirded out by the lack of milk or cream in the Bolognese, but the emphasis on thorough browning at each stage is something that'll stick with me. Heh, I loved all the salt and oil everywhere -- that really is one of the reasons food at good restaurants is so tasty. Terrifying amounts of salt and oil/butter.

[Rickster]

I dunno. I thought this was the strangest show ever, and I had been looking forward to it. I wasn't put off by the flailing arms as much as the weird vocal mannerisms seemingly injected at random. A more consistently "out there" personality might have been easier to take in some ways.

[Kathcart]

The growling business was strange but I got the idea that it was the "real" Anne Burrell so I am okay with it. The amount of salt was astonishing. Watching someone who obviously knows what they're doing and who isn't a nitwit or a glamour girl was just fabulous.

And I made the bolognese sauce last night. It didn't get done 'til nearly 9:30 p.m. but it is fabulous! I browned the crap out of it at every stage. (Also I removed some of the grease from the pan after browning the ground chuck even though Anne had not done that -- it was just a leetle greasy-looking for my taste.)

It made a truckload of sauce, so any of y'all who want to come over for dinner tonight, come on.

[Sumik]

I really enjoyed this show - watched it and immediately created a season pass for it. And I thought - if they've got people like Anne in their sights already - why bother with the trainwreck that is NFNS?

I also thought that she is to salt what Paula Deen is to butter. (We'll see how much salt she uses in future episodes.)

[Paxton]

I didn't feel like I really learned much. I already knew most of what she said, and I'm just a home cook who reads a lot of cookbooks. I don't even eat poached eggs but I knew to put vinegar in the water. And I knew that copious amounts of fat and salt are some key reasons why restaurant food tastes better. I do think it never hurts to stress to people that patience in the kitchen is necessary. Some things just take a long time to cook, period.

I thought that during the segment where she was adding things to the sauce that every time they played music it sounded like slot machine music.

I'm not crazy about her, but if she's making something that sounds good I'll tune in. She's definitely qualified, although you can add me to the list of those turned off by the "brown the crap out of" comment. Still, my tolerance for quirks is pretty high if I like the food being cooked and I'm at least interested enough to give her another chance.

[Rickster]

I didn't feel like I really learned much

I agreen especially for a show labeled secrets of a restaurant chef. I did learn to use a huge amount of salt, chop the veggies in a processor rather than by hand and brown them more than I normally would have.

Edited by Rickster, Jun 30, 2008 @ 11:18 AM.

[CGov]

Hasn't Guy Fee-Eddy enough on his plate without Food Netquirk puttng him in drag?

Snorfle. I actually liked that she looked to be a normal sized person, and didn't have random body parts hanging out on the set, but she was a bit frenetic for my taste as well. But I am grateful that it was a show about cooking, and technique. Could it possibly be that the Food Network is.... shifting back to cooking shows?

Gasp.

[larapu2000]

Now, I don't care about people's appearances, but the Food Network needs to pop for a stylist for this woman for future shows. Her Farrah hair was so distracting that I couldn't pay attention to her cooking.