42 replies to this topic

[Guido]

Anyone watching this? It's a Martha Stewart production featuring Lucinda Scala Quinn of Everyday Food from PBS. It's on the Hallmark channel right after Martha's show. Terrible title for a show but the cooking is pretty good. Her family's favorite recipes, mostly Italian. Features Lucinda and occasionally some family and/or friends. She's already had Sarah Carey, also from Everyday Food as a guest. We've also met one of her sons, Calder, who is pretty darn good looking (he's legal, so it's not quite as creepy as it might seem. Kinda.)

Not a bad show. Better than most of the crap being churned out by the Food Network these days. Simple recipes without a lot of fuss. She's done a few things already that are twists on traditional dishes that look pretty good.

[biakbiak]

I was home sick last week and caught two episodes and liked it. I do think the ep with Calder she was sort of unnecessarily nervous on his behalf so she kept repeating things over and over again and over praising him. I did make the chicken thighs and they were lovely as well as the pasta with tomatoes and basil which was also great.

[Guido]

I've caught two eps so far with Calder. One where he made a meal that he created while in college for a Valentine's Day dinner (roast chicken, hash browns and salad) and another with him and a college friend where they made burgers, Italian fries and root beer floats. The Italian fries looked amazing (garlicky potatoes with parmesan cheese? How can you not love that?) I keep a notebook to jot down recipes or ideas from cooking shows (or asinine things Sandra Lee says) and the fries are one I'm going to try.

[kathyjo27]

It's funny. I was thinking about starting a thread for this show a few days ago and it completely slipped my mind.

Anyway, I adore this show. The food looks so delicious and simple. It really is better then most of what's shown on Food Network. I'll take Lucinda Scala Quinn over Rachael Ray anyday.

I also liked her on Everyday Food.

[InnerCanuck]

The eps I've seen, I've enjoyed, but haven't made it a must-see or must-DVR. Yet...

I like Lucinda a lot, loved her on Everyday Food; this is good, straightforward cooking made simple, but not "for dummies." I have one criticism: she frequently says, "the smells coming from this pan are incredible" or the like. I'd like her to use other active & descriptive words - maybe I'll send a thesaurus!

And if that's the worst thing that can be said about her program? She's got a winner!

[calicowesley]

I've also been enjoying the show although I am not a huge fan of Lucinda's non-stop talking. I am unsure if she ever actually breathes.

Unlike most everyone on the Food Network, she actually knows what she is talking about. I've already made her beet and tomato salad (Mr. S said it was his new favorite way to eat beets) and I did the red pepper flakes in olive oil for drizzling over bean soups. I have many more recipes I want to try especially the pizzas.

HERE is her blog which has all of the recipes organized by show.

[mtngirl50]

I've been trying to convince DH to get the Hallmark channel so I can watch this. I like her on Everyday Food, so I bet this would be good too. I purchased her cookbook "Mad Hungry" last Dec, and she has some great recipes in there.

For those of you that have this channel...are there repeats of Martha's original show? I can't stand her talk show, but I really miss the old shows.

[kitty32]

When Martha moved to the Hallmark Channel the lineup was the new talk show, her daughter's talk show (Alexis & Jennifer), followed by Everday Foods, followed by Mad Hungry and then old shows -- gardening, cooking, crafts etc. But after only a week or so they changed it to Mad Hungry following the new Martha shows and dropped Everyday Food and the gardening etc. shows. I was really enjoying them, so I don't know what happened. You'd think Martha would have enough clout to get a better try out than that for a Martha-centric daytime lineup.

I like this show a lot, and always try to catch it. They rerun a second episode after the first new one, so I can usually see those I've missed. Her recipes are interesting but simple enough for the average working cook to pick up a few ingredients or make a big meal on the weekend to provide leftovers to utilize for the next week.

[whyistherumgone]

I watch this show every day, though I have to admit that I was first drawn to it for superficial reasons. The first episode I saw was the first episode her son Calder was on. I had the show on in the background as I was cleaning, and I looked up because I heard a male voice and was all "hello...". He's cute, and he's 23, which is only one year younger than me so it's totally fine. Let's just say the episodes where he shows up are my favorites. heh

But I have tried several of Lucinda's recipes, and they've all turned out great. I like her style of cooking and hosting. I'd choose her over Rachel Ray or Paula Deen any day.

[AllAboutMBTV]

Agreed, calicowesley, I wish she'd take a breath. And some of her I'll-talk-about-that-trip-to-Italy-to-fill-time-while-I'm-chopping-onions stories don't really go anywhere or add anything.

But that's a nitpick. I made her Chicken Chili, and it was pretty delish and, like most chilis, better the next day. Calder? Also pretty delish. And now I feel like a perv...

[Guido]

The chicken Milanese she made today looked pretty damn tasty. (As did Calder. Oh, inappropriate!)

I liked the pomodoro sauce but I was always led to believe you added fresh basil off heat or it turned bitter.

[Squeezel]

Why feel like a perv if you think Calder is cute? He's very, very cute -- in the same way my 20-year old son is very, very cute :) Her two other sons are cute too!

Does anyone know what brand of flatware/serveware Lucinda uses? I've seen it on Everyday Food also, but can't find any info about it. I love the shape of the spoons.

[Guido]

Some hunting on the Internet shows a couple of claims that it's called Bodum Barcelona.

[Squeezel]

Thank you Guido. I've seen Bodum French coffee presses but never flatware. I'll start my hunt...

[Guido]

This poor show, buried away on the Hallmark channel. It's too bad because it really has become my favorite cooking show. Even if she is making something I don't like, I can always pick up a few tips or tricks along the way.

My next "must try" recipe is from the snack episode where Calder showed how he turned Ramen noodles into a quick knock off of peanut noodles.

[AllAboutMBTV]

This poor show, buried away on the Hallmark channel.

Mad Hungry and PBS's America's Test Kitchen are the only cooking shows I watch regularly (or would if my local PBS station would put away the begging bowl and go back to its regular programming...). I've made a few of her dishes, and they were all good, but her son Miles' tomato/tuna pasta sauce rocks really, really hard (and freezes well, too).

I love that she has her sons on from time to time. And though Luca looks like he'd sooner die than raise his head, the camera loves Calder.

[jjj]

Like several readers here, I found this show while home sick -- and I'm very impressed with some of the recipes I saw. TOday I even recorded her banana show, to get the banana custard recipe, which is just what I'm in the mood to eat.

[Hieland Foodie]

This is one show I record every day so I can check it out after work. Love Lucinda and her very straight forward way of cooking.

[jjj]

I finally got to see the lovely Calder last week and today (spaghetti pomodoro plus spinach with lemon) and he really adds a lot to the show! It's also great to hear Lucinda talk about taking him to Italy as a baby and learning her pomodoro sauce recipe there while he ate pasta.

[Guido]

Sure, it's nice hearing Lucinda talk about her inspirations but why not a show where Calder just smiles for the camera? :)

I'd be interested in trying her fake out taquitos. I like a nice pantry meal that can come together with staples. I always have tortillas in the freezer and canned beans. And even if I don't have fresh tomatoes, I always have salsa that could be stirred in. Her refusal to use any citrus in her guacamole seemed weird. She's never been shy about using it in other dishes and I think it really adds a needed flavor to avocado.

[blakec73]

Great show.....

[SnarklePuss]

But after only a week or so they changed it to Mad Hungry following the new Martha shows and dropped Everyday Food and the gardening etc. shows.

Looks like they've shuffled things around again. Mad Hungry used to be on Mondays at 11:30 (a repeat episode after "Martha Bakes") and then Tuesdays through Fridays from 11:00-12:00 (one original episode and one repeat episode each day.) Now Mondays are the same, but they've gone to single episodes on Tuesdays through Fridays (at 11) followed by repeats of very old (PBS) episodes of Everyday Food. Today's was from 2004!

[Squeezel]

I have DVR'd episodes going back to March that I'm just now getting around to watching. Has anyone made Lucinda's banana custard from the all-banana episode? I love banana pudding and am always on the lookout for a good recipe; this was was quite different. A layer of bread crumbs on the bottom of the baking pan and mashed bananas in a custard -- with lime juice, then baked. Lucinda claimed that bananas and lime are a great combination.

Regarding cutie Calder, he "showed up" in the middle of the Jamaican beef patties ep to help roll out dough and assemble the patties. Calder's were going in the freezer, Lucinda's were to be baked right them. They came out of the oven and she set them out to cool and then started to talk about something else. Calder politely interrupted and asked if he could eat one right then. She said yes and he dug in. It may have been staged, but it was a very cute and real interplay between Mom and son. It made me smile!

Of course, Calder can show up whenever he feels like it. He's almost as cute as my son :)

[SnarklePuss]

I watched the old episode of "Everyday Food" that was on after MH today, and noticed in the introductory scenes, where they show each of the hosts, Lucinda is shown briefly with her three, much younger boys. (I think this episode was from 2004 or 2005.) They've definitely grown a lot since then!

[Squeezel]

I made the banana custard (mentioned in my earlier post). My husband, who admittedly is not a banana fan, said it was awful and needed to be thrown away. He stuffed it into the garbage disposal. Well, it wasn't that bad! I omitted the lime juice, maybe that was my mistake. I also made a banana cake (not from the all-banana show) and it was delicious, really moist.

Has anyone made the coconut bread and pineapple jam? Just watched it today - it was from a brunch episode aired in April.

[jjj]

I don't really follow Martha Stewart's Twitter, but I looked to see if she had any new shows in the works -- and saw that Lucinda Scala Quinn is busy filming "50 new Mad Hungrys" on Martha's set. According to this, they will start airing on September 26. I am perfectly happy watching the older shows right now, many of which I had never seen. Calder is in a lot of the shows they are re-running this summer, and he really is adorable.

I am watching the show where Calder makes ramen noodles withi peanut butter, and am loving his insistence that the key to successful cooking is using only one item to cook, mix, and eat his recipe. Lucinda keeps asking, "don't you want a BOWL?" throughout the mixing process, and finally, he agrees to put her portion on her own serving dish, while he eats out of the pan.

Edited by jjj, Aug 4, 2011 @ 1:23 PM.

[Cheesecake4me]

I found this show while on bedrest and I love it! I was getting tired of the Food Network. This show has recipes that are normal and people will actually eat! Love it!

I made her turkey burgers and they were very good. Turkey is a bit dry no matter what you do but she put some ricotta in there...it was a good meal!

[jjj]

Just saw the rerun of Calder's birthday dinner: "One thing I was really glad about, growing up, was that I had a mother that really cared about making us feel special on our birthdays ... it would be through lavish meals -- not expensive, but LAVISH. Like, 'I want all your friends to come over and I'm gonna COOK'" How lucky they are to appreciate each other so much! I want to try that arborio rice pilaf with "nests" of tagliatelle pasta, which looks amazing. Want some carbs with your carbs?

Edited by jjj, Aug 16, 2011 @ 2:54 PM.

[Bitter Betty]

I caught this show one day after Martha and Lucinda's story of how she came about her pomodoro sauce recipe hooked me (how her family would walk to this restaurant when they lived in Italy and they would carry a pot of pasta with this sauce back to their house because their then-2-year-old was too rambunctious to eat in the restaurant. She said when they left Italy, she walked up to that restaurant and asked the owner how to make the sauce.). I made the pasta with pomodoro sauce along with the chicken Milanese that night for dinner and it was a smashing success. I've made her "Tessie's" chicken recipe (delish!), banana milkshake (yumm!), and the pasta pomodoro along with the chicken Milanese have become a regular part of my weekly cooking repertoire. I've used the pomodoro sauce and added homemade meatballs for the best spaghetti and meatballs dinner. My hubby is a very happy man lately! :-D As to the poster who mentioned that fresh basil could turn bitter in sauce on the stove, I've followed Lucinda's directions to a T (simmer the sauce for no less then 20 and no more than 30 minutes, adding the fresh basil for the final 5 minutes of cooking and removing right after) and have had no problems with bitter basil.

[irisheyes11]

Joining the nitpick - There really aren't many things that bother me about Lucinda's show, but the few that do drive me slightly buggy...
1. The dark nail polish. First of all, it doesn't seem to "go" with her personality and style. Secondly, it just isn't attractive on someone handling food. FN micromanages to the nth degree, but I do like that the female stars wear a sheer or very neutral polish.
2. The title...what does that mean?
3. The theme music...annoying, although not nearly as annoying as Matha's trumpets or the "background" music drowning out FN's stars.
4. The kitchen. Ok, ok, I know that open shelving is all the thing, but it just ends up looking cluttered and unusable to me.

However, I really like her show overall...much better than most of FN.