foodtvandme.com is the unofficial food network fansite with news, reviews, and my attempts at those great recipes you see on tv.

According to an article on The Detroit News.com, Wednesday, Food Network’s quick cooking chef is stirring up more than convinent recipes.  Rachael Ray, the 30 Minute Meal star, is coming out with a new daytime talkshow produced by the talkshow queen herself, Oprah Winfrey.  The show will focus on more than just food.  Ray will also present advice about travel, relationships and pop culture.  Click here to read the entire article.

I’m not sure about this show.  I love 30 Minute Meals, but an hour long talk show with Rachael Ray might just be a bit too much.  I view her as an expert on speedy dinners, not a relationship guru.  She is already on the Food Network hours a day.  I guess for those people who, unfortunatley, do not have cable, this will be a great time to get a glimpse of this sometimes way too cheery food host.  I’ll keep my mind open until I actually see the show.

Look out Nashville! Alton Brown is coming to the Opryland Hotel  August 12th, to speak in the Guest Lecture series.  A.B. will be performing a cooking demonstration in the Delta Ballroom for $60.00 reserved seating, or $140.00 VIP.  Hopefully it will be something delicious like pie, and not something disgusting like this week’s squid episode.  No matter what it will be, the audience will be in for an entertaining treat.  For tickets, contact the Gaylord Opryland Resort at 1-800-OPRY-872.

Here is my attempt at one of Food Network’s recipes.  This week’s recipe comes from tonight’s 30 Minute Meals and is Grilled Baby Vegetables.

Ingredients: 6 baby zucchini, half an eggplant (the original called for baby eggplant, but I couldn’t find any of those), 6 baby portobellos (the original had 12, but that was way too many veggies for just me), 1/2 a lemon, 2 tsps Dijon mustard, 2 tsps Grill Seasoning, 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce, 1 garlic clove, 3 tbsps extra virgin olive oil.

I cut the vegetables into the pieces that made the most sense (the best way they would fit on my grill pan.)  I left the mushrooms whole, although in hind sight it would have been better to cut the stems off.  I then combined the dressing ingredients, as Rachael Ray did on her show.  I released some stress while crushing the garlic, then tossed all the vegtables in the bowl with the dressing.  Then I grilled it.  It was easy, but the vegetables smoked a lot.  I was a little worried that I might set off the smoke detector.  Make sure you turn on the fan. 

This dish was good and suprisingly tasty.  The only thing I didn’t like was the eggplant.  I knew this might be a problem going in as I’m not that big of a fan of eggplant, but they looked pretty so I gave them a whirl.  I still didn’t like them, but the rest of the veggies were delicious.  I had a ton left over and plan on turning it into a delicious soup, minus the eggplant. 

I give this recipe a 7 on a scale of 1 to 10.  (I was lenient since it was healthy.  It’s a good way to eat veggies, but I’d rather have pilaf as a side dish any day.)

Many of the shows on the Food Network are taped on sound stages in fake kitchens, but reality is key for Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa.  Her shows are taped in her actual kitchen in East Hampton, New York, with her real friends and colleagues.  When I watch the show, I get a feeling that I am getting a glimpse into this classy chef’s life.  It makes me long for cultured friends who bring me beautiful bouquets and expensive olive oil.  I guess I’ll just have to settle for friends who bring me homemade biscotti, which is almost as good. 

In today’s episode at 5:00pm (4:00pm central), Ina stocks the fridge of one of her friends that is running an errand for her over the weekend.  She’s making comfort food that will be easily heated for cooking-challenged beginners, like myself.  I’m looking forward to this one.  Hey Ina!  I’ll do some errands in exchange for food, if you’re available!