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!

Hoping to find some of Rachael Ray’s colorful bowls in stores?  Good luck!  Most of her G.B.s (garbage bowls) and other mixing bowls are vintage Metlox bowls and can be found on eBay and antique stores.  Her yellow oven is a vintage Chambers oven circa 1950 model 90c which can also be found on eBay.  I found a red one for about $1,500.  I, personally, would love to see her come out with her own line of cookware.  She does have some knives that you can purchase through foodnetwork.com, but I would rather be able to find her funky kitchen wear in a store. Who has the time to search eBay for cookwear?  I’d rather find my pots and pans at Walmart, even if it isn’t as colorful.  At least it’s easy to find.

Popcorn lovers beware!  This weekend the Food Network Challenge will be at Disneyland in Anaheim, August 6th, to make a pass at the world record for the tallest popcorn sculpture.  The current record, according to the Guiness World Records website, was made in Stirling,UK, and unveiled October 3, 2003.  The sculpture was in the shape of Godzilla and commemorated the 65th anniversary of the Allan Park Cinema.  It was 16 ft. 0.5 in. (4.89 m) tall.  Feel free to come cheer on the current attempt during the live taping.

If you love Alton Brown like I do, then you probably caught the premiere of his new show, Feasting on Asphalt.  In his new food venture, Alton is on a cross country trek eating his way from South Carolina to California.  He is sticking to “road food,” only eating at places that hungry travelers would find by stumbling upon it.  No national chains allowed, no whinning, and if need be, all crew must fend for themselves in the wild. 

In the premiere episode, we first had the pleasure of watching Alton feast on delicious hot dogs poached and smothered in melted butter.  This was a appetizing tip that I am determined to try the next time I make hot dogs.  Hours later, the now starving Alton came across a closed diner where he was planning on having his next meal.  He winded up buying a pickled pig’s foot from a non name brand mini mart and sinking his teeth in.  At this point I was grateful that I’d eaten hours ago, or it might have made me sick.  A.B. didn’t seem to enjoy it very much either, but his loss of appetite carried him throught the next moring.  They then found a delicious little biscuit sandwich place, that look very appealing.

While Good Eats is by far a better show, I still found the motorcycle riding Alton amusing to watch.  I recommend trying this one out at least once, if only to see Alton attempt to stomach something else pickled.  Feasting on Asphalt is on Saturday nights at 9pm.