TV Chefs & Cooks

Jellybaby1

I am actually enjoying watching Rachel Allen Cake Diaries mainly because it is just simple baking and is just easy telly to watch unlike some TV chefs who are hyper all the time and they make me tense! Even though Rachel has a more calming effect, I'm not a big fan of her 'amazing' this and that, after all, its just cake! However, that beetroot cake did seem a bit daft, it takes ages to soften beetroot and after that I just couldn't be bothered baking with it. I did make her chocolate cheesecake brownie and although everyone said it tasted gorgeous I do take issue with Rachel for saying beat the cream cheese mixture for a couple of minutes. When I made it the cream cheese went very liquidy at first so I kept beating and finally it did thicken up, but that was after about 15 minutes! Maybe it was the brand I used. Has anyone else tried that recipe, if so, how did it work out for you?

Also, I'm just loving the Great British Bake off. Go Brendan!

Dizzyblonde

I haven't made that recipe, but did you use low fat cream cheese by any chance? That's always more liquidy than full-fat and doesn't thicken the same.

Faith

Generally speaking, you should always use full-fat Philadelphia. Other brands tend to be too watery. Also, it should be cold before using.

Jellybaby1

I wouldn't have bought low fat for baking but just in case I just checked the second pack now in my fridge (I had bought two). Its 'Full Fat Rich & Creamy Soft Cheese' and its a cheapie one from either Aldi or Lidl can't remember which. Ok so, maybe its not as good as Philadelphia but it does say 'full fat'. The 'typical value per 100g' is '25.1g of which saturates 16.0g'. I've no idea if Philadelphia is a higher rate. Anyway, I'm going to give it another go with this second pack as the brownies did turn out gorgeous, but will try the Philly for the next time. Thanks for the suggestions.

Sigma Force

I'll watch Rachel Allen (with gritted teeth) because some of her ideas are good but she drives me nuts and I'd never pay out for anything to do with her.

But The great British bake off is deffo one of my faves..although found it annoying that despite them having a biscuit episode there wasn't much biscuit going on.

Nigella is one of my faves, she can be a bit ott as well but I've never made a Nigella recipe that hasn't worked out..oops ok I think maybe one but that's out of loads think it was a flourless cake more down to me than the recipe but the majority of her recipes are fool proof and they taste good.

I like Jaime Olivers recipes but the ones I've made..at least some of them..actually tasted a bit bleah.

Nigel Slater is great for practical stuff as well.

Can't stand that Eric Landlard uuurrrgh.

Hairy Bikers..a bit old fashioned but some of their recipes are pretty good.

Youtube chefs like Nikos kitchen is pretty cool. Hate Betty Crocket youtube vids though Betty Crocker ingredients taste like sh1t. Pardon my French.

Jellybaby1

I know baking has become very trendy but I'm from an age when everyone baked and it was quite shocking to turn up at someone's house with a bought :eek: cake! In fact in my circle of (elderly) friends, it still is frowned upon. I too get very irritated at how the TV cooks over describe simple cakes and also over-embellish. It seems to me that everything has been tried and they still try to be inventive with 'new' flavours, like chocolate and chilli, for the love of God, NO! They need to take a chillax pill! All my 'umble opinion mind.

Sigma Force, we've made Nigella's flourless chocolate brownies and they turned out fine. The only problem is the recipe makes a small trybake and there is never enough for this family.

I sometimes watch Eric Lanlard. When he's finished baking he places the cake in his shop window, like its the Holy Grail, and I never have yet seen the price tag on any of them! I could bake the majority of what he does. All this rabbiting on about technique, it's really just knowledge, anyone can acquire it if they are interested.

Don't go for Jamie too much. I've been watching an Aussie Youtube cook 'One Pot Chef' and the odd recipe is interesting because its simple and all in one pot/bowl, but beware, everything he does is majorly calorific!

I always loved Delia Smith for sensible cooking. I have her three part cookery course which has all sorts of sensible information and advice. I used to watch Jenny Bristow until she said 'take your chicken fillet, DO NOT cut this little strip from the fillet, use it, it is delicious'. For crying out loud, it's just part of the fillet and no more delicious than the rest of the chicken breast. I gave her up after that. They do talk a lot of tosh!

Dizzyblonde

Jellybaby1 wrote: »

I know baking has become very trendy but I'm from an age when everyone baked and it was quite shocking to turn up at someone's house with a bought :eek: cake! In fact in my circle of (elderly) friends, it still is frowned upon. I too get very irritated at how the TV cooks over describe simple cakes and also over-embellish. It seems to me that everything has been tried and they still try to be inventive with 'new' flavours, like chocolate and chilli, for the love of God, NO! They need to take a chillax pill! All my 'umble opinion mind.

Sigma Force, we've made Nigella's flourless chocolate brownies and they turned out fine. The only problem is the recipe makes a small trybake and there is never enough for this family.

I sometimes watch Eric Lanlard. When he's finished baking he places the cake in his shop window, like its the Holy Grail, and I never have yet seen the price tag on any of them! I could bake the majority of what he does. All this rabbiting on about technique, it's really just knowledge, anyone can acquire it if they are interested.

Don't go for Jamie too much. I've been watching an Aussie Youtube cook 'One Pot Chef' and the odd recipe is interesting because its simple and all in one pot/bowl, but beware, everything he does is majorly calorific!

I always loved Delia Smith for sensible cooking. I have her three part cookery course which has all sorts of sensible information and advice. I used to watch Jenny Bristow until she said 'take your chicken fillet, DO NOT cut this little strip from the fillet, use it, it is delicious'. For crying out loud, it's just part of the fillet and no more delicious than the rest of the chicken breast. I gave her up after that. They do talk a lot of tosh!

I'm not elderly just yet but I'm an old-fashioned cook-for-you-family baker too and I hate the way modern tv cooks think they've invented it.

Cooking in general's gone a bit over-complicated in my opinion, and I agree - you can't beat Delia

Jellybaby1

Dizzyblonde wrote: »

I'm not elderly just yet but I'm an old-fashioned cook-for-you-family baker too and I hate the way modern tv cooks think they've invented it.

Cooking in general's gone a bit over-complicated in my opinion, and I agree - you can't beat Delia

Ah! You are my soul-mate on cookery!

lazy girl

Nigella is my favourite!

cofy

I would love to see Catherine Layden demonstrating Rachel Allen's recipes. I love Catherines no nonsense approach to baking, but Rachel Allens recipes are really lovely, but all the "uuummms and ahhhhs" drives me mad.

Jellybaby1

I record almost everything I watch these days, to avoid all the adverts. Last week I got very irritated again by Rachel telling me to be amazed at everything. The glossiness of the chocolate mixture did not particularly amaze me, it looked as I expected it should look. I don't worship food, nor the people who prepare it and I ended up muting the TV. Then I watched Eric Lanlard who made the same Chocolate & Cheesecake Brownies as Rachel did a couple of weeks before - the coincidence did amaze me! Anyway Rachel's brownies were lovely, now I have to try Eric's recipe as it is slightly different. To be fair Rachel is brilliant but the presentation is not nice. I watched Nigel Slater this week and his performance to camera was easier to take. If Rachel just got on with it without all the hoo-hah, it would be perfect.

LimeFruitGum

I heart Nigel too. I've baked two of his sponges and they've been spot-on. I usually just bake bread, but I have started to try my hand with cakes recently on special request from my bf And maybe I was spurred on by Paul Hollywood a little bit

Jellybaby1

Paul Hollywood is quite the bread magician! I don't bake bread as we are not big bread eaters.

janmaree

I know this thread goes back a little while but I had to add my two cents worth on Rachel's baking shows. She does tend to gush a bit but I can live with that, what does annoy me is how she handled the Angel Food Cake on her show very recently. This is a long time family favourite going back decades, literally, we know how to make it from scratch. Perhaps she adapted it for some reason but it certainly isn't an Angel Food as far as we're concerned. It's a bit fiddly because it needs "cake flour", not available here but substituting a mix of flour and cornflour is easy and it's better baked in the right tin but is worth the effort. It's a light, sweet, vanilla scented, perfect dessert with fresh fruit and cream. Why mess with something so simple, seems like dumbing down to me. Otherwise, I enjoy watching her, not listening, but watching! BTW, as far as I can remember, I posted my Angel Food Recipe some time back, should come up with a quick search if anyone is interested.

"Talk" soon.