I've only caught one of Sandra Lee's shows - at first I was intrigued - the vibe she had going was like a low rent Martha Stewart.

Then she proceeded to make some sort of weird bunny cake (it was an Easter show) using Sno Balls, canned frosting, jelly beans, cookies and other candy items.

While I was trying to wrap my mind around the icky sweetness of such a concoction (should one be brave enough to try it), my 5 year old wandered in, stared at the TV screen and pronounced "That's ugly". Yep.

Her lasagna recipe sounds revolting.

Rachel Ray mentions little things about her personal life on 30 minute meals and one time she said that when she met John he mentioned something he cooks and Rachel Ray was attracted to his love of cooking. I heard that John is a chef and plays in a rock band. One time she made a recipe of his on her show. Ravioli fried in butter and balsamic vinegar. Looked great. My husband cannot take her giggling either. The only thing that gets to me is that, yes, the cooking part is 30 minutes, but cleaning up afterward is another 30 minutes or more, not to mention shopping for the ingredients. Yes, Emeril is played out nowadays. I caught the first episode tonight of Party Line. The new show with the two gay guys who won their oen foos show. It was very good. The ironic thing though, is that these are supposed to be cooking shows, not entertainment shows and yet the shows that are most entertaining are the ones most of us watch. The Food Network in fact, wants their cooks to be entertaining. When they had The Next Food Network Star series on I was amazed by how difficult it is to do a cooking show, so I admire them all for their ease on camera while preparing a meal. There's a lot going on all around them that we do not see. A camera crew, a director giving them cues to break, and having to be entertaining all at the same time. I would think they will do a Rachel Ray wedding special since she seems to be the mose popular cook on the show. As far as Sandra Lee goes...I think she is talented in her tablescapes and decor abilities. The recipes are too processed for my tastes, I prefer fresh food. Has anyone noticed that her kitchen colors and decor is changed with each episode??? Happy cooking. And hoping we get to see Rachel Ray's wedding. I thought she would have it in Lake George, a beautiful place!! She is one fortunate lady to have traveled the world and have several sucessful shows at her age. She has put in a lot of hard work in the cooking area over the years, starting from working at her mom's restaurant to being a fountain girl at Howard Johnson's in Lake George and Manager of The Tea Room at The prestigious Sagamore Hotel. She has earned her success.

Madsion - Yes, I've often noticed the way that Ina looks at her husband. I just love it when she gives him a little task, and then goes into the kitchen and says something like "he's so adorable". I've read that she used to work in the White House Office of Management and Budget before establishing Barefoot Contessa in the Hamptons. Jeffery is the Dean of the Yale School of Managment.

I watch a fair amount of Food Channel - and although my husband has little interest, he has given comments from time to time. Recently, when he got a look at Sandra Lee he commented "finally a hot chick on one of these cooking shows". "Yeah, but her food is awful" I said. He seemed to think that if a woman looks hot enough, their man is willing to put up with less appitizing food. Men!

sandra is pretty, however she looks processed just like her recipes. Nothing natural about her.

I think your husband should be FORCED to eat her "home cooking" for one solid month and see how he feels at that time.

Is Rachael Ray that much younger than the other celebrity chefs? I think they are all peers, she just acts younger. They others don't rely on being cutesy.

She is 37 which is pretty close to 40!!

Madison - I fully agree with your assessment of Sandra Lee! She has kind of a pinched look.

I have made many of Ina's receipes and they come out really well every single time. I make the roasted potatoes the way she does at least once a week. I vary them with different herbs. I've also made her beef brisket. I used a tri-tip roast and it came out simply delicious! My husband ate so much I finally had to cut him off! Yeah...he can "look" at the boney girl...but for darn good food, the heavier one is generally the way to go!

You know - I have really missed Martha Stewart on Food Channel! I know she's developing some other things - a talk show and the Apprentice. But, Martha Stewart Living was really entertaining as far as I was concerned.

I miss Martha's show as well. Have you seen her two new ones? I watched Apprentice but since I don't like Donald Trump's version I knew I wouldn't like her. I have seen her new daytime show and I like it, but still like the original one better. Maybe it just takes a little getting used to.

"She is 37 which is pretty close to 40!!" Gosh, that's pretty darn old Peeky I think her days may be numbered, lol

I had no clue she was <i>that</i> old, er, immature, whatever she is.

If you're interested in seeing a truly staggering amount of anti-Sandra Lee material, I would suggest the following website:

http://forums.televisionwithoutpity....?showforum=743

I particularly like the &quot;Open Letters to Sandra Lee&quot;:

http://forums.televisionwithoutpity....iew=getnewpost

Well, I finally got curious enough to open this big thread and see who the h*** Rachel Ray is. Never heard of her, but then I don't watch much TV. I thought it was a Fodorite wedding.

So, I was staying in Montalcino that weekend. I just checked out her web site and she sure looks like the woman who brought a group of 12 in to dinner at Grappolo Blu. I thought they were on a food tour because she stood at the head of the table and explained to everyone what they were going to be eating and drinking. I really hate to think these people were her family/wedding guests!!! If it was her, yes, I thought at the time she was over the top &quot;perky&quot;, and the cameras weren't even rolling.

&quot;I'm really grateful that no actual collies were harmed in making the mango Lassie cocktail. Unless they drank it. &quot;

This was taken off the website that Jahoulih suggested we read. This is one of the mildest quotes. The word SLOP came up more than once.

My teenage daughter puts on Rachael Ray to bug me because she knows I can't stand her idiosyncratic expressions (like EVOO) and if she says &quot;yummy&quot; once more I am going to puke. No one who tells you that often how good the food is really knows how to cook - none of the other TV chefs have to constantly try to convince you the food is edible.

Our local Single A baseball team had an Emeril bobblehead night - I am now the proud owner of this lovely item. Not sure what to do with it.

What about Chris Kimball - America's Test Kitchen. Different take on cooking shows, but same daughter says she does not think he can cook (I love his magazine)

I can't believe the life this thread has! I was just at Costco today &amp; they had a huge stack of Sandra Lee books. She actually looked better on the cover than she does now. Her hair was a more &quot;natural&quot; blonde color-not so much like bleached cotton candy. Anyway, more people were buying the Williams-Sonoma cookbooks than hers.

This thread's a hoot...makes me glad I'm just a southern cook and not one with a talk show...
go ahead, diss her...Rachel's laughing all the way to the bank..in line behind Emeril and a few others..
Paula's the real deal..the accent and the cooking....For another great contemporary look at Southern cooking, read Death is No Excuse...about Southern funerals and therefore about food...I watched her show on her role in the movie Elizabethtown tonight...
Face it...There's no substitute for moah buttah...
As for almost homemade...why not just go out to eat!
And I can never figure out if the luvly Nigella's show is about food or sex...
Old enough to remember Julia...her skill and lack of pretense also the real deal...If you ever made anything by one of her recipes you were really cooking...
And last, I find it really hard to trust a skinny cook!

&quot;And last, I find it really hard to trust a skinny cook!&quot;

You got that right, but I sure wish that sweet little gal would fix me some grits one morning - if you get my drift!

I used to love the shows of Lorenza de Medici. I have some of her books and she explains the foods and why you do things a certain way in the recipe. She would never grin goofily and say mmmm. I think it makes more sense for a woman on the food channel to take the food a little seriously or maybe Ms. Medici is just another naturally sohisicated European lady. I get a little embarrassed for Ms. Ray.

I too watched Paula Deen's show on the making of Elizabethtown. Wonderful show, wonderful lady.

I have tried to be kind where Rachel Ray is concerned but today she made a recipe of stale bread cubes with tomato sauce and tomatoes poured over the top along with tons of cheese on top. How can a person that makes up recipes like this be so popular? There was nothing yummo about it. Then she made scrambled eggs with frozen peas in it. I honestly don't get it. I admire the fact she has gone as far as she has but her recipes are almost as bad as Sandra Lee's.

Sorry, Madison, I have to disagree with your comparison of Rachael Ray and Sandra Lee. I have several of Rachael's cookbooks, and she does some really great food! I've done some of her dishes, and they were yummy!

Now .... I can't imagine anybody finding Sandra Lee to be a &quot;hottie.&quot; She's all bones with those big bazoomies! Yikes ... how is that attractive???

Rachael Ray gets revenge: I went to a very nice luncheon today celebrating my last week's birthday with a friend. What does she give me as a gift? Rachael Ray's book! She said &quot;don't you just love her, she is so cute!&quot; I took a long sip of wine and said, &quot;yes she is very popular, isn't she&quot;. How was that for diplomacy?

LOL SeaUrchin!!!! OOOPS, hope your friend does not come here on Fodor's or ever uses Google : Ah, Lorenza de Medici, loved her. Wouldn't you have been thrilled to have sat down at a table at one of her dinners, I sure would have. Take good care.