Rachael Ray Cookbooks

[Raquelita]

I have two of her cookbooks - 30 Minute Meals 2 and Cooking Round the Clock. Before I had to go dairy/soy-free, we used her 30 min meals cookbook all the time - there are so many good recipes in there! I especially like the "Passport" international themed dinners.

Cooking round the clock has good recipes too, I just haven't used it as much.

[shannone]

I have 30 Minute Meals cookbook. I love this cookbook and use it on a regular basis. She is one of my favorites on the Food Network.

[Twinmama]

I have one called meals on the go or something? Basically where the recipes are ones you can make mostly with things you already have and would just need to run through the grocery to pick up one or two things to do the whole recipe.

It's pretty good. I don't love it, but there are some recipes in there I've made as "repeats," so that would classify it as a success in this house.

[lcsamano]

I love rachel Ray. She has a new cookbook out for children. I am thinking about purchasing it for my children for Christmas. Has anyone else purchsed this book? If so can you tell me whether it is worth it or not. I know that her other receipe books are all great.

[jglass]

I recently got Just In Time.
I have not tried any of the recipes yet. Most of them call for fresh basil so I am waiting til I have some from our garden. Our local grocery does not carry fresh herbs.

[Jafo232]

I am probably one of the few who doesn't care much for her recipes. She made Chicken Riggies in a way that made me laugh. I grew up near Utica NY, (where Riggies came from) and what she made was not it.

I am not sure if it is the forced bubbly personality she tries to show off, or the fact that she seems to think all meals need to be done in 30 minutes that annoys me the most. I think it is just the general "poserness" of her that does it.

I think the only thing she has ever really done for my cooking ability is to shorten Extra Virgin Olive Oil down to EVOO in my recipes.

[KYHeirloomer]

No, Jafo, you're not one of the few. There are thousands of us who can hardly tolerate her. In fact, there's at least one Rachael bashing website that sees lots of activity.

Small doses of her bubbly, 40 going on 14 personality are more than enough. Plus she's changed her cooking approach. I don't mind the 30-minute meal thing so much (although you're right---not everything, indeed, most good things, can't be rushed) as I do her new view of ingredients. More and more she's turning into Sandra Lee, with boxed, canned, and pre-made products as mainstays.

If you want to use boxed chicken stock because it's convenient, that's fine. But don't try and pass it off as being as good as my home-made, cuz it ain't by a longshot.

I was most amused by her last special, in which she showed us how to cook gourmet meals for our pets. Huh? Let's see: We use convenience products, and force everything into 30 minutes because we don't have time for real cooking, but then we can spend all that time cooking for our dogs. Gimme a break!!

And it's not just Rachael. More and more there is less and less worth seeing on the Food Network. Once food stops being the star there is little left.

Have you heard the promo for their newest non-cooking show? Cooking For Real, or some such. The host is introduced as being a real Air Force vet, a real DJ, and a real lover of food. Yeah, right. And this qualifies her for a cooking show how?

[jglass]

Maybe they are trying to reassure people that they actually checked this girls resume and she is not another Jag or Robert Irvine. They have been made fools of twice already.
I hate the dumb names Rachael Ray comes up with for her recipes. I flipped through Just In Time and only saw a couple recipes I would even want to try.

[Jafo232]

I agree, the Food Network lately has just had some dopey episodes. Not only that, but they constantly show repeats. You may get one new show a day, if your lucky.

To top it off they don't seem to care about seasonal cooking any more. You would think that a week or two before St. Patty's day this year, they would have had a few shows dedicated to Irish classic and new cuisine. Nope, all they had was the Alton Brown "Corning the Beef" from 3 years ago (shown 2 days before the holiday making it useless since his recipe takes 4 days) and an old episode of Bobby Flay going to Ireland on a trip.

Sheesh..

[KYHeirloomer]

A three-year old repeat is kind of a new show for them, lately. Check out how many of their shows have 2002 and 2003 copyright dates.

And, of course, there are the original Iron Chef episodes going back to 1995.

And then they wonder why nobody is watching, anymore.

I've been wondering when they're going to can Barefoot Contessa. After all, while Ina Garten knows how to cook, she isn't a size 4 with exposed breasts.