So different strokes for different folks. I can understand that but where oh where is the food show for people who know how to cook and are actually looking for some inspiration? A spark of creativity to fuel our passion for cooking? Gone, gone, gone. I turn to blogs and forums for that mostly these days.
I like Iron Chef America for inspiration, Jfain. But that's about the only FN show that does it for me. The other competition shows are, for me, either uninteresting (such as the pastry contests) or just silly (like Chopped).
I'm told that there are some good ones on the PBS channels. But our local affiliate doesn't air them, preferring the really cheap needle arts shows. We used to get Lidia, but they dropped that.
I'm not much on blogs, per se. Once you start with them they could easily use of every hour of the day. I did enjoy Leite's Culinaria, but, for no particular reason, stopped checking in there.
I find a couple of forums inspirational. For me, ChefTalk.com is the number one location. Second choice would go to the Culinarians group at Yahoogroups. I used to enjoy Epi, but you know what it's become like over there. So I don't even monitor it, let alone participate.
Taken as a whole, upscale cookbooks are really my main source of inspiration. I'm always looking at a recipe and asking myself, "what if I...."
I'm told that there are some good ones on the PBS channels. But our local affiliate doesn't air them, preferring the really cheap needle arts shows. We used to get Lidia, but they dropped that.
I'm not much on blogs, per se. Once you start with them they could easily use of every hour of the day. I did enjoy Leite's Culinaria, but, for no particular reason, stopped checking in there.
I find a couple of forums inspirational. For me, ChefTalk.com is the number one location. Second choice would go to the Culinarians group at Yahoogroups. I used to enjoy Epi, but you know what it's become like over there. So I don't even monitor it, let alone participate.
Taken as a whole, upscale cookbooks are really my main source of inspiration. I'm always looking at a recipe and asking myself, "what if I...."
Like you Brook I believe my very favorite inspiration is a great cookbook, but even better is when I visit with my customers at work and we start talking food, it is like an adrenaline injection when we get to talking food:)!!!
I like Iron Chef America but I don't seem to be able to catch it any more. I used to watch the cooking shows on PBS but our station doesn't have them anymore. Actually most of the recipes that I have tried in the last 6 months or so have been from cook books but DH thinks I have enough cookbooks and that I don't have space for anymore.
He's just too lazy to build you a new bookcase is what it is. 
Hey, I recently went through that myself. Built a floor-to-ceiling bookcase, 4-feet wide, just for the burgeoning cookbook collection. Got tired of tripping on the piles everytime I turned around.
Hey, I recently went through that myself. Built a floor-to-ceiling bookcase, 4-feet wide, just for the burgeoning cookbook collection. Got tired of tripping on the piles everytime I turned around.