The Food Network, founded in 1993 air programs episodes and specials that revolve around food and cooking. It is extremely popular, being viewed by over 90 million households. It is available in several international countries as well thanks to satellite TV.
The Food Network is divided into two main areas, Food Network in the Kitchen and Food Network Nighttime.
Food Network in the Kitchen
” Aired weekday afternoons and weekend mornings
” Features instructional cooking programs
Food Network Nighttime
” The history and knowledge of food
” Travel programs
” Cooking competitions
” Entertainment programs
The Food Network featured well-known personalities that host programs in both areas, including Mario Batali, Emeril Lagasse, Alton Brown, Tyler Florence Rachel Ray and Bobby Flay. Some of the program specials show these personalities presenting food concepts while on working vacations or working together in theme events.
Iron Chef
One of the favorites aired over The Food Network is Iron Chef of America. This is a series based on the Japanese Fuji Televsion’s Iron Chef. It is based on the game show concept where in each new episode a new chef challenges one of the resident chefs in a culinary battle that lasts for one hour using a theme ingredient. Batali and Flay are frequent contenders, along with Cat Cora, the only woman Iron Chef.
Rachel Ray
Rachel Ray has gained a huge following for her 30 Minute Meals and $40 a Day programs. In each episode of $40 a Day, Ray undertakes a mini-vacation to an American or European city with 40 U.S. bucks in her pocket to spend on food. She talks to locals wherever she goes and gets recommendations for places to get 3 good meals and an after dinner snack on her small budget.
Good Eats
Alton Brown entertains his Good Eats audience with a mixture of science, cooking and humor. Brown has been compared to the likes of science educators, Mr. Wizard and Bill Nye as he explores the science behind the culinary arts. The show which can be seen via a satellite tv service also focuses on choosing the best appliances and inexpensive tools to get the most out of a cooking experience.
Satellite Television
Without the invention of satellite television The Food Networks popularity will be much less than it currently is and thanks to Satellite TV viewers from around the world can view The Food Network.
Food Network Overview
Proper Food and Wine Pairings
Wine and food should be paired together to bring out the best qualities of both the wine and food. However if a food and wine are paired incorrectly it will create a very unfavorable quality in either the food or wine. Different unfavorable qualities could include but are not limited to bitterness, overly sweet, overly alcohol flavored or metallic.
There are ways to help avoid an incorrect food and wine pairing. Anytime you pair a food and wine together they should contain similar characteristics. For instance a flavorful red wine would be well paired with a thick flavorful porter because both have very strong flavors. You should avoid mixing and pairing food and wines that have dissimilar characteristics. For instance pairing a sweet wine with a steak would create a much undesired effect. Food and wine pairings that are of dissimilar characteristics will cause the meal and wine both to be an unjoyess experience.
Wine can add a brand new element to a dish if paired properly. If you were to take a butter and garlic sauce and pour it over chicken and have that with a glass of any wine that has a citrus taste to it would accent and highlight the flavor of the herb with citrus creating an absolutely delightful meal. Always when pairing wine and food try to find a way to mesh the individual flavors together and make a dish that compliments the wine or vice versa.
Don’t forget a few general rules before you go off and start prepping new meals for your wines. Combine wines that have a high alcohol flavor with dishes like barbequed meats and other dishes that have a high flavor range. If a wine is paired with a dish that has a light flavor or taste then the wine will over power the dish and at that point your dinner may as well had been the glass of wine because that’s all you’ll taste. Wines high in tannin are paired well with foods high in protein or salt content but would not go well with spicy or sweet foods. When choosing a dessert wine try to avoid mixing a very sweet wine with a very sweet food as it will ruin the experience. Rather pair a mildly sweet wine with a moderate sweet dessert or vice versa to avoid over sweetening your taste buds.
Always remember your taste buds when choosing what to eat and drink in a food and wine pairing. When you sit down to take a sip of wine or bite of food it’s your taste buds that will either be in heaven or hell not mine. So just remember while taking advice is helpful if there is a wine you hate then don’t drink it try something else. Make sure to smell and taste the wine and learn about different wines on your own as this will help you figure out better food and wine pairings.
The New Food Network
This refers to the poison Food Network, the network indirectly responsible for almost all that ails us. If you acquiesced a few weeks ago, believing you’re going to gain weight this holiday season – regardless – you’re probably right. Man, they’ve got it wired.
If you are not eating organic, as much as possible, you’re in trouble. In the early eighties, the buzz was just starting regarding genetically modified foods, (the new Food Network), and whether we would know the difference. Fast forward to today: almost every product in every store has some sort of “modification”, as though nature needed an improvement. Aren’t bananas just the perfect fruit, complete with their own carrying cases? Did it need “adjusting”? All for profit.
Problem is, no one knows the effect of all of this tampering. I can see one clearly; everyone seems to be getting fat. It’s so easy. Corn, which has become a primary ingredient in darn near everything, has been modified to contain so much sugar and starch, you can hardly eat it. Corn on the cob tastes like powder. The poison Food Network produces isles and isles of empty calories at your local market.
It also produces high fructose corn syrup, which has been identified as the main culprit in the “bottomless pit” syndrome (your stomach). Your brain never gets the message “we’re full – stop eating”. Your body is still waiting on something, anything it can use for energy. If it doesn’t get it, the message continues, “keep eating until you give me what I want!!!”
You’d be amazed at the difference when you consume a completely organic meal. No acid reflux; you are satisfied and eat normal portions, and your body goes to work, so thrilled you finally gave it something useful. And guess what? You automatically start losing weight. The old Food Network, organic food, is still giving you an option.