I have been remiss in not posting about the journey of our friend Melissa D'Arabian on The Next Food Network Star. (Okay, I have been remiss about posting in general, I know.)
Melissa was a writing student of ours maybe 8 years ago. With her intense background in international business and her radiant personality, we knew she was going to make her mark somewhere. But who knew she was such a great cook besides?
Melissa got on the show as the only non-professional chef in the bunch. Definitely the dark horse. But she just sparkled onscreen, she was relatable (after all, if a mom of four kids under the age of 5 can cook like this, why can't I?), and most important, she took notes on her performance like the pro that she is.
We have so loved watching TNFNS these past weeks. It's rivaled So You Think You Can Dance as our fave show of the summer (and that's saying a lot!). Neither of my kids would miss TNFNS, and Sabrina watches the Tivoed episodes over and over. Even Cory has started talking about how we should be watching other Food Network shows. And when they did their tribute show to Julia Child the other week, Sabrina pulled out my old copy of Mastering the Art of French Cooking and started musing about what she should learn to cook.
(Maybe this isn't all that surprising. After all, when Sabrina's graduating class was asked last spring what their favorite TV shows were, about 1/3 were on the Food Network. Who knew?! But I was surprised...)
Well, last night was the finale... and Melissa won! I absolutely *loved* the recipe she did as her demo show: "4-step chicken," adaptable to whatever you've got in your pantry. (1) Dredge and sauté the meat. (2) Cook the "aromatics" -- onions, garlic, other veggies, etc. (3) Add liquid and reduce the sauce down. (4) Finish the sauce with a pat of butter. And you can use whatever meat, whatever veggies, whatever liquid...
What a great idea, and beautifully presented! (I saw it onscreen for all of 3 minutes, and remembered it!) As it turned out, in a prescient homage to Melissa's win, I actually made a version of "4-step chicken" last night for dinner: I dredged the chicken in smashed cereal, Parmesan and spices, my aromatics were onions and mushrooms, and I used melted butter and leftover-bottom-of-the-bottle wine as my sauce.
Melissa's new show premieres next Sunday: Ten Dollar Dinners with Melissa D'Arabian, 12:30 (11:30 central) p.m. on the Food Network. I'm setting my TiVo now! You all should do the same!
Congratulations, Melissa!
4 comments:
Thank you for the name of her show--I wanted to find it but didn't know the name. Melissa was my favorite from the first night, so I was happy she won, too.
Yay, Melissa! We loved her too but we also liked Jeffrey. Yet on the finale I saw her humility and kindness come through and I wasn't seeing that much from him, which made me switch my vote to her.
If you're interested in this stuff, you have to read Michael Pollan's piece about food and TV from NY Mag on Sunday:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/02/magazine/02cooking-t.html
And how great is it that your daughter wants to learn from Julia Child! Maybe you can sign her up for a few cooking classes - we need more kids who turn into adults who can cook.
One more thing -- is Melissa pregnant? Over the last few episodes it looked like she was in some shots but not others. It was never mentioned so I wasn't sure if they were trying to hide it or if maybe it was just a little leftover pooch from having 4 babies recently.
Saw her first aired show from last week. Pretty good for a first effort, I only spotted a few moments of hesitation/confusion but they were fleeting. (Watch some of the first Essence of Emeril shows to see how far he has come!
Her show is more like Barefoot Contessa and less Rachael Ray, which is fine by me. I like that style more. It's made my DRV like Secrets of a Restaurant Chef.
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