A few weeks ago, I tried to drum up some viewers for several lesser-known cooking series - Vivian Howard's A Chef's Life (PBS), Frank Pinello's The Pizza Show (Viceland), and Nadiya Hussain's The Big Family Cooking Showdown (Netflix).
Shortly after posting, I realized that I had forgotten one of our favorites - Pati Jinich of Pati's Mexican Table! (Mr. Plow and I, we watch a lot of food-related television.) So...here's quick introduction to Pati, if you don't already know her, and a couple of additional suggestions if you're looking for something new and entertaining to watch.
Pati's Mexican Table - PBS and Amazon Prime
I discovered Pati's Mexican Table completely by accident one Saturday afternoon when I was scrolling through the guide looking for something to watch. "Mexican" and "Table" stood out, so I clicked over. Pati was making Mac-n-Cheese Mexicano and I was instantly hooked.
Pati Jinich is a fascinating lady: Mexican (and Jewish!) by birth, she studied political policy at Georgetown and worked in policy research before devoting herself full-time to cooking.
The show has evolved over time. The first two seasons appear to have been taped on a set; there are clunky graphics and the sound mixing is odd. The more recent seasons, however, represent a true upgrade in production quality - and the series has been rewarded with both Daytime Emmy and James Beard nominations. Most episodes begin with a trip to Mexico where Pati explores regional cuisines and cultures. She then returns home to her beautiful kitchen to prepare her versions of the dishes she had sampled in Mexico.
In addition to being a seasoned chef and an award-winning cookbook author (Mr. Plow prepared the delicious Chicken Tinga recipe from her first book, also called Pati's Mexican Table), Pati is also a devoted mother to three sons (Alan, Sami, and Juju) who often join her in her travels and in the kitchen to both cook and eat.
Tune in - I guarantee that you will also want to try out her fabulous recipes. (I'm still holding out hope that Mr. Plow will surprise me one morning with her Cazuela de Huevos Rancheros - Baked Egg Casserole.)
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Two other shows for your consideration are Baked in Vermont (Food Network) and Nailed It! (Netflix).
Baked in Vermont (another accidental find because it had "Vermont" in the title), stars Gesine Bullock-Prado, owner of the Sugar Glider Kitchen baking school in Hartford, Vermont. [Note #1: She's also Sandra Bullock's sister, which becomes more apparent the longer you watch!] [Note #2: it's possible that Mr. Plow, our friend J, Esq., and I tried to find her house during our trip to Vermont last February. We were not successful.] Season 1, a limited run of only six episodes, featured several spectacular dishes both sweet and savory; in Episode 6 ("Cider Brunch"), for example, Gesine prepared English muffins, apple cider donuts, and an apple slab pie! Seasons 2 debuts on May 5, so set your DVR!
I have to admit that I did not love the first episode of Nailed It!, but I have come around to its charms. The show, hosted by comedian Nicole Byer, invites home bakers to attempt to recreate the creative masterpieces of professional bakers - in a studio kitchen in a ridiculously short amount of time. The title becomes ironic because the amateurs never really "nail it." Instead they produce laughably terribly versions of the target, giving the show a somewhat satirical edge that suggests that maybe over-the-top cakes are ridiculous in-and-of themselves. You won't necessarily pick up any new recipes from watching Nailed It!, but you will likely laugh at the resulting baked disasters.
Shortly after posting, I realized that I had forgotten one of our favorites - Pati Jinich of Pati's Mexican Table! (Mr. Plow and I, we watch a lot of food-related television.) So...here's quick introduction to Pati, if you don't already know her, and a couple of additional suggestions if you're looking for something new and entertaining to watch.
Pati's Mexican Table - PBS and Amazon Prime
Pati Jinich is a fascinating lady: Mexican (and Jewish!) by birth, she studied political policy at Georgetown and worked in policy research before devoting herself full-time to cooking.
The show has evolved over time. The first two seasons appear to have been taped on a set; there are clunky graphics and the sound mixing is odd. The more recent seasons, however, represent a true upgrade in production quality - and the series has been rewarded with both Daytime Emmy and James Beard nominations. Most episodes begin with a trip to Mexico where Pati explores regional cuisines and cultures. She then returns home to her beautiful kitchen to prepare her versions of the dishes she had sampled in Mexico.
In addition to being a seasoned chef and an award-winning cookbook author (Mr. Plow prepared the delicious Chicken Tinga recipe from her first book, also called Pati's Mexican Table), Pati is also a devoted mother to three sons (Alan, Sami, and Juju) who often join her in her travels and in the kitchen to both cook and eat.Tune in - I guarantee that you will also want to try out her fabulous recipes. (I'm still holding out hope that Mr. Plow will surprise me one morning with her Cazuela de Huevos Rancheros - Baked Egg Casserole.)
***
Two other shows for your consideration are Baked in Vermont (Food Network) and Nailed It! (Netflix).
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