On any given day at Albany High, at least one person is celebrating their birthday and chances are someone has brought them some homemade cookies, cupcakes or a cake to celebrate. Personally, I never get sick of Betty Crocker Chocolate Fudge cupcakes slathered with Duncan Hines Classic Vanilla frosting, but if you want some inspiration for your next culinary endeavor, check out some new cooking shows. Our local PBS station, KQED, features fun and helpful cooking and home improvement shows all day on Saturdays. Some of my personal favorites include Jacques Pépin: More Fast Food My Way, Everyday Food, Lydia’s Family Table, Martin Yan’s China and America’s Test Kitchen.
Jacques Pépin, who has been on the air forever, has a very relaxed show where he features a variety of cuisines prepared with local ingredients. Pépin’s most recent show, More Fast Food My Way, has modest dishes you might make at home or for a dinner party. Plus his French accent is so cute!
Everyday Food, a television spin-off of the Martha Stewart magazine of the same name also focuses on dishes you can make at home in just a few simple steps. Whatever you may think about Martha Stewart, this show really is great. I’ve made a few of their cookie recipes and they were easy to make and delicious to eat.
Lidia Bastianich has also been on PBS forever. She consistently makes mouthwatering Italian food on her show and makes you wish you could be eating the homemade gnocchi right through the television set. Whenever I watch this show I wish I had a big Italian family.
My family and I don’t usually cook Chinese food, however I love watching Martin Yan’s China. Yan is always entertaining to watch and can do wonders with his cleaver. The show often includes segments about food and culture in different regions of China that are fascinating. Additionally the theme song is very catchy.
For all of you who are food nerds like me, there is America’s Test Kitchen. This show often starts with the sometimes very awkward Chris Kimball showing viewers some terrible versions of a classic recipe, lasagna for example. Then one of the Test Kitchen Chefs will prepare their perfected version of lasagna, explaining all the reasoning behind recipe. The show also includes Adam Reid in the Equipment Corner and the Jack Bishop in the Tasting Lab, both of which are like Consumer Reports, but on TV—awesome!
So whether you want to make some classic cupcakes or surprise your family with a special dinner, these shows are a great place to start. You can also check out all the KQED cooking shows online at: http://www.kqed.org/food/
