What’s Semi-Homemade about Sandra Lee?
I am huge fan of Food Network. This is obvious because if I wasn’t I probably wouldn’t be running this blog. However, every now and then something comes along and makes me want to switch the channel. I think the majority of the network is great. It appeals to my needs as an aspiring restaurant owner and it appeals to my needs as a home cook. However, there is one show more than any other that leaves me baffled, if not semi-disgusted.
Semi-Homemade with Sandra Lee is on twice a day in the afternoon. The premise, according to the opening segment before the show begins, is that Sandra uses 70% store bought (box or packaged) ingredients and 30% fresh ingredients to make something quick and delicious, and of course, semi-homemade.
I can understand the basic idea of this. It’s something that is accessible to the home chef. The majority of the work is done for you so it should be easy. It should be something that anyone can do. However, Sandra Lee is a bothersome force on Food Network and I just can’t shake that feeling.
Every time I watch her show, I just keep wondering why what she does is any different then any other person who cooks from a box. Adding McCormick Seasoning to a steak or whipped cream to berries does not make it semi-homemade. It makes it made at home with pre-made or purchased ingredients. While she may be offering recipes, her style of cooking is not anything that most home cooks are not already aware of. In fact, I would wager that the majority of people that watch Food Network have cooked something processed at one time or another.
I always saw Food Network as a network that inspires and teaches home cooks new things. Sandra tends to reinforce bad habits. I think its great to convince people to cook, but I don’t know that I would recommend using seasoning packets instead of fresh herbs (the sodium will kill you) or buying things pre-made that are simple enough to make from scratch.
Before I learned to cook, I would buy things from the deli counter (think macaroni salad). When I brought them home I would spruce them up and say that I fixed them and made them better. This is what semi-homemade cooking reminds me of. The problem is its more semi than it is homemade.
What are your thoughts? Are there any Sandra Lee fans out there? If so, what do you like about the show?
Food TV, Semi-Homemade, Sandra Lee, Awful Cook
October 5th, 2007 at 5:16 am
Wow, I can hear the crickets chirping out there, guess she doesn’t have fans that see this post.
I wouldn’t have such a big issue with her if it wasn’t for her having alcohol in every show, and those tablescapes are awful. Not every FN cook is going to present their foods as “healthy”, but at least she’s giving options for the take out/drive thru crowd. I use shortcuts a lot in my home cooking, but FN is catering to certain segments of viewers that, well, they don’t have a clue.
October 12th, 2007 at 6:42 pm
As a stockbroker of 28 years and I am 54 I adore Sandra Lee. Just take the good and forget the bad. She reminds me of us Super Women who paved the way for all of the young women in America. I have a 32 year old Oracle Vice President Daughter in Silicon Valley and I am retired back home to my plantation on the Northshore of New Orleans after years in NYC and San Fran. Sandra is the idea person for alot of other shows….she also didn;t have the backing of her husband but by the jewish rich of NYC. I get a kick out of the people that have the time to reply such as me—-but I am retired and have earned it all. Off to Europe for my 4th trip this year. Bye!! Super Fan of Sandra who gives me ideas for my fund raisers for causes to help others.
November 7th, 2007 at 9:01 pm
[...] I know that there are a lot of you out there who don’t really care for Sandra Lee. I on the other hand am a big fan of hers, because she does exactly what I do. She makes wonderful [...]