http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=236x52531Husb2Sparkly (1000+ posts) Sun Jan-04-09 12:31 PM
Original message
Sandra Lee ... semi home made ...... semi stupid?
I have been watching the cooking shows this morning. Lots of faces I've never seen before.
But who is this woman? Why does she have a show?
Semi Home Made?????
Oy
hippywife (1000+ posts) Sun Jan-04-09 12:46 PM
Response to Original message
2. The Queen of Faux Food.
Oy! Is right!
lizerdbits (1000+ posts) Sun Jan-04-09 12:54 PM
Response to Original message
3. It should be called
The Can Opener and Crap in a Box show. How is semi home made just opening cans? Just because she adds a chopped onion?
The empressof all (1000+ posts) Sun Jan-04-09 01:05 PM
Response to Original message
4. I'm afraid but I'll come to her defense
There are many, many fearful of the kitchen types of people out there who will only cook if it's easy, convenient and has a clear and understandable recipe. One of Sandra Lee's gifts is to tell these folks that they can take foods that they are comfortable with (like Kraft Mac & Cheese) and turn it into something a little more adventurous and or palatable.
She serves a valid purpose on the spectrum of Cookery and I think she can actually be a pivotal figure for some in their conversion from "Can-Opener" to Cook. The table scape stuff is a little weird but over all I think she reaches out to many who are too fearful, uncreative or just downright terrified of the kitchen. I kind of don't mind her...But I do wish she'd lose the Cool Whip.
hippywife (1000+ posts) Sun Jan-04-09 01:42 PM
Response to Reply #4
5. There's some truth in that.
I remember starting out somewhat that way long ago. Not that I was afraid of the kitchen, I just didn't know any better at the time. If I hadn't started cooking to begin with, I wouldn't have expanded my horizons over time to be able to avoid the ingredients she cooks with now.
sandnsea (1000+ posts) Sun Jan-04-09 02:58 PM
Response to Reply #4
7. See, I use cool whip all the time
I don't understand people who, after taking the time to cook everything else they have to cook on any given day, want to stand there and whip cream and clean that mess up too. Makes no sense. Special occasions, fine, whip the cream. But for a midnight low-cal treat, strawberries and sugar free cool whip are perfect.
Warpy (1000+ posts) Sun Jan-04-09 03:46 PM
Response to Reply #4
11. Agreed, she's a transition from ordering in and fast food to making an attempt at doing it more cheaply and nutritiously at home.
Even with crap in a box, her stuff is more healthful than fast food.
Most non cooks will get stuck at her stage, but it beats being a non cook forever. A very few will realize there's a whole world out there past McDonald's, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut and be motivated to buy a real cookbook and start exploring it.
Rachel Ray is also a transition cook, showing rushed working people valuable shortcuts while using mostly fresh ingredients to make quick meals.
My mother was a non cook at heart who despised the job and it showed. If only there had been a Sandra Lee and a Rachel Ray on during the 50s, my own nutrition growing up would have been a lot better.
hippywife (1000+ posts) Sun Jan-04-09 03:56 PM
Response to Reply #11
13. I really don't see it as any different.
It might have been at one time, maybe back when you were a kid. But these days it really isn't, and hasn't been for probably going on 30 years now.
housewolf (1000+ posts) Sun Jan-04-09 02:46 PM
Response to Original message
6. I'll defend her too...
There are millions of folks who lead incredibly busy lives who value convenience over quality - many who just don't have the time or inspiration to "cook from scratch". "Soccer" and "hockey" moms who get home from work, need to feed their family fast and get out again to take kids to sports, etc., then when they get home need to make sure the homework is done, the kids bathed and hopefully find a little time to share and enjoy their family.
Sandra Lee presents them with ideas about how to personalize and add something special to the meals that they fix for their families. While it's not a fully creative experience, it IS an opportunity to add a bit of creativity and personalization to their kitchen efforts. It's an improvement over strictly pre-made meal for folks who don't have the time/energy/crativity/inspiration to fix a meal from scratch.
I watched her "Chefography" show when it was on the Food Network last year... she's had an incredibly tough earlier life, pulled herself up from very difficult circumstances, put herself and her sister through school, has developed creative products that resonate with busy homemakers (she started a product line using draperies and decorative hardware for room decor that was sold on (HSN, I think)), and gives back a lot to her community and her family. I was quite taken with the story of her life and give her big kudos for her efforts.
All that said... I watched her show a lot last year when I was home all the time, but don't think I was ever inspired to try any of her recipes. Her decorating skills, on the other hand, consistently awed me. But face it, I'm not of the demographic her show is targeted to. She's a queen of the "Family Cicle" crowd and if that's not you, then you probably won't be too interested in what she does.
I tend to enjoy Alton Brown, Paula Deen and Tyler Florence much more, and often take note of their recipes.
Why do television cooks have such weird names?
sandnsea (1000+ posts) Sun Jan-04-09 03:01 PM
Response to Reply #6
8. I like Tyler Florence best
His recipes and menu combos are just perfect. I never can remember whether certain dishes are his or Emeril's, but they're my two go-to's for really good cooking. Paula Deen is a ball of fun, but I never actually like her food. And Alton Brown, I don't know, by the time he's done cooking my brain is too exhausted to remember what he cooked.
hippywife (1000+ posts) Sun Jan-04-09 03:03 PM
Response to Reply #6
9. My biggest problem with her is the fact that she and her show continue to peddle the idea that stuff is really food rather than a conglomeration of chemicals made to taste like food.
Not everything I eat is healthy, I know. I like a trashy snack once in awhile, but not on a daily basis.
Gormy Cuss (1000+ posts) Sun Jan-04-09 03:40 PM
Response to Reply #9
10. Check out the quote from the NYT on her Wiki page
Critical reaction
Amanda Hesser in The New York Times writes, Lee "...seems more intent on encouraging people to create excuses for not cooking than on encouraging them to cook wholesome simple foods," concluding that "...she has produced two books in which she encourages a dislike for cooking, and gives people an excuse for feeding themselves and their families mediocre food filled with preservatives."
That and the fact that she seems to be paid by the product placement are the two reasons I don't watch her show.
hippywife (1000+ posts) Sun Jan-04-09 03:50 PM
Response to Reply #10
12. I've only seen her show a couple of times when I've been at someone else's house. I have no doubt that the people who produce that stuff are paying her handsomely to perpetuate the myth that they still produce food.
You know, I've already said that when I get around to winning the Powerball lottery and setting up a big spread of bison out here in the Sandhills of Nebraska, I'm going to hire the warped primitive as manager of the physical plant (i.e., the Tudor mansion in the middle of the Sandhills), because other than politics and humanity, the warped primitive knows what she's talking about, what she's doing.
Now I'm thinking I'll also hire Grandma to do the cooking--but unlike the sparkling husband primitive, who thinks cooks and chefs should exercise their skills as if monkeys on exhibit at a zoo, I'd just leave her alone in peace and quiet to do all that she does best.
