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It’s time for another big Martha Stewart cooking week block! Remember as The Martha Stewart Show is syndicated, the channel and times vary by location. (You can find your time and chcannel at the handy Martha finder here, btw.) And if you miss one and forgot to TIVO it, each show is repeated the successive evening on the Fine Living channel at 8pm Eastern. Listings below are for the original first syndicated air dates (so for FL it’s the next day).
Monday: New Orleans restaurateurs Ti Adelaide Martin and Lally Brennan prepare two cocktails, sazerac and sidecar; chef Lachlan Mackinnon-Patterson makes an Italian appetizer, frico caldo; Jimmy Bradley makes fried green beans; chef Frank Stitt prepares pickled shrimp; chef Michel Roux prepares a chocolate-raspberry tart.
Tuesday: Chef Jamie Oliver prepares squid linguine; chef Jim Botsacos of NYC’s Molyvos prepares roasted jumbo prawns; chef David Chang of Momofuku demonstrates a simple way to make salt-and-sugar pickles; chef Michelle Bernstein of Michy’s prepares heart-healthy banana-wrapped snapper; and Fabio Trabocchi cooks up grilled pork chops.
Wednesday: Martha prepares pear galette; pastry chefs Emily Luchetti, Pichet Ong, Johnny Iuzzini and Gina DePalma from Babbo prepare recipes for chocolate-caramel bread pudding, rice pudding with jasmine and coconut milk, German sable cookies and panforte.
Thursday: Amish friendship bread; chef Lidia Bastianich prepares a chocolate, hazelnut and orange torte; pastry chefs Beth Pilar and Ellen Sternau make peanut butter and chocolate ice-cream sandwiches; cook Virginia Willis prepares blackberry cobbler.
Friday: Chef Eric Ripert prepares hamachi tandoori; Everyday Baking host John Barricelli prepares single-serving pies filled with sausage and feta cheese; cookbook author Sara Foster provides three quesadilla recipes; and chef Suzanne Goin makes caramelized bread pudding.
Here’s the Next Food Network Star episode three recap video followed by my commentary … so if you didn’t catch it Sunday night and are planning to watch it during one of the repeats this week, don’t click. Otherwise, enjoy.
The show remains interesting and I am interested in the contestants. All of this is good. The judging isn’t “stupid” this week — like it’s been in the past with their “Nipa-fetish” they seem to have. Again, good. Not many complaints at all. Actually none. Yeah, if I had to rate this show this week I’d give it closer to a four-star than a three-star.
About the challenges. Good ones. What can you do with a potato. The best canvas for expression is a nearly blank canvas so the potato concept was awesome! And the “you in the jar” thing …. again, A-number-1. Not some bull stand on your head and screw up nonsense, not one of those walk across a tightrope while juggling eggs assinine exercises. We’re talking smart, rational — what did I say must happen on my review of week one? — yes, the food comes first! Bravisimo! (Note I didn’t say “bravo” as that gives folks at FN a conniption).
So about the contestants. Lisa last week showed her chops with the made mayo — whip it, girl! — ability. This week she did it again with her dressing. Aaron had two out of the park with his potato dish and his … . Adam made two good dishes and showed in both challenges he has a sense of humor and a big personality.
Kelsey sank on the first dish. I thought her second dish had merit; it was just luck of the draw (against her) that Martha Stewart has a refined palette and wouldn’t know a sloppy joe if it bit her on the ass (sorry, I like ya Martha but a food snoot is a food snoot, you can be a grand foodie without being a snoot, go get a Philly cheesesteak, girl, fix you up in no time). Jeffrey definitely earned his one-way ticket outta there.
Alas, Nipa — the revered “golden child” of the judges — apparently made a good Indian potato dish the first time around. Which was lucky for her since her brilliant “I mixed cheyenne with sugar” thing was as bad or worse than Jeffrey’s “I made seasoned salt” concept. Duh! And every one else I thought pretty much are just jammed up in the middle as neither good, nor bad, but maybe something worse: unmemorable.
Here’s the video preview of what’s happening on this week’s third episode of The Next Food Network Star on Sunday night at 10pm.
The eight remaining finalists try to stand out from the pack, as they each must create a dynamic dish using the same humble ingredient – a russet potato – and then present their dish to camera. Then they must invent an original food product, to be sampled and critiqued by 50 food buyers … and to surprise guest Martha Stewart.
If you’re not a Martha groupie, and you’re a foodie, you can go a stretch of time — between the show about nurses and the show about curtains — before she get’s back to doing “all food”. But boy oh boy when Martha Stewart does get back to food it’s often incredible, and it’s often a string of shows in a row. And that’s excatly what we’ve got this week. So be prepared to watch or get that TIVO going.
As always, in case the VCR breaks down, whatever is shown on the nationally syndicated channel during the day, the following day you can find Martha repeated in the early evening on the Fine Living channel.
Monday is “Female Italian Chef Day” with chef Odette Fada of San Domenico doing raviolo with egg yolk and truffle butter; chef Lidia Bastianich making sweet Italian sausage with fennel and olives; and chef Gina DePalma from Babbo making her Italian pastry.
Tuesday is “The Breakfast Show” featuring New Orleans restaurateurs Ti Adelaide Martin and Lally Brennan of Commander’s Palace making brandy milk punch and brandy Alexander; Riad Nasr and Lee Hanson from Manhattan’s Balthazar make brioche French toast and eggs Benedict; and chef Neil Kleinberg from Clinton Street Baking Company whips up some buttermilk biscuits.
Wednesday is “The Latin Food Show” with Michelle Bernstein of Michy’s Miami and MB in Cancun makes seafood bouillabaisse; chef Maricel Presilla creates bacon and red-cabbage relis; and Carmen Gonzalez from Lucy of Gramercy serves up pork and plantains as well as coconut milk pudding dessert.
Thursday is “The Chef Pasta Show” where Lidia Bastianich returns making Sicilian fettuccine with fresh swordfish; Mario Batali makes a traditional spaghetti recipe; Ron Suhanosky of Manhattan’s Sfoglia makes a classic carbonara; and Sal Scognamillo of Patsy’s Italian Restaurant creates a southern Italian recipe for rigatoni sorrentino.
Friday is “The Male Italian Chef Show” with Chris Bianco of Pizzeria Bianco preparing lemon focaccia; Andrew Carmellini of NYC’s A Voce makes steamed black bass with pesto; and Sardinian chef Efisio Farris creates fregula with asparagus and gorgonzola as well as pasta with ricotta and bottarga caviar.
The first three shows this week of The Martha Stewart Show are all about food. So set your dial, your VCR, your TIVO for these. And remember, if you still miss them when they’re on during the day on your local network, you can see them each repeated the following night on the Fine Living channel. Dates listed are the first run major network days.
Monday, May 19: “Everyday Food Show” - The cooks from Martha’s food show on PBS with cooks from the show - Sandy Gluck, pineapple-glazed chicken, chicken salad, Lucinda Scala Quinn, lemon parsley pork chops, Emma Feigenbaum, crab cakes, Margot Olshan, potato and onion frittata, Sarah Carey, key lime tart.
Tuesday, May 20: “Simple Suppers” - Mario Batali, pizza margherita, Harold Dieterle (who is best known as the winner of season one of Top Chef), snapper with baby bok choy, Mark Strausman, linguini, Emeril Lagasse, pork tenderloin, Joey Campanaro, roast chicken, John Barricelli (known as one of the original Everday Food cooks now with Everyday Baking), pasta lazio.
Wednesday, May 21: “Small Plates” - repared foods platter, Emeril Lagasse, shrimp remoulade salad, Elizabeth Falkner, scallops with bacon, tomato, and avocado puree, Laurent Tourondel, heirloom tomato and watermelon salad, Marcus Samuelsson, shrimp piri piri.
