i love public tv - part one: cooking shows

Yeah, I'm one of those people that refuses to purchase cable. Not because I hate TV but because I LUUUURVE it. If I had cable I'd stay awake until the wee hours of the day watching all the shit shows that are aired. Don't get me wrong, I can do that with network television too, it just gets pathetic, much, much more quickly. That being said, one thing that makes me a proud digital converter box owner is all the wonderful programs that are aired on Wisconsin Public Television. These days they offer THREE different channels of public tv. I know, almost more than a nerd like me can handle.

Lidia's Italy
What's better than Italian comfort food? When a brilliant, manly looking Italian grandma is doing the cooking for you. On Lidia's Italy our hearty friend prepares amazingly caloric, carb-filled, creme topped deliciousness. Oh, and always pairs it with a bottle of Italian wine. From appetizer to dessert Lidia covers it all. She uses the freshest, local ingredients from her native Italy... makes her own gnocchi and pasta... soups from scratch... and did I mention she makes sure to pair everything with wine? She's Italian, duh. I only shudder slightly when I see her man hands all over the food and her strong jaw chewing vigorously... but the food she finally plates is delicate and rich and so very amazing looking. I would subject myself to watching her man hands tear apart food all day if it meant I could be a food taster on her show.

BBQ U. and Primal Grill
My very favorite method of cooking is to grill. In the summer, I will make every part of a meal on the grill. Meat. Veggies. Starches. The works. So, it makes sense that my favorite cooking show is all about the grill. Steven Raichlen hosts TWO on public tv... BBQ U and Primal Grill. I was first hooked on Steve's style of grilling with a pretentious twist on BBQ U. There we learn all about prepping the grill (coals, clean, lubricate), the method of indirect grilling, and the joys of smoking our grillables. From there we can apply all the skills we learn to the next show, Primal Grill. There I've watched everything from bacon wrapped elk tenderloin to pear and berry cobbler. I think one of the coolest things about his show is he is seeing all the awesome grills he gets to use. From propane to charcoal to soaked wood chips, the equipment is half the beauty.

America's Test Kitchen
Ever wondered the best way to make to make shredded barbecued pork? How about the traditional potato salad? Did you know if you mix the mayo mixture on the taters when they're still hot they will absorb the moisture and you'll have yourself dry potato salad? I learned that on another one of my favorite WPT shows, America's Test Kitchen. On this program Chris Kimball and his crew teach you the most flavorful recipes for your favorite foods. They test dozens of different ingredients, cuts of meat, methods of cooking, and types of equipment to find the best of the best for US. They even do taste tests - from mustard to coffee to chocolate to potato chips - and poll their live audience and share their opinion, because Chris' refined palate isn't always the most popular. Finally, they test cooking equipment to find the best tool for the job at the best value. This program offers more knowledge about food and cooking than any one I've ever watched before. They explain things in a straightforward, logical way and things always come out looking beautiful... well, on the show anyway. They also aired a new program recently called Cook's Country where they really focus on comfort foods. Imagine how beautiful that looks... and tastes. Mmmmm...calories.

These are just a few of the programs that make public tv amazing. In upcoming posts read about how I get handy with Kevin, Roger, Richard, and Tom. Well, I don't get handy, but some great folks get to fix and build stuff. In yet another post I bring my brother in to talk about news on public TV... yeah, like, from DC and even Great Britain. You're not even going to believe it.