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Post by Intoxicated In Cockermouth on Jun 26, 2008 19:55:08 GMT
As an avid watcher of UKTV Food (yes they do exsist) I stumbled my chance today on a programme that has just about made by year. Its called the Barefoot Contessa and is basically about a Dawn French lookalike cooking food (what else) for her friends, who at the end, all come round for a big party. In today's episode, she flashed her new cheese grating gadget, and then cooked maceroni and cheese for her bald, gay friend. It was all very Ellen in feel.
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Post by jamiek on Jun 26, 2008 23:07:16 GMT
It really is a good/rubbish show - I've seen two episodes and all I remember from that hour is her making a beef sandwich then talking as if she actually invented horseradish sauce.
Lowculture Paul is a big fan though: I think he wants to go to The Hamptons for a jeely piece with her.
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Post by Intoxicated In Cockermouth on Jun 26, 2008 23:50:53 GMT
I agree, its bad but in such a good way. The false dinner parties are a real scream though- today she actually initiated discussion about an electric cheese grater with her very urbane friends. Apparently she is the US equivalent of Nigella Lawson- the slightly less crazy alternative to Martha Stewart/ Delia "Lets Be Having You" Smith.
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Post by David on Jun 27, 2008 0:14:46 GMT
That woman is certainly not the US equivalent of Nigella Lawson. She lacks a basic knowledge of why ingredients are required ("I'm adding cream for extra flavor"), is obsessed with butter and half-and-half, and then pronounces fillet as 'fee-lay' and crème de menthe as 'cream de menth' in the space of two consecutive sentences.
Nigella would never make such faux pas.
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Post by lowculture.co.uk on Jun 27, 2008 0:37:36 GMT
The first rule of lowculture is that things are never "so bad they're good". Things are either bad, or good. And Barefoot Contessa is SO good. I hate her and everything she stands for, but I could watch her all night long, massacring recipes with her fake grin and big sausage fingers.
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Post by audrey notwhatsheusedtobe on Jun 27, 2008 8:59:13 GMT
I love her although have no idea what "barefoot contessa" means; doesn't she wear shoes? I bonded with her immediately because she looks exactly like me plus 10 years (I'm perhaps flattering myself a bit with the 10 years thing). I do hope I'm as smug and satisfied with myself in 10 years though.
She's so fantastically patronising, the other night she was explaining that she had managed to find a can of "chopped tomatoes, in THEIR OWN JUICE". I love all her cunty, parasitic pals who just come round to stuff their faces but don't even talk to her. The big breakfast episode is great.
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Chris
Jane Asher
!!!
Posts: 244
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Post by Chris on Jun 27, 2008 9:06:46 GMT
"Barefoot Contessa" comes from the film of the same name starring Ava Gardner. Whilst I'm sure Ina is a lovely (/patronising) woman(/hag) that's pushing it a tad.
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Post by David on Jun 27, 2008 10:57:48 GMT
It was the name of the shop she used to run.
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Chris
Jane Asher
!!!
Posts: 244
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Post by Chris on Jun 27, 2008 11:05:52 GMT
Well it comes from the name of the shop she used to run, which was named after the film, but yes...
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Post by al on Jun 27, 2008 14:06:48 GMT
I fucking love the Barefoot Contessa. The other week she made chocolate brownies in a tray so absurdly big, she could have swum lengths in it.
I also love how she can go a good two minutes adding ingredients to a recipe, or mixing away happily, without any form of commentary whatsoever.
UKTV Food in general is the absolute nuts. They really need to repeat Wild 'n' Fresh featuring the insanely fit British hockey guy who cooks, and the crazy Canadian folk singer who makes up songs to accompany his dishes.
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Post by David on Jun 27, 2008 14:51:24 GMT
"How bad can that be?"
When she's collecting 'urbs' from her 'urb garden', then she goes barefoot.
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Post by pauliepoos on Jun 27, 2008 16:48:06 GMT
Not that it's in anyway relevant to this thread, but I used to work with an obese woman (so obese she didn't realise she was pregnant until 6 months in) and she used to tak openly about how she'd fantasise about eating the flesh from chubby people's fingers, like a chicken drumstick.
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Post by Intoxicated In Cockermouth on Jun 27, 2008 21:00:38 GMT
Lowculture rules can swivel when it comes to the Contessa.
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Post by Rad on Jun 27, 2008 21:20:48 GMT
IIC-care to explain that comment?
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Post by David on Jun 27, 2008 21:25:48 GMT
Lowculture rules can swivel when it comes to the Contessa. No, actually, they can't. Goodbye.
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Post by Adrian on Jun 27, 2008 21:49:27 GMT
I think he means that he thinks "it's so bad it's good" which Mr Lowculture deemed to be against "the number one rule of Lowculture".
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Post by lowculture.co.uk on Jun 27, 2008 21:56:51 GMT
Lowculture rules can swivel when it comes to the Contessa. Intoxicated, I have been absolutely loving your contributions this week, you're exactly why this forum exists. HOWEVER! Never tell me to swivel again. (I would insert a smiley here to show I'm joking, but I banned those about four years ago...)
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Post by lowculture.co.uk on Jun 27, 2008 22:02:31 GMT
I think he means that he thinks "it's so bad it's good" which Mr Lowculture deemed to be against "the number one rule of Lowculture". The way I look at it is - it's actually a good show, well made, and doing exactly what it sets out to do - and very popular, too. The fact that it's presented by HER is almost irrelevant. It's not "bad" in that sense. And she is the thing that makes me want to watch it every single day of my life. It's quite hard to explain what lowculture is and isn't, but it's not supposed to be ironic, or looking down at things, or anything like that. It's about celebrating the things that other people don't necessarily "get", even though they are amazing. Does this make sense at all?
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Post by Adrian on Jun 27, 2008 22:05:20 GMT
I get Lowculture (or at least I'm pretty sure I do, having been here 4 years). I was just offering an explanation for his comment to Rad who hadn't contributed to this thread before.
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Post by Rad on Jun 27, 2008 22:07:36 GMT
I just wanted to check if he was making a joke or slagging off the rules.
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Post by Nurse Dunkley on Jun 27, 2008 23:38:05 GMT
I think he means that he thinks "it's so bad it's good" which Mr Lowculture deemed to be against "the number one rule of Lowculture". The way I look at it is - it's actually a good show, well made, and doing exactly what it sets out to do - and very popular, too. The fact that it's presented by HER is almost irrelevant. It's not "bad" in that sense. And she is the thing that makes me want to watch it every single day of my life. It's quite hard to explain what lowculture is and isn't, but it's not supposed to be ironic, or looking down at things, or anything like that. It's about celebrating the things that other people don't necessarily "get", even though they are amazing. Does this make sense at all? Basically, lowculture would not be out and say, "oh I love this song, because it's SO CHEESY'. Lowculture would love the song, because it was highly danceable or fun. Is this correct? I hope so, because I want to kick people in the face who say things are 'cheesy' to allow themselves to ironically like them.
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Post by David on Jun 27, 2008 23:48:46 GMT
Yes, it is. We don't do 'guilty pleasures'.
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drooboy
Jane Asher
Too good for Nancy
Posts: 110
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Post by drooboy on Jun 28, 2008 11:10:14 GMT
I like the Barefoot Contessa and her camp florist friend who comes to do the centrepieces but doesn't always get to stay for dinner. I've noticed she gets about 80% of her ingredients out of tins though. She was way ahead of Delia on that one.
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Post by jamiek on Jun 28, 2008 11:29:53 GMT
She's having a breakfast party (?!) Just now that I wish I was at for the food but with different people to talk to.
She makes Delia look like Heston Blummenthal with her pisstake recipes:
'Okay, we're going to make a delicious orange butter...get butter and mix marmalade into it k? You're done.'
'Get ready for a yummy honey yoghurt...get your yoghurt and mix honey into it. Delish!'
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Post by Robbing the Dead on Jun 28, 2008 16:36:24 GMT
IIC-care to explain that comment? Lowculture rules can swivel when it comes to the Contessa. No, actually, they can't. Goodbye. Come on guys, it was a joke, and Rad, that came across particularly schoolmarmish. I love this clip Nigella's fake midnight fridge raids are far more convincing than their "look at us, we've got blankets around us, so it's night time".
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