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There are far more resources available for those who don't know how to cook and are just looking for a bunch of shortcuts than for those who want recipes where

There are far more resources available for those who don't know how to cook and are just looking for a bunch of shortcuts than for those who want recipes where they may be willing to spend a little more time for a better product. Almost all the afternoon Food Network cooking shows are about shortcuts and easy ways out (Ina Garten, maybe, used to be the exception but even she's now only focusing on her simpler meals on her cooking show as opposed to the more complex stuff she used to do). Allrecipes.com is absolutely filled with easy to prepare dishes. And any more fancy recipe site that includes detailed instructions to, for example, make your own bread, will almost always suggest a store bought alternative you can use instead (NYTimes cooking, Bon Appetit, Serious Eats, etc., will almost always have store bought alternatives suggested).

pessimizer 4y ago
I energetically disagree about the Food Network, which seems like a lot of long cooking times using a lot of fresh ingredients making insta-ready meals. It's food porn, and 99% of the people watching it never attempt it. The marketing might be about "shortcuts" and "simple ways," but that's to attract viewers who hold on to the hope of seeing a recipe they might actually try. I'm suggesting (as Parsnip seems to agree) that they target people who want to cook food to eat, not just people who want to cook food to demonstrate. People who get delivery 80% of the time and cook on lazy Sundays and for dates are what most food media appeals to. It'd be easier to learn to cook with unedited video of an operating church kitchen over two days than with 48 hours of Food Network programming.
- aerostable_slug 4y ago
  Note that Food Network recipes on their website may not be quite like what you illustrate. In my experience, they have lots of squared-away recipes that don't take long and are reliable crowd-pleasers. Even the crazed flavortown troll, Guy Fieri, has some really solid recipes on the Food Network website. It might have sucked in his restaurant on Times Square but I've made a bunch of his recipes and they've been exactly what was wanted/needed. Some of that may be because a bunch of his recipes are from third parties, but honestly I don't care: dude's 'channel' delivers. And, if you want prepackaged sliced carrots for whatever reason, just search for Rachel Ray recipes.

pessimizer 4y ago

I energetically disagree about the Food Network, which seems like a lot of long cooking times using a lot of fresh ingredients making insta-ready meals. It's food porn, and 99% of the people watching it never attempt it. The marketing might be about "shortcuts" and "simple ways," but that's to attract viewers who hold on to the hope of seeing a recipe they might actually try. I'm suggesting (as Parsnip seems to agree) that they target people who want to cook food to eat, not just people who want to cook food to demonstrate. People who get delivery 80% of the time and cook on lazy Sundays and for dates are what most food media appeals to. It'd be easier to learn to cook with unedited video of an operating church kitchen over two days than with 48 hours of Food Network programming.

aerostable_slug 4y ago
Note that Food Network recipes on their website may not be quite like what you illustrate. In my experience, they have lots of squared-away recipes that don't take long and are reliable crowd-pleasers. Even the crazed flavortown troll, Guy Fieri, has some really solid recipes on the Food Network website. It might have sucked in his restaurant on Times Square but I've made a bunch of his recipes and they've been exactly what was wanted/needed. Some of that may be because a bunch of his recipes are from third parties, but honestly I don't care: dude's 'channel' delivers. And, if you want prepackaged sliced carrots for whatever reason, just search for Rachel Ray recipes.