The Next Food Network Star

I don't remember if I've blogged about Food Network shows before, but if so, you'll just have to deal with me repeating myself. If you know me very well at all, that's not a new thing, anyway.

I like a number of shows on the Food Network. It can be dangerous for the waistline to be a big FN fan, so I'm glad that I've been developing more self-control lately. And now that I'm talking about this, I'm pretty sure that I have blogged about at least some of the Food Network shows I like, such as the Food Network Challenge. So I won't go on about the shows in general, but I will talk about one show in particular, The Next Food Network Star.

The season that just ended on Aug. 2 was season 5 of the show. I missed seasons 1-3 and am hoping that they will be available on Hulu or FoodNetwork.com one of these days, because I'd really like to see the challenges and how things unfolded. I know the winners of the seasons, but I still think I'd find the shows interesting. They put the chefs into such unique and sometimes high-pressure situations, and it's great to see how they deal with the stress, how they are in front of the cameras and live audiences, and what types of dishes they make.

Melissa D'Arabian, a stay-at-home mom to 4 girls who are age 4 and younger, was the season 5 winner. Melissa was the only non-professional chef to compete out of a group of 10, and while she made a few minor missteps here and there, she nearly always impressed the judges with her dishes and her presentation style, and she was always ready to embrace their constructive criticism and apply it. I was really pulling for her and was so happy that she won.

Melissa's show, "Ten Dollar Dinners with Melissa D'Arabian," premiered on Sunday, Aug. 9. I DVR'd it and know that it will be in my regular rotation. I already plan to make the first dishes she featured, which were a Potato-Bacon-Gruyere Torte in a buttery crust, a "cafe salad" with a homemade mustard vinaigrette, and an applesauce granita with a yogurt-maple sauce. The entire thing, not each dish, can be made for $10. In these budget-conscious times, that's a ridiculously low amount to spend for such a yummy-sounding, freshly-made meal.

One of Melissa's trademarks during the competition was providing tips as she went along, without making it seem like she was "teaching" the judges or the viewers. They were just handy tidbits she threw in while cooking, and that has transferred over to the show. Two of the things I learned on the first show:

1. If you freeze your bacon, it will last much longer. The high fat content will prevent it from freezing all the way through, so you can easily cut pieces off or remove strips. If you need a certain number of slices, you can cut along the ends and approximate a strip, then just slice through however many you need. Obviously, you'll need to separate the strips differently if you want to fry up whole strips, but I thought that was a great tip when you're needing to make bacon for crumbling into or on top of a dish.
2. The key to a good, flaky pie crust is to make sure your butter stays chilled. After cutting it into cubes, put it into the freezer for a few minutes. You can use the pulse setting on a food processor to make the dough because it combines it quickly enough so that your crust won't get tough. Once your dough is combined, pat it together quickly with your hands and place it into a bag, then put it into the refrigerator for a few minutes before you roll it out. These steps will help to keep your butter cold, which will give you the nice, flaky layers you want in a pie crust.

My one criticism of the show is that Melissa used a wooden cutting board to cut off pieces of raw bacon. She used a cloth to wipe off the board and then sliced a clove of fresh garlic to put into her vinaigrette. They didn't show her changing boards or using anything to disinfect the board, and it's pretty basic kitchen safety to know that you never use the same cutting board for other cutting after you've had raw meat on it, unless it's been well-cleaned.

It may be that the board was cleaned right after she sliced the bacon, but they didn't show that and it wasn't mentioned, so that seemed like a big oversight to me.

Other than that, Melissa was a natural on camera, and watching the show felt like being at a friend's house and having her talk me through her recipes while we chatted. Delicious-sounding and -looking recipes, and inexpensive to boot. I can't wait to see what else she makes!