ILSL Monthly Recipe: August 2006

That's right, Sandra Lee loathers.  It's that time again.

You know the drill by now.  Many of you have rallied behind the Sandra Lee monthly loathing sessions aimed at all things halfassed, unhealthy, unwholesome and just plain disgusting, but there are many more of you left to participate.

C'mon, show the internets how much you loathe Sandra Lee.  All you have to do is join me by undoing the Semi-Disgusting equation of hers -  70% semi-homemade +30% creativity = 100% of the credit - and making a much better, tastier dish with 0% semi-homemade processed crap and 100% of your own creativity.

The creativity comes into play as we use her August recipes from her horrendous 2006 calendar as inspiration to show how wholesome food is actually made.  After the jump is one of her actual calendar recipes for the month of August.  All you have to do is use her recipe as inspiration - eliminating the semi-crap ingredients and making a dish all your own from it.  Send me in a submission and I'll post your photo, links or whatever the hell else you want alongside the recipe I create.  Here are examples of some entries from the past.
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This month will be fun and easy to play with - a pasta salad made with the excellent summer combination of sour cream and canned pineapple.  You know, because it's summer and the hot weather always calls for a tub of sour cream and canned fruit.   Plus, you know that fresh fruit is really inconvenient to use right now.  So remember - 100% creative and 0% semi-homemade.  Those are the only rules.  Send in your submissions to joe at foodienyc dot com by noon July 31.  I will post all entries on August 1.

Imagine using FRESH vegetables, fruits or herbs in a pasta salad rather than canned.  Wow.  What a novel idea!!!

Recipe from August 2006 Semi Homemade Calendar

Curried Bowtie Salad

serves 4

3/4 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons McCormack curry powder
2 cans pineapple chunks, Dole
1 ripe avocado
1 apple
16 ounces bowtie pasta

Preparation:
In a large bowl mix sour cream and curry powder to blend.  Fold in pineapple, avocado and apple.  Cook pasta in a pot of boiling water until just tender. Drain.  Rinse pasta under cold water. Drain. Fold pasta into sour cream mixture. Refrigerate until cold. Season to taste and serve.

Comments

[ann]

well, at least it doesn't have Jello in it!

[Lana]

personally, i'd use creme fraiche, and fresh pineapple and coconut slivers with the avocado and pasta and curry powder, i'd also toss in some small shrimp marinated in lime and garnish with cilantro and green onion.

[jenjen]

Hi, Im from Australia so I'm not familiar with this Sandra Lee... why exactly do people hate her so much, is it like the Rachel Ray thing? I am trying to understand.

[jordanbaker]

Seriously, I promise myself every month that I'm going to do this the next time you put one up. . .and then you do, and the recipe makes my brain bleed so much that I can't think of anything even comparable.

Pasta salad, though. I should be able to do that. But there won't be any pineapple involved. Ish.

[jordanbaker]

. . .and not to hog the comments or anything, but the more I look at it, the more my brain bleeds. We're told to use "2 cans pineapple chunks, Dole, 1 ripe avocado, 1 apple," and then the directions say " Fold in pineapple, avocado and apple."

Should I mash the avocado? Dice the apple? Take the pineapple out of the can, at least? Oh well, Sandra didn't tell me to do any of that, so I suppose I should just toss it all in as is.

[joe]

jen, i don't even know where to start. sandra lee is the worst tv food "personality" ever. she cooks with food from a can. in one of her recipes, she used seasoning from a taco packet as a rub for meat on the grill. yeah.

jordan, do it! put on tons of makeup, get some plastic surgery and you'll feel inspired. i think you could leave the apple and what not whole and it would be better than her recipe...

[Monie]

I stumbled across your website and have never felt so at home.Sandra "fake-out" Lee has been a source of humor and disgust for some time now.Can you say half-assed???Some things like good food ARE worth the time and effort!!!!! Sadly I fear, there may actually be those that admire her.Poor Souls!!!

[Megan]

Hey - I will definitely have to participate again. Just reading about her crap pasta salad makes me laugh out loud. I'm having visions of fruit cocktail and pasta...yuck! I suppose it was too difficult for her to get any cheese whiz in there this time...

[wrongmove]

jordanbaker many restaurants use taco seasoning from the packets to season their meats, at least we did(you should do some research). That being said, who the heck and what the heck is this woman really trying to do...this sounds like stomach cramps to me.

[wrongmove]

that was joe sorry

[joe]

wrongmove, can you pls list the restaurants that use taco seasoning (the "spices" in a packet of box tacos, like old el paso) so i can make sure i never go to one of them? thanks!

[Cheryl]

I know this is supposed to be about Sandra Lee and Semi Homemade but hey, could someone pleeze tell me what is it about Rachel Ray that makes her such a media darling???
Am I missing something about her obvious lack of talent?

[Ron]

Finally! A group of cognisenti who are as repulsed by Sandra Lee as I have been, ever since I inadvertently caught her show & was mesmerized by her insipid, vacuous & inane flittering around her kitchen (& her tablescapes??? JESUS CHRIST!). Television personality???? More like BORDERLINE personality.

Keep those remarks pouring in folks................

[jimbo]

Are you people blind? Who cares if she can't cook! Just look at her: she's perfect! Gorgeous, blond, thin, busty, she color coordinates her food, her appliances and her eye shadow and she always makes dessert AND cocktails! Come on Joe. You don't see this?? You ladies can learn a valuable lesson from Sandra: Look hot while you cook and always make booze and sweets. If you look like her, everything you cook will be a hit. Blond hair, nice cans, cocktails and hot food on the table. Wow! Semi homemade? Who cares if its barely homemade.

[Tony Clark]

Oh, the humanity. I thought that I was all alone in my grimacing when Sandra Lee came on the Food Network. I invite you to visit my blog for my Thanksgiving Day post concerning her. She nearly singlehandedly brought my photo studio to a screaming halt. Luckily, there was holiday livation to get us back on track.

Have a great holiday,
Tony

[Jeff Dayton]

I Love Sandra Lee,She's The Most Beautiful
Cook Ever.I'd Imagine All You Cry Babys Would Rather Watch A Big Fatso Cook Something From Scratch,But I'd Rather Dream What Cocktail Time Would Be Like If I Was On The Set.
Jeff Dayton

[Karen]

Is anyone else out there fed up to "here" with her color-coordinated outfits and kitchen decor? Why must she re-decorate her kitchen and coordinate her outfits to match her meals?

Also, is it just me, or did she pay a visit to a plastic surgeon? Sure looks different to me in the face as well as the upper torso. I think they should retitle her show to "Cooking with Cleavage".

[Lee]

Man what a pathetic life you must live, if this is what you do to spend time. What is wrong with her recipes? Maybe to snobby psuedo-chefs such as yourselves, she is bringing down your art. But, to those of us who have children, and busy lives, and scrape to make a good family life, her recipes are a Godsend. She provides a way to make decent meals that we can all sit down and enjoy. You people make me sick, you are always looking to bring someone down to make yourselves feel better about your twisted little personalities. Why can't you see the good things in what she does? Or, just turn the channel to another program and go on about your day. Or, is your jealousy so overpowering, that you can't bring yourselves to change the channel? Losers...

[Ron]

Lee..........

Decent Meals????? Open your eyes & your brain. Her food is crap. No regard in any way for health or nutrition. She is driven solely by using as many pre-packaged, chemical-laden products as possible with the only end in mind of having her meal fit in with her "tablescapes", which are absolutely ridiculous. Don't give me your sob story of "hard working with children"....who isn't these day?? You can easily prepare a healthy, delicious meal with FRESH, NUTRITIOUS ingredients in far less time than this psycho spends opening cans, boxes, & envelopes of processed goo. She is a menace & should be locked up. And you, Lee, need to get yourself de-programmed immediately.

[Louise]

Where is the recipe for canned fruit cocktail and sour cream?

[Pure]

The amount of taco seasoning Sandra Lee uses scares the shit out of me. I'm surprised she hasn't discovered a way to use Kraft Mac & Cheese powder yet. But, I think I'd have to side with Lee on her (his?) post... I don't think I'll ever use one of Sandra's recipes, but really I'm a normal working woman (who comes home at 7 or 8pm) and don't have the time to cook "Black Trumpet, Yam, Potato Gratin" or "Black Trumpet Coffee Crusted, Nutmeg Poached Eggplant Puree." Not to mention the fact that certain ingredients that you self-proclaimed foodies tend to gravitate towards are on the expensive side. Worth it? Of course. But that doesn't necessarily mean everyone can afford it for their daily meals.

So while the Food Network chefs may offend hardcore foodies with their simplistic recipes/techniques... it allows us normal folk a window into homecooked meals that have unfortunately gone by the wayside. Baby steps, people, baby steps. I think what the Food Network has done is wonderful... it's sparked an interest in cooking that might otherwise seem too difficult or AHEM too pretentious. When I started drinking wine (dear god so long ago) I didn't know any better and thought reds all tasted the same... but after tasting different ones, the palette learns to discern more developed flavors and strengths. Again, baby steps... it's all a learning process.

[Fauchon Junkie]

I love that some of her things make food simulataneously more gross/scary AND complicated. She adds dry Alfredo Sauce mix to a mashed potato recipe. Mind you she adds butter, and buttermilk.

WHY THEN THE ALFREDO POWDER???? More chemicals, extra step! It's mashed potatoes people.

Maybe because of a McCormick's sponsorship methinks?

[joe]

pure - as i've said before to similar comments, everyday cooking can be simple, wholesome, tasty and inexpensive. there are lots of simple ideas and recipes on this site, but giada, michael chiarello and others at least create wholesome simple meals. the idea of cooking simply does not mean it should be processed, chemical, flavorless and disgusting. this idea has been infused into amercian culture and people like sandra lee only make it worse. that's why i rip on sandra lee. this isn't about whether you feel like making gratins or think $10 is outrageous for black trumpet mushrooms. caring about what you eat means a lot to some people and time and money don't always need to be barriers in my opinion.

[sherry]

I saw SL make a 3 tier wedding cake out of cake mixes for her friends wedding. She used NO INTERNAL SUPPORT...no dowls , no nothing... the thing that really sucks is that a few misguided friends are going to now sign up to do their friends wedding cakes and it's going to be a disaster, cakes falling over and stuff. She does damage!

[Ali]

Lee, appreciate the contrarian in you, but you might be better served visiting Kraft's website or something. To each his own, but Sandra Lee is a joke and an insult to all of us who love food and the cooking process.

"Decent meals" that are fast, easy, and cheap don't need to be chemically enhanced by prepackaged foods, or excuse me- nearly as stupidly complicated as she makes them. Maybe try this- Spaghetti/salt and pepper/olive oil/garlic/red pepper flakes. Pasta aglio olio. 5 basic, dirt cheap ingredients, one delicious plate -no italian seasoning packet required. Takes 15 minutes.

[cdmattison]

Thank you. Thank you.

Did you see the Food network Holiday Special with Emeril, Paula Dean, Rachel Ray, Bobby Flay and ... Sandra Lee!

Ok. Emeril and Bobby Flay are the only chefs in the bunch... but Rachel and Paula know how to cook with real food.

Can you imagine the jockeying that was going on with that cast -- "I'm not doing a spot with that woman!" "You can't make me!"

She is the reason that W. had 2 terms as president. The folks who watch her and think she's making "food" are the same ones who believe that W. knows what he's doing.

Our culture reflects our politics, our politics reflects our culture.

[Rachel]

Does anyone know her deal? Is she married to like an old rich fart and has nothing to do or what?

[Ray]

You all can keep your Alton Brown, I'll take Sanrda Lee.

Christ, when it comes to cooking he makes me want to say furk it and go get a Big Mac instead. Can the guy make cooking MORE complicated and tedious?

[Natalia]

Curry, sour cream, pasta, and pineapple? My gawd, that sounds REVOLTING. Who did this woman have to blow to have her own TV show?

[betsybounds]

I'm kind of loathe to say this because I'm proud of having come up with it, and feel a bit possessive of it: I can't stand Sandra Lee and I watch her just so I can be reminded of how disgusting she is. That thing she made last night, the coffe-crusted tenderloin, looked like a dog's hind leg. Anyway, the thing I'm proud of is that I've called her Kitchen Barbie for a long time now. I think it captures her perfectly. She is totally disgusting. I heard she went to culinary school. Well they didn't teach her much--not even how to hold a knife. She holds a knife like it's a pencil. Gag.

[Ron]

I hear you betsybounds. I watch Sandra just often enough & long enough to be reminded how revolting she is. It's always good for a laugh (group viewing is a lot of fun) but a little frightening at the same time. How did she get her own show? Does her husband own the Food Network? Does anyone actually take that "tablescape" crap seriously? Better they should air re-runs of Julia Child!

[Gaga]

The only reason that Sandra Lee is worth watching are her magnificent chachas. Shake 'em baby!

[Tin-Tin]

HAH! I didn't know other people hated her show the way I do. I can stand to watch Rachael Ray's cooking shows (the talk show is another story) but Sandra Lee is unbearable.

[Ali]

What the hell does our president have to do with Sandra Lee?

[Dawn]

The thing I don't like about Sandra Lee is her food isn't good when you make it. My brother made her deviled eggs and they were disgusting. I made the "healthy" chocolate oatmeal cookies and they needed more moisture (you had to microwave them before you ate one because they'd turn rock hard). How easy is it when you spend your time coming up with food that tastes bad? I'm a good cook and I've made plenty of things from scratch, but if there is a quick way to do it that is just as good, then I'm all for it. Sandra Lee only cuts corners on flavor.

[Dawn]

The thing I don't like about Sandra Lee is her food isn't good when you make it. My brother made her deviled eggs and they were disgusting. I made the "healthy" chocolate oatmeal cookies and they needed more moisture (you had to microwave them before you ate one because they'd turn rock hard). How easy is it when you spend your time coming up with food that tastes bad? I'm a good cook and I've made plenty of things from scratch, but if there is a quick way to do it that is just as good, then I'm all for it. Sandra Lee only cuts corners on flavor.

[Leea]

I agree with the majority of these posts. Sandra Lee CANNOT cook. She is sloppy and condescending. You can already tell what most of her food will taste like just by looking at it and listening to her "ingredients." I watch her show for ideas on what not to make or what to make people I don't like. Today I watched her make a "wonderful" coleslaw with sourcream dressing that had a dollop of mustard and relish. Wow, yesterday morning I added milk to my cereal, and then added sliced bananas for a semi-homemade touch --does that mean that I should get my own cooking show? No I don't think so. Just because she overcame some adversities in her life (who hasn't really?) does not mean that people can't be honest with what her t.v. show really is.

[VeryMoody]

I hate to say it, but Sandra long ago found a use for the bag of powdered cheese from the mac and cheese box...

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_30818,00.html?rsrc=search

For kicks, see if you can find a picture of her Kwaanza cake. It's decorated with corn nuts.

[rachel]

There must be some other fascination with Sandra Lee other than that you hate her. Why would you expose yourself to something that causes you displeasure? Your contempt causes you pleasure? And you talk about the unhealthiness of her food?

[Geri]

I've never seen this post, but, alas, I have to agree with you. Sandra Dee (I mean Lee) is pretty awful, and most of the things she comes up with are "out to lunch," and NOT for dinner.

I usually avoid her by channel-surfing, which fares better with cartoons or sit-com re-runs. Hopefully she won't be re-run forever on food Network.

How did she get her own show? Somebody must be watching from somewhere. And I agaree, who could possibly have that many place settings and dish sets to go with food? I have NO storage space.

And outfits to match. This is NOT the 1950's. She needs to get a real lfe, and cook for her family (I mean prisoners.)

Geri :-)

[Ron]

Okay Rachel, here's what I think: it's not that we're exposing ourselves to something that causes us displeasure. Rather, I think we are watching to be amazed, & certainly entertained, by the vapidness & stupidity of this woman & her absolutely ridiculous recipes, choices of chemicals in place of real food & hilarious concepts of "style" & entertaining. I only watch here very occasionally as a reminder of the stupidity that reigns out there &, of course, for a few good laughs--as I said before, group viewing is a must. So.............nice attempt on your part to delve into the psyches of we who loathe Sandra Lee. Hopefully you don't have this same dreary, overly serious & tedious approach to everything in your life.

[Brian]

I don't care what she makes or the quality of the food, I measure the quality of the show by how slutty her outfit is that day. I prefer her beach and Halloween specials.

[Chiffonade]

Her recipes are reaching new lows. Someone upthread mentioned Kraft Mac & Cheese powder - she HAS used this as an ingredient! Shamdra's criteria for recipes: If it's got an unnatural color, comes in a powder, is frozen, bagged, canned or boxed...It's IN!

Thanks for more entertainment - this page is priceless.

Chiffonade

[selena]

I just had to vent about our dear Sandra.. My mom watches SL and I have to listen to it in the background. Today, well it just made me ill.
She has a speech problem that drives me batty. She says "great" and "yummy" one too many times. She does this weird thing with her "r's" and "l's". Drags them way out.
Today I have a GGGGGGRRRRRRRRRReat rrrrrrrrrecipe for you. Let's not make it too llllllllumpy. It's rrrrrrrrrrrrrrreally good! This is so llllllllllllluscious.

She is so overly impressed with herself. "Wait till you see this gggrrrreeaat tablescape I did. I outdid myself didn't I?" I have never heard anyone so impressed with herself. Her tablescapes sucks and I despise how she color coordinates everything. Why oh why do they keep her on the air?? I guess the majority of the watching audience must be guys because Giada and Sandra just love to show their titties. (I have nice ones too- I just don't feel I have to show them constantly!!) Make her go away~!

[AL]

HA! I LOVE THIS!!! DOWN with SANDRA LEE!!!

[JESSICA]

I CAME ACROSS THIS SITE BY ACCIDENT BUT I TOTALLY AGREE. SANDRA LEE (LOSER) HER STUFF IS TOTALLY CRAP. IT TAKES ME LESS TIME TO MAKE A HEALTHY MEAL FROM SCRATCH FOR MY FAMILY AFTER A LONG DAY AT WORK THAN TO THROW ALL THE PREPACKAGED STUFF TOGETHER LIKE SHE DOES. I RAISE MY OWN BEEF AND PORK AND VEGATABLES, I LOVE FEEDING MY FAMILY GOOD HEALTHY FOOD WITH NO PRESERVATIVES. SHE SHOULD BE ASHAMED TO EVEN BE ON THE AIR.

[ron]

Hey Selena,

Thanks for noticing the way Sandra pronounces her l's & r's (in addition to her overuse of "great" and "yummy").............drives me crazy. And good for you for not showing your titties as freely as Sandra--I think, in the depths of her mind {not too deep, mind you} she realizes that the nice boobies are really the only thing she has going for her. Do we have to at least give her credit for parlaying her idiocy into a money-making enterprise? No way!! As I've said before, this woman is a menace and should be taken off television.

ron

[Theresa]

My mother defends this woman's "talents" but I couldn't stand her OR her "semi-homemade" recipes from the moment I first laid eyes on her horrible show (only within the last 6 months). I finally get cable and this (and that other awful one Rachel Ray) is what I'm offered???!!! Food Network has gone to the dogs, and not in a good way. I miss my old KCET station in Los Angeles, where I watched Ming Tsai, Lidia Bastianich, the New Scandinavian Cooking show chefs...even Bittman's challenge show! What to do now...

[Desiree]

Hello everyone... I stumbled across this page by accident and I just wanted to say thank you for all the laughs this morning! It's a good thing my office is empty 'cause I was laughing hysterically! I had no idea there was such a "loathing" of Sandra Lee! Cracks me up! When I go home for lunch I turn on Food Network (to wait for Paula's Home Cooking - I just adore Paula!) and it's always the last few minutes of her show with her "Cocktail Time" and her "Table Scapes!" UGH! I'm so sick of the color cordinated crap! Seriously who in their right mind would do all that! My boyfriend calls her the "Lush!"

Nice catch of the over use of the "Yuuummmmy" "Grrrreat" I agree she is way to overly impressed with herself!

Okay, Sandra loathing aside she isn't the only one I can't stand! I absolutley can not stand to watch even a few minutes of GIADA!!!!! She has the biggest mouth I have ever seen! Do I really need to see all of your teeth with everything you over pronounce!!! Uh, NO!! If you haven't noticed yet, after this you will! Her smile goes literally from ear to ear! Then it's the "Rrrrricota" and "Marrrscaponeee" Okay, we get it you're Italian!!! Mario Batali studied in Italy but you don't see him talking like that!
Okay, just wanted to say thanks for the laughs and vent a little too!
Oh, by the way did you all here that Emeril Live was canceled!?!?!?
Now, you all have a Grrrrrrrreeeaaaattt Day, and have Yuuuuummmmmy lunches!!!! LOL!!! :0)

[Chiffonade]

It is sooooo good to see other loathers of Shamdra Lee. The angel food cake and apple pie slaughter factor alone make her repulsive. She has not yet learned that envelopes are for holding correspondence and not food. If Ms. Lee would have concentrated her efforts on using real food for her shortcuts, she would not be such a joke. But alas, she is - one walking, talking punch line.

Chiffonade
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