Wednesday, March 21, 2007

Rachael Ray: Great magazine, lame TV show

Rachael RayHow can someone who puts out such a fun food mag put on such an unbearable TV show?

I want to like Rachael Ray, the TV show. I really, really do. Honest. But it's just an annoying hour to me. Maybe it's because I'm a guy. One minute Rachael will be teaching us how to make some cool quick meal with pasta and vegetables, and then five minutes later she'll be talking about women in abusive relationships or how someone can organize the shoes in their closets. It just doesn't work for me. (And there's also the whole thing with her voice and bubbly personality, which I can take on 30 Minute Meals but when it's an hour every day...). But it's really popular, so maybe I'm not the right audience.

But Every Day With Rachael Ray? That's a great little magazine. It has a bunch of recipes that you feel you can actually cook (unlike some mags), quick guides to eating in various cities, tips on shopping, tips on buying wine, interviews. It's well-done. If there's one quibble I have is the whole "celebrity fridge" feature in the back of every issue. It's kinda funny to see what celebs have in there, but do we have to have some quiz about what they have? On the same page where we can see the answers?!? It seems to be a quiz made for people who find the TV Guide crossword difficult.