nigella: oh no you didn’t!
I watched the first episode of Nigella Lawson’s new show, Nigella Express, and frankly, I’m concerned. I tried to dodge the scathing reviews flowing in from the U.K. Nigella doesn’t shy away from full-fat foods (we know this) and she has no problem adding hedonistic flair to her shows (this is what has endeared her to us), however, when I was horrified when I saw the plastic lime juice (the green thing! the green thing!) and howled when I saw vegetable oil. ALL OVER THE PLACE. What? You can’t take 2 seconds to juice a lime instead of making do with the foul imitation from the grocery store? I understand short cuts. After I almost sliced off my hand (I’m not kidding) trying to chop up that rotten bastard of a butternut squash last winter, I said FORGET IT, CHUMP CHANGE, I’m buying pre-cut squash. I’ll use canned tomatoes.
I love Nigella, I do, but I found her debut show wholly uninspiring. The fried squid was recycled from a previous show (this time she uses semolina and the dreaded vegetable oil) and there was nothing quite new about her roasted chicken, another recipe from another Nigella incarnation. The croissant pudding harkened back to an episode of Giada’s Everyday Italian. In short, Nigella Express, while shot in a better location - London proper, in an airy, well-lit kitchen (as opposed to dreary kitchen and the obscene Dean & Delucca or Whole Foods insertions to make us think she’s in New York from Nigella Feasts), offered nothing new and exciting for this budding foodie.
Fear not! I’m reserving judgment on the domestic goddess’s new show. Recipes such as marsala honey pears with gorgonzola look promising. We all love a little kitsch in the kitchen, but here’s hoping the show won’t unfold into caricature.
October 8th, 2007 at 4:02 am
*cough*
flowing in from the UKflowing in from Ireland (in my case).October 8th, 2007 at 6:35 am
ah, sorry!! Conor. I did enjoy your write-up. Although I am a huge Nigella fan, I was incredibly disappointed with the debut show…
October 8th, 2007 at 9:05 am
When Nigella is good, she is so very good!
When she’s bad…oh dear…lime juice from plastic limes
October 8th, 2007 at 9:37 am
I agree! I’m waiting for the cookbook. Hopefully, I’ll be assuaged with her print as opposed to the train-wreck that was the show.
October 8th, 2007 at 2:50 pm
Oh no! I feel like some stupid producer probably made her do this. I totally missed the show but I’ll have to DVR this new series. Who can’t cut a lime and squeeze it?
October 8th, 2007 at 3:19 pm
I know. It was torture, Natalie. TORTURE. But let us hold out hope for the book.
Btw, I returned the bag. I didn’t have enough $$ to validate the purchase. Sigh…
xoxox, f.
October 11th, 2007 at 2:08 am
The lime thing makes a kind of sense if you’re in those areas of dear old Blighty where limes are hard to come by. Also if you’re the kind of shopper for whom limes (unlike lemons, say) aren’t part of your regular weekly shop. It’s a store-cupboard thing, which a lot of these recipes are based on - hence frozen prawns, tinned beans and so on also feature heavily.
I’ve got the book - it’s OK, but if you’re expecting anything to match the towering ‘How to Eat’ or ‘Domestic Goddess’, forget it. You might do better to download the best recipes direct from the BBC site - they’re made available in printable form there.
Good blog…
October 11th, 2007 at 9:31 am
Robert, Thanks for visiting! Gotcha on the lime bit.
I actually received the cookbook yesterday, and while I think it’s pretty lush (and perhaps I’m suffering from new cookbook syndrome), you are indeed correct that it doesn’t compare with her mainstays.
Cheers, f.