Quarantine Cooking Videos

With the Pandemic 2020, many people are now spending more time in their kitchens.  Those who love to cook but never had much time are enjoying themselves thoroughly and there are those who never paid much attention to cooking who are now discovering a new joy.
We have all been posting our menus and food porn photos on social media and, I for one, have been having a great time doing so!

Many terrific sites, such as New York Times Cooking, and Simply Recipes,  have now geared their weekly menus to “pantry” cooking, “meatless” meals, etc.
The celebrity chefs who have cooking shows can no longer go to the studios so they, like many other television hosts, are filming from their homes.  Some celebrity chefs who do not have television shows have begun filming videos as well.
And then there are the non-celebrity cooking shows!
I must admit, I have had great fun checking some of these out!
Many are very, very good!
There are wonderful cooks out there who have great ideas, do everything properly in the kitchen
and produce fabulous foods!

And then.......there are the wanna-be’s!
These videos can be so funny, unintentionally!

The cooks have good intentions but their final results and the way they accomplish those results can be downright hysterical.
Take the one gal, Antonella, who has a happy, friendly, engaging way about her.  She is Italian and the only Italian woman I ever heard of who uses cream of mushroom soup as her special ingredient!
She also does not use fresh basil, fresh garlic or fresh onions in her sauce!  (How many Italian Nonnas are turning over!)

While researching these culinary videos,  I happened upon the Mary Berry videos (Classic, Everyday and Country Home Secrets - which includes Highclere Castle, otherwise known as Downton Abbey). Mary Berry is the Martha Stewart of England.  I must confess, I had not been aware of her until the Great British Baking Shows were televised here in America.  It has been interesting and informative to learn how “the British do it”.

And, a friend recently posted a video I had discovered many years ago and just love.....Great Depression Cooking with Clara.  I just adored these videos and have had such fun watching them again.  I had been searching for a wonderful cuccidati (Sicilian fig cookie) recipe when I happened upon the videos which were made by her family.  Her cuccidati turned out to be the very, very best! Clara was 93 years old and the most basic cook.
While foods were baking or resting she would tell stories of growing up in the Depression.  She
had no fancy Williams Sonoma gadgets or equipment (even shelled her own almonds!).  She would roll her cookies out on her oilcloth table covering, no fancy marble or Boos wood blocks!
Unfortunately, Clara has died.  I was so thrilled, however, to see that her videos are still available on
Youtube.com.
If you are a cook or just enjoy watching cooking shows, do visit Clara for a wonderful experience!


 

Clara’s Cuccidati