Anthony Bourdain wrote on his blog recently that picking on the Food Network has become too easy. "It's low-hanging fruit," he said.
I was glad to read that. Even though I love his sarcastic commentary on the network and its hosts, sometimes it's just a little too mean.
This made me think. If he thinks some of the Food Network shows are too saccharine, what would he think of one of my favorite, obscure cooking shows: "At Home with Arlene." Food Network it is not.
It's hard to catch this show, which airs on KGEB, channel 23, though it seems to be on pretty regularly at 4 p.m. Sundays.
"At Home with Arlene" has the host, Arlene Williams, cooking and talking directly to the camera, with stories about her family and friends from church sprinkled in. It typically either begins or ends with a prayer for the audience. What on earth would Anthony Bourdain think of this? It would probably send him into shock, or perhaps it's so far removed from his world that he would find it endearing.
Arlene doesn't appear to have a stylist or hair and makeup people. Sometimes she even wears a visor. No matter, this woman can cook.
I would eat her food over Ellie Krieger's from the Food Network any day.
I made one of Arlene's recipes just this last week. Here's an adapted version of her chicken with zucchini in cream sauce. The chicken is cooked in butter, something I haven't done in years, but was inspired to do so in equal parts from Arlene and from watching "Julia & Julia."
CHICKEN AND ZUCCHINI IN GARLIC CREAM SAUCE
1/4 cup butter
6 chicken breast halves
2 zucchini, sliced into rounds
2 cups sliced mushrooms
Garlic Cream:
2 tablespoons butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons flour
1 (3-ounce) package cream cheese
1 can chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1. To prepare chicken, flatten each piece with a meat mallet. Cut each half in half if you prefer to have smaller portions. Also, the chicken cooks faster this way.
2. In sauté pan, melt 1/4 cup butter; add chicken breasts. Cook, turning once, until chicken is browned and fork tender over medium-high heat. Remove chicken, and keep warm.
3. Add zucchini and mushrooms. Continue cooking, stirring until zucchini is crisp-tender. Remove zucchini and mushrooms, and keep warm along with the chicken.
4. In the same sauté pan, melt 2 tablespoons butter on medium heat. Scrape the pan to remove browned bits. Add garlic, and cook for 1 minute. Stir in flour, and cook until smooth and bubbly. Add remaining ingredients, and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until sauce is smooth and thickened.
5. Serve chicken and zucchini over rice. Pour garlic cream sauce over all.
