Latest news with #Chef'sTable:Legends
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
‘Chef's Table: Legends': David Gelb and Brian McGinn reflect on a decade of redefining culinary storytelling
David Gelb and Brian McGinn revolutionized food storytelling with their Netflix series Chef's Table, launched in 2015. Inspired by Gelb's critically acclaimed 2011 documentary Jiro Dreams of Sushi, Chef's Table has spent the past decade shining a spotlight on the world's most exceptional chefs. Beyond its core seasons, the series has expanded into unique breakout installments dedicated to barbecue, pizza, and noodles. This evolution continues with Chef's Table: Legends, a 2025 spin-off series that debuted on April 28. The four-part series honors a select group of iconic chefs whose pioneering work and global influence have reshaped modern gastronomy. "Brian selected the chefs for the bulk of it — especially the Legends season," Gelb tells Gold Derby. "Brian is so steeped in chef lore. He knows every chef, every story. When it came to picking out legends he had a very specific agenda. We wanted to do something that was bigger than just being a successful chef." More from GoldDerby 'The worst has already happened, so now I have everything to gain': Meagan Good on love, loss, and empowering women in 'Forever' 'Eureka Day' playwright Jonathan Spector talks vaccine debates, vicious comment sections, and 'the failure of a utopia' Breakout star Owen Cooper admits 'Adolescence' was 'very out of my comfort zone' McGinn elaborates further: "When we first started casting the show 10 years ago, we were looking for that intersection of passion and a way of looking at the world that overlapped with the style of food they were making. The way things have evolved over 10 years ... we kind of understood that there's a lot of inspiration that chefs can teach all of us about how to live our lives even if we don't cook. It has to do with overcoming adversity, finding your voice — universal things that we all face in our lives." Selecting the legends for this season was no small feat. Gelb and McGinn share how they grappled with the gravity of the choice, carefully narrowing their focus to four chefs whose impact transcends borders. "We started thinking about legacy," McGinn notes. "What do these people leave behind?" The final lineup includes Jamie Oliver, José Andrés, Thomas Keller, and Alice Waters. Each chef symbolizes a transformative movement in gastronomy. "Jamie Oliver made food accessible and advocated for people to eat higher quality ingredients in the U.K.," McGinn says. "José Andrés is changing the world right as we speak with World Central Kitchen and providing for people in their darkest hour. Thomas Keller is probably the most important fine dining chef in American history. Alice Waters, for our generation in particular, was the single voice that introduced us to the farm-to-table movement." Three directors brought these stories to life, each preserving the cinematic essence that defines Chef's Table. McGinn helmed the episode on Jamie Oliver, Gelb directed Alice Waters' installment, and Clay Jeter was brought in to craft the narratives of José Andrés and Thomas Keller. "We're not teaching you how to cook," Gelb emphasizes. "The idea is to have a human story about why they cook. That's the secret sauce of it. We wanted to bring in different directors that all have a special power — there are certain things that make a Chef's Table episode. It's the philosophy of letting the chef tell their story, finding the imagery, the sounds, and the feelings that take you into their perspective." McGinn credits their "incredible" team of craftspeople for the show's signature style. "The core of that group are the cinematographers, the editors, and the story teams that have been with us since the very beginning," he says. "When you start as a cinematographer on Chef's Table you've often been an assistant cameraperson before — or shot additional photography for an episode. That shared DNA in the photography and crafts standpoint gets handed down from one production team to the next." "The same thing happens in post," he continues. "Our editors that have been with us since the beginning — and cycle in and out of seasons — everyone has this institutional knowledge. We have this incredible group of people who haven't left the show for 10 years. That's an incredibly rare thing. Part of it is we're all friends. It's not a bad job to go to the best restaurants in the world and hang out with your friends for two weeks. The other thing is that it's so incredibly rewarding to keep pushing the boundaries." Gelb also notes how Netflix's unwavering support gave them the resources to redefine unscripted television. "The ability to shoot with prime lenses with cinema cameras — these things were not done in unscripted before," he says. "We are so lucky that Netflix believes so much in what we are trying to do. Nobody else was willing to take this pitch. The idea that Netflix would take a swing on a show like this — and the fact that we would even get to be here for 10 years and have an institution — together we're able to make some really special things." All episodes of Chef's Table are currently streaming on Netflix. This article and video are presented by Netflix. Best of GoldDerby 'The worst has already happened, so now I have everything to gain': Meagan Good on love, loss, and empowering women in 'Forever' 'The Better Sister': Jessica Biel and Elizabeth Banks on their 'fun partnership' and the 'satisfying' killer reveal The Making of 'Beast Games': Behind the scenes of Prime Video's record-breaking competition series Click here to read the full article.
San Francisco Chronicle
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- San Francisco Chronicle
Thomas Keller asked me to leave the French Laundry. It turned into my most extraordinary night as a critic
Thomas Keller is fidgeting on the bench next to mine in the empty courtyard of the French Laundry. There's a slight quaver in the chef's voice, and he tells me he is nervous. This is not something he is accustomed to doing, he says — asking a critic to leave. He's sure I'm a nice person, he tells me, but he doesn't know my intentions, and he doesn't want me in his restaurant. I had pulled into Yountville 45 minutes earlier to visit the favorite child in the Keller family of restaurants. My party of four was held outside the charming stone building nursing sparkling wine while we waited for our table, and though the sun had mostly faded, I'd kept on my extra-large, celeb-off-duty sunglasses. To ensure something resembling an ordinary diner's experience, some of my restaurant critic peers wear disguises. I am not an anonymous critic. When I assumed this role a little over a year ago, I chose to publish an updated headshot rather than try in vain to scrub my photos online. But I use aliases to make reservations so a restaurant can't prepare for my visit in advance. Sometimes, to delay being identified as long as possible, I'll arrive in an N95 mask or these sunglasses. The captain refilling our wine introduces himself as Patrick. Tonight, I am Margaret. Thirty minutes after our reservation time, we are ushered through the restaurant's iconic blue door and up a narrow staircase to an intimate room with three tables. The opening salvo of truffle vichyssoise is served, and then a general manager walks up to the table and directs me to follow him. 'If I'm not back in 10, send a search party,' I say breezily to my dining companions. We laugh. I don't bring a jacket. The manager leads me to a bench in the courtyard by the kitchen, under the branches of a sprawling tree. I wait but a few moments, and then before me is Thomas Keller, lanky in his chef's whites. 'Thomas,' he says. 'MacKenzie,' I reply, shaking his hand. 'I thought you said your name was Margaret,' he says with a sardonic edge. Keller does not know what I want from him, he says, or what I am doing at his restaurant. I'm not here to write a review, I tell him honestly. My predecessor, Soleil Ho, weighed in 2½ years ago, and it's not customary to reassess so soon after. But I eat at restaurants I'm not planning on reviewing all the time, and my credibility demands that I visit one of the most celebrated and enduringly popular restaurants in the country — helmed by one of the most powerful chefs in the world. Thirty-one years after Keller took over this two-story former saloon in Napa Valley, the lore of the French Laundry is as deep as its wine cellar. Look no further than Keller's recently released episode of 'Chef's Table: Legends.' I'll give you the condensed version here; for the full experience, imagine B-roll of Keller hoisting an American flag over his culinary garden or zipping around Napa Valley in a sporty vintage BMW as you read. After working at various Michelin-starred restaurants in France, Keller returned to New York in the late '80s and opened a fine dining restaurant for the boom times. The market tanked, and Keller decamped for a job at a hotel restaurant in Los Angeles, from which he was fired a year later. In the 'Chef's Table' formula, this was his rock bottom, the moment when he realized something had to change. He bought the French Laundry, a rustic farm-to-table pioneer, and remade it in his own image. Three years later came Ruth Reichl's 1997 New York Times review, which anointed the French Laundry 'the most exciting place to eat in the United States.' Keller enjoyed nearly two decades of accolades, both for the French Laundry and for Per Se, which he opened in Manhattan in 2004 and which quickly became New York's most exclusive restaurant, frequented by the strata of diners who own islands. When the Michelin Guide came to the United States, each received three stars. Keller was everywhere — winning awards for his coffee-table cookbooks, selling his own line of Limoges porcelain, consulting for Pixar's 'Ratatouille.' For mere mortals, dinner at the French Laundry became a bucket list item, an anniversary splurge worth staying in a relationship for. Then, in 2016, a bomb dropped: a scathing review of Per Se by New York Times critic Pete Wells. An alphabetical list of adjectives that appeared: 'dismal,' 'gluey,' 'grainy,' 'mangled,' 'rubbery,' 'swampy,' 'terrible.' But of all the barbs, the one heard 'round the world was a line describing a mushroom soup 'as murky and appealing as bong water.' Keller appeared to take the review in stride, writing in a public apology, 'When we fall short, we work even harder.' He even seemed to have a sense of humor about it. In 2019, when Keller recognized Ho at the French Laundry, he sent over a glass bong — 'the kind you use to smoke drugs,' Ho wrote — filled with mushroom soup. The French Laundry made the Chronicle's list of the Top 100 restaurants in the Bay Area that year. But after two more visits, Ho decreed it no longer worth the splurge in a 2022 review. A Norwegian king crab galette had 'the pasty hybrid texture of a cheap fish ball and a Starbucks egg bite.' The desserts, once exhilarating, were 'beige, repetitive and one-note.' The restaurant does not appear on the Chronicle's 2025 Top 100 list, which I co-authored with my colleague Cesar Hernandez. But tonight, the criticism that is fresh in Keller's mind is the Times' double-barrel review of Per Se and the French Laundry, which ran in November on the occasion of their respective 20th and 30th anniversaries. Melissa Clark, filling in as a critic after Wells' departure, described Keller's restaurants as 'stuck in a bubble of complacency' and 'tediously, if inconsistently, fine.' While Clark once found Keller's culinary sense of humor fresh, a de-stuffification of the hallowed halls of fine dining, his dishes now read as tired. 'Mr. Keller's food is no longer exceptional in a dining landscape that he is largely responsible for creating,' she wrote. Now Keller wants to talk about her with me, but her name escapes him. 'Melissa?' I volunteer. 'She lied,' Keller tells me, with visible pique. 'She lied until the very last minute.' I had heard whispers about Clark's visit to the French Laundry, the details of which were not included in her review. Keller wouldn't leave her alone, food world insiders murmured, and he made sure to inform her that his new chef de cuisine was a woman — a first for the French Laundry under Keller. Clark, a cookbook author and recipe developer who appears in New York Times videos, is a recognizable figure, with her glossy red hair and angular jaw. When she dined at Per Se, she was spotted. So for Yountville, she donned a blond wig and aviators and assumed the cover story of a yoga instructor named Emma. When Keller approached her in the courtyard, he asked if he knew her from New York. Clark, who later confirmed the details of this story to me but declined to comment on the record, believed Keller was not certain of her identity and decided to stick to her role. No, she replied, he must be mistaken. She lived in Santa Monica. After a lengthy tour of the grounds, Clark's party finally sat down, and it was then that she realized Keller and his team had seen through the wig. Servers began to toy with her. Where did she like to hang out in Santa Monica? What were her favorite restaurants in Los Angeles? The first course arrived. Her companions received soup in espresso cups, but for Clark? She got the bong. Keller's publicist, Pierre Rougier, told the Chronicle in an email after my visit that 'it was insulting, an awkward charade, and odd that (Clark) remained in disguise.' Past critics, he said, were recognized over the years, and when 'greeted by name, they acknowledged it and went about their job.' The day after Clark's piece ran, Keller clapped back on Instagram, posting a quote by the pompous, pointy-headed critic from 'Ratatouille: ' 'The bitter truth we critics must face is that, in the grand scheme of things, the average piece of junk is more meaningful than our criticism designating it so.' Through the kitchen windows I can see Keller's brigade, heads down, preparing the food I thought I was here to eat. He gestures toward them. The young chefs working for him don't deserve to have their work slighted, he tells me. He personally does not care about the reviews, he insists, but his staff? It gets to them. And for that reason, even though he doesn't know me, even though he's sure I'm a nice person, he does not want me here. Mortifyingly, I want to cry. I can feel tears welling along my lower lashes. Partially this is because Keller's vulnerability is arresting, like hearing your dad tell you he's scared. But, straight-A student that I am, I'm also unaccustomed to being reprimanded, and this feels unfair. I have never met Keller before. I haven't written a single word about him, positive or negative. Very much wishing I still had those sunglasses on, I tell him I'll respect his decision if ultimately he wants me to leave, but first, may I tell him a bit about myself? The French Laundry, I say, is quite meaningful to me. When my parents came to New York for my college graduation, they offered to take me to a celebratory dinner. Instead, I suggested we wait until I was back in the Bay Area and go to the French Laundry. I had worked as a server throughout college and took it seriously, a student among professionals who departed for Danny Meyer restaurants and the recently opened Per Se. Only the best of us could work for Keller, and I wanted to experience his famed hospitality, back at the mother ship. I remember what I wore that evening. I remember my delight at the salmon tartare cornets, the oysters and pearls, the coffee and doughnuts, all of which I'd pored over in the French Laundry cookbook. Eating those seminal dishes was like meeting a movie star; they were everything I had hoped for, if somewhat smaller in person. We took photos. My dad feigned a heart attack for the camera when the bill arrived while I looked on, grinning. I took the menu and that old-timey clothespin affixed to the napkins back to New York. Both moved with me to seven apartments, rattling around in a box with concert ticket stubs and old love letters. I tell Keller that I come from a restaurant family. My mother's parents opened Henry's Hunan on Kearny Street in San Francisco in 1974, and my cousins carry on their legacy today. Like Keller, my grandparents served a good meal to an open-minded critic on a charmed day, and that review changed their lives. How strange it is to now be on the other side, to hear this famous man's voice catch as he tries to find a polite way to ask me to leave. I feel the Napa Valley spring chill through my silk shirt, despite the heat lamp over my shoulder. A server brings us glasses of water, and I am grateful. Keller asks me if I know of his friend Michel Richard. After winning over Los Angeles with Citrus in the '80s and Washington, D.C., with Citronelle in the '90s, Richard trained his sights on New York. In 2013, he opened Villard Michel Richard. The New York Times savaged him, Keller tells me, and two years later, Richard was dead. Keller promises that when the time comes to pen his memoir, he will write about how that review led to the death of a good man. Keller mourns an earlier era when, in his words, critics and chefs were on the same team. He references Michael Bauer, the Chronicle's restaurant critic from 1986 to 2018, and describes him as a friend. (I reached out to Bauer to see what he thought of this characterization. 'I have nothing but respect and admiration for what he's achieved,' he wrote by email. 'At this point if he wants to call me a friend I'm honored.') As a young chef, Keller says, he would rush to the newsstand at midnight, eager to read what the Times' critic had to say. No longer. He gets it, he says. Newspapers must drum up controversy. What other reason could the Times have for hyperlinking to Wells' eight-year-old review every time Per Se is mentioned in an article? Keller then brings up Ho's review of La Calenda, his Mexican restaurant that closed at the end of last year. It was one of Ho's first reviews for the Chronicle and was exceedingly positive. But what Keller remembers is the headline — that La Calenda is 'cultural appropriation done right.' He twists Ho's favorable review into a slight. What does that even mean, he asks, saying that culinary cultural appropriation doesn't exist in America, a nation of immigrants. In a melting pot, cultural appropriation isn't a thing. After 30 minutes in the courtyard, Keller decides it's time to wrap up. OK, he says, that's enough, let me walk you back inside. He tells me that he'll feed me a little something before I go. I ask for clarity; if he still does not want me at his restaurant, I would rather get a jump on the long drive home. No, no, he says, that would be rude. As he escorts me to the door, I detect a shift. The nerves are gone. He's decided to cook for me, and he's now telling his origin story, one you can hear on 'Chef's Table' or his episode of 'The Bear' or his MasterClass or his ads for Hestan cookware. As a young cook, he worked under a French chef, Roland Henin, at a beach club in Rhode Island. One day, Henin asked, 'Thomas, do you know why cooks cook?' Keller's hand is firmly gripping my elbow, urging me forward a few steps, then stopping me whenever he has a particularly important point to make, as he does now. 'To nurture people.' As I walk back into the restaurant and ascend the stairs to my table, I am cold and hungry, my mind is racing, and my body is vibrating. A man whose books and cookware I own, whose restaurants I revered as a young person in hospitality, has let me know that, despite my new big job, I am a guest in his house, and he will decide how my evening will progress. In his email to the Chronicle, Keller's publicist said the chef found our conversation 'thoughtful and engaging, and MacKenzie did as well.' I return to my table rattled. My dining companions have asked after my whereabouts twice; the staff told them Chef and I were having a 'heart-to-heart.' There has been no additional food. Our reservation was for 7:45, and now it's past 9 p.m. I whisper to my companions that I think we're getting a grilled cheese sandwich and being sent on our way. A server informs us that Chef Keller would like to cook for us, and a sommelier says he's been asked to select our wines. Keller ends up sending an entire tasting menu. We make the best of it. There are the cornets, the oysters and pearls, the 'mac and cheese.' We get exactly the type of special treatment I had been hoping to avoid by calling myself Margaret. He makes truffles rain — 'apology truffles,' one of my dining companions remarks — and sends out a magnificent bottle of 2011 Ridge Zinfandel. Between courses, a waiter sets our table with fresh silverware, and I notice my butter knife is placed the wrong way, blade out. My brain reels with paranoia. What does it mean? At a place like the French Laundry, such mistakes are not made. It sounds silly now. It's not like I thought Keller was going to fill my pockets with pie weights and drop me in the Napa River, and I presume that Clark didn't think her mushroom soup was poisoned with anything other than rancor. But at a restaurant of this ilk, you pay for the privilege of submitting yourself wholly to Chef's genius and his staff's omniscient hospitality. You give yourself over to culinary surprise and delight. But what if that chef has decided you're the enemy? If I had been in Clark's position, I might have dug in as well, just to hold onto a shred of agency. At 10:30 p.m., before the meat courses have even arrived, Keller whisks us away for a tour of the property, showing off his geothermal system (very cool), his china collection (massive) and his trophy case of plates signed by celebrities, including Woody Allen (hmm). Back in the courtyard, he motions to a stately tree to the right of the blue door, its branches growing up and around the second-story deck, intertwined with the restaurant. 'She's in the autumn or maybe even winter of her life,' Keller tells us with a wistful note in his voice. He had been trying to figure out what to do when she dies. What replacement tree could ever be as magnificent as this one? He's alighted on a solution. Keller is having a replica made by the people who do fake trees for Disneyland and Las Vegas. When the tree dies, the duplicate will arrive, and it will be as if nothing has changed. We retake our seats for duck, beef and cheese courses and so, so much dessert. Finally, at 12:30 a.m., our server hands over a check presenter. 'Dinner is compliments of Chef Keller,' the bill reads, with a big fat zero perching on the 'total' line. It's the ultimate display of power, Keller's refunding of our prepayment of $1,831.75, tip included, and I drop my head into my hands. This is bad. Chronicle journalists are prohibited from accepting free meals from people we cover, but our server insists the refund has already gone through, there's nothing to be done, you're very welcome! I confer with my companions, and when our server returns, humble myself. Please, I say to him, you have to help me. I'm going to get in a lot of trouble. OK, he says. Let me see what I can do. When he returns, he brings a check for 93 cents. With tax, our total for the evening is one dollar. My friend, whom I'd previously Venmo'd for my portion, hands over his credit card, which our server runs for one dollar, and on the gratuity line, we add $1,830.75. Weeks later, after I had told Keller I was writing this piece, his publicist contended to my editor via email that the meal was 'free of charge.' I told Keller I wasn't going to write a review, and I meant it; I don't have much to add to Ho and Clark's recent critiques of the food. I will say that our servers put on the show of their lives, trying to save the evening, but all the cheerful professionalism in the world couldn't cut through what had transpired, the inhospitality of it all. Thirty years ago, critics lost their minds over Keller's innovations, his puckish fusion of French technique and American cuisine. If, Keller seems to insist, he and his team can execute those dishes with perfection, day after day, shouldn't the raves keep rolling in? And if they don't? Those critics can hit the road. A little before 1 a.m., I walk out of the blue door, pass under that majestic tree, get in my car and drive the hour and 15 minutes home. In a statement made through Rougier nearly a month after my visit, Keller said: 'Ultimately, it was my responsibility to feed and nurture them. I think we did that, and they had a wonderful time from what we could tell.'
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Culinary Legends Thomas Keller, Jamie Oliver and Alice Walters Celebrate 10 Years of ‘Chef's Table' at Napa's Reel Taste Film Awards
Culinary legends united in Napa Valley May 1 to celebrate about 10 years of the Netflix series 'Chef's Table.' Topics of conversation ranged from everything including their personal inspirations, the dishes that put them on the map, and how they feel about corndogs. Chefs Thomas Keller, Jamie Oliver and Alice Waters were joined by David Gelb, the creator of 'Chef's Table' for an evening of clips, conversation and fine dining as part of the Reel Taste Film Awards, hosted by The Culinary Institute of America at Copia with the Napa Valley Film Festival. All three chefs appear on the new season of 'Chef's Table: Legends,' now streaming on Netflix. Clips of the series were interspersed with a Q&A and the evening was topped off with a multi-course menu inspired by some of the chef's most well-known dishes. At the end of the conversation, the chefs were jokingly asked if they ever have a craving for something as basic as a corndog. Waters, credited with beginning the farm-to-table movement, had to ask the other chefs for clarification on what a corndog is. After explaining it to her, the British Oliver admitted, 'I didn't know they existed until about five years ago. I'll have to cook one up.' This prompted to Gelb joke, 'I'm looking forward to the elevated corndog in the next season of 'Chef's Table.'' In discussing the people and foods that inspired them, Oliver talked about growing up with parents who ran a pub and restaurant and appreciating food at an early age. He had a childhood friend who only ate jam sandwiches and at one point, Oliver offered him a taste of his salmon sandwich. Though the friend was suspicious, Oliver said, 'He put it in his mouth and his face completely changed. He had this reaction to it being sour and soft and silky. So I knew at a very young age that food had this power – and once you had something good, it's hard to go back.' Keller, whose restaurants include Napa Valley's French Laundry, spoke on how it was a negative dining experience that actually helped form him. 'The first time I walked into a fine-dining French restaurant, I was made to feel very uncomfortable,' he noted. 'I thought, Why is that? The food is important, but it's even more important to give people a sense of comfort. It's very simple to make people happy, and that's what we try to do.' Even before Waters spoke, the other guests frequently paid tribute to her influence, starting the farm-to-table movement and advocating for preparing food in season. Oliver revealed that as a teenager he came across a cookbook by 'this foreigner from America' and spending hours with it. 'I'm dyslexic so words have always been my enemy,' said Oliver before joking,' And Alice's book didn't have pictures.' But he made a point to really study it, and it changed his whole perspective. 'I thought, how can people talk about food like this? There must be more than just craft and process.' Waters spoke about how her junior year of college, she took a year off to go to France. 'It was an awakening to me,' she noted. 'As an adult, I had never been a farmer's market. I had never tasted things like this.' Instead of trying to create a flashy new dishes, Waters concentrated on finding the freshest produce from farmers she got to know personally. Waters went on to open her restaurant Chez Panisse, and recalled the time she served a skeptical José Andrés the simple dessert of two dates – only for him to declare it a revelation. Said Waters, 'And that is what I was looking for.' More from Variety Best of Variety Sign up for Variety's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
29-04-2025
- Entertainment
Jamie Oliver shares must-try recipes for classic tomato spaghetti, green chopped salad
Jamie Oliver is not only an acclaimed chef but also a dad of five who knows what it takes to make meals for his family that are easy and healthy, as well as delicious. In addition to cooking meals for his family, Oliver, star of the new season of Netflix's "Chef's Table: Legends," is also committed to making sure his kids -- and kids everywhere -- know the essentials of how to cook. Oliver's food education resource, Jamie's 10 Cooking Skills For Life, is now available in the United States, bringing free nutrition education and cooking training to middle and high school students across the country. On Tuesday, Oliver joined " Good Morning America" to share a family-favorite meal that people of all ages can learn to cook. Try Oliver's recipes for green chopped salad and classic tomato spaghetti in your own kitchen! Classic tomato spaghetti "This is a fantastic midweek meal. Once you've made this a few times, you can add other simple ingredients, such as baby spinach, chopped arugula leaves, or fresh or frozen peas, to your basic tomato sauce to completely transform it. It's important to season the cooking water with salt before you start so that the pasta can absorb it as it cooks. To make this vegetarian or vegan, use your favorite vegetarian or plant-based cheese, or leave it out altogether -- it'll still be delicious." Ingredients 1 handful of fresh basil 1/2 medium onion 1 clove of garlic 1 pound, 2 ounces ripe tomatoes, or one 14-ounce can whole, peeled tomatoes Olive oil 1/2 tablespoon red wine or balsamic vinegar Salt and freshly ground black pepper 6 ounces dried whole wheat spaghetti 1/4 ounce Parmesan cheese Directions Pick the basil leaves, and, reserving a few baby leaves to garnish, roughly chop the remaining leaves, and finely chop the stalks. Peel and thinly slice the onion and garlic. If using fresh, cut the tomatoes in half, then roughly chop them, or open the can of tomatoes. Put a large frying pan on a medium heat, then put 1/2 tablespoon of oil in the pan with the sliced onion, then cook for around 7 minutes, or until soft and lightly golden. Stir in the garlic and basil stalks for a few minutes, then add the fresh or canned tomatoes and the vinegar. If using canned tomatoes, break them up with the back of a wooden spoon. Season with a tiny pinch of salt and black pepper, then continue cooking for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the chopped basil leaves, then reduce to low and leave to tick away. Meanwhile, bring a saucepan of salted water up to a boil. Add the spaghetti and cook to the package instructions -- you want to cook your pasta until it is al dente. This translates as "to the tooth" -- soft enough to eat, but still have a bit of a bite and firmness to it. Use the timings on the package instructions as a guide, but try some just before the time is up to make sure it's perfectly cooked. Once the pasta is done, ladle out and reserve a cup of the cooking water and keep it to one side, then drain in a sieve or fine colander over the sink. Tip the spaghetti into the sauce and use tongs to toss well, adding a splash of the pasta water to loosen, if needed. Serve with the reserved basil leaves sprinkled over the top and finely grate over the Parmesan cheese. Green chopped salad "Chopped salads are incredibly simple to make -- you have to give them a go. If nothing else, they can offer you some chopping practice, so why not make something tasty while you're practicing your knife skills? Anyone can make this salad -- just make sure you use a good, sharp chef's knife and your biggest cutting board, and watch your fingers!" "What I want to show you here is that the sky's the limit when it comes to the different ingredients you can add to a chopped salad -- you can use whatever's available. The only rule I would give you is to always include a couple of handfuls of crunchy lettuce to give your salad a really good texture. Try out different things, and don't feel obliged to use the same old stuff all the time. Basil works well in this salad, but so do lots of other soft fresh herbs, such as chives, chervil, or mint." Salad ingredients 4 scallions 1/2 English cucumber 1 handful of fresh basil leaves 2 small, just ripe avocados 1 round lettuce 1 small tub of cress 1 3/4 ounces cheddar cheese (optional) Dressing ingredient 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar 1 teaspoon English mustard Salt and freshly ground black pepper Directions Get yourself a big cutting board and a large sharp knife. It's best to start by chopping the harder, crunchier veg first, so trim and chop your scallions and slice your cucumber. Slice your basil leaves. Bring it all into the center of the board and continue chopping and mixing together. Halve your avocados around the big pit. Carefully remove the pit and peel the skin off. Add the avocado flesh, lettuce leaves and cress to the board. Crumble over the cheese (if using), and continue chopping. When everything is well chopped, you'll have a big mound of salad on the board. Make a well in the middle and drizzle in 6 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and 2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar. Add 1 teaspoon of English mustard and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Mix up so everything gets well coated and serve on the board or in a bowl. More 'glass jar dressing' options "In my opinion, the most important part of a salad is the dressing. It's all very well saying everyone needs to eat more salad, fruit and vegetables (it's true, we do), but it should be a pleasure, not a chore! By dressing a salad you can make it delicious, meaning you want to eat it, rather than feel you have to." "I like to make my dressings in glass jars because it's so easy to see what's going on. You can shake them up easily and any leftovers can be kept in the jars in the refrigerator. Don't drown your salads in dressing! Remember, a little goes a long way -- and always dress them just before serving to stop them going limp." "With the exception of the yogurt dressing, they are based on a ratio of 3 parts oil to 1 part acid (vinegar or lemon). Generally, this ratio is a really good benchmark for making any dressing, but it's always sensible to have a little taste once you've shaken it up. If the seasoning is there but you're finding it a little too acidic, you've cracked it, because once the dressing is on the salad leaves, it will be perfect." Vinaigrette dressing ingredients 1/4 clove of garlic 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard 2 tablespoons white or red wine vinegar 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil Salt and freshly ground black pepper Directions Peel and finely chop the garlic. Put the garlic, Dijon mustard, vinegar and oil into a glass jar with a pinch of salt and pepper. Put the lid on the jar and shake well. Yogurt dressing ingredients 6 tablespoons plain yogurt 2 tablespoons white or red wine vinegar 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil Salt and freshly ground black pepper Directions Put the plain yogurt, vinegar and oil into a glass jar with a pinch of salt and pepper. Put the lid on the jar and shake well. Balsamic dressing ingredients 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar Salt and freshly ground black pepper Directions Put the oil and balsamic vinegar into a glass jar with a pinch of salt and pepper. Put the lid on the jar and shake well. Lemon dressing ingredients 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil Salt and freshly ground black pepper 1 lemon Directions Put the oil into a glass jar with a pinch of salt and pepper. Squeeze in the lemon juice. Put the lid on the jar and shake well. 'GMA' kitchen picks By clicking on these shopping links, visitors will leave and and these e-commerce sites are operated under different terms and privacy policies. ABC will receive a commission for purchases made through these links. SOME PRICES ARE DYNAMIC AND MAY CHANGE FROM THE DATE OF PUBLICATION. Have questions about ordering or a purchase? Click here. Amazon OXO Good Grips Large Salad Spinner - 6.22 Qt., White $29.99 Amazon Shop Now Amazon 2 oz Glass Dressing Containers To Go Sauce Cups Mini Condiment Dip Jars with Lids Lunch Box Accessories $9.99 Amazon Shop Now Amazon Bamboo Cutting Board Set - Easy-to-Clean Wood Cutting Board Set with 6 Color $39.99 Amazon Shop Now
India Today
29-04-2025
- Entertainment
- India Today
Binge-worthy alert: 7 must-see Netflix series
As the temperatures increase, Netflix is warming up screens with a fresh batch of new and old shows . From thrilling dramas and retro favorites to inspiring docuseries, the streaming giant has something for every type of a list of the best titles you won't want to miss."Love on the Spectrum" Season 3 returns with New Adventures Back by popular demand, this series follows the lives of individuals on the autism spectrum as they navigate dating and relationships. Season 3 brings back fan favorites such as Connor, Tanner, Abbey, and David, as well as new arrivals Madison and World: Chaos Theory" continues the Dinosaur Saga Picking up from a dramatic betrayal, Jurassic World: Chaos Theory Season 3 maintains its exciting mix of action and emotional storytelling. As the animated series commits further to the Jurassic World films, especially Dominion, the series delivers some of the franchise's most thrilling and emotional moments."Pulse" brings drama to the Emergency RoomPulse, the new original medical drama on Netflix, traces into the intense lives of doctors and nurses at a Miami trauma center. The show plunges into complicated personal relationships, particularly between resident Danny Simms and her mentor Xander Phillips. Written by Zoe Robyn and Carlton Cuse, Pulse is set to become a must-watch for medical drama fans."Black Mirror" Season 7: A Dark, Welcome ReturnBlack Mirror returns with six new episodes. The new season revisits the darker, more cerebral themes that initially enthralled viewers, even featuring sequels to classic episodes such as USS of North" Highlights Arctic DreamsNetflix's first Canadian original production, North of North, follows Siaja, a young Inuk woman from Ice Cove. Her journey of self-discovery brings an emotional depth to this heartfelt coming-of-age drama."You" Season 5: Joe Goldberg's Final ChapterAfter five thrilling seasons, You conclude the twisted saga of Joe Goldberg. As old ghosts resurface, viewers are treated for an intense, emotional finale, with Penn Badgley once again delivering a standout performance."Chef's Table: Legends" Celebrates Culinary GreatsMarking its tenth anniversary, Chef's Table: Legends pays tribute to legendary chefs such as Jos Andrs and Alice Waters. The series features stunning visuals and intimate stories, showcasing the passion and vulnerability behind the world's finest culinary Read: Autopsy reveals heart disease and Alzheimer's led to Gene Hackman's deathMust Watch
