POLL: What is your favorite summer pasta salad?

Mayo-free rotini salad with carrots & peapods

POLL: What is your favorite summer pasta salad?

Is it the deli salad with the elbow macaroni and the creamy sauce? Or maybe it's the one with bits of salami, olives and mozzarella? Something else?

Or maybe your favorite is the one that you make yourself?

Is is hot? Or is it served cold?



My favorite is my grandma's tuna-macaroni salad....recipe to follow on Monday...

Favorite TV Chef Poll Results

And the winner is....Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa!

I'm not surprised; she's one of my favorites. There's a simple roasted chicken recipe of hers that I've been intending to try, where you stuff an onion and a halved lemon inside the cavity of a whole chicken and bake it like that. She says it is fantastic. It looks almost too simple, yet if it makes a nice lemon chicken, hey, I'm sold on the idea!

Second place is a tie between Bobby Flay and Guy Fieri. While Bobby can get on some people's nerves (several have said this to me), who doesn't like to watch Guy bite into luscious bad-for-you food on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives?! LOL!

Another tie for third place between Paula Deen and Gordon Ramsay. While 'ol Gordie is outwardly abrasive, you might have suspicions about what the ever-funny-and-sentimental Paula is really like when the cameras are off!

All in all, I think this was a fair representation of what people like. You need to have good recipes, but there is also an entertainment factor, as well as a likability quota. Ina has a genuine, mellow character and the structure of her show makes you wonder how each cooking adventure is going to turn out. It seems more real-life than a lot of the other shows, in my opinion.



LINKS:
Food Network tv schedule

POLL: Who is your favorite TV chef?

Well, so far Guy Fieri and Paula Deen are in the lead. But Bobby, Giada, and Gordon are hot on their heels!

There are still 2 weeks left to vote, you guys. And changing your vote is possible in this poll, so make sure you have included everyone you consider to be a favorite.

I'll give the final results in another post at the end. But feel free right now to comment on who you voted for, and especially those of you who selected "other." Tell me who and why! (who did I neglect to include in the poll?!)

POLL: What do you put on your steak?

Okay, I know the "A-1" vote was from Casey...and I was one of the "salt" votes...but what about the "other" votes? Anyone want to share their favorite steak rub or sauce?

I have tried a number of store-bought steak marinades and rubs, but most of them are crap, in my opinion. For instance, McCormick brand has their line of "Grill Mates" products, but the Montreal Steak Marinade tastes like chemicals. Really, it was awful. I think we had tried the Mesquite on some chicken, too, and didn't care for it, either.

For me, I think simple is better, which is why I voted for "salt".

Any comments?