Wolfgang wrote:

Really? Hadn't heard. "The Frugal Gourmet" was the first cooking show that
I watched with any regularity. Production values, repertoire, and recipes
have all improved vastly since those days. Nevertheless, I learned a few
things that have stood me in good stead over the years and garnered more
than a few compliments from dinner guests. I'll always be grateful for
that.

I used to also watch that show and a couple of others that came on
locally in the same time block on a regular basis. Probably the main
thing I got from it was a better appreciation for a wider range of
cuisines. And when I find myself wondering where I picked up a
particular cooking technique, it can often be traced back to those days.
(Though Jacques Pepin was probably responsible for more than Smith.)

Wolfgang
who never really did like smith, though.

He always struck me as smarmy. Little did I know back then just how
smarmy he really was.


Chuck Vance (who always loved the way Pepin said "mushroom"; it
sounded like "munchroooom")