Today's Entertainment

H aving launched its fifth season last week, and airing Mondays on Food Network, "Worst Cooks in America" takes a team of cooking failures and seeks to give them culinary competence – in search of a $25,000 grand prize. On hand to help them are chefs, hosts and coaches Bobby Flay and Anne Burrell. Burrell takes a few minutes off from filming to answer some questions about the effort to turn kitchen zeros into kitchen heroes. Q: Now that you're several seasons in, what things do all these terrible cooks have in common at the start? A: All the recruits throughout the seasons are hopelessly bad cooks. I call them my "lovable losers." It's pretty much a sad state of affairs. Q: What has proven to be the most difficult skill to master? A: Knife cuts. This is a skill all chefs and cooks spend time perfecting. These recruits are beginners, so it takes some time to develop. Anne Burrell BY KATE O'HARE Burrell has advice for the 'Worst Cooks in America' and chef Q: What are the top staple items every cook should have, even if they aren't highly skilled? A: The holy trinity in my kitchen is salt, olive oil and bacon. I stand by that. Q: What's the most fun about teaching these people? A: When I see people start to learn and take initiative without me having to direct them; when I see their "a-ha!" moment. I love to witness their success. Q: Have you become a better teacher over the years, and in what ways? A: Yes, of course! The more experience I get teaching, the more I understand how people process information and how people respond to different things. And my patience has certainly increased! Q: What skill do they seem to pick up most quickly? A: Mise en place. They usually realize the importance of prep work before starting to cook early on. Q: There seem to be a lot of bad or, at minimum, barely competent cooks in America. What has contributed to the decline in basic culinary skills? A: I think the desire to cook stems from childhood. I grew up in a house where my mom was always cooking. It wasn't an occasion. It was every day. And I know that motivated me to get in the kitchen and cook. Also, now there are so many products available in stores that people don't have to cook. There are too many shortcuts. Q: What three techniques should every cook learn? A: Knife cuts, mise en place and basic, low-tech components to cooking such as reading a recipe. Do you have all the ingredients you need? Measuring your ingredients. These are all necessary for basic cooking. BEST TV FATHERS AND SONS "Growing Up Fisher" (NBC, premiering Sunday, Feb. 23): A son adores his dad who, though blind, can seemingly do anything. And seemingly because when he teaches driving, it's adventurous. Eli Baker as Henry Fisher and J.K. Simmons as his dad, Mel, have lovely chemistry. The show is told as a memoir, with Jason Bateman narrating. Jenna Elfman as the wife and mom desperate for change is fun, but the heart of this story is the love between a father and son. When the parents separate, Mel needs a service dog to help him, and Henry feels replaced, but he knows no one, even a great dog, can replace him. "Blue Bloods" (CBS, 2010-present): This drama proves that sons are never too old or too powerful to need their dads. Though four generations of Reagans are featured, the cop show focuses on three. New York Police Commissioner Frank Reagan (Tom Selleck) followed his father, retired police commissioner Henry (Len Cariou). Frank's sons, Danny and Jamie (Donnie Wahlberg, Will Estes) are also cops, one a detective, the other a beat officer. And their loyalty to one another is boundless. "Frasier" (NBC, 1993-2004): Dr. Frasier Crane was a pompous know-it-all, but he always knew that his dad, retired cop Martin (John Mahoney), was the smarter one. Of course, Frasier and his brother, Niles (David Hyde Pierce), needed to learn that on a weekly basis. If you doubted Frasier's love for his father, consider that despite how it repulsed him, he allowed that plaid eyesore of a recliner a prominent place in his pristine, modern living room. "The Courtship of Eddie's Father" (ABC, 1969-1972): "People, let me tell you about my best friend," was the opening line of the lovely show starring Bill Bixby as Tom, a widower – when it seemed that every show was about a widow or widower – and his young son, Eddie (Brandon Cruz). Eddie just wanted his dad to get married and was always fixing him up. There were the usual 1960s sitcom gags, but the show's appeal was the pure love between a father and son. Tom Selleck (left) and Len Cariou BY JACQUELINE CUTLER Kelsey Grammer (left) and John Mahoney J.K. Simmons (left) and Eli Baker 8 The Goshen News • TV Spotlight • February 24-March 2, 2014

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