I caught Nigella Lawson’s new show on Food TV yesterday. I admit, I was intrigued to watch it. I’d seen her on other channels before, always deemed a sensual cook.
I turned on her show yesterday and was pleased to find out she’s much the same as you and I. She doesn’t “do” cloth napkins and says she’d never entertain if she had to wash and iron everything before having friends over. She loves good food. She loves flavors, spices, aromas. And the clincher for me? When she goes to other countries, Nigella brings back…food. She is perhaps my souls sister.
Another unique thing about Nigella Feasts is the European spin she brings to the show. Although her show is decidedly deliciously tailored for the American palate, some of the spices she uses and the way she combines them are European. It’s refreshing to see a new spin on recipes I may have made for years, but not quite like that. For example, in one recipe she made the other day, Nigella used a jar of sour cherries. Sour cherries aren’t always common here, but in Turkey, where my husband is from, they are abundant. You can find them in certain grocery store where I live, so I won’t have a problem making the recipe. But if you couldn’t find them, you could substitute other cherries for a slightly different taste.
Nigella Feasts is a show that I see lasting beyond season 1. Why? Because she cooks real food, is more concerned that she makes dishes that comfort herself and her guests rather than dishes that look amazing on a plate, and most of all, she’s not too shy to film herself raiding her own refrigerator for leftovers late at night. Now THAT’S my kind of girl.