What a distasteful way to start off the new year -- as of January 1st, Cablevision has left some three million viewers at a loss by scrapping from its programming menu HGTV and the Food Network, the cable television networks that taught my generation how to cook and decorate. Something about distribution rights, fees and contracts. Frankly, I'm not interested in why Cablevision and the networks' operator, Scripps Networks Interactive, are feuding. All I want to do is put my feet up at the end of the day and chose between #1, Airy Yet Pricey; #2, Water Views; or #3, Needs TLC. Now how am I to pretend I'm buying property in Fiji without HGTV's "House Hunters International"?
It was in the mid-1990s when I discovered the Food Network, and just in the nick of time. I'd been married about ten years and had exhausted every possible way to make chicken - roasted, poached, blended... One night I made shrimp scampi using a Bordeaux, rather than white wine. "What?" I asked my befuddled family, as I served them deep purple crustaceans. A Food Network show called "How to Boil Water" saved me from a complete culinary collapse.
That program's premise was that anyone could become skilled at cooking the basics, even the show's host, a hapless novice who couldn't tell a slotted spoon from a ladle. From the chef coach on "How to Boil Water" I learned to make broccoli soup (sauté onions, carrots, celery, add broccoli, chicken broth and voile!) plus a host of other simple recipes that had previously eluded me. Food Network aficionados will fondly recall "Too Hot Tamales," which taught me not only how to roast a red pepper (just burn it whole, for smoky flavor), but also to place it in a plastic baggie immediately after, which makes for easier peeling. And remember culinary journalist David Rosegarten's "Taste"? In one episode, he would wax poetic about say, the origins of mustard, and then discuss at length why all jarred mustards were bad. Then he'd prepare fresh mustard from scratch, followed by a banging recipe starring - the mustard.
After the success of the Food Network, in 1994 Scripps launched the "Home, Lawn, and Garden Channel," now HGTV. Shows such as "Design on a Dime" and "Decorating Cents" showed me that a cleverly positioned area rug could magically transform an otherwise ordinary living room. That a rickety, $2 garage-sale chair could be converted into a delightful planter. And that bright, bold wall colors ought to be embraced, not feared. Given the HGTV nod to experiment, I repositioned our living room furniture on a weekly basis. Once, feeling empowered, I moved the den furniture into our dining room, the dining room furniture into the kitchen, and the bedroom furniture into the den.
I've grown up on these networks. They've sustained me through a marriage, a divorce, while raising three girls as a single parent, and now in a blended family of seven. They've showed me how to create comfy homes and comfort food. These days, while the Food Network's Barefoot Contessa teaches me how to make sophisticated appetizers such as mushrooms stuffed with sausage and herbs, HGTV's Curb Appeal demonstrates the aesthetic value of coordinating my mailbox with my doorbell.
Sure, buying property in Fiji isn't on my agenda right now, but it's fun to be part of someone else's relocation dream. So how unsettling to tune into "House Hunters International" only to find a "Customer Alert" message from Cablevision!
My Facebook friends and I have since joined a protest group demanding we get the networks back. I've voiced my displeasure on various websites, as well. There's only one more thing left to do. Cablevision, if you happen to be reading this: I want my HGTV! Renegotiate with Scripps, jack up our cable rates, and get Food Network back on, too. I'm hosting a dinner party for ten in two weeks. Giada has to show me how to master grilled salmon with citrus salsa verde.
# # #
Claudia Gryvatz Copquin