Ellie is Spooky Good Fun

I've already made this Ellie/Elvira comparison before, but since it's getting close to my favorite holiday, Halloween, I thought I'd show it again. I hope Ellie does a Halloween episode because I think she'd make a great vampire, witch, evil queen... the list goes on. Quite a nice (and preferable) counterpart to Sandra Lee's pretty "princess" dress we've seen her in a few times.

If you subscribe to the Wall Street Journal online, check out this interview Ellie did along with another registered dietician about the importance of breakfast.

I really like Ellie's show, Healthy Appetite; last Saturday's episode was especially good. The scenes of her outdoors in New York are not only beautiful to watch, but you actually learn something. These normally asinine segments--the ones of hosts out "picking up a few things" or smiling and laughing with their neighborhood butcher--actually have a point on Ellie's show.

Ellie cooks and eats a lot like I do in real life, which is probably why I like her so much. While I love Ina and Paula, I hardly ever cook the way they do. And that's not just because of a lack of time or funds, but because--even at my young age-- I know I shouldn't be eating like that. That's just me, though. Ina's mac 'n cheese with gruyere still looked good as heck to me; don't get me wrong.

I would hope that people understand moderation when it comes to dishes like that. Ina and Paula sort of create this false world in which it's totally fine to be eating a pound of butter with heavy cream daily.

Ellie seems to understand how "a little bit" can go a long way. When her dishes do call for things like butter, chocolate or mayonaisse it's always a minimal amount. Typically, you still end up with a lot of flavor. I love how Ina always "explains" her reasoning for using way too much of anything ("I know 4 sticks looks like a lot of butter, but it's the sauce for the entire dish." Oh! All right, then!).

I know critics claim that Paula cooks "the way most mothers in the country do." I know mine doesn't.

So, that's my little rave on Ellie Krieger. Check out her Web site sometime and her show at 1 p.m. ET/12 Central on Saturdays. As I've said before, I typically hate myself for still sitting around watching the food network by 1:30 p.m. on a Saturday, but at least with Ellie I'm gettin' something good.