On-Air Fare Ever Wonder If Cooking Shows Will Really Help You In The Kitchen? Here’s A Guide To What’s Good On TV

So you’re pretty adept in the kitchen, a self-taught chef with a knack for reading a recipe.

But maybe you’d like to pick up a little technique and learn some new stuff from a pro. You know there are lots of cooking shows on TV, ready for the watching. Trouble is, there are so many you don’t know where to stop the remote.

Could you really have a meaningful relationship with Caprial? Is Julia still the top honcho in an apron - or maybe Martha, or that galloping guy? And just what the heck is a Biba, anyway?

Turn to The Learning Channel, Lifetime, Discovery, Faith & Values or public television and get chummy in the kitchen with the likes of Caprial Pence, Julia Child, Martha Stewart, Graham Kerr and Biba Caggiano, just to mention a few. You’ll be surprised how much you can learn from even a bad cooking show.

Here’s a guide to help you weed out the wheat from the chefs, er, chaff. One important tip: It’s always a good idea to tape a cooking show you’re especially fond of. Even if the ingredients are flashed on the screen - and most are not - it’s usually not there long enough for you to write it all down.

“Graham Kerr’s Kitchen” (The Discovery Channel, Monday-Friday, noon and 3:30 p.m.)

Typical food: Lo-Fat Brownies, Lamb Theresa, Rock Cornish Hen Pilaf, Carrot Cake with YogurtCheese Topping.

Style: Kerr isn’t known as the “Galloping Gourmet” for nothing. He leaps into the audience to grab taste volunteers; he bolts up the aisle to give a chocolate bowl to two small boys for licking; he whips egg whites with great fervor. His jubilant enthusiasm is contagious and fun.

Can you cook from this show? Absolutely. An official Weight Watcher, I made the brownies, and they were delicious. Kerr’s recipes, available in books along with a citrus juicer he designed, are aimed at cutting calories and fat grams while maintaining good taste. At the end of each recipe, he shows the traditional calorie count and fat grams as compared to the lower count of the recipe he just prepared.

The downside: Having watched this show several times, it wasn’t until I saw the book that I knew what “the Minimax concept” is; Kerr refers to it constantly on the show without adequate explanation. It’s his philosophy to “minimize risk and maximize enjoyment” in dishes he creates. Also, the ingredients and recipes do not appear in type on the screen, so you better listen carefully with pen in hand.

The book: There are several, including “Graham Kerr’s Kitchen” (1994, G.P. Putnam’s Sons, $21.95) and “Graham Kerr’s Minimax Cookbook” (1992, Doubleday, $27.50). Both are interesting, particularly the Minimax book, which has lots of color photos as well as a nutritional profile of each recipe, preparation instructions, cooking directions and helpful hints and observations - plus a cost estimate of each dish.

“Caprial’s Cafe” with Caprial Pence (The Learning Channel, Monday-Friday 10:30 a.m., Saturday 6:30 a.m.)

Typical food: American bistro fare, like Grilled Artichoke Hearts with Garlic and Green Peppercorns, Currant-Glazed Pork Chops with Blue Cheese Polenta, Penne Pasta with Garlic Cream, Blackberry Lemon Souffle with Lemon Sauce, Berry Trifle.

Style: Caprial Pence is the chef/co-owner of the Westmoreland Bistro in Portland, Ore. She was named Best Chef in the Northwest by the James Beard Foundation in 1991, and her show was nominated for Best Television Cooking Show in 1995. She cooks fairly simple dishes (believe it or not) with ingredients that are usually available. Her directions are easy to follow, her language simple enough for chefs who don’t spend a lot of time in the kitchen. She doesn’t talk down to her audience.

Can you cook from this show? Her recipes work, her technique is straightforward and easy to follow. At the end of each demonstration, the ingredients and recipe follow in print on the TV screen, a huge bonus. I’ve learned a lot of useful things from her show, like how to roast garlic and red peppers, and what kind of wines to drink with certain dishes.

The book: “Cooking With Caprial; American Bistro Fare” (1996, Ten Speed Press, $24.95).

“Martha Stewart Living” (Lifetime, Monday-Saturday at noon.)

Typical food: Penne Pasta with Peppers, Snow Pea Salad; most dishes are quick and easy, and nutritious.

Style: Stewart, the goddess of the American homemaker, can do it all, from staking tomato plants to cooking tomatoes up in a delicious dish to serving them in a presentation worthy of a master chef. Her style is no-nonsense but slightly snooty; it’s a little hard to buy her “I’m just a country girl in blue jeans in the garden” routine while she’s sporting Calvin Kleins.

Can you cook from this show? You bet. The recipe isn’t shown, so you’d better write fast. But Stewart shows you how to put ingredients together in such an easy fashion you’ll wonder why you didn’t think of it.

The food segments are helpful and easy to follow, but they’re only a small segment of a half-hour show that features gardening, decorating and the like. On a recent show, Stewart gave tips on planting peonies, tying up tomato plants with pantyhose, seasoning a new iron frying pan and throwing together a tasty pasta meal.

The book: Take your pick: “Martha Stewart Cookbook” (a New York Times bestseller), “The Best of Martha Stewart Living: What to Have For Dinner,” and 11 more.

The magazine: “Martha Stewart Living” comes out 10 times a year. Very slick, very nice. Available at bookstores, or you can subscribe.

“The Frugal Gourmet” with Jeff Smith (Lifetime, Monday-Friday 10:30 a.m., Saturday 11 a.m.; Faith & Values, Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m., Saturday at 3 p.m.; KSPS, Saturday 11:30 a.m.; KWSU, Monday at 7 p.m., Thursday at 4 p.m., Saturday at 11:30 a.m.; KUID, Sunday at 2:30 p.m.)

Typical food: Hungarian Paprika Stew with Dumplings, Steak and Lentil Salad, Steamed Fish, Chicken Smoked with Olive Oil.

Style: Smith is such a nice guy, and now that I know he’s an ordained Methodist minister, that explains a lot. He’s very popular and his style is friendly, helpful and not attitudinally challenged, like some other TV chefs.

Can you cook from this show? Sure. However, he recently went to Budapest and brought back a lot of Hungarian ingredients that you’d be hard-pressed to find in your local supermarket.

The book: “The Frugal Gourmet Whole Family Cookbook” (William Morrow and Co., $22), among several others.

“In Julia’s Kitchen with Master Chefs” (KSPS, Saturday at 11 a.m.; KUID, Thursday at 5 p.m.)

Typical foods: Shrimp Diablo with Caesar Salad (from Dean Fearing at The Mansion on Turtle Creek in Dallas), Green Pea Soup and Veal Chop with Sweetbreads (Daniel Boulud at Daniel’s in New York), Foie Gras Ravioli and Duck Breast with Chinese Spices (Gotham Bar and Grill, New York).

Style: Julia is pretty much on the sidelines of the kitchen these days, but at 80-something, she’s earned that right. Now she’s offering encouragement to master chefs from famous restaurants around the country.

Can you cook from this show? If you’re a darned good cook and want to prepare dishes like sweetbreads, you’ll like this one. Or if you just like to watch great chefs in motion, you’ll enjoy tuning in.

The book: “In Julia’s Kitchen with Master Chefs” by Julia Child (Alfred A. Knopf, $35).

“Biba’s Italian Kitchen” (The Learning Channel, Monday-Friday 11 a.m.)

Typical foods: Mozarella and Roasted Red Bell Pepper Salad, Penne with Baked Stuffed Tomatoes, Veal Shanks with Fresh Tomatoes and Peas; dishes involving pasta, fresh tomatoes and garlic rank high.

Style: Biba Caggiano is the real thing. She grew up in Bologna, and ended up in Sacramento, Calif. Unable to find the food familiar to her palate, she recalled her heritage and recreated authentic Italian flavor through local cooking classes, her restaurant, Biba, and, ultimately, her cooking show. Once you get accustomed to her accent, her delivery is easy to follow with interesting tips and history of the food she works with.

Can you cook from this show? Sure, but you have to love tomatoes and garlic. And some of Biba’s dishes are so authentic that all the ingredients might not be easily located.

The book: “From Biba’s Italian Kitchen,” by Biba Caggiano (Hearst Books, $23).

“World Class Cuisine” (Discovery, Monday-Friday 12:30 p.m. and 4 p.m.)

Typical food: This show travels to places like Italy and France and searches out the best of traditional cooking at small inns, classic restaurants and grand hotels. Expect showy, exotic dishes like Scallops with Sauteed Endive from France, Breast of Squab with Sage on a Polenta Cake or Walton Pie, an English appetizer.

Style: A narrator explains what’s going on, a camera shows the action. The chef doesn’t speak, or, if he does, you usually can’t understand him/her. While you might pick up some technique here, you have to pay attention carefully and have ingredients pre-assembled and prepared. You’d almost have to tape this show in order to cook from it.

Can you cook from this show? This is a cooking show for serious cooks. “Cuisine” travels to Italy and France and searches out the best of traditional cooking at small inns, classic restaurants and grand hotels to sample some of the world’s bestloved cuisine. Most of the dishes are fairly exotic and complicated; some, however, are doable.