What Is Wrong With People?

In honor of Columbus sailing the ocean blue back in 1492, my TV has been stuck on the Food Network all day. I caught an episode of Sandra Lee's Semi-Homemade Cooking and was interested in the recipe for Reggie's Sweet Potato Pie. So I looked it up online and was amazed, not for the first time, by how rude people are in their reviews of this poor woman.

Rose from Dallas, who gave the recipe 2 out of 5 stars, wrote: This looks good, but I'm afraid to try it until I see other reviews. Why not fresh sweet potatoes? Did Sandra Lee have to put her own special touch on it?

Now it's God's own mystery how Rose came up with 2 stars for a recipe she didn't even make, but in answer to her question: yeah, Sandra had to put her touch on it because it's her freakin' show – called semi-homemade. As in, everything is not made from scratch, you maroon.

For some reason, Sandra Lee really rubs people the wrong way. The first time I noticed this phenomenon was back in January when I was looking up some of her recipes from her Indian Dinner episode and decided to check out the reviews.

For a minute, I would have sworn I had somehow jumped over to a Jerry Springer chat room. These people were brutal. Taking potshots at other reviewers as well as poor Sandra. And I mean personal insults that were completely and totally uncalled for. I couldn’t believe it.

It’s one thing not to like the recipe but quite another to start talking about people’s broken marriages and drinking problems. Check out these comments for the Chicken Masala (which I thought was pretty good):

Anonymous wrote: Sandra isn't responsible if the people at FN can't spell her recipes. Anybody who has watched her show more than once knows how much she loves the bottle - obviously this is her rendition of Chicken Marsala. After all, even she wouldn't be silly enough to use condensed cream of anything soup in an 'Indian' dish.

A second anonymous reviewer wrote in response: Didn't care for the recipe, 'cause once you've had real authentic Indian food, everything else is just a cheap imitation. And PLEASE MS. Anonymous get your facts straight you Olive- Garden-eatin-ignorant-American Cow, this dish not to be confused with Italian Marsala!!

Tough crowd.

And under the headline "AA Is Waiting For You", another anonymous viewer wrote: Sandy, if you had any integrity to stay true to real ethnic cuisine, not the booze-induced trash you throw together, you would have found that the preferred alcohol libations in Indian cuisine are beer or gin. Vodka and yogurt?? No wonder your husband left to seek more sober pastures. Please Sandy, get some help.

Did I miss an episode of Inside Edition, did Sandra just make a few more than her fair share of enemies in high school, or does she has a pin up calendar these ladies' husbands are spending too much time with out in the garage?

Either way, I’m curious to see if people are so hard on Rachel Ray or Giada De Laurentiis. You can bet your sweet ass no one would take that tone with Paula Deen.

Anyway, I made all of the recipes from this episode, including the Chai Ice Cream – yummy! – and thought they were pretty good. Check them out, if you so desire. But if you don't like the recipes, please direct your comments to the food - not the chef.