Sunday, August 24, 2008

Review: Every Freaking! Day with Rachell Ray

Summary: Hey kids! If 30-minute meals are good, wouldn't 30-second meals be even better? You bet they would! And EVERY FREAKING! DAY WITH RACHELL RAY makes this dream a reality!

This 64-page, full-color parody of the super-caffeinated media phenomenon Rachael Ray doesn't merely mimic the tone of the megastar's monthly magazine, daily talk show, multiple Food Network shows and countless ad campaigns, it nails it!

Bestselling author Elizabeth Hilts captures Rachael's perky exuberance, her "casual" approach to cooking and her irrepressible and wholly unique Rayisms. -- Hachette Book Group USA

They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. If that's true, then Rachael Ray should be extremely flattered by the new book EVERY FREAKING! DAY WITH RACHELL RAY by Elizabeth Hilts. This book pretty much sums up everything I've ever thought about her -- and maybe even a few things that I hadn't thought of. The way I figure it is that if Rachael Ray weren't so darn popular and making so much money, no one would even bother to write a parody about her.

I will admit that I was a pretty big fan of Rachael Ray before she became the HUGE star that she is now. I used to watch her cooking show on the Food Network (before my kids hi-jacked the t.v.) and I own quite a few of her 30 minute cookbooks. I even subscribed to her magazine for a year. So I'm not this big anti-Rachael Ray person (however, I did not like her daytime talk show.) Having said all this, when I was given the opportunity to take a look at this book, I couldn't say no. I thought it looked hilarious!

After reading the book, I will say that it is definitely funny! The book is based on her magazine format with lots of Rachell-filled pictures. The recipes are just hilarious -- like the no-bake chocolate cake (made from foam disks, white glue, Ring Dings, Yodels, Hostess Chocolate Cup Cakes, and 100-Calore Pack Chocolate Cupcakes), the Twisted Strawberry Shortcake (with the special surprise ingredient of cayenne pepper), and the Mac n' Cheeseburger (who says a "burger" has to include meat? Not me!) to name just a few. And, everything is this book is available for purchase at everyfreakingday.com (does that sound like the real magazine or what?)

There are lots of other cute articles including the Q&A sections where some of Rachell's true colors really shine through, the Celebrity Fridge interview with Paula Deane, and A Day in the Life of a Mystery Taster (answer: Bill Clinton.) I loved how the author poked fun at Rachell's ideas of a 30 minute meal -- who really can make one of her meals in 30 minutes or less? I thought the book did a fabulous job of capturing the "voice" of Rachael Ray as well as the feel of her magazine.

If you are a fan of Rachael Ray's (or even if you're not), this book does provide some entertainment and more than a few laughs!

3 comments:

Jill said...

How freaking funny is this! Thanks so much for putting it on my radar. She makes me nervous to watch on TV...way too much energy...and her cookbooks have super-long ingredient lists, but I really like her magazine. But, this parody sounds hilarious!

Anonymous said...

I like Rachael and think she'd be cool enough to like this book. Friends think I'm strange to like her, but hey, what's wrong with being happy, liking food, liking to travel and being energetic? I wish I could be so "awful!"

Anonymous said...

too funny! The cover is brilliant!

I'm not a fan, nor a detractor ... very middle-of-the-road, so I probably wouldn't appreciate the parody as much as someone who was strongly pro- or anti-Rachael.

I know enough to laugh at the out-takes you quoted, though!