08 September 2011

lemon sorbet with wild blackberries


I’ll admit it – I dislike Rachel Ray.

And apparently I’m not alone.

Known for her simplistic “30 Minute Meals” Food Network program and countless cookbooks, her recipes are often so basic that they hardly qualify as recipes.

Take her recipe for lemon sorbet which appears on Food Network’s website. The primary ingredient for this recipe? Store-bought lemon sorbet from the freezer. Yep, that’s it. You make lemon sorbet by buying it from the grocery store. Then add a few fresh berries, and voila!

Others who are as equally fond of Rachel Ray as I am have taken to deriding her by adding fake reviews to many of her recipes, thus making a public mockery of the star in her very own venue. Her recipe for “late night bacon” is a classic in the art of web comments graffitting.

From the comments section of Rachel’s lemon sorbet recipe:

“Ingredients: lemon sorbet -- Genius! I substituted chocolate ice cream for the sorbet, fudge sauce for the berries and a sugar cone for the bowl. So simple and DEEEEElish! Another winner Rach! Keep em coming!”

“I only have lemon ice cream. If I put some crushed ice from the fridge door in it, does that make it sorbet? I don't have berries. Does anyone know if I can use vegetables instead? Is it ok to sub black beans for black berries?”

“I'm not a fan of this recipe... it is far too complicated for me. You see... I live 150 miles away from the nearest grocery store, but I have lemons growing in my backyard in California. Is there a way that I can take those lemons and make them into sorbet? Could I just juice them and put them in the freezer? PLEASE HELP!”

“Where am i gonna get lemon sorbet for my lemon sorbet? Durrrr.....”
“Great thanks a lot Rachel ray I Got my lemon sorbet and fruit and mixed it together and then my mom died of cancer.”

Not to be seen as a hypocrite, I freely admit that my recipe for lemon sorbet with wild blackberries uses store-bought sorbet too. But then, I'm not professing to be a celebrity chef, either. At least I picked the blackberries and grew the basil for this version though.

Ingredients:
Lemon sorbet
Fresh blackberries
Fresh basil

Directions:
Spoon blackberries into bowl, top with lemon sorbet and cut basil.