The smoke alarm had stopped shrieking, the kitchen sink could not accept another dirty pan and the oily path from my kitchen to the living room had its treacherous spots. But I'd managed to produce, on cue, an edible meal following Gordon Ramsay's instructions while manning the stove in front of "Cookalong Live."

Aired live Tuesday on the East Coast and on tape out west, Ramsay's show gathered three celebrities -- singer LeAnn Rimes, comedian Cedric the Entertainer and actress Alyson Hannigan -- at a Los Angeles studio kitchen. For his first time cooking live for American audiences, he chose angel hair pasta with shrimp, steak Diane with potatoes and peas, and tiramisu. Behind the chefs hung an enormous screen showing 16 cooks in their own homes, including Whoopi Goldberg and her daughter. At homes around America, about 4 million tuned in, a tepid turnout for Fox.

Going in, I was concerned that the menu combined the outdated (angel hair pasta, tiramisu) and the old-fashioned (steak in a cream sauce with mushrooms), two elements that might turn off home cooks looking for a challenge or hoping to serve a healthful meal. Plus, it was 9 p.m. -- a little late to just get dinner on the stove. Finally, this was not an inexpensive meal: My grocery bill hit $58.56 at the local Whole Foods and a number of the ingredients -- wine, cognac, rosemary, lemon, peas, chocolate -- were already on hand. (Fox provided a shopping list with quantities on its Web site. It did not include recipes or any preparation notes, which meant slicing and dicing according to Ramsay's orders).

Out of the gate, the first concern was overcooking the pasta. In it went with the sauce -- shrimp and chili with white wine, tomato and basil -- being layered in the saute pan. The result -- predictable when anyone suggests that you cook with a tomato in December -- was on the bland side.

What Works and What's Missing

The steak Diane, on the other hand, came out magnificently. If Ramsay showed people anything, it's not to fear the heat. Dry pans were smoking before any ingredients went in, he got the celebs to tip their brandy-filled pans into flames, and the results -- on TV and in my kitchen -- were nicely cooked, tasty dishes.

A few small quibbles about the show: The screen had too many images and was impossible to see clearly; a handful of techniques were offered but little was said about their effect on flavor; and it was assumed everyone who was cooking along had a TV in their kitchen. Thankfully there's a pause button on the TiVo.

Conceptually, though, they forgot something. Eating. The whole point of cooking for four is to share. We're not in a restaurant, we're in our homes. The meal brings us together -- in my case, my non-cooking wife and a fellow non-cooking friend visiting from out of town -- and at the point Ramsay wanted us to whip mascarpone cheese, we were ready to talk about the experience and how much we enjoyed it and looked forward to doing it again.

Then, after dinner and that second bottle of wine were finished, it was evident why people don't cook like this regularly. You end up with one very messy kitchen to clean.

Photo credit: Fox

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