It was a kindler, gentler Gordon Ramsay on display in this Los Angeles-based kitchen set. The famously hard-nosed, expletive-spewing foodsmith donned a casual plaid button-down shirt and jeans and didn't utter a single bad word during Fox's 'Gordon Ramsay: Cookalong Live,' in which the chef showed the nation how to cook a three course meal all in the span of one hour. (In fact, the star of 'Hell's Kitchen' cheekily reminded those of us in the studio audience to mind our language.) There were no dishes cracked, no spit showers to "piss off, and no berating. The only thing that was remotely threatening about the program was the fiery flambé -- well, that, and the chef's tendency to lean uncomfortably close to his female guests.

'Gordon Ramsay: Cookalong Live' (9PM, Fox)
Chef Gordo invites everyone to prepare a three-course meal with him in this special, in which he dishes up tasty recipes, and viewers cook up their own versions at the same time. Fox.com has the shopping lists for the meal, which includes Steak Diane with Sauteed Potatoes and Peas, Angel Hair Pasta with Shrimp, Chili and Tomatoes and Tiramisu for dessert. The 'Cookalong Live' format began in England as a one-time special and was so popular that it became a regular series with the 'Hell's Kitchen' chef ... could a weekly 'Cookalong' in the U.S. be on the menu, too?

I love British chef Gordon Ramsay. I love watching him on TV, whether it's his Fox shows -- Hell's Kitchen or Kitchen Nightmares -- or the ones that have turned up on BBC America like Ramsay's Boiling Point and the most recent show, The F Word. The F stands for food, by the way. Much as I love him, though, I don't think I want him as a teacher.

Well, that's what he's going to be doing next. The Simon Cowell of cooking is plotting something new for the network. Ramsay's doing a special cooking show for Fox in the Julia Child tradition, teaching how to do what he does. The idea is for Gordon to create a three-course dinner while giving home viewers instructions about how to do it with him.