You guys are right: The problem with The Next Food Network Star is that it challenges the contestants with tasks that I can't imagine them having to face if they actually win. I watched last night with a friend who had never seen before, and he was pretty much laughing out loud. That said, I still kind of really like it. Agree? Disagree? Read on.TNFNS: You have 2 seconds to reinvent the wheel. Go!
You guys are right: The problem with The Next Food Network Star is that it challenges the contestants with tasks that I can't imagine them having to face if they actually win. I watched last night with a friend who had never seen before, and he was pretty much laughing out loud. That said, I still kind of really like it. Agree? Disagree? Read on.Continue reading TNFNS: You have 2 seconds to reinvent the wheel. Go!
The Today Show reports on America's wasted food
I grew up in a household where we embraced leftovers, composted actively and had a dog with an iron-clad stomach, so very little food went to waste. As I got older and started living on my own, I realized what a feat of meal planning and conservation my mother had been pulling off all those years, as I found myself tossing heads of lettuce, moldy cheese and sour milk at the end of each week. I worked to change my habits, learning how much food I needed for each given week, working hard to use up my leftovers and buying an indoor composter to ensure that my vegetal waste didn't go into the landfills.
As food and fuel prices rise, more and more people are becoming concerned with the amount of food that we waste. This morning the Today Show aired a segment on food waste and in it they interviewed journalist and blogger Jonathan Bloom. Bloom runs the website Wasted Food and is currently writing a book about the amount of uneaten food that gets sent to landfills each day.
The segment is interesting and is an excellent primer for those people who are new to the idea of food conservation. They suggest that more frequent trips to the supermarket, in which you buy less, is one of the answers to preventing food waste. While I think that's a good idea, I wish they had stressed tactics like shopping at farmers markets (the food is fresher, so it stays good longer, giving you more time in which to use it) and using your freezer (if you make a large meal, halve it and freeze a portion for another time).
TNFNS: Let's be nice, now
Last week I wrote my first post about The Next Food Network Star, having never seen it before. Thanks to those of you who gave me a heads up about show details and juice from past seasons. My plan is to just enjoy the show for what it is, and to try not to harp on the contestants too much. I'll admit that I'm easily entertained (I do sometimes watch old Sesame Street videos on YouTube), but I find the show pretty funny, and it's not like I have better things to do than watch TV and write about it. So join me in celebrating the absurdity of it all -- it could be fun.Freegans race to make the best meal out of dumpster pickings
My younger sister has gone through a number of different food phases. During elementary school, she was a queen of junk food. As she got older, she started leaning more and more towards healthier foods, becoming a vegetarian and then a vegan. She was a vegan for a number of years, until her rock and roll lifestyle (she's a musician who is nearly always on the road) started to make that diet impossible. Quality vegan food wasn't always easy to find, and was often prohibitively expensive when she could find it. That was the point at which she started calling herself a freegan, stating that she'd eat just about anything, as long as it was free.
These days she's found a happy medium, eating poultry and fish along side her vegetables and grains, but no red meat or pork. However, she still embraces the freegan lifestyle, often going dumpster diving with friends in Austin. She would fit right in with the new internet show that is being produced in the UK. Called Ready, Steady, Skip (skip being the British word for dumpster), the show challenges two teams to dig through trash bins, looking for quality foods that have been discarded. They then have to go home and create full meals out of their finds. The team who produces the best eats wins the game.
Right now only the trailer is available, but the first full episode is scheduled to be available in July.
[via Treehugger]
Would you eat Frankenmeat?
PETA has offered a million dollar prize to the first people to develop artifical chicken meat. To find out how this would go over, a new PBS web TV series, Your Week, hits the streets, farms, and markets asking if people would be willing to eat meat grown in a lab.
The response, not surprsingly, was mixed.
Have a look at the video and let us know if would you eat Frankenmeat. Answer in the poll and leave a comment letting us know why or why not.
Pack your knives and hit the road
According to the popular blog TV Squad, Top Chef has plans embark on a national tour.The tour will begin June 21, and pass through 20 cities. A few cheftestants will be present in every city, offering cooking demonstrations, food tastings, and tips to their adoring public. Check out the more info from the press release here, plus a schedule of the tour after the jump.
Top Chef for teens
Ok, the kids pictured may be a bit too young, but you get the picture, right? That's right, Bravo wants to expand on its top rated Top Chef.The cable television channel is planning a spinoff of Top Chef for the younger set, probably 13 to 16 year olds. Apparently the show is pretty popular with teen viewers, along with most other demographics.
The teen version of the show will focus on "teaching and testing" the kids to "see what it takes to become a junior Top Chef." The series will be eight episodes, but no word yet on when it will air.
[via The Grinder]
The Next Food Network Star: I think I'm crushing
Spoilers!
It hasn't even been a week since the season finale of Top Chef, and I'm already into a new show. It's a rebound -- something new and exciting to occupy me for now, and who knows what it could turn into? A brief fling? A multi-season love affair? I feel so giddy.
So just to clarify: Last night was my first evening spent with The Next Food Network Star. I'm going to be writing recaps for the rest of the season, but my experience with the show is limited to one episode, plus all of the online content. That means that all you veteran watchers should feel free to help me out whenever possible with details from past seasons, etc. And if you haven't seen the show, start watching Sundays at 10 p.m. EST and we can learn together!
Continue reading The Next Food Network Star: I think I'm crushing
Top Chef Finale: Big. Bold. Spicy. Sweet. Salty. Sour. Awesome!
Spoilers!It's been a long 14 episodes, and last night we finally learned who has been crowned the new Top Chef. Lisa, Richard and Stephanie duked it out for the title in Puerto Rico, creating what was supposed to be the "the most important meal of their lives." I don't know what caused me to salivate more -- the food or the drama. Read on!
Continue reading Top Chef Finale: Big. Bold. Spicy. Sweet. Salty. Sour. Awesome!
Ted Allen: Food Detective
Y'know what I love about Ted Allen? Everything. His carefully sculpted coiff, his evasion of the Queer Eye curse, his smug yet disarming way of knowing so much more about everything than I ever will. And now, as if I needed another reason to worship the damn man, he is hosting the genius new Food Network series Food Detectives. As if granting my TV prayers, Food Detectives is described as the epicurean answer to Mythbusters. The upcoming primetime show, debuting on July 29th, will feature Allen working with a team of culinary and technical scientists to verify or debunk famous food myths. Slated thusfar: the five-second rule, the gestation of gum digestion, and an apple-a-day's effect on doctors.
Additionally, viewers can submit their own culinary queries. First on my list: Can eating too many carrots turn your skin orange? 'Cause I'd sure like to see Ted all tannined. Which food fables would you like to see tested?
Top Chef: Bring home the bacon
Beware of spoilers!
On last night's episode of Top Chef, contestants traveled to Puerto Rico for an Elimination Challenge that determined which chefs are this season's final three.
If you watched it, you know what went down, so let's get angry.
On last night's episode of Top Chef, contestants traveled to Puerto Rico for an Elimination Challenge that determined which chefs are this season's final three.
If you watched it, you know what went down, so let's get angry.
Burger King courts partiers with late-night hours
Starting this Thursday Burger King is extending hours at its U.S. locations into the wee hours, specifically 2 a.m. or later. Don't get too excited night owls; the late-night munchies friendly sked only runs from Thursday to Saturday. It makes me wonder whether BK's looking to compete with White Castle, long the late-night go-to meal for drunks and stoners alike. I can't remember the last time I ate at a Burger King. Sadly, I can remember the last time I ate at a White Castle.
Folks who are creeped out by the plastic-faced King will be glad to know that he's not the point man for this campaign. BK has appointed Sean "Diddy" Combs as its new late-night ambassador. I don't watch much television these days, but according to the press release the first TV spot, "Diddy's Way," has begun airing. I wonder if the commercial features an urban-contemporary take on the Burger King song. One thing's for sure. Since it's directed by Spike Lee, the content has got to better than the stuff on Diddy's BK-sponsored Youtube channel.
There are plenty of reasons to hate Rachel Ray, but this is stupid
Dunkin' Donuts TV ads featuring goonishly smiley Food Network personality Rachel Ray have been pulled after a right wing commenter claimed Ray's scarf looks like Palestinian garment. Seriously?
Noted Fox News wingnut Michelle Malkin proclaimed that the black and white scarf resembled the checkered kiffiyah traditionally worn by Palestinians. And therefore must somehow be associated with terrorism. And Dunkin' Donuts, as you know, is into supporting Islamic terrorism. Not just, you know, making Boston Cremes.
The scarf, as you can see, is a tasseled number probably purchased at Saks. Dunkin' Donuts: I love your chocolate glazed, but you should be ashamed of yourself for capitulating to such nonsense.
Top Chef: Trimming the fat
Spoiler alert!On last night's episode, we finally learned which four contestants will attend the show's finale in Puerto Rico. As a result, the episode really focused not on whose dishes were great or the best, but rather which contestant was not as good as the others. It was a bit like a game of musical chairs, where it didn't matter where you sat, as long as you weren't the last one standing.
Indiana Jones and the inexplicable M&M promotion
Let it be known that I am a die hard Limited Edition Foods fan. I lived and died by Pepsi Kona, and I essentially redefine myself with each new incarnation of Kit Kat. That said, imagine my excitement when a friend of mine presented me with New Indiana Jones Mint Crisp M&Ms. (While they do not specifically say "Limited Edition", they do imply as much with "Get 'M' Before They're Lost!") One look at these puppies and you know you're in for an epicurean adventure of chilled-monkey-brains-buffet proportions, 'cause these M&Ms are all kinds of divergent from the original.
To wit:
- They are shades of green and white
- In place of the simple "M", some of the candies have mystical graphics (including a skull, a compass, a temple, and Indy's hat)
- They are chocolate-mint flavored
- Their core is a rice crisp
Continue reading Indiana Jones and the inexplicable M&M promotion
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