I was watching Food Network on Saturday night (yes, I have a very thrilling social life) and I saw an ad for their All-Star Thanksgiving special that starts airing on November 18. Is that the special from last year or the year before and not a new special? I ask because Sara Moulton is featured on the show, and I'm not sure if this is a new special or a special from the last couple of years.

I used to love Cooking Live every night and think it was a bad move to cancel that show. Moulton went on to another show, Sara's Secrets.

Nicole reported last year that Moulton was leaving the network, so are these Sara Secrets episodes repeats? I can't tell from the schedule at the site. When I saw the ad for the Thanksgiving special, it made me cringe a bit, because I know that she's basically not doing much for the network anymore, unless the episodes of her show that are on every morning are new and not repeats? To be honest, I didn't even know the show was still on anymore, and I usually don't watch Food Network that early in the AM, so I'm not sure if they're new or repeats.

How can you tell when a celebrity is doing something just for the money? It is easy when they don't even attempt to conceal the fact that they dislike the product that bears their name. Gordon Ramsay, for example, doesn't seem to think that his new line of chocolates, called Just Desserts, are anything special. He said "I don't think you are going to be blown away at £3.99-odd for a box."

While it is true that price can be an indicator of quality, shouldn't Ramsey have tried to get the product to be a really superior one for its price range? A random chocolate from a relatively inexpensive box obviously wouldn't stand up to a single, carefully-crafted truffle that costs as much as that whole box, but with an endorsement from Ramsay, consumers are at least expecting to get something worth what they paid.

The chocolates, if you are interested, are available in the UK at various major retailers, including Sainsbury's.

Rachael Ray got be one of the most trusted celebrities, essentially, because she is nice. It probably doesn't hurt that she is also cute and friendly, but if she wasn't as nice as she is, she wouldn't be as popular. In fact, people really like their celebrities to seem nice and friendly, with only a few exceptions. The number one exception, the scariest celebrity on TV, happens to be a chef as well: Gordon Ramsay. Ramsay is known for yelling, screaming and occasionally reducing people to tears on his TV shows Gordon's Kitchen Nightmares, Hell's Kitchen and the F Word. He not only has a bad-boy attitude on TV, but he defends the fact that it - treating other people as though they are completely incompetent idiots - is his true character and not just an act.

If you're curious as to which other celebs made the British list, they included Anne Robinson (#2, from The Weakest Link), Fanny Cradock (#5, one of the first celebrity chefs), and Simon Cowell (#10, from American Idol).

Before we go any further, I have a confession to make. I like my local Applebee's, but not for the food. I've been there hundreds of times, yet I can count the number of meals I've eaten there on one hand. With the sole exception of the burger, I usually regret ordering anything there.

The real reason I go is simple: there are hardly any watering holes in Rego Park, Queens. Lest any of my fellow Slashfoodies, or God forbid my legions of fans, think me anything less than hip for bending my elbow at a chain restaurant, please be aware that such celebs as Joey Ramone's mother have been known to eat at the very same place. Really, it's true she hails from nearby Forest Hills.

So it certainly wasn't the Huge Flavor campaign involving Food Network star Tyler Florence that drew me to Applebee's last month. Although I must admit that that hearing that two dear friends of mine had sampled some items from the new menu sparked a torrent of conflicting emotions: sympathy, jealousy, Schadenfreude, and a sense of professional envy. Hovering above all of this was a lingering dread, since as a fellow gourmand and food writer I knew I would have to take one for the team.

Mario Batali makes a few Italian wine recommendations to Fortune magazine. According to the chef/restaurateur, "wine doesn't have to come out all dusty and musty from some corkdork's cellar to be good." But it might have to cost you $775! He also makes suggestions on what to pair with each wine.

Splurges

• Bruno Giacosa, Barolo Rocche del Falletto, 2000, $775 for a magnum
• Dal Forno Romano, Amarone, 1999, $575
• Cerbaiona, Brunello di Montalcino, 1990, $239

Deals

• Montevertine, Le Pergole Torte, 2001, $90 - I'm not quite sure how $90 us considered a deal, but then again, this list appears in Fortune magazine, and $90 must be quite a steal for a CEO.
• Planeta, Syrah, 2000, $40
• Morellino Di Scansano, I Perazzi, 2003, $15 - Now that's more like it.

Tyler Florence, the popular Food Network host is teaming up with Applebees to "inject a youthful flair into an already outstanding menu," meaning that the restaurant that is primarily known for its family fare is hoping to attract diners in a different age bracket. The pairing makes sense since Florence's shows are geared towards a younger audience of less experienced cooks moreso than some of the network's programs. He is also known for helping to introduce home cooks to new ingredients and techniques in a familiar setting, which may make the new menu items he helped design more appealing. They include Penne Rosa with Sweet Italian Sausage; Herb-Crusted Chicken Topped with Italian Country Salad; Crispy Brick Chicken (a small flat-grilled chicken) with Warm Spinach Salad; and a Bruschetta Burger, which is a burger on focaccia, topped with a pesto and bruschetta mix.

Florence will also be feature in the chain's ads and will have a photo in their menus. The new foods will be available in mid-September.

No, the rotund New Orleans-inflected celebrity chef will not be rocketing beyond the earth's atmosphere, but his food will.

Next week astronauts on the International Space Station will dine on a menu that Lagasse began crafting more than 18 months ago. The chef will chat with the astronauts next Thursday as they chow down on Mardi Gras Jambalaya, kicked up mashed potatoes with bacon, green beans with garlic, rice pudding, and mixed fruit. UPI's press release notes without a hint of irony that Lagasse is the first star chef to develop recipes served in outer space. It seems that's not entirely true. Alain Ducasse, one of haute cuisine's most successful chefs, has been working with the European Space Agency to give astronauts a taste of fine dining.

Perhaps we can look forward to freeze-dried meals from chefs coming to science museums sometime in the future. God knows they have to be better than Astronaut Ice Cream.

There is no such thing as too much grilling. While the flavor of grilled foods is great, there are two more big reasons why people choose grilling over other cooking methods. First, grilling doesn't heat up the house when it's hot outside. Second, grilling is often lower in fat than many other preparations. This doesn't mean that it's diet food, just that it can almost always be easily incorporated into a healthy diet.

In Bobby Flay's Grilling For Life: 75 Healthier Ideas for Big Flavor from the Fire, Flay provides recipes with bold flavors and leaves out overly process ingredients (like bottled sauces), creating foods that are not only delicious, but healthy. A complete nutritional analysis accompanies each dish, so you know exactly what you're getting, and there is an emphasis on healthy foods (not diet foods), like whole grains, salmon and olive oil. Main dishes include Grilled Beef Filet With Arugula and Parmesan, Grilled Chicken Breasts Stuffed With Goat Cheese With Green Chile-Cilantro Sauce, and there are even a few grilled dessert recipes, like Grilled Apricots With Bittersweet Chocolate and Almonds, to round out a meal. The recipes are clearly written in the no-nonsense style that is in most of Flay's books, so they're easy for home grillers to follow.

Celebrity Chef Todd English is launching a line of food flavorings called Flavor Perfections. The products are described as "all-natural, dry melting powders" that, when heated on a food, transform into a glaze; it is this unusual property that separates them from a spice rub. The flavors include Todd's Teriyaki Glaze, Toscana Garlic Rosemary, Puttanesca Sauce Seasoning, Pesto Genovese and Bonfire Barbeque.

Chef English said "Every home chef will now have the means to create gourmet dishes without extensive, complicated ingredient lists and endless hours in the kitchen" - by which he means that they will be able to achieve the tastes of some of his dishes, since gourmet dishes require not just flavoring, but gourmet preparation. That said, the Flavor Perfections still sound much better than the other premade flavoring products, such as Flavor Sprays.

The product launched last week on the Home Shopping Network.

Sarah was pretty critical – and with good reason – of Anthony Bourdain's recent trip to Korea, which was featured on the Travel Channel's No Reservations. Along with many of the commenters, she felt that there was not enough food and too much traveling. But it takes a lot of filming to put the show together and the crew is always trying to find the right balance of food, adventure and travel.

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer was able to get behind the cameras when the show was being filmed in the Pacific Northwest. It takes up to 100 hours of footage to make the hour-long program, so there is a lot for the editor to choose from. While they try to concentrate primarily on food, stories about locals or unique travel situations are what keep the program moving and interesting to viewers because No Reservations is not a cooking/food show, but a travel/food show.

Check out the whole article if you're interested in reading about Tony's geoduck hunt or how the crew has to bribe him to eat particularly distasteful foods. Otherwise, just wait until the episode airs later this season.

I suppose that there is a certain point at which you become well-known enough to warrant your own action figure. Celebrity chefs have now reached that status. Mario Batali has a little action figure - 5.25-in. high - called Food Flippin' Mario. He's even wearing little crocs! Toy Mario is made of tin and winds up to flip the spaghetti and meatballs in his little pan, while shaking a bottle of his secret sauce. The toy will be released in July, but in the meantime, you can view a live demo at the site that sells him. 

Who else would make a good action figure? Giada de Laurentiis? Rachael Ray? Anthony Bourdain?

[via Shiny Shiny]

Some of us love the Food Network. Some of us want to hate it, but can't. I am of the latter group. I want to ban the channel from my television for some of the things they have done to my viewing pleasure (Iron Chef! Bring back Iron Chef!), but I can't. I just can't do it because there are a few things that still capture my attention:

1. I love watching Michael Chiarello throw together some seriously delicious looking Napa-terranean meals; better yet, I love watching him stroll through the vineyard in his jeans, caressing his grapes. (Oh my, did I blog that second part out loud?!?!)
2. Tyler Florence is hot. I'd like to be Tyler's Ultimate.
3. There is a rumor that the original Iron Chef is coming back (it is on the schedule at 4 am right now). Not confirmed, but a rumor is better than nothing.
4. Paula Deen's food scares my fat cells, but she is too adorable when she is cooking with her sons.
5. Alton Brown is good eats. 
6. They will have Nigella Lawson some time this year
7. By some glorious semi-homemade alignment of the stars, every time I turn the television on, Sandra Lee is not scheduled (unfortunately, Rachael Ray is, but that's a different post).
8. Even though I am not a fan of Giada de Lauentiis, I like her taste in kitchens and clothes.

Time Magazine has named their Top 100 Most Influential People. There are scientists, academics, leaders, and revolutionaries like Steven Levitt (economist), Oprah Winfrey, and Bill & Melinda Gates. And there among the group of Artists & Entertainers, which also includes Ang Lee, Howard Stern and Meryl Streep is...

Rachael Ray.

Her feature story for Time is written by Mario Batali (whom I would have picked long before I'd ever pick Rachael Ray), who says that the 38-year-old Rachael Ray has "has radically changed the way America cooks dinner" in less than five years. Of course, this has also made her rich with millions of cookbooks sold, a magazine, and about a gazillion shows on the Food Network. Hey! Now we know how old she is.

So I would have chosen Mario Batali, but I guess the reason that she is chosen for this list is that she is influential. I mean, how many people out there call it "EVOO" now?

The kitchen at El Bulli, recently chosen again as the best restaurant in the world, is at the forefront of culinary innovation. Diners wonder how the food is done and chefs take sabbaticals just for the chance to visit. Without dropping everything and going to Spain, you can take a tour of the kitchen, too, via the Decoding Ferran Adria DVD. The DVD is hosted by Anthony Bourdain, who visits the "lab" in Barcelona and tracks the progress of food at the restaurant from a mere idea to a plated dinner, a process which can take up to 6 months.

A few short clips of the film are available, to get a taste of what you'll find on the full-length, hour-long DVD.

Last night was the final episode of Season Two of the Next Food Network Star in which viewers votes that were called in, emailed in, or text -messaged in were tabulated to determine the winner.

I didn't watch the series, and in fact, I'm not embarrassed to say I didn't watch one full episode, but I did watch the finale, as I had a little bit of California pride. Both finalists, who were announced last week, Guy Fieri and Reggie Southerland are from California. Guy owns several restaurants in Santa Rosa (northern California), and Reggie lives and works in Silverlake in Los Angeles. Either way, West Coast would represent.

Congratulations to Guy for becoming the Next Food Network Star. His series will premiere in late June.