For fans of the competitive cake-baking extravaganza that is The Next Great Baker, it’s GO TIME! One lucky bidder and a friend can tour the set of the TLC show, and meet “The Cake Boss” Buddy Valastro! The pair will take a walk around the Hoboken, NJ set, and get a chance to exchange baking tips with the Boss himself, while getting a behind-the-scenes look at where all the frosting will fly for the show’s upcoming season!
Bidding is open through Wednesday, September 14 at leading charity auction site charitybuzz: http://www.charitybuzz.com/catalog_items/2726101. Proceeds for this item benefit The RFK Center for Justice and Human Rights, an organization dedicated to advancing human rights through human rights education advocacy programs.
TLC’s The Next Great Baker is back for it’s second season on November 28, and this time the competition is even fiercer! Watch Buddy Valastro really bring the heat as thirteen talented confectioners get a shot to show the Boss their stuff. With crazier twists, tougher challenges and bigger prizes at stake, this season is sure to be sweet!
It’s pretty obvious which “top chefs” have the most clout on television. They’re usually the ones with the most shows and the biggest audience. Guy Fieri? He owns tv clout.
But I’ve often wondered which of these chefs have the most ONLINE clout. Now I know!
Klout, the company that rates social media influence (twitter, facebook, etc), just calculated which celebrity chefs are not only cooking superstars but also top tweeters.
The following 10 foodies extraordinaire have legions of people hanging on their every word…
If you know any I haven’t uncovered yet, let us know in the comments! I do have a few favorites who I haven’t listed simply because they haven’t sent out a tweet since the Reagan administration (okay, maybe not that long….)
Here’s a delicious partnership: One of the judges on America’s Next Great Restaurant is Chipotle CEO Steve Ells and he has something pretty cool up his sleeve. He’s offering free burritos to people who “Like” the show on Facebook!
Just “like” the page, watch an exclusive preview of the series and after the video is complete, you’ll get a printable card that you can redeem at any Chipotle location.
The promotion ends on March 6th, so head over as soon as you can to take advantage of this awesome offer. Go to the official Facebook page for more information and to become a fan: America’s Next Great Restaurant on Facebook.
America’s Next Great Restaurant should be a lot of fun. We’ll find out soon enough, the series will premiere on March 6th!
More About the Series:
From Emmy Award-winning producers Dan Cutforth and Jane Lipsitz of Magical Elves (“Top Chef” and “Project Runway”) comes “America’s Next Great Restaurant.” In this delectable new alternative series, people from every walk of life will vie for the opportunity of a lifetime to see their original restaurant concept spring to life – starting with the opening of a restaurant chain in three locations – Hollywood, Minneapolis and New York City.
Funding the restaurant concepts are four accredited investors: Bobby Flay, distinguished restaurateur (“Iron Chef America: The Series,” “Throwdown! with Bobby Flay”); Curtis Stone, internationally renowned chef (NBC’s “The Biggest Loser,” “Take Home Chef”); Steve Ells, founder, chairman and co-CEO of Chipotle; and Lorena Garcia, executive chef and restaurateur.
Flay, Stone, Ells and Garcia not only serve as investors who put their money into the winning restaurant idea, but they also serve as mentors. They will be working side by side with the competitors to further develop their concepts and put each competitor’s restaurant concept through rigorous business and cooking challenges to determine which idea has what it takes to become America’s next great restaurant.
After a nationwide search, the top 21 competitors will present their restaurant concepts to the investors and 11 will be quickly eliminated – leaving the top 10 competitors to battle it out over the course of the season. The investors will determine which competitor’s concept has the greatest potential for success, and those who do not rise to the challenge will be sent home.
In the final episode, someone will fully savor his or her great American dream of launching his or her own restaurant chain, and viewers will have the opportunity to experience it for themselves.
“America’s Next Great Restaurant” is produced by the Emmy Award-winning Magical Elves. Dan Cutforth, Jane Lipsitz, Ross Jacobson, Nan Strait, and Amy Chacon serve as executive producers. Casey Kriley and Gayle Gawlowski serve as co-executive producers.
How does Thursday Night Pizza sound? If you’re like me, it doesn’t sound nearly as good as Every Night Pizza. Seriously, I come from a long line of pizza fanatics and my daughters are continuing the tradition admirably. In fact, one of my daughter’s friends (Chris) nearly puts my pizza pursuits to shame.
Nearly. In the end, he has met the true mistress of pizza. However, the boy is the very definition of competition.
Actually Thursday Night Pizza isn’t a suggestion for WHEN to have pizza. It’s a tutorial in HOW to have pizza.
A Little About the Book:
After twenty years of testing recipes on his fellow monks, Father Dominic of public television s Breaking Bread offers a surprising variety of pizza recipes sure to please every palate. With his customary detailed and easy-to-follow directions, Father Dom shows you how to make the perfect crust (the real key to first-rate pizza), flavorful homemade sauces, and savory toppings. You ll discover a delicious reduced-fat sausage that is both easy and economical, the way to avoid soggy crusts, and a magic trick to have warm, crusty bread waiting for your breakfast the morning after pizza night. Recipes include six different doughs, seven sauces, and dozens of pizzas like Pesto and Prosciutto Pizza, Muffaletta Pizza, The Denver Diner Special, Mediterranean Vegetable Pizza, Pizza Diavolo, and Fig and Papaya Dessert Pizza.
I was sent this cookbook to review on my food blog and am more than thrilled to do so. I love few things more than letting you (my fellow foodies) know about outstanding kitchen gadgets, recipes, and cookbooks. This one’s a total winner.
Father Dominic Garramone was host of the popular PBS show “Breaking Bread With Father Dominic,” which aired from 1999 through 2002. He honed his considerable pizza skills by experimenting on his brethren for their Thursday night meals (hence the name). He loved to challenge himself to come up with creative new recipes, unexpected ingredients, and delicious ways to dress up pizza.
No doubt the brethren loved it at least as much as Father Dom!
Thursday Night Pizza is wonderfully written and is a real delight to read. Father Dom’s sense of humor leaves you wishing he wrote more books! Honestly, the introduction, the Pizza Basics section and the many personal “notes” throughout are as enjoyable as the recipes, themselves. Father Dominic obviously has been gifted with many more talents than those found in the kitchen.
Pizza Recipes
The pizza recipes in Thursday Night Pizza are creative works of genius – each one leaves your mouth watering and your stomach making urgent demands. Each time I jotted down ingredients for the first pizza I wanted to make from the book, I’d turn the page and find another one begging to be made asap! All I can say is thank God I have a treadmill.
One thing’s for certain, I’ll never buy store bought crust again!
Possibly the best section of the cookbook is the section devoted entirely to crusts and sauces. You’re given quite a few different crust and sauce recipes – and you thought there was just one crust and one sauce recipe! Okay, so did I.
Trust this pizza fanatic, you’ll want to order your copy today… as in right this minute: Thursday Night Pizza
The recipe below is from a favorite cookbook of mine: The Biggest Loser Cookbook: More Than 125 Healthy, Delicious Recipes Adapted from NBC’s Hit Show. As you may know, I’m totally hooked on any and all things associated with The Biggest Loser. I LOVE the show’s premise of changing lives – they literally give these wonderful people a second chance at life and I don’t guess I’ve ever watched an episode without tearing up at least once.
I also have their exercise dvds (although a recent one has just about been the end of me!) and every cookbook I can get my hands on.
I haven’t bought the newest Biggest Loser Desserts Cookbook yet or the Food and Activity Journal but I will. I’ve looked through them several times at the bookstore. I even committed to memory an Orange Smoothie recipe, went directly to the store for the ingredients (you know, before the memory train rode off into the sunset) and made some that night. Delicious!!!
This healthy, low-calorie, and outrageously delicious Spinach recipe was titled “Melinda’s Holiday Spinach” in the cookbook but I’m just going with “Melinda’s Spinach” below. I wouldn’t want anyone thinking you had to wait for Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, or any other holiday to make this dish. I actually first made it during the summer – I remember because I was listening to baseball (another obsession) while cooking.
Give this one a try, you’re going to love it.
Melinda’s Spinach Recipe
1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup chopped white onions
2/3 cup chopped red bell pepper
1/3 sliced fresh mushrooms
1 clove garlic, minced
1 bag (9 oz or 12 cups) baby spinach, coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon light cream cheese from a block, at room temperature
Set a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the olive oil. Heat for 30 seconds. Add the onion. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 2 minutes. Add the bell pepper, mushrooms, and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 to 7 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender. Add the spinach. Cook, stirring constantly, for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the leaves are wilted. Remove from the heat. Add the cream cheese. Stir until the cheese melts. Serve immediately.
Makes 3 (2/3 cup) servings.
Per Serving: 91 calories
More about the Cookbook
The Biggest Loser Cookbook: More Than 125 Healthy, Delicious Recipes Adapted from NBC’s Hit Show is packed with recipes you’ll use again and again. There are healthy breakfast recipes, healthy snack recipes, healthy sides, soups, stews, and even healthy desserts. As a grand #1 snacker, I’m saved by the snacks in this cookbook! My family and I love to snack while watching our favorite tv shows and ballgames. If it weren’t for healthy recipes like these… well, I don’t even want to think about it. I probably wouldn’t be able to fit through my back door.
A few of my personal favorite recipes are:
Seth’s Fiesta Poached Eggs
Pete’s Man-Size Low-Calorie Breakfast Omelet
Kelly’s Cottage Cheese and Fruit Parfait
Lox-Of-Muscle Crisps (my oldest daughter and I down these like they’re doughnut holes)
Roasted Red Pepper Dip
Spinach Skinny Dip
Bob’s Popcorn with a Jessica twist
BBQ Pork Sandwich
Mom’s New Beef Stew
Parmesan-Pepper Sweet Potato Fries
Garlic and Chive Mashed Sweet Potatoes
Mo’s Spinach Ricotta Bake
Parmesan-Roasted Cauliflower
Greek God(Dess) Salad (LOVE it!)
Pecan Crusted Chicken
Pan “Fried” Catfish with Southwest Tartar Sauce
Iced Buffed Mocha
Lisa’s Frozen Gramwiches
Melinda’s Holiday Spinach
…. and, well… all the rest!
I could list a lot more recipes, but quite frankly I’ve worked up an appetite. I’m 2 minutes away from fixing Seth’s Fiesta Poached Eggs for brunch and my mouth’s watering.
This really and truly is a wonderful cookbook – and one that you’ll again and again. A lot of cookbooks have less than a handful of recipes you’ll actually use. When it comes to this book, you’d need a team of hands. Plus, we’re talking about ingredients that are easy to find. In fact, a lot of them are probably in your kitchen right now. I love that! The Biggest Loser Cookbook is also packed with inspirational contestant stories and advice from the trainers.
If you’ve made a commitment to fitness and to living healthier, you’ll want to arm yourself with all the tools and motivation you can get your hands on. The Biggest Loser cookbooks, books, and dvds are an excellent way to fill your arsenal with tools that’ll help you meet (and surpass) your goals. Also, watching the show each Tuesday night will also give you tons of advice, tips, motivation, and inspiration.
Here’s an extra little tip: Follow the trainers and host on Twitter! They’re always sharing tips, advice, motivation, and even recipes. You never know what they’re going to say or do next and they’re excellent at fan interaction.
The information is below and your goals are within reach.
Here’s a look at a promising new series coming this Spring, America’s Next Great Restaurant. Curtis Stone, Bobby Flay, Lorena Garcia and Steve Ells, the founder of Chipotle, are the judges when hopeful contestants present their ideas to the panel for the next big American restaurant. The NBC series boasts Emmy Award-nominated producers of “Project Runway” and “Top Chef,” in addition to the heavyweight names mentioned above. Seriously,how can it miss? The lucky winner will get the opportunity of a lifetime – the chance to open their own restaurant.
The fact that it’s on NBC, the network that gives me one of my biggest television addictions of all time (The Biggest Loser) is enough reason for me to tune in. The fact that Curtis Stone and Bobby Flay are involved is just icing on the cake (apologies to Bob & Jillian for the cake reference).
A nation-wide deal is on the line when the series kicks off Wednesday, March 16th at 9/8c – watch the first preview below! This looks like it’ll be A LOT of fun.
On the heels of bumming over the end of Ace of Cakes, I have to say, I needed some good news from my television set. Thanks to TLC and The Cake Boss, I didn’t have to wait long.
Click the banner above to learn more about an exciting new series on TLC and meet the contestants.
Do you have nothing but big love for Emeril Lagasse, Wolfgang Puck, Padma Lakshmi, Colin Cowie and Todd English? I have nothing but big love for Emeril Lagasse, Wolfgang Puck, Padma Lakshmi, Colin Cowie and Todd English.
Fellow foodies, have you heard about the upcoming celebrity chef Cooks! Event airing live on HSN on November 5th? Truth be told, HSN is cooking up a special treat for viewers. HSN’s kitchen will be boiling over with celebrity chefs and food connoisseurs including Emeril Lagasse, Wolfgang Puck, Padma Lakshmi, Colin Cowie and Todd English as they launch an exciting array of products on air and share recipes.
Kitchen gadgets, dishes, and cooking products? Recipes? I’m so totally there I’m not even here.
Each chef will be cooking up a special course for the Holidays. Check out the recipes and more details here: HSN.com/HolidayMenu.
Also, don’t miss out on the following Celebrity Chef Products. I honestly can’t make up my mind which one I’m dying for the most. I LOVE the Colin Cowie Infused Beverage Pitcher (There’s even a Colin Cowie Fruit-Infused Lemonade Packet available on HSN). There are also several Colin Cowie Beverage Servers that would be absolutely beautiful filled with punch or even tea for the holidays.
Wolfgang Puck is another HSN featured Celebrity Chef. There’s a great looking Wolfgang Puck Food Processor (linked at the bottom of the post), a gorgeous Wolfgang Puck Reversible Grill/Griddle, Enameled Ceramic Bakers, and more. When it comes to Celebrity Chefs, Wolfgang Puck is a perfect example (along with the other chefs named in this article) – the bigger the name, the better the product.
Speaking of beautiful Padma Lakshmi, you HAVE to check out her beautiful line of cooking and entertaining products on HSN. They’re called Easy Exotic by Padma Lakshmi and they’re as exotic and beautiful as the lady, herself. Again, these would be breathtakingly beautiful around the holidays.
Each of these Celebrity products would make PERFECT Christmas gifts… after, of course, you fill your own kitchen with the goodness!
One of my favorite series on The Food Network is Down Home with the Neelys. They’re a warm, lovely, hilarious, and charming couple who happen to cook up a storm. Or two or twelve or twenty.
If you’ve never caught the show, do yourself (and your culinary skills) a favor: Check your local listings and make the Neelys daily guests in your home. You’ll fall instantly in love with them – trust me.
If, like me, you’re already a true blue fan, you understand why I’m singing their praises. Their food is right up my southern alley.
New fans and old fans, alike, will want Pat and Gina on DVD. In Food Network Down Home with the Neelys: Season 1, the Neelys teach you their favorite family recipes, foolproof dishes for entertaining, and delicious tricks of the trade. With more than fifty recipes on the entire first season’s thirteen mouth-watering episodes, nobody will leave the table hungry!
Either way you go about it, getting to know the Neelys will add a lot of style, fun, flavor, and southern sass to your cooking. Now tell me that’s not a good thing.
Love tea? You'll want to check out the Crazy Tea Chick. The Crazy Tea Chick happens to be my daughter - the crazy doesn't fall far from the tree. It also doesn't wander far from caffeine.
sound? If you’re like me, it doesn’t sound nearly as good as Every Night Pizza. Seriously, I come from a long line of pizza fanatics and my daughters are continuing the tradition admirably. In fact, one of my daughter’s friends (Chris) nearly puts my pizza pursuits to shame.
. As you may know, I’m totally hooked on any and all things associated with The Biggest Loser. I LOVE the show’s premise of changing lives – they literally give these wonderful people a second chance at life and I don’t guess I’ve ever watched an episode without tearing up at least once.
