by Joi on December 31, 2009
Are you a cablevision customer? Do you love Food Network? Would you greatly miss Alton, Paula, Rachael, Ace and Guy if they suddenly stopped coming into your living room?
If you’ve answered yes, yes, and you bet I would – it’s time to act before it’s too late.
Food Network may be dropped from your TV lineup. That would mean no more Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, no more Paula Deen, no more Bobby Flay, no Alton Brown, no Rachael Ray and no more Ace or his cakes. Good Lord! I can’t even imagine.
What can you do? Demand that Cablevision keep Food Network on the air by sending an eCard or calling 866-695-BEST. Due to the high volume of calls you may receive a busy signal, just keep trying. You can also send an eCard.
Spread the word on Twitter, Facebook, to your e-mail buddies, and around your neighborhood.
If you rely on Cablevision for your television viewing (at this moment I’m EXTREMELY thankful that I do not), rally the troops and save this wonderful channel. How ridiculous for cablevision to even THINK about ditching The Food Network. I’ll bet a lot of the other ridiculously stupid channels aren’t even being considered.
Speak up and speak out!
For more information and to stay up to date on the situation, check out I Love Food Network.
Wow, a few of my favorite things in the world are colliding: Good Morning America, Recipes, Wolfgang Puck, Paula Deen, Emeril Lagasse, Rachael Ray… I’m so there.
ABC News.com is launching a new GMA recipe site. In addition to recipes from the names above, you’ll find quick, affordable meal ideas and recipes, the anchor’s favorite recipes, and how to demos.
See the video below for details.
Kitchen Collection may have more Paula Deen products than Paula Deen does. I’ve just been browsing their website, making note of everything I MUST have and half of them feature the Goddess of Southern Cooking’s name.
One of the things I’m most giddy about is the Paula Deen Red Speckled Porcelain Nonstick 11 Inch Square Griddle
(above). Flat griddles like this cook so evenly, they can’t be beaten when it comes to Johnny Cakes and pancakes. The colorful speckled porcelain exterior is apparently a breeze to clean. I also love the soft touch handle. Nice touch…. so to speak.
I also love, love, love the Paula Deen Signature 12 Piece Stainless Steel Cookware Set
. I love them so much I hate them. Two words: Copper. Bottoms. They also have the soft touch handles which, as we’ve already established, send me into orbit.
From the Website:
A thick aluminum disk base with a full cap of gleaming copper heats quickly and holds in the heat. The warm sparkle of copper complements the bright radiance of stainless steel. Stainless Steel Construction Professional stainless steel construction and a brilliant finish offer durability and long lasting beauty. The stainless steel interior is ideal for all daily cooking needs providing excellent heat conduction and performance.
Lastly (for the post, certainly not last on my wish list!), this colorful Paula Deen 2 Piece Spatula Set.
The 10 inch and 13 inch silicone spatulas feature sustainable ecofriendly acacia wood. The silicone heads are removable and dishwasher friendly.
One of the things I love most about all of this red is the energy. Plus, you have to admit, when you’re searching through a drawer or dishwasher for a particular spatula – the red will certainly jump out at you!
One of the Food Network’s favorite chefs is back in action with new episodes tonight. Throwdown with Bobby Flay kicks off a new season with a Pad Thai Throwdown.
Bobby Flay has bitten off a big challenge with this one. He’ll be taking on Nongkran Daks. She has traveled the world perfecting her Thai recipes, teaches sold out cooking classes, and has written 5 cookbooks.
Oh, yeah. And her signature dish is Pad Thai.
This one should be exciting. How uncool would it be for Bobby to be on the losing end on his season premiere?!
Other highlights on today’s lineup include white pizza by Rachael Ray, breakfast recipes courtesy of Paula Deen, and a killer Cuban Sandwich from Alton Brown.
Today on the Food Network!
Paula’s Home Cooking – Breakfast Eggstravaganza
* Breakfast in a Cup
* Hash Brown Quiche
* White Hot Chocolate
* Ultimate Coffee Cake
* Omelette for a Crowd
5:30, 4:30 C
30 Minute Meals – Special Delivery
* Mac-n-Smoked Gouda with Cauliflower
* Root Veggie Salad with Horseradish Dressing
6:00, 5:00 C
30 Minute Meals – Movie Marathon
* White Pizza
* Mushroom Lovers’ French Bread Pizzas
* Puttanesca Pizza
6:30 pm, 7:30 C
Good Eats – Dr. Strangeloaf
* Very Basic Bread
8:00 pm, 7:00 C
Good Eats – Sandwich-Craft
* Cuban Sandwich
* Pan Bagnat
* Roasted Vegetable Spread
8:30 pm, 7:30 C
Throwdown with Bobby Flay – Pad Thai
9:00 pm, 8:00 C
Throwdown with Bobby Flay – Sushi
* Spicy Tuna Roll
9:30 pm, 8:30 C
As you know, I’m a huge, huge fan of the Food Network. Paula Deen, Ace of Cakes, Rachael Ray, Guy, Tyler Florence, Nigella Lawson, Giada, Alton Brown, and on and on. Love them all. I’ve also seen and loved every Search for the Next Food Network Star episode – fascinating!
This is simply a network that is frequently on in our household. I got hooked when they first started rolling and I’ve been delightfully hooked since.
I often get e-mails from people asking what cookbooks and/or advice I’d recommend to cooking newbies – I give the standard advice you’d expect from me:
- Use buttermilk in as many recipes as possible
- Use butter instead of margarine as often as you can.
- Read the recipe through ENTIRELY before beginning.
- Season like you mean it, BUT go easy at first. You can always add more but you can never add less.
- Keep your cleaning tools clean.
- Get creative, don’t fix the same thing over and over again!
- NEVER use instant mashed potatoes, not even as a joke.
- Fall in love with Olive Oil.
- Learn to make homemade bread – especially sourdough.
- Leave the biscuits in the can and the cans on the shelves. Make your own biscuits.
- Take pride in everything you make.
- Experiment with different herbs and spices.
- Rosemary loves chicken.
- Basil loves tomatoes.
- Use fresh ingredients.
- Make meals more special with bright, colorful napkins and beautiful dishes (even if they’re disposable!).
- You don’t have to spend a fortune to fill a belly. Buy in bulk and freeze what you don’t need… until you do need it!
These are the tips I dish out the most often. Sometimes there are extra ones – I guess it depends upon where my brain is at the time. I also list my personal “Must Have” cookbooks (which of course includes the Food Network Favorites
, pictured above) However, I always stress that one of the most important things a new cook can do (and should do) is watch the Food Network religiously.
There are several reasons. For one, the cooks on this network are the best of the best. Bottom line: They know what they’re talking about! Some of my favorite recipes, and the ones I use again and again, are recipes I first saw on the Food Network.
Another reason is this: You’ll pick up on the excitement, fun, and passion for cooking that these cooks have. It’s contagious and you’ll fall in love with cooking again and again and again.
When I first started this recipe blog (as well as the website), I kept a Food Network daily schedule to the side. It became so much work that I stopped doing it. However, it appears that I’m far from the only Food Network addict out there! I’ve gotten so many e-mails from people wanting to have the updates again, that I’m going to start a daily “Today on Food Network” category. Each day, I’ll post what you can watch for on that particular day. They’ll be what I consider the BEST of the day – the episodes and recipes you won’t want to miss.
Today on the Food Network!
Tyler’s Ultimate – Ultimate Sloppy Joes
* Butternut Squash Coleslaw with Honey Goat Cheese Dressing
* Homemade Bread and Butter Pickles
* The Ultimate Sloppy Joes
* Crispy Parmesan Butternut Squash Chips
3:30, 2:30 C
Good Eats – Coconut Cake Revival
* Coconut Cake with 7-Minute Frosting
* Coconut Milk and Cream
* Coconut Extract
8:00 pm, 7:00 C
Good Eats – American Classics: Creole in a Bowl
* Red Beans and Rice
* Pickled Pork
8:30 pm, 7:30 C
Ace of Cakes – Cake-tastrophe
9:30 pm, 8:30 C
by Joi on October 30, 2008
Our girl Paula is everywhere these days, isn’t she?! I love her muchly, so I couldn’t be happier. I saw a sweet set of Paula Deen pans in Wal-Mart today.
The Paula Deen 4-pc. Spices, Assorted
have also caught my eye and tempted my taste buds.
Check it out:
Paula’s Spice Favorites Pack includes the following: Lady and Sons Pepper Mix, which contains three different peppers. Silly Salt, which you can sprinkle on popcorn, french fries, or anything you may want to season (contains salt, onion, garlic, black pepper, thyme, savory). House Seasoning, which Paula uses in just about everything (contains salt, onion, garlic, black pepper). Butt Massage, perfect for seasoning any butt, from pork loin to beef brisket (contains paprika, salt, spices, garlic, onion, smoke flavor).
I could go for a little Butt Massage right now. 
Kidding aside, the Butt Massage would be amazing on veggie burgers. I have a feeling it’d make some wings worth remembering, too.
Click through the link above to learn more about this IDEAL Christmas present and take a look at other Paula Deen products!
by Joi on October 4, 2008
Some of my favorite recipes are in the Paula Deen & Friends: Living It Up, Southern Style
cookbook. It’s honestly one of the best cookbooks ever put together.
I posted the recipe for Pumpkin Bars from this cookbook before (HERE!) and have heard back from a lot of people who tried them and loved them. I also heard from a great deal of people who’d bought the book and thanked me for telling them about it.
I made these pumpkin bars again this past week (for, like the bazillionth time), but this time instead of one pan, I bought two disposable, shallower pans and divided the recipe between them. The result was, of course, thinner pumpkin bars. We actually prefer them thinner, so the next time I make them (probably this week!) I’m going to divide them between two pans again. You have to watch the baking time, however, I found that they were ready almost 10 minutes earlier than the recipe states when you’re making them thinner.
Needless to say, if you go this route, keep an eye on them and do the whole toothpick test to make sure they’re through.
These Pumpkin Bars would make ideal Halloween Treats. If they were cut into small enough servings, they could be placed in small boxes – the ones you can buy in bulk in kitchen stores or party supply outlets.
I keep wanting to try these topped with whipped cream rather than the cream cheese icing, but I’m much, much too into cream cheese icing to commit.
by Joi on September 2, 2008
Okay, how delicous does Chocolate Cake look?!!
The Paula Deen 32-oz. Double Chocolate Gooey Butter Cake is waiting for you – all chocalatey, gooey, nutty, and delicious! Cooking.com ships this glorious cake frozen, so all you have to do is meet it at the door and invite it in for dinner!
From the Website:
Paula’s Double Chocolate Gooey Butter Cake is made with only the finest and the freshest ingredients using Paula’s “signature” recipe. This dense chocolate cake, with soft walnuts and crusty topping, is richly enhanced with gooey chocolate filling.
Shipped to arrive during the business week–orders placed on Fridays and the weekend are not shipped until the following business day.
This cake and a little vanilla ice cream (extra points if it’s homemade) could spell out a ridiculously delicious way to end a meal. Oh, heck, it could spell out a ridiculously good reason to just skip the meal and pig out on cake!
I am so there.
Okay, so Paula’s Home Cooking is a Can’t Miss everyday – I know, I know. But today, it’s especially so. The recipes she’ll be making are “Country Food Side Dishes” and the lineup sounds way beyond delicious. One of the things she’ll make is a sweetening syrup she uses for Iced Tea. If you aren’t from the South, you may not be that familiar with sweet tea. Being a Kentuckian, I was never familiar with any other. When I got married, my husband was in the Air Force, so we moved around quite a bit. We lived in the beautiful city of Wichita, Kansas for a while and I was convinced they made the worst tea on earth until I realized they just didn’t sweeten it.
My response, of course, was “Why on earth not?!?!” (They also didn’t fry green tomatoes, make red eye gravy, or have a clear understanding of okra. But I loved them anyway.)
Here’s Paula Deen’s Recipe for Simple Syrup for Sweetening Tea:
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup water
Heat the sugar and water in a small saucepan, bringing to a boil. When the sugar is completely dissolved, remove the pan from the heat and cool to room temperature. Add to your pitcher of tea and soon you’ll be wondering “Why on earth..” everyone doesn’t drink sweet tea too.
Here are the other recipes Paula Deen will be cooking up today:
Corn Casserole
Turnip Mashed Potatoes
Indian Succotash
Hoppin’ John
If you’re a big fan of casseroles, don’t miss Emeril tonight. The show’s centered around casseroles and they sound amazing. Afterwards, we’ll be ready for dessert and those of us who are Alton Brown fanatics will be in Food Network Heaven, there’ll be back to back Good Eats. The first one focuses on cakes and the second one will “top things off” with icings. (Sorry. Couldn’t resist.)
For the recipes that will be featured on Emeril, Alton, and the rest of the shows on today’s Food Network, see the scrolling lineup to the left. I like what’s up Giada’s Italian sleeves today, too.
