Sandra Lee Travels In Style

While gardening, Sandra Lee prefers to be wheelbarrowed from plant to plant.


[Source]

Jamie Oliver is Britain's Best Selling Author

This is kind of surprising, but still well deserved.

Jamie Oliver has surpassed Khaled Hosseini and JK Rowling as Britain's biggest selling author, having earned £11.5 million in 2008.


Britain's other big cookery star Nigella Lawson sadly saw a 35 percent drop in sales last year, going from £10 million in 2007 to £6.5 million last year. Gotta step it up, Nigie!

Tea and crumpets for everyone, Jamie! You can afford it.

Sunny Anderson Is Stripping!

...keep your clothes on, everybody.

Sunny Anderson revealed today that her Food Network show Cooking for Real is getting stripped, meaning it will run every day Monday through Friday. Watch for it at 4pm through the week and on at noon on Saturdays. Congrats Sunny!


Sunny mentioned this might be happening when we chatted back in February, but we couldn't reveal anything then.

She now joins some of Food Network's biggest strippers—Rachael Ray, Paula Deen, Alton Brown, Ina Garten—with her own daily presence on the network. Quite an accomplishment considering her relatively short time on Food Network.

***************

The opinions might be mixed on Sunny and her show, but I will tell you that Sunny's definitely not doing this just to get famous of make money. I'm sure it was a BIG risk leaving a career you're having success in to follow a passion. I respect her for that.

Sunday is for Selling; Tyler and Duff Hit Up the Home Shopping Network

I don't normally watch the home shopping channels. The fact that they still exist—in the age of Amazon.com and so many other shopping sites—used to shock me... until I actually watched for a few minutes.

Just like the "Amazing Discovery" infomercials of yore, the home shopping network is oddly mesmerizing. So imagine my surprise when I saw that two Food Network stars, Tyler Florence and Duff Goldman, would be appearing on HSN today. I had to check it out.








Tyler was on to sell his black titanium-coated knife set (the host couldn't get enough of the magnetized wood blocks they are stored in) while Duff hawked Fat Daddio's anodized bakewear. While Tyler has that kind of natural salesman personality, I never thought I'd see Duff's face on the home shopping channel. Surprising!

While I didn't actually pick up the phone and order during either one of their segments, I did consider it. So persuasive, these hosts. I know some of y'all have bought the Snuggie or the Sham-Wow or some of those fun Quacker Factory outfits they make fun of on The Soup.

Tyler's knives with the black titanium finish do look pretty cool, though. I can chop while wearing my Snuggie and be in "As Seen on TV" heaven!

What I Imagine Ina Garten's Reaction Would Be To the Suggestion Of Using Regular Vanilla...

...and not good vanilla.

Lindsay and Paris Apparently Out of Town, Bobby Flay Talks to TMZ While In L.A.

I'm beginning to think a bit differently about Bobby Flay! Often described as arrogant and a little too self-assured, Bobby Flay was out in L.A. shooting the second season of his Food Network show Grill It! when TMZ cameras caught up with him... and the Flayster was surprisingly kind and modest, offering up his own idea of a jazzed up PB&J for recession times and admitting that Gordon Ramsay could take him in a fight. (Mr. Nice Guy Flay even warns the pap to "watch [him]self" before walking backward into a car.)



In such a good mood, that Flay!

Another Sign Food Net Might Need A Few More Asians on its Roster

If it just had a few Asian cooking shows, Food Network coulda just cast internally. ;-) I guess "delicious dim sum" isn't salary enough for most people.

From Reality Wanted:

Casting Call Information
City: San Francisco
State: CA

New competition show for Food Network is looking for Chinese extras for a segment in a dim sum restaurant in San Francisco's Chinatown. All extras will be featured in the shot and will not just be in the general background of the restaurant. Our contestants will interact directly with the tables with these extras. You will be needed from around 11am-2pm on April 8 (Thursday). Speaking Chinese is a bonus. No extra will ever speak aloud in English. No pay but you will be fed delicious dim sum.

By The Neely's Own Bottle Calculation, Gina's Time Will Be Up in 2010

Think Gina Neely will still be good a few weeks after her expiration date next January?

Rachael Ray Heats Up SXSW Party, Loses Voice Once Again

Lines reportedly stretched for more than a block at Rachael Ray's SXSW party, held this past Saturday in Austin, Texas. Unfortunately, my two roving reporters on the scene (Jared & Merideth) didn't make it to the big event. There was just too much going on!

Perhaps screaming during loud rock concerts wasn't the best idea.
Never seeming to be able to ditch the raspy voice, Rachael went and lost it once again. Bad RR!
"I can't talk. I was cheering on the band – all the talking today, it's got me completely hoarse," Rachael told People magazine.

The show must go on, though, and Rachael managed to tape the 500th episode of her talkshow while down in Austin. Bongo-loving Matthew McConaughey will guest on the special ep, set to air April 1.


While Rachael promised delicious sounding food at the party, the AV Club wasn't thrilled, calling it "pretty damn sub-par—not inedible, but by no means TV quality." Jeez. Maybe cuz it was free?

Paula Chats About "Fole" From Chicago

Hi there. I got back from Illinois a few hours ago. Sadly, I wasn't able to attend the International Housewares Association show in Chicago, where the likes of Tyler Florence, Paula Deen, Morimoto, Kelsey Nixon, and more are all appearing this year.

I have lots of pics to go through, and hopefully will have more posts up soon. Until then, please enjoy Paula's pronunciations of "foil" and "perforated" in this TODAY show video.

Amuse-Bouche: A Game of Cat & Mouse

Sorry for no post yesterday. I'm getting ready for a trip to IL later today and it took over my mind. How many shirts do I need?!?

Anyhow, here are some tasty morsels to get you through Friday:

• NOT SURPRISED? Rachael Ray's test of "SweatBlock"-- a product that blocks sweat for "up to a week at a time" boosts sales.
• Watch out Mickey! A Cat is coming. --> Cat Cora's opening a new restaurant at Walt Disney World in 2010.
• Tip from the "next Nigella": "always get your guests to bring their own pudding." Will do.
  
• Tyler Florence's organic baby food Sprout is blowing up around the country.
• BLASPHEMY! Bobby & Jamie Deen endorse I Can't Believe It's Not Butter!
• A Filipino Catholic Priest from Maryland is taping a test show for Food Network?
• Duff Goldman endorses a play food line of products called "Girl Gourmet."
  

Video: Sandra Lee Comes Onstage at South Beach

Sandra Lee was a big hit with her "Raise your hand if you're hungover?" line down in South Beach. Love her!

What's Bobby Flay Saying?

After seeing Stephanie March (Bobby Flay's wife) reappear on Law & Order: SVU, I'm thinking Bobby must be saying, "You mean you actually got a job?"


Oh Steph. Don't take it personal. Not like you need to work now that Bobby's doing about 10 shows for Food Network.

I'm just partial to SVU's A.D.A Casey Novak, as opposed to your A.D.A. Alexandra Cabot character... but that could be because the same actress who played Casey also appeared in an early episode of SVU where she played a woman who gang raped a male stripper. Now, she's back on the show as the A.D.A. like nobody noticed! I love those Bewitched-esque TV switcheroos.

Food Network Addict Video Interview: Sunny Anderson

It was great hanging out with Sunny Anderson again down in South Beach after not seeing her since our last meetup in New York this past June. We sat down right before her second cooking demo and chatted about what goes into creating her recipes, what inspires her, and how she really feels about the nice (and not so nice) comments people make about her on this, and other, blogs.


Sorry if the audio is kind of screwy. We were in the greenroom and right as we sat down for this, Sandra Lee walked in to get interviewed by someone... so we had their chatter in the background... and THEN we get an unexpected guest at 5:23. Take a look.

Thanks again to Sunny! Look for her new episodes of Cooking for Real, Saturdays at 12pm/11c, Sundays at 10:30am/9:30c and Wednesdays at 1:30pm/12:30c.

Rachael Ray Sux Community Shuts Down, Domain Available to New Rach-Haters

Sad news for Rachael Ray detractors. The site formerly known as Rachael Ray Sucks (rrsux.com) has shut its virtual Rach-hating doors.

Someone pour out a bottle of EVOO for the site's homies!


I never checked out RRSUX regularly, so I might be a bit late in the game here. Madeline's post actually prompted me to take a look at the now defunct site. Former moderator Misty now just has up a message about moving on and life being "too short to be so negative and mean-spirited."



Life isn't too short to make a buck off of the negativity-fueled site that's been featured in Newsweek, USA Today, and others. It's up for sale, says Misty.

How pissed would the folks be if RachaelRay.com bought it and did a redirect?

The Semi-Homemade Party That Ended in a Trip to...

No, you're not seeing things. That, my friends, is Jordan Baker's very beautiful beverage fountain holding the Semi-Homemaker Party's official cocktail, the Lush Lagoon—a mixture of kiwi, vodka, midori, simple syrup, and jalapeno juice.

Now before I say how it tasted, let me preface my remarks with the acknowledgment that I've drank some nasty stuff in my lifetime. I've sipped cheap vodka that smelled like rubbing alcohol mixed with Country Time lemonade before high school football games. I've drank ridiculously colored "jungle juice" out of plastic Rubbermaid tubs by the gallon in musty college basements. I've taken shots in Spain consisting of liquor I'm pretty certain isn't legal in the U.S.... or Spain.

And I drank them all without relatively any pain or discomfort. They may have been a bit gross going down, but nothing a few chases of keg beer couldn't alleviate.

Well, no keg beer was getting the taste of Lush Lagoon out of your mouth.

To me, it was that undrinkable. I'd rather grind black licorice (a flavor I hate) into a fine paste and slurp that down every day than drink the Lush Lagoon. Sorry, Sandra!

In addition to bringing the crock pot buckle, I made something called Armadillo Eggs.


Just crescent rolls, sausage, jalapenos, and cheese. I was getting desperate to find an appetizer recipe on the day of the party, so the funny-sounding Armadillo Eggs won out!

Sandra would probably be very proud of my very smart, saavy shortcuts I made to her already short recipe. The store didn't have "pickled sliced jalapenos" so I just bought the regular mini-sliced ones. The store didn't have pre-shredded pepperjack cheese, so I just bought 4-cheese Mexican blend. Very smart, right?!

Also, I used Morning Star Farms veggie sausage instead of some nasty brown'n'serve stuff. I had a vegetarian in the bunch (Merideth) who was already planning on pre-eating before the party out of fear of having no options. I couldn't deny her at least one semi-homemade recipe.

The 'dillo eggs weren't that bad. But like Jordan said, "It's sausage, jalapenos, and dough. That's good shit, no matter who writes the recipe. In fact, it would pretty much be impossible to fuck that combination up." True that.

We got to the party a bit late and consequently missed out on the Oriental Pork Wrappers, which according to reports were actually pretty great... although that could be because the store was out of wonton wrappers and they had to make their own. NOT very semi-homemade! Cheating!

Also on offer at the party was Texas Mashed Potato Salad, Red Pepper and Tapenade Slices (which I thought was Digiorno Pizza topped with some add-ons), and Sweet and Spicy Slaw.






The potato salad used frozen, cubed potatoes and tasted like egg salad, which isn't my idea of a good potato salad. The red pepper things were pretty good, but then again I thought they were Digiorno for most of the night, so there you go. I'm not that big a fan of slaw in general. I could definitely taste the "spicy" in this sweet and spicy version, so take that as a semi-compliment, Sandra.

I wasn't full after eating a few armadillo eggs and drinking anything but lush lagoon, but had to move on to dessert.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to sample the Sensuous Truffles.


Not because I have an aversion to eating canned frosting shaped into blobs on a plate, but because we got there an hour or so into the party and the "truffles" had softened into, well, blobs of canned frosting. Not the easiest thing to just pick up and pop in your mouth, I found. I didn't have a fork at the ready and liked to think I had enough self-respect to not lick a platter of frosting... so I abstained.

I also abstained from the Grape and Ricotta Crostata, which was pretty damn nasty looking. Sorry person who made it!

My pear and peach buckle, which I sadly don't have a serving suggestion (i.e.- topped with whipped topping) pic of, was not awful. The cake mix never really turned into anything resembling cake and the fruity mixture just turned into a gloppy, sugary mess. But it was sweet and kind of tasted like something edible. We had tons of leftovers and I threw it out the next day, but it wasn't that bad.

There were a few more recipes you can read about in Jordan's recap, too. We either got there too late to try them or everyone there warned us so strongly about trying them that we just stuck to drinks (not the lush lagoon, please!) and dough balls.

I must give Miss Jordan snaps for her beautiful party favors and decorations that Sandra herself would have been proud of. Each attendee received a party pail, adorned with ribbon and namecard, that was filled with goodies and a collectible Sandra Lee recipe card. Thanks Jordan!

It was a party of firsts for us. Our first crock pot dessert. Our first time spitting kiwi and jalapeno juice cocktails back into our glasses. Our first time ever leaving a dinner party, only to hit up McDonald's on the way home (*not lying).

Knew I shoulda just brought some "semi-homemade" quarter pounders with cheese. Could have avoided the extra trip.

Paula Deen Repeats the Dirty Joke She Did on Conan

Upon walking in to Paula's Poker Party down in South Beach, I thought, "Wow! Paula's working the gambling tables! And what's up with her hair?!"



Wasn't her, sadly. Although when she came out onstage the hair did look pretty similar.



Someone in the comments reminded me about the dirty joke I got recorded Paula Deen saying that I promised to post. Sorry for the delay! I checked out the audio on my video and it just isn't that good, sadly. I'll have to write it out instead.

I didn't see it, but evidently Paula whispered this to Conan O'Brian when she was a guest on his show.

And since it's so dirty, you'll have to highlight the area below if you want to see it:


- What's the difference between a nice girl and a good girl?
- A nice girl will help you stick it in, a good girl won't do it at all.

While not as funny as the one she told last year, Paula definitely got more "dirty" points this year. In fact, instead of a burst of laughter there was more like a reaction of shock and some polite chuckles.

Oh Pauler.

Food Network Addict Mini Chat: Ingrid Hoffmann

While down in Miami, I was able to chat briefly with Ingrid Hoffmann, star of Food Network's Simply Delicioso. While she's probably not the biggest star on Food Network USA right now, Ingrid has a huge following down in Miami, naturally. After I saw the line for her book signing stretched down the beach, I knew I had to chat with this chica chica.

One of the funniest things Ingrid mentioned actually happened while onstage during Cat Cora's demo. Ingrid revealed the loving nickname she calls the feline-named Iron Chef...


Pussy Chica!

(Pussy, like "Cat" Ingrid told us.)

Backstage I congratulated Ingrid on her own demo. This year, Ingrid got to take a stab at the BIG tent where regulars like Paula Deen and Rachael Ray have all the seats filled and onlookers spilling into the wings. (Does a beach have "wings" if it's set up kind of like a theater?)

Turns out it wasn't the crowd that was intimidating to Ingrid, but the language barrier. I had forgotten that doing an English demo might be challenging for her since she seems to pull her Food Network show off just fine. But Ingrid really seemed interested in finding out if she seemed better than the previous year, if she was still able to engage the crowd, and if her jokes still worked. ;-)

Ingrid had to take off quickly after that and decide if she was going to attend Bobby Flay's Oscar party that night. It was great chatting with her. Hope to see her more often.

TV Alert: Tyler Florence, Cat Cora & Curtis Stone on Oprah Wednesday

Don't forget!


Tyler Florence, Cat Cora & when-then-gonna-get-him-on-Food Network Curtis Stone are all appearing today on Oprah.

Check ye's local listings, as they say.

(Is it just me, or does Tyler look fitter?)

Cat Cora Is ALSO Pregnant! Partner Jennifer Due in April, Cat in July

Congratulations are in order for Iron Chef Cat Cora who is 4 1/2 months pregnant with a boy. This is her first pregnancy. Cat's partner Jennifer, who has already given birth to the couple's two sons, is also pregnant with a boy. Jen's due in April and Cat is due in July.

(Mainstream media: please refrain from using any "double buns in the ovens" kind of headlines... although I'm sure you already have.)


"Jennifer and I are thrilled to go through the wonderful experience of pregnancy together. We started the in-vitro process 5 years ago," said Cat who is due in July. "This has been a miracle for us and we'll now have 4 beautiful children."

And if you're very interested in the biology behind the couple's soon-to-be four children, Cat's pregnancy is a result of in-vitro fertilization with Jennifer's embryo. The couple's sons were both carried by Jennifer, who was artificially inseminated for her first pregnancy, but carried the second to term using Cat's embryo. In Jennifer's current pregnancy, both women's embryos were implanted, so the biological mother is unknown. Each of the couple's children was conceived through insemination or in-vitro with the same anonymous sperm donor, making the children biological brothers, according to a press release.

Phew! However it happened, congrats to Cat and Jen! You're going to be an even busier family very soon!

My First Sandra Lee Recipe

Don't wanna make Aunt Sandy mad, but I have a confession to make: I've never made a Sandra Lee recipe before. Shocking, I know. I watch Semi-homemade mostly for its entertainment value and don't often find myself jotting down recipes.

So when I got an invite to my blog friend Jordan Baker's annual Semi-Homemaker party, I didn't anticipate how hard it would be to select the first Sandra Lee recipes I'd ever make. This year's event was the third installment, so I didn't want to repeat any previously made dishes. (The infamous Kwanzaa cake was already made in 2008, sadly).

My criteria was simple: the recipe must have a Sandy staple (seasoning packet, crock pot, whipped topping, and/or canned items), must be a gamble as to whether it will taste good or not (I like a game of chance), and must include one of those trademark "Sandy secrets" where you wonder why she chose that instead of just using that (like if she used crescent rolls instead of lasagna noodles in a lasagna).

The first recipe I settled on was something I'd never seen her prepare before: a Pear and Cherry Buckle.

This one definitely met the criteria:
Staple? Crock pot, cans, AND whipped topping.
Gamble on Taste? So hard to tell with the crock pot, usually it makes things taste good... but a dessert?
Trademark Sandy Secret? Boxed cake mix and a packet of instant oatmeal pretty much met this... and the fact that it was cooked in the crock pot.

I wasn't feeling cherries though, so I decided to try peach. Take a look at these lovely brand-free products, a la Semi-homemade.


Look at the great ingredients:

* 1 (26-ounce) can peach pie filling (couldn't find 26 oz., so I used a smaller one)
* 2 (15-ounce) cans diced pears in syrup
* 1 teaspoon almond extract
* 1 (18.25-ounce) box yellow cake mix
* 1 stick butter, cut into small pieces
* 1 (1.19-ounce) packet maple and brown sugar instant oatmeal
* 1/4 cup sliced almonds
* Whipped topping, for serving

The first thing you do is take those cans of pears and pie filling and dump them into a bowl. Then you put in the almond extract.


Spray that crock down with butter-flavored cooking spray. Then dump the peaches and pear mixture into the crock pot, cover it with the yellow cake mix, and dot the top with a stick of butter.




You then put the almonds and instant oatmeal on top. Buttery, buckled crust awaits you!

Then waste 8 paper towels and put them on top, before putting the lid down. (It's supposed to prevent the moisture on the lid from making the buckle all soggy.)


Cover. Cook on low for 4-6 hours. Then get ready to enjoy... THIS:


Hmmm... based on appearances, I still wasn't sure how the finished product would even taste. Had the cake mix even turned into anything resembling cake, I wondered. It mostly looked like glop.

Glop that couldn't be hurt by a little whipped topping?



My friend and taste-tester Merideth sure hoped so!*

Stay tuned for a full post about the party... a post in which all the dishes (and how they tasted) will be described. Until then, keep it simple, keep it sweet... never mind.

*Merideth actually has a nut allergy, so she didn't even get to try any of the bodacious buckle. Sucks to be her!

Guy Fieri Continues To Bring the Coolness

Come on, Guy. Stop it!




Even Rachael Ray stopped wearing the too-tight mom jeans and tucked in long-sleeved t-shirts after a while. I think it's time you discontinue the sunglasses on the back of head style, mmmkay? Maybe donate them all to a charity?

Or here's another idea: have your "entourage" (which was present at this event down in SoBe) hold your sunglasses for you when you walk into a building. I mean, what are they getting paid for?

Food Net Has "Sizzling camera work the most ambitious pornographer would envy" says Wall Street Journal

Alton, Ina, Rachael, Paula, and Guy all get positive mentions in yesterday's Wall Street Journal article on Food Network.


Highlighted is the aspect of escape that Food Network offers. Everywhere else we're hearing news of the stimulus package, the wars still raging, and whether Michelle Obama will go sleeveless or asymmetrical again. On Food Network, the only talk of pork "is the kind being fried, baked, char-broiled before your eyes," says the WSJ.

Here's to escapism!

FoodNetwork.com's "Topic" Searches Seem to Be A Little Off

... or maybe they're spot on?

Maybe I'm weird to assume that a video called "Sandra Lee's Favorite Food" and includes the description Sandra Lee says that her favorite food is anything Mexican might be listed under the topics of... umm... anything that is Mexican. But instead we get...


...liquor, rum, and eggs. Those are my favorite foods, too!

Next time you're looking for a Mexican recipe by Sandra Lee, search under "liquor" or "rum."

Don't be HARD on Food2-- it's in SOFT Launch!

Shhhh!!! Food2, a not-very-secret project that's been in development for about... forever over at Food Network, is currently live online in what those fancy inside folks would call the "soft launch" stage. (That's official person speak, you know.)

Food2 is only up in blog form right now, but be on the lookout for more very soon.

Another Scripps/Food Network URL, food.com, is also live in beta. So many new sites! Let's hope they got the goods.

A Bittersweet Cocktail Time with Sandra Lee at SoBe

I was excited to attend Sandra Lee's "Cocktail Time" party down at SoBeWFF, thinking I might be able to snag a pic with the semi-homemade goddess that we all know and love... and after she told me about the "naked silver boys in little silver shorts" who would be present....

... and present they were:





I'm not really sure what they had to do with anything, but they certainly gave new meaning to "tablescape" design. All you need is a glorious sunset, near-perfect Miami temps, and naked silver peeps to set the mood!

We enjoyed the cocktails by Jose Cuervo and some of the appetizers that were being passed (by very regular looking people and not silver models). At one point (and you'll know this if you're following me on Twitter) we realized that they were all probably Sandra Lee recipes. One tasted like Digiorno pizza with some basil cut up on it. Another was cherry tomatoes with some bleu cheese stuffed into them. Another was something called raspberry chicken on a skewer. We weren't starving (thankfully) and indulged in more drinks than food.

Surprisingly, Sandy wasn't really drinking at all! She must control herself when she's on-call.


We got there a bit after it started, so I'm not sure if Sandra made any kind of grand entrance or announcement to the crowd. She was just posing for pictures with the crowd (very graciously, I must add) and handing out a few copies of her magazine. There was no music playing and the whole thing just seemed a bit of a downer, which is so shocking for Aunt Sandy! You'd think it would be wild and crazy! I mean, there were naked silver people standing right in front of us!

Still, she couldn't have been sweeter. It was an all right start for Sandra's first party at South Beach, but she's gonna need some pointers for next year (if there is one). I'm always available, Aunt Sandy!

PS- As one of my tweets pointed out, at one point they ran out of wine glasses AND white wine, so I ended up drinking red wine out of a plastic cup at the $100/ticket Sandra Lee party. Sounds about right!

Rachael Would Do the FHM Shoot Again

Rachael Ray was on Nightline last night talking about her plans to take over the world as we know it her multi-million dollar empire and how she balances it all. While the interview doesn't present anything we haven't heard already, it does feature some chuckle-worthy vintage Rach video... and an interesting reaction to questions about the infamous FHM photoshoot, which Rach says she'd do again in a minute. Think FHM will come back asking for a sequel?


She also responds to Anthony Bourdain's criticism of her Dunkin Donuts endorsement ("I absolutely love Tony Bourdain. I have an enormous amount of respect for him. It's a free country." ) and the same old "how did EVOO" come about question.

Quite inventive, Nightline!

What would you ask Rachael, if given the chance?

Paula Deen with Al Roker on TODAY

I think I saw Al Roker right after this demo.

Maybe this is why he didn't seem to be in a good mood.

;-)

Rachael Ray On Fire, Jimmy Fallon Hopes the First Show Tonight is Too

If you haven't seen it, or aren't reading the comments lately, here's the video of Rachael Ray getting set on fire by Jimmy Fallon in a promo for his new NBC show.


I was a big Jimmy Fallon fan when he was on Saturday Night Live, so I have high hopes for him as takes over for Conan at Late Night. I know everyone is counting on him to fail... and I'm thinking it might be slow going for a while. Hope he finds his groove.

2009 SoBe Wine & Food Fest Grand Tasting / Culinary Seminars

My favorite part of the Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival, the Grand Tasting & Culinary Seminars, definitely did not disappoint this year. The weather was great, the food was tasty, and the wines were flowing.


It was so hot in 2008 (90s), but we really lucked out with the weather this year. Saurday was comfortable and in the mid 70s. Sunday was a bit warmer, but not unbearable. The two, GIANT tasting tents were filled with hundreds of food and beverage vendors, eager to pass their product and hopefully leave a good enough impression for us to go out and buy/visit them in the future.

Any talk of recession seemed completely absent all weekend, and the tents felt just as packed as ever. You can barely move around in there, so rest breaks are a necessity.

And where else can you get these views during your rest breaks:




Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Needless to say, I kept my eyes to the left most of the time.









The culinary/lifestyle seminars were excellent this year, for the most part. It was great seeing Secrets of a Restaurant Chef star Anne Burrell on Sunday, who did a very engaging demo on fresh pasta-- just like on Iron Chef America ("You gotta put your body weight into it!")

Sunny Anderson also got a quick visit (and smooch) from Mr. Emeril Lagasse himself. It was her appearance on Emeril Live that really gave Sunny her "in" at Food Network, so it was neat to see her thank him personally. Not sure if that was Sunny's first meeting with Emeril since, or not.






You gotta stay hydrated while on the beach, so Amstel Light, an Aperol cocktail, and a swig of Evian are all a must. I loved them all this year. Evian, a big sponsor of the event, even had a bottle designed by Jean Paul Gaultier on display this year, along with special water sommeliers who taught attendees about "sipping notes." I didn't get to examine any "sipping notes," but I did love the mist of evian they were giving out to heated attendees.




One of our favorite additions this year was new sponsor Whole Foods, who in addition to sponsoring the Grand Tasting Village, had its own mini-buffet set up offering made-to-order coffee and espresso drinks, fresh fruit, scones and pastries, and other yummies to enjoy while resting under one of their umbrellas. Loved it!

Like I said, the tents were so packed that I felt like I barely had time to learn anything about the vendors. You had to push your way up to the front of the table, grab the bite, and then push your way back to a small walkway, where you still got ran into by the thousands of other attendees. That's really my only complaint about the weekend. I'm not sure how they could fix it, save for limiting the number of attendees or dividing the grand tasting into two timeslots, each day (like they did in NYC).

I have lots of fun video to edit and will hopefully share very soon. If you love food, wine, and being on the beach in February, then SoBe is where it's at. I love it. Can't wait for 2010.