Food Network Addict Year in Review 2009 -- Part 2

And now! The exciting conclusion to my 2009 Year in Review. Check out Part 1 below.

IN JULY...

I met up with former Next Food Network Star contestant Kelsey Nixon and Top Chef's Spike Mendolsohn at his DC burger joint Good Stuff Eatery:


It was great getting a chance to meetand talk with Kelsey and I do wish her the best.

... we saw that sign language that comes along with 5 Ingredient Fix, I visited Paris and London (didn't see Ina Garten OR Nigella Lawson)...



...I gave you my 5 reasons why I thought Melissa d'Arabian was going to win The Next Food Network Star, and we checked out Sandra Lee's spread in Out magazine.



IN AUGUST...

Melissa d'Arabian was crowned the winner of The Next Food Network Star, we saw how her set might have been recycled from season three winner Amy Finley's one-season show...



... runnerup Jeffrey Saad got a "mini-series" webisode deal on Foodnetwork.com called "The Spice Smuggler" and we haven't heard anything since, we saw how funny pictures of Pat Neely can get snapped at book signings...



... Noah Starr disappeared on Ask Aida, Ina Garten, Rachael Ray, and Bobby Flay won Daytime Emmys, and we saw—yet again—what money has done for Rachel Ray:



IN SEPTEMBER...

We got our first inkling that Anthony Bourdain's worst nightmare might come true (it did) when it was rumored that Scripps Network Interactive (the parent company of Food Network) might buy a controlling stake in the Travel Channel, we saw Nigella Lawson doing her best Dita Von Teese impression...



... we found out that Paula Deen's line of cast iron pans for QVC might crack or shatter during cooking--woops!, and we learned that it was never really Alton Brown's goal to be on TV.

IN OCTOBER...

We saw the first pics of Mary Alice's amazing weight loss...



... it was announced that FLN was changing to The Cooking Channel, I hit up the NYC Wine and Food Festival...


... we got our first glimpse of the JUST RENEWED new show by Alex Guarnaschelli, and we got some baking tips from Charm City Cakes' Adam Goldstein.

IN NOVEMBER...

Aunt Sandy hit up Wendy Williams...



... Emeril Lagasse hinted at bringing back Emeril Live to some network other than Food Network, Martha Stewart acted like a jealous jezebel when Rachael Ray appeared on her talkshow, I posted a guest review of Food Network's first game for Nintendo Wii, the episode of Barefoot Contessa that I was a guest on reaired, and Paula Deen got hit in the face with a ham.



IN DECEMBER...

I found out where Dave Lieberman had been hiding...


... just-about-to-debut-a-new-show Anne Burrell got sued for discrimination, Dr. Phil made a move on Cat Cora, and George Duran got a job!

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Overall, it's been a very fun year--a much busier one than other previous blogging years for me, I'd say. When I started this blog I was in a very different place in my life: recently out of college, working for a job I didn't love, needing a writing outlet that interested me, and just learning how to cook for myself for the first time.

Now, honestly, I find myself watching HGTV more than Food Network. Ha! I guess that's the progression of life. First you learn to cook, then you look for a house to cook in.

I still love my Food Network peeps and don't plan on giving it up, though. I hope everyone has a happy, safe, food-filled, drink-filled New Year's Eve. See yah in 2010!

Food Network Addict Year in Review 2009 -- Part 1

I really can't believe it's the end of 2009... but I guess I say that every year. I should just get used to this whole racing toward death Gregorian calendar thing.

Soooo, as we prepare to down a couple buckets of Aunt Sandy's cocktails tomorrow night, let's look back on the year that was at Food Network Addict!

IN JANUARY...

Tyler Florence and Andrew Zimmern kicked off the year with a little hissy fit on Facebook.


After Tyler appeared on a show called "Momma's Boys," Zimmern referred to Tyler as the "least talented TV chef" among other things. Tyler hit back on Facebook, calling Zimmern "the guy who eats dried camel cock for a living." Yum-o!

... we pondered whether the Rachael Ray & John Cusimano-produced show Viva Daisy dazzled:


Answer: no.

... Bobby Flay's company got sued, we learned that an undercover FBI agent turned to Food Network's Giada De Laurentiis and Mario Batali to help "sound Italian", and I tried to figure out who wore Aretha's inauguration hat best:


I bet Bob will have one on next season of The Next Food Network Star!

...and Sandra Lee celebrated her magazine launch.

IN FEBRUARY...

We saw how good lighting can make someone look a little more like themselves on TV:


...Sandra Lee demonstrated her "burrito casserole" on GMA (put frozen burritos in dish and eat), I ran into Ingrid Hoffmann, the Neelys, Sunny Anderson, and Sandra Lee at the 2009 BubbleQ in South Beach.

IN MARCH...

I wrote more about the 2009 South Beach Wine & Food Festival and all the lovely sights:


...I got my picture taken with SandraFUCKINGLee!


... I got blinded by Guy Fieri's sunglasses:


... I made my very first Sandra Lee recipe (a crock pot buckle):


... and then went to a Semi-Homemade Party (only to stop at McDonald's afterward 'cuz I was hungry), and Duff & Tyler hit up HSN to sell their wares.

IN APRIL...

We saw Claire Robinson show off her best Rachael Ray faces:


... Paula Deen was featured on CMT's Cribs:


Of course. Also, "Chef" Sandra Lee tried to sell us some grilled chicken from KFC, Bobby Deen turned 39 years old, and we learned about new shows still yet to premiere in 2010.

IN MAY...

Giada De Laurentiis showed off baby Jade on Today:



... apparently a medical expert now, Paula Deen tried to convince us it was fine to eat pork and that we couldn't catch H1N1 from it, I reviewed the first episode of Sandra Lee's new show Money Saving Meals (and missed Semi-Homemade), Rachael and John did a few more awkward red carpet poses:



...Robert Irvine came BACK to Dinner: Impossible, after being replaced by Michael Symon, Sunny got a new "star-quality' do:



... and Ina had a finger-licking good time at the beach!



IN JUNE...

I did the first-ever interview that Bob Tuschman & Susie Fogelson had done together for The Next Food Network Star, Kate + 8 visited Charm City Cakes:


... Next Food Network star contestant Michael Proietti made a funny video poking fun at eventual winner Melissa d'Arabian (and then took it down):



... Susie Fogelson said contestants goodbye in style:


... and we learned that Guy Ferraridksdlkjfoi was no longer the spokesperson for Friday's.

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Stay tune for Part 2. It's been fun looking back on the crazy busy, changing year it was. Hope you enjoyed it!

-j

Merry Xmas and Happy Holidays from Food Network Addict

Merry Christmas to everyone out there in FNA land! And if you don't celebrate, it's still FRIDAY! Yay! I hope everyone has a happy and safe (holi)day.




I can't believe ANOTHER year has gone by on this crazy blog. 2010 is right around the corner! Be good and eat well today!

Love and cocktails (Aunt Andy style),
-J

George Duran Gets a Job... on TLC!

Former Food Network host George Duran will appear as the host of TLC's Ultimate Cake Off when it returns for its second season on Feb. 1, 2010.

Yay for getting a job, George! Times are tough out there.



I'm so proud of TLC, too. They write they George "previously hosted" two shows on Food Network (Ham on the Street and The Secret Life of...), as opposed to the regular usage of "Food Network host" for all eternity. I guess you only get that when another TV network hires you.

Keep that in mind, TV networks, when hiring Dave Lieberman!

But back to George and his show...
"Each of ULTIMATE CAKE OFF's eight hour-long episodes pits three different cake artists against each other as they create edible masterpieces in hopes of winning $10,000 and having their cakes featured at a marquee event. With only nine hours, these competitors must make cakes that are at least five feet tall and are creative enough to win the taste of the client and take the prize. To add to the pressure, the contestants also face two mini-challenges - a skills test and a taste test - that could give one team the ultimate advantage: being able to sit out another team for 30 minutes."

I doubt I'll be watching, but congrats anyway, George!

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I met George Duran briefly at the South Beach Wine & Food Fest back in 2007. He asked me how I got into the afterparty for the Food Network Awards. Rude! ;-) I saw him again in South Beach this past February. Not sure what he was doing there, but I wonder if Food Network will have him back now that he's working for the enemy!

It's supposed to snow like crazy over here on the East Coast. I hope it's not as bad as they say... I still gotta start my Christmas shopping!

Dave Lieberman Resurfaces... Kinda

So a mere two weeks after I publicly pondered the whereabouts of onetime Food Network host Dave Lieberman, he resurfaces... kinda.

He's now a spokesperson for Del Monte! (Actually, a period would have probably been a better punctuation mark to use at the end of that sentence, since there really isn't much to exclaim. I take what I can get when it comes to Dave news, though. Sorry grammarians.)



In the grand tradition of referring to former Food Network hosts as "Food Network host____" for all eternity, Del Monte announced that "Food Network TV host and author" Dave Lieberman would serve as a spokesperson for its ongoing "Value Without Sacrifice" campaign.

"Along with Del Monte, Dave will continue to empower consumers with helpful tips and delicious meal solutions to help them make the most of their grocery budgets - without sacrificing great taste, nutrition, variety or the quality of their fruits and vegetables. Del Monte products have always stood for quality, nutrition and value, and are thus uniquely positioned to meet consumers' needs regardless of the economic environment."

Del Monte should have done everyone a favor and included in this release a note about how hard it might be to find Dave's show on Food Network.

Something like: "Catch Food Network TV host Dave Lieberman's show Good Deal with Dave Lieberman after the Magic Bullet infomercial around 5 a.m. Happy Hunting!"

Dr. Phil Makes a Move on Cat Cora

I'd guess that the last thing a celebrity chef would want while attending a fancy event at music mogul David Foster's Malibu estate is Dr. Phil sneaking up behind her... but he did just that to Cat Cora this past week!




Whoa... step off, Phil. Cat has a wife, you know!

The big party was actually hosted by Dr. Phil. Cora treated the guests to Italian chocolate cake (in honor of guest Andrea Boccelli) and other deserts featuring Edward Marc Chocolates. Yum!

Wonder if all those goodies fit into that diet plan Dr. Phil used to promote? Hmm...

Sandra Lee does TODAY

Sandra Cuomo Lee appeared on the Today show a while back and managed to get in about 50 bullet points (that everybody already knows already) about what semi-homemade is, what her magazine is, what the name of her new cookbook is, and even what kind of sausage she had cooking in the pan (answer: "breakfast.")

According to Aunt Sandy, "one of the fun things about fall is that you can have breakfast for dinner."

And by "breakfast," I can only assume she means 3 shots of Jack with a twist of gin. Or does it mean you should drink your brunch's bloody marries at night? I'm not sure.



If you can't get enough of Food Network peeps on Today, Sunny Anderson will be on it tomorrow morning during the 8 a.m. hour.

Anne Burrell Sued for Discrimination!

Anne Burrell's Food Network show is called Secrets of a Restaurant Chef. At the show's inception, Anne was the chef at New York's Centro Vinoteca -- an Italian restaurant in the West Village that recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

WELL--Anne isn't working for a restaurant anymore (guess they should change the title to "Secrets of a TV Chef"), but she is being sued by former restaurant employees.

Former employees at Centro claim she referred to them in derogatory terms like "slutty," "saggy," "ho," "whore," and "stupid dumb whore… idiot."

The plaintiffs also claim Burrell commented on their cleavage and harassed them with offensive remarks like, "have you f****d that [co-worker] yet? and "You must be tired today from f***ing all night."" They also claim they were fired in retaliation for complaining about Burrell.

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I've met Anne a few times and she's been nothing but nice. Hell, Food Network just put her on the damn turkey float in the Macy's parade, so they must be backing her! Hopefully this will get worked out soon.

[Source and Source]

Alex Guarnaschelli's Got Love... For Herself!

"Joined" or "started it yourself," Alex G?


Haha...just kidding, Alex! Nothing like a little self love to get you through the day.

Where the F Has Dave Lieberman Been?

Longtime Food Network Addict readers know fondly about my affinity for Food Network's onetime golden boy Dave Lieberman.

I reviewed and commented on his show Good Deal and his webisode series Eat This and Dave Does, often (check out one of my favorite posts on Dave here) and even got the chance to chat with him for a few moments at the South Beach Wine & Food Fest back in 2007.

Thennnnn...he kind of disappeared. His show stopped taping new episodes (my TiVo sometimes records the random Good Deal repeats, perhaps to honor ole' Dave) and his website/blog went dormant--actually it never really got started to begin with. (He has since relaunched his website and blog, although it hasn't been updated since June.

Now, he doesn't seem to be cooking all that much--least in front of a camera. He is, however, doing a video for Rockport shoes... and that's good enough for me to post!




He still looks good, but let's take a look at him in his more youthful days:



Keep on keeping on, Dave!