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!

Sunny, Anne, & Claire In the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade... sponsored by Food Network?

Thanksgiving is all about food, family, and facilitating lucrative advertising deals!

Sunny Anderson lets us know on her blog that she, Anne Burrell, and Claire Robinson will be riding on the famous Tom the Turkey float in tomorrow's annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade... plastered up with the Food Network logo!


I don't know how I feel about this one. I get that things need to be sponsored and everyone's looking to get their brand out there in new ways (Macy's is obviously the big brand name that people probably just say unconsciously when mentioning the parade by name), but some things are sacred... can't the turkey float just be nice symbol of Thanksgiving and not another billboard?

What's next? The GoDaddy.com Turkey float? The official Butterball brand Turkey float? The Endorse Sandra Lee for First Lady of New York Campaign Turkey float?

Be on the lookout for the Food Network ladies... and the Food Network LOGO tomorrow when you watch the parade!

Paula Deen Hit in the Face with a Ham

I admit it. When I read the headline: "Paula Deen Hit in the Face With Ham" I figured it must have something to do with Smithfield and protesters.


But apparently it didn't.

Pauler was in Atlanta this morning, taking part in a "25,000 lbs of protein" donation to Hosea Feed The Hungry & Homeless when an errant ham hit her right in the nose.

In the video, Paula and others are playfully tossing the hams, so I assume this was just an unfortunate accident. Looked like it hurt, though! I hope Paula--and her nose-- are okay.

Those frozen hams and heavy. No tossing turkeys this Thanksgiving, mmmkay?

[Thanks for the tip, Jen!]

See Me with Ina--Again! Dear Food Network Thanksgiving Desserts

Oh wow! The episode of Dear Food Network that I appeared on last year is airing again--right now! It'll also be on several more times throughout the week leading up to Thanksgiving.

I can't believe an entire year has passed since my visit to East Hampton. Such an amazing experience, that was.

I gotta get cracking on my mixed berry cheesecake!

Review: Food Network's Cook Or Be Cooked for Nintendo Wii

I recently had the chance to test out Food Network's first ever Nintendo Wii game "Cook Or Be Cooked," which was released to stores on Nov. 3. Since I don't own a Wii (I'm afraid I'd get addicted... and I'd probably still just want to play old school Mario Bros), I sent it to my friend Daniel, a fellow Food Network addict, to review. Here are his thoughts:

So I was pretty excited to test Food Network's new game for Wii since I'm a big fan of Cafe World on Facebook, however I wasn't so impressed after playing it for 30 minutes. The basic premise of the game is to collect medals for performing cooking tasks at specific times using the Wii remote. Each medal opens a new recipe for you to cook. There appears to be about 20 recipes that you can cook, with each one getting progressively harder and harder. You have to time them correctly in order for the food to be hot when it's served. Food Network was nice enough to include the recipes in the game manual so you can actually cook them in real life.

After cooking in the solo mode, you are judged by Susie Fogelson and Mory Thomas. The Susie character is spot on. I don't ever remember seeing Mory on TV, so I can't say anything about him. After opening up the recipes in solo mode, you can then compete against a second player in dual mode.The downside of dual mode is that you just get scored and you don't see Susie or Mory.

All in all, it's an ok game as long as you know what you're playing. It could potentially improve cooking technique and timing, but since the goal is to cook all the recipes and get a gold medal for each one, when you're done... you're done. Don't really see the replay value in this one.


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Thanks Daniel! Hmmm... I guess if you're awesome from the start and get gold medals for every recipe you would get bored pretty quickly with this game. Anyone else out there test it out yet?

Guy Fieri On His Still-Not-Sold-Out Roadshow

Tickets for the Guy Fieri Road Show, a 21-stop, 30 day "concert-style cooking tour" featuring Fee-Eddie himself that kicks off tomorrow in Lowell, MA, went on sale in September. According to his website, none of the dates have sold out.

To use one of my hated, ever-present food puns... did Guy bite off more than he can chew?!?!


Onstage with Guy will be L.A.'s DJ Cobra and— alert Sandra Lee — a 6-foot-tall, 25-gallon margarita maker.

"The show is about, if you love food like I love food and you're into the world of food like I'm into the world of food, then why shouldn't there be a food-a-palooza? Why shouldn't there be a food thing? We get together, we bring some other chefs in. We make food, we tell stories about food, we talk about 'Diners Drive-ins and Dives,' we cook food, we make some drinks, we have some laughs, we pull some antics and we just have a food concert." Guy told Pop Eater.

"Besides seeing your favorite person on TV, when do you ever get to see them live, see them real? That's the point. See it live, see it real."

Paula Deen tried her hand at a food tour several years ago, albeit on a much smaller scale. And if I remember correctly, it did not sell as well as expected.

Could it be that food fans, even the most devout Guy-lovers (who are they?), still don't want to spend $250 for an "Off tha Hook" package including stage seating and the chance to sample the goods?

Giant food festivals like the South Beach Wine & Food Festival and other smaller, more regional fests in other cities make sense for celebrity chefs to appear at. They're a big draw, but not the only attraction. You have to REALLY like Guy to shell out this kind of money... and if you're only paying for nosebleeds, is it really worth it just to see him "live, see it real" in a giant stadium?

I guess I will never understand.

No Surprise: Martha Stewart Still Hates Rachael Ray

In what was billed a TELEVISION FIRST, Martha Stewart and Rachael Ray made appearances on each others daytime talkshows last week.

And despite promo clips urging us to "forget all the rumors" and all the headlines of any supposed rivalry between the two... after watching Rachael's appearance on Martha, I'm more than convinced that Martha still has cold feelings toward Rach.




Now, "bitch" is often an unfair and overly used term to describe a lot of people, but consider this scene from Rachael's appearance on Martha:

Martha hears Rachael call her pastry cutouts "those little dudes" and replies with:

"If I start calling my pastry 'dudes', sew up my mouth."

...sometimes bitch is the only appropriate word, you know?!



Perhaps Martha is still bitter over Rachael's show airing its Barry Manilow episode on the same day that Martha had him on live... or the fact that Rachael just had an 18% jump to a 1.9 rating, while Martha's show has been sitting at a 0.6... or the fact that Rachael Ray has won the Outstanding Talk Show (Entertainment) Emmy two years in a row... or the fact that a prisoner once sued Martha for $3.5 million, saying he'd donate it to Rachael Ray (not making that up)... I'm not sure.

Whatever it is, lighten it up Martha!

Did you catch the big appearances? Any thoughts?

UPDATE: Eat Me Daily has the full vids of Rachael's appearance on Martha. Yay!

Emeril Live Might Be Coming Back... But Not on Food Network

Despite fading away into the Food Network oblivion nearly two years ago, Emeril Lagasse recently hinted that his namesake "live" show Emeril Live may resurface soon... on a major network?!


"Somebody does not want 'Emeril Live' to go away. They just want it to be a little bit better," Lagasse said. "It is not the Food Network. It will be a major network and hopefully it will be a weekly prime time show."

Uhhh... remember how your last primetime show on a major network went, Emeril? (And WTF, Sherri Shepherd was in that?)

"It will be more variety I will have a lot of my celebrity friends on. Musicians and chefs and it will be a lot of fun. We will cook a little laugh a lot and we will keep it energized. I plan on making the big announcement this week but wanted to tell you."

We shall see about this, Emmie. I acknowledge that he's a good TV talent and great chef, but I just never got into Emeril Live... and I doubt a snazzier set or celebrity friends will do much to raise its blood pressure.

And just since it might be coming back, here are my original 4 reasons why I was fine with Emeril Live ending:

1. It wasn't live. True, Emeril was "alive" during the taping and in front of people, but it still--even after ten years--looked like an infomercial.

2. I hated that he came out from a bookcase in the beginning. Why enter through a bookcase? Did he have to jiggle the candlestick on the wall to get back through?

3. Even though it was live, it was incredibly old school with all the swap-outs used. Swap outs are done. This isn't a segment on morning television.

4. It really looked like an infomercial. I know, I know... there was many a cooking tip to learn during each episode, but I thought at any minute Mr. Lagasse might try to sell me something that could dehydrate meats and blend me a margarita at the same time.

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Hope everyone is enjoying their Wednesday. It's a rainy day here in the Northeast. If you're in the US and getting the day off for Veterans' Day, have a great one.

It's Official: Scripps Buying Majority Interest In Travel Channel

It's official! Somebody bring a bottle of champagne to Anthony Bourdain's boudoir!

Scripps Networks Interactive, parent company of Food Network, HGTV, and more, will take a 65% stake in the Cox Communications' Travel Channel by January as part of a venture between the two companies, reports the Wall Street Journal and Reuters.

Scripps will now control the joint venture and run it along with its other cable properties.

I'm thinking a little Rachael Ray executive producer action might be coming to Bourdain's No Reservations? Yes???


"Under the deal announced on Thursday, Scripps will own 65 percent of the Travel Channel and Cox Communications will hold on to the other 35 percent. The deal is expected to be completed by January. In creating a joint venture, Cox will contributing the Travel Channel, which the two sides valued at $975 million, and Scripps will put in $181 million in cash. The partnership will take on $878 million in third-party debt."

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Hmm... first Scripps announces it's changing Fine Living to "The Cooking Network" and now it's taking on the Travel Channel. They will soon have two other networks devoted to cooking and travel... so what's left for Food Network?! More Paula Deen comedy half-hours? A love advice show with the Neelys? Only time will tell.

What do you think about Scripps' acquisition of Travel Channel?

Mario, Emeril, & Bobby Get 2 hr White House Special - A Sign of Importance or a Consolation Prize For Dwindling Network Time?

When you get an invite from the White House you send in the big guns. And at Food Network, to many people, those would be Mario Batali, Bobby Flay, and Emeril Lagasse... or they would have used to think that. Apart from Bobby and his ever-presence on the channel, Mario and Bobby have all but disappeared into rerunville.

So when I read that the three big boys would be appearing in a two-hour Super Chef Battle episode of Iron Chef America, featuring Michelle Obama and White House Executive Chef Cristeta Comerford, I wondered... is this a sign of who's really important at Food Network, or just a consolation prize to Mario and Emeril?


Food Network stars Mario Batali, Bobby Flay and Emeril Lagasse travel to the White House to take part in an unprecedented culinary competition in Super Chef Battle, a special two-hour episode of Iron Chef America. Greeted by First Lady Michelle Obama, the chefs are joined by White House Executive Chef Cristeta Comerford and receive their challenge: create a meal for America using The White House Kitchen Garden’s produce as their secret ingredients.

For one, Emeril isn't even an Iron Chef. Why was he asked to come along and not, say, Cat Cora, the only female Iron Chef?

Alton Brown is coming along for his commentary, and Ted Allen will serve as a guest floor reporter.

Even Food Network kind-of star Nigella Lawson (she's huge in the UK; hasn't entirely caught on here for whatever reason) will serve as one of the judges, which would normally be a bit of a no-no. Ted Allen had inferred in recent interviews that he wouldn't serve as a judge anymore due to his more established relationship with Food Network as host of two series, Chopped and Food Detectives.

It makes sense that Food Network stars shouldn't serve as judges, actually. Alex Guarnaschelli used to judge Iron Chef America battles, and now her new show Alex's Day Off is produced by Bobby Flay. Who knows how her vote might get swayed if she had to choose between Bobby and the challenger.

Soooo... I'm not really sure what to think of the addition of Mario and Emeril in this special. I mean, it makes sense they didn't ask Sandra Lee or, uhhh, Mary Nolan (that one worked out well, FN) to the White House. But is it a real sign their presence is valued on the network? We shall seeeeeee....

The special episode premieres Sunday, January 3rd at 8pm ET/PT.