From Scratch

Chef Emeril Lagasse moves next week from the Food Network to its sister channel, the Fine Living Network, which has provided preview videos. The July 7 debut focuses on seafood — he has a new seafood restaurant – but I’m interested in the July 11 show. He’ll create dishes on the fly with locally-grown “mystery” foods from New York’s […]

I have some kindred souls at Serious Eats. I’ve ragged Paula Deen for not only frying butter but then posting the recipe. Serious Eats, however, has an entire series called Paula Deen is Trying to Kill Us.
The latest installment includes a bonus video. Watch as Paula (or Pauler, as she sometimes says) whips together a […]

After last season’s debacle, they ought to rename this show The Next Food Network Employee. And when it returns Sunday night, you and I will no longer have a say in the hiring. For Season 4, the FN judges, not the viewers, will choose the winner; viewers will only be able to vote for a weekly […]

July 7 is changeup day for Chef Emeril Lagasse, whose long-running Emeril Live ceased production in December. That day, the Food Network will remove the reruns from its evening lineup and move the program to its sister channel, the Fine Living Network, to occupy the 7 PM slot seven days a week. Some new episodes are […]

This is just as ludicrous as the hotdogs sold already in the buns.

Yes, indeedy, just in case you don’t have any bowls in your kitchen — just in case you don’t know we’re probably in a recession — you can have this 10″ melamine gem by visiting your nearest Linens N Things or going to […]

Cindy, Cindy, Cindy. I’m sure you won’t mind if I call you that; you told me to, the times we met in New Hampshire when you were standing by your man in his quest to become president.
I always liked you and admired your smarts, your easy charm, impeccable grooming and appearance, although the New Yorker […]

It’s going from bad to worse, from dumb to so dumbed-down that culinary illiterates are likely to remain that way. It’s show biz, baby.
The Food Network announced a new slate of shows on Tuesday. The stated goal is to attract more young viewers and as many men as women. As long as they’re young, perhaps […]

Iron Chef America is more bogus than even I had imagined.
Restaurant critic Robert Sietsema in The Village Voice February 19th. He attended a taping of the one-hour show — it took about half a day — and spilled the beans about everything from whether the challenger’s choice of Iron Chef is spontaneous (no) to whether […]

Will he stop saying, “Bam!” and start saying, “It’s a good thing”?
Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (MSLO) has bought most of celebuchef Emeril Lagasse’s empire for $45 million dollars in cash plus $5 million in stock options. The deal could reach $70 million if future performance goals are met.
A news release at the MSLO site says […]

For Cleveland, OH chef Michael Symon, Super Bowl Sunday is a chance to cook up a storm at home, surrounded by friends. This year is no different, except now he has an aura of fame. He’s the Food Network’s newest Iron Chef and among his guests this year will be a former contestant from a […]

The Food Network has announced production of Emeril Live will end December 11, after 10 years on the air. A statement from a network publicist says Chef Emeril Lagasse will remain under contract.  “We love him, we support him and look forward to a long partnership with him.”
When asked by The Associated Press why the show […]

From Midtown to Downtown, restaurants owned by or associated with chefs we’ve come know from television are sprinkled around Manhattan like dots on a map. Actually, they are dots on a map now.
Gridskipper has published a handy and typically irreverant guide to those eateries, complete with opinionated commentaries. It’s obvious immediately that there would be […]

Looks like The Food Network has lost one its few remaining real chefs. The New York Post says Mario Batali is out.
Citing unidentified sources, Braden Keil reports the Network told Batali last month his shows were cancelled and that he wouldn’t be one of the four Iron Chefs any longer; Batali reportedly had told the cable channel […]

The Weekly Standard has published what I think is a top-notch article about our culture of celebuchefs, from the vaunted to the wannabe vaunted competing on shows such as Top Chef and Hell’s Kitchen. Called Bam! Making Sense of America’s Celebrity Chef Culture, this long article goes beyond criticism of superficial food-related shows and overexposed […]

“Oven fried” is an oxymoron, but I’ve tried several recipes over the years in hopes of a healthier alternative to fried chicken, and perhaps you have too. If the taste is good, the texture is not and vice versa. So I keep trying, and this is the latest, which is from the anonymous staff of […]