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Cheflebrity Smörgåsbord: Susie Fogelson Needs a Virtual Heimlich

The latest and greatest news about celebrity chefs, served up buffet style.

– The new Food Network Wii game, Cook or Be Cooked!, will make you a world-class chef in the same way that Wii Sports has turned you into a professional athlete. Remember: video bowling ain’t exercise, chubby.

– Salman Rushdie is reportedly still obsessed with Padma Lakshmi. That’s a stunning lack of willingness to “live in the moment” displayed by someone who was wanted dead my millions of people.

After the jump: A murder in the publishing business, Bobby Flay is moving on up and a celeb chef shows us that it’s never too late.

in Celebs / TV 2 comments

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Cheflebrity Smörgåsbord: Everyone Picks on Guy

The latest and greatest news about celebrity chefs, served up buffet style.

– David Chang and Anthony Bourdain, on the rampage. In their sights: cupcakes and Guy Fieri.

– And if the verbal bitch-slap wasn’t enough, poor Guy gets the SNL treatment (fairly well done by Bobby Moynihan), only to be picked clean by ravenous birds.

After the jump: As much Steingarten as you can handle, hot food/cold feet and real, honest to goodness cooking on your television.

in Celebs / TV 4 comments

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To Please the Mouth

Is there anything better than getting an amuse-bouche?

You sit down at the table, order your drinks and menu items and kick back and relax, thinking that your best-case scenario would be some freshly-baked bread and olive oil for dipping. Then, much to your amazement, out comes a small plate of deliciousness prepared by the kitchen especially to whet your taste buds. And you didn’t even have to ask!

I bring this up because it happened twice in the past few weeks. Mrs. TVFF and I were out and about in Philadelphia, seeing the sights, when we were able to snag an early seat at Chifa, a popular Peruvian/Chinese tapas bar. After ordering our five plates, out came a bowl of bite-sized pastries and a small dish of spreadable topping…manchego puffs with spicy guava butter. It was a highlight of the dinner and the meal itself hadn’t even started yet.

Then, the following weekend, we decided to take it easy after splurging and headed out to our neighborhood Italian place. We’re used to getting the complimentary bread and salad, but we were presented with a plate of grilled vegetables — cauliflower, green beans, peppers and more. Mrs. TVFF hardly put a dent in her pasta, having enjoyed the various appetizers along the way.

Hell, getting anything for free is great. (OK…I know it’s priced into the cost of the overall meal, but don’t burst my bubble.) But there is something more to the amuse that elevates it above the other freebies like the fortune cookie or starlight mint…

in Restaurants 1 comments

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Cheflebrity Smörgåsbord: “I’m Your Number One Fan, Food Network”

The latest and greatest news about celebrity chefs, served up buffet style.

– Ego or smart marketing? Super Chef takes a swipe at the new “I Love Food Network” fan site, which was created by Food Network itself.

– Always thinking ahead…auditions for the next Top Chef are coming soon. Also on its way, a show called Chef Academy, which promises to be nowhere as entertaining as Tool Academy.

After the jump: foodie concert groupies, Padma’s lazy Sunday and world domination featuring Alton Brown and Rachael Ray.

in Celebs 2 comments

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Cheflebrity Smörgåsbord: Gordo Gets Animated

The latest and greatest news about celebrity chefs, served up conveniently buffet style.

– There is going to be a Gordon Ramsay stop-motion animated series. Why? Because even Fox reality show producers aren’t over-the-top enough to insert cartoon sound effects when he starts hurling cookware.

– Guy Fieri is marketing a line of knives called “Knuckle Sandwich.” Take a moment and think about what they might look like. Now go check them out. Yep, even douchier than you imagined.

After the jump: the year of the culinary blockbuster films continue, Tyra goes crazy(-ier) for truck food and Disney brings in the foodies.

in Celebs / TV 2 comments

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A Spicy Sign of Autumn

Nothing gives me warm feelings of chilly fall nights like thinking about Sweetzels Spiced Wafers.

Growing up, you don’t process food intellectually, you just become accustomed to flavors of your life. You don’t think about what’s local and what’s seasonal and what’s traditional, you’re just happy to chow down on what’s put in front of you, so you absorb the traditions of countless previous generations until it becomes second nature. This is how the Philly region’s take on ginger snaps came to be a personal favorite, and one that is inseparably identified with the coming of autumnal chill.

Why do these simple cookies have such a hold on me? For one thing, they’re really tasty. The Wafers feature the perfect blend of sweetness and spice, evoking everything good about a pumpkin pie. Even better than the flavor is the incomparable texture. Many ginger snaps and spice cookies err too far on the side of chewiness or crispiness, but the Spiced Wafers find the perfect balance — like an al dente pasta cooked by a master chef.

And here’s the best part…if you have a glass of milk handy, you can make something unbelievable. Dunking these cookies is like playing a high-stakes game of chicken. Too long in the drink and they’re mush — breaking up and sinking to the bottom of your cup. Not long enough and it just feels “undercooked.” But if you can find the sweet spot — I’m guessing somewhere around five seconds — you’ll have a melt-in-the-mouth spiced dream.

But perhaps even more than the taste, they signal a season change: their Halloween-colored box comes with a punch-out cardboard mask. I’m working through my first box of the year right now, but a recent get-together with my family got my gears turning. How could I incorporate my new toy — the ice cream maker — with the Spiced Wafers to knock everyone’s socks off for dessert?

in Desserts 8 comments

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Cheflebrity Smörgåsbord: Hello, Joe!

BS’s recent mac & cheese article reminded me: There’s a Trader Joe’s opening about two miles from my house this Friday!

You probably think it’s funny that the mac jogged my memory, but it illustrates a bigger point about TJ’s, which is that I love shopping there despite the fact I’m not 100% sure the stuff there is head-and-shoulders better than my local supermarket.

For instance, they have an organic shells and cheese that uses the ubiquitous packet-o-cheeze powder, yet I feel so much better about eating it. Recently, there was the case of the canned tomatoes that I used for my quick marinara the other day. They were a bit tinny and kind of scrawny, with a bad tomato to juice ratio. I’ll be sticking with my Muir Glen.

And yet I just love shopping there, with the energetic, brightly-clad staff, copious samples and bell-ringing code that I can never quite decipher. And, hey…most of the stuff there is pretty good.

I’m excited about the new Princeton store despite the fact that I could literally throw a baseball from my desk at work and hit the TJ’s in Philly. The fact that I’ll no longer have to pack a fully-outfitted cooler in order to buy the frozen products has me downright giddy.

Now, if only I can convince them to change their mind and sell alcohol at the Princeton location, I’d be in heaven.

Free samples of smörg served by Hawaiian-shirted foodies below!

– Mario has some advice for the pharmaceutical industry? Oddly enough, it has nothing to do with his close contact with the pharmaceuticals traditionally used in large amounts to fuel kitchen staffs.

– From the ES “Been There, Done That” File: In 1995, former Russian President Boris Yeltsin tried to hail a cab in his underwear outside the White House because he wanted a pizza. He was drunk, of course. The difference is that Yeltsin had Secret Service there to wrangle him back inside whereas I had my equally drunk friends reminding me to bring them pepperoni.

After the jump, yet another reason to love that cuddly Brit on Top Chef and fresh news from some old adversaries.

in Celebs / Politics / TV 2 comments