Celebs - - Page 23

by tvff

Cheflebrity Smörgåsbord: Stems and All

I think I was inspired by gansie’s recent attempt at eating down the fridge to exercise a bit of frugality of my own the other night. Or maybe it was just an empty stomach and a lack of hot sausage that made me reconsider something that usually is bound for the garbage.

Monday night was pasta night in the TVFF household and the dish this week was orecchiette and broccoli rabe with olive oil and toasted garlic. Typically, that dish gets some crumbled Italian sausage to make it more substantive, but I found myself without. And so I turned to the lonely broccoli rabe stems, which I usually lop off and toss in the trash.

It took a bit of time and some tedious peeling, but what was left was the size and consistency of tender asparagus. I gave them an extra minute’s blanche and then threw them in with the florets and leaves, providing a slight crunch and a fuller meal. The net result was a very tasty dish and a guilty conscience about usually discarding a perfectly edible item.

So…any great, thrifty hints that can save you a buck and make better use of the ingredients in your kitchen? Share your frugal secrets in the comments.

Nothing ever goes to waste in the smörgåsbord!

– After the past week, I have newfound culinary respect for the President–despite my previous reservations. I had my first Five Guys experience (great burgers, even though they don’t serve medium or rare) and now the prez is grillin’ and chillin’ with Bobby Flay.

– Nancy Silverton and Mario Batali talk Italian food in Aspen. The YumSugar folks list some of the advice that they provided, although we suggest you avoid adopting Mario’s unconventional hair-care technique.

After the jump: free investment advice (which is worth every penny you paid for it), your last chance at fame and fortune (yeah, good luck with that) and Gordo runs afoul of of the bobby while pushing his pram and driving his lorry (insert additional British slang here).

in Celebs / Politics / TV 2 comments

by BS

Feed Us Back: Comments of the Week

If you haven’t already, check out the dozens of great after school snack memories ESers are sharing. Anyone else surprised that the majority of them involve peanut butter? I guess PB is the real kid-tested, mother-approved snack. Although Hugging the Coast clearly places first in weirdest snack category:

Mayonnaise sandwiches! I used to eat Hellman’s mayo on Arnold’s white bread after school before my mother came home.

– AK thinks DC’s rising star chef has a shot at winning the Next Food Network Star:

I think Teddy will end up surprising people on NFNS. It’s unfortunate that they’ve made him look like a cartoon but the guy is seriously talented. His food is fantastic and he’s a natural teacher which makes him perfectly suited for doing a cooking show. Hopefully we’ll get to see a little more as the show goes on that his goofy behavior isn’t “acting”, he’s just a naturally outgoing, ebullient goofball who loves food and loves to teach people to cook.

– La Morgan is ready to follow Paul and Yoko’s lead:

I’m a fan of meatless Monday too – I also really like Mark Bittman’s approach (The Minimalist) where every meal is veggie or vegan until dinner. Not that it means I follow this, but managing meat consumption by abstaining within one day or meal is a good way for carnivores like me to learn to design meals without meat, without having to be as careful as a vegetarian about my meal balance/protein consumption. Definitely nay on Yoko’s hat, btw. Yikes.

But ladygoat disagrees on both counts:

Most Catholics can’t even manage meat-free Fridays during Lent, so I don’t think meatless Mondays is going to make anyone vegetarian. But, it’s a fine idea – at least it gets people thinking about other food options. And YAY on her hat. Awesome.

(Photo: RachelBruce1)

in Celebs / TV / Veggie 1 comments

by tvff

Cheflebrity Smörgåsbord: When in Rome

When I was asked for my last meal on earth, I immediately went Italian. I have a bit of Italian blood in me, but I’m not the typical New Jersey goombah. No, I’ve never worn a track suit and gold chain and you wouldn’t mistake me for an extra from The Sopranos. But it’s certainly the cuisine with which I most closely identify. I’m actually more Irish than Italian, but you’ve got to be kidding me if you think I’m spending my last moments with potatoes, cabbage and corned beef.

Looking at the list of my fellow ESers, I was struck by how many of them went for simple dishes that undoubtedly remind them of home, family, heritage and the positive memories of life around the dinner table. Nobody picked the twelve course tasting menu at The French Laundry. I briefly toyed with the idea of a star-studded mega-meal, but it just didn’t feel right. If you have one last shot, I think it’s best to go with something that reminds you of all the good stuff in your life.

Another wise choice for a last meal? How about a smörgåsbord?

– Well, if you were going to go high-end for your last dinner, you might want to go Jean-Georges. If he’s good enough to cook for the past four presidents, he’s good enough for you.

– James Beard winner, Philly food rock star and my personal foodie man-crush Jose Garces makes fish tacos on the Today Show. He’s pretty good on camera (hint, hint, Food Network folks!)

After the jump: a politico makes a bold statement on communicable diseases, a food festival as envisioned by William Golding, and the perfect gift for the Giada-stalker in your life.

in Celebs / Politics / TV 1 comments

by Maids

Paul and Yoko Break the Ice — Over Food

Press people the world over are in quite a lather about the historic reconciliation of Paul McCartney and Yoko Ono. The two frenemies were brought to the bargaining table around (what else?) food.

Yoko and PaulMac reunited just to plug the Meat Free Mondays global campaign. Okay fine, they probably reconciled eons ago; I don’t really follow the Yoko v. Beatles feud, I just know I’m on her side. I personally have always loved the eccentric, feisty, ethereal Yoko more than John Lennon’s band members. If she can stomach PaulMac to join him in promoting the idea of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by reducing our consumption of domesticated critters, then more power to her.

Paul and Yoko’s idea is to slowly pull the meat-eaters of the world into the land of vegetarianism by urging people to go meat-free one day a week. The Meat Free Mondays site is chock full of recipes I need to try (as if I can follow a recipe…), food porn, and (oh yeah) information about the effect of excessive meat-eating on the environment. Like PETA, MFM also tries to lure us into vegetarianism with a list of celebs who don’t dig on flesh (Judi Dench, who knew?)

What do you think, ESers? Are you carnivores willing to give up one day of meat to save the planet from extinction? And what about you hard-line veggies? Are Paul and Yoko sell-outs for telling eaters they can just give up meat once a week instead of going the full monty? And yea or nay on Yoko’s hat?

(Pics: Frank Barratt/Getty Images via Black is the New Black and Sydney Morning Herald)

in Celebs / Trends / Veggie 5 comments

by tvff

Lunch in Translation: I Just Called to Shill for Coffee

This one is tough for me. Making fun of Stevie Wonder gives me no pleasure. He’s a certifiable genius and was the most vital and important factor in music during the first half of the 1970s. Talking Book and Innervisions represent the fifth greatest back-to-back album combination of the rock & roll era. But I must do what I must do.

Here’s the man who wrote “Superstition” and “Living for the City”… in a terrible Japanese commercial for coffee. Excuse me while I pound my head against the wall.

Full critique, and the final verdict on how big a sell-out this ad is…after the jump.

in Breakfast / Celebs / Drinks 1 comments

by tvff

Cheflebrity Smörgåsbord: But She Has Sassy Bangs!

Hey, Food Network! What the hell are you doing?

Far be it from me to tell you how to do your job, but I’m starting to think you blew it with the first episode of The Next Food Network Star. Did you really start off the season by eliminating the cute, perky blond who identified herself as “Housewife 2.0?” She appeals to both the guys and the girls! I just don’t think you have the right mindset. And by “mindset,” I mean the typical reality show producer technique of keeping contestants around solely because they appeal to the audience and make for plenty of news coverage. In other words, the reason they kept that marginally-talented Susan Boyle on that British show for so long. (ZING!)

In other news, we’re running another contest here at Endless Simmer. Just give us your “last meal on Earth” and you can score some bad-ass Top Chef gear. I know what you’re thinking…”another contest?!?” It’s all part of our master plan to run as many contests as your local top-40 radio station. Be sure to stop back next week to nab some tix to the monster truck rally.

Shall we smörg?

A look at the folks on the upcoming Top Chef Masters: Slashfood thinks Kelly Choi could be “the new Padma” and Eat Me Daily wonders who the hell Jay Rayner is (other than an extra from Pirates of the Caribbean, by the looks of it.)

Gordon Ramsay finds out the hard way that Australian women don’t like to be called “pigs.” Who knew?

Post-jump goodness: a video podcast worth checking out, some gratuitous meat (and a burger, too) and a new way to get your gambling fix.

in Celebs / TV 7 comments

by BS

Feed Us Back: Comments of the Week

DaFlake is not down with the lastest item from Taco Bell:

The flaming red taco shell of the Volcano Taco scares me – not cuz of the taste, but cuz of the FLAMING REDNESS. How much Red dye #’s 5 & 7 are in that sucka’?

Ruby-doo is similarly unimpressed with Bobby Flay:

I still refuse to believe that he is not an asshat. mainly because i like saying that word, and it fits him so well.

Who says ES-ers have no moderation? 49 percent of you are buying the latest scientific egg news, and going with the three-a-week theory. But Michael isn’t buying it:

Eggs are delicious, and I’m prone to be very skeptical about any research telling me not to eat anything that’s been a staple of the human diet for, basically, ever.

Speaking of our favorite food, we’re still getting updates on 100-plus ways to cook eggs. This week, SydneyCider adds on her very cool-looking Dukkah Eggs.

in Celebs / Eggs / TV 3 comments

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