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Cheflebrity Smörgåsbord: 100% Hand-Made

Following up on ML’s Table for 12 post, I’ve been thinking about cheating. Do you feel better (more authentic, more accomplished, etc.) when you cook a dish using absolutely no pre-processed ingredients? Health concerns aside, do you feel better knowing that everything that appears in your dish started out at the most elemental level possible? Or are there certain prepared items that are just fine to include, like mayonnaise and canned chicken stock? I just ask because I made Caesar salad (not pictured above) from scratch the other night, and I was a little extra jazzed about the fact that everything — down to the breadcrumbs — was home-made.

So, is it OK to compromise on the “authenticity” of a dish by taking one or two Sandra Lee-esque shortcuts, or does making a dish in a completely elemental way truly add a meaningful touch?

I apologize for making you think on a Wednesday. Here’s some smörg to cleanse the palate.

– A look at Bobby Flay‘s newest cookbook, which just so happens to be part of the prize pack for our grilling contest. Be sure to enter by midnight tonight!

– Two former Hell’s Kitchen contestants, including Robert Hesse, are joining the kitchen at a restaurant in the Hamptons. The post gently refers to Robert as “memorable.” You’ll likely remember him as the giant dude who collapsed at the Borgata. Yeah, that’s memorable, alright.

After the jump…Ray-Ray keeps collecting the hardware, a culinary-journalism crisis of epic proportions and Tony Bourdain takes aim at your favorite grocery store.

Cheflebrity Smörgåsbord: Barry Says “Burn It!”

While my colleagues here at Endless Simmer are focusing on the President’s restaurant choices, I’ve become a bit preoccupied by another food-related Obama item. In the heady, post-inauguration days of January, I was somewhat bothered by the fact that his first ride on Air Force One included a medium-well hamburger. But I was prepared to chalk it up to a severe hangover that ruled out a nice piece of bloody red meat. So it was with great sadness that I listened to the radio this morning and heard about the little POTUS/VPOTUS burger run that transpired yesterday at Ray’s Hell Burger in Arlington (which espressodog shouted out to us earlier, and again, none of you guessed!) So what did the ‘bam eat this time? Medium-well. Again.

They say that three times makes a trend, but I’m going to go ahead and put my foot down after two…Mr. President, you’re absolutely killing me. Don’t you know that people are looking up to you? In these difficult times, we must all be living our lives in a manner that reflects positively on our country and our values. By perpetuating the unfortunate and offensive notion that medium-well is an acceptable burger choice, you are hurting the children of America. Mr. President, please think long and hard about your choice before you order your next burger. And don’t be afraid of a little blood.

On to the smörg, which will always order its burger medium-rare — at most!

– Is that Guy Fieri at a Kansas City Royals game. Ha, actually it isn’t. And your first clue should have been that this television host can’t seem to string together an entire sentence.

– Here’s one from the “condecending to women” file: Boulud and Keller weigh in with their favorite female chefs. But I’m happy because both include TVFF’s favorite kitchen goddess, Lidia Bastianich.

After the jump…a Hollywood story from the Chicago food scene, a list of award winners that doesn’t include me and Bobby Flay plays the ponies.

Cheflebrity Smörgåsbord: Apparently, Brian Boitano Has a Sense of Humor

In journalism, there is a concept called “burying the lede.”

The “lede” (an insider-ish spelling of “lead”) is the most important or juiciest part of the story. So, if you were to bury the lede, your story would include a bunch of paragraphs with mundane information and then, as you’re getting to the end, you insert a bombshell revelation like it was nothing. Burying the lede isn’t good when you’re a journalist. But when you’re writing a press release, burying the lede is really bad because you want to grab hold of the reader’s attention as soon as possible to sell whatever it is you’re selling.

And so I have to call out the folks at Food Network for their latest press release, which features a number of new shows that will be premiering in the coming months. Another Alton Brown show…a new season of The Next Iron Chef…Sandra Lee…blahblahblah…nothing earth-shattering. And then I get way down near the bottom.

WHAT WOULD BRIAN BOITANO MAKE?

Premieres: August 2009

Everyone knows Brian Boitano won an Olympic gold medal in figure skating. What they don’t know: Brian is an accomplished cook who loves to entertain! In this new series, Brian takes viewers on a reality cooking adventure as he creates amazing food for a new event in each episode. Funny, knowledgeable and irresistible, Brian brings himself and so much more to What Would Brian Boitano Make?

Whaaaaaat?!? Are they really going to have a show title that refers to the legendary pre-South Park The Spirit of Christmas? (See video above…language extremely NSFW) There is simply no way that this is not the best show on Food Network, even before it debuts.

More delicious smörg after the jump…