Love to cook?
Or just love the idea of cooking?
If you spend hours in the kitchen — or in front of the TV watching Food Network chefs spend hours in theirs, you’ll love this guide to kitchen conversions by graphic designer Shannon Lattin.
No need to break your brain anymore halving or tripling recipes — Shannon’s done it for you!
I’m just gonna use it to check other folk’s work. (You’re welcome.)
Posted in Cooking, Design, Food, Foods, Humor, Life
Tagged chefs, cook, cooking, design, food, Food Network, Foods, graphic design, Humor, infographic, kitchen, kitchen conversions, life, recipes, Shannon Lattin, The Common Cook's How-Many Guide to Kitchen Conversions
I’m watching 24 in 24 — Sandwich King Jeff Mauro’s new show on Food Network.
(It’s kinda like the $40 a Day series that Rachael Ray did way back when, but with less scratch.)
He’s in Cleveland in tonight’s episode, and he’s eating chili for lunch.
Now I love chili, and today’s dramatic drop in temperatures makes it sound especially good. I don’t have any chili on me, but I am really enjoying watch him eat chicken chili from Palookaville Chili in Cleveland.
But he made a curious claim during the program.
He said chili is usually the “B-film of food.” It’s canned stuff. It goes on hot dogs. It’s not the star.
I love the Sandwich King, but I consider chili to be at the top of the soup chain. At the top of the stew chain. At the top of Rachael Ray’s ‘stoup’ chain (combo soup/stew).
Chili is king. And was king long before Jeff won Food Network Star.
Let’s show it a little respect.
Posted in Celebrities, Commentary, Entertainment, Food, Foods, Humor, Life, Television, TV
Tagged $40 a Day, 24 in 24, chili, Cleveland, commentary, entertainment, food, Food Network, Food Network Star, Foods, hot dogs, Humor, Jeff Mauro, life, lunch, no beans about it, Palookaville Chili, Rachael Ray, Sandwich King, soup, stew, stoup, Television, TV, tv episode, tv series
Weekends are made for cinnamon rolls.
My sister and I used to make them all the time when we still lived at home.
We used the convenient canned variety. Popped them open. Arranged them in the pan. And a short 11-13 minutes later, we were icing them and arguing over the one in the center.
(No edges.)
I haven’t had cinnamon rolls in a long time. But this photo from the Pioneer Woman’s recipe on FoodNetwork.com reminded me of those yummy breakfasts on lazy weekend mornings.
But her rolls’ estimated total prep time? 2 hours 40 minutes!!
Pioneer Woman — we have ovens and modern conveniences now. You might wanna take advantage.
Posted in Commentary, Cooking, Food, Foods, Humor, Internet, Life
Tagged canned cinnamon rolls, cinnamon rolls, commentary, cook time, cooking, family, food, Food Network, FoodNetwork.com, Foods, Humor, icing, Internet, life, modern conveniences, oven, Pioneer Woman, recipe, Relationships, weekends
Sunday, bloody Sunday.
You’ve been my favorite night of television all summer.
But last night The Glee Project wrapped, with Damian and Samuel winning the right to a seven-episode arc on the prime time version of Glee.
In true gleek fashion, the Irish import and the Christian rocker prevailed to share the crown. The other two runners-up also received two-episode stints on the show.
Even Cameron, who left the competition early because he didn’t ‘fit in,’ was voted fan favorite.
Everyone’s a winner on The Glee Project.
And last Sunday, Food Network Star also came to a close, with fan favorite — and my choice from early on — Jeff Mauro the Sandwich King getting his own show.
The first episode aired yesterday morning, and it was pretty slick, thanks to the Food Network production team. I think Jeff should settle in quite nicely. (As he pointed out himself, he is ‘kinda cuddly.’)
So now Sunday nights are left to only the critters and crazies on True Blood.
Granted, there is enough insanity on that one show alone to carry Sunday night. But I will kinda miss all the DVR juggling — and Twitter avoidance — I had to manage to watch all three programs without having outcomes or plot twists spoiled. It made the vast wasteland that is the Monday-thru-Friday’s-of-summer a little easier to bear.
Everyone who’s psyched for premiere week, raise your werepanther!
Posted in Advertising, Celebrities, Commentary, Entertainment, Humor, Television, TV
Tagged advertising, Cameron Mitchell, celebrities, commentary, crazies, critters, DVR, entertainment, fan favorite, Food Network, Food Network Star, GLEE, Humor, Jeff Mauro, premiere week, reality television, Sandwich King, series finale, summer television, Sunday bloody Sunday, Sunday night TV, Television, television is a wasteland, The Glee Project, True Blood, TV, Twitter
Dear restaurant chefs:
If you came to The Sticky Egg looking for a creative recipe for your weekend brunch menu, my apologizes.
We don’t do that kinda cookin’ here.
But if you are preparing to compete in Chopped on Food Network, I can help.
Previously an infrequent viewer, I recently sat through a Chopped marathon –ah, inertia — and have discovered the secrets to winning the Chopped championship and coveted $10,000 prize.
Of course, ignoring all these rules makes for more entertaining television, so you can forget I said anything, too.
I am, after all, just an Egg.
Posted in Commentary, Cooking, Entertainment, Food, Foods, Humor, Television, TV
Tagged $10000 prize, appetizer, brunch, brunch menu, chefs, Chopped, Chopped championship, Chopped chefs, Chopped marathon, Chopped tv show, commentary, cooking, cooking with love, cooking with passion, cooking with soul, food, Food Network, Foods, home, Humor, life, pepper, reality show, reality show competition, recipes, restaurant chefs, salt, seasonings, Television, The Sticky Egg, TV
I have watched a lot of Food Network shows in my day, especially the competition formats.
Iron Chef. Food Network Star. Last Cake Standing.
But they are all child’s play compared to the Meilleurs Ouvriers de France (Best Craftsman in France) competition featured in Kings of Pastry, which I discovered quite by accident last night on HBO OnDemand.
The 2010 documentary was directed by D A Pennebacker and Chris Hegebus, who brought us the Oscar-nominated documentary The War Room, about the 1992 presidential campaign of President Bill Clinton.
Surprisingly, Kings of Pastry is just as griping, tense and dramatic as any political campaign — maybe more so.
Becoming a M.O.F. is the pinnacle of a French pastry chef’s career, and the three-day competition is a grueling test for even the finest artisan. The film follows Jacquy Pfeiffer, an award-winning French chef and instructor at Chicago’s highly regarded French Pastry School, as he prepares for and completes the competition.
The directors also filmed two other finalists preparing for the M.O.F.: French chefs Regis Lazard — there for the second time after dropping his sugar sculpture and being eliminated during his first attempt — and Philippe Rigollot, the pastry chef at the renowned restaurant, Maison Pic.
The stress that the M.O.F. puts on the chefs and their families is immense. To say there were a few tears shed is an understatement, especially by the competition judges, who seemed to live each success and failure of the 16 chefs involved.
Their final work is exacting and beautiful to behold — but I would argue the process is the true art.
Posted in Commentary, Cooking, Crafts, Education, Entertainment, Food, Foods, Humor, Life, Movies, Politics, Restaurants, Television, Travel, TV
Tagged (Best Craftsman in France), Bill Clinton, Bill Clinton presidential campaign, Chicago French Pastry School, Chris Hegebus, commentary, cooking, D A Pennebacker, entertainment, food, food competition shows, Food Network, Food Network Star, food shows, Foods, French pastry chef, HBO, HBO OnDemand, Humor, Iron Chef, Jacquy Pfeiffer, Kings of Pastry, Kings of Pastry documentary, Kings of Pastry movie, Last Cake Standing, life, Maison Pic, Meilleurs Ouvriers de France, Movies, Oscar-nominated documentary, Oscars, Philippe Rigollot, Regis Lazard, restaurants, Television, The War Room, The War Room documentary, Travel, TV
David Letterman had a mini-meltdown on “Late Show” recently.
The topic? Food.
Specifically, there are too many shows on television about food, and too many networks devoted to food programming in a world where so many people go to bed hungry.
And poor Rachael Ray, sitting there in the guest chair…
So, David was the first person I thought of today when I read this article on the sex habits of the black truffle mushroom.
I could see his face — the initial disbelief that it was written at all; the mounting disgust that people even cared; and then, the evil glee when he figured out how to make a Top Ten List out of the topic.
Black truffles, as you probably know, are the rarest of the truffles, and the most pricey at $100 an ounce. Scientists just figured out they’re rare because they reproduce sexually, unlike the other fungi.
Now that they know, hopefully they can get them together, get more black truffles made, and bring the price down…which, if you like black truffles, is a good thing.
Or, if you’re David Letterman, will probably inspire another food-related rant.
Watch out, Rachael.
Posted in Celebrities, Comedy, Cooking, Entertainment, Food, Foods, Humor, Life, Television, TV
Tagged black truffles, celebrities, comedy, cooking, David Letterman, David Letterman Top Ten List, entertainment, food, Food Network, food programming, food rant, Foods, Humor, Late Show with David Letterman, life, mushrooms, Rachael Ray, rare truffles, sex habits of black truffles, sexual reproduction, Television, television networks, Top Ten List, truffles, TV
Sweet, sweet superlative
I watch a lot of Food Network — I’m a big fan.
(I want that on the record.)
These personalities, who typically appear authentic on their Food Network shows, turn into over-the-top, food-obsessed, caffeine- or sugar-addled caricatures of themselves as they describe the ‘perfect ice cream dish’ or ‘best egg salad ever’ (like that even exists in nature — seriously).
Their eyes bulge. Their pronouncements are peppered with puns. (They alliterate like that, too.)
It is so annoying.
It is, in fact, The Most Annoying Show on Food Network.
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Posted in Commentary, Cooking, Entertainment, Food, Humor, Life, Restaurants, Television, TV
Tagged alliteration, batshit crazy, caffeine, caricature, channel, chef, commentary, cook, cooking, entertainment, food, Food Network, Humor, life, perfect foods, puns, restaurants, show host, sugar, superlative, Television, The Best Thing I Ever Ate tv show, The Most Annoying Show on Food Network, TV