Food TV

On the Hungry Detective, Chris Cognac reviewed the Ellis Island Casino’s BBQ. Living in Las Vegas I have heard a lot of good things about Ellis Island, which is a very small hole in the wall casino that most tourists wouldn’t even notice. Located on Koval about a half mile from the Hard Rock Hotel, Ellis Island has a friendly locals atmosphere.

A friend of mine from the Good Eats Fan Page came into town, and since I still hadn’t given her her gifts from the Christmas gift exchange, we decided to meet up for dinner. I bundled my baby up, grabbed the Hubby and off we were. When we arrived at the Ellis Island, I quickly discovered that perhaps this should have been a night to leave the Little Dude at home. The casino itself is very smally, and the area with the BBQ is not seperated from the casino area. We dragged some chairs over to where we were waiting for our table, so as not to be breaking the underage kids in a casino laws, and took a seat. In the hour or so wait for a table, my friend opened her Christmas gifts.

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Tonight the stars will shine in Hollywood once again. With the writers strike over, we can look forward to the typical stars forgetting how to read the witty, and sometimes cheesy lines laid out for them on a teleprompter, and long winded acceptance speeches. Someday, instead of playing the music louder to drown them out, I think that they should actually come and drag them kicking and screaming off the stage. Especially the winners of “Best Special Effects in a Movie Filmed in a Foriegn Country with fewer than 25 Lines of Dialogue…” Nobody CARES!!! I do like to see the women’s dresses though, especially those that confuse sexy with slutty and come in wearing completely transparent clothing. It’s always fun to see them expose themselves in some embarrassing way or trip over the 25 foot train that was ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY to complete the outfit. It makes me feel better about myself to know that they are indeed not perfect.

My favorite way to watch the Oscars is with a lot of booze, (hence the above opinions) and some really good food. The Food Network website has decided to give us a helping hand with this, providing a plethora of tasty fare for tonights festivities. Offering everythign from Wolfgang’s Post Award’s Party menu, full of fancy foods, much too sophisticated for my pedestrian palate, to cinema snacks including several sweet treats, a bunch of popcorn recipes, and severald variations on hotdogs. There are also several drink recommendations, which is always a good thing.

When it comes to hot dogs, well frankly, I can’t stand them. But I do have a huge love for Corn Dogs. I know, I know. They are the same thing. I understand that, but there’s something about them being wrapped in cornbread and then either baked or fried to crispy golden deliciousness that I cannot resist. And I am a mustard person, no ketchup please. Even on the rare occasion that I do use ketchup, it must be mixed with my mustard for my corn dogs.

Popcorn on the other hand is a must when watching anything movie related. And I’m not that particular about my popcorn. Cheesy corn, caramel, toffee, buttery, salty, it’s all yummy to me! So without further ado, I give you my Acadamy Award Winning Recipes…

Corn Dogs Recipe courtesy Scott Leibfried
Show: Party Starters
Episode: Movie Night

25 (2 packages) mini hot dogs (can be found in the hot dog section of the grocery store)
25 (8-inch) wooden skewers to accommodate the hot dogs
1 box corn muffin mix (mix according to the directions)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Skewer the hot dogs on the sticks. Make sure the sharp part of the skewers are not sticking out of the dogs. Prepare the corn batter according to the recipe on the box. Coat the dogs with the muffin mix and place on a nonstick baking sheet. Bake for about 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Allow to cool slightly before removing from the pan. Use a spatula to lift the corn dogs.

This recipe was provided by professional chefs and has been scaled down from a bulk recipe provided by a restaurant. The Food Network Kitchens chefs have not tested this recipe, in the proportions indicated, and therefore, we cannot make any representation as to the results

Cheddar Cheese Popcorn Recipe courtesy Gale Gand
Show: Sweet Dreams
Episode: Crunchtime Munchies

3 tablespoons melted butter
1/4 cup cheddar cheese powder, plus 1 tablespoon
1/4 teaspoon mustard powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
4 cups popped popcorn
Salt and pepper

In a large bowl, combine the butter, cheddar cheese powder, mustard powder, cayenne pepper and the popcorn. Season with salt and pepper, to taste and toss to combine. Serve immediately.

Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Sandwiches Recipe adapted from Gourmet Magazine
Show: Sara’s Secrets
Episode: You Can Please Everyone

1/2 cup chopped English toffee candy bar (Recommended: Heath Bar)
1 pint vanilla ice cream, slightly softened in the microwave
16 chocolate chip cookies
Multi-colored candy sprinkles

Mix the candy into the ice cream.
Using an ice cream scoop, divide the ice cream among the flat sides of 8 of the cookies. Top the ice cream with the remaining cookies, flat sides down, and press down gently. Roll the edges of the sandwiches in the candy sprinkles. Freeze the ice-cream sandwiches, covered, for at least 1 hour or overnight.

Lava Flow Recipe courtesy Old Lahaina Luau
Show: Emeril Live
Episode: Emeril’s Hawaiian Luau

1 ounces light rum
2 ounces pineapple juice
6 ounces pina colada mix (coconut cream and pineapple juice)
1 ounce strawberry puree
1 small chunk pineapple, for garnish

Blend rum, pineapple juice, and pina colada mix with 1 cup of ice. Next, take a glass and coat the inside with strawberry puree. Pour in colada blend. Finally, use a spoon to drag the strawberry puree up through the colada drink, creating a pink stripe. Garnish with a pineapple chunk, and serve.

I hope y’all have as good as time as I will!!!

P.S. Did you hear? Universal Studios Orlando is Opening a Harry Potter Theme Park!!!!!

I don’t understand why, but for the last month or so, I have been feeling uninspired. I watch my shows on the Food network every day. I have become newly addicted to Diners, Drive-In’s and Dives. I watched every chocolate show there was before Valentine’s Day. I even started a couple of blogs, I just couldn’t seem to finish them. For that, I would like to say, I’m sorry. Honestly, I haven’t even watched the Ultimate Recipe Showdown which I really wanted to see. There has been a lot of stuff going on in my life, and that has caused my prolonged absence. It is working out a little more every day though, and so I will be writing more often.

I attempted to set out a schedule for myself, so that I would know what I would be writing every day. That has backfired, because on the couple times I have felt I had something I wanted to write about, I have decided to hold it off for “the proper day” and then forgot about it before that day came. So I am throwing that system out. From now on, it will be what I feel like writing about, as soon as I am able to write.

That being said, on to an actual blog.

I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned it before, but I’m not a huge fan of Guy Fieri’s actual cooking show. Guy’s Big Bite doesn’t quite strike me as the same caliber as other cooking shows on the network. I think it’s the set up of the kitchen that bothers me, but honestly, I’m not sure.

His other show, however, I love!!!!! I can’t get enough of Diners, Drive In’s & Dives. I like how each show has a theme, and how Guy actually goes into these kitchens and learns to cook what they are making. He eats some of EVERYTHING, and always compliments the cooks and chefs.

The other day there was an episode featuring “unique foods”. I think this was my favorite episode so far. There were foods featured that I would never eat, but the show made them seem very appealing to me. Everything from fried clam with bellies to gizzards. The best thing, I think, about the episode was that he made sure to showcase the “regular” food as well as whatever “unique” item that particular restaurant featured. So, for example, the clam belly place also had amazing looking fish and chips. Things like that. I really like Guy’s personality in this show, he is outgoing and funny. I personally think that he works a lot better with people, rather than all by himself.

P.S. I’m now writing another blog, over at the Hogwarts Herald. Go check it out!!!

So I would normally try to post a nice family dinner here on Saturday, but since tomorrow is the “big game” I thought I would put up some fun stuff that you would normally have to get at a bar or something. It’s always nice to be able to make bar food in your own home. Hrm… What shall we make then? Well, I already told you about Paula’s oven fried potato wedges, but I didn’t put a recipe or anything. You can of course find that recipe on the food network site, I just can’t bring myself to post a recipe where you cover potatoes in mayonaisse and bake them. *shiver* Well, there was a new episode of Good Eats the other night. And it was all about buffalo wings…

“The Wing and I” opened with Alton Brown tending bar and discussing the varieties of fare that can be found in bars and pubs across America. Everything from fried cheese to the infamous nacho platter. But none hold the same place in the hearts of pubcrawlers everywhere, as the humble buffalo wing. Apparently first made by a bar owner in Buffalo NY who needed to feed her hungry college going son and his friends, the buffalo wing has become a standard of culinary comfort. The show then focuses on cooking the wings without actively deep frying them, and without setting off every smoke detector in your city. It seems, according to AB, the secret is to first steam the wings to reduce the fat content while keeping them moist. Then bake them to crisp the skin. Don’t forget to toss with the ever important sauce while the wings are still piping hot. This makes sure that the flavor gets infused into the entire skin without losing the crisp skin that you have worked so hard to get…

So, friends, go get a party pack of chicken wings, about 2 steamers, and a bunch of hot sauce!!! It’s going to be worth it!!!

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As the month of January dies, I have to be glad of the fact that we are leaving the obligatory health food craze that fills the country. Now don’t get me wrong, I myself and trying to get off a few dozen extra pounds, and yes, the recipes I have put up here have tried to be healthier than in the past, but my goodness does everyone have to jump on the wagon?

Take a close look at Paula’s shows from the last few weeks and you’re sure to see that the answer to that question is a resounding NO. Not every show has to be about a better, healthier way to make your food. As a matter of fact, she did an entire episode devoted to the humble potato. The bane of every dieters existence got a full 30 minutes from the glorious Ms. Deen. Even when you thought she was going to “health it up” with oven fried crispy potato wedges, she threw in a curve ball by coating the wedges in MAYONAISSE, and corn bread stuffing mix before baking them. MAYO for crying out loud!!! And then to top it off, of course extra mayo for dipping when they were finished. While I am darn happy that Paula didn’t bow to the pressure of having “starting the new year right” but all that mayo really wanted to make me ill. I can’t deal with mayo. Ick.

Kudos also, for her new placement in the Guiness Book of World Records!!!! On Paula’s Party, she shattered the old world record for dipping strawberries in chocolate. The rules were simple. The strawberries all had to be approximately the same size, covered at least half way with the chocolate, and she could only use one hand. Paula dipped an impressive 45 strawberries in only 60 seconds.

And by the way, if you’re going to buy that Disney DVD for your kids, why not do it in the least expensive way… follow the link, and help me get that extra Frapa-whozit this month!!!

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OK, I know. It’s been a long time since my last post. Far too long actually. For this I would like to apologize to all of my readers. Or should I say reader? Heehee… A large part of this has to do with family issues, and that’s all I’ll say about that. The other part is the subject of my Why, oh why, Wednesday. Who would have thought that the writers strike would have such an effect on the Food Network of all places. I don’t know for sure if that is what has had such an effect, but I do know that over the last couple weeks there hasn’t been a whole lot I’ve wanted to watch. Except Good Eats of course, but I think one day a week of gushing about Alton Brown is all you can really handle. After all this is a blog about the food network as a whole. That being said, I have been checking every day and only seeing one or two things that I want to watch. I know what you’re thinking. At least blog about those one or two things! Well ok then. Sheesh.

There was, finally, a new episode of Ace of Cakes this week. And, it combined two of my favorite things. Duff and his crew, and Harry Potter!!! Hooray!!!! The crew at Charm City cakes got the call to make a non edible cake featuring Hogwarts Castle, with the grounds surrounding it being the actual cake. The episode opened with the crew doing things “magically”. It was cute and totally Ace of Cakes. Everyone expounding on what their magical abilities. One person even telling Duff her magical power is “making you shut up, and go away…” Heehee, gotta love that. So Duff had to go out of town, to Texas, fulfilling an obligation to the nice people who sent him a head in a box. While he was in Texas, Anna and Richard worked full force on carving and fondanting the whole of Hogwarts castle out of styrofoam. Within days blocks of foam slowly turned into a very familiar castle. Once Duff made it back to town Hogwarts was loaded up into the “Fun Mover” RV for the long drive from Baltimore to Hollywood, CA! The trip started out pretty uneventful, until the fun mover decided to have some fun of it’s own. A blown tire and radiator hose later and Duff successfully made it to his destination in sunny California.
Anna and Richard flew down in time to finish making the grounds and lake of the famous wizards school. Together they worked their butts off making the whole of the Forbidden Forest, and lake, although I didn’t see Hagrid’s Hut anywhere. Harumph… All in all they did an amazing job and in the end the castle looked like a scale model more than a cake. After the cake was finished the three of them were put into a stretch limo to make the long and arduous, half block, trip to the premiere where they got to walk down the red carpet.
While there they Duff got feedback from Dan Radcliffe. That’s right, Harry Potter himself. He said that the cake was fantastic, and about the same size as the model that they use for wide shots of the castle. Even joking that they could just use the cake in the next film. What a compliment!!! Duff, Anna, Richard, you did a fan-freaking-tastic job!!!

By the way, congratulations to the folks over at Charm City Cakes for their 4th season of Ace of Cakes!!! And heads up to the fans, according to the blog over at Charm City’s website, they just finished filming season 4 and Mary Alice has a broken arm. Get well soon Mary Alice, we love you!!!

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