Food TV

With the holiday season fast approaching our hearts and minds turn to those less fortunate than ourselves. Sounds cliche, I know, but in the best of worlds it is true. Fans of the Food Network are probably aware of their current work with Share Our Strength. Share Our Strength is an organization dedicated to prevention of childhood hunger in America. Food Network is proud to be the national television sponsor of Share Our Strength. Look for your favorite Food Network Stars doing commercials and events for Share Our Strength.

Having said that, our favorite stars also have charities that they love and donate to on their own. I’d like to tell you a little about those too.

First of all, Alton Brown. In case you all haven’t figured it out by now, Alton is my favorite Food Network Star. It doesn’t hurt that he’s adorable and geeky in a super funny and smart kind of way. Add to that, his pet charity is one of my favorites too, and he is very nearly the perfect man… (Second to Hubby of course…) The charity of which I speak is Heifer International. Heifer International is working to rid the world of hunger following the old adage, give a man a fish he eats for a day, teach a man to fish and he eats for a lifetime. When you donate to Heifer international you buy a hungry or needy family a piece of livestock, a cow, a pig, a sheep, and not only does the organization give that animal to them, it teaches them to breed, care for, and recieve nourishment from, these animals… They also have programs that teach about agriculture, planting food, and getting those that live in cities to become closer to their food sources. Also, they acknowledge the HIV/AIDS epidemic that is spreading across the world and have included AIDS Prevention and Awareness Programs… All around an amazing charity!!!

Rachael Ray, has currently been working with City Harvest, and has recently donated two tickets to her daytime tv show to City Harvest’s 25th anniversary bid against hunger auction night. The tickets were won for an astounding $18,000 each!!! However Rachael also has here own charity, called Yum-o! In this day and age of fast food and meals on the go, Yum-O works to help families lears to cook together, building relationships over mealtimes. They also work to prevent childhod hunger (do we see a theme here yet?) On top of all of that they fund cooking education and scholarships.

Emeril also has his own charitable foundation, called, shockingly enough, the Emeril Legasse Foundation. Established in 2002 Emeril’s foundation is dedicated to “inspire, mentor, and enable our future.” The funds raised by his organization are in turn granted to other charities, childrens organizations that have something to do with food or hunger prevention…

If you would care to donate or help with any of the above charities, just click on the links and they will direct you to the site!!!

Also, to all of you lurkers out there, I am extending an invitation. Please, comment here what you would like to read about. Whether it be a specific show, or a particular personality… Any recipes that you’re just dying to have… Anything that you would like to see me write about. Once each week, I promise to take one of your suggestions and blog it, but I can’t do it if I do’t get your suggestions!!!

Remember this week, no mater how bad your life is, somebody has it worse. Donate time or money to the charity of YOUR choice today, whether it be one of the above or something totally different. I’m sure it will make you feel better!!!

This is a guest post by Dominick Evans.

I decided to write two posts on Ashtyn’s Food Network Blog. This one is based on who can cook as opposed to who is hot. I’m sure you will find this list a bit different because I am actually including all chefs on the Network, not just the women! Essentially, these are the people I would let cook for me based on their skill and what they like to make.

So, without further ado, here is my top five chefs list. Let me know if you agree or disagree by making your own list in the comment section of this blog post.

5. Emeril

I think Emeril is an amazing chef. I would have placed him higher except for one little thing. Emeril likes to cook exotic food, a lot of which is fish. I am not overly fond of fish or fois gras or anything I can barely pronounce. That is the only downside to Emeril’s cooking. However, when he’s making steak, potatoes, and that famous Emeril cheesecake, he’s welcome to send me some any time.

(more…)

I pondered adding a dessert today before posting a recipe but I ended up choosing something for dinner instead. My family is known for being addicted to three kinds of foods: Southern, Italian, and Mexican. That being said lasagna is one of the biggest dishes in my house. Now, I have my own way of making it that my mom passed down to me, and likely her mother before her, but every now and then I like to try something new. I have made a couple of my own tasty creations but hearing this combo made my mouth water.

I love the combination of chicken and mushrooms. When you add in spinach Alfredo I am simply in heaven. From the looks of this recipe you should not have any trouble making it, whether you are a new cook or you have tons of experience.

As for me, I think this will be going on the menu next week. If you try it before me, let me know how it goes! (more…)

Last night’s Emeril Live was dedicated to reader questions. Emeril was able to answer five reader questions and came up with concoctions like breaded pork chops, nachos, pork eggrolls, chocolate pecan pie, and a stir fry dish. The musical guest, Van Zant, offered some good Country/Rock music for the crowd while Emeril was hard at work cooking.

I have listed all of the questions that led to the dishes that were made below, along with a few of the recipes and some pictures of the end result. You can find all of the recipes of FoodTV. Just click on the recipe name if I do not have the recipe listed for you here and you will be taken right to it.

The show started with an appetizer dish due to this question:

“Emeril, I’m looking for an easy appetizer to feed a family reunion of 52 with a Mexican fiesta theme. Can you help me?”

Is it just me or does easy and 52 people not belong in the same sentence? Emeril’s answer was to start with some Chorizo and olive oil in a hot pan. You leave it in for 4-5 minutes. As it heats through, it pulls the flavor out of the sausage. Next some diced onions were tossed in, which were spiced with salt and pepper. Everything was cooked until the onions were soft. The plan was to begin with queso, which could be turned into a platter of gigantic nachos. The recipe, which looked delicious, is listed below courtesy of Emeril and Food Network. (more…)

Emeril’s Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins:

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar, plus 1 teaspoon for sprinkling
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg, lightly beaten
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
1 teaspoon lemon zest

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a standard 12-well muffin pan or a jumbo 6-well muffin pan.

Sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, buttermilk, and lemon juice.

Make a well in center of the flour mixture and pour the buttermilk mixture into the well. Add the melted butter and use a rubber spatula to blend with quick strokes, being careful not overmix the batter; it should still be slightly lumpy. Gently stir in the poppy seeds and lemon zest.

Spoon batter into the prepared muffin pan, filling each well 3/4 full. Bake until slightly puffed and golden, 20 to 22 minutes. Cooking time may be a little longer if you are baking jumbo-sized muffins. Lightly sprinkle sugar over the tops of the muffins, if desired. Remove the muffins from the pan and cool slightly on a wire rack.