Aunt Sandy Declares Cocktail Time During Hurricane Sandy

While many of us were bracing for Hurricane Sandy to make landfall on the East Coast, Sandra Lee has declared Cocktail Time!  Sandra Lee tweeted to her followers: "Be safe inside with family and friends. If you need a Hurricane cocktail recipe…here’s one to help you relax" with a link to a hurricane recipe.  Makes sense as the storm shared the same name as her and was hitting around her favorite holiday of Halloween.  If you set up a tablescape in your house, Hurricane Sandy will spare your house of any damage.  Good luck to everyone that will be impacted by this storm.

Justin Warner's Show Not To Premiere Until Next Year

Yumsugar had an interview with Alton Brown where he revealed some details about the show he is producing for Food Network Star winner Justin Warner.  When Justin won, it was stated that his show would air 'in the Fall.'  Well, Fall has arrived, and it now seems that his show will not air until next year 'in the Winter.'  Rather than being slotted in the normal Sunday morning slot of past Food Network Star winners, Justin's show will be a prime time show.

Watch Duff Goldman Attempt The Cinnamon Challenge

Duff Goldman recently uploaded a video of him attempting the Cinnamon Challenge multiple times.  If you do not know what the Cinnamon Challenge is, it is when a person tries to swallow a teaspoon full of ground cinnamon within 60 seconds and without the aid of any liquid.  Most people fail as it dries out the mouth so quickly, and there are thousands of Youtube videos of people attempting it.  In his video, Duff also gets former Top Chef winner Michael Voltaggio to attempt the Cinnamon Challenge with him.  Watch the video after the jump. 

Food Network November 2012 Programming Highlights

The Food Network has put out a press release detailing the programming in November on the channel and some of the highlights include:

• The Next Iron Chef: Redemption starts Sunday, November 4th at 9pm.
• Although the last season of Restaurant: Impossible just ended this week, a new season is already beginning Wednesday, November 21st at 9pm.
• Sugar Dome is premiering Sunday, November 25th at 8pm.
• There will be another Thanksgiving Live this year on Sunday, November 18th at 12pm.  It will be hosted by Alton Brown, and some of the chefs that will be on it include: Sunny Anderson, Giada De Laurentiis, Ree Drummond, Bobby Flay, Alex Guarnaschelli, Rachael Ray and Aarón Sanchez.

Restaurant Impossible - Oleander Bar & Grill Update

Tonight's Restaurant: Impossible has Robert Irvine going to the Oleander Bar & Grill in Olean, NY which is owned by a mother/daughter combination, Kelli and Abby.  The daughter Abby is 7 months pregnant, and the restaurant opened only 6 months ago and is already in trouble.  As I do every week, I searched around the internet to read stories, comments and reviews about the Oleander to get an idea of how the restaurant is doing since Robert Irvine visited.  There wasn't too much with this restaurant being new and in a small town, but here is what I found (note - all reviews and comments are post Restaurant: Impossible):

Rachael Vs. Guy: Celebrity Cook-Off Season 2 Cast Announced

The Food Network has put out a press release announcing the cast for season 2 of Rachael Vs. Guy: Celebrity Cook-Off, and the 8 person cast for this season is:

• Chilli (member of pop/R&B group TLC)
• Gilbert Gottfried (actor, comedian)
• Cornelia Guest (designer, author, philanthropist)
• Dean McDermott (actor, reality television star)
• Kathy Najimy (actress, Sister Act)
• Hines Ward (former NFL player; Super Bowl Champion and MVP)

New York City Wine & Food Festival Day 1 Highlights

Meatball Madness - Image Source Giada's Twitter

Last night was the first night of the New York City Wine & Food Festival and the big events of the night were the Meatball Madness event hosted by Giada De Laurentiis, and the Roast of Anthony Bourdain. 

The Meatball Madness event was judged by Anne Burrell and Geoffrey Zakarian, who chose the judges winner.  There was also a People's Choice award for the crowd's favorite meatball.  The People's Choice award ended up going to Donatella Arpaia, who you probably recognize as a frequent judge on Iron Chef America.  The judges award went to the restaurant L'Apicio, which is a restaurant that hasn't even opened, but is scheduled to open in several weeks. 

The Roast of Anthony Bourdain was probably the most anticipated event due to the amount of chefs and celebrities that were scheduled to be there, such as Rachael Ray and Guy Fieri.  Here are some of the more popular jokes from the event:

Restaurant Impossible - Valley Inn Update

Tonight's Restaurant: Impossible has Robert Irvine going to the Valley Inn in Palos Hills, Illinois which opened 40 years ago and is now being run by the original owners' sons. In doing research and reviews, it seemed as if many of the reviews before the show complained about the dirtiness and appearance of the Valley Inn.  As I do every week, I searched around the internet to read stories, comments and reviews about the Valley Inn to get an idea of how the restaurant is doing since Robert Irvine visited, and here is what I found (note - all reviews and comments are post Restaurant: Impossible):

New York City Wine & Food Festival Starts Tomorrow

The New York City Wine & Food Festival is scheduled to begin tomorrow and runs through Sunday, October 14th.  It is the 5th year of the festival and 100% of the proceeds from all of the events benefit the Food Bank For New York City and Share Our Strength, which is a non-profit to end childhood hunger.  Pretty much all of the Food Network personalities will be in attendance and although a lot of the events are sold-out, tickets are still available to others (List of all Events). 

Giada De Laurentiis Filming Giada In Paradise: Monaco

Giada De Laurentiis is currently in Monaco filming the next Giada In Paradise.  The previous Giada In Paradise specials have filmed in Santorini, Capri, and Bora Bora.  Pretty much Giada gets a free vacation, while the Food Network has an excuse to get Giada in a bikini such as the picture to the right.

It looks like Aunt Raffy is with Giada in Monaco, and Giada has been updating her Twitter with pictures of places she has been throughout the trip.  And of course, there is another Giada bikini picture before the episode even airs:

Restaurant Impossible - Whistle Stop Update

Tonight's Restaurant: Impossible has Robert Irvine going to Whistle Stop in Hot Springs, Arkansas to help a former employee of the restaurant who bought the restaurant when the previous owners said they were going to shut down..  To help keep the restaurant open, she has used inheritance money left by her late husband.  As I do every week, I searched around the internet to read stories and reviews about the Whistle Stop to get an idea of how the restaurant is doing since Robert Irvine visited, and here is what I found (note - all reviews are post Restaurant: Impossible):