FoodieBuddha.com

I’ve been waiting months for this evening.  The Food Network should be the “it” place for all foodies.  In what is sure to be lots of fun, Iron Chef America’s season premier is tonight.  The episode, tagged as the Super Chef Battle, will feature Mario Batali & Emeril Lagasse on one side, and Bobby Flay & Cristeta Comerford on the other.  Comerford, in case you are wondering, spends her days as the executive chef for our first family.  Michelle Obama will also make an appearance.  Keep reading for all the goods!

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On most any given Sunday, you’ll find me somewhere other than in front of my TV (usually in bed or at brunch).  However, a few weeks ago, I was told that CBS’ Sunday morning news program, aptly named Sunday Morning, aired their annual Food Issue.  Though I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve watched the vignette styled news program, I made it a point to set my DVR.  Here’s a recap of the episode, complete with its own tip of the hat to the ATL.

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Though I’m a much bigger fan of the Japanese original (that’s a wiki link), Iron Chef America isn’t half bad.  Hosted by Atlanta’s own Alton Brown on the Food Network, the competition show features a number of great cooks (remember the Richard Blais episode?).

Now, a couple of Iron Chef’s (Mario Batali & Bobby Flay), will join Emeril Lagasse in a Super Chef Battle at the White House.  I must admit, it saddened me to hear that Atlanta’s White House Restaurant was not the hosting location.  Instead, the trio will take a trip to our nation’s capital to challenge White House executive chef Cristeta Comerford and first lady Michelle Obama.

The episode, a two-hour special, will premier Sunday January 3rd, 2010 at 8pm.  The challenge at hand?  Create a meal for America using the White House Kitchen’s local produce as the secret ingredient.  Talk about taking Farm to Table to the next level?  I’ll be watching!

[via prince of petworth]

Yesterday, I mentioned how online media portal Hulu.com added Martin Yan’s Hong Kong to their repertoire.  Today, I figured that I might as well expand on that post just a bit.  If you don’t spend a lot of time on the computer, and/or don’t try and stay plugged in to the “what’s happening at an internet near you,” it is quite possible that the name Hulu is nothing more than a head-scratcher.

The joint-venture startup launched just shy of three-years ago and currently houses thousands upon thousands of hours of television.  Unlike some of those other sites offering free television programming, Hulu has several major advantages.  Most notably, it’s legit … so everything is super duper high quality.

The site offers commercial-supported streaming video of TV shows and movies from TV stations like NBC, Fox, ABC and many other networks and studios.  Of particular interest to ya’ll is the website’s Food & Leisure channel.  There you’ll find all shows from the likes of Paula Deen, Bobby Flay, and Gordon Ramsey (who doesn’t love to see Gordo go ape all over some moronic excuse for a restaurateur – aka Kitchen Nightmares).  Meanwhile, Bravo TV shows like Top Chef are available for your viewing pleasure, as is the Food Network’s Good Eats with Atlantan Alton Brown, and the PBS show Diary of a Foodie.

Even if food related television isn’t your favorite, Hulu is definitely worth a visit.  The site is just loaded with great stuff.  Alright folks, until we eat again.  Meanwhile, any of you who actually have employees working under you – make a beeline for your IT Department and ask them to block the website … otherwise, you’re gonna have some ravenously unproductive people in your office in about 30-minutes.

Get your DVRs ready for Saturday afternoon.  Long before he graced our screen as the darling of Top Chef, Atlanta’s own Richard Blais showed up TV sets across the states on an episode of the Food Network’s Iron Chef America.  The challenge, which took place back in ‘06, featured chickpeas as the ingredient du jour and a battle of fisticuffs between Blais and the well-regarded Mario Batali.

Keen eyes will notice the One Midtown Kitchen logo across Blais’ breastplate.  At the time of filming, he was the executive chef at 1MK.  Appropriately, Blais brought his sous chef at the time, one Eli Kirshtein, along for the ride.

For those unfamiliar with the show, a challenger will enter a 1-hr cook-off against one of a stable of cook masters, appropriately named “Iron Chefs.”  The trick is that a single ingredient is used as the basis for the meal.  Though I much prefer the Japanese version, complete with kitschy voice dubbings, the US version comes with Alton Brown’s quick witted commentary.  I won’t spoil it for those of you who haven’t seen it yet.

And speaking of Blais, you’ll be able to get your fill of him on Saturday.  In what is probably a coincidence, Richard and his funktastic hairdo will be on the main stage of Taste of Atlanta 2009 from 12pm-12:45pm.  So head out in the early afternoon to see him live, then check him out on the tube just before dinner time.

Battle Chickpeas: Batali vs. Blais

Re-airs on the Food Network on Saturday October 10th, 2009.

5pm-6pm, 11pm-12am, 2am-3am (on Sunday)
Comcast channel 57 or 857 for HD

Follow up to How to Sharpen A Knife: A Good Demonstration

To be honest the home cook rarely needs to sharpen (once to twice a year for even the most active home cooks) — if they properly care for their knives. I would also recommend leaving the knife sharpening to the professionals (Alton Brown is with me on this one). It’s relatively cheap and it’s rarely needed.

However, honing regularly is a necessity and every cook should master the honing technique. The other thing to realize that a department store is no place to buy your knives, and they should never come in a block. It’s a recipe for disappointing knife-ware.

For those that want great, but affordable knives I highly recommend: Victorinox Forschner — they’re consistently rated top end for lower cost knives by Cooks Illustrated. I love my Global knives, but the reality is that they’re a big ole waste of moola. Although they do feel great in your hands and give the best blisters with heavy use (sarcasm on the blisters).

Couple of key knife keeping tips:

-Never wash your knives in the dishwasher.
-Always thoroughly dry your knife after use. Never let it sit wet. Wet leads to dull.
-Never use a glass, granite or hard surface cutting board. Will ruin your edge quicker than a dishwasher