Usually, when celebrities demand things backstage, they get them. However it looks like someone at Starbucks put their foot down and refused to give in to idol-turned-diva Jennifer Hudson.

Apparently Jennifer was supposed to perform at the annual Starbucks shareholder meeting in Seattle. However, according to TMZ, after her agent made some zany demands, Starbucks pulled the plug on the performance. Turns out that Chairman Howard Schultz didn't like the way her agent was dealing with his people and said enough is enough.

So what were the zany demands? Try FIVE town cars (herself, hair and makeup artists, security, and her assistant), humidifiers backstage and baked chicken wings at 10:00am. I guess it was the chicken wings that was just too much. However, in Jennifer's defense, she apparently didn't know about the demands, her team came up with them all on their own.

Chicken wings... at 10am? At that time of day I'm more about fresh yogurt, muffins and pancakes. I'd probably demand eggs benedict and waffles... How about you guys, if you were a famous diva, what would you demand at 10am?

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Man there are some crazy cool contraptions out there in this world! And I don't mean just gadgets and gizmos that geeksugar would be interested in. I'm talking about little devices that are perfect for the ultimate hostess. For example, take a look at this cupcake travel protector. Isn't it the worst when you spend a whole bunch of time decorating cupcakes only to have the frosting smeared when you pack them up? Now we can avoid that problem with this amazing little safety box that eruntale discovered!

Two more useful apparatus, so read more

My friend Scottel doesn't care much for tea, in fact he calls it "leaf and twig water" and wonders why on earth anyone would drink it. However I've found one that even he thinks sounds "very interesting." It's the Mayan Chocolate Truffle by the folks over at Mighty Leaf. In my opinion, Mighty Leaf (a husband-and-wife founded company here in SF) has fantastic hand-crafted teas and I have yet to have a cup that wasn't nice and smooth (or big and robust, depending on the blend).

So when I heard they were now doing a line of chocolate-truffle infused teas, I was definitely excited to try them. The one I ended up with was the Mayan Chocolate Truffle. It's a caffeine free, loose-leaf herbal blend that is made from fine chocolate chips with chunks of chili and red pepper, and bits of apple and strawberry. To be honest, it looks - and smells - a lot like potpourri. The unbrewed aroma is nice and floral - it conveys the sweet, spicy and chocolate all in one whiff. So I loaded up my infuser and got to brewing. I have a kind of crappy infuser, but the amount of sediment leaking from it was far more than any other tea I've made. I think it was the fine bits of chili and chocolate.

While I waited for my tea to brew, I did what I think any other true foodie would have done. I took a pinch of the loose leaf blend and ate it. And surprisingly I really liked it. It's exactly how it's described (apples, strawberries, chocolate chunks (that almost taste like chocolate nibs) and spice - to be honest I immediately wanted to put it on vanilla ice cream. Once I was done with that, I rinsed out my mouth and tried the tea. It was very floral and fruity, with a rich chocolate undertone, smelled amazingly of chocolate, and definitely left this spicy kick in the back of my throat. I highly doubt it'll become my everyday tea, seems a bit too sweet for that, however if I'm feeling a chocolate attack come on, it's really going to hit the spot... that is if I don't eat the entire blend before brewing.

Oh and if you need another reason to seek it out, Food & Wine Magazine named it #20 on its list of 100 Tastes to Try in 2007. 4 oz of loose tea costs $7.95. and there are five other flavors of chocolate truffle teas. You can purchase the Au Chocolate gift box for $36.95.

In case you haven't noticed, I've been talking about tea all this week in order to mentally prepare myself for the afternoon-celebration spring-tea party that I am hosting tomorrow. I'm not a skilled tea brewer, I have much more experience mixing cocktails, and this evening I am going to practice brewing a few pots of tea to ensure that I don't pour out anything too bitter or strong at mañana's fiesta de te. Emily is going to come over and act as my drink tester and to reward her for sipping the teas, I thought I could stir together a drink that uses up the fresh brewed tea. A mixture of pomegranate juice, iced tea, and vodka, this sounds like it might even be good enough to serve at the party! To look at the recipe, read more

There is a special place deep in every American's heart for their all time favorite deli sandwich. Whether it's pepper turkey with creamy avocado and crisp bacon or sharp cheddar, sweet mustard and Italian salami, everyone has a best-loved sandwich. More importantly, a particular deli that makes their beloved sandwich with just the right ratio of oil/vinegar to bread and perfectly thin slices of roast beef. My all time favorite deli in the world is called Lucchesi Deli and is located in the town where I was born and raised. Lucchesi's, as locals know it affectionately, is your typical mom-and-pop deli with sandwiches, salads, daily soup, deli meats, bread, and my personal weakness, deviled eggs. The baguettes are made fresh daily, have a soft inside and crisp, crunchy outside. The wide variety of cheeses and meats makes each sandwich an individual masterpiece. Lucchesi's sandwiches pair perfectly with a cherry coke and lightly salted kettle chips. The deli has been voted the best in town more than once in the past few years and the friendly rapid, no fail service combined with delicious sandwiches is what keeps customers like myself coming back. Making a stop for lunch at Lucchesi's brings me back to my roots. I remember when my dad would buy me sandwiches when I was a little girl; in high school we'd sneak out of class a few minutes early for lunch to beat the line at Lucchesi's; when I arrived at the airport from living abroad for two years, my sister had a cooler with a sandwich in her car. To me the sandwiches convey the essence of coming home: there is comfort, nostalgia, and a sense of belonging in each bite. Well Fed About Town asked me to tell them about my preferred deli, and now I'm asking you readers, what's your favorite deli?

We all have those Fridays when, after a long week of work, the last thing that comes to mind is what's for dinner. Having one of those days? Take a deep breath I have a meal that can be ready in just over 15 minutes. Impossible? Not even. Here's how you do it: while the noodles cook, chop the beef, peas, carrots, and cilantro. Next prep the spinach and mix the components for the sauce together. Finally follow the instructions for microwaving (yes sometimes even the best of us get help from the microwave) the mixture and before you can say voila! dinner is done. One last word of advice: while warming the food in the microwave, open a bottle of wine or beer - you deserve it - and pour yourself a glass. To get the recipe now, read more

First of all, The next challenge is going to be a bit different and is actually going to last a while longer. Check back in a little while to see what we're up to.

Now on to the chicken recipes! Thanks to everyone who submitted their creations, there were some really impressive recipes submitted this time. We had lovely flavors such as Chicken & Broccoli Alfredo, Easy Italian Chicken, Mexican Style Slow Cooker Chicken and Instant Gratification Chicken. However my favorite recipe was definitely the one submitted by TeamSugar member andaman. Andaman has provided one of her original recipes for a highly aromatic Thai curry. I don't know about you guys, but I think this recipe for Thai Chicken Massaman Curry sounds unbelievably fantastic. To check it out, read more

I'm a little tea pot short and stout, here is my handle here is my spout, when I get all steamed up hear me shout, tip me over and pour me out. A preschool song may not be the best selection for the chic afternoon tea party I am hosting tomorrow, but it certainly fits the theme. The floral invitations have been sent, the sweet and savory baked goods have been prepared, my patio is the perfect picture of spring in full bloom and all I have to do is brew the tea and hit play on the stereo. Only I haven't compiled a playlist... it's a party where the conversation is more important than the music, so a soothing, relaxing, gentle background noise is what I am looking for. To see my contemporary classical musical suggestions for the tea party, read more

Somehow this week has ended up as the unofficial YumSugar tea week. We've had tea party plans, tea definitions and all sorts of things tea related. The other day I broke out the difference in standard tea types, and today I thought I'd talk about a few of the more common tea blends.

Chai - The style of preparing black tea (although it can be made with green or oolong) with milk, sugar, and spices (including cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, ginger, pepper and allspice).

Roobios - A flavorful, caffeine-free herbal tea made from a South African shrub. Also known as red tea.

English Breakfast - A full-bodied, robust black tea blend.

Irish Breakfast A full-bodied, malty black tea. It has a strong dark potent character, sometimes compared to stout beer.

Earl Grey - A tea blend with flavor and aroma derived from oil extracted from the fragrant bergamot orange.

Yerba Maté - An herbal tea that is popular in South America, made by steeping dried leaves of Yerba Mate.

Darjeeling - Strong bodied black tea from the province of Darjeeling in India.

What's your favorite kind of tea? Let us all know about it below!