YumSugar

Yummy Links: From Peanut Butter Bacon Pie to Alton Brown

partysugar — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 06:50:08 -0700

Must make: frozen peanut butter pie with candied bacon. - Gourmet
Find out which cheap olive oils taste good.- Serious Eats
Learn the basic technique for teriyaki chicken. - Chow
Erik Trinidad teaches Nightline how to make fancy fast food. - Eat Me Daily
An inside look at the ultimate New York City pop-up event. - The Epi-Log
Who knew Tom Colicchio had so many lookalikes? - Eater
Madonna is "not a cheese person." - Grub Street
Alton Brown disses his fellow Food Network chefs. - Food Network Humor

Yummy Links: From Hot Dogs to Mama Chefs

YumSugar — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 10:01:38 -0700

World famous competitive eater Takeru Kobayashi has developed jaw arthritis, but he still wants to participate in next week's big hot dog eating event. - Serious Eats
The FDA is concerned about the safety of Chinese seafood imports, about 21 percent of all seafood imports. - Slashfood
You may have heard of farm-fresh to your door CSA (community supported agriculture), but have you heard that it's not just for veggies anymore? You can now have farm-fresh meat delivered right to you door. - Chow
Wish lettuce would last longer in your fridge? Check out this simple lettuce storage tip. - FitSugar
If you love strawberries, you're going to love this roundup of strange strawberry recipes - Apartment Therapy Kitchen
Restaurants come and go and eventually turn into new restaurants, but what about a restaurant that changes 4 times a year on purpose? - Will Work For Food
Cakes just look prettier on cake stands. If you don't have one, then you can make your own cake stand. - Baking Bites
Get a step by step guide for prepping artichokes. - Culinate
Looks like Madonna's father, Tony Ciccone is starting a winery business. Naturally it's called Madonna Wine. - Cheap Fun Wines
Here's an interesting thought: Do women chefs make more memorable food than men or is that just a sexist opinion? - SF Chronicle and Salon

Top Chef 3.9 - Second Helping (aka RWII) Recap

YumSugar — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 12:32:31 -0700

In RWII (Restaurant Wars 2), the cheftestants received a chance to correct their mistakes from last week's episode. They were still divided into two teams - Restaurant April (CJ, Brian, Tre and Casey) and The Garage (Howie, Sara, Dale and Hung) - and each team had to redecorate their restaurants and tinker with their menus in hope for a flawless evening. But before they could begin, there was (of course) a quickfire challenge. This time they were greeted by both Padma and Chef Tom. To find out what happened next, read more

The quickfire was a Mise en Place relay challenge. The first contestant had to shuck 15 oysters, the next had to dice 5 onions, the third had to break down 4 chickens and the last member had to crack and separate 3 eggs, then beat the whites until they were stiff enough to remain in a bowl upside down for five seconds. Brian smoked Howie on the oysters, but Casey ruined her lead by meticulously chopping her onions. Eventually her slow as molasses style chopping caused them to lose the lead and the challenge. The Garage is declared victor and they receive $200 additional dollars for wine, plus the assistance of a guest sommelier - which later turns out to be Stephen from season one. Did anyone else see this coming?

Next they head back to their restaurants and work on the style. Interior designer Christopher Ciccone - Madonna's brother - works with them to fine tune their design and although The Garage - soon to be named Quatre - looks much nicer and more put together, Dale says it looks like "Valentine's Day threw up all over it."

During the service, Chef Tom decides to stay in the kitchen while the other judges, including guest judge Geoffrey Zakarian and four former TC contestants, are seated up front. Back there he gets to see how Sara commands the kitchen as executive chef, and how Tre just lets things go out.

Meanwhile out in the front of the houses, the judges hate half of Restaurant April's food. They even call Tre's beet dish one of the worst dishes they've had in a long time. Over at the other restaurant, they wonder why in the world Dale is in a short sleeve shirt and jeans.

In the end the renamed Garage is declared the winning team and Sara, for her assertiveness in the kitchen, is declared the final winner. This means it's sayonara to either CJ, Brian, Tre or Casey. At this point I started panicking, I realized that Casey and Brian both received very little screen time, so it couldn't have been either of them. This meant it was either Tre or CJ - both of whom I thought would make it to the finals - who would be packing their knives. I couldn't figure out which would make me feel worse, but seeing Tre gracefully say farewell was definitely heartbreaking. Bravo you had me fooled! Even the blogging community assumed Tre had made it to the end, how could you do this to us?!?

Now, after wiping my tears, I have a few things to ask you:

Dale absolutely hates the designer, but is very professional about it. Would you have been able to be so nice?
Are Bravo's editors finally learning? Dale received so much screen time, I definitely thought he was either winning or losing.
Could you chop onions faster than Casey?
Was Stephen an addition to the team or an obstacle?
I know it's due to editing, but what did Brian do last night?
Did you love the scenes of Chef Tom eating in the kitchen as much as I did?
Were you surprised by Sara's assertiveness?
Wasn't it great when Joey said the lamb was undercooked and therefore must have been Howie's?
Who are you rooting for?

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Come Party With Me: KatieSugar's First Birthday Party - Music

partysugar — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 05:57:31 -0700

Doesn't it seem like the days are just flying by?? I mean it seems like just yesterday KatieSugar could barely crawl and now she's turning 1 and is on the verge of walking. A baby's first birthday is an excellent way to invite your friends and family over to see how much your child has grown within the last few months. Steer clear of inviting lots of other babies (save that for the 3rd birthday) and let the birthday girl bask in all of the attention. Plus, instead of worrying about how your baby is going to interact with a bunch of other children, you'll be able to enjoy your guests and catch up with old friends. Send out stylish striped invitations a month to three weeks in advance and have guests come for a mid day feast of miniature hamburgers, hot dogs, tacos, and more. Both the drinks and the decor will be done in shades of pink creating a party that is youthful, uniformed, and fabulous. The final stages of the pre-planning are upon us and the last thing I have to do is figure out what music will act as the party's soundtrack so read more

At birthday parties the only music that is played should be the birthday girl's (or boy's) favorite songs, and not surprisingly, the whole Sugar family are fans of pop. Katie enjoys classical, and of course Madonna and Jay-Z, and she has been known to dance around the office to a little old school MC Hammer Can't Touch This. Other than those, the playlist will consist of pop hits from a wide range of performing artists: Britney, U2, Elton John, Eminem, Lenny Kravitz, Coldplay, Jay-Z, Stevie Wonder. Also classic rock hits from the Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Beastie Boys, Tom Petty, Chemical Brothers, Fatboy Slim, The Roots, and The Beatles will be in the mix to please the guys in attendance.

Got any last tips that will help make KatieSugar's first birthday the best around? Please do tell us below!

Come Party With Me: Mardi Gras Bash - Music

partysugar — Fri, 16 Feb 2007 06:58:12 -0800

There is less then 36 hours to go until my Mardi Gras party and I believe I have everything basically under control. The invitations were sent and the RSVP texts have been vibrating on my phone all morning (why does everyone wait until the last minute to rsvp???), my house is already set into party mode, the keg will be picked up in the morning, and later today I'll start making sweet and savory appetizers. I hope that everyone comes in the mood to dance and that is why the music is a very important part of this party. The music at an event should never be overlooked (sometimes I get so caught up in the cooking I forget until the last minute!) and if you are not a super DJ, ask a trusted, musically inclined friend to help you. To see what I've compiled on my playlist, read more

I took my own advice and talked to the Sugar Network's in the know resident DJ, BuzzSugar. She recommended I put at least one New Orleans/Mardi Gras inspired mix on the list and pointed me to a compilation called Louisiana Gumbo. There's also an interesting sounding CD on iTunes called Mardi Gras Party. I'll also add all of the songs from BuzzSugar's Mardi gras playlist to my mix for the night. It may be a long night so I'll need a great variety of songs.

As for my dance favorites, the new Madonna (Confessions on A Dance Floor), Justin Timberlake (FutureSex/LoveSounds), Nelly Furtado (Loose), Black Eyed Peas (Elephunk) mixed with older dance classics: Christina Aguilera's Dirty, Beyonce's Crazy In Love, 50 Cent In Da Club, Kylie Minogue's Can't Get You Out of My Head, Britney Spears' Slave, Bon Jovi's Livin on a Prayer, Stone Roses' Fool's Gold, Shakira's Hips Don't Lie and current top 40 hits: Fergie's Fergalicious, Beyonce's Irreplaceable, Gwen's Sweet Escape, KT Tunstall's Suddenly I See, and Rihanna's SOS.

Did I fail to list your favorite dance song? Please tell me about it below!