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Rachael Ray Uggs: Love It or Hate It?

YumSugar — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 05:30:30 -0800

Somewhere in between winning an Emmy and hosting the Burger Bash, Food Network star and TV personality Rachael Ray found time to custom-design these Winter boots. The boots were a part of Ugg Australia's Art & Sole auction, a charity fundraiser that benefits St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. The shoes auctioned off for a whopping $2,350 - the second-highest closing bid, behind Ugg boots designed by Kelly Ripa. Ray sprayed hers burnt-orange and adorned them with a whisk and her trademark phrase, "Yum-o." What do you think of her design?

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Wear Your Cupcake On Your Sleeve... or Clutch!

YumSugar — Tue, 22 May 2007 11:15:21 -0700

I was looking through the bookmarks on TeamSugar and noticed that one thing seems clear: cupcakes are awesome. Or perhaps it was actually: cupcakes are damn cute. Either way one thing is clear, you guys have done a great job hunting down fantastic cupcake finds. First up is this way too cute cupcake wristlet. It's simple, cute and has an anthropomorphic cupcake on the outside, what's not to love! Available for $25. Great find eruntale!

Next up is the Hello Kitty Cupcake Tote found by anti curl. This tote features cupcakes with Hello Kitty's face on them and we all know that cupcake + kitty = super cute! Available for $19.99.

Three more cupcake finds you can wear, so read more

TeamSugar member jendudley found these great cupcake cufflinks ($135). I think they'd make any suit look just a bit snazzier.

Although the weather is getting warmer, I couldn't resist sharing these adorable lavendar cupcake rain boots. Available for $19.99. Thanks for another great find anti curl.

Finally, I get to the shirt that started me on my cupcake hunt to begin with. This Make Cupcakes Not War shirt is so cute, I definitely had to share it with all of you. It can be yours for $38.99.

Know of a cute cupcake item? Share them with us all in the Yum Market! To learn how to do so, read geeksugar's guide.

Food Network Aims to Entertain With 2010 Lineup

YumSugar — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 11:30:20 -0800

Looks like Food Network's switching gears to focus less on cooking expertise and more on entertainment. On the roster for 2010: more Brian Boitano, and a new show, Worst Cooks in America.

Worst Cooks in America, which premieres Sunday, Jan. 3, features 12 "hopeless cooks" who are divided into two teams, one under the tutelage of network vet Anne Burrell and the other led by Arizona chef Beau MacMillan.

The show's premise: bad cooks undergo a five-week "culinary boot camp" where they will learn kitchen techniques from Burrell and MacMillan that they must apply in weekly elimination challenges.

After the contestants have been narrowed down to two, they will compete for a grand prize of $25,000 in a final challenge that has them preparing a three-course meal for a panel of food critics who think the dishes have been prepared by chefs Anne and Beau.

For even more entertainment, Brian Boitano fans should also stay tuned for the return of the Olympic medalist, who's back with a second season of the screwball show What Would Brian Boitano Make? in March. Will you tune in to watch either of these shows - or are they too far a departure from the classic cooking shows that once dominated Food Network?

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Top Chef Vegas: Episode 8

partysugar — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 02:00:15 -0700

Did you catch the latest episode of Top Chef? We had Pilates, pairings, and Charlie Palmer, the guest judge. Did anyone else wonder how come Bravo couldn't find a judge who didn't know the V Bros? Want to discuss more details? Well, you know what to do, keep reading.

What's Yummy This Week - YumSugar Weekly Recap

YumSugar — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 09:30:46 -0800

This sandwich, made with brie, dark chocolate, and basil leaves, is strangely delicious.
Can you guess the fillings in a box of chocolates?
Catch up on this week's Top Chef, and find out what the booted cheftestant had to say.
Turns out Burger King's Angry Whopper isn't so angry after all.
Stay in this year, and plan a thoughtful Valentine's Day dinner for two.
What was your most romantic meal ever?
The perfect pour is a sophisticated red blend that comes at an unsophisticated price.

What's Yummy This Week - YumSugar Weekly Recap

YumSugar — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 09:30:53 -0800

When Party makes Spanish cream cheese canapés in a quickfire, everyone wins.
We're giving away a KitchenAid in our sweetest V-Day giveaway ever!
Party invites seven of her best friends to get away for a fun Winter Weekend.
Our favorite cheftestant gets booted on this week's Top Chef.
Five things we have to have this month!
Cookbook authority Sheila Lukins reveals her best cooking advice.
Get lucky by eating one of these seven savory aphrodisiac foods.

Eugene: "I Have No Complaints"

partysugar — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 16:00:48 -0800

Many of you were bummed to see Eugene go, and while I liked him as well, I knew he wouldn't be the next Top Chef.

His creativity couldn't cut it with the judges, but Eugene, who I spoke to yesterday on the phone with fellow booted contestant, Melissa, was optimistic about the experience.

Eugene is a unique guy: He worked his way up from dishwasher to executive chef with no classic culinary training, making him a role model for young chefs everywhere. To see what the inspiring chef had to say about the judges and daikon radishes, read more.

On the tomato, basil, and daikon combination: Well, first off, about the dish, I have to tell you: I agree with the judges as far as the fish went. It was overcooked. As for the daikon, a lot of people haven't been exposed to eating the daikon warm. Many Asian cuisines use it in soups and stews - I've eaten it warm. I just don't think they were used to eating it warm because the majority of the public has been exposed to only cold daikon. It's an acquired taste to eat it warm. Actually if you really work with it, there is no taste to it. I rinsed it well to get rid of the smell. Then you add seasoning to it to give it flavor.

On Toby Young: He adds another dimension to the show. People like to see controversy between the chefs and now it will be good to see controversy between the judges. As chefs we have to take criticism, but this time it was really different. He's very critical. Very, very critical. I was surprised he wanted me to stick around! So I guess he is all right.

On watching his peers critique his dish: For me it was kind of nerve-racking. I thought the other chefs were going to talk down and use it to their ability. It's a competition after all. I didn't know if they were going to be honest. Who knows if they were.

On thinking the competition is rigged: Well you know things were different in the beginning of the season. After watching someone spit out your food you know you got to go. It is what it is. We got voted off by the judges. But all I'm saying is if someone spits out your food, you should be sent home. No use in crying over spilled milk.

On Bravo's portrayal of his personality: I have no complaints. As long as they didn't make me look like an asshole, I'm fine. Everyone knew going into it, it was a cooking competition as well as a television show. I am fine with how they portrayed me because someone else took the asshole role.

On what's next: Well I've consulted and developed a menu concept for this restaurant here in Vegas. If things go well, I should be running a kitchen in March at a high-end resort here. I will be the executive chef at a tapas-style restaurant, I can't reveal anything else, but things look good.

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Come Party With Me: Hoedown - Invite

partysugar — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 11:15:37 -0700

Recently one of my girlfriends moved out of the city to the countryside. Her new home has (drum roll please) a barn! I've been waiting all my life to host a Western-style hoedown in an authentic barn and she's agreed to let me plan one instead of hosting a housewarming party.

Think cowboy boots, bluegrass, and barbecued ribs. The invites take their inspiration from the classic, all-American bandanna. To learn how I made them, read more.

The following supplies are needed to make similar invitations:

colored cardstock
fun scissors (I used pinking sheers)
glue
bandanna print image (I downloaded mine from Martha Stewart)

To assemble the invite:

Start by dragging the bandanna motif into a new Photoshop file that is 3.5 inches by 5 inches.
Shrink the motif down. Copy and paste the motif to create a background layer of bandanna. Arrange in an attractive pattern, flipping some of the images upside down.
Insert a text box and write out the details of the party. I used the font Chalkboard in size 12 bold to write:

Yee- Haw!
You’re Invited to a
Boot-Scooting Hoedown

Saturday, October 18
Barbecue @ 5
Band begins @ 730

Krys & Emily's Barn
Petaluma, CA

attire: blue jeans & boots
rsvp: 415.555.5555

Change the font color to match the color of your cardstock.
Print out on white paper and check for mistakes.
Once satisfied with the look and feel of the invite, print on nice white paper.
Use the sheering scissors to cut the invite down to size.
Glue to the cardstock.
Cut the cardstock down to size with the fun scissors.
Slide into an envelope and send.

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Introducing Top Chef After the Knife

partysugar — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 10:15:05 -0800

Ever wonder what happens to the Top Chef contestants after Padma gives them the boot? Well starting this Wednesday, you can find out!

Magical Elves, the production company behind Top Chef, has announced its new web series, After the Knife. The show will air every Wednesday at 11 p.m. EST on Bravotv.com.

Each week viewers can follow the defeated chef into a house where the previously eliminated chefs are residing. I think it will be fun to see what life is like for the cheftestants after they get cut; I definitely plan on tuning in! The majority of you can't get enough of Top Chef, so tell me: Will you watch the web series After the Knife?

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Robert Irvine to Return to Dinner: Impossible

YumSugar — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 03:00:50 -0800

Last February, everyone was shocked to find out that Robert Irvine, the star of the Food Network show Dinner: Impossible, lied on his résumé. Although most of you said the incident didn't change your feelings about him, Irvine still got the boot from the Food Network and was subsequently replaced by Iron Chef Michael Symon.

Today I'm excited to have heard news of what I thought to be near-impossible: Irvine will be returning to host the show again. In a written statement, the Food Network announced it would shoot six new episodes with Irvine this month.

Our audience has continued to demonstrate its interest in and support for Robert . . . He has taken responsibility and made a conscious effort to clear the air, rebuild the relationship with Food Network and apologize for the earlier inaccuracies.

New episodes of the show, which challenges Irvine to prepare meals under strained situations, will debut in March 2009. I'm personally excited to hear this news, because we are big fans of Robert Irvine at my house. Do you feel the same way? Do you think that Irvine was a more compelling host than his replacement, Michael Symon?

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