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$130,000 Cake, Just Don't Eat the Decorations

YumSugar — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 06:28:33 -0700

If you think wedding cakes are expensive, you should try comparing them to this Platinum Cake by Japanese pastry chef Nobue Ikara. Draped in platinum necklaces, pendants and pins, this white cake is worth over $130,000.

The cake itself is dedicated to several famous Japanese women, including actress Rinko Kikuchi (from Babel) and model Chie Kumasawa and was commissioned in order to entice women to buy more platinum jewelry.

Mikiko Ichikawa, of the Platinum Guild, said: "I think platinum and a white cake is the best possible combination as a present for women because both have the same colour of white, which is said to have pureness and brightness that lasts forever."

What do you think? Does it make you want to buy more platinum?

Source: Platinum Today via Luxist

Guy Fieri, Other Food Personalities Face Identity Theft

YumSugar — Wed, 06 May 2009 15:00:24 -0700

The fashion world may claim that fakes are never in style, but lately, the food world sure has seen a lot of them. Take Food Network star Guy Fieri, who's living the good life - in three short years, he went from unassuming restaurateur to TV star and TGI Friday's spokesperson. But apparently, his life is looking so good that somebody actually wants to be him. "So check this out," Fieri recently twittered. "Some cat is playin me in KC. Crazy, just for da record. I am home."

Indeed, a Fieri fake was passing himself off as the real Guy at a Kansas City Royals game on Monday night. Sporting the trademark spiky platinum hairdo and Ray-Ban sunglasses, the faux Fieri even managed to get interviewed by a Fox Sports Net reporter. Check out the footage when you read more.

Fieri's identity is not the only one to be highly sought-after. The online food world has seen several cases of stolen Twitter accounts - or what food blog Eater has dubbed "twidentity theft." New York Times food critic Frank Bruni (@frankbruni) and New York Daily News reviewer Danyelle Freeman (@restaurantgirl) have both fallen victim to twidentity theft. Freeman is taking legal measures claiming trademark infringement.

Do you find this new wave of identity theft to be as bizarre as I do? What are your thoughts on this issue?

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Time to Go Blonde

YumSugar — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 09:00:57 -0700

Recently my pal Julie and I got into a debate over which was better: blondies or brownies. In my opinion, nothing can trump a good brownie, but she doesn't agree. After our conversation I realized that even with all of my baking, I was guilty of blondie-discrimination. I've never actually made blondies! When Julie told me she was coming to town, I knew I had to whip her up a homemade treat and give blondies a fair chance. Were they better than brownies? Not really, but they were mighty tasty and I'll be making them again. To get the "Platinum Blondie" recipe I used, read more.

Platinum Blondies
From Al Roker

Ingredients

3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped pecans, toasted
4 ounces white chocolate, chopped, or 3/4 cup white chocolate chips

Directions

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
Lightly butter an 8-inch square baking pan with sides at least 1 1/2 inches high. [Note: I used a parchment paper sling in addition to butter. This helped lift the blondies out of the pan later.]
Using an electric mixer or mixing by hand, beat together the sugar and egg until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
Add the vanilla and butter and beat to mix well. In a small bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, and salt and add to the butter mixture, beating until just incorporated. Do not overmix.
Using a spoon, stir in the pecans and white chocolate. [I skipped out on the pecans, and wish I had used more white chocolate.]
Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and use a flat metal spatula or a butter knife to smooth the top. [Note: The batter is going to be very thick, but this is okay.]
Bake the blondies for 25 to 30 minutes, until the top is dry and golden and a knife inserted in the center comes out with just a few crumbs attached (not wet, but not perfectly dry).
Remove the pan from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool.
Cut the blondies into 2-inch squares.
The blondies can be stored, well wrapped, at room temperature for up to 3 days (these seem to get better as they sit) or frozen for up to 2 months (thaw before serving).

Makes 16 brownies.

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Top Chef 3.7 - Guilty Pleasures Recap

YumSugar — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 11:27:26 -0700

Last night's Top Chef took us from nine cheftestants to eight. But before there was an elimination, there was a quickfire challenge and some more can't-get-along gang action.

The episode starts off with some behind the scenes action. Joey's departure has made people sad, and Dale and Sara N. have built a new friendship. After a few minutes of watching them behave like real people, we're whisked off to the kitchen for an elimination challenge. This time the guest judge is Chef Govind Armstrong and the product they're hawking is Coldstone Creamery. To find out what happened next, read more

Once greeted, the chefs are given 45 minutes to make their own original mixes to blend in to Coldstone's Sweet Cream Ice Cream. Surprisingly Hung says that he loves Coldstone - I was nearly floored I really thought it would be something else for him to hate on. He does however, hate on regular ingredients saying that, "Any monkey can make berries." And since he's apparently not a monkey, he's decided to go with cauliflower, tempura flakes and a bunch of other wild things. And as much as I love wild creations, even I had to wonder what on earth was he thinking. How is someone going to love cauliflower over macerated berries or peach cobbler? Same thought applies to Casey who decided to use Sriracha. Yes, she put hot sauce in ice cream... In the end it was Dale with a peach cobbler type concoction who won the challenge.

After the quickfire Padma tells them that they get to go out for a night on the town. Excited, they all head back to the dorms and get all gussied up for the event. However when they arrive at their destination they realize UH OH! It's not a night on the town, it's a night in a roach coach! The eight remaining contestants - Dale, as winner of the quickfire, got to sit out and enjoy a nice meal with Chef Armstrong - divide into two teams and are asked to make late-night food for drunken party-goers.

The teams are Hung, Sara M., Brian and Tre versus Sara N., CJ, Howie and Casey. Once again, I felt sorry for the folks paired with Howie. He keeps getting called a bulldog, and don't you think it's because he looks a bit like one?

The time is 10pm and they have 15 minutes to explore the kitchen, create a menu and then go shopping. $300 dollars and 30 minutes at the grocery store later, the teams arrive back at their coaches at 12:12. The first customers show up at 1:46am. At this point tensions are high, Howie's team is not getting along, Sara N. wants to put ice in a milkshake - um, seriously??? - and when Chef Tom shows up to order his food his mini-hamburger takes an eternity to arrive. Meanwhile, on the other team, the crowd is pumped and happy. Brian has set up a raw bar outside and is really working the crowd. It's clear that their truck is more successful, but apparently it also tastes the best as well.

At the judges table Brian's team is rewarded for being so efficient and communicative. Tre wins the platinum club card and an autographed book (pretty weak compared to last week's Trip to Italy) with his take on Bacon Wrapped Shrimp and Cheese Grits. However, I must point out that even Ted Allen noted, "If you want to make people happy, give them bacon."

Of course if this team is the winning team, then it means that, once again, Howie's team is the losing team. At the judge's table, things get nasty between Sara N. and Howie. Also, Sara said she felt demoralized having to wear the clothes she had on in the kitchen - to which I say, seriously? Didn't you choose to wear that??? She and Howie bicker all the way back to the waiting area when finally Sara is asked to pack her knives and go. I wasn't fully surprised, the editing made it pretty obvious to me - especially showing her bonding with Dale - however I did really like her departing quote. As she left she said, "There's a fine line between being competitive and being an a**hole." I guess we all know who she was talking about!

So what did you think of the episode? What were your fave parts? Did you think it was totally unfair of them to let the cheftestants get all dolled up? Or do you think they should have seen that coming? Will Brian ever cook something that's not seafood? And why did Howie choose not-quite-Cuban sandwiches in Miami??

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