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10 Things I Learned at Rachael Ray's Burger Bash

partysugar — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 04:00:41 -0800

Last night the festivities at the Food Network's annual South Beach Wine and Food Festival kicked off with the highly anticipated Burger Bash hosted by Rachael Ray. The line to get inside stretched from the beach to the street and the place was packed. There were celebrity chefs and well-known food personalities everywhere: serving burgers (Bobby Flay, Daniel Boulud, and Michael Symon), mingling with the crowds (Anne Burrell, Sam Talbot, Sandra Lee), and judging the competition (Art Smith and Carla Hall). I was in attendance and while I had my fair share of scrumptious burgers and amazing side dishes, I learned a thing or 10 at the party. To find out what they are, read more.

A TON of people attend the Burger Bash. Seriously, the place was very packed. There were lines everywhere and it was hard to walk around.
Morimoto sure can draw a crowd. His booth was the most popular; he had a never-ending line all night.
Spike Mendelsohn knows how to make a really good burger. His classic burger with bacon and American cheese on a soft bun was my favorite.
John Cusimano is incredibly short. I happened to be standing right next to him and thought, "Who is this super short guy? He looks so familiar." Then I realized it was Rachael Ray's husband!
Bobby Flay is as cute and charming in real life as he is on television.
Rocco Dispirito doesn't care if he serves burnt buns. My bun was black.
Stephanie Izard makes the most delicious ham French fires. Yes, you read that correctly, I said, ham French fries.
In real life Carla Hall is stunning. She's statuesque, beautiful, calm, and perfectly poised.
Govind Armstrong makes a mean croquette. I went back for his chorizo and potato croquettes three times!
Sadly, there still aren't a lot of female chefs out there. The majority of chefs that competed were male.

Michael Symon and his burger with Swiss, pastrami, and coleslaw was the winner. Unfortunately, it was not one of the burgers I tried!

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Celebrities and Chefs Converge at New York Food Festival

YumSugar — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 11:40:43 -0700

This past weekend, Food Network's famous hosts, New York's foremost chefs, and other celebrated figures came together to attend the New York City Wine and Food Festival.

The four-day event was chock-full of demos, discussions, and, of course, parties. Food Network favorite Giada De Laurentiis and actress Alicia Silverstone signed copies of their books. Former President Bill Clinton, Dr. Mehmet Oz, and Rachael Ray talked about tackling childhood obesity. Everyone, including fellow network stars Guy Fieri and Giada De Laurentiis, turned out for the biggest event of the festival, Rachael Ray's Burger Bash.

Want to know who else was there - and who took top honors at the Burger Bash? Find out when you keep reading.

Food Industry's Elite Party in South Beach

partysugar — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 12:50:20 -0800

While the entertainment industry turned to LA for the glitz and glamour of the 81st Academy Awards, the best and brightest stars of the culinary world gathered in Florida over the weekend for the South Beach Wine and Food Festival.

The four-day festival kicked off on Thursday night with the highly anticipated Burger Bash. Reigning Burger Bash queen, Katie Lee Joel, handed her crown over to the new king, Top Chef four's Spike Mendelsohn. His Coletti's Smokehouse burger (with Applewood bacon, sharp Vermont cheddar, fried Vidalia onion rings, and chipotle BBQ sauce) swept the competition.

Other highlights included a special dinner with the king and queen of Spain, a barbecue hosted by Tom Colicchio, a tribute to Emeril Lagasse, an Oscars viewing with Bobby Flay, several grand tastings, and countless demonstrations.

To check out a huge gallery of images of all your foodie favorites, read more.

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Michael Schlow's Award-Winning Burger

partysugar — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 10:15:51 -0800

The South Beach Wine and Food Festival hosted by Food Network and Food and Wine magazine kicks off today in Florida. One of the hottest tickets is to the wildly popular Burger Bash hosted by Rachael Ray. In October, I checked out the New York competition that Katie Lee Joel won with her Logan County Burger.

Tonight, Joel will defend her title against last year's South Beach winner, Michael Schlow. Since I won't be present at the SOBE Burger Bash, I decided to treat myself by making Schlow's monster of a burger. The Schlow burger is more complex than Joel's burger and involves fried onion rings, melted cheddar cheese, and a creamy horseradish sauce. The recipe says that the 9-ounce patties make "two fat-boy burgers" and trust me, after eating one of these babies (I made it through half), you'll feel like a fat boy.

However, this incredible burger is worth it. It's a masterpiece of flavors: the crispy onions are slightly caramelized, the lightly seasoned ground beef is tender, the mayonnaise is tangy and provides a much-needed moistness. If you or a loved one is a burger fanatic, make this burger. There's a reason it won the Burger Bash - quite simply, it's absolutely delicious. Want the recipe? Please, read more.

The Schlow Burger
From It's About Time

Ingredients

18 ounces ground beef (Ask the butcher for 80 percent lean. Do not change this part, please!)
1 ounce (2 tablespoons) extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper
4 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 teaspoons prepared white horseradish
Juice of half a lemon
2 thick slices good quality Vermont or English cheddar cheese
2 hamburger buns, split in half (buy the best ones you can get; I like brioche buns)
Crispy Onions
Fresh ground pepper

Directions

Combine the ground beef with the olive oil, salt, and plenty of black pepper.
Divide the meat into two 9-ounce patties and refrigerate until the grill is ready. (Don't do this more than an hour in advance.)
Combine mayonnaise, horseradish, and lemon juice in a mixing bowl and season with black pepper. (You can do this ahead of time and store it in the fridge.)

Heat the grill to high. Take the hamburgers out of the refrigerator 5 to 7 minutes before you are ready to grill them.
Place the burgers on the preheated grill and cook 1-1/2 minutes (for rare). Give the burgers a quarter-turn to "mark" them, and cook 1-1/2 more minutes.

Flip the burgers over and cook 1-1/2 minutes. Rotate a quarter-turn to "mark" and cook 1-1/2 more minutes.
Transfer the burgers to the grill's top shelf or to a cooler section of the grill and cover each one with a slice of cheese. Turn the grill off and shut the lid.

After 4 minutes, open the lid. The cheese will be melted and the burgers cooked rare to medium-rare. Toast the buns, if desired, and place a burger on each. Spread plenty of the horseradish sauce on each burger; it should drip down the sides. Top with Crispy Onions and season with freshly ground black pepper. Slather more sauce on the other half of the bun and place it on top of the burger. Grab a cold beer or iced tea and get ready to make a mess. This is not a dainty meal!

Makes 2 "fat boy" burgers.

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Katie Lee Joel on the Burger Backlash

partysugar — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 07:45:11 -0700

Yesterday I had the lovely opportunity of speaking with cookbook author and burger queen Katie Lee Joel over the phone. She was calling from New York City to set the record straight about her Burger Bash win. According to her critics, the Logan County Burger, which won fair and square, is not a burger at all, but rather a popular sandwich known as a patty melt. To find out what the soft-spoken, charming chef had to say, read more.

PartySugar: How did it feel to win the Burger Bash?
Katie Lee Joel: I was so excited and so surprised! There were so many big New York City chefs who participated that I thought I didn't even have a shot.

But when I noticed that there was more and more buzz around my booth I thought it might happen.

PS: Why do you think your burger won?
KLJ: I think because it's so simple, that was part of the appeal. It's nostalgic, it reminded people of getting a patty melt. It's easy to eat, easy to hold, and really, who doesn't love the combination of ground beef, melted cheese, and buttered bread?

PS: How did it feel to be the only female participating in the competition?
KLJ: It was pretty exciting and even more so that I won. Women are really underrepresented in the culinary field, they are still second on the totem pole, so it feels great to change that. And I love some of the burgers that were competing! I eat a BLT burger at least once a week.
PS: Why did you decide to use bread instead of a bun?
KLJ: My grandma came up with the recipe. She is from Logan County, WV, and didn't have much money. She would make these burgers with very thin patties to make the meat last longer. I grew up eating them and calling them burgers. I love the buttered bread. But honestly, I love a burger any way!

PS: How many burgers did you make that night?
KLJ: I made 400 burgers cut into quarters. That's 1,600 burgers total. There was five of us doing it. It's actually a really simple recipe for serving a large group. You make all the patties and then you put together the burgers in an assembly line. I always love to cook recipes that you can do ahead.

PS: Critics complain that your burger was not a burger, but a patty melt - what do you have to say to them?
KLJ: I don't really understand the critics. The burger patty makes it a burger. There were no rules or guidelines that said the burger had to be a specific way or on a specific type of bread. I don't think it was that avant-garde. It's pretty funny because there were a lot more inventive and creative burgers being made, so I don't know why mine caused the controversy!

Actually a lot of the Internet controversy bugged me. People in the food world wanted to be so crappy about it, but that's not what food is about. To me food is about bringing people together, not criticizing each other. It's really getting almost as bad as the fashion industry! I mean at the end of the day, it's just a hamburger.

PS: What’s next for you?
KLJ: Well now I'm planning for the Burger Bash in South Beach. I have to defend my title! I'm also writing my next cookbook; this one is dinner menu oriented. There will be menus for everyday dinners and menus that can be made on the weekend. But it's still going to be me and my style of cooking like the comfort table.

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Katie Lee Joel's Award-Winning Burger

partysugar — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 10:15:16 -0700

Former Top Chef hostess and cookbook author Katie Lee Joel was crowned this year's queen of the Burger Bash. The event, which was hosted by Rachael Ray, was a part of the Food Network's NYC Wine and Food Festival. Joel was the only participating female among the 18 chefs who submitted burgers. Her burger was a cross between a hamburger and a grilled cheese.Dubbed the Logan County Hamburger, the burger is a creation of Joel's grandmother who made the burger with cheap ingredients during tough times. It's simple, yet delicious and intensely comforting. The combination of the beef, melted cheese, and crisp bread is perfectly satisfying. Look at Joel's recipe and read more.

Logan County Hamburgers
From The Comfort Table by Katie Lee Joel

Ingredients

1 pound ground beef (85 percent lean)
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 medium yellow onion, half grated, the other half thinly sliced
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
12 slices white bread
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
12 slices American cheese, optional

Directions

In a medium bowl, combine the beef, egg, grated onion, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Mix until combined.
Form into thin patties.
Spread butter on one side of each slice of bread.
Heat a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the burgers about 3 minutes on each side. Drain on paper towels. Drain the grease from the skillet.
In the same skillet, place six slices of bread, butter side down. Top each with a slice of cheese, if desired, some onions and a burger. Top with remaining slices of cheese, if using, and bread, butter side up.
Cook each sandwich until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side.
Serve with mustard, ketchup, pickles, or any other desired hamburger toppings.

Makes 6 burgers.

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Too Many Burgers: Rachael Ray's Burger Bash

partysugar — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 05:30:21 -0700

During the South Beach Festival, Rachael Ray's Burger Bash is one of the weekend's most coveted tickets. Naturally the event planners decided to recreate the party at the New York City counterpart. I was lucky (or unlucky - that many burgers made me sick, literally!) enough to attend the party last Friday night. While I wasn't able to stomach all 18 burgers, I did taste quite a few. Love burgers? Take a closer look at the Burger Bash!

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Photo Gallery: 2009 New York City Wine and Food Festival

YumSugar — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 10:19:52 -0700

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Rachael Ray Slims Down

FitSugar — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 12:00:19 -0800

With all the burgers, beers, and EVOO Rachael Ray downs, I've always wondered how she stays so fit - I'm sure constantly being on the go helps. Just this week, Rachael was in Miami hosting her Burger Bash as part of the Food Network's annual South Beach Wine and Food Festival (SBWFF). And while I wasn't as lucky as Yum to sample the fare, I did get to read all about Rachael's exercise secrets in People. That's a worthy replacement, right?

While at the SBWFF, Rachael shared she went into serious exercise mode after having a cyst removed from her throat last year. Post surgery, she started running 3.5 miles every day: "The gym used to be my adversary. But that has all changed. Now, I look forward to it every morning." And when she talks morning, she's not kidding! To allow for gym time before heading to the TV studio to film her talk show, Rachael is usually up before 6 a.m. and raring to go. She runs for 30 minutes before heading to the gym for an hour-long workout on the elliptical. I'd say the gal loves her cardio!

How much weight has she dropped? Learn the details when you read more.

She can't tell you for sure how much weight she's lost - Rachael doesn't count calories or weigh herself - but there's definite progress. She says that her body has changed, her mind is clearer, and she's dropped several dress sizes. She doesn't slack off either. Even while letting the good times roll at the SBWFF, Rachael made a point to work out at a local Miami gym.

Hitting the local gym is a great tip to have when traveling yourself - I also pack workout DVDs and a resistance band before hopping on a plane.

What Do You Know About the Food Network Stars?

partysugar — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 07:50:06 -0800

This weekend I was lucky enough to join Anne Burrell, Bobby Flay, and Guy Fieri at the Food Network's South Beach Wine and Food Festival. While I learned some fun facts at Rachael Ray's Burger Bash on Thursday night, I also picked up more random tidbits while watching the celebrity chef demonstrations, so I've complied them in a quiz. To find out who drinks pink Champagne with ice, take it now!

Take the quiz