We may have covered most of the "best of 2005" lists, with topics from MMMM to NNNNN, but funny food videos is one we missed. Fortunately, Saute Wednesday didn't miss this important topic in their slightly belated Best of 2005 List. They picked out a Flambe Disaster! clip, which really shows the value of having a fire extinguisher in your kitchen, in addition to being funny. Incidentally, the apartment kitchen in which it takes place looks shockingly like my college apartment. I kept my extinguisher under the sink, guys!

The best clip of the year was definitely from an episode of Saturday Night Live, where they paid tribute to Magnolia Bakery's cupcakes in the most highly esteemed of media: a rap song.

But first, my hunger pangs are sticking like duct tape
Let's hit up magnolia and mack on some cupcakes
No doubt, that bakery's got all the bomb frosting.
I love those cupcakes like McAdams loves Gosling
2 no 6 no 12, bakers dozen!
I told you that I'm crazy for these cupcakes, cousin!

Update: The YouTube video (above) was removed, but you can hear the song here.

The Accidental Hedonist has just announced that the voting is now open for the 2005 Food Blog Awards. The polls will be open from January 5th through January 18th, with the winners to be announced sometime shortly thereafter.

The list of finalists was compiled from large lists of nominees by a panel of judges, who selected their favorites. The favorites were compared and narrowed down even further in a second round of judging until there were five finalists in each category. Each blog that made it to the finals is excellent, though many of the nominated blogs are at least equally good, so review all the nominees if you have a chance. 

Click here to place your votes!

Forbes Top 100 Celebrities list includes 3 celebrity chefs this year, Emeril Lagasse, Wolfgang Puck and Charlie Palmer, in spots 85, 86 and 100, respectively.

Emeril Lagasse rose in the ranks from spot 90 to 85 this year. The top rated chef on the Food Network is on more than one channel now that he has signed a deal with Crest toothpaste to appear, using one of his signature phrases, "Bam!", in their ads. Emeril made over $9 million dollars this year, but this could increase during 2006, as his line of signature produce is scheduled to hit the shelves.

Wolfgang Puck was ranked number 85 last year, but his pay of over $12 million dollars eases the pain of being bumped out of position by Emeril. Puck is expanding his line of gourmet take-away offerings and "express" restaurants at airports all over the country, which should do well as airlines cut back on inflight meals.

Charlie Palmer does not have a TV show, but he does have 11 restaurants on both coasts and over $4.7 million dollars in the last year for his efforts. Working with only one major investor, this driven but low-key culinary player's roster of restaurants includes the Charlie Palmer Steakhouse, Aureole, Astra, Astra West, Metrazur and Kitchen 82, with a chain of high-end grocery stores in the works. Jean-George Vongerichten held the 100th spot last year.

The year 2005 was a short one for Slashfood, as we were born in the late summer. But still, we wrote over a thousand posts on everything from, um, acorn squash to zucchini. And we were all blogging, and eating, and thinking about foods, food blogs and food news all year long. What dominated our search strings, our comment threads, and our intra-Slashfood buzz? This was it:

• #5 Finding God in food.  Grilled cheese, fish sticks and cinnamon buns. This may sound like the lunch menu at the local high school, but in fact these are all food items on which people claim to have found the likeness of God. Suprisingly, God shows up in mysterious ways on a number of food items.
• #4 Food TV turns away from foodies.  It was gradual, but the channel has changed over the past several years. A couple of major things happened this year that indicate a turn away from the original core audience - people who liked to cook - to a new and (for whatever it's worth) bigger audience. People who eat. The Food Network, it seems, is divesting itself of the foodies and embracing food, of the edible and eye candy variety. And this is such a shame.
• #3 Finding food in strange places.  We know there's always been weird food out there... But there are some places that even we, jaded food lovers that we are, don't imagine finding food. Let's take wounds, for one. In 2005, Slashfood discovered the Bacon bandaids. Take data storage devices, for two. This year we learned of the strange-yet-wonderful sushi USB drives.
• #2 Around the world on the blogs.  Throughout the year...  food bloggers felt imbued with the passion to change the world in whatever small way we could, even if it was just creating pink recipes to honor the fight against breast cancer... In August, a huge number of bloggers worldwide participated in an exercise in locality, challenging each other to eat as much from local vendors and farmers as possible.
• #1 Food lawsuits that rain on our plates.  There are more than a few people out there who continue to give lawyers a bad name. Some of them got involved in the food world this year, working to ban silver balls, obtain a couple hundred grand for a fly in a bottle of water, or suing over hot coffee. For shame.

It's that time of year, the time to look back on the stories that made 2005 great. Our countdown began with God

There are more than a few people out there who continue to give lawyers a bad name. Some of them are the lawyers who take on what many people deem to be frivolous lawsuits. Sometimes it is the lawyers who take it upon themselves to speak up for people and protest what they perceive is a legal violation or some sort. These may not be all the legal battles caused by food this year, but they certainly were noteworthy ones, whether they deserved to be or not.

1. Silver dragées. This lawsuit isn’t new to 2005, but it is ongoing nevertheless. A California lawyer had essentially managed, much to the chagrin of bakers in the state, to block the sale of little, silver cake decorating balls in the state in a suit against candy makers and bakers. He cites health risks despite the fact that there has never been a documented case of poisoning from silver dragée consumption.

2. Bottled Fly Trauma. In , a hairstylist and his wife were awarded more than $300,000 after finding a fly in a bottle of water. Neither the man nor his wife consumed any water and, in fact, the bottle was unopened. The couple mentioned that they were “plagued by nightmares [and lost] of their sense of humour” as a result of the incident.

And what is that saying? Charity begins at home? In August, a huge number of bloggers worldwide participated in an exercise in locality, challenging each other to eat as much from local vendors and farmers as possible.

My personal eat local campaign began with coffee (roasted locally) and continued with garlic. I'm lucky to live in a place from which lots of great products and produce hails; but I lusted over the local goodies in California and Provence. When we were done eating? We went around the world in a recycling bin.

Food bloggers, and their readers, took their local charity to Kashmir this past month with Chez Pim's Menu for Hope, which ended up raising $21,716.32. Andrew Barrow and I both donated items (although I must admit I practiced the two for me, one for you thing when I shopped for dried mushrooms at the farmer's market).

I didn't keep track, but I must have eaten thousands of dishes in 2005, and tried hundreds of new foods. While I won't admit to how large a percentage "toast with peanut butter" and "breakfast: one cookie, one coffee" were in my personal dietary pie chart, I will offer up some of the unarguable highlights. The following is a photo essay on some things that warmed my stomach oh-so-well in 2005.

Marinated salmon and onion with citrus and cucumber, Tani's Sushi, November.

Crisp, melting, sweet, tangy, citrusy, flavorful, refreshing. One of my favorite dishes in the city.

But there are some places that even we, jaded food lovers that we are, don't imagine finding food. Let's take wounds, for one. In 2005, Slashfood discovered the Bacon bandaids. Take data storage devices, for two. This week we learned of the strange-yet-wonderful sushi USB drives. Then, there's your lips, who see a lot of food, on the way in. But they don't see much food, well, just sitting around healing your wind-burned kisser. Now they can, thanks to Cheetos chapstick. You think these are weird? That is so not all.

It's that time of year, the time to look back on the stories that made 2005 great. Our countdown began with God and moves on to - what else? - TV.

It all began in 1998. My obsession with the Food Network. I was hanging out in New York awaiting the beginning of business school. I'd quit my job and, other than boning up on the calculus, I had absolutely nothing to do. I scheduled my life around Too Hot Tamales, Ready Set Cook! and Cooking Live with Sara Moulton. In those days, the Food Network was all about cooking, especially cooking at home. I mean, Cooking Live - Sara would list the ingredients the day before so you could be prepared to cook along with her. People called in and they were actually in front of their stoves, yes, cooking live.

It was gradual, but the channel has changed over the past seven years. A couple of major things happened this year that indicate a turn away from the original core audience - people who liked to cook - to a new and (for whatever it's worth) bigger audience. People who eat.

The Food Network, it seems, is divesting itself of the foodies and embracing food, of the edible and eye candy variety. And this is such a shame. Some of the big changes that spell doom for the home chef:

Now that we know how foods gain acceptance, there are a few items poised to rise in the eyes of mainstream eaters in the upcoming year. Some of these are just making their way onto the plates of foodies, while others are already beginning to appear in widely available products. The popularity of all of these items is sure to rise over the coming 12 months.
Chimichurri is an Argentinean dipping sauce that has a spicy, intense flavor, though, like salsa, its ingredients and heat are highly customizable. Already a regular at high-end eateries, it is beginning to show up on mid-range menus, too.
Churrasco is a Brazilian style of barbeque in which fire grilled meats are both roasted on and served from a large skewer. The meal also usually includes tapas-like appetizers, which had gained tremendous popularity in the past few years.
Premium breads are fast making their way into homes across the country, with ordinary grocery stores carrying decent baguettes and fast food restaurants offering their sandwiches on ciabatta or artisan sourdoughs. There are whole chains of restaurants that have sprung up around artisan-style bread, indicating that it is only a matter of time before people can properly discern between French and focaccia.
Regional Mexican is developing the same way that knowledge of regional Italian developed over the past 40 years. Spices and dishes from the Yucatan and Oaxaca, including unusual spice rubs and moles, are fast gaining recognition as people begin to view Mexican food as having more than just meat, cheese and hard taco shells.
White Tea is high in antioxidants and has piggybacked into a larger recognition on the tailcoat of its well-known relative, green tea. Lacking the slightly grassy flavor of green tea, which skyrocketed into national sight after being widely publicized by Starbucks this year, white teas are being offered in increasing numbers by purveyors of tea.
Dulce de Leche is a creamy, caramel-like sauce made of sugar and condensed milk. Its rich taste and familiar appearance have led to a growing fondness for the treat, which has already appeared in many high end, but widely available ice creams.

The food fashions of 2005 run the gamut from the saucy to the silly to the sublime. Our ratings? They're completely subjective. Let us know what you think.

Earlier this year, a list of the most fattening cocktails was released, so you're off to a good start by avoiding the 650 calories in a Pina Colada and the 780 calories in each Long Island Ice Tea. Try to have a glass of water between each drink to balance out your calorie intake and go for smaller servings, instead of novelty-sized margaritas.

Wine, at about 100 calories a glass, is a good choice compared to most mixed drinks, which have higher calorie counts from the juices and sodas used a mixers, in addition to alcohol. For "lighter" drinks, skip the tonic in favor of club soda as a mixer, a calorie-free alternative, or use diet sodas instead of regular. You can add fruity flavors with a shot or two of one of Torani's Sugar Free Syrup, which come in flavors from vanilla to lemon to Irish Cream. While they work well in warming coffee drinks,  HungryGirl has quite a few creative, calorie-saving cocktail recipes to choose from to get your party started on December 31st.