"CatCora" news and stories

We couldn't launch the Hottest Men in the Food Industry without taking a look at the ladies. Whether they've made their mark in restaurants, on blogs or TV, or as cookbook authors, these women not only sizzle in the kitchen, they're leaders in their field.

With more than 50% of the vote, there was no competing with your number-one pick this year...

The cookbook shelf of a former vegetarian. Photo: emdot, Flickr.

Whether you're a full-fledged veg or a pro-greens protein fiend, vegetarian cookbooks are the door to a world where beans, greens and grains are celebrated. These books will introduce you to a whole new pantry of ingredients. Just as a meat eater might strive to make use of the entire animal, vegetarian cooks grab inspiration from far and wide and turn every bit of edible, natural earth into a grand culinary experience.

What follows after the jump are five vegetarian cookbooks that any veggie lover must have, covering the staples of meatless cookery -- secret recipes from restaurants, classic culinary bibles, respected names and haute vegetarian food. Which do you think will reign supreme?

Cold spring rolls. Photo: YumSugar.

Each Thursday, we round up a selection of scrumptious links from our friends over at YumSugar. Here's what they've got cooking this week:

Cold spring rolls might seem fancy, but they're actually a quick and easy treat.

Cat Cora's baked beans mixes chickpeas, kidney beans and pinto beans.

Coffee is good for a whole lot more than drinking -- java can perk up many a dish.

A look at Paula Deen's uncomfortable visit to "The View" and Barbara Walters' loaded health question.

Figs in a Blanket is a "killer appetizer."

Do you prefer the grocery store or farmers' market?

I don't normally get my food news from men's mags, but it's not that often that they include chefs amidst the models, either.

Cat Cora is one of the Food Network's Iron Chefs, a latecomer to that show after its first season started to add a bit of gender equality. A talented chef from the South, the 39-year-old specializes in Greek and Mediterranean foods, though she's not above throwing some old fashioned soul food into the mix. She's also not above doing a little grocery shopping at the convenience store, where she picked up some ingredients for FHM's Mini Mart Iron Chef article

With only a few ingredients, she whipped up Jerky Tartar, Ham and Cheese Roulade and Napoleon Krispy Kremes. As much fun as it would be to see Krispy Kremes as the secret ingredient on Iron Chef, none of these recipes would have gotten her a win, so don't expect to be too inspired by the food in the piece and just check it out if you want to check out Cat.

[via The Food Section]

Source

NBC's Celebrity Cooking Showdown premiered last night after weeks of less-than-optimistic reviews. The show, in case you missed it, is Dancing with the Stars meets Iron Chef America. A celebrity, of whom the most famous is Tom Arnold, is paired with a real chef, either Cat Cora, Wolfgang Puck or  Govind Armstrong. The chef must attempt to train the celebrity to cook in a mini "boot camp", after which the celebrity and chef will face off Iron Chef-style against another team. Confused?

Last night's premier episode featured the following teams: Cindy Margolis and Wolfgang Puck, Tony Gonzalez and Cat Cora, Alison Sweeney and Govind Armstrong. When the show began, the celebs came out. Cindy was almost not wearing a shirt, Tony was twice as tall as Cat and Cat's hair was styled professionally, like it never is on Iron Chef America. Alison was wearing a short dress, but seemed to have more culinary prowess than the others based on her cooking-lesson clip.

{spoilers ahead}