Enchiladas are arguably the most comforting of all Mexican entrees. Perhaps that's because they most closely resemble a casserole -- with protein, grains and vegetables all baked together and topped with delicious, flavorful red sauce and a layer of melted cheese.
Whether filled with beef, pork, chicken, fish, cheese, beans or any combination of those ingredients, enchiladas can often be complicated dishes, like these with homemade sauce and fresh cilantro from Flickr user purdyinblue. But the Mexican one-pot meal is also a great way to feed lots of people with very little effort, especially if you use a Dorito-encrusted recipe from the likes of Emeril Lagasse... or Charlie Gibson, depending on who you ask.
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Emeril Lagasse is expanding his culinary empire this month with his first hamburger joint.
Burgers and More by Emeril will bring the world-famous chef's signature flair to the basic burger. It's slated to open Nov. 22 at the Sands Casino Resort in Bethlehem, Pa.
"I really want to be the real thing," Emeril told Slashfood at the restaurant's unveiling at New York City's famed Carnegie Deli. "This is not going to be the dollar menu here."
To much of the country, charismatic Food Network star and restaurateur Emeril Lagasse has become, well, just another household name. But in Bethlehem, Pa., tucked in the foothills of the state's Pocono Mountains, Emeril has become a culinary heartthrob whose embrace has sent the locals into a frenzy.
For the residents of this overhauled steel town already gaga over the coming of its first casino, the addition of Emeril's Chophouse side-by-side with the slots is a coup. After all, the Yankee (he hails from Fall River, Mass.) bypassed New York City (where he has a second home) and Boston (an hour from his birthplace) for "Christmas City" to house his first northeast eatery.
The Bam! man was on hand Tuesday for a media luncheon, and is currently in Bethlehem overseeing a test run of his 230-seat restaurant for its sold-out Friday opening. Located inside an old steel mill building, the restaurant is fittingly outfitted with cast-iron steel flourishes and a menu combining Emeril's bayou style with the no nonsense meat and potato sensibilities of the region: "We are very sensitive to the market no matter where we are," he told us.
What do you think would happen if Regis and Kelly put Gordon Ramsay, Paula Deen, Nigella Lawson, Mario Batali, and Emeril Lagasse in the same room? If you guessed a flurry of BAM!s, f-bombs, butter, and Crocs, you guessed right.
For Halloween this year, Live with Regis and Kelly got cooking with a little help from Guy Fieri (the real one), and you can check it out over at eatmedaily.com. Good ol' Regis is basically Philbin in chef's outfits, not bothering to try an accent to play Ramsay, and saying nothing but "BAM!" for Lagasse. But Kelly -- she steals the show getting accented to play Deen and Lawson, and revelling in butter kebabs on one end, and sultry, chocolate-covered spoons on the other.
Seeing that mess of craziness, methinks I want to throw a chef-themed costume party pot luck. Make a dish from one of their books, and come in costume and character. Anyone in?
The show will be set in Whole Foods Markets and will feature organic, free range and natural foods. According to the post at Treehugger, the show will feature a revolving cast of other cooks, farmers and food experts. I am really looking forward to seeing what Emeril can do with this format. We need more food television that focuses on environmentally friendly ways of growing and raising.
We told you about Martha Stewart buying Emeril's empire (except the restaurants), and now Martha and Emeril have gone on CBS' Late Show with David Letterman to give their Top 10 Party Tips.
Martha Stewart apparently thinks that Emeril Lagasse is a good thing.
Stewart has bought the rights to Emeril's books, TV shows, and kitchen products. The price was $45 million in cash and $5 million in stock. That's stock as in Wall Street, not chicken or beef.
This is an interesting development, since we reported a while back that Emeril Live had ended after negotiations went nowhere. (And if you're wondering, no, Martha didn't get Emeril's restaurants.)
Stewart also bought 40% of a wedding service called WeddingWire.
There are approximately 3,277 different ways to make macaroni and cheese. Different cheese combinations, different types of macaroni, different ways to cook it, and even different ingredients to throw into the mix. Do you think you have the best recipe in the U.S.?
OK, then prove it. ABC's Good Morning America is looking for the best mac 'n cheese recipe in the country. It's the Emeril Lagasse's Best Mac 'N Cheese Ever Challenge. Go to this page and fill out the form and include your recipe. You can add a picture of the completed dish or a video of it being made if you want. Deadline is February 1.
And there's no need to include a "BAM!" anywhere in your recipe.
Mediabistro's Fishbowl NY says that Emeril Lagasse will not be returning to the Food Network after contract negotiations between him and Scripps Howard went nowhere.
Emeril will tape his last show on December 11.
So readers....are you going to miss him? I can't say I will. I really couldn't watch his show, with the bams and the live band and audience.
Update: Looks like Emeril isn't leaving the network altogether, just ending Emeril Live. He'll continue with Essence of Emeril and other projects.
It is taking just about every ounce of control I possess right now not to go jump on a plane and head down to Florida. The 6th annual South Beach Wine and Food Festival is set to begin tomorrow, February 22nd and will run through Sunday, February 25th.
Most of the events have already sold out, and they are expecting approximately 18,000 people to attend throughout the weekend. The purpose of the festival is to showcase the talents of world-renowned chefs, culinary personalities, and wine & spirit producers, as well as celebrate Latin and Caribbean-inspired cuisine.
It seems just about everyone has been transformed into a foodie thanks to such media phenomena as Top Chef and the Food Network.These days the gourmet brigade includes astronauts.
USA Today reports that NASA has figured out how important food is to astronauts living on the International Space Station who spend six months at a time in an environment devoid of fresh air and flora. Not only has the space agency realized that eating unsatisfying grub can have detrimental effects on morale, it's allowing the astronauts a ration of treats. Crewmembers are allowed to have a shoebox filled with shelf-stable treats. USA Today reports that a Madrid-born astronaut brought a "special Spanish ham." Shoot, sign me up. I'd travel to outer space for some jamon pata negra.
In addition to their shoeboxes of treats, the astronauts have enjoyed meals created by celebrity chefs. Back in August the crew of the International Space Station enjoyed dishes created by Emeril Lagasse. Last week they dined on a menu created by Alain Ducasse. The bill of fare included such stellar fare as red tuna with candied Menton lemon (pictured) and quails roasted in wine. Just in case anyone from NASA is reading this, I am not at all prone to motion sickness or claustrophobia, for that matter.
There was a time in my life when I used to love the Food Network. In fact, I liked it so much, that when I walked in the door after work, I turned on the TV, which was already programmed to the Food Network from the night before. I would leave it on all evening until I went to sleep. I wasn't always watching very carefully what was happening on the screen, and sometimes, I even had the sound on mute, but it was comforting to know that someone inside the little flickering box in my living room was cooking something delicious. Back then, I even liked watching Emeril Lagasse, though I have to admit that I was watching his old show, The Essence of Emeril, in which a young Emeril was somewhat awkwardly, but very earnestly, cooking something. Hell, even in the early days of Emeril Live, I thought "Bam!" was kind of cute.
No, the rotund New Orleans-inflected celebrity chef will not be rocketing beyond the earth's atmosphere, but his food will.
Next week astronauts on the International Space Station will dine on a menu that Lagasse began crafting more than 18 months ago. The chef will chat with the astronauts next Thursday as they chow down on Mardi Gras Jambalaya, kicked up mashed potatoes with bacon, green beans with garlic, rice pudding, and mixed fruit. UPI's press release notes without a hint of irony that Lagasse is the first star chef to develop recipes served in outer space. It seems that's not entirely true. Alain Ducasse, one of haute cuisine's most successful chefs, has been working with the European Space Agency to give astronauts a taste of fine dining.
Perhaps we can look forward to freeze-dried meals from chefs coming to science museums sometime in the future. God knows they have to be better than Astronaut Ice Cream.
Just
in time for the Golden
Globes, the Food Network aired a special on their work behind the scenes of Queen Latifah's movie, Last Holiday. The special, creatively
entitled Food Network Goes
to Hollywood, was a fun behind-the-scenes expose of how food is styled for the silver screen.
In Last Holiday (which, Cinematicaltells us, receives
raves from all the critics), Queen Latifah plays a housewares saleswoman with a heart of gold and a love for
Emeril, whose dishes she cooks up for the kid next door. But the plot's not so important here: we care more about how
many chickens they had to be purchased so the Queen could make Chicken Tchoupitoulas along with
Emeril (on TV in her kitchen). They never actually said, but it was clearly dozens. We care that the actors usually
don't get to eat the food in restaurants scenes, but in this movie? They did, and ate cassoulet and roasted quail with brioche and
chorizo stuffing and spiced
lamb shanks with blood orange relish. Oh my.
The funniest part of the whole show, though, was one of the chef consultants explaining that, because Queen
Latifah's character ate Lean Cuisines for dinner, she was making a red wine sauce to go over the frozen entree:
"so it will taste better for Queen Latifah." That's so sweet.
To much of the country, charismatic Food Network star and 
What do you think would happen if Regis and Kelly put Gordon Ramsay, Paula Deen, Nigella Lawson, Mario Batali, and Emeril Lagasse in the same room? If you guessed a flurry of BAM!s, f-bombs, butter, and Crocs, you guessed right.
Martha Stewart apparently thinks that Emeril Lagasse is a good thing.
There are approximately 3,277 different ways to make macaroni and cheese. Different cheese combinations, different types of macaroni, different ways to cook it, and even different ingredients to throw into the mix. Do you think you have the best recipe in the U.S.?
One last bam?
It is taking just about every ounce of control I possess right now not to go jump on a plane and head down to Florida. The 6th annual 
It seems just about everyone has been transformed into a foodie thanks to such media phenomena as Top Chef and the Food Network. These days the gourmet brigade includes astronauts.
There was a time in my life when I used to love the 
No, the rotund New Orleans-inflected celebrity chef will not be rocketing beyond the earth's atmosphere, but his food will. 
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