"Today Show" news and stories

Chefs Michael Lomonaco of Porter House New York, Ingrid Hoffmann of Food Network's "Simply Delicioso" and Aol. Food's contributing expert Curtis Stone battled it out in a game show-themed cooking challenge deemed "Meal or No Meal" this morning on TODAY. Though no Howie Mandel and scantily-clad briefcase models were in sight.

The task? Plan a meal for a family of four for only $10. Lomonaco offered up iron skillet steak and mushroom fajitas; Hoffman opted for chipotle tamale pie, while Curtis prepared slowly cooked pork shoulder with braised cabbage.

In the end, it was the strapping Aussie who took the title. See Curtis' victory dance and the entire segment in the video after the jump.

Talk about a Thanksgiving throwdown.

While there was no Bobby Flay, NBC's Meredith Vieira challenged celebrity domestic goddess Martha Stewart and her "Mile High Apple Pie" to an apple pie bake-off Wednesday morning on "The Today Show."

There were the obvious differences: Martha Stewart made her own pie crust while Meredith opted for a Flako pre-made version. Martha included lemon in her mile-high pie while Meredith did not. Meredith uses apple pie spice, Martha utilizes cinnamon.

One thing is similarly evident though between the rolling of the eyes and playful taunts, these two ladies were in it to win it.

Find out who won the Martha vs. Meredith apple pie bake-off and get the recipes after the jump.

Paula Deen had a bit of a freak out last week on the set of the "Today Show" after an NBC staffer accidentally walked into the shot and hid behind a kitchen island.

"Oh my goodness, can you all see? What is he doing in here? Does he work here?" Deen asked Al Roker as she prepared her Nutty Orange Coffee Cake to promote the New York City Wine & Food Festival. "He doesn't have a gun does he? Should we pull out our knives?"

Roker laughed along with Deen, although it became a bit awkward after he asked her what she was making.

"Nervous. That's what we're making -- nerves, nervous," she said. "Is he from this country?"

But all became hunky-dory once more when Deen learned the man did indeed work for NBC.

"Oh so you do work here, well here," Deen said as she handed him a slice of cake.



[Via Huffington Post]

Our pals at Epicurious's Epi-Log pointed us to this lusciously awkward Today Show cooking segment wherein Sam the Cooking Guy shuts Kathie Lee's cakehole not so much with cake, as with a heaping helping of STFU. It's no doubt soured his relationship with the show, but makes for some mighty sweet TV.

Is this the most deliciously cringe-inducing in the history of food television, or can you dredge up any others? Post your thoughts and video links below.

See the whole segment here.


[via: Epicurious]

I grew up in a household where we embraced leftovers, composted actively and had a dog with an iron-clad stomach, so very little food went to waste. As I got older and started living on my own, I realized what a feat of meal planning and conservation my mother had been pulling off all those years, as I found myself tossing heads of lettuce, moldy cheese and sour milk at the end of each week. I worked to change my habits, learning how much food I needed for each given week, working hard to use up my leftovers and buying an indoor composter to ensure that my vegetal waste didn't go into the landfills.

As food and fuel prices rise, more and more people are becoming concerned with the amount of food that we waste. This morning the Today Show aired a segment on food waste and in it they interviewed journalist and blogger Jonathan Bloom. Bloom runs the website Wasted Food and is currently writing a book about the amount of uneaten food that gets sent to landfills each day.

The segment is interesting and is an excellent primer for those people who are new to the idea of food conservation. They suggest that more frequent trips to the supermarket, in which you buy less, is one of the answers to preventing food waste. While I think that's a good idea, I wish they had stressed tactics like shopping at farmers markets (the food is fresher, so it stays good longer, giving you more time in which to use it) and using your freezer (if you make a large meal, halve it and freeze a portion for another time).

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