"brian boitano" news and stories

A few of the best links on the Web this week:

• The 2010 IACP Cookbook Award finalists have been announced and, surprisingly, Momofuku is not among them.
• Alain Ducasse talks to the Philippine Daily Inquirer about what makes him great.
• A comprehensive guide to making pizza at home.
• Our favorite figure-skater-turned-TV-chef mans a cheese cart -- this is not a joke.
• Confused about how to slice meat properly? Check out this guide.

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:

Food Network releases its 2010 schedule, which includes pathetic chefs and more screwball Brian Boitano.

Move over, Two Buck Chuck; 7-Eleven is bringing the wine game.

Momofuku's David Chang chats about TV, culinary trends and how In-N-Out Burger is better than Taylor's Automatic Refresher in San Francisco.

Is the freneticism of Thanksgiving a good thing, or does it make you run for the hills -- you decide?

When devising your Thanksgiving menu, don't leave sides out in the cold -- invite Caramelized Onion Cranberry Sauce to the table.

Put your stomach where your mouth is -- grub on bugs!

And for dessert, try The World's Best Apple Pie.

Photo: Food Network

We should've known better. You can't expect a figure skater to lay off the sparkles forever, and sure enough, our man Brian Boitano was back to his old tricks this week: goofy skits, crudely animated fantasy sequences and laughing at his own jokes.

But while his aesthetics are regressing, at least his cooking is maturing, from the fussy appetizers of the first two shows to something resembling a real meal.

The fabricated meal-making scenario this time followed an eager Brian ready to impress his handyman in order to gain acceptance into an "international dinner club" -- cue many references to the Wonder Bread-ish Brian's Italian heritage.

For the moment, we'll ignore the incongruous fantasy of a dashing, 40-something French handyman willing to whip up his mother's coq au vin recipe for a bachelor client. (And is it just us, or do the shots of Brian's spacious, garden-facing kitchen and his narrow San Francisco living quarters seem a little... lacking in continuity?)

The Oakland Outlaws. Photo: The Bay Area Derby Girls

If Brian Boitano's Food Network debut had us a little worried, the mere description of episode two gave us hope: "While hosting a dinner party of an all-girl roller derby team, Brian creates simple yet delicious recipes using bacon." Roller derby and bacon? It's like poetry to our ears.

Sure, the utterly canned social-event premise is still there, and Brian's repertoire is still limited to fussy little canapés and fad martinis (in this case, the dreaded bacontini). But not only did the food this week actually make our mouth water, the host managed to work in a costume change from his former career: a plunging v-necked, rhinestone-covered figure skating unitard. Shame? Brian doesn't know the meaning of the word.

In an episode devoted to pig fat, our host hammed it up, of course, but with nowhere near as many cutaways to him dancing, cackling and performing in animated skits. (If this is the last time he uses a couple of parsley sprigs as false eyelashes, however, that'd be fine by us.)

Heirloom panzanella salad. 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:

Heirloom tomatoes get thrown into a tasty summer panzanella.

The addictive qualities of Neapolitan-style mac and cheese from Lidia Bastianich.

A discussion of the insanity that is Brian Boitano's new cooking show.

Toll House cookie dough is back after that E. coli scare.

A rundown of the wackiest-named dishes cooked up by Rachael Ray.

Planks of corn on the cob get the salad treatment.

Do you love or hate gelatin?