"nbc" news and stories

What do you get when you take Top Chef, mash it together with Shark Tank and toss in a bit of The Apprentice? Apparently, it's America's Next Great Restaurant (a.k.a. what NBC hopes will be America's next great reality-TV show when it debuts on March 16, 2011).

It doesn't take more than 30 seconds of the promo clip released by the network to get the gist here: You've got a representative cross-section of starry-eyed hopefuls with big dreams of success (in this case, opening their own restaurant chain) and four expert judges who furrow their brows a lot and seem to have mastered the art of the "dubious glance." (As happens when one contestant says he's leaning toward a chain that only serves vegetarian food.)

Bobby Flay leads the team of judges, which also includes Australian celebrity chef (and KitchenDaily contributor) Curtis Stone, restaurateur Lorena Garcia, and Chipotle founder Steve Ells. The four will not only anoint the winner; like the popular Shark Tank, they'll invest in the winning concept as well. It all makes for what NBC is billing as the biggest prize ever on any reality show: the launch of a restaurant chain in three U.S. cities.

And what peek do we get of the concepts in play? One woman is hawking her concept Wok, "stir-fry for the healthy heart," while another guy is pushing "kabob sliders."

Then we've got the cast-off from the Jersey Shore who wants to take his grandma's meatballs national. The name of his proposed chain? "Saucy Balls."

Oh, how we hope that he makes it beyond episode one.

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]

OK, this is a couple of days late, but on Monday's episode of Late Night with Conan O'Brien, the host mentioned that in the new edition of Good Housekeeping, there's a recipe for the St. Patrick's Day Stew that O'Brien is famous for. Only one problem: it's not O'Brien's recipe, he doesn't cook, and he has no idea who sent this to the magazine. Here's video from the episode to see Conan's reaction (March 17 episode, around the 8:10 mark, right after the monologue).

Of course, that doesn't mean that we can't post the recipe here! It's after the jump.

After only three nights of its scheduled five night run, NBC has canceled Celebrity Cooking Showdown. The show, which I rather unfortunately watched on Monday night, was a sort of fluffed up, talentless version of Iron Chef America. In place of the Showdown, NBC will air reruns of popular sitcoms tonight and Deal or No Deal on Friday. Should you be inclined to watch the fourth episode of Showdown, which would have been the face-off of the winners of Monday-Wednesday's battles, it will be available on NBC.com.

Source

Rappers in the kitchen? This unlikely combination is about to hit television. Celebrity Cooking Showdown is a 5-night culinary contest between celebrities of varying degrees of success, like Tom Arnold and Gabrielle Reese. The semi-homemade Food Network celebrity, Sandra Lee, will host the show when it airs in April 2006, on NBC.

Feeling outdone by his rapper friend, Coolio, is working on his own cooking/variety show. In what is certain to be either the best or, depending on how you choose to look at it, the worst cooking show of all time, Coolio says " 'This won't be your average cooking show - it'll be Coolio with food. I'll be cooking, talking, rapping, dancing and singing.' There will be a four-piece band, a DJ, and strippers - all in the kitchen." That's right: strippers. Of course, Coolio says that he's a good cook, specializing in enchiladas, spaghetti and egg rolls, and though self-taught, it is entirely possible that he has a few genuine tips to share with the television audience.

But I'm not holding my breath.

Source