"ontheblogs" news and stories

Next Tuesday at 10 p.m. ET/PT, the Food Network will premier Chopped, its new chef-competition series with host Ted Allen. On the Food Network's site, you can check out the contestants of the show, many of them coming from the NYC restaurant scene. On Allen's blog, he defends the need for another "cook-off show" by explaining that, unlike existing shows, on Chopped, there are four new chefs that compete on each episode. The one that wins that episode receives $10,000; the one with the worst food is "chopped." Since each episode features new contestants, there is none of the drama and sleep deprivation present on shows like, 'Project Runway'.

Alright, so Chopped is not entirely based on shows like Top Chef. Nevertheless, after watching its video promo I couldn't help but to view it more like an Saturday Night Live satire of Top Chef and Project Runway, than as a serious TV show. Clips of contestants panicking and asking "what am I going to do?" and saying "my worst nightmare" seems slightly ridiculous if host Allen is going to state that the show is so different than previous chef-competition series. "This January, a new kind of competition." Really? At the end of the clip, Allen, in Heidi Klum style, states "you have been chopped." While the show seems to borrow several elements from other reality based competition shows, we'll have to wait until next Tuesday night to judge whether this a fresh concept or more of the same.

Was just clearing up my food blog list and stumbled upon Culiblog. Have you looked at this site recently? I have a list of 300 food blogs so forgive me that I dont read each one every day!

Refreshingly different from your recipe listing sites - design in the food world appears to be the focus. Recent posts include making bowls from vegetable waste as shown at the Design Academy Eindhoven MFA show, Then there are details of collection of chocolate objects designed in collaboration with the autistic employees of a Belgian chocolate factory. It is not all design and design concepts; recipes appear too. Have a look at the wounderful looking Terrine Geologique.

Culiblog - its great!

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Despite a quieter time on the blog front - what with it being the height of summer in the northern hemisphere - there is plenty of great posts across the food and drink-blog arena that you shouldn't miss:

1. Try the original scone recipe via Baking for Britain
2. Cream Puffs in Venice is geting all berry-fied with a Triple Berry Coffeecake 
3. Stephen Cooks on the other hand is playing with Baby Turnips and Sugar Snap Peas
4. And World Cup fever has hit San Francisco as Sam gets all excited by the French and tells us all on where to watch the matches
5. Monkey Gland has admitted to a Raw Obsession
6. Catavino reports on a grand sounding Spanish Wine Dinner
7. Food In The Main has details of Tomato-coriander thokku a superb sounding chutney.
8. and finally a Radish and Peach Sandwich graces Just Braise for that great summer feeling (pictured)

The editor of Epicurious, Tanya Wenman, has been busily blogging away at the Epi-log for some time now. As of this week, the editors at Bon Appetit have launched their very own blog, as well. It's called the BA blog. Though there are only a handful of entries up at the moment - and none as immediately engrossing as the ones that SF Chronicle Editor Michael Bauer started out his blog with - it sounds as though they'll be blogging about "where they ate last night, what they cooked, what they drank, where they're traveling. In other words, all the stuff that really matters in [their] world." Sounds promising to me!

My only complaint is that when you leave a comment, you can't leave a link back to your own e-mail or blog, just the name you're registered with at Epicurious. How are they ever going to expand their blogroll that way?

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Gawd knows how many blogs cover the foodie sphere these days... here are a few posts from my browsing that look superb, i.e. I plan to give the recipe a try out.

28 Cooks has an Upside Down Gingerbread and Cranberry Cake.... for the vegetarian there is a Curried Vegetable Bisque from A Veggie Adventure... for the baker Andrea's Recipes has Oatmeal Cream Scones which look delicious... snacks and nibbles appear from Sweden's Cooking Diva Anne of Anne's Food Spicy Almonds (pictured) and from England's resident Austrian blogging cook, Johanna the Passionate Cook, with Feta, Melon, Olive and Mint Skewers.

While Johanna continues her skewering Chubby Hubby asks us to Try This At Home with his take on Baked Cod with Miso... while Cindy abandons all hope of maintaining her svelte-like figure by devouring the "richest cake I have ever made", a mouthwatering Chocolate Torte. And then back to Sweden for Blå Jungfruns muffins from Clivis's Cuisine. More sweetness over at English Patis with a Banana Date Cake.

Blimey, how am I gonna make all these?! Still more in my "must try file". Kalyn's Kitchen has Pork Chops with a Balsamic Glaze and finally, if only because I have a huge wodge of chorizo in the fridge, there is Chickpea and chorizo stew from Taste Everything Once.

So there you have it - nibbles, main courses, snacks, appetizers and more cake and dessert than is healthy. If you have a great post you would like to share complete with recipe and quality photography why not drop us a line via our tips page?