"rachaelray" news and stories

Photo: Sarah LeTrent

Friday night's Blue Moon Burger Bash hosted by Food Network star-turned-one woman empire, Rachael Ray, heated the festival up. Where there weren't burgers, the Food Network and food world entourage filled in.

A brief roll call included: the aforementioned Rachael Ray, Tyler Florence, Bobby Flay, Guy Fieri, Ann Burrell, Art Smith, Jacques Torres, Rocco DiSpirito, Martha Stewart, Duff Goldman, Katie Lee (last year's Burger Bash champion), Ellie Krieger, Giada De Laurentiis...

New York's top eateries, including Minetta Tavern, Shake Shack, The Spotted Pig and Wollensky's, fired up their grills so they could claim the judges' favorite and the People's Choice Award. Check out our festival photos and more after the jump!

Anthony Bourdain. Photo: New York City Wine & Food Festival.

When we got our hands on a coveted ticket to the Frank Bruni/Anthony Bourdain TimesTalks event, we were psyched to attend. What could be more fun than witnessing the outgoing New York Times restaurant critic participating in a culinary spar with the preeminent enfant terrible of the chef world?

Not surprisingly, Bourdain is a natural and answered practically every Bruni question with a clever, brutally honest quip. Bruni began by inquiring about one of the more unusual things he had seen Bourdain eat on his Travel Channel show, "No Reservations." The delicacy in question was a warthog's rectum. After firing off a few expletives, Bourdain admitted that while he was eating the warthog delicacy, he knew he was "in trouble," adding he humbly tries to eat everything that people around the globe offer him.

"Where we're going is based on directors we like and want to dupe," Bourdain said of the show. "We want to make something along the lines of films we admire." Of course, he capped the exchange off with a self-mocking, "But, it's all about me in the end."

Dr. Mehmet Oz and Rachael Ray. Photo: Jennifer Lawinski

Even presidents know it's hard to get kids to eat their vegetables.

Former President Bill Clinton told parents a gymnasium full of parents in Harlem Saturday that he shared their struggles with finding and committing to healthy eating. Getting kids to eat fruits and vegetables is hard, he said. "Especially in Harlem, where I can say we have a lot of other options and they all taste good."

The talk was part of the the New York City Wine and Food Festival's Weight Watcher's Fun and Fit in the City event, targeted at combating childhood obesity and promoting healthy eating for the city's kids. The ex-president's foundation is headquartered in Harlem, and its top priority in the U.S. is the fight against childhood obesity.

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?

Heirloom beans. Photo: Brent Ridge, Beekman 1802.

Brent Ridge and Josh Kilmer-Purcell are the farmers and innovators behind Beekman 1802, a 200-year-old estate and farm in upstate New York. We'll be running recipes, gorgeous photos and tales from the farm as their crops come into season.

Native daughter Rachael Ray has a profound appreciation for the farmlands of upstate New York, and just paid a visit to Beekman 1802 to learn more about our farm-to-table project with The American Hotel.

What does one make when Rachael Ray comes to dinner? We knew it had to be 1) delicious, 2) simple, and 3) easy. So we traipsed out to the garden for inspiration and found a few tender new green beans just ready for the picking. These are sometimes referred to by their French name, haricot vert, which translates to, you guessed it, "green bean."

Our "yummo" recipe and a bit about our hills of heirloom beans, after the jump.