The folks over at Gothamist decided to liveblog the Nathan's Famous Hot Dog contest, which is fortunate for everyone who wasn't able to make it out to Coney Island today to watch in person. They reported that, after a grueling 12 minute battle, Takeru Kobayashi emerged victorious with a new world record of 54 hot dogs! That breaks his previous record of 53 1/2.

If you recall from earlier, this means that Kobayashi ate more than 16,500 calories in that short time period. Is it worth it? Well, not only does the winner get the glory of being the most recognized eater in the world, but he (Kobayashi, in this case) gets to take home the mustard-yellow championship belt for another year.

Update: You can view a videoclip here.

Some people have to avoid butter in their diets and to the die-hard butter fans, this seems like a sad thing. There are many valid reasons to do this, though, such as a doctor's orders to reduce cholesterol intake. There are also some people who simply prefer the taste of margarine, but though it might make an acceptable substitute on toast, margarine can't really compare to butter in baked goods - particularly in a butter cookie. Or can it? The Wall Street Journal baked up a few batches to find out.

The butter cookies made with real butter, the Land O'Lakes Ultra Creamy, came out on top. Land O' Lakes stick margarine came in second place, with a reasonable approximation of the taste and appearance of the real cookie. Unfortunately, the Land O' Lakes tub margarine did not fare as well, and though it had a similar texture to butter, the taste was nowhere near the real thing. Promise stick margarine did not do well, either, producing a cookie with little butter flavor.

I have actually had good results using Earth Balance "buttery spread" when baking, but the clear the solution is to stick to butter - not margarine - when it comes to baking.

This particular type of chocolate cake has many, many names: wacky cake, dump-it cake, one-pan cake, one-bowl cake, eggless cakes, easy chocolate cakes, vinegar cake. Though the ingredients vary from cake to cake, the concept is the same because all the recipes are for cakes made entirely in one bowl or even mixed directly in the pan. This means that it takes next to no time to prepare them and the cleanup is even less than it is for a cake mix - not to mention that you get a homemade chocolate cake in about an hour!

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's food section rounded up a group of bakers and put six one-bowl chocolate cake recipes to the test, including cakes from Martha Stewart and Nigella Lawson. The bakers had the same complaints about Nigella's recipe that I have had in the past, namely that her instructions aren't very clear and if you don't already know what you're doing, your cake can come out terribly. Martha's cake, which did use eggs, tasted great and the panel also loved a classic "crazy cake" recipe, which calls for vinegar and no eggs. The full results and winning recipes can be found here, and are a must-read for any baker or chocolate cake lover.

[Image Post Gazette]

Some of you may recall a stir created last month by news of a study that many claimed debunked the harmonious pairing of cheese and red wine. Well, Slate's Mike Steinberger recently spoke with U.C. Davis professor Hildegarde Heymann, supervisor of the wine and cheese study. Heymann feels that the results of the study were grossly misinterpreted by the media. The tasters, apparently, weren't wine experts, but rather university students and staff. The wines, mostly from California ranged in price from $7 to $20. While the cheeses did make the wines taste less intense, tasters were still very much able to distinguish the better wines of the bunch, Heymann told Steinberger. Moreover, in some cases, bad cheese may even mask the more offensive characteristics of bad wine.

I have been wondering how well silicone muffin cups work since they first appeared on the market. Designed as a reusable alternative to paper muffin/baking cups, their main advantage is that no muffin or cupcake crumbs will stick to them, so not a single delicious morsel of your favorite baked good will be lost. Not only did I doubt this claim, I found it to be ridiculous. Who cares if a small bit of cake is stuck on your wrapper? Better yet, why don't you simply grease the pan and put your batter directly into the muffin tin?

My friend Joe, at Culinary in the Desert, tested out his set of silicone muffin cups this week. As you can see from the photo above of his Whole Grain Raisin Muffin, they turned out very well. The muffins held their shape and popped easily out of the silicone liners. Joe liked them enough to order a second set, and while I'm glad to know that they work, I still don't see the need to use them. I also find the little ridges on the muffin a bit disconcerting; it's just not natural.