"sandra lee" news and stories

Hooray for New York's new First Girlfriend, Sandra Lee, not only the host of two hits shows on the Food Network but also the Significant Other of the state's just-inaugurated governor, Andrew Cuomo. The couple looked dreamy at the recent inaugural ball, which was pared down to keep the festivities less lavish in these tough economic times. But we've got even more reason to cheer Ms. Lee: At 2:30 today (EST), the Syracuse Post-Standard reports, she will be presenting a $10,000 check from Sam's Club to the Food Bank of Central New York at it's headquarters in Van Buren, NY, where she will discuss the problem of hunger in central New York State. This is also a kick-off to Lee's tour of the state's food banks and her hunger-awareness campaign.

Now you know that Nobody Doesn't Like Sandra Lee, especially the governor.

Will you be in the New York City area for the 2010 Food Network Food & Wine Festival this year? If so, enter for a chance to win two tickets to see Sandra Lee preform a culinary demonstration at The New School.

About the event: Join Sandra Lee for a morning of simple solutions that create dramatic results in all areas of home life. Sandra will share the secrets of what is takes to do everything Semi-Homemade.

Date: Sunday, October 10, 2010
Time: 11:00 a.m. - 11:45 a.m.

Find out how to enter and read complete contest rules after the jump.

For some of us, summertime can be summed up in two words: ice and cream. Purveyors vie for our ice cream cone dollars, promising premium texture, top-notch ingredients, and ever-more-creative flavors. Marble Slab Creamery's gambit? They've teamed up with Food Network star Sandra Lee, the woman of Semi-Homemade Cooking fame, to promote a Taste of Summer -- 16 "tasty creations" for the summer months only. And, in another nod to reality TV, they're not just inviting customers to taste -- they're asking them to vote for their favorites.

Sandra Lee and Marble Slab Creamery seem like natural bedfellows: Marble Slab is all about mixing fruits, nuts, and candy into their store-made ice cream, while Sandra Lee's schtick is to pair 70 percent store-bought ingredients with 30 percent fresh, homemade fare. Putting these two forces together has resulted in some outrageous-sounding flavors. Take Sunday Brunch, for example, a base of French Toast ice cream studded with strawberries, walnuts, and marshmallow topping. Or how about Dad's Triple Play, an exercise in chocolate overload: Chocolate Swiss ice cream mixed with chocolate cake, chocolate chips, and fudge. (What, no chocolate sauce?) Or consider Peanut Butter Picnic -- Peanut Butter ice cream with caramel topping, Nutter Butters, and peanut M&M's. No half-measures here.

Michael Ruhlman (cookbook author and TV personality) writes for HuffPost Food today:

"...I say watch Sandra Lee if you like her, make her recipes, and make them again, because eventually, you are going to want more, and you are going to want better."

Continuing reading on HuffPost Food.

• Man Eats Pizza, and Nothing But Pizza, for a Month [Grub Street New York]
• McDonald's Forgets How To Spell Its Own Name [Huffington Post]
• Restaurant Chains Step Up Social Media Strategies [NRN]
• Aramark Among World's Most Ethical Companies [CatererSearch]
• The James Beard Foundation Was a Category on Jeopardy! [Eater]