Paula Deen

Anthony Bourdain Moving To CNN

Anthony Bourdain has been everywhere, eaten everything, and held various titles of increasing influence, including Executive Chef at a NYC restaurant, best-selling author, Emmy-winning travel show host, and publisher. Now the man who makes news with his exploits and quips (see his comments on the Pa ... More >>

Anthony Bourdain To Collaborate With Olive Garden Reviewer

Bourdain. Bourdain. Bourdain. The Travel Channel host, ex-chef and author people seem to like to label a "bad boy" and "foul-mouthed" has been everywhere these past couple of days. He was on The Daily Show last week plugging the new season of No Reservations, but he's also been revealing a lot in in ... More >>

New Crop of Food Network Shows To Look Forward To (Or Not)

Last week, The Food Network had its upfronts, an event which allowed its advertisers to preview planned TV shows and buy airtime. But to us outside the ad industry, it gives a whiff of what new things are in store for the old TiVo to record (or not to record).Among the more interesting, if not eyebr ... More >>

Paula Deen Releases a Healthy Cookbook (LOL)

​So Paula Deen is a spokeswoman for the fight against diabetes and the world is like OMFG. But look! The butter-slathering celebrity chef is making some big diet changes--check out this preview for her new, healthy cookbook! 

[UPDATE: Paula Explains on Today] Paula Deen Is Diabetic -- and Cashing In

​ UPDATE, JAN. 17, 9:30 A.M.  In this morning's appearance on The Today Show, Deen clears up a few details. She's a paid spokesperson for Novo Nordisk, not Novartis. Al Roker lobbed a few pointed questions, and Deen revealed she kept her diagnosis from the public for three years whi ... More >>

Is Nothing Sacred, 'Joyful Noise'?

The godly union of Dolly Parton and Queen Latifah gets sullied

This Week In Food: The Loogie In The Deputy's Burger; Bruxie is a National Treasure; Creepy Corn Flakes

​ I'd like to take the time to welcome our newest Forker, Charles Lam, to our blog. He made his debut to day and he's already caused foodie-discourse in the comments. Welcome!Now on to our weekly round up of what happened this week on the blog!

Five Stupidly Awesome Thanksgiving Recipes

​Thanksgiving has a few connotations in our society: family, togetherness, getting together, being grateful; oppression and decimation of a native people; and, of course, the stupid crap we do to food in order to get it on the table. Ask anyone who has worked in an emergency room for longer than 1 ... More >>

On the Line: The Men of the Burnt Truck, Part One

Photo by Meranda Carter​When we suggested the guys behind local luxe lonchera the Burnt Truck split up the answers, it wasn't until after the fact we realized all three (Paul Cao, Phi Nguyen and Minh Pham) submitted answers to the entire questionnaire. So this week, we flex our keyboarding muscles ... More >>

Paula Deen Has a Butter-Flavored Lip Balm

Holly Bailey​​It exists, y'all. For those who've wondered what it's like to make out with a stick of butter, there's a lip balm for that. Writer Holly Bailey spotted the $1.99 novelty at Paula Deen's store in Savannah, Georgia. The slogan: "Put a little South on your mouth!" Pucker up.  ... More >>

Carla Hall at the OC Fair: The Interview!

​ Despite the plethora of entertainment options to chose from (judging by the excess of nosh and the impressive line up all-star chef guest speakers) food is the star attraction at the O.C. Fair. Last Thursday, Duff Goldman (of Ace of Cakes fame) kicked off the O.C. Fair Chef Series ... More >>

On the Line: Renzo Macchiavello of Renzo's A Taste of Peru, Part One

Photo by Kevin Lara​Trying to sit down with Renzo is a sight to see. Shaking our hand, quipping with a customer, working with a vendor and responding to a text is a post-lunch breather for this social businessman. He runs both a catering company and Peruvian establishment, the latter hidden in the ... More >>

Dueling Dishes: Battle Dutch Baby

by Anne Marie PanoringanPlums​There's something about a Dutch baby. The grandiose brekkie that draws stares from diners as it makes its way to your table. The poofy circumference height similar to a successful souffle, combined with the sunken base of a lackluster one. Then there are the toppings: ... More >>

100 Reasons to Be Ecstatic About Summer In OC!

Summer here is bliss, better than anyplace else in the States

Recipe of the Week: Old-Fashioned Pound Cake

Dave LiebermanA slice of the two-pan version with brandied cherries​Otis Spunkmeyer? Sara Lee? Entenmann's? This is what pound cake has become? Even the recipes available on the Internet contain all kinds of fillers, stretchers and leaveners. My grandmother, may she rest in peace, must be rolling ... More >>

On The Line: Jay DiEugenio From BACON MANia, Part One

Kevin Lara​Who doesn't love a slice of bacon? Chewy with extra grease, or baked crisp, Shuji-style, its universal appeal is probably only outnumbered by oxygen. It was a matter of time before a luxe lonchera came along to steal the snout-loving diners of Orange County. Half of the visionary duo BA ... More >>

How Many Calories Are There In One Moon of Gravy?

​Oh, Internet, I love you. Not only can Wolfram Alpha (the computational search engine that is the darling of scientists and geeks everywhere) answer the question above posited on Twitter by @hell0jed, but you allow for the knowledge of the existence of people who would ask questions like this.

On the Line: Jenny Ross of 118 Degrees, Part One

​ 118 Degrees is a place I've been meaning to try since it first opened, but that doesn't mean I haven't been fantasizing about their Restaurant Week menus every year. Jenny Ross is the brains and beauty behind this vegan gem, and this week we have the opportunity to learn more about her backgroun ... More >>

On the Line: Arturo Briones of Wildfish, Part One

Photo by Kevin Lara​Wildfish, for a lot of people (including myself), is known for its generous Happy Hour--one of the best in OC. The discounts extend later than most and continue on the weekends. But it should also be known for its seafood and the man who makes it sing. Here, we talk with exec ... More >>

Hong Kong Launches its First Nude Cooking Show, Naked Chef (NSFW Video)

​Perhaps taking a cue from Ron Jeremy's food porno, a new cooking show will feature its chef in the buff.     It's not Paula Deen. Phew!Flora Cheung, a model with no formal culinary training, is the sizzlin' host of Naked Chef (not to be confused with Jamie Oliver's old series) ... More >>

Paula Deen Wants to Massage Your Butt

Courtesy of John Trussell​Rule 34 says that if it exists, there is porn of it.Paula Deen's food exists.This, seen in a kitchen store in New Hampshire, is not helping. It's a dry seasoning for pork butts, and that's definitely not helping.Allow us to suggest ideas for similar items destined for oth ... More >>

Five Reasons to Like Bobby Flay

​Celebrity chef Bobby Flay is coming to South Coast Plaza this week (see end of blog post for event info!) to promote his latest book, and again: I won't be able to attend a food celebrity's gracing of our backwater 'burbs because the day job beckons. I don't have any pressing questions for the ma ... More >>

Seasons 52 Scores

Its butter-deficient, low-calorie cuisine sounds like Paula Deen's private hell

Stephanie Morgan of Seabirds, Part One

Photo by Kimberly Valenzuela There's a lot of interesting stories behind our local food truck scene. Stephanie Morgan's is one of them. To start the Seabirds--OC's one and only vegan gourmet food truck--this entrepreneur gave up a plum job at a New York City investment firm. Today we ask our s ... More >>

Matching Food Network Stars with their TBN Alter Egos!

​​I see Food Network shows occasionally, about as much as I watch the Trinity Broadcasting Network. Maybe I'm just a fool (actually, I am!), maybe I've seen too much of each channel, but some of their star personalities start melding into each other until the TBN and the FN personalities are ind ... More >>

Craig Connole of House Of Big Fish and Ice Cold Beer, Part One

Photo by Tracy Powell ​House of Big Fish and Ice Cold Beer has managed to achieve the seemingly impossible: affordable seafood in Laguna Beach. And it does it with that tongue-planted-firmly-in-cheek name that's as fun to say as it probably took them to make up. The chef and ... More >>

Jonathan Munsayac of Tranquil Tea Lounge, Part 1

Photo by Kimberly Valenzuela​Jonathan Munsayac and Michellee Phelps are the siblings behind Tranquil Tea Lounge, a loose-leaf tea bar which has become a sort of refuge in Downtown Fullerton for those who aren't feeling up to getting drunk at its many rock & roll bars or boozy cantinas. At t ... More >>

Five Food Network Shows First In Line For Reanimation

Believe it or not, children, there was a time when the Food Network actually concentrated on teaching people to cook. The idea of ten hours a day of inane food "battles" was unheard of, Iron Chef still came to us from campy Japan, the appetite suppressant known as Sandra Lee hadn't yet created her f ... More >>

Real Women Have Curves

Long Beach Playhouse

On the Line: Mark McDonald of Old Vine Cafe

​The McDonald brothers, Mark and Brandon, run Old Vine Cafe in Costa Mesa in a Manichean fashion: be nice, they treat you like gods. Be mean, they'll let the mick in them take over. I like them--otherwise, we wouldn't have named them the best restaurant in OC for 2009. And I'm glad to say they're ... More >>

[Year In Review] Of Taco Trucks and Votes That Suck: 2009 On Our Stick a Fork In It Food Blog

Ellie Krieger to Give Demo, Signing at SCP

​You know, it's never too early to be a buzzkill. New Year's resolution season is coming soon, and if, like just about everyone else in the world, one of your goals is to eat healthier food, you might want to come meet Ellie Krieger.Krieger, who is the host of Food Network's "Healthy Appetite" (on ... More >>

On the Line: Marc Cohen of Watermarc

watermarcrestaurant.com Marc Cohen's newest restaurant, Watermarc, is a flat out hit, even by Laguna Beach standards.  If you haven't heard of it, you will.  And if you haven't had his food, you need to.Here are his answers for our list of 8 frivolous questions.1. Dish that you cook that ... More >>