Author: Mike Farley (Page 19 of 52)

      Chopped All-Stars Ups The Ante

      March 3, 2012 /

      If you watched last year’s “Chopped All Stars” on Food Network, you know that it was riveting and must-see TV. I, for one, was thrilled to see some of the judges, who were generally very difficult to please and very hard on the contestants, have to compete and see what it was like on the other side. But even better, in addition to the “judges” round, there were three other rounds with themes–former contestants on “Food Network Star,” for instance, and then one final round featuring the four winners. Former “Next Iron Chef” contestant Nate Appleman won last year’s inaugural crown.

      So of course, Food Network had to make Season 2 of “Chopped All Stars” (premiering Sunday, April 8th) bigger and better. Seriously, if you are a Food Network junkie, you’re going to freak when you see this list. Here, I’ll just lift it right from the network’s press release:

      Part 1, “Iron Chefs Do Battle” Premieres Sunday, April 8th at 9pm ET/PT
      Competitors: Iron Chefs Cat Cora, Marc Forgione, Jose Garces and Michael Symon
      Judges: Scott Conant, Aarón Sanchez, Geoffrey Zakarian

      Part 2, “Prime Time vs. Day Time” Premieres Sunday, April 15th at 9pm ET/PT
      Competitors: Show hosts Keegan Gerhard (Food Network Challenge), Jeffrey Saad (United Tastes of America, Cooking Channel), Aarti Sequeira (Aarti Party) and Marcela Valladolid (Mexican Made Easy)
      Judges: Amanda Freitag, Aarón Sanchez, Geoffrey Zakarian

      Part 3, “Food Network Star Contestants” Premieres Sunday, April 22nd at 9pm ET/PT
      Competitors: Food Network Star Season Seven Finalists Justin Balmes, Penny Davidi, Vic “Vegas” Moea and Chris Nirschel
      Judges: Scott Conant, Amanda Freitag, Aarón Sanchez

      Part 4, “Judge Remix” Premieres Sunday, April 29th at 9pm ET/PT
      Competitors: Chopped judges Alex Guarnaschelli, Marc Murphy, Marcus Samuelsson and Chris Santos
      Judges: Amanda Freitag, Aarón Sanchez, Geoffrey Zakarian

      Part 5, “Grand Finale” Premieres Sunday, May 6th at 9pm ET/PT
      Competitors: Prior episode winners
      Judges: Anne Burrell, Amanda Freitag, Aarón Sanchez

      I mean, seriously? The “Judge Remix” round is going to be awesome, but really, all of them are compelling themes. If you saw “Food Network Star” last year, you know that Penny Davidi is a great cook but also a drama queen who is sure to add to the ratings.

      And if you’re not familiar with “Chopped,” the show is hosted by Ted Allen, and the four contestants have 20 minutes to cook an appetizer using four items in a mystery basket, after which one contestant is “chopped,” or eliminated. Then the remaining three cook an entree in 30 minutes, and the two finalists have 20 minutes to make a dessert. The producers of the show, of course, find all kinds of weird ingredients and put items together that should never go together (for example–jelly beans, fish, purple carrots and potato chips). But that adds to the fun.

      So there you have it–another great season of “Chopped All Stars” awaits next month. Will you be watching?

      Chefs and Restaurants, Food TV, Video

      Product review: Hormel Mary Kitchen 50% less fat Corned Beef Hash

      February 28, 2012 /

      Chef JimJust in time for St. Patrick’s Day, right? I popped open a can of Hormel Mary Kitchen 50% less fat Corned Beef Hash for lunch today, and it was awesome. What I did was to empty half a can into a skillet sprayed with cooking spray, and cooked on medium heat for about ten minutes with flipping it. That made the bottom nice and crispy, and then I flipped it over to crisp the other side. After about five more minutes, I cracked an egg on top and let that cook until set, added salt and pepper, and instant lunch! Of course, this is a food more suited for breakfast, but there are no rules here at Mikey’s Kitchen.

      I didn’t compare this against the full fat version of this hash, but this one had less fat (I believe 7 grams per serving). However, it was still 290 calories, so if you’re watching your weight, you should keep this one on the shelf.

      Anyway, the tasty combo of tiny cubes of corned beef and potatoes was filling and delicious, and even better crisped up with the egg on top. This is a good thing to keep on hand for hangover food or to impress your house guests.

      Grocery stores, Product Reviews, Your Kitchen

      Product review: Pringles Xtreme Blastin’ Buffalo Wing

      February 23, 2012 /

      Chef JimI’ve said this a million times, but I could live on wing sauce. I could drink it. I could eat it on every food known to man. I use it in recipes, I put it in my chili or in my soup. I douse food with it. I dip wings in it that don’t have wing sauce. And I love foods that use it, commercial foods or otherwise.

      Such a food is Pringles Xtreme Blastin’ Buffalo Wing potato crisps (don’t call them chips, I think it’s illegal or something). I bought a stack of these today and they are true to the original flavor–that tangy, peppery, spicy, salty deliciousness. But it’s not doused–instead it’s kind of sprinkled and/or caked on each crisp. And so you get the flavor blast in addition to the subtle Pringle’s potato taste. This is good snack food–not necessarily good for you, but good tasting, good-with-beer, good-with-sandwich, good-with-late-night-anything snack food.

      If you like Pringles and you like wings, why are you still reading this? Go buy a can/stack now and watch them disappear!

      Grocery stores, Product Reviews, Tailgating

      Taco baked potato

      February 20, 2012 /

      Sometimes you have no idea what to make for dinner, and it’s getting late in the day. Lately, that’s happened a lot to me. I work from home and do most of the cooking in our house, so I’m usually planning and cooking, and trying to time things for when my wife gets home from work. Recently I had some ground turkey and didn’t know what to do with it, and had to think something up. We had some nice baking potatoes, and I’m one of those people who does not believe in microwaving potatoes–blech. So I popped two potatoes in the oven, and using some taco mix we had on hand, made taco meat with the ground turkey. And what was born? A combo that I’m surely not the first person to think of–a taco baked potato. This combines two awesome food items and it’s pretty healthy, so long as you’re not counting carbs.

      Here is what to do–rinse the potatoes, and pierce them a few times with a fork. Bake at 450 degrees for an hour or so. Meanwhile, with about 15 minutes left on the potato cooking time, make the taco meat according to package directions. Shred some cheddar cheese (or used pre-shredded cheddar or Mexican blend cheese), and gather taco items such as chopped tomatoes, olives, jalapenos, sour cream and either salsa or taco sauce. You can also add chopped avocado as I did, and/or cilantro. Really, you can use your imagination or anything you have on hand. The only item that goes in tacos that might not be good here would be lettuce, since it would wilt when added to a piping hot potato.

      So cut the potatoes in half, mash them a bit and then top with the meat and other toppings. Dinner is served!

      Food on a Budget, Healthy, Ingredients, Recipes, Your Kitchen

      Back in action

      February 14, 2012 /

      Hey everyone……my apologies for falling off the grid…..I had back surgery last week and am trying to get back to normal. So I wanted to start by mentioning a few things about hospital food. This was my second surgery in a year after not having any the first few decades of my life. Both times I got to go home the same day, but both times they fed me first. I mean, you can’t leave on an empty stomach, right? And guess what the foods are you get to enjoy after being in an induced sleep for several hours and after being injected with all kinds of crazy meds?

      Jell-O, graham crackers and saltines. And some cola with lots of crushed ice to keep hydrated. Yum! But wouldn’t you know that stuff all tastes great right at that time. I think I asked for seconds and thirds of the graham crackers. It’s funny, though surgery and pain are nothing to laugh about really.

      That said, I’m healing and I’m really getting my appetite back, which is a great thing if you like to hang out here and read some of what I write. So it’s coming, I promise. Thanks for your patience and let’s eat!

      Food on a Budget, Healthy, Uncategorized

      « Older posts Newer posts »

      © 2026 Mikey’s Kitchen

      Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑