Spotted: Top Chef Tiffani Faison, Home on the Range

Guys and dolls...it's been a while.  But things have been banging.

Want to know where we've been?

Montana, y'all. AKA Man-tana. That's right New York ladies, the ratio of men to women in Big Sky country is something like 4:1 and the drinking age is seemingly as soon as you can ride a horse. (Which is like, 5 or something.)

That means a lot of eating, drinking and...fire-making.

And while we were not there to let any cowboys take us away, we did have the pleasure of attending the Montana Master Grillers weekend at The Resort at Paws Up (a luxe resort known for glamping) over Memorial Day Weekend, where Top Chefs Tiffani Faison and Ed Lee competed in a Bad Ass Burger Dash, created wine, beer and cider-paired dinners and engaged in highly imaginative karaoke acts. We respectfully chose not to post a video.

We think all that protein inspires greater range. Yeehaw!

"Mad Men" Party Guide: Wine Enthusiast

"Mad Men" is arguably the most stylish show on TV. Celebrate the Season 4 opener (July 25, AMC) with these cocktail party tips, from winemag.com.

We Predict...

...a pepper in your future.

And a flamboyantly dressed, over-excited gourmand who gets experts like fortune tellers, actors, and Parliament members to aide in his decision-making about haute cuisine.

Alright, we admit it. We're obsessed with all things Iron Chef Japan. And we thank the heavens every day for the fact that Fine Living brought back our fave show.

But we wondered, what ever happened to Iron Chef's cantankerous judge, our fave fortune teller, Kazuko Hosoki?

After some extensive research, we learned that Hosoki is now reportedly the world's top seller of fortune telling books, with over 100 titles to her name. Additionally, she was host of several related TV shows in Japan, including "Zubari Wa Yo (I will say it straight)” , a show where Hosoki made outrageous psychic predictions and often told disbelievers that they would "go to hell".

Awww....we love you Hosoki!

Although Hosoki was like the original Simon Cowell (albeit with psychic powers), the show, sadly, is now off the air.

But we wondered, what if Food Network asks her to be a guest judge on Top Chef America? We're just saying...it would make for some great TV.

Iron Chef Japan is on 10pm E/P time weekdays on Fine Living Network.

http://www.fineliving.com/fine/iron_chef_japan/0,3182,FINE_31256,00.html

Ewe Should Be Excited: Taste of Tribeca Lamb Cook Off

This weekend, I covered the Taste of Tribeca's first-ever lamb cook off for AOL's food blog, www.slashfood.com, starring two ba-ad-ass chefs, Leah Cohen (of Top Chef fame) and Kurt Gutennbrunner (Wallse/Blaue Gans).

The teeny tent drew a terrific crowd of enthused foodies, who tried not to drool while watching the chefs grill American lamb sirloin over a gigantic grill. The chefs were given 30 minutes to wow the judges (including another Top Chef star, Gail Simmons) with 1 killer dish--using just the ingredients found in the pantry provided for them, plus one secret ingredient.

So who won the challenge? Find out at: http://www.slashfood.com/2009/05/18/taste-of-tribecas-lamb-cook-off-mutton-wrong-with-competition/

Funniest Food Commercials

Jennie-O: Woman Vs. Turkey | Viral | SPIKE.com

We took an informal poll on the funniest food comercials out there. And by informal, we mean, very informal...we polled the people standing by our watercooler this morning. The funniest food commercial was agreed to be the Jennie O turkey commercial. Think you have something funnier? Send it along to me at lexk75@gmail.com

Smellivision!

Emeril is always talking about Smellivision...and it cracks us up everytime.

Soon, though, you might actually be able to smell your fave cooking shows, instead of just watching them on TV (or actually cooking something, 'natch).

This futuristic looking helmet (pictured) was devised by British scientists to re-create the sights and smells of far flung destinations, but we think it would be better suited to send to you straight to Kitchen Stadium (what does eel ice cream smell like, anyway)? We want to know!

So how would this smell-helmet work?

According to ixplora.com, "a tube connected to a box of chemicals releases smells under the wearer’s nose, while a similar device can spray flavours directly into the mouth and provide a texture sensation."

Texture sensation! It's almost like eating!

Professor Alan Chalmers, of Warwick University, said the headset should be ready within five years.

Let the countdown begin.

For more information: http://www.ixplora.com/the-headset-that-will-make-the-virtual-world-as-convincing-as-real-life/

New Food Network Line Up

It's that time of year again, foodies.

1. Our fave channel, the Food Network (duh!) has finally listed its lineup...and here are some of our favorite new shows:

What Would Bryan Boitano Make?: (Seriously?) Yes, it's true. The Canadian Olympic champ plans to skate into your heart this August with a daytime show about cooking for events (with a new 'challenge' every episode). We can't wait to skip work and see what this character is going to come up with! Added points for the South Park reference. And did we mention we heart figure skating Canadian cooks?

Foods That Changed The World: If Alton Brown's scholarly shtick doesn't drive you up a wall, you'll love this mini-series (set to debut in 2010) about food that...you guessed it...changed the world. We hope there will be a strong emphasis on mead.

Worst Cooks in America: Celebrity Chefs Anne Burrell and Beau MacMillan will try to transform six hopeless cooks into kitchen superstars in just 10 days! Think of this as a Queer Eye for the Straight Guy without the hair 'szhuszhing' and inappropriate, tight jeans (we hope).

The Next Iron Chef: This October, Chefs will compete for instant fame--with one lucky contestant joining the ranks of Bobby Flay, Cat Cora, and the MIA Mario Batali (where did he go?). We hope Season Two gives us more superfluous back flips from the Chairman. We love that guy.