Last week on Top Chef: New York, Christmas came early for the chefs, as the Quick Fire involved cooking for television host, author, and magazine publisher Martha Stewart. Once again, Ariane took the prize for another simple yet tasty dish.

Then, for the challenge, the chefs had to use their skills to give back to the community by catering a Christmas cocktail party hosted by special guest judge, actress and foodie Natasha Richardson, for amfAR, the foundation for AIDS research.

While Hosea won, Eugene, Melissa and Jamie were at the bottom. Luckily, the judges showed mercy and let everyone stay to cook another day.

Check out Gail Simmon’s blog about this episode here.

Looks like Christmas Week the show is not airing a new ep, so be sure to check your local listings so you won’t miss the next new episode.

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Leave it to New York City to not only host one of the coolest foodie events ever, but also provide the backdrop for the ever-addictive “Top Chef” on Bravo.

But before we talk boob tube, let’s talk festival.

Thursday, October 9, through Sunday, October 12, The Food Network New York City Wine & Food Festival takes a bite out of the Big Apple.

The festival, presented by Food & Wine magazine, is the only festival in New York to bring together both legendary culinary icons from around the globe and America’s most beloved television chefs. 

Festival History
In 2002 the Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival made its debut in Miami. Seven years later it’s grown into one of the largest cultural events of the year featuring the best and brightest stars of the culinary world. This year the festival pays homage to one of the greatest restaurant cities in the world–New York City.

The Food Network New York City Wine & Food Festival mirrors the charitable component of South Beach, benefiting the hunger relief programs Food Bank for New York City and Share Our Strength (100 percent of the net proceeds from the festival will go directly to these community based initiatives).

Taking place primarily in the Meatpacking District and select landmark settings such as the DUMBO section of Brooklyn, the festival will seamlessly integrate into the pace and lifestyle of the city. This year’s talents include Rachael Ray, Paula Deen, Giada De Laurentiis, Tyler Florence, Alton Brown, Masaharu Morimoto, Guy Fieri, Bobby Flay, Ferran Adria, Patrick & Gina Neely, Alain Ducasse, Gordon Ramsey and Nigella Lawson to name a few.

For more informatino about the festival, or to buy tickets, click here.

Then, set your DVRs for Wednesday, November 12 at 10 p.m. ET/PT, as Bravo Television kicks off season five of “Top Chef” with “Top Chef: New York”.

“Top Chef: New York” will also feature guest appearances by several culinary and mainstream stars including Martha Stewart, The Foo Fighters, Jean-Georges, Eric Ripert, Rocco DiSpirito, Wylie Dufresne, Jean-Christophe Novelli and Natasha Richardson.

The 17 “Top Chef: New York” contestants are:
 
- Alex, a 33-year-old executive chef from New York who currently resides in Los Angeles.

- Ariane, a 41-year-old chef and restaurant owner from Verona, NJ.

- Carla, a 44-year-old chef and catering business owner from Nashville who currently resides in Washington, D.C.

- Danny, a 26-year-old executive chef from New Hyde Park, NY.

- Fabio, a 30-year-old restaurant owner from Florence, Italy who currently resides in Moorpark, CA.

- Gene, a 33-year-old executive sushi chef and chef consultant from Whitmore Village, HI who currently resides in Las Vegas.

- Hosea, a 26-year-old executive chef and restaurant owner from Taos, NM who currently resides in Boulder, CO.

- Jamie, a 30-year-old executive chef from New York who currently resides in San Francisco.

- Jeff, a 30-year-old chef du cuisine from Niceville, FL who currently resides in Miami.

- Jill, a 28-year-old executive chef from Latrobe, PA who currently resides in Baltimore, MD.

- Lauren, a 24-year-old chef tournant from Cincinnati, OH who is currently stationed at Fort Stewart in Georgia.

- Leah, a 27-year-old sous chef from Scarsdale, NY who currently resides in New York.

- Melissa, a 28-year-old sous chef from Maryland who currently resides in Boulder, CO.

- Patrick, a 21-year-old culinary student from Quincy, MA who currently resides in Hyde Park, NY.

- Radhika, a 28-year-old executive chef from Chicago.

- Richard, a 27-year-old executive sous chef from Long Island who currently resides in San Diego.

- Stefan, a 35-year-old chef from Tampere, Finland who currently resides in Santa Monica, CA.

I can hardly wait!

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Even if you try to grow organic produce in your garden, you could be tainting it with lead from your garden hose.

PVC is what’s typically used to make garden hoses, as well as the brass nozzles on hoses, and in producing PVC, lead is often added as a stabilizer.

The hot sun can make thing even worse because heat can cause hoses to leach even higher levels of lead. Experts recommend flushing the water out of a hose that’s been sitting before using it.

Or you can just avoid the issue altogether by using a special hose (like those commonly used by RV and boat owners) that don’t contain lead and are deemed safe for drinking water.

Thanks in part to this lawsuit, packaging for garden hoses should now indicate if they are safe for drinking. In addition, warning labels on any hoses that can cause exposure above the standard carry a prominent warning label reading, “Do not drink water from this hose. Wash hands after use.”

If you can’t find a drinking safe garden hose at a retailer near you, you can buy one online here. That way, your hard gardening work won’t get washed down the drain.

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May is National Salad Month, a time to celebrate warmer weather with fresh produce. The rule of thumb is the more colorful your salad is, the healthier it will be.

But there’s also a common misconception that as long as you’re eating a salad, you’re making a healthy choice. For the most part, that can be true until it comes time to add the dressing. 

All nutritional value gets thrown out the window the second a thick, creamy ranch dressing douses your salad.  Using the wrong kind of dressing can add as many calories as a cheeseburger to your healthy intentions. 

However, you don’t have to sacrifice taste along with calories. You can make your own Ranch, Thousand Island or Caesar dressing right at home.  It’s easy, delicious, nutritious and inexpensive!

Creamy Ranch Dressing

1 ¼ cups soymilk
12 oz silken tofu, drained
1 oz package ranch salad dressing

Mix the ingredients together, and you have a low-fat, protein-filled ranch dressing.  In a ¼ cup there are only 48 calories, as opposed to regular Ranch dressing which contains 140 calories in 2 tablespoons, or 280 calories for ¼ cup.

Thousand Island Dressing

12 oz silken tofu, drained
¼ cup water
2 tablespoons of white vinegar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
6 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoons chopped sweet pickles
¼ cup chopped green pepper
2 tablespoons chopped green onion.

After combining the tofu, water, vinegar, lemon juice and chili sauce in a blender, stir in the pickles, green peppers and onions.  For ¼ cup, there are 50 calories, 3 grams of soy protein and 7 grams of carbohydrates as opposed to regular Thousand Island that has 59 calories per tablespoon or 236 calories in a ¼ cup.

Caesar Dressing

3 garlic cloves, preferably large
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 ¼ cups cubed firm silken tofu
¼ cup lemon juice (about 1 lemon)
½ teaspoon salt
¾ cup extra-virgin olive oil
Freshly ground pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients. There are 17 calories per serving,  1.4 grams protein, 1.6 total carbohydrates and .4 grams of fiber.

Recipes are courtesy of The Soyfoods Council.      

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