I love throwing dinner parties! In fact, next weekend, I’m having a special “unveiling” party for the Limoncello we’ve been making. I have no idea what to make to complement all of that lemony goodness but I’ll figure it out. Thankfully my parties don’t involve the intensely brutal awkwardness that last night’s fabulous episode of The Office berated us with. It’s been so long since seeing a new episode that I think my body and mind forgot how completely uncomfortable it can be to watch. I squirmed and squeeled and covered my eyes in mortification throughout the entire 30 minutes. But I loved every last second of it! What did you guys think? I loved the last scene when Angela smashed her ice cream all over the side of Andy’s car, and of course the fact that Jan made Osso Buco which had to be braised for 3 hours! Ahhh! The torture! It was classic.

Zane Lamprey cracks me up. He’s like the frat boy big brother I always wished I’d had. Zane and I were first introduced last fall when my boyfriend and I finally purchased our first HDTV. As many of you are aware, once you have HDTV you’ll pretty much watch anything in high definition from The Secret Life of Garden Gnomes to Paint By Numbers with Bob Vila — as long as it’s in crystal clear HD you’ll tune in. MOJO is an HD only channel that our cable company offers. It airs a ton of extremely random programming including a hilarious drinking centric show called Three Sheets.

Three Sheets is essentially Zane Lamprey doing a boozed up travelogue. His job, as he likes to describe it, “Is to drink.” I love to giggle along to his shenanigans with a companionable glass of wine in hand. One of my favorite episodes aired recently and it involved a trip to Japan and the impressive consumption of what appeared to be gallons of Sake.

Not only is Zane a sure thing TiVo season pass on Mojo, but he’s also just premiered a brand new show on The Food Network called Have Fork Will Travel. The episode I caught involved Zane’s adventures in Marseilles, France. He chatted up the locals, tried some traditional bouillabaisse, ate six pounds of local cheese, and drank a lot of wine. I thoroughly enjoyed his slightly more sober commentary, even if I did miss seeing the traditional “Morning After: Zane’s Got a Hangover” scenes. I think I may have a bit of a crush on the dopey dude, but in between the debauchery and sarcasm are actual quality shows with intriguing locations and little known facts to wow your friends with.

(Originally posted on the Well Fed Network’s blog Edible TV)

I’ve been sick in bed with a nasty head cold all day but when I saw this post on BBC News it totally cheered me up. It appears Jamie Oliver is shopping around a whimsical cartoon that portrays himself as a curious 10-year-old wannabe chef who is thwarted in his kitchen endeavors by the evil Eggs Benedict. Joining Jamie in his colorful culinary adventures will also be Nonna (a kitchen Obi-Wan Kenobi type) and a depressed ham. No word yet on what the ham will be known by, but might I suggest they refrain from “Hamlet.” Seriously though, sign me up! I have to see this. And now I have yet another reason to be jealous of the BBC.

I think we can all agree that Hell’s Kitchen is the consummate train wreck of culinary reality TV. But if this is the case, why am I, and so many other people completely addicted? I even have a season pass set for it on Tivo. Do we tune in en masse each week just to watch grossly under-qualified cooks be shamed and ridiculed by Gordon Ramsay? Why do I care if Julia can actually make a Beef Wellington correctly, and when are these people ever going to get that nasty looking pea risotto perfected? Probably never, but after sticking with the show all summer long, they’re finally down to the final two contestants. Pastry chef, Jen Yemola was axed this week and now Ramsay has pitted Rock Harper, the clear odds-on favorite who is already an experienced Executive Chef, against Bonnie Muirhead, the whiny and perky Nanny/Personal Chef. Now I’d like to think that Rock will win. Obviously he’s the individual with the most appropriate resume to run a restaurant, but my odds are on cute as a button Bonnie and her wide eyed ingenue-in-the-kitchen act. Who do you think will walk away victorious from Hell’s Kitchen, and who will Gordon Ramsay browbeat into tears? Tune in next week to find out!

(Originally posted on the Well Fed Network’s blog Edible TV)