Weekly Menu

Food Network is celebrating their 20th birthday this month and they had a celebration show last night.  It was funny to see how the network started!  The idea came from the people behind CNN since there were so many news stories about food in the early 90s, so Food Network started more as a food news channel with a couple professional restaurant chefs teaching America how to cook.  Emeril came, and bam, Food Network went from strictly informative to entertaining as well.  They started adding chefs that didn't own their own restaurants and weren't widely known that the home cook could relate to... enter Rachel Ray, Sandra Lee, and Bobby Flay.  Then travel shows took over prime time (think $40 a Day with Rachel Ray and Food 911 with Tyler Florence), which transitioned to our current competition shows like Chopped and Cupcake Wars.  What a change!

Just think about how Food Network has brought attention to home cooking!  Without it, I might still think making Kraft mac & cheese still qualified as a from scratch kind of meal... haha.  Definitely a game changer teaching us how to cook a nourishing meal quickly and restaurant trick to making flavorful meals.

Part of their 20th birthday celebration is 20 days of giveaways!  Enter here for a chance to win one of the 20 trips to South Beach for Food Network's Food and Wine Fest in February!

Any way... our Thanksgiving turkey came on Friday from Green BEAN delivery (holy three bin delivery this week, Batman)... it's taking up most of my freezer!  The feast we spend the most time planning and cooking is only 17 days away... time to start planning!  



And now to plan this week...

coq au riesling
jerk chicken tacos
creamy gnocchi soup
mini taco pies
creamy dijon chicken and brussel sprouts