Food Network Celebrities: My Top 3 Picks with Recipes

I admit over the past year I have become a really big fan of the Food Network.I used to tease my grandparents because that was all they woulw watch besides games shows and the news.After watching a few episodes I got hooked,the many shows and diverse chefs offer a plethera of ideas,everything from a romantic dinner to themed party ideas and pic nic lunches.

I have a few favorites that I would like to showcase,they are all writers of their own cookbooks,TV personalities and restaurant owners.First off the down home southern gal Paula Deen. She learned all of cooking schools the old school way from her mother and grandmother.When the road was rocky for her and her boys she started off making sandwiches and soups having her boys go door to door to sell them just to make ends meat earning her the nickname "The Bag Lady."

In 1996 she opened her restaurant The Lady and Sons which was named in USA Today in 1999 as the "International Meal of the Year".Paula has two shows on the Food Network Paulas Home Cooking and Paulas Party.Her charming fun attitude of knowing no stranger has made her loved by many.

Beef Bourbon Y'all Recipe courtesy Paula DeenShow: Paula's PartyEpisode: Paula-fy It
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 pounds beef chuck, cut into 2-inch cubes
House Seasoning, recipe follows
1/2 cup diced green bell pepper
1/2 cup diced onions
1/2 cup diced celery
1/2 cup bourbon
1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes with their juice
2 to 3 cups beef stock
1 cup corn kernels
1 cup green beans, trimmed and cut in 1/2
2 cups quartered new red potatoes
Salt and pepper

Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven or heavy pot with a lid. Season the meat all over with House Seasoning and sear in a single layer. Remove the beef to a plate and add the green bell pepper, onion and celery to the pot and saute until softened. Return the beef back to the pot and add the bourbon, diced tomatoes and enough stock to cover the beef. Bring up to a boil and then lower to a simmer with the lid on ajar. Simmer for 2 hours or until beef is very tender. Then add the corn, green beans and red potatoes. Simmer 10 to 20 minutes until the vegetables are tender. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper.

House Seasoning:
1 cup salt
1/4 cup black pepper
1/4 cup garlic powder

Mix ingredients together and store in an airtight container for up to 6 months.

Italian-American Mario Batali,chef,restaurant owner,tv host and writer.Marios love for food and entertaining ways of cooking lead to his popularity.He started out as a chefs aprrentice in Italy for 3 years and opened his first restaurant Po in 1993 and since then he has opened Babbo Ristorante,Lupa,Esca Vent and Del Posto as well as a wine shop.In 2005 he won the James Beard Award for "Outstanding Chef".He is one of the four featured chefs on the Food Network TV series Iron Chef:America as well as host to his own shows Molto Mario,Ciao America and Mario Eats Italy.

Crab Tortelloni Recipe copyright 2001, Mario Batali. All rights reserved.Show: Molto MarioEpisode: San Valentino 1 pound fresh crab meat
8 scallions, thinly sliced
1/4 cup basic tomato sauce, recipe follows
1 recipe basic pasta, rolled out to thinnest setting, recipe follows
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1-tablespoon poppy seeds
Salt and pepper

Bring 6 quarts water to boil and add 2 tablespoons salt.

In a mixing bowl, stir together the crab, half the scallions, and basic tomato sauce until well blended.

Cut pasta into 4-inch squares and place 1 tablespoon filling in center. Fold into triangles, exude the air and seal edges. Bring points of long side together to form a ring and seal with pressure between fingers. Cook the tortelloni in the boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a 12 to 14-inch saute pan, melt the butter with the poppy seeds. Drain the cooked tortelloni carefully and gently place in pan. Add remaining scallions and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper and serve immediately.

Basic Tomato Sauce:
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 Spanish onion, chopped in 1/4 inch dice
4 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
3 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme leaves, or 1 tablespoon dried
1/2 medium carrot, finely shredded
2 (28-ounce) cans peeled whole tomatoes, crushed by hand and juices reserved
Salt

In a 3-quart saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until soft and light golden brown, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add the thyme and carrot and cook 5 minutes more, until the carrot is quite soft. Add the tomatoes and juice and bring to a boil, stirring often. Lower the heat and simmer for 30 minutes until as thick as hot cereal. Season with salt and serve. This sauce holds 1 week in the refrigerator or up to 6 months in the freezer.

Yield: 4 cups

Basic Pasta Dough:
3 1/2 to 4 cups all-purpose flour
4 extra-large eggs
1/2 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil

Mound 3 1/2 cups of the flour in the center of a large wooden cutting board. Make a well in the middle of the flour and add the eggs and the olive oil. Using a fork, beat together the eggs and oil and begin to incorporate the flour, starting with the inner rim of the well.

As you expand the well, keep pushing the flour up from the base of the mound to retain the well shape. The dough will come together when half of the flour is incorporated.

Start kneading the dough with both hands, using the palms of your hands. Once you have a cohesive mass, remove the dough from the board and scrape up and discard any leftover bits. Lightly reflour the board and continue kneading for six more minutes. The dough should be elastic and a little sticky. Wrap the dough in plastic and allow to rest for 30 minutes at room temperature.

Roll the pasta out on a pasta rolling machine to the desired thickness.

Emmy award winng Rachel Ray,TV personality,cook and writer.She has earned herself four different shows on the Food Network,30 MInute Meals,$40 a day,Inside Dish and Tasty Travels.Her book series spawned from her show 30 MInute Meals.Coming by her love for food naturally by her heritage of Italian/French/American she uses a lot fresh herbs and garlic in her dishes.She was voted fan favorite Food Network cook in 2005 by a online survey.Her catchphrases have trickled her notarity using slang as "EVOO" (extra virgin olive oil) and "My GB " referring to her garbage bowl that she uses on every episode of 30 Minute Meals.

Roasted Sausages, Peppers, and Onions with Wine, Cheesy Bread with Black Pepper Recipes courtesy Elsa Scuderi and Rachael RayShow: 30 Minute MealsEpisode: Just Like Mama Used to Make 2 1/2 pounds thin Italian sausage (the kind sold in swirl shapes, each swirl will weigh 1 1/4-pounds or so) hot and sweet varieties
Extra-virgin olive oil, for liberal drizzling plus 3 tablespoons, 3 turns of the pan
4 cloves garlic, 3 thinly sliced, 1 cracked from skin
1 red bell pepper, seeded and sliced 1/2-inch thick
1 green bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1/2-inch slices
1 large onion, 1/2-inch slices
1/4 cup tomato sauce, thinned out with water
Salt and pepper
1 loaf crusty semolina bread, split
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
Coarse black pepper
2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley, a rounded palm full

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Place sausage rings on a baking sheet and liberally drizzle extra-virgin olive oil down over them. Place in hot oven and roast until casings are crisp and juices run clear, somewhere between 15 and 20 minutes. Remove from oven to rest sausages; switch on broiler.

While sausages roast, heat a skillet over medium heat with 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil and sliced garlic. Simmer garlic in extra-virgin olive oil 2 to 3 minutes then add peppers and onions. Turn the heat up a notch, and cook until the vegetables are tender but the peppers still hold strong color, 5 to 6 minutes. Add thinned tomato sauce, salt, and pepper and reduce. Turn heat back to low and hold the veggies until the sausage comes out of the oven, a couple of minutes.

Toast the split bread, remove from oven, rub with cracked garlic, liberally drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil, and cover with cheese and lots of black pepper. Return to the broiler to brown cheese, 1 minute. Scatter parsley over the bread.

Cut bread into chunks and pile with peppers and onions then sausages. The bread will soak in the juices as you work through the sausage, peppers and onions