That pizza competition was fun to watch, very different. I didn't get a chance to watch Iron Chef last night, but I recorded it, so I'll try to watch it soon. I love all of the competitions.

I tried Alton Brown's stove top Macaroni and Cheese recipe last night, my husband loved it! If you're going to try it, read the reviews and decide for yourself, but I cut the mustard power down to 1/4 tsp and I used mild cheddar cheese.

I've been busy trying some more recipes from the Food Network website. I just made pesto the other day....yummy! I used the pesto to make chicken pesto paninis they were great. I made a basil pesto, grilled chicken breasts, put on some mozzarella cheese and grilled em up!

Am I the only one still watching this network? LOL

They are having covered in chocolate week this week, it's pretty fun to see what things besides the obvious can be make with chocolate.

Ok, I was pretty amazed at the Chocolate Challenge that they had on this weekend. I've made some basic candy before, but that was just plain crazy.

I also caught more of an episode of Ace of Cakes, they made a rat cake on a man hole cover...for a wedding? It looked pretty good, but I don't know if I'd be able to cut into the rat and eat a piece.

No...I watched quite a bit of it this weekend. I missed the rat, but saw the previews. ICK!!

Did you see the cake challenge? They had to make a wedding cake (decorate it in front of the tv cameras in something crazy like 6 hours) and the theme was the four seasons. They had to show 3 of the four seasons. It was amazing...the flowers were so lifelike.

I also saw a lot of the chocolate 'stuff' and ended up making chocolate covered pretzels (complete with valentines inspired sprinkles) and marshmallows covered in chocolate and then rolled in crushed pecans. OMG they were to die for.

I love this channel. Just haven't watched lately.

"Covered in chocolate" week??? Mmmmm...I need to tune in then...chocolate is my weakness....yummy.

I love covering goodies in chocolate, I have one of those chocolate crock pot things, and I bought a chocolate foundtain last year.

The fountain was a huge hit at a party we had, we covered pretzels, marshmallows, graham crackers, and a whole bunch of fruit. Everyone turned into a kid and began grabbing goodies to dip! If you get a small one, the fountains are only about $40, and worth it if you entertain a lot.

I'm struggling with what to make Wednesday night. I've invited my boyfriend over to have supper with me and my kids. I was originally going to try Giada's Chicken Stew (one pot, how easy!) but this weekend the boyfriend and I saw Guy's Pepperoni Lasagna and he asked me to make it some time. It's more work and I think the kids will eat it...but really liked the idea of the chicken stew being so easy. I'm also making my yummy chocolate cake with chocolate frosting...but I can do it the night before.

Has anyone tried the stew or lasagna?

Go with the stew for Wednesday night and give him a card with a ticket inside good to redeem for the lasagna...on a weekend night. Lasagna is a bit of work and not something you want to make on a weeknight when you've got hungry kids waiting.

Hint: Make a double batch of the lasagna and freeze it in a throw-away pan so next time he wants it on a Wednesday you can thaw and cook it.

I don't know what to make on Wednesday either. My husband goes to school and works full time, and Wednesdays are particularly bad this semester. Maybe I'll follow Truffle's advice and do something easy on Wed. and save a nice dinner for the weekend.

I gave up trying to cook fancy ON Valentine's Day unless it's a weekend when I can give it the time it deserves.

Thankfully there's a pizza place in town that makes heart shaped pizzas for Valentine's Day. I go the day before and pay for it and give them a card to deliver with it to him at work. He LOVES it! One year he complained because we were going to be on vacation on V-day and he was going to miss it. Whoever said the way to a guy's heart is through his stomach was talking about MOML!

That's a really cute idea!

My man went shrimping and caught a bunch! He lost count at 180 and there were still a lot more! We are def having shrimp. I'm thinking pasta as well as garlic/parm under the brolier. Yummy!! (and some cocktail to start :-))

Alright, I'm bringing this thread back...I still love The Food Network dang it!

I really have to watch it again. My daughter loves it. I just don't seem to find the time to watch it right now. I need to put more effort into watching it.

I watched the Iron Chef on Mon night, I thought the contender was better than Bobby Flay. Her food looked better and sounded better.

Got to watch Paula yesterday at her 4:00 show. I'm going to try the lemon tassies. I love lemon curd. The peach tart looked good also so I may have to try it.

Throw Down with Bobby Flay is fast becoming one of my favorites!

I love Throw Down! There is something about Bobby Flay that I really like, he seems so down to earth to me. My husband and I also enjoy watching Iron Chef and Good Eats. Actually, we enjoy most of the shows, it's one of the few networks that we agree on.

Is it just me, or is that Tyler guy getting fatter each episode?

What's with Sandra Lee on Semi-Homemade. She doesn't look the same anymore. She always can't wait to try what she has made, yet somehow she remains the size of a pencil. My husband thinks she trys the food she has just prepared and then when they go to commercial, she spits it out.

Her "poop" is awful, it is loaded with sodium and fat. I can cook better with out the "semi" part, for sure! What a waste of air time...

I think it is Bulima she relies on...

Not bad for a short term solution, if you can get past the sore throats, bad breath and rotting teeth issues, but not something I would recommend for a long term weight loss maintance plan.

Giada did some lasgana roll-ups yesterday that looked really good and relatively easy too. Of course, I'm going to add some portabella mushrooms to them but anyway, the whole meal she prepared looked yummy and relatively easy.

I would encourage you to cook often and not feel bound to follow recipes to the letter. Read a lot of recipes and columns and pay particular attention to the tips and reasons the authors put in. The advice is more valuable than the actual amount of sugar in a recipe. Pretty soon you'll develop a feel for it and then the fun will begin.