Watching Rachael Ray

We start off right away talking about face lifts without going under the knife, and all of the types that Rachael and her friends have been reading about - specifically the Lunchtime Liquid Facelift. Rand Rusher is on the show again, and describes the Liquid Facelift as filling the face back up - like a down comforter, when the stuffing falls to the bottom, and you fluff it back up. It’s done with hyloronic acid, a common molecule in the world. It hurts a little “Pretty hurts” and costs anywhere form $200-3000, depending on how much you want to fill up. Pretty cheap compared to an actual facelift. You get 6 months to a year. He does say that you shouldn’t be scared of Botox too.

Viewer Kelly, who’s 44, says she just looks tired, and has more lines on her face then she ever remembers having. She says she looks terrible and wants a lo-maintenance, non-invasive solution. She wants to look like herself, just better. She heads backstage with Rand and over the course of the show gets the liquid facelift done.

While they’re busy backstage, Weeds stare Mary Louise Parker joins Rachael at the kitchen table. They joke about the fact that it’s a nice family show… in it’s own way. She shows some pictures of Mary Louise naked with a large snake, (….EW!) and how it was kind of awkward, as it was a squeezer. Pictures of the cast as well, and how she brings the kids to the set with her.

Naturally, people stop her in the street, and ask to ‘buy a big fat one’ while she was holding a baby and a diaper bag. She simply replied “You want a graham cracker? I can’t help you otherwise.” She keeps all her awards in the closet, but it’s a big sexy closet, big enough to have a party in.

Mary Louise is also staring in The Spiderwick Chronicles. Check out the Giveaway button for the chance to win a copy of The Spiderwick Chronicles - Book One: The Field Guide. They talk a little about Brad Pitt and working with him in The Assassination of Jessie James, and the paparazzi that stalk him. Mary Louise says it’s inhumane and ruthless, and they need to protect the children. Her own instinct is to punch them, but she doesn’t want to teach her children that, so she tries to avoid them. They discuss paint guns or water pistols instead. Ha!

We get to see one of the Coolest Kitchens, which is round, built of wood and glass, in a house that resembles a treehouse. The whole house is based around a center spiral staircase and the fridge, microwaves, and a snack cupboard moves down to the pool on the ground floor, or up to the storeroom! Sure, it’s an updated dumbwaiter, but it’s pretty dang awesome!

It leads into the February Favorite of the day - The Indoor Outdoor George Forman Grill. Again, hit the giveaway button on the sidebar to get a chance to win one of your own!

Speaking of food (…what?) Sausage, Pepper & Onion Sloppy Joes is what’s for dinner, and we close out the show seeing the results of the facelift - and she looks fabulous, naturally.

Monday
Baking with Julia Louis-Dreyfus

The hilarious sitcom star is taking over Rachael’s kitchen and making dessert for the entire studio audience! Then, we’ve searched far and wide to find America’s Coolest Kitchens … and for the first time we’re taking you inside Rachael’s home kitchen. Plus, Rach’s February Favorites continues with your chance to win her garbage bowl, a moppine and more!

Tuesday
Meal or No Meal

It’s Rachael’s twist on the hit show Deal or No Deal and wait until you see our celebrity banker! Then, Kristan is transforming a minuscule home office into a beautiful workspace for two, and for dinner Rachael’s cooking up a toasty Italian feast.

Wednesday
Chefs’ Weight Loss Secrets

It’s a day that Law & Order fans can’t miss when one of Rach’s all-time favorites, Sam Waterston, makes his way from the courtroom to the kitchen table. Then, think you have trouble cutting calories? Find out how three chefs lost a combined total of more than 160 pounds, and get Rach’s decadent dinner that’s guilt-free.

Thursday
Bob Greene’s Best Life Diet

Oprah’s fitness guru Bob Greene brings us on the road with his “Best Life” diet and shares the slimming secrets that worked for two inspiring women! Plus, head inside Kristan’s Southern California home to see her favorite things … including one February Favorite that you can win online!

Friday
Ringo Starr

It’s a daytime exclusive with a living legend who put the beat behind the Beatles - Ringo Starr! Don’t miss his candid interview and the rare performance that brings the crowd to its feet. Plus, Rachael’s got a rock star meal for her huge rock star guest, and Jarod the animal guy looks at how zoos ensure both animal and human safety.

In other news, Tiffany contacted me a couple of days ago to be sure that you all knew of the Charity Auctions for Rachael Ray items! If you haven’t checked it out yet, and you feel getting tickets is going to be a total impossibility, AND you want to help out a good cause - then by all means, stop by CharityFolks.Com and bid on one of these three items:

– Dining at Rachael’s Kitchen Table and Enjoy 2 VIP Tickets to Her Show in New York City! Airfare and Two-Night Stay at Dream Hotel Included!

– You and a friend will attend The Rachael Ray Show and meet her afterwards!

– Throughout Rachael Ray’s second season, guests will sign this refrigerator as one giant piece of memorabilia from television history! This Big Chill Vintage Refrigerator sits on the show’s set and actually works! Stay tuned throughout this season to find out who’s signed this awesome piece.

Thanks for letting us know about the auction, Tiffany - and good luck to the bidders!

Cojo is back again today, this time to speak of things far more personal then the normal red carpet fluff. He’s there with his memoir, Glamour, Interrupted, to talk about his 2004 diagnosis with polycystic kidney disease. After a failed transplant and dialysis, his mother donated her kidney for a successful transplant. He talks about seeing the light “And it ain’t pretty!” and his drugged fantasy of planning his funeral - with Rachael there sitting next to Queen Elizabeth! That’s scary!

Cojo now looks back on the experience as one of empowerment that helped him learn a lot about himself and his inner strength. He’s discovered the kind of gratitude that feeds the soul. He now shares his story in order to raise awareness and give hope for others with kidney disease.

Then he shares the story of two couples whose husbands donated their kidneys to save each other’s wives through a unique program at John’s Hopkins University - if John wanted to donate his kidney to someone that was a match, they would find a similar person to match with his wife. It ended with them swapping, each husband giving up the kidney to the other mans wife. When they finally met face to face, it was instant family. They’ve just had their one year anniversary and both women are doing well!

Cojo says that his experience was foisted on him because he ha a “really big trap” and can spread the word about the miracle of Kidney transplants, how you can give someone a kidney while you’re still living and take them away from the hell they’re existing in.

Then - remember back in October when Trey Laird announced the Gap Casting call for the cutest kids? Well, after 800,000 entries the choices have been made! It was all about the eyes, and how the characters of the kids came alive in the picture. The four winners - chosen by 500,000 American votes, are here and couldn’t be cuter!

Today’s incredible person from Rachael’s new Community of Incredible People is Troy Lynn Lavigne who wants to see kids jumping around and eating healthy - plus educating their parents too! She’s works with the Head Start early learning centers by teaching them songs and dances about eating healthy, and gets to have the first taste at the kitchen table of what’s for dinner tonight - Spanish Chorizo and Chicken Chili. Be sure to check out Choosy Kids too!

Monday
Dr. Phil and Robin’s Family Christmas

What’s Christmas like at Dr. Phil’s house? Robin McGraw shares her family’s traditions - including the photos Dr. Phil doesn’t want you to see! Get a backstage sneak peak here. Then, our behind-the-scenes cooks are showing you their holiday favorites, and we’ve got ideas for turning your home into a four-star resort.

Tuesday
Anne Hathaway and Marlo Thomas

Find out why these two stars are teaming up and what it’s like to hang out with funnyman Steve Carrell. Then, a holiday favorite from one of our amazing backstage chefs, the best websites for holiday shopping, and ideas for turning leftovers into a hearty and healthy pasta dinner.

Wednesday
Kristin Davis

It’s the movie everyone is talking about, and now Kristin Davis is spilling the beans about Sex and the City! Then, Gretta shows you how to find hot holiday fashions for less, and if you haven’t gotten a Christmas tree yet, don’t miss the show and this giveaway!

Thursday
Josh Groban

Are your kids more naughty than nice over the holidays? Before you sit down for dinner this year, get Harriette Cole’s lesson in holiday manners! Then, what better way to get into the holiday spirit than to have Josh Groban performing Christmas classics?

Friday
Helen Mirren and Hillary Clinton

She could be our first female president, but first Hillary Clinton is doing some holiday shopping with Rachael! It’s a side of the former first lady that will definitely surprise you. Then, we go from a senator to a dame when Oscar winner Helen Mirren stops by, and Lara Spencer is dishing up a sexy surprise guest too!

….to be jealous of IPhone owners! As if it didn’t already to everything but babysit your kids, and do your dishes, now you can indulge your need for magazines in the palm of your hand, too! Texterity, Inc has launched a beta version of the first digital magazine interface portal designed for the Apple iPhone. This is the first time users will see complete magazines, including Everyday With Rachael Ray.

Texterity’s Digital Magazine iPhone Interface & Portal provides a collection of magazines that can be viewed through Texterity’s interface, which leverages the Safari browser built in to the Apple iPhone. No additional applications, downloads, or other software is required. Users can instantly view entire magazines as they were originally published, with all pages completely readable. As part of a beta test Texterity will provide free and open access to a great selection of consumer and business magazines to all iPhone users.

The iPhone Interface & Portal enables publishers to reach the increasingly mobile reader by providing iPhone users with immediate access to their magazine issues. The system leverages the iPhone’s ability to view a complete magazine in a portable format that can be viewed virtually everywhere. With one tap, an iPhone user can read their favorite magazine at any time.

As if I weren’t jealous enough. They provided a demo. Sigh!

On Friday’s Rachael Ray Show!
It doesn’t get much bigger then this! Big mouth Sexy Handyman Ty Pennington is back with video from his summer vacation, and important information about a disorder that affects the lives of many kids and adults, including himself — ADHD.

Lara Spenser’s got all the goods from the red carpet must-have products at the Emmys, and Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs drops by with a special gift for Rachael!

And if that’s not enough - style Guru Time Gunn will give a teacher a makeover using her own clothes! It’s a big day, folks - don’t miss it!

What’s for dinner? Creamy Tarragon Tuna over Egg Noodles and Spicy Tomato and Tuna Pasta.

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A couple of readers sent messages asking if I’d seen this (I had!) and for more information (planned on it for today!) over the weekend, so I figured I’d best get this up here, already!

So you think you can cook? Here’s your chance to prove it! The Rachael Ray show is launching a nationwide search for the next enterprising foodie!

“We just want to give a person — a real person, not a chef or somebody specially trained to do this for a living — a shot at showing everybody their personality and how much fun you can have with food,” Ray, 39, said in a telephone interview Wednesday with The Associated Press.

Ray and her producers will narrow the field of candidates to five promising cooks, who will undergo two weeks of intense competitions and challenges before a winner is announced on the air in late November.

“I’m always telling people how my career was an accident,” Ray told the AP. “I just wanted to sort of marry up the idea for the show that anybody who likes to cook could literally be Rachael Ray, the ‘30 Minute Meal’ girl.”

The top five viewers will get to go to New York to compete in a showdown on the show! Rachael Ray promises the challenges will test skills and push the finalists to the limit! The overall winner will get their best recipe printed in Every Day with Rachael Ray, and get to spend a day on the set with Rachael in the kitchen for a cooking segment. After that - a week long boot camp at one of the world’s top culinary schools!

Ready to give it a try? Grab your video camera, and click here to find the official rules and regulations, as well as the official entry form! And hey - be sure to let us know how it goes!

Today on The Rachael Ray Show - Dr. Phil!

See what it’s like when Dr. Phil is the one on the hot seat! He’s answering audience questions, laughing it up with Rach… and why is he telling his wife Robin to leave their son alone? Then, two families with two completely different eating habits are trading kids, and Rach has the perfect recipe for picky eaters!

What’s for dinner?
Grilled Chicken, Potatoes and Broccoli with Cheese and Gravy Sauces (Barbeque Gravy, Apple Cider Gravy and Orange Maple Reduction)

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Thanks to the eagle eyes of a fellow 451 Press blogger, Marilyn over at Parenting Sites 411, another Rachael Ray venture has come to light! It seems that the Every Day with Rachael Ray Magazine is now involved with helping spread the word about Taste America, a celebration of food.

The James Beard Foundation started Taste America, calling it a national food festival, celebrating the bounty and diversity of American cuisine. The foundation is the premiere organization dedicated to preserving our culinary heritage, and uses Taste America to celebrate the smart and creative ways that food permeates our lives.

The site is interactive and a lot of fun - the kids section has games, and encourages us to Play with our food - what could be better? There’s a ton of information to help kids learn to eat right, and for parents to open conversation with the kids about the foods they eat and the jobs they do. The other side of the coin is the adult side, where there are smart tips, chefs of the week, and even a sweepstakes to enter. Check it out today!

While poking around the Every Day with Rachael Ray magazine website, I once again was drawn to the list of imaginative centerpieces! Some are way to fancy for my tastes, other’s are pure fun, and still others hold a serious “…huh?” factor.

I mean really - Asparagus planted in pistachio nuts? I don’t like asparagus anyway, and potted on my table in pistachio nuts that I don’t care for either just seems odd. But! To each their own.

The fun paper airplane one made me grin, and the flowers in Yellow Jello? Awesome! But by far, this one is my favorite:

I have a little artist in my family - my 8-year-old daughter, and she’s constantly coloring and creating and making something in vibrant messy fashion. This centerpiece has her name written ALL over it, and is a very clever idea for any happy table! We just might have to put something like this together next time we hold a family function.

What is your favorite type of centerpiece? Fun, fancy, upscale, easy? Do tell!

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The haters would have you believe that Rachael Ray will disappear by virtue of their snide comments and will alone, but it’s clear that the boisterous Food Network and talk show star isn’t going anywhere but straight to the top.

The latest circulation numbers for Every Day with Rachael Ray, has the magazine - one of the youngest Reader’s Digest Association publications, turned in a 57.6% increase. That included a drop in newsstand sales, but an almost 200% increase in subscriptions.

In addition, there are over 110,000 people on the waiting list for tickets to the Rachael Ray Show according to a show spokesman for the new season that kicks off on September 10th.

Sorry guys - that smile simply isn’t going to fade anytime soon!

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Rachael Ray has been promoting a 10 ingredient challenge for the past couple of months. One of the entrants posted her entry at youtube for us.

How cute is she? Click to see part 2, 3, 4, and 5.

(I’d post a link to the contest but Rachael’s site is malfunctioning at the moment - I’ll try to add it soon. Otherwise, check out rachaelray.com!)

Rachael, Ray, Rachael Ray, 30 minute meals, RR, TV, a day, Food Network, Everyday

Nothing goes better with the dog days of summer then ice cold ice cream! The current issue of Everyday With Rachael Ray thinks so too, and has followed up last issues discussion of the best Popsicles with the same type of contest with ice cream. Using the most basic of basic flavors - Chocolate and Vanilla, testers rigorously and laboriously tasted spoonful after spoonful of creamy treats. (WHERE can I sign up for that job?!) They risked additional pounds and brain freeze to give you the following consensus:

The best Chocolate award goes to Berkshire Ice Cream.

We were searching for an ice cream with a smooth texture and a flavor worthy of being called “chocolate.” But many contenders fell short: Some were sugary; one tasted strangely like marshmallows. Berkshire was exactly what we were looking for. One panelist admired its fudginess and density, while another tasted a hint of coffee that rounded out the rich chocolate flavor.

The Best Vanilla award goes to Haagen-Dazs.

The simple things are always the toughest to perfect. Our vanilla taste test yielded some duds. Some were sickeningly sweet, others synthetic tasting. But Häagen-Dazs got it right. We love the vanilla-bean taste; experienced tasters picked up subtle caramel and maple notes. The creamy texture convinced all of us that pain old vanilla can be anything but.

What are you favorites Ice Cream flavors to wile away the summer heat? Do you eat it slow and risk melting, or fast and risk brain freeze?

If it’s the latter (caused by cold touching the roof of your mouth, dilating the blood vessels in your head - betcha didn’t know THAT did ya? [Me either - I read it in EDRR]) and you give yourself a case of Brain Freeze, just press your tongue against the roof of your mouth as soon as you feel the freeze coming on. It’ll lick the problem lickety split (…ha!) and you can resume your frosty enjoyment that much faster!

Now, where’s my Haagan-Dazs?

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The votes are in - check and see what other Rachael Ray fans would do if they had 30 extra minutes in their day to do whatever they want! Here’s a peek at some of them…

I’d prepare New Orleans’ famous red beans and rice with a good Cajun sausage, to celebrate the spirit of my native city.
—Ronald Treadway, Acworth, GA
I’d be at my easel, painting.
—Jennifer Riffle, Uniontown, OH
I’d walk around or drive somewhere and see what interesting photos I could take.
—Kim Becker, Houston
I should say I’d exercise with an extra 30 minutes, but in all reality, I’d probably be on the couch eating Ho Hos!
—Melissa Hore, Brigham City, UT

Check out the rest of the ideas at the Every Day with Rachael Ray website!

Doing some traveling this summer? Looking for the hottest hot spots, and ready to take a Bite Outta America? Well check out the Everyday with Rachael Ray Magazine website for her new Mapped Out feature!

There, you can pick a destination, or see them all at a glance, and discover some of Rachael Ray and her crew’s favorite spots to stay, eat, shop and play! They’ve a demo to show you how it all works though it’s all pretty self-explanatory. Not only that, but you can submit your favorite destinations and spots as well and get yourself on the map!

Take Chicago, for instance! Are you headed there in a couple weeks with all of the BlogHers for their 2008 conference? Check out some of the hotspots and must sees - as well as find great places to eat!

What a fun and interactive tool to help plan your vacation! Oh yeah - while there, don’t forget to enter to win the Wild Week at Pikes Peak prize package, too!

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While the pages for the Rachael Ray Show, Yum-O, and the Everyday With Rachael Ray Magazine are still the same, the front portal at RachaelRay.Com has been updated! It loads much faster, is cleaner, and still has the fun and funky vibe we expect from everything RR!

I really dig the new design - it speaks to my designer soul. I sure hope the rest of the sites follow suit!

Of course, while you’re there, don’t miss the current special in the shopping section! Half off on all shipping for a limited time! That plus the Satisfaction Guarantee, how could you possibly go wrong? T-shirts, Cookbooks, Knives, Cookware, Kitchenware, music and even EVOO - there’s bound to be something there for you, or someone special! Check it out!

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In the June/July Everyday with Rachael Ray Magazine, they held another taste testing review - this time to find the best cool Summer Treat, the best brand of Popsicles! The overall winner?

Dreyer’s/Edy’s Fruit Bars!

The competition was stiff, but our panel put these bars (known as Dreyer’s in the western U.S. and Edy’s in the East) on top for their natural taste and real bits of fruit. “It tastes like frozen fruit puree,” said one judge. Unlike many brands, this one flavors its bars with real fruit and fruit juice — and sweetens with sugar, not corn syrup. Out of 14 flavors, the cherry proved most popular: “It’s almost sorbetlike.”

Other finalists include:
Best Creamy: Creamsicle
Best No Sugar Added: Breyers Pure Fruit Bars No Sugar Added
Best Fudge: The Skinny Cow No Sugar Added Fudge Bar
Sentimental Favorite” Blue Bunny Original Bomb Pop

Honorable Mention
Most Innovative: Popsicle Slow Melt Pops

What’s your favorite summer cool down treat?

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