Scanner : top chef

Padma Lakshmi Suddenly, Surprisingly Naked

Brian Fairbanks — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 16:58:00 GMT

The nude issue of Allure, which is out Tuesday the 21st of April, promises to be a smash success, thanks to the naked presence of Eliza Dushku, Chelsea Handler, Sharon Leal, Lynn Collins, and the hostess with the most sexiness, Padma Lakshmi.

The Top Chef star talked to the magazine about her breasts, her body, and sleeping in the nude-- in that order...

ALLURE: What did you do to prepare for the shoot?
PADMA LAKSHMI: "I exercised a little bit extra, but I actually think I look better when I have a little bit of weight on—my breasts are fuller, and I'm curvier than when I'm at my thinnest."

ALLURE: Are you confident about your body?
PL: "Yes; I like the way I look. I think I look better now than I did in my 20s, because I'm more confident about my body—and I don't want to look like anyone but myself."

ALLURE: Do you sleep naked?
PL: "I tend to sleep in the nude. I'm an innately tactile person and a very sensual-leaning woman. You have to use the word 'leaning' or it sounds like I'm boasting! When I'm in my own private space, I do spend time with very little on."

Emphasis added. Here are some more partial-nudes of Lakshmi from a photo shoot we've only recently discovered...

As we mentioned, Eliza Dushku and others also posed "nude" for the Allure issue...

ALLURE: What about [getting naked] these days?
ED: "I'll strip down to my underwear and my Ugg boots when I eat lunch in my trailer."

Sharon Leal, formerly of Boston Public and Guiding Light, and recently of Dreamgirls, was a bit shaky on the whole nudity thing:

ALLURE: What happened when you dropped the robe?
SL: "I just breathed and said to myself, 'I'm comfortable, I'm beautiful; I'm comfortable, I'm beautiful,' until I didn't have to say that anymore.... It's liberating, but posing once may be enough."

Chelsea Handler, the talk show host and standup comic, practically leapt at the chance to show off:

ALLURE: What was it like on the set?
CH: "I think it was easy—you're naked a couple times a day, so I think it would be easy for most women."
ALLURE: What body parts are you most proud of?
CH: "My boobs are good. They're real and perky. Even if you can't see them, the important thing is that I know about them, and the guys I've slept with know about them."

Lynn Collins, star of the recent bootleg sensation X-Men Origins: Wolverine agreed:

LYNN COLLINS: "Women with confidence in their bodies are the sexiest thing, so I put on my cape of courage and did it. It was quite liberating!"
ALLURE: What body part were you nervous to expose?
LC: "He shot that place where your butt meets your thigh. It's a special place on a woman; it's a highly erogenous zone, but it's one of the hardest places to get in shape."

Via Allure.

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Solved Mysteries: Tina Fey's Scar

Emily Farris — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 18:41:00 GMT

We all like to pretend we don't care too much about Tina Fey's scar. But maybe you, like us, have conducted a few or more Google searches... only to settle for reading about the origins of Padma Lakshmi's scar instead.

Now your feeble fingers can take a break. Fey's husband spilled the beans to Vanity Fair.

Liz Lemon [Fey's character on 30 Rock] favors her right side. That’s because a faint scar runs across Tina Fey’s left cheek, the result of a violent cutting attack by a stranger when Fey was five. Her husband says, “It was in, like, the front yard of her house, and somebody who just came up, and she just thought somebody marked her with a pen.” You can hardly see the scar in person. But I agree with Richmond that it makes Fey more lovely, like a hint of Marlene Dietrich noir glamour in a Preston Sturges heroine...

Fey herself rarely mentions the episode. “It’s impossible to talk about it without somehow seemingly exploiting it and glorifying it,” she says. Did she feel less attractive growing up because of it? “I don’t think so,” she says. “Because I proceeded unaware of it. I was a very confident little kid. It’s really almost like I’m kind of able to forget about it, until I was on-camera, and it became a thing of ‘Oh, I guess we should use this side’ or whatever. Everybody’s got a better side.”

Okay, but we wonder if she'll write about it in her book. Guess there's no need now...

[Vanity Fair via Gawker]

Related:

If Only Tina Fey Would Play Sarah Palin in the Forthcoming Porno

If You Like Fey and Poehler and Palin and Clinton, You'll Love Them as Couric and Palin

Who Are You And What Have You Done With Tina Fey?

Sloppy Seconds: Tina Fey's $6M Book Deal

Image via Vanity Fair

Who Would You Rather, Celebrity Chef Edition Part II: Bourdain vs. Colicchio

Emily Farris — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 17:35:00 GMT

Last week, we asked which celebrity chef you'd rather: Bobby Flay or Gordon Ramsay. While Flay won by a small margin, many of you voted, resoundingly, for neither. So, we present Round II of Who Would You Rather, Celebrity Chef Edition: Anthony Bourdain vs. Tom Colicchio.

We love Top Chef, craft and Colicchio, but it's Bourdain that does it for us. And here's why:

"Vegetarians, and their Hezbollah-like splinter faction, the vegans, are a persistent irritant to any chef worth a damn. To me, life without veal stock, pork fat, sausage, organ meat, demi-glace, or even stinky cheese is a life not worth living. Vegetarians are the enemy of everything good and decent in the human spirit, and an affront to all I stand for, the pure enjoyment of food. The body, these waterheads imagine, is a temple that should not be polluted by animal protein. It's healthier, they insist, though every vegetarian waiter I've worked with is brought down by any rumor of a cold. Oh, I'll accommodate them, I'll rummage around for something to feed them, for a 'vegetarian plate', if called on to do so. Fourteen dollars for a few slices of grilled eggplant and zucchini suits my food cost fine."—Anthony Bourdain, Kitchen Confidential

He can put his teeth in our meat any day. But, really, it's up to you. So, who would you rather: Anthony Bourdain or Tom Colicchio?

UPDATE: To our friends visitng from Grub Street, yes, we originally spelled Tom Colicchio's name wrong. Laugh and point. Then vote.

Who Would You Rather: Elizabeth Berkley or Tyra Banks?

Brian Fairbanks — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 16:30:00 GMT

Because if it was Padma Lakshmi vs. Anyone Including Venus, this would've been flippin' obvious.

We're pretty sure no one watches Bravo unless "Top Chef" is on, but maybe there are some people who aren't satiated by "Dancing With the Stars" that they need yet another dance show. Or maybe they're just fans of Elizabeth Berkley and haven't stopped fantasizing about her since "Showgirls"-- or worse, "Saved By The Bell," the unfunniest show in history, a history which includes "Sex And The City."

Okay, okay, now we're just trying to piss you off. Gotcha! (Not that we're retracting any of the above statements.) Seriously now, Tyra Banks is obviously hot and her hosting duties on "America's Next Top Model" haven't hindered her standing as one of the few intelligent women currently hosting a daytime talk show.

But what about Berkley in the pool in "Showgirls?" Then again, there's every photo of Tyra Banks ever released by a reputable publication... hmmm...

Scanner Survey: Sexy Food

Emily Farris — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 18:21:00 GMT

What's the sexiest meal anyone has ever made for you? We ask because, as you may or may not know, we're writing a cookbook about casseroles, and in it, we have a dish called "Seduction." A take on a family mac & corn recipe, we call it "Seduction" because just about everyone we make it for wants to sleep with us or marry us — and not because the food itself is sexy. In fact, with six different cheeses, it probably makes for the most unsexy next morning (or evening, depending on your level of lactose tolerance). But to us, this is still the sexiest dish we make because we put so much love and care into making it.

But we're interested in what constitutes sexy food. A Top Chef challenge to create sexy dishes a few seasons ago ended in disastrous tackiness, and beyond that, we're kind-of lost.

So, Scanner readers, what's the sexiest meal anyone has ever made for you? Or that you've ever made for someone else? And penis pasta doesn't count.

"Seduction" recipe after the jump.

Ingredients
1 large, white onion
2 cloves garlic (you might want to skip if you’re actually trying to seduce someone)
1 lb. Cavatelli, par boiled
½ lb. sharp cheddar, cubed or shredded
½ lb. white cheddar, cubed or shredded
½ lb. Gruyere, cubed or shredded
½ lb. fresh mozzarella, cubed
½ cup grated Parmesan
½ cup wildcard cheese of your choice
1 bag (10 oz) Cascadian Farm frozen organic sweet corn
2 plum tomatoes, thinly sliced
¼ cup olive oil
½ cup milk (low fat or skim is fine, not that it really matters at this point)
salt, pepper

Directions
Preheat oven to 350º
In a large pot, boil Cavatelli (add a little olive oil and salt to the water) but be sure to get it out just under al dente, then run cold water over the noodles or they’ll continue to cook, set them aside in the strainer

In the same large pot, sauté the garlic and onion in 2-3 tblsps of olive oil, when the onions begin to brown, reduce the heat to low
Add milk, stir
Add both cheddars and Gruyere while continuing to stir
When the cheeses begin to melt, add the Cavatelli while continuing to stir
As the pasta becomes coated, add half of the parmesan (1/4 cup), stir
Add corn while continuing to stir (it can and should go in frozen)
Salt and pepper to taste
Add mozzarella, stir

Transfer to a 2 ¾ qt buttered or greased baking dish

Bake uncovered at 350º for 35-40 minutes or until bubbly
Remove from oven and cover with sliced tomatoes and the rest of the Parmesan cheese
Bake for about 15 more minutes

Let sit 10 minutes before eating (if you can)

Serves 5-6