‘Bobby and Damaris’ highlight a smorgasbord of original culinary programming
As the Labor Day weekend marks the unofficial end of summer, the food enthusiast gets some new programming this week to distract from the fact that cold weather is not all that far off.
First and foremost is the premiere of “The Bobby and Damaris Show” Sunday, Sept. 3, on Food Network, which finds Bobby Flay and Damaris Phillips in the kitchen and chatting up a storm as they prepare food and drink for weekend get-togethers. In the opening episode of this daytime series, Phillips mixes up a mango bellini while Flay heads to his outdoor kitchen to prepare some Mediterranean grilled chicken with green olive salsa verde and grilled new potatoes with smoked paprika vinaigrette. Phillips’ grilled citrus icebox pie puts a coda to the meal. Yum!
The same day on Cooking Channel is the Season 7 premiere of “The Best Thing I Ever Ate,” in which more of the country’s most famous chefs and food stars discuss what and where they like to eat when they’re picking up the tab. And on Travel Channel Sunday is the sixth season premiere of “Food Paradise,” which heads to New Orleans to check out Cajun and Creole cuisine as well as local favorites such as hot jazz snacks, bayou-fresh catfish and the famous Sno-Blizz.
Keeping with the local favorites theme is the Tuesday, Sept. 5, edition of Travel’s “Bizarre Foods,” which sees host Andrew Zimmern retracing Juan Ponce de Leon’s route down the Florida coast as he samples comestibles such as powdered Key West shrimp, roasted crab juice, buccaneer-style bacon and chocolate anchovies.
The next day on Cooking Channel, “Cheap Eats” host Ali Khan’s quest to eat for a day on $35 takes him to Detroit, where he consumes dishes such as cheesy smothered breakfast potatoes, a pizza topped with hot dogs and a blueberry goat cheese basil mini pie. Pass the antacid.
Friday, Sept. 8, on Food Network is the season finale of “Guy’s Family Road Trip,” in which Guy Fieri harvests oysters for a pop-up dinner in Alabama and feasts on frog legs and fried alligator in the Florida Everglades. Adventurous eaters take note.
If your tastes lean to the more genteel, the Friday episode of Cooking’s “Heston’s Fantastical Food” finds host Heston Blumenthal celebrating the British tradition of the tea break by brewing tea for an entire town in a 16-foot kettle and creating the world’s largest packet of biscuits.
And on Saturday, Sept. 9, on PBS (check local listings), “Moveable Feast With Fine Cooking” brings host Curtis Stone by seaplane to the Pacific Northwest to learn how to harvest mussels and collaborate on a regional spread that includes grilled whole salmon with Walla Walla onions and fava leaves, steamed mussels and a spiced mussel and saffron soup, finished off with a Washington state rhubarb cake. Truly a party for your taste buds.