Food Network stars tell The FN Dish what’s on their holiday wish lists!

You may remember Food Network staffer, Emily, from this amazing lattice-work apple pie she baked in our Thanksgiving Throwdown. Emily manages the Food Network Store and was asked to do a holiday gift segment on New York’s local CW network — PIX 11. To heighten the stakes, it was LIVE — which was a first for her.

We all think she did a pretty bang-up job and wanted to share. Check out Emily’s segment here. Plus, according to Em, you still have about five more days to place orders with guaranteed Christmas delivery, if you didn’t feel like dealing with Black Friday.

Which chefs shoot in their real kitchens?

Talk about kitchen envy. Ina now shoots in her elegantly welcoming kitchen on her property in East Hampton, New York. I keep hoping she’ll adopt me. Paula also shoots in her gorgeous and gracious home in Savannah. The Neelys have just begun to shoot in their brand new home in Memphis.

Bobby, Giada, Ingrid, and Aaron shoot in real homes, but not theirs, either because their kitchen wasn’t quite right to shoot in, or they preferred not to. Believe me, I wouldn’t want hundreds of pounds of equipment and dozens of crew members tearing up my kitchen either.

Tyler shoots in a studio kitchen that was designed to resemble the kitchen he had at his NYC apartment, before he moved to California. Giada now shoots in a studio in Los Angeles on a set that is inspired by her airy new home kitchen. Sunny, Sandra, Aida, Anne & Guy shoot either in our studios here in Chelsea Market, or close by.

Please tell me you don’t throw out extra food on your cooking shows.

Not a chance. We work with a fantastic group called City Harvest to donate some of the food to local shelters. Some prepared food goes to feed our crew and kitchen staff. The only food that is disposed of is that food deemed unsafe to eat because it has sat out too long under hot lights.

Why didn’t you respond to my e-mail?

Rest assured we read every single message. But the sheer number — 20,000 a month — means that unfortunately we can’t answer every single one.

That’s it from where I sit.

Thanks,
Bob

Bobby Flay reveals us at The FN Dish his Thanksgiving menu and top three tips!

The FN Dish’s Bruce Seidel asks your favorite Food Network chefs truth or no dare Thanksgiving questions.

On special occasions, FN offers private tours to visiting dignitaries, celebrity chefs and the like. One FN’er, Joe, takes time from his day job to lead this behind-the-scenes tour.

A recent tour-ist, Lana, suggested… “You could ask Joe what questions folks ask the most (during tours). I’ll bet it’d make an interesting read.” Good post, Lana. Thanks, Joe. Here goes:

Q) Who gets to eat the food?
A) Who ever is closest – studio crew etc… We only purchase food for what we are making that week and we donate to any extras to City Harvest each Friday.

Q) On Iron Chef America, do they know the secret ingredient?
A) Before the show, the chefs are told that it could be one from a list of items. The challenge is still amazingly difficult to pull off in an hour. Plus, the cameras never stop rolling…no matter what.

Q) Are all of the Iron Chefs here for each show?
A) When we shoot a battle, there is only one. The others are stand ins.

Q) What is the weirdest ingredient a challenger chef requested on Iron Chef?
A) Jose Andres – Goat testicles

Bonus fact — Our offices are on the site of the original Nabisco factory. The Oreo was invented here in 1912.

New Iron Chef coats will be revealed during the Iron Chef America Thanksgiving battle Sunday, and we’re here to give you a sneak peek! To see more, watch as Bobby Flay and Michael Symon go head to head with Morimoto and Cat Cora, Sunday at 8:30pm/9:30c.

Want to be our next star? Time is running out for aspiring The Next Food Network Star 5 contestants. Fire up your stove, your camera, your best dish and send it in.

If you missed the memo, casting submissions are still being accepted until November 14, 2008. Get the full details on what you need to know and how you need to do it. If you need inspiration, watch a few entries first.

Want some other shots to land on Food Network?
Check out the full list of upcoming opportunities to be on-air.

While you are waiting for your big Food Network break, try out Aaron McCargo Jr‘s Chicken Parmesan, Lisa Garza’s White Bean Cassoulet or Kelsey Nixon‘s Macadamia Crusted Tilapia with White Chocolate Beurre Blanc (hard to say, easy to make…easier to eat). Good luck!

An partial list of upcoming appearances by some FN faves:

November 8 – 9
Washington DC: Bobby Flay, Paula Deen and Giada De Laurentiis will all be featured at the Metropolitan Cooking and Entertaining Show. Details here.

November 10
Atlanta, GA: Alton Brown will be at a book signing with Shirley Corriher, the James Beard award winning author of Cookwise at the historic Margaret Mitchell house. Info here.

November 10
Natick, MA: Ina Garten will be signing books at Williams Sonoma from 12:00 – 2:00pm. Not in Natick? No fear… Ina will be on a multiple city book tour across the country throughout November and December. Full details on those locations can be found here.

November 12
Atlantic City, NJ: Rachael Ray will be appearing for two shows at Harrah’s. She’ll be sharing personal stories and anecdotes, followed by a Q&A. Details here.

November 13
Baltimore, MD: Chef Duff, the Ace of Cakes, will be part of the Girl Scouts of Central Maryland Green Carpet Event. Get your cookies and all the details here.

November 23
Long Island, NY: Bobby Flay will be doing a book signing at Bobby’s Burger Palace in the Smithhaven Mall. He just opened this Palace back in July and will be flipping burgers there in the morning. Details here.

Know of others? Post in the comments below…

Go behind-the-scenes at the Bon Appétit Awards in New York, where Bobby Flay was honored as Cooking Teacher of the Year,and Mario Batali whipped up a feast.

CONTEST ENDED – CHECK BACK FOR A WINNERS’ LIST!
To WIN a copy of the newly released, “Bon Appetit: Fast, Easy, Fresh” cookbook by Barbara Fairchild, which comes with a year subscription to Bon Appetit Magazine. Post in the comments below what award you would give to your favorite Food Network host and why!

Winners will be contacted via email, so be sure to enter a valid email adress.