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Food Network rescues cooks at their home

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| Wednesday, February 20, 2008 |

TIMES STAFF AND WIRE

If you’re the sort of cook who can’t tell a skillet from a saucepan, the Food Network is ready to rescue you.

In March, the network will launch a new show, “Rescue Chef,” aimed at helping home cooks muddle their way through culinary conundrums, such as how to turn out perfect short ribs or shrimp pad Thai.

The show’s host, Danny Boome, visits viewers’ kitchens and walks them through their mealtime struggles.

In the premiere episode, which airs March 1, Boome helps a teacher re-create the slow-cooked short ribs that were served at her wedding.

“Rescue Chef” will air on the Food Network at 11 a.m. Saturdays.

Get facts about fast food on your phone

Ignorance may be bliss, but, if you have a cell phone, it may no longer be an excuse to indulge in unhealthy eating, at least not at chain restaurants.

Last week, Diet.com launched Nutrition on the Go, a text-messaging service that allows you to check out the calories, carbs and fat in common items at 1,700 places.

Send a text message to 34381 with the name of the restaurant and the item you plan to order. The results can be shocking: A tuna sandwich on honey wheat bread at one popular chain has 720 calories, 43 grams of fat and 50 grams of carbs.

The system has some bugs. Type in “Starbucks tall latte,” for instance, and you get the results for a syrup-flavored latte with soy milk. And though there are 39,000 items in the database, the system drew a blank on several things.

To test the service online, visit http://diet.com/mobile.

A new gadget for wine lovers

The Vinturi Essential Wine Aerator is not exactly a kitchen essential, unless Frasier and Niles are dropping by, but it’s a nifty item for wine lovers and gadget hounds.

It does the work of a decanter in a lot less time.

You simply hold the device, a sleek acrylic gizmo with a no-slip grip, over a wine glass and pour the wine into the shot-glass-like opening. The device pulls air into the wine with a satisfying glug, glug, glug as the liquid splashes into the glass, and presto: aerated wine.

During a highly unscientific before-and-after taste test on a serviceable Pinot Noir, the Vinturi-zed wine was brighter and smoother than the nonaerated sample.

The aerator comes with a stand to catch the drips and a travel pouch.

It retails for $38 to $40 at vinturi.com, amazon.com and winestuff.com, all on the Web.