‘Holiday Baking Championship’ returns to Food Network

By Andrew Warren TV Media

T hanksgiving is pretty much the unofficial kickoff to the holiday season, but Food Network’s been quick out of the gate this year with both returning favorites and new surprises already underway a few weeks before Turkey Day. This year’s “Holiday Baking Championship,” always an audience favorite, got underway last week and is currently airing Monday evenings.

Former NFL quarterback Jesse Palmer returns to host this year’s competition, which brings nine of the country’s best holiday bakers together to vie for a $25,000 prize. That’s a lot of dough, especially at this time of year, but earning it won’t be easy with a series of insidiously tricky baking challenges standing between the contestants and the prize.

This week’s episode, airing Monday, Nov. 12, gets the contestants into the Thanksgiving spirit a few weeks early. In the pre-heat challenge, the eight remaining bakers are divided into teams to make their favorite varieties of Thanksgiving pie. The Thanksgiving theme continues in the main heat challenge, in which the bakers are given a variety of seasonal ingredients and tasked with making beautiful stuffed cakes.

As in years past, baking experts Duff Goldman (“Ace of Cakes”), Nancy Fuller (“Farmhouse Rules”) and Lorraine Pascale (“Worst Bakers in America”) serve as judges, keeping a watchful eye on the contestants’ every move and sampling all of their sweet and savory creations before deciding at the end of each episode which one of them has to hang up his or her apron for good.

It’s a brutally tough competition, but it’s also filled with holiday cheer. Over the course of the next several weeks, the bakers will be challenged to come up with seasonal desserts that make cranberries the star, make sweet treats that combat the post-turkey dinner sleepiness by incorporatating coffee, build cream puff displays inspired by holiday decorations and even make beautiful hand-painted eggnog cakes that taste as good as they look.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year, especially for lovers of baked goods. “Holiday Baking Championship” currently airs Mondays on Food Network.

Sunday, Nov. 11

Noon (8) WDSE Around the Farm Table Inga has a birthday surprise for her nephews and celebrates with a chocolate beet cake.

1:00 p.m. (9) KAWE New Scandinavian Cooking Niklas travels by horse sleigh into the mountainous region of Roros.

Monday, Nov. 12

1:00 p.m. (11) KARE The Rachael Ray Show Viewers are presented with great recipes and simple solutions for everyday issues.

Tuesday, Nov. 13

11:30 a.m. (9) KAWE Sara’s Weeknight Meals Sara visits a forager who supplies restaurants in New York with ‘found food’. (N)

1:00 p.m. (11) KARE The Rachael Ray Show Viewers are presented with great recipes and simple solutions for everyday issues.

Wednesday, Nov. 14

1:00 p.m. (11) KARE The Rachael Ray Show Viewers are presented with great recipes and simple solutions for everyday issues.

Thursday, Nov. 15

1:00 p.m. (11) KARE The Rachael Ray Show Viewers are presented with great recipes and simple solutions for everyday issues.

Friday, Nov. 16

12:30 p.m. (9) KAWE Food Over 50 Almost chicken soup loaded with vegetables; tabbouleh with artichoke.

1:00 p.m. (11) KARE The Rachael Ray Show Viewers are presented with great recipes and simple solutions for everyday issues.

Saturday, Nov. 17

6:00 a.m. TRAV Food Paradise We check out dishes that diners don’t mind waiting hours to sink their teeth into.

7:00 a.m. TRAV Food Paradise The country’s hottest hotels offer more than just your standard fare.

7:30 a.m. (2) KTCA Taste of Malaysia

With Martin Yan

8:00 a.m. (2) KTCA Simply Ming A&E Scraps: Parts Uneaten Joel and Max flip the iconic Detroit style pizza on its head, creating a retooled version. (N)

TRAV Food Paradise We hunt down proteins that satisfy every carnivorous craving.

8:30 a.m. (2) KTCA Moveable Feast With Fine Cooking (N)

A&E Food Quest Kim and Mario visit Crave Brothers Farmstead Cheese in Wisconsin.

9:00 a.m. (2) KTCA Martha Bakes Strawberry ombre cake; zesty lemon mousse cake with meringue; and a lofty berry cake.

TRAV Bizarre Foods (N)

9:30 a.m. (2) KTCA How to Cook Well

With Rory O’Connell Kale and turkey liver pate is served with a cocktail.

10:00 a.m. (2) KTCA Pati’s Mexican Table (N)

TRAV Bizarre Foods: Delicious Destinations Andrew tries out blue crab, pit beef, and Berger cookies in Baltimore.

10:30 a.m. (2) KTCA New Orleans Cooking With Kevin Belton Traditional New Orleans Calas; Jambalaya a la Big Easy; Creole Rice Custard Pudding.

TRAV Bizarre Foods: Delicious Destinations Andrew samples the taste of Veracruz, Mexico, including Arroz a la tumbada and more.

11:00 a.m. (2) KTCA Jacques Pépin: More Fast Food My Way Rigatoni with Lettuce, Eggplant and Sautéed Julienned Endive and Steamed Fish and more.

11:30 a.m. (2) KTCA Lidia’s Kitchen (N) Noon (2) KTCA Surviving Thanksgiving With Sara Moulton Sara Moulton gives culinary tips and techniques for surviving Thanksgiving. (N) (9) KAWE America’s Test Kitchen From Cook’s Illustrated Thai grilled Cornish hens with chili dipping sauce and grilled pita.

1:00 p.m. (2) KTCA Cook’s Country From America’s Test Kitchen Boneless rib roast with Yorkshire pudding and jus is made. (N)

1:30 p.m. (2) KTCA Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street Taipei, Taiwan: Taiwanese flaky scallion pancakes, and Taiwanese pork are made. (N)

2:30 p.m. (8) WDSE Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street Roasted mushroom pizza with fontina and scallions, and a cacio e pepe are prepared.

3:00 p.m. (8) WDSE America’s Test Kitchen From Cook’s Illustrated Julia and Bridget the secrets to three cup chicken.

Brainerd Daily Dispatch, MN: Food Nov 11, 2018 to Nov 17, 2018

Freedom

Dollars raised in our Thrift Store go to help those in need in the Brainerd/Baxter Lakes Community 609 Norwood Street Brainerd, MN

Heartwood is a vibrant senior living community with lifestyle options, services and amenities that give you the freedom to live well. At Heartwood, your home embraces the beauty of its scenic surroundings and extends well beyond your front door.

Grand Lodge & Community Highlights:

• Beautiful log-cabin style architecture

• Just blocks from the Cuyuna Lakes Bike Trail

• General Store

• On-site barber and beauty shop

• Work out center

• Restaurant-style dining and deli

• Meditation chapel

• Library/computer lab

• Billiards room

• Lounge

• Guest suites and private family dining

• Conference center

• Located on the

Heartwood is a vibrant senior living community with lifestyle options, services and amenities that give you the freedom to live well. At Heartwood, your home embraces the beauty of its scenic surroundings and extends well beyond your front door. Grand blocks from the Cuyuna Lakes Bike Trail

• General Store

• On-site barber and beauty shop

• Work out center

• Restaurant-style dining and deli

• Meditation chapel

• Library/computer lab

•