just desserts

I was going to post this interview with Carl Reiner that Conan O'Brien did on The Tonight Show last night anyway, but it's an added bonus that the clip also includes Snoop Dogg, who listens to Reiner auditioning to sing on one of his CDs. I never really thought I'd ever include the words "Carl Reiner" and "Snoop Dogg" in the same sentence.

As any 'Top Chef' fans knows, dessert challenges have always proven to be anything but easy as pie for the show's cheftestants. So anticipation for the latest 'Top Chef' spin-off series on Bravo, the just-announced 'Just Desserts,' promises to be high.

Bravo begins casting this week for contestants for the series, which will launch in 2010. No judges or hosts have been set yet for the show, which will capitalize not only on a recent plethora of pastry-themed series ('Ace of Cakes' and frequent cake-themed 'Challenge' specials on Food Network, TLC's 'Cake Boss' and 'Ultimate Cake Off,' as well as WE TV's addictive 'Amazing Wedding Cakes'), but also on the certain drama that has followed almost any dessert-themed scenes on 'Top Chef.'

If you're a fan of Top Chef, there's nothing tougher for the contestants than desserts. Just this past week during 'restaurant wars,' did you notice that one team decided to have no desserts on their menu at all. They just didn't want to risk blowing it.

Well, Bravo noticed, not just last week but all through the Top Chef series. Bravo's creating a Top Chef spinoff called Just Desserts in which chefs will have no choice, they'll have to deal with sugar, icing, cakes and struedels.

Top Chef: Just Desserts is the second Top Chef spinoff, after Top Chef Masters. I'm anticipating Top Chef: Maitre D's down the road, aren't you?