4/21 - Larry Lipson, Janet Johnston, Erik Estrada, Lou Ferrigno, Chrissy Le Nguyen

 Janet Johnston  Food Network  ‘Spice & Easy’ Premieres April 24th 9:30am ET/PT

As an avid home cook and successful spice shop owner, Janet Johnston has a deep knowledge of spices and demonstrates the ease of infusing them into everyday dishes resulting in fantastic flavors. Janet grew up in Hoffman Estates, Ill., outside of Chicago. She earned an Associate’s Degree in 1990 from William Rainey Harper College and a Bachelor’s Degree in photography at Chicago’s Columbia College in 1993. She worked for 13 years at Accenture (formerly Andersen Consulting) working her way to a manager on the Internet marketing team. She and her now husband, Mike, moved to Denver, Colo., in 2004 to open Savory Spice Shop. They now own four shops in Colorado and have started a franchise business as well. In August 2008, Savory Spice Shop was featured on the Denver episode of Food Network’s Road Tasted with the Neelys as a standout local business. Janet and Mike then appeared on Paula’s Best Dishes and Down Home with the Neelys. Janet enjoys traveling, antiquing, gardening, and exercising including yoga. She currently resides in Denver, Colo., with her husband, Mike, and their dog, Bounder.

Pop Culture Icons Erik Estrada &  Lou Ferrigno 

Erik Estrada played the role of California Highway Patrol officer “Francis ‘Ponch’ Poncherello” in the hit TV series “CHiPs” from 1977-1983  Lou Ferrigno played the title role in the “The Incredible Hulk” from 1978-1982  Charisma Carpenter whose cult-status as vampire-hunter “Cordelia Chase” on the supernatural TV series “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” (1997-2003) and its spin-off “Angel” (1999-2004) makes her a perfect defender for the league. Responding to the reported epidemic of Butterfinger® bar thefts nationwide, pop culture icons Erik Estrada, Lou Ferrigno and Charisma Carpenter, known in the TV world as famous defenders, have joined forces to create the Butterfinger Defense League, announced today by Nestlé USA.

Working together to help consumers defend their bars from would-be thieves and to encourage the “Nobody’s Gonna Lay A Finger On My Butterfinger!” tagline-turned-mantra, the Butterfinger Defense League makes its official debut in an exclusive music video and song remix by iconic rapper Sir Mix-A-Lot.

“The Butterfinger Defense League was formed to inspire and help consumers protect their favorite candy bar from anyone who tries to lay a finger,” said Nestlé USA Confections & Snacks spokesperson Tricia Bowles. “Not only are Erik, Lou and Charisma perfect pop culture personalities for our brand but they’re also iconic defenders, who understand the desire for Butterfinger and how to best protect it for millions of fans across the country.”  The defense-ready stars from popular TV shows spanning the last three decades appear in the remixed video titled “Baby Got It Back/I Like Big Butterfingers” with Sir Mix-A-Lot, who performs the irreverently updated rap song as Estrada, Ferrigno and Carpenter dance and sing along. In the limited-edition music video, the league members also demonstrate some of their classic defense mechanisms and moves to protect Butterfinger.  “Each of us brings something special yet significant to the BFDL, whether strength, sass or sheer sexiness,” said Estrada, who played the role of California Highway Patrol officer “Francis ‘Ponch’ Poncherello” in the hit TV series “CHiPs” from 1977-1983. Estrada described his signature Butterfinger defense move as the ‘Sex-strada’ approach. “Even charm and sex-appeal can be key tools in helping to defend a valuable possession like Butterfinger.”

Chrissy Le Nguyen -  Managing Editor Yahoo! TV

Chrissy and the Yahoo TV tean picked last nights shows to watch .. Where they right? Here is the link to their picks  http://tv.yahoo.com/collections/442 - Mike & Paul talk about last night's "American Idol"; "Dancing With the Stars";  "The Biggest Loser"; "Lost" and much more.


Larry Lipson - Lipson Research Lab for Wine Studies - Costa Rica

Larry is live from his research facility in Costa Rica and talks about wines from around the world and some interesting wines for sampling.  Larry checks out international wines and this veteran wine expert also talks about wine & food pairings and his 50 year career as food editor at the Los Angeles Daily News. He also relates interesting stories of trips to restaurants with his beautiful wife and co-researcher Lillian. For many years he checked out various restaurants for the Daily News incognito and then wrote sometimes scathing articles about the establishments. For that reason, he is currently in the Witness Protection Program and his exact location is unknown.