Why oh why do the tabloids have to make up stories? Well, I guess selling papers is their main motivation, but you'd think they could come up with something better than the latest story, which is that Oprah and Rachael Ray are feuding.

MSNBC debunked the rumor by citing an interview with Rachael and Oprah's best buddy, Gayle King, which aired yesterday. In the interview, Gayle says: “I read something that you two were fighting. I know that’s not true.” King told Ray.

Rachael commented that when the rumors stared back in January, she and Oprah "hadn’t even spoken in months." And when they did speak, it was all sunshine and happiness: "Ray told King that when the news broke, 'we had written each other sweet notes, it was her birthday and I sent her snack of the day and she sent me a note.'”

So, yet again, there's no truth to this rumor. Oprah and Rachael Ray are still buddies!

The National Enquirer is at it again. I went back and looked and the rumor that Rachael Ray is getting a divorce have been going around since February 2007 (at least since I started tracking them). So, at what point do people think - "Hmmm - they were wrong for the entire last year so maybe they are wrong this time?" And how many times does Rachael have to deny it?

Although, I have to admit, every time these Rachael Ray divorce rumors come out, I always wonder if maybe this time its true. Maybe I think that because I give these tabloids too much credit because I just don't understand how they can keep publishing the same story over and over again.

MSNBC summarized the allegations of the newest story, with the headline "Rachael Ray’s marriage ‘broken beyond repair.’" It relied on "a source close to the couple" and here's the 411:

Here we are at another Friday. But Thanksgiving is less than a week away! We still don't know we're doing this year, so I could or could not be making a big dinner. We'll just have to wait and see. I hope you can handle the suspense. What are your Thanksgiving plans? Any Rachael Ray dishes on the proposed menu? Check out my post from earlier this week if you're still looking for ideas.

Well, I don't think anyone's done this before (and I'm sure someone will tell me if they have!). The New York Post informs us that Rachael Ray will be filming an episode of her talk show on ice. Guest to the show will even have to put on their skates to make an appearance.

The taping will occur next Friday, January 18, at the Bryant Park skating rink and Rach will arrive on set on a Zamboni machine. Anyone can attend the taping, but seating will be on a first come, first served basis. The episode will air on January 31.

I'll be recovering from my double cooking weekend (bday party for my best friend and Halloween), so I see a tremendous amount of television in my future. However, both parties went off without a hitch! The Turbo Classics menu for the birthday party was a hit, even with the picky eater in the bunch.

On this Saturday, December 1, 2007, Rachael Ray and Dunkin' Donuts will be providing holiday cheer and free transportation for New York City shoppers as part of the launch of the National Card Drive for a non-profit organzation caled Soldiers' Angels.

Rachael will be at the New York Waterways Terminal on the Hudson River to greet holiday shoppers. Shoppers can get free samples of Gingerbread Lattes and Hot Chocolate and hop aboard old-fashioned trolleys providing free transportation for NY Waterways Terminal passengers to top shopping destinations in Manhattan.

Here's the 411:

Rachael Ray talked about her marriage recently with In Touch magazine. Her husband, John Cusimano, joined Rachael for the interview, where she talked about "romance, cooking and kids."

Rachael mentioned her usual Valentine's Day plans: "We always just stay home and cook. We love our dog as much as we love each other, so we stay home and have a threesome. A three-date!"

Here are a few more tidbits from the article:

On how she and her huband met:

"We were at a party with a lot of really tall people and we're both so short that we saw each other right away!"

On having kids:

Probably not," admits Rachael. "That's why we do so much with kids with our Yum-o! charity. I mean, I've got five jobs. It's a little rough. I feel like I'm a bad mom to my dog!"

This week's issue of OK! magazine features Rachael Ray on it's cover. The issue goes on sale today and includes a story in which the "one-woman media conglomerate Rachael Ray sat down to chat about everything from her Christmas plans to what she enjoys eating at this festive time of year."

The short piece included on the mag's website is just an excerpt from the full story, but focuses on Rachael's thoughts on her waistline during the holidays:

TV Alert: Rachael Ray will be appearing on Extra tonight. Here are a few quotes from her talk with Extra, according to Us Weekly.

On having kids:

"I'm too tired. "I feel like I’m a bad mom to my dog... I have five jobs, and I just don’t think I could take on the biggest job of being a parent."

On tabloid reports that she had plastic surgery:

"I really laughed at the one that said I had a brow lift," she says. "Do you really think if somebody gave me a week off I would spend it under a knife and if I was going to cut something off, don't you think it'd be my butt and not my forehead?”

On how tabloid reports affect her:

"The first couple of times I got angry and then I got upset and now I just laugh," Ray says of rumors they're having marital trouble. "I mean, what else are you going to do?"

OK! magazine is taking a bunch of heat for putting a really old picture of Britney on its cover for a story about her current weight loss. Well, luckily they took some time away from that drama to check in with Rachael Ray and her husband John at a Food Bank fundraiser.

When discussing what Rachael does after a long day, John said this: “She cooks all the time! She’ll be at work and have to cook three or four meals. To unwind, believe it or not, she likes to cook.”

Rachael said the same thing: “We make dinner every night so that’s as varied as there are numbers of days in the year,” she says. “We make something every night.”

Holy cow, it's almost Christmas. How did this happen? I've got almost all my Christmas shopping done. Just one more gift to buy and I'm golden. Shockingly, I didn't give out even one Rachael Ray-themed present this year. I think I've pretty much given everyone I know at least one of her cookbooks, so that well may have run dry.

Here are some Rachael Ray posts from around the blogosphere this week. If you see a post that you think would be good for the Roundup, or you write one yourself, e-mail me so I can be sure to include it.

What a week! Is anyone else exhausted? If you live in NYC, I hope you're not too tired to head out to Rachael Ray's appearance tomorrow (and free lattes should be a good motivator). I'm looking forward to flopping down on the couch and reading my new Rachael Ray magazine from cover to cover.

Here are some Rachael Ray posts from around the blogosphere this week. If you see a post that you think would be good for the Roundup, or you write one yourself, e-mail me so I can be sure to include it.

Hey look! It's McSteamy! Another week with five all new episodes this week. Here are the highlights and recipes from Rachael Ray's talk show this week. For the recipes from this week's shows, check out the shopping list and the recipe archive.

People magazine recently featured a small piece about Rachael Ray. She discusses what it was like for her during lunchtime at school. Rachael was attending a benefit for Food For New York and the Lunchbox Fund. She told the crowd: "I had the lunchbox that cleared the cafeteria. I was very unpopular in the early grades."

I swear this isn't me. Slashfood's Kristyn Pomranz shared this photo from a booksigning in Syosset, New York for Yum-O: The Family Cookbook. Even I wouldn't go this far! Anyone that reads this blog want to fess up and take ownership of this tattoo? Any chance it was just temporary?

The Boston Globe's Jonathan Levitt recently profiled Rachael Ray in honor of her new cookbook, Just In Time. These articles just crack me up, since it always seems liike the journalists really don't want to like Rachael, but they just can't help themselves.

So, apparently everyone in the blogosphere was too worked up about the stupid "Is Rachael Ray a terrorist" story to write any posts about making her recipes this week! I cannot tell you how many blog posts and news articles have been posted about the Dunkin Donuts ad where Rachael Ray was supposedly wearing a keffiyeh.

The ad has now been pulled by Dunkin Donuts, who also informed critics that the scarf actually had a paisley print. Whatever! It's such a stupid story that I really didn't want to write about it at all, but instead it'll just make this appearance in the Roundup instead of getting its very own spotlight. If you want to check out the ad and read about the non-scandal scandal, check out this ABC News story that sums it up and has a video of the ad.

Rachael Ray is a spokesperson for Dunkin' Donuts and it is having another fun event in NYC, although Rachael Ray won't be appearing at it. If you live in NYC, the event is happening on February 13th to celebrate the launch of Dunkin' Donuts' new Oven-Toasted Menu.

You can get free samples of new toasty flatbread sandwiches, personal pizzas, hash browns and Dunkin’s famous coffee. Relationship expert and Time Out New York Dating Columnist, Julia Allison, and celebrity cabbie matchmaker, Ahmed Ibrahim, will also be on hand to give free advice to help New Yorkers with any pre-Valentine's Day questions. WKTU's Cindy Vero, co-host of "Cubby in the Morning," will also be giving away a vacation to a warm locale. The event starts at 8 AM and goes until 2 PM on February 13th, at Herald Square (34th St. and Avenue of the Americas). Eat some free food for me if you go!

Here are some Rachael Ray posts from around the blogosphere this week. If you see a post that you think would be good for the Roundup, or you write one yourself, e-mail me so I can be sure to include it.

Time to clear your calendars, Philadelphia Rachael Ray fans! On November 7, Rachael Ray will participate in the 6abc Holiday Food Drive through an event called ‘Cooking for a Cause with Rachael Ray’. Rachael will make an in-store appearance at Boscov’s Moorestown Mall (I'm assuming you guys know where that is....). The appearance will include a cooking demonstration with kid-friendly, healthy meal ideas.

Could this be true? Man, writing this blog has turned me into such a skeptic. I defnitely don't believe any story about Rachael Ray's marriage, it took a lot to convince me she was throwing a SXSW party, and now I'm skeptical about this newest story. According to PopCrunch (via Slashfood), Rachael Ray is developing a cartoon. See - your reaction was skepticism too, right? Thanks, glad it's not just me. Here are the scant details:

Rachael is developing a cartoon, featuring herself as a young chief, for a January 2009 release throught Oprah’s Harpo Productions.

“It’s in the very early stages of production,” an insider says. “Rachael is working with illustrators, trying to get the right look for her character.”

Well, there's big news in Rachael Ray's world today. Rachael's Ray's magazine, Every Day with Rachael Ray, has itself a new Executive Editor. Silvana Nardone, who is the magazine's Editor, said: “Theresa shares our sense of humor and our fun, flirty attitude. We can’t wait to have her join the party at Every Day with Rachael Ray,” said Ms. Nardone.

Details magazine's April issue (on newsstands now) includes a very interesting article about Rachael Ray's husband, John Cusimano. The article mostly focuses on John's membership in The Cringe, where he is the lead singer. He discusses how the rumors regarding their marriage have affected him: "My initial reaction was shock," he says. "But I guess it's an occupational hazard, you know? The more I get used to my position, I just kind of roll my eyes and say, ˜Whatever.' If this is the worst thing I need to contend with, I'll be okay." A short pause. "We'll be okay."

The article goes on to talk about what Rachael and John's home life is like:

Rachael Ray's talk show is all geared up for Sweeps. They are callling the month "February Favorites" and are giving away a whole bunch of goodies to the studio audience each show (so count yourself lucky if you got to go to one of these tapings).

The sweeps spectacular began with her Rachael Ray on Ice episode, with Denis Leary, filmed on the ice rink at Bryant Park. Her sweeps shows continued with the "Super Bowl Recipe Playoff," in which the New York Giants' Ottis Anderson, Atlanta Falcon's Quarterback Joey Harrington, and New York Jet's Offensive tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson had a Super Bowl recipe cookoff hosted by Mario Batali.

The remaining sweeps guest include Ringo Starr, Brooke Shields, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Paula Abdul, Dennis Quaid, Jeff Probst, Mary-Louise Parker, Kate Walsh, Larry The Cable Guy, Bindi Irwin, Oprah's health guru Bob Greene and Howie Mandel.

The reports are rolling in from Rachael Ray's appearance on Saturday for a Dunkin' Donuts event with Soldiers' Angels. Our friend Mike from TV Food Fan went down to see Rach and offers some behind the scenes info and pictures. Make you watch the slideshow he has at the end of the post.

OK! Magazine also stopped by the event to chat with Rachael Ray:

How did you become involved with Soldier’s Angels?

This story somehow got lost in my list of posts, but better late than never! InStyle magazine covered an event to benefit the New York City Food Bankthat Rachael Ray and her husband John Cusimano attended.

Rachael and John designed a lunchbox to be auctioned off at the event. Other stars participating included Beyonce, Reese Witherspoon, Mike Myers, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Billy Crudup and Zac Posen. There were a total of over 100 lunchboxes.

Rachael and her husband John also bought the lunchbox designed by Michael Stipe. You can check out a video of the bidding in the video below [via Snack], where John bid $35,000 for the prize:

So, how was everyone's Christmas? My foray into baking was a success - the Cherry Breakfast Cake was a major hit with my family and with my co-workers, who were kind enough to eat the leftovers.

Did you try any Rachael Ray recipes this year? Rachael's Southern Green Beans are now a staple at our family Christmas and Thanksgiving, no matter who is cooking them. This year they were as good as ever.

Here are some Rachael Ray posts from around the blogosphere this week. If you see a post that you think would be good for the Roundup, or you write one yourself, e-mail me so I can be sure to include it.

Rachael Ray wrote on her blog about her participation in the 2007 DogCatemy Awards. This sounds like one heck on an event. It is hosted by North Shore Animal League America, "the world's largest no-kill animal shelter."

Gene Simmons recently stopped by Rachael Ray's talk show. He issued a statement saying:

"Recently did the Rachel Ray Show, which will not air, I'm told until March 11th - (coincidentally the premier of our Season III of Gene Simmons Family Jewels). All I can tell you about the show is that it involves a "makeover" - but what kind, I'm not saying. It was interesting to see just how Rachel worked. Unlike other shows, she doesn't use cue cards (cards that have words on them for the host to say -- like a script). She just says it. What you see is what happens. There were no retakes. It was real. Everyone on the staff were terrific and I think you'll get a kick out of the subject matter (which I'm not free to talk about just yet)."

So, Gene Simmons seems to have some respect for Rachael's skills, huh? Sounds like it will be a fun episode.