Carrie Underwood was on the Ellen show this week and the talk show host really cornered her about her relationship with NHL hockey player, Mike Fisher.  She asked Carrie about whether Mike had his own teeth since hockey is such a rough sport.  Carrie said that when a mutual friend was matchmaking, she asked what he did and was turned off by the fact that he played hockey.  Then she asked if he had his own teeth and when the friend said that he didn’t (but that he had a good dentist) she was turned off again.  When she heard he lived in Canada, that was the third strike since it would mean a long-distance relationship.  Fortunately, it’s been more than a year which is her longest relationship, she says, and it looks like she’s really happy.

She also talked about her new music, including the single “Cowboy Casanova” which, she explains, is not a reference to her ex-boyfriend, Tony Romo, who happens to play for the Dallas Cowboys.  Too funny!

• Bonnie Hunt – Larry the Cable Guy, Nigel Lythgoe and Paul McKenna
• Dr. Phil – The Rudeness Epidemic
• Ellen –  Robert Pattinson and Justus Rivera
• Martha – Destination Weddings
• Oprah –  America’s Favorite Husband Ray Romano Returns to TV
• Rachael Ray – A Twilight Surprise and Timing Your Turkey
• Regis and Kelly – Penelope Cruz, Taylor Lautner and All My Children
• The View –  Teen and tween millionaires, Joseph Califano and Emily Osment
• Tyra –  Tyra’s “Fake Hair Academy”! Plus, Social Networking Safety Tips
• Wendy Williams – Toni Braxton, Rob Estes and the Village People

Daytime queen, Oprah Winfrey, has decided to end her popular talk show at the end of its 25th season in September 2011.

The president of Harpo made the announcement and said that Oprah would make it official in an upcoming episode where she will explain the reasons why she is ending her run.  Her show is the top-rated U.S. daytime talk show and has attracted an average of 7.1 million viewers this year.

I’m sad to see the show come to an end but, at the same time, I think it’s the right time for her to close it down.  What do you think?

In honor of Oprah, here’s a video of her accepting the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Daytime Emmys in 1998.

Dr. Oz gave adult viewers a little sex education.  Honestly, while many of us talk about (or even have) sex on a regular basis, how often do we take the time to educate ourselves about our bodies and how we change in our lifetimes.  The truth is that so many of us are in the dark about this very important part of our lives.

One thing he explained was that, in middle age, a woman’s vagina becomes more susceptible to infection after her estrogen levels drop whereas men lose the firmness of their erections due to a loss of testosterone.

He also said that one of the reasons for many divorces is that people lose their lust for each other and it not only results in diminished orgasms but also can lead to a loss of vitality which can affect life expectancy.

Former Alaskan governor, Sarah Palin, was on the Oprah show today where she talked about just about everything.  Oprah asked her about her daughter, Bristol, and the fact that the girl became a teen mom despite the fact that Palin advocates abstinence.  She said that the campaign managers during John McCain’s presidential bid (with Palin as his running mate), wanted her to put a positive spin on the pregnancy and said that the image of the “happy grandparents” was all orchestrated.   Interesting… Here’s a quick video overview of the appearance:

My family loves burgers of all types – the guys like beef burgers while the girls prefer turkey or chicken.  I’m always looking for a new way to spice up the classic fare so my interest was piqued by a segment on the Today show that demonstrated some techniques for giving burgers an Asian flair.

Instead of the traditional seasonings, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, brown sugar, green onions, black pepper and sesame seeds.  The chef used ground beef but I’m planning to use it with my ground poultry as well.  For condiments, she had carrots and cucumbers, kimchi and regular toppings like ketchup, mustard and mayonnaise (she added some hot sauce to it).  Watch the segment:

• Bonnie Hunt – Fran Drescher, Paula Deen and Michael Groover
• Dr. Phil – Are You Ready?
• Ellen –  TBA
• Martha – TBA
• Oprah –  Oprah Fridays Live
• Rachael Ray – A Firefighter Cookoff
• Regis and Kelly – TBA
• The View –  Whoopi’s birthday, Stephen King and Kool & The Gang performs
• Tyra –  The Cast of “Glee” and “Precious”
• Wendy Williams – Diahann Carroll

Today show host, Robin Roberts, interviewed American Idol winner, Carrie Underwood, on her show In the Spotlight with Robin Roberts.  Carrie was so sweet and humble, as usual.  She talked about how hard it was for her to even get to the audition since she had never even been to an airport before. 

She took Robin back to her hometown of Checotah, Oklahoma which is genuinely a very small town.  There was only a single stoplight when Carrie was growing up.  The singer also demonstrated how good she is at bowling (she even travels with her own shoes).

Carrie talked about how her life changed after winning Idol.  She had to really adjust to strangers wanting to know everything about her.  It has been tough for her love life but she seems to be in a very happy relationship with Ottawa Senators NHL hockey star, Mike Fisher.

John Travolta was on the Ellen show yesterday with his daughter, Ella, marking the little girl’s first appearance on a talk show.  It was the first time I’ve seen him sit down and talk to someone since his 16-year-old, Jett, died tragically in January after suffering a seizure.  He was so emotional with pride.  It was pretty touching.  

Ellen thought it would be fun to show Ella some of her dad’s earlier work – two commercials where he happens to be singing in the show. 

Ella is pretty cute.  She looks like such a mix of her father and mother, Kelly Preston.  Here’s the video!

Beef tenderloin is one of the best cuts of meat you can find (at least in my opinion) so I was interested in the Today show segment that made use of it.   The chef seared the tenderloin in some olive oil with Poblano chilies and garlic stuffed inside of it.  It was cool because he also demonstrated the proper technique for tying meat.  Very useful! 

After the meat was seared, he threw it in the oven and then stressed the importance of letting the meat rest for a few minutes before cutting it in order to keep it moist.  It really did look delicious.  Check out the video!