The year’s most embarrassing live TV food moments

We’re fans of Monty Python, which we can still catch at occasional odd hours on TV, and in that tradition we thought we’d bring you this list from the Braiser of “The 11 Most Disasterous Morning Show Cooking Segments of 2012.” Some of them have reached notoriety already, such as the infamous scene of Paula Deen groping Matt Lauer who keeps asking her “seriously” to stop while she instructs him to “rub his meat.” Other high points include Savannah Guthrie’s insulting Giada de Laurentiis’s attempt to get Savannah to try Fergus Henderson’s Blood Pudding (she also managed to insult Martha Stewart in another segment). And we love Aretha Franklin acting as the diva and ignoring the time limit the Today Show tried to put on her shrimp cooking.

These episodes put kitchen performance back in perspective. And watch out for our annual Best Cookbooks list for ideas on how to add some new excitement to your (and your grateful gift recipients’) cooking efforts in 2013.