Brian Boitano cooks for guests at his San Francisco home, where the juice, pitcher and floral pillows all match (Photo courtesy of the Food Network)

• People who care what Brian Boitano would cook for an all-female roller derby crew are in luck: his Food Network show has been picked up for a second season. What Would Brian Boitano Make features the Olympic figure skater preparing one-of-a-kind dinner parties in his San Francisco home. The meagre four-episode first run will be outdone by the 10-episode batch set to air in the New Year. No word yet on Brian Orser’s cooking show. [Eat Me Daily]

• As far as we are concerned, ice cream is already a miracle food, but researchers at the University of Missouri are looking to make rocky road not just delicious but also nutritious. Similar to calcium-enriched Tropicana or probiotic pizza, ice cream could soon be infused with fibre and antioxidants in a way that eases waistline worries without changing the food’s taste or texture. [Emax Health]

• Some folks might be disgusted by the thought of eating brownies that are two weeks past their best-before date, but old food is becoming big business on-line. In recent recessionary months, people have been increasingly clamouring for discounts on would-be food waste. “In the past year, sales have gone up 500 per cent,” says Dan Cluderay about his Web site, Approved Food, which hawks things like past-prime biscuits and pop. [BBC]

• If a charred 72-year-old bottle of Löwenbräu reaches the asking price of £5,000 at auction this month, it will be the most expensive bottle of beer ever sold. The bottle of German suds, which is one of the few items that survived the Hindenburg zeppelin explosion of 1937, is not for drinking, as the beer has a shelf life of only about six months. “It is probably quite putrid to taste,” advises the auctioneer.  [New York Post]

• Suzanne Somers thinks bioidentical hormones are the cure for hot flashes, but doctors aren’t so sure. Medical professionals do not endorse any form of long-term hormone treatments for menopause, nor do they recommend the Somers-boosted hormones, which are touted as safer for the body because they are made from plants, not chemicals. It is also claimed they can be used to bump up energy levels and lagging libidos. [Chicago Tribune]