Paula Deen

THE CHARLIE SHEEN headlines came into Tattle Central at a fast and furious pace yesterday: TMZ.com kicked it off with the rather sedate "Charlie Sheen Hospitalized. " Aw, that's a shame. Life & Style chimed in a few minutes later with "Charlie Sheen Caught with Escort, $7,000 in Hotel Damages. " That's more like it. RadarOnline.com confirmed "Charlie Sheen Was With Hooker Before Taken to Hospital. " Radar Online added: "Hooker Said Charlie Sheen Was Doing Cocaine.

After the final course was served last month at what was once the city's premier food event, the question was inevitable: Is this the end of The Book and the Cook? If nothing else, some insist, it's clearly on life support. Looking back at this year's small event and its modest success made it clear to organizer Judy Faye that more high-profile authors and events are needed to draw attention to a collective schedule. Of 16 scheduled dinners this year, two (with Japanese author Hiroko Shimbo at Fork and Seattle-based Tom Douglas at Twenty21)

The show is being billed as "The Good vs. Evil Tour. " But there will be no flaming pans or flashing knives or mythical Chairman sitting in judgment, which may come as a surprise, since the dueling stars are two celebrity chefs. When Eric Ripert takes the stage Wednesday night at the Merriam Theater, just a few blocks south of his restaurant 10 Arts, he'll be sitting in an easy chair across from the culinary world's bad boy, Anthony Bourdain. And the two will - chat. "I'm eager to see how they're going to fill an hour and a half," said Rosemarie Fabien, an architecture writer who's spent $153 in all to take her son, Nick Normile, a Wharton School freshman and food blogger.

Disney sweetie turned Hollywood ingenue Lindsay Lohan in legal trouble? Say it ain't so! LiLo, 24, who has only two weeks left in her court-ordered sojourn at the Betty Ford Center in Rancho Mirage, Calif., may find herself behind bars. Police say the Parent Trap star is being investigated for allegedly assaulting an unnamed female employee at the rehab. TMZ says the Dec. 12 incident was sparked when the employee chided LiLo for returning late after spending the night at a local bar. The employee says she was attacked when she insisted LiLo take a drug and alcohol test.

What great American artist other than Woody Allen has been in therapy for 30 years? Try Bruce Springsteen , 62, who reveals his psychic scars in   the New Yorker. "My issues weren't as obvious as drugs. They were quieter, [but] just as problematic," the Boss says. (Pal Dave Marsh says the rocker "was feeling suicidal" at one point.) The Boss says what he felt was an inner tension that defines artists. "With all artists, because of the undertow of history and self-loathing, there is a tremendous push toward self-obliteration . . . onstage," he says.

HOLIDAZE Sugarplum visions Pennsylvania Ballet begins its 25th annual "Nutcracker," with magnificent choreography by George Balanchine and visual treats to charm every heart. Academy of Music, Broad and Locust streets, 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Saturday, 12 p.m. and 5 p.m. Sunday, performances through Dec. 30, $20-$135, 215-893-1999, paballet.org. Seasonal sounds The ageless Peter Nero revisits a number of songs of the season in his yearly Holiday POPS! Concert. (Among the voices: The Philadelphia Boys Choir, African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas Gospel Choir, Capathia Jenkins.)

In Concert 2301 Boardwalk, Atlantic City; 609-348-7000. www.boardwalkhall.com . Flo Rida. $45-$105. 7/27. 7 pm. Jennifer Lopez and Enrique Iglesias. $49.50-$249.50. 7/29. 7:30 pm.   9 S. Bryn Mawr Ave., Bryn Mawr; 610-864-4303. www.brynmawrtwilightconcerts.com . Mary Fahl. $10; free 16 and under. 7/28. 7 pm.   421 N. Seventh St.; 215-569-9400. www.livenation.com . M83. $30. 8/1. 8 pm.   2125 Chestnut St.; 267-765-5210. www.r5productions.com . Family Band.

Pound for pound, 2006 put forth its share of notable (and notably hefty) cookbooks suitable for gifting or adding to your own collection. Cookbooks are the most popular gift books. Reading and collecting them is a favorite pastime of one in three home cooks. And newlyweds and others kitchen newbies need them. Cookbook sales are nearing seven million copies a year (up 12 percent in a year, according to Nielsen BookScan), with 6 of the 10 best-sellers coming from popular TV cooks, chiefly Rachael Ray and Paula Deen.

"We are e-mul-si-fy-ing," trills Lisa Prell, as she shows a young student how to whisk a mixture of mustard, oil and Tabasco sauce. "You know what that is? It's when all the ingredients are separate and come together for a group hug. Cool beans, huh?" At the Saturday morning cooking class, three girls and three boys, ages 7 to 11, listen attentively to a lesson on knife safety at the Kitchen Kapers studio in Moorestown. Then Prell passes around Rachael Ray Tadpole knives ergonomically designed for little hands.