Stephanie March

Stephanie March is back on the job as New York prosecutor Alexandra Cabot on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.

March will guest star on NBC’s top-rated drama for six episodes, beginning Feb. 17, series executive producer Neal Baer said. The show airs at 10 p.m. Tuesdays (Ch. 7 and 10).

The actress compared the program to “an old flame.”

“Every time I run into it I think, ‘Hmmm, what if?’ I look forward to spending some time working with a production that has always been so rewarding for me,” March said in a statement.

She starred on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit for four seasons, leaving the show in 2003 as her character was forced into witness protection because of efforts to break a drug cartel.

In a 2005 episode, Cabot came out of the protection program to testify against the head of the cartel, who ultimately was killed in prison. March also briefly reprised the role of Cabot on NBC’s drama Conviction, which aired in 2006.

As Baer tells it, Cabot wasn’t ready until now to put her difficult experience behind her and return to work with her former special victims unit colleagues. He welcomed having Cabot’s “commanding presence” back in the courtroom, Baer said.

During Cabot’s return, prosecutor Kim Greylek (Michaela McManus) will be temporarily on assignment in Washington, D.C., working with the Justice Department.

March, who is married to celebrity chef Bobby Flay, appears in the upcoming movie This Side of Truth with Ricky Gervais and has guest-starred in series including 30 Rock, Grey’s Anatomy and Rescue Me.

President, father on Fox

In the competition for the biggest Sunday morning interview, Fox News Sunday (9 a.m., Ch. 25 and 64) might have scored the best “get.” Brit Hume, filling in for host Chris Wallace, has a sit-down with President George W. Bush and his father, George H.W. Bush.

It’s the first time the two have done an interview together, according to Fox News.

In an interview taped Wednesday, the outgoing and former presidents spoke about their experiences in the White House, the transition to the Obama administration and how they believe the current president will be remembered.

That won’t be Sunday’s only big interview. ABC’s George Stephanopoulos has President-elect Barack Obama on This Week (10:30 a.m., Ch. 5 and 6).

Sinise’s Iraq trip to air

CSI: NY star Gary Sinise can be seen in a new time slot this weekend.

The actor will be featured in On the Road in Iraq With Our Troops and Gary Sinise, a documentary airing on Fox News tonight (9 p.m., Ch. 25 and 64).

Culled from 26 hours of footage taken of a trip Sinise made to Iraq in July, the hourlong special follows the actor as he visits with U.S. troops across the country.

It was the fourth trip to the war zone for Sinise, who started traveling to U.S. bases with the USO after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

He said he agreed to let his friend, filmmaker Jonathan Flora, shoot footage of his trip last year in an effort to put a spotlight on the thousands of soldiers who remain in combat.

“Iraq is off the front page now, so unless you are personally attached or involved with someone who has sacrificed, who is serving in the military, then you’re probably not too aware,” Sinise said.

Rachael Ray to showcase Daisy Martinez

Rachael Ray is giving Food Network fans a taste of the Latino kitchen.

Ray is producing a new show for the network starring actress and cookbook author Daisy Martinez. The weekly Viva Daisy! premieres this morning at 9 for a six-week run. The show is the network’s second focused on Latino foods, joining Ingrid Hoffman’s Simply Delicioso.

Martinez previously hosted public television’s Hispanic foods-focused Daisy Cooks. The new show will be the first from Ray’s production company, Watch Entertainment, that doesn’t feature Ray.

The collaboration began after Ray and Martinez bonded while participating in a panel discussion together. Ray says she knew immediately she wanted to give Martinez a bigger platform from which to talk about Latino foods.

“She can’t tell you about a recipe without telling you why you would want to make it,” Ray said in a telephone interview. “Which is so much more important to me than learning a technique.”

Martinez said hopes to use the show to get people excited about the diversity of Latino food. And while she won’t limit herself to Ray’s signature 30-minute meals, Martinez says her cooking is always user-friendly.

“It’s really going to be a peak into my life, into my home, into my kitchen,” she said. “I’m going to be sharing my family with you, sharing meals that we have.”