Yaaaaaaaaay! Thanks for watching!!!!

Well, I have some amazing news I can finally share! A couple of weeks ago I found out I get to continue taping Cooking for Real for Food Network! I can't believe it, I am so HAPPY! This is a result of early support and viewership, I can't tell you how thankful I am. I've met so many great people here on my blog and myspace. I've even reconnected with friends I thought I'd lost because I moved around so much growing up. Then, the cool thing is exchanging food ideas and stories with people. I really enjoy it. So, if you've watched Cooking for Real, taped it to watch later or told someone about the show, I truly appreciate it. It means so much to me. I've only heard good reports from my bosses and it's a direct result of support. It gives me a chance to continue living in this crazy dream. Life is pretty amazing when you just live it and make deliberate choices. I still can't believe it! When I got the call I was totally caught off guard and couldn't say much. It's one of the few times in my life I've searched for the next word and I used to be called motormouth growing up teeheehee ... I'm sure somewhere in there though I said Thank You, cuz wowwwwww, am I thankful for this opportunity. It feels crazy! Thanks to you too, just reading this blog means if you haven't watched the show, you may catch in the future. If that is the case, I hope you do get a chance to see the show and I hope you enjoy it.

So, with the news of more shows I was just super happy and then all of a sudden my mind went in a jillion directions ... I have work to do!! I found out there's no delay and I begin taping verrrrry soon! I wanted to say something when I got the word, but just got the green light so I can give you some behind the scenes stuff. This week, I'm in the Food Network kitchens working with my producer and the culinary staff. We're testing my recipes so when we post them up on FoodNetwork.com they are written in a uniform way. It's also a major help when we tape the shows, it helps the producers see what the cooking process looks like for my recipes. This helps them map out segments in each episode. We began cooking yesterday and so far I think we've got some great shows planned with some really yummy recipes. Yesterday we started with Chicken Sausage in Vodka Sauce for breakfast and ended the day with Grilled Fish Tacos, I have a belly of steel lol ... the list of recipes between the two was quite varied and all great things I can't wait to share with ya! Today, I cut cabbage, smashed garlic, fried fries, cut mangos, sliced onions, cut cucumbers, seasoned pork, reduced liquids ... and the fun goes on! I think the best part of the day was the end, and not because it was over, but because we baked up my Peaches n Cream cookies and killed a few while cleaning up for the day. Take a look at a shot I took last night when I tested them in my home kitchen.

And then a long shot of the kitchen ...

and two lonely cakes that the kitchen staff cooked up...

I had a piece of the one on the right. They cook all day in the kitchens for various projects and the amount of tasting and passing around of food is just like heaven for me!! Everyone is cooking and sharing, really a cool environment. Lemme check and see if I can give out the cake names below cuz they aren't mine, the slice I had was dense, moist, creamy and a bit light at the same time. I saved most of it and took it home so I could massacre it in private and give it the time and attention a good slice of cake deserves. Yes, that's how good it was. Verrrrrrrry, I mean verrrrrrrrrrrry good. Check in here and there if you are in to pics, I'll take more to post now that I have the go ahead to blog away about the new episodes! :-) Speaking of blogs, head on over to The Amateur Gourmet and check in on Adam Roberts ... I ran into him today at work and I'm really enjoying his webisodes, he's taller than I remembered, but just as nice! The FN Dish updates weekly on FoodNetwork.com Here's my webisode with him ...

It ain't easy being GREEN

© Will Sherman

Word. It sure ain't easy being GREEN. So, here and there I do my teeny part. Taking the train places, reusing plastic and paper bags, buying local and I also have a big thing about waste. Especially food. So anyway,  there I was in Modesto, California on biz and at the end of the day we ended up at a local grocery store stocking up for our hotel rooms for the last night in town, Wednesday. We were way too tired to go out and eat. So, we all walked in together and went our separate ways following our stomachs. We were all hungry! First, lemme tell ya, if you are in the Modesto area and get to shop at O'Brien's Market, i'm a bit jealous. If you are ever in the area and get into grocery stores with great atmosphere it's a worthy stop. Lemme tell ya, I have NEVER seen floors so shiny in a grocery store! They were the first thing I noticed and just could barely take my eyes off them! They were also a deep green color, very nice departure from the norm. Ok, so I'll get to why I titled this "It ain't easy bein GREEN" in a sec, but for real, this store was beautiful. Then on top of that, something I'm not used to in NYC much, it was GARGANTUAN!! teeheehee ... there was so much to choose from. I got some salmon rolls with cream cheese, new england clam chowder from the soup bar, 8 layer dip and a bag of tortilla chips. I know, a mish-mash of stuff, nothing goes together except the chips n dip, but it was what my eyes wanted and I was shopping while on the cell so, it was a bit half-minded, plus remember the floors were hypnotizing! Anyway, here goes the title part...

The next morning I still had some chips left and the bag was so huge I couldn't see myself throwing the chips away at the hotel just because I over bought. I mean, if there was a smaller bag, I didn't see it, again, the aimless 'on the cell phone walk'. Plus, the chips were yummy, I wanted to bring them home and my flight was that morning. Throwing them away would be wack, and not GREEN. Lot's of Earth Day press these days of course, but I promise I do try to do my little bit here n there. I got to the airport to depart and while boarding the plane the guys in the seat next to me and the flight attendant all made fun of me for having such a big bag of chips on the flight. They were like "didja bring lunch for all of us?" lol. I laughed then and I even chuckle now, but a teeny piece of me was like, word ... I bet people think this chick is crazy carrying a bag of chips so big. I really couldn't see wasting them and they were good too, so you know? Then the bag wouldn't fit under the seat so, the flight attendant had to put it in the overhead compartment, I mean the bag of chips really got it's 15 minutes of fame :-). I thought about it on the plane and it's real teeny and not even an embarrassment, but I know there are things that are very GREEN, but people deem them embarrassing as if it isn't cool to save and think about the enviroment in everyday life. I said to myself during the flight in the spirit of Earth Day 2008(April 22nd), I'll write a post and call it what I have above. I used to lovvvve Kermit the Frog and how crazy is it that on my 1st page of a search for a Kermit pic online, I found a pic of Kermit amongst litter? The post was meant to be! I used to love it when he said it wasn't easy being green. Well, just wanted to pass on the idea of maybe doing a thing or two to be GREEN no matter how someone else may see it. I mean, some people save plastic bags and reuse them, I just saw a story about that this week with the Earth Day press and thought hmph, I don't do that ... why not? If you aren't already on the GREEN band wagon, you don't have to get on the fast train first, try one thing or two things that you know can help the environment. It ain't easy being green, but I'm awful proud of my bag of chips! lol I'm about to tear into them right after this!!

First, real quick ... hope you can check Cooking for Real this weekend! It's the New York Bistro Night theme. The mushroom sauce I make for the chicken is great over tilapia as well and is actually inspired by some great meals at Cafe K here in Brooklyn, NY. I really love a good mushroom sauce and I hope if you do too, you give it a try, or just mind taste it lol ... yeah, new term.

Mind Tasting- the act of tasting foods by reading a recipe or watching someone prepare or describe it's preparation.

Then, the potatoes are a hit around my spot cuz my dude loves 'em. It's a garlicky twist on a classic I hope the garlic lovers will like and the salad is yummy too. I love the sweet and salty balance of the bacon and the sugar, then the vinegar just adds a great tangy thing. Not 100% healthy cuz the bacon, but I love to eat and do my best to not stress too much. I know how to balance the baaaaad with the gooood. Most of the time :-P. Anyway, I really love the tiny bistro scene in NYC. My fave is Petit Abielle and I've gone there for years. We actually shot some of the show open and promos there out front. Just me sippin' on some hot cocoa. They have a small menu of perfection and excellent service. None of these dishes Sunday are there, but the show is more of a vibe and the dishes are some examples of great dishes you can catch all over the great city of New York at it's million upon jillion's of bistro's. Hope you enjoy the show and have a great weekend!

And now ... the bag that just couldn't be wasted ... it isn't that big is it?? That's a sheet of reg-size paper for size reference...The dudes I sat next to on the flight were pretty cool though, the kind that tap ya when the drinks are passin' by .... neeeeeed that! And if by chance she checks the blog, "heyyyyy girl!" to the airport TSA agent that said she'd taped all the shows and hadn't gotten a chance to watch them yet. Thanks so much for the support and I couldn't even believe someone all the way in Oakland, California would even notice me. Food Network has such a big family of viewers and I was so happy to meet you in a neat way. Alright, without further delay ...

Goin' Back To Cali ...

Well, you guessed it! I'm in California ... again. I used to live in Rancho Cucamonga for liiiiike 6 months?? It was such a personally annoying time in my life and when I drove back across this beautiful country to the city I've decided to call home, NYC, I said I'd only go back to Cali for work. So, I'm here ... workin' until Thursday. Ever hear of good problems? Well, mine is not enough waking hours in the day. That's it, can a chick just get saaaaay 2 more hours of awake time in a day? I'm sooooo not the first person to ask for that, so I really need to stop complaining, right? Ok, I will ... In the meantime, have you seen the new VW Bug commercial with Heidi Klum, where the car blushes? LOVE IT! It is so cute and it makes me smile everytime I see it, it's like an event. Hilarious. Ok, my fave cupcake spot post is on the way, but until then ...

Cooking for Real: Week 3 preview ...

Hi all! I've spent most of the day recovering from a late night - early rise thing. Got up this morning to go hang out with DJ Whoo Kid and Coach PR over at G-Unit radio on Sirius' Shade 45 channel. People called in from all over the country and we had plenty of fun. Thanks to the guys from Dallas, Virginia, New York and the especially the two guys from Miami that called in to chat and hit me off with some great real places to get a meal when I go down there for the first time. Yeah, been all over the world, but I've missed Miami, so it's on my short list, I want some Cuban food and a hot beach! So, when I go down, now I have Janet's and Tom Jenkins to look into for a meal. Can't wait! This morning we had food from the 1st show that aired, which was a New Orlean's theme. Tomorrow's show is all about Tex-Mex flavors.

I went to high school and basic training for the Air Force in San Antonio and after being stationed in South Korea for a year, I was sent back to San Antonio to finish my enlistment. It's such a great city a with all the military bases in town, there's a chance to really get some world cuisine in San Antonio if you know where to look. Something you never have to look for in Texas though is Tex-Mex. It's alllll over the place, from the street stand to the super expensive restaurants. I think my favorite recipe from tomorrow's show is the Huevos Rancheros. This is a dish you can find many ways in the southwest. It's usually plated though, so I thought I'd make it more compact. It just happened one day in the kitchen, how to make it without it looking like just an over easy egg with some beans, cheese, tortillas and salsa. After I got the recipe down, it was about making each component really work and have personality. So, why buy a salsa when you can make a fresh pico de gallo? Why use just refried beans in the can when you can hook em up a bit and make a spread? The black bean puree I make on the show is so good on so many things, try corn chips to start and it'd be a better layer in 7-layer dip than just beans from a can as well too. Have fun with the puree and the pico de gallo recipe because they are good for so many other things alone without the company of everything that makes them work for the Huevos Rancheros. I only came up with the puree part of the recipe just this year and wish I'd had it in my life longer. I sometimes add way more cumin than I listed in the recipe, but any recipe is just a good starting point, so find your blend if you use it.

Ok, now the Churros aren't something I fell in love with in San Antonio, I fell in love with them on a train in NYC. Every once in a while, you'll catch a lady selling churros out of a grocery cart in the subway system, not the same lady of course, they are all over the city. Anyway, I had one and loved it, but wanted it fresh and not from a cart that was sitting in the subway for hours waiting on me to buy it. So, I came up with a way to make a version of the sugary doughnut-like dessert at home. The hint of lime really takes the flavor over the edge! Mouth is watering as I type, these were hard to keep on set for the beauty photos we had to get after I prepared each menu item. A sure crowd pleaser, try 'em for kids parties and for adults as well :-).

Then the corn comes from Texas and Red Hook, Brooklyn. I'll talk about the eating scene in Red Hook in the near future here because the season for eating there is on the way with the good weather and more people should make the trek even though it is now getting super crowded due to all the press. The good with the bad :-). Ok, hope you can catch Cooking for Real tomorrow! here's the official show descrip...

RE0103: MEXIN-IT UP
Premieres: Sunday, April 20that 10:30AM ET/PT, Food Network
Some of the best Tex-Mex street food happens right in your own kitchen when Sunny Anderson whips up her Huevos Rancheros with Homemade Black Bean Puree, Mexican Street Corn, and Homemade Churros with a hint of lime.

Paul Mooney kept me up and I liked it ...

So, ok, look ... I cannot begin another Friday post with the "where's my week gone mantra", but omg WMWG??? I'll start by saying a post about my fave cupcake spot is on the way. On Thursday, I had a breakfast meeting with someone from work, so I was in the city early, which almost never happens. It's usually an afternoon trip. Thursday was one of those days we feel we deserve in NYC after having wack winters. lol. I spent 6 months in Cali and must admit, got a bit sick of the same sunshine everyday ... it was real cool when it hailed and even nicer to drive to the top of Mount Baldy and see some snow where the foot of the mountain is like 90 degrees. Ok, so Thursday was lovely in NYC. Everybody was out and about so after bfast, I thought, I don't wanna go home yet! I was so close to my old job that it reminded me of one of my favorite restaurants in the area that I used to go to all the time. I thought it'd be a great lunch, but I totally needed to walk a bit, then it hit me ... I missed a friend's birthday and they were just blocks away at my old job! So, I texted her and minutes later we were eating at Petit Abielle on Hudson. I had the Bangers and Mash, she had a sandwich. I will surely talk about Petit Abielle at some point at length, but I'll start by saying not only is the food amazing, the owner, the staff, everyone there are great humans. Smiley faces every time you go there. We had fun talkin about the good ol' days and what we were currently up to and on the walk back to her job is my fave cupcake joint I posted about just this week!!! Out of the Kitchen! ***ok, remember I said I'd post at length about how good the cupcakes are??? well, things have changed, they moved locations for one!! just down the same street though and added menu items, I was so overwhelmed. That ode to the cupcake there is on the way, but right now I am tiiiiiiiiiired!!!
My dude and I just got back from seeing Paul Mooney at Caroline's on Broadway. It is 4:19AM! He started his set at 1AM and didn't end until 3:47 and it was allllll hilarious. I wish I could pull a specific joke, but there were so many, plenty of his humor is observational as well. Totally wouldn't translate if I typed it. It was the perfect ending to a long week, plenty of laughs and 2 cervezas.
If you are up in the morning (Sat) and have Sirius Radio, I'll be on Eminem's Shade 45 channel at 1030AM with DJ Whoo Kid and Coach PR, tune in and join in the fun. I know the guys from my radio days and for them to ask me to the show to promote Cooking for Real is the ultimate in support and friendship. Hope ya catch it, until then ... nighty night.

Cupcakes and show notes ...

How's that for a purrrty cupcake?? Yummy! I bought it last week from Chelsea Market's Ruthy's Bakery. I'm in to cupcakes. The cake, the frosting, the whole thing. Back in early 2006, I did a pilot for a food show and filmed a segment at Sprinkles in Los Angeles. They were on the cusp of national acclaim, but I'd already read about them in a few magazines, so I was psyched to get a free cross-country trip to eat cupcakes for free lol! I even got to make them with one of the owners, there's a tiny kitchen back there that cranks out a jillion cupcakes a day. I had about 6 cupcakes at the shoot and then after the day was complete at another great spot in L.A., Cafe De Artistes (amazing mac n cheese btw), I went back to Sprinkles for like 4 more. Then I went just a few doors down and got some of those homemade tortilla chips I saw frying in the window earlier. I had to do the intro to the show walking down the street and talking and every time I passed the window with chips deep frying in oil, I'd silently think to myself "chiiiiips" lol. I wanted to house those chips so baaad! I also wanted to eat some cupcakes too, and I'd already researched the next stop on the route and knew I wanted to eat that too. What a mess, only in town for a 2 day shoot, how do you fit all the eating in??? Anyway, Sprinkles' cupcakes were pretty darn good. If you go, skip the tiny wooden fork, I know it's in a classy area, but really ... a fork??? I can kill it in 2 bites, 5 with people watching, so ... c'mon teeny forks are for oysters, not cupcakes. teeheehee. I loved the chocolate-peppermint one. I don't know the name of it, but it is the one I remember and went back for later. Sat in my hotel room like a cupcake bandit, eating em on the bed with a plastic container of over priced milk in on hand and the booty in the other. The memory is quite funny and pathetic at the same time, but at that moment I was in heaven. I'd just filmed my first pilot and at the end of the day I had a lap full of cupcakes to celebrate. Well, the pilot didn't get picked up, but I eventually got a show on the network :-) and have great memories of a free cross country trip for a cupcake! I remember the chocolate being really good as well at Sprinkles. The red-velvet was yummy too, but I think my grandma takes the cake on that, pun intended :-). And I'll get to grandma a bit later in this post, but real quick. My fave spot so far in NYC for cupcakes is Out of the Kitchen! on Hudson Street in the W.Village. I think, I'd have to use an entire post explain how they taste, so I'll just say my mouth is watering now as I type and I haven't had one of their cupcakes in about a year!

So, hope you caught the second episode of Cooking for Real , It was all about taking you a bit into the south with pork chops, greens and cobbler. I mentioned my grandma during the show and didn't tell her before it aired. I wanted it to be a surprise. She is such an amazing cook and I always remember eating cakes and pies and the biggest breakfasts and heart warming dinners when we visited. So, she gives me reviews when I'm on and is always candid and never sugar coats things, but this week when we chatted after the show she said she sat with my aunt and cried while watching the show. Now, I gotta say that's an amazing feeling to know I touched her that way and she even said they were gonna make the stuffed pork chops! Now, what bizarro world am I in when my grandma is doing one of my recipes?? Totally crazy. I love her so much, she is hilarious and I know every time we talk I'm going to laugh. So, I'm glad episode two got the thumbs up from grandma. I watch and then when it's over I think to myself what I could've done differently or said and I hope I get a chance to share more stories and recipes and things and get better. Hindsight is crazy when you do television, I just can't wait to see how next week's episode turns out. I'm happy to get messages from people that are trying the recipes or parts of them. It's all about sharing! I'm really happy with my shows so far for being a rookie :-), hopefully I get a chance to get better like a fine wine or aged steak lol. Ok, Hope you guys catch the next one. It's a Tex-Mex theme with Churros, Huevos Rancheros and Mexican Corn. I did most of my living in San Antonio, about 6 years total split up by S. Korea. I luuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuv Tex-Mex! Chorizo is king!! lol I used to plot my living situation based on what Tex-Mex restaurants were in the area. For those nights that I don't feel like cooking, having good spots to eat close by is a life saver. It's really one of the main things I think about when moving, grocery stores, fish/meat market and restaurant locations. I'm getting back there very soon to visit some high school friends, but until then ....
RE0103: MEXIN-IT UP
Premieres: Sunday, April 20that 10:30AM ET/PT, Food Network
Some of the best Tex-Mex street food happens right in your own kitchen when Sunny Anderson whips up her Huevos Rancheros with Homemade Black Bean Puree, Mexican Street Corn, and Homemade Churros with a hint of lime.

And here's the rest of the episode descriptions ... TiVo or DVR is you can't catch 'em live ... and as always ... tell a stranger!!

RE0102: BISTRO NIGHT-IN
Premieres: Sunday, April 27th at 10:30AM ET/PT, Food Network
When you're craving a great bistro meal, don't rely on your corner spot, do it yourself! With a ‘Bistro Night-In’ Sunny Anderson cooks up Grilled Chicken with White Wine Mushroom Sauce, Garlic Hasselback Potatoes with Herbed Sour Cream and Wilted Green Salad with Warm Bacon Vinaigrette.

RE0105: REAL COMFORT, REAL GOOD
Premieres: Sunday, May 4th at 10:30AM ET/PT, Food Network
Ever crave some comfort food only to find yourself not so comforted? Sunny Anderson helps out when she brings it home with a belly-warming menu of Meatloaf in Tri-Color Pepper Molds, off-the-charts Macaroni and Cheese, and Shake Shots to cap it off.

RE0106: GERMANY IS WONDER-VEAL
Premieres: Sunday, May 11th at 10:30AM ET/PT, Food Network
Lederhosen beware! Sunny Anderson fills you up with her delicious, German inspired meal. She starts things off with a traditional hunter's dish of veal Jaegerschnitzel served over Southern Cheese Grits, Honey-Glazed Carrots and finishes it all of with a mouth-watering Baked Apple with Crisp Topping. Guten appetit!!

And now ... another shot of my cupcake, it was between this and one topped with a Sesame Street character. I bought it for myself last week Thursday and rescued it from my fridge Sunday night! They really know how to pack a cupcake at Ruthy's! It was all snug in it's little plastic cradle that fit perfectly inside a shorter and wider than usual Chinese take out box. I'm saving the brown bag so I can re-use it and decrease my human footprint. Every teeny thing helps! p.s. cupcake lovers, feel free to share the best spot to get 'em in your 'hood in the comments ... i'm a traveler and ya never know when you'll need to celebrate on the road! :-)

Linner & a Jean Georges Double Play Day

Ok, another week where I'm trying to figure out where my days went. Somewhere in there I had a birthday! That reminds me, I have an ice cream cake in the freezer I need to polish off! :-) I had this Linner liiiiiike Tues? I just never posted it. It was pretty simple. I called em Diner Burgers. Really because the goal was sloppy, but neat and crispy meat. lol, that rhymes! I seasoned then made the patties tiny, like a bit above a big meatball. Then used 2 per burger. I julienned some Jalapenos, thin sliced some onions ... the usual suspects. Nothing special here but seasoning the meat properly and cooking technique ... I did the bacon first and then used that fat to fry the burger patties, very yummy. Then some tomato slices with salt and pepper, equally simple and equally good. How about I died and went to Jean Georges yesterday??? I had a day of lunch, drinks, then dinner. I haven't had a day like that ever. Ever. I mean I did middays on the air and then afternoons for about a year, so going out to eat 3 times in one day??? I don't think I could have fit it into my schedule then, but somehow now I have. Lunch was at The Spotted Pig. This is a restaurant I found while just tooling around online looking at food sites early last year. I loved it from the first time I went and went back I think about 4 times that week to finish the menu. It's a small menu and it changes with the season, something I love. Everything is excellent, my faves are the liver any way they prep it and the gnuddi if you ever go. No reservations are taken and even if it's super packed, they will serve you at the few little free-standing-bar-on-a-column things they have upstairs. Then, for drinks I went to Jean Georges' Spice Market!! My exec producer and I thought we'd catch up, he's super busy working on other shows. I had the Lychee-Raspberry Bellini, two of them which is my drink maximum these days. We also got appetizers at the bar. Shared 3: Salmon Sashimi with Golden Garlic, Lemon and Soy, Spiced Chicken Samosas with a crazy bangin cilantro-lime dip, and Shrimp Tod Mon Pla, which is best described as a crab cake made of shrimp, accompanied by a cucumber, peanut relish that was UNBELIEVABLE, but try eating a crabcake with a chopstick and get back to me. Heck even the bar nuts at Spice Market were good. Took a sec to get refills on drinks, but the food made up for it, duh. Then, I went straight from there to meet up with friends at The Mercer Kitchen for dinner, another Jean Georges restaurant (really, have I gone and died?teeheehee). There we had prosecco to toast my birthday and just life in general, then we ordered 3 types of oysters on the half shell and Crunchy Squid with a Chili-Lime sauce for starters. For the entree I ordered the Salmon and it was cooked perfectly and arrived with the skin removed perched aside the salmon. It was soooooooo good, tasted like pork skin! I shared half with the table it was so yummy. I love a good crispy salmon skin. Then I shared dessert with my guy and really only had one bite and with held my urge to eat his whole plate for the next agonizing 10 minutes it took him to eat it. lol, he is gonna laugh when he reads this and tell me I just should've taken it, but I tried my skinny jeans this week and they said no. lol, just 1-inch difference and they said uh-heh. So, to the Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Bar with sugary-crushed peanut garnish and shiny chocolate ganache and a scoop of dark chocolate ice cream stayed on his plate and not in my bellllllay! (think austin powers) Look, the meal was crazy and it now seems wack to give you my sowwy wittle Diner Burger close up that was just so yummy and juicy, but here goes ...

Linner: Garlic Overloaded Pasta

Ok, so this is leftovers I reheated just a minute ago. I'm working online today and thought I had a meeting in the city, so I scrambled early to get some things out of the way and low-n-behold, how 'bout a cancelled meeting!? So, I put on the Aqua Teen Hunger Force Movie I DVRd, began my secondary online search for my blog gig, and let the microwave do the rest. Why cook Linner when there are leftovers? Alright, this is Spinach Fettuccini (bought fresh, I didn't make this time :-) ) with shiitake mushrooms, grilled chicken and roasted garlic in just a bit of an asiago cream sauce. I had my dude grate the cheese :-), it's a hard cheese and my muscles were tired. All in all, this was fast when I initially made it because I cut the chicken into thin strips from the breast and put the garlic in the oven while I boiled the pasta. Fresh pasta can really speed up the process, give it a try. Felt like 15 minutes. Here are my pics, and then the last one after I get the pepper on! I bought a new grinder yesterday, I LOVE fresh ground pepper, super coarse is super great!

Friends, Beer and Pie

Hey! First, I want to say thanks to everyone that caught the first Cooking for Real episode! Hopefully you get to tune in again for week #2 and new people tune in as well! I've been saying, "tell a stranger"!! I got good news back about viewership, so hopefully we keep the momentum! Ok, so this past Saturday my best girlfriend Natina came to hangout from D.C. to celebrate. Me, her and my boyfriend piled into his car to meet two other friends for dinner at Zum Stammtisch, a yummy German restaurant in Queens. This is the most authentic German food I've had outside of Germany other than say Disney Land in Florida. (is it land or world in Florida? I always forget) Yes, btw, I think maybe the reason the food is so authentic down there is they have the money to ship in the right ingredients and hire the right chefs, but there's a whole German section down there at the park that adults would love!! Ok, so anyway dinner at Zum Stammtisch was perfect as usual. I had two Pilsners and was done! If you are ever in NYC, get over to Queens for some Bratwurst, Schnitzel, and Beer! Make reservations, it is packed on weekends. A 1 hour wait, but with reservations, 5-10mins. My dude was the designated driver and good thing, because I could barely give directions on the way home, lol. I used to be able to hang with the tough guys and now 2 Pilsners knocks me out. I have a pic of my plate, but it was taken 1 beer in and isn't the best representation of what it looked like, it's blurry and framed funny. Too funny. I had my favorite, Jagerschnitzel with German Potato Salad. I do a version of Jagerschnitzel in an upcoming episode, hope you catch it. Okay, then the next morning we got up, I made breakfast and we watched the show on a 5 minute delay because I was taking time plating and getting everything outside of cooking done. I love DVR! I just got it a couple of weeks back so I can record the show and also avert some remote control arguments teeheehee. Anyway, it was good having my friend and my guy there. Natina then informed me she wanted me to make a Key Lime Pie. She treats me like a restaurant when she visits, sometimes walking in the door and spouting off menu items she expects to see while visiting. It's hilarious, luckily my pantry can handle it, but one time she showed up when I was in heavy veggie mode and was not too happy. I made her meatless meals for 2 days lol. So, this time in addition to what we've begun to call "The Natina Breakfast" (complete with 3 eggs, hash browns, bacon, and anything else, but not stopping at the three, those are just the foundation), she also ordered "fresh baked bread". Then early Sunday she's sittin' on the couch and says "key lime pie" ... to that adding "wouldn't that taste great?". So, I went and made a Key Lime Pie, well, I didn't have key limes, but you get it ... I thought, if I make it now it'll be able to sit and we can have it later. You can't eat one of these right out of the oven. I add zest in just about anything that requires the juice of a lime and the crust was extra buttery. Next time I'm gonna make the crust with cinnamon grahams and see if it adds anything to the taste. So around dinner time when I go to give her a slice before she went out to the city with some other friends, she decides she didn't have a taste for it! lol! She is so high maintenance teeheehee ... you know I was like, fine ... more for me. Here's the pics... whipped up some cream and sugar then topped it with some more zest. Don't hate on my platin' skills ... I'm studying. Gimme a few more months teeheehee. Again, thanks for the support! Tell a stranger!!!!

My National CBS Debut!

If waking up Saturday morning was tough for you like it was for me .... I'm so cool with it. I totally understand, so here's the video of me and the CBS Morning Show crew trying to eat on a shoestring budget. I actually didn't know what my total would be in the end. The goal was to keep it under $40bux, I did know I made it, but not by how much. All I could think was, just be 39.99 lol 39.99 ... so I guess my internal dialogue took over and that's why you hear me joke about it towards the end of the clip. Anyway, I had so much fun ... I'm a newbie so they were taking a risk putting me on live network TV ... I knew I wouldn't curse or anything because after years of radio, it's like your mind goes subconsciously into 'clean, on-air mode', but who knows what the nerves will do? For me, the nerves are actually my friend, the storm before the calm, not the other way around :-). Aight ... moving pictures and sound ...

Phew!

omg, was I ever anxious about this morning's appearance on CBS' Morning Show! I was mostly just really tired yesterday because I had a very early rise Thursday and then another very early rise on Friday. Then, both days were full days. Remember how I said I got an amazing "Edward Scissorhands" cut this week? That was Thursday and I waited 4+ hours to get in the artist's chair!! She squeezed me in so I didn't mind at all and I saw some masterpieces walk out before me, so I knew she was gonna hook it up, but every thing last week just had me super tired last night. I was hoping to get enough sleep and actually had plans to nap, then wake up last night to do some things ... I slept right through my nap and didn't wake up until late. I was so happy, lol, I didn't want to oversleep, but I needed it so I'd be ready this morning. Ok, so I wanted to post some behind the scenes flicks from this morning. I'm going out to dinner to celebrate tonight, I am so hungry!!!! It's my favorite German restaurant in this area, I'll give a review tomorrow. Ok, hope you catch the show, Cooking for Real, tomorrow, April 6 on Food Network @ 1030AM EST. Check here for local listings and times.

Here are the pics! We had Wilted Greens with Bacon Vinaigrette, French Toast with Caramelized Pecans, Strawberries and Cream and we rounded it out with some Raspberry Fruit Smoothies! Yummy! The challenge was to be a "Chef on a Shoestring" and spend under $40bux. My total was liiiike 38.14, I think?? I jussst made it :-) Only thing you may have notices is the texture of the cream, it differs from what I usually do ... the heat of the studio lights made it a bit more loose than usual, no biggie ... I got my drizzle on! Dollops ain't all that! teeheehee, ok ...

Me cuttin' n smilin' :-)


I want some French Toast!! (40 year-old Virgin, lol, loved that scene)


Wilted Salad with Bacon Vinaigrette


Smooth it out!


Me and Chris Wragge

Press and Pizza .... wait PIZZA and Press lol!!!

It's friday and I wanna know where my week went, for real. I've had two hair cuts, one baaaad and one that was Edward Scissorhands grrrrreat! A bad headache or two, a few meetings, I had an over cooked porterhouse, that broke my heart .... such a nice cut of meat, butchered by a nyc restaurant and let's seeeee .... I got lucky and got a pie in just 20 minutes at Di Fara's!! So, it wasn't too bad a week now that I think of it. And wait, now that I type away, something amazing happened this week!!! I can't even share yet, but you know as soon as I can, I will spill the navy beans. See, that's how life is, you think it's bad or stressful, but if you sit for a sec and think about it, there are some gems in there. How could I forget some of the good stuff this week?? Alright ... I have some pics to share ... first, oh wait, the FN Dish thing ... so if you saw the episode, it was a good thing I gave a behind the scenes rundown and toldya about my apartment and our walk through my 'hood, because that part didn't make the cut :-). So they got right to the chase and started it at Di Fara's Pizza. It is THE BEST PIZZA EVER. I described the way they top pizzas there as "The Ben & Jerry's of toppings", meaning, what you ask for you get in abundance. I mean, you will never search a slice for garlic, a garlic pie ... is a GARLIC pie. teeheehee ... take a look ... these are not stunt pics, real slices I began and couldn't finish until I shared the beauty of gaaaaaarlic ahead of me. So, here's two slices of Di Fara's with pepperoni and garlic. I also like the porcini mushrooms on it, so if you ever go, give them a try and be prepared to wait for a long time, but just know it is worth the wait. really. you are eating a piece of history, formed by an artisan. period. and now .... the slices ... remember, i didn't set these up, no strategic placement of any topping ...first the wide, then the close up for each ...yummy!





Okay, so that's the pizza, now the press ... There's a 2 part interview I did with Jacob from Food Network Addict, give it a click and read :-)

Then, this Saturday ... TOMORROW ... I'll be on the CBS morning show, eating and cooking for less than $40 bux, so hope you can wake up and catch that ... feels like a 7 or 8AM situation.

And, my bad ... i got so busy I didn't even promote the fact that I would be hanging out with Ed Lover and his team on Power 105.1 here in NYC yesterday. I hope to get the audio and post it soon. We had such fun! I brought breakfast and they tore it up. They had my french toast with caramelized pecans, strawberries and cream. I also threw in a side of bacon. At first, when I suggested it, I thought I'd cook at home and bring it in, but then Food Network offered me THA ENGINE lol ... so, two cool chicks from the kitchens helped and did alot of the work, so I gotta say thanks to them. It is so neat to see other people prepare your recipe. Feels weird too ... I was like yeah, the bread is sliced just how I like it, and they were like ... we read your recipe and measured them. That's serious. Let me tell you, that's why I love Food Network, they are serious about food and so am I! So Ed, Kut, Lady O and the gang hopefully enjoyed every bite. Ed's was gone in 60 seconds like the movie teeheehee. Then they asked me about the beginning of my catering days, here I am talking about catering for Jadakiss, Styles P and Sheek Louch (D-Block), when who walks into the building??? Sheek!! We chat via text here and there just to catch up and say hi, but I hadn't seen him in about 3 years!!! It was soooooooo good to see him. Those guys were just always great to me and treated me like a little sister. So of course I cooked for them and they were first to throw me grocery money for cooking. Next thing you know, I'm catering for N.O.R.E and the list went on. So, I'm forever thankful for the smiles and the "mmmmmm good's" I got from them. Sheek specifically used to tell me my food tasted like "LOVE" awwwwwww .... how sweet huh? Anyway, he has bulked up, so I know his girl is killin it in the kitchen!!! Get his CD Silver Back Gorilla and look at the inside flick, he's in the gym son!! lol ... ok, here are some pics from yesterday ...


That's DJ Kut, Me and Ed Lover


annnd me and Sheek Louch ... just two days guys! i'm nervous and anxious. :-)

Lunch and Linner

This week is very busy for me. Cooking for Real starts this Sunday so I've been running around doing some things in the city. The weather here is so crazy. It was 60 degrees yesterday and very in-betweeny teeheehee. New word. I was between hot and cold and really depending on the side of the street you walked on, you were improperly dressed. Kinda funny, I had lunch with a friend and we practiced unconscious walking based on the shadow/sun side of the street. We ate at Houston's on Park Ave. in Manhattan, haven't been there in years, I usually stick to the local owned-businesses because there are sooooo many to go through in NYC and I aim to accomplish a good majority of the menus in my lifetime! About Houston's though, I really like the lighting in there. I got the "Sashimi Tuna Salad: pan seared ahi with cilantro-ginger vinaigrette, mixed greens, avocado & mango" and after hesitating twice, an order of fries and a 7&7 to drink. I remembered faintly thinking the fries were great with a steak I had there years ago and was happy when they arrived. Just as I remembered. I like plenty types of fries. I'm not a skinny or fat freak, I'm more into the texture, the doneness(another new word) and the seasoning. So these are thin, long, some skin on a tip here or there and the right amount of salt. The drink at lunch right? I know you are still thinking it, I know I am teeheehee ... well, look what can I say, I had a teeny headache and didn't wanna take a pill and wait for hours. Had a few sips and was self medicated. I'm so wrong, but it worked. :-) ... The salad was yummy, mango and avocado really were perfect yesterday. Refreshing and cool. Gonna have to work something out this weekend with the two, I'm inspired a bit. Ok, here's my Linner from yesterday ... finally finished off the ravioli I made last week. Took them out of the freezer and turned Italian into the world's original pasta, Asian food. I fried some, then steamed some and had them with a soy sauce mixture I make and some jasmine rice. When I was in Korea, they served the fried version on a stick and they were called yaki-mandu ....sooooo yummy, street food at it's finest. Of course, these were filled with beef and sage and asiago, because I intended them for ravioli last week, but the flavors really blended well. Real yummy .... ok, here are the pics ...