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! :-)