BTW and Didja Know ...

BTW

Don't forget to catch my guest appearance on Movie and a Makeover on TBS!
It's a show within a movie! Enjoy Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion while during the commercial breaks, Anne Burrell and I help Jen and her friend Jamie plan a girls-only reunion of their own! We bring the food tips and recipes then leave the ladies up to the rest. The party was a hit! It airs tomorrow morning at ..... 1040AM est on TBS. Check here for a synopsis about the movie and airtime. Didja miss my blog post about our trip down to south to tape this? Check Movie, Makeover & Mangia, for the details. Do what I do most weekends, stay in bed as long as possible and watch Saturday morning TV. Or, if you are like me and have plenty of house chores leftover from being lazy this past weekend, this is a great way to get up early, do some cleaning and watch TV at the same time. Speaking of same time, a brand new episode of Cooking for Real: North of the Border airs tomorrow as well. There may be some overlap, but like Digital Underground said ... "dowhatchalike". I just hope you enjoy your Saturday in a foodie way! Movie and a Makeover was fun, hope you like it. The recipes are up on the TBS website.

and Didja Know ....

I'm a healthy cook? Yup! That's sometimes and if you have diabetes. Recently, Diabetes Focus Magazine featured my recipe for Curry Pork Burgers with Spicy Ketchup along with the recipes of other Food Network hosts with diabetic-friendly recipes. Here's the article sourced by a sister site. There are nutritional breakdowns and all, pretty neat! These burgers are a great alternative to the typical grill scene, so if you are in need of a change, give em a try! Know a diabetic? Pass it on! They are easy to make because everything is easy to find at the grocery store, and c'mon ... it's a burger! Did you miss the episode where I made 'em? Check out this video of me preparing them on the show.

Enjoy the weekend!

Ladies That Laugh ... Food Network Magazine

Hey there! So waaaaaaaaaay back in January, yes January, I got together with some of my Food Network ladies for a Food Network Magazine photo shoot. We all got up early and convened in a Tribeca loft that was decorated soooo pristine white, it woke me up that morning just looking at it. Makes sense though, because we were told to bring summer colors and I knew they'd pop with life on the white background. At the shoot were all of us newly minted Food Network hosts, Anne Burrell, Alex Guarnaschelli and Aida Mollenkamp. Anne and Alex were both still chefs at local restaurants (Anne has since left her position at Centro Vinotecca) and this shoot actually fell during NYC Restaurant week. So here are Aida and I with no worries in the world, but a photo shoot that day and Anne and Alex were both concerned they weren't fulfilling their duties as chefs during the special week. Very nice to see two chefs at their level want to get to work and meet the people checking out their restaurants during the special events. So, it was our goal to finish as soon as possible so the ladies could get back to tha real biz. Having said that, with tight schedules and plenty of work on the schedule, you'd never know it because us girls were laughing pretty much all morning. A behind the scenes video just popped up on the FN Dish hosted by Noah Starr, who is also Aida's computer guru on Ask Aida.

Take a look at the Girls Night Out "Photo Shoot Crash" video.

Aida lives on the west coast, so anytime she comes in for work I am too excited. Ever since we shot a commercial together and really before that we chatted some and just clicked. She's my go-to chick for a quick smile or laugh. She's just my girl, I don't have a better way to say it, but when we get to together we have so much fun. Here's the photographer discussing shots with his crew ...
And here's us ladies after all the work is done ...

Look for the July/August issue of Food Network Magazine on stands soon! To subscribe and get it delivered right to your mailbox, click on the logo ...

What I Had for LINNER: Pork n Greens

Hey there! It's been a sec since I've posted some linner pics. I started this just to kinda give you some insight to my recipe development process as well as show you what I'm eating at home during that period between lunch and dinner. I've actually never given some follow up to these posts, but these are usually what I end up submitting for menus on Cooking for Real. Before I go in to tape, I'm charged with submitting more menus than needed for the amount of shows we'll tape. Then during the pre-production process menus or recipes are removed from those I submitted due to so many different reasons. Many times the number one reason is seasonality, we often tape out of season and that creates a slight dilemma. We also try not to overlap proteins too much within the shows we tape. I can't do 13 beef episodes in a row, not that I don't like beef, but variety of recipes is the best ... like the spice of life :-). It's how I eat. I like to bake and roast and saute and fry and blitz and blend and knead and all that stuff ... pretty much everything, so we also try to make sure we have times where I'm able to do different processes throughout the shows. Other things to take into consideration are 'stunt weeks'. These are best described as usually holidays or special eating holidays to be exact. Summer grilling, Thanksgiving, Christmas and others are episodes we plan and usually tape months in advance. 

Anyway, just a peek inside and now, before I give you a look at what I had for Linner ... take a look at some previous Linner posts that ended up eventually on Cooking for Real.

I'm No Shepherd became Shepherd's Pie with Mushroom Onion Gravy

and ...

Wings 3 Ways turned into Wings 3 Ways

Ok, my linner the other day after a trip to the meat counter was pork loin. I bought two because they were on sale and then while I was walking home I saw some greens in the window of a grocery store and stopped to turn around and buy them. It reminded me of seeing a cute puppy in a window, I couldn't keep walking by I had to go in and buy it. Ick, nasty example to talk about around food, but that's how it felt. The greens looked so good.  That's what I do ... I shop and sometimes buy things in a romantic thought from the past. A great meal, childhood memory or even the fact that it looks good, anything can make me buy something and then when I get home it's all about using it all before it goes bad. Especially fruits and veggies, I'm a sucker for clean or healthy looking produce. I love to eat and I love to cook. The best thing is the internal dialogue while eating. So I decided to use both of my good buys that same day, along with some pineapple that was just sitting on my counter for days. It's almost like reading a really good book ... it can take you places. So, I decided to go to Hawaii, by way of the south. 

I rubbed then seared the pork and made a bed of pineapple, greens, broth and more. Turned out pretty darn yummy and I liked the idea of having it all in one dish in the oven. The greens wilted nicely and things were sweetened by the pineapple and spicy from the seasonings. It went fast. If things go well, it's a future Cooking for Real recipe. I've just submitted it as part of a menu for the next shows I start taping soon. :-). Thanks so much for the support and for watching, if you've caught the show, if not and you've found my blog another way ... I invite you to catch the show. Cooking for Real airs Saturdays at noon (new episodes), Sundays at 9 or 9:30AM and weekdays at 4PM, all eastern standard time. Check here for the full schedule and local listings. Take care and I hope you are enjoying the week!

Movie, Makeover & Mangia

Hey there! Just last week I took a quick trip to Atlanta with Anne Burrell to tape segments for TBS' Movie and a Makeover. Even though the trip was for work, you'd think it was all about eating! We got word of the trip a while back, but just recently got all the logistics. Ever watch it? Most people I talk to say it's just like Dinner and a Movie, but it seems to be more geared to women with the movie choices and segments. I'd never been able to catch the show before, but the funny thing is on vacation, I actually caught a few segments and watched to get an idea of what would be expected of me when I made the trip down south ... so vacation was a bit of work. Can I write off vacation on my taxes now? Teeheehee

We flew in last week Tuesday and were out by Thursday morning! In that time we checked out dinner at Eugene's and Bacchanalia. Eugene's was a blur of plates and food because everyone wanted to order several things and share ... as a greedy person, this is not my particular preference for eating with people. What if I try something and want it all? This is the dilemma of a woman with thighs she'd like to keep. Plus, there's so much work with all the passing of plates and making sure you get a bite of it all. The flip side of the coin is, it's a great way to order everything on the menu without looking like a heathen, so I was a heathen in a sharer's clothing at Eugene's the night we got there. In the blur, I remember yummy liver and the best thing on the table ... we all commented, it was the fried kale. Boy, was it good. Salty, crispy ... just good. Then at Bacchanalia, I couldn't really tell you the best thing, because everything was memorable. I've taken a look at both menus online and they are different from the updated versions being served in each so it's hard to guide you if you are curious. I just know I did some sweetbreads, a great aged steak and I skipped the cheese course and passed it to someone else. Between all of that, the chef sent out several treats that weren't on the menu and they were all pretty amazing. They also had a neat general store attached to the restaurant and a beautiful aging room for the meat. What a spot. I am totally happy with my eating experience every time I visit Atlanta and I've never dined at the same place twice. I think after Bacchanalia, I'll break the record and do a repeat next time I'm in town.

Ok, on to the work ... The idea of Movie and a Makeover is you watch a movie on TBS and during the commercial breaks are segments with the host Mia Butler. These segments usually wrap around the theme of the movie showing and our movie is Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion. So, to a reunion we'd go, kinda. Jen is the guest of this show and her friend Jamie is along for the fun. Basically they are planning a get together for their friends and want to not only learn how to decorate for the party, but how to cook for it too. That's where Anne and I come in. I brought recipes for a signature drink and two great cocktail party bites. They should have the recipes online when the show airs, but they are all from Cooking for Real and I'll post them here after the show runs so you can find them easily, if needed. Here are some flicks ....

Hair and Makeup come first. Here's the show's guest, Jen and one of our hair and makeup artists, Jamillah (hat). Then next to them in the reflection is Jamie, Jen's friend and Mequillah, the other artisan of beauty.
These were taken in Jen's bathroom of her apartment which had been totally invaded by the production. Warning, if you ever daydream about shooting a show at your place, make sure you then also daydream about the cleanup and intrusion. Jen was such a great sport about it all. I've also seen the Neely's endure this as well. The key is a cool crew that understands they are in your home and a homeowner that gets it. Stuff is stuff, living is way better than worrying about the stuff. Everyone on the TBS team were really nice and kept things neat. Here's a fellow military vet that was also on the crew, chillin' in Jen's kitchen.
He's holding some eggs for Anne's recipe and in the background is one of my dishes waiting for its closeup. In the deep background you can see the crew rehearsing our walk-in with stand-ins. So the camera is at the door, a stand-in for Jen opening and two guys standing in for Anne and I entering the apartment. This is so the director, lighting and everyone really, can see what things look like and where people are expected to move within the segment. Before we started shooting the segments though, we both got a binder with the breakdown for each part of the show and headed to the patio to study.

That's Anne and the back of my head lol ... I took the pic without even setting it up. Just stuck my hand in the air ... but lookey what I caught ... Chick-fil-a!!!!!!! For breakfast!!!!! How fitting that it appears above my head, because the whole time I was on the patio, it was on my mind, talking to me and telling me to eat it. Lol. I must admit, I held off and just stuck to my cereal and fruit that I ate at the hotel that morning. Partly because I knew I had a day of eating ahead of me ... but boy, do I like some fast food breakfast. After studying we got to work ...

That's Anne showing Jen her recipe for the party and then I stepped in and showed Jen and Jamie my drink and recipes for the event. We also gave some party tips, then left Jen and Jamie on their own to finish up the prep for the party. Here we are before we left the ladies with the task of finishing up our recipes.
I think this is where the design expert came in and did her part, because when we got back later that night for the actual soiree it looked like this ...

Nice, eh? I can't wait to see the show! Hope you catch it too. It airs Saturday June 20th at 10:40AM est on TBS.

Put up a Post it Note on the fridge to remember! (gotta know the movie for that joke)