Saturday, September 5, 2009

TGIF: ThanksGiving ... It's Friday!?

Hey there! Yesterday, I headed over to the Food Network kitchens in Chelsea Market to tape segments for an episode of Dear Food Network. It's a show where viewers write in, email or send videos of their culinary questions to us and we answer them over the course of a show. I participated in a couple of episodes last year, so I was totally excited to be asked for a return. This time around the topic was Thanksgiving. I developed a couple of recipes for the show and also offered some holiday tips for a viewer. The cool thing about this show is, plenty of people have the same issues around the holidays, so the questions are unique, but they cover great ground. Here's my POV of the 'set' ...
You can jusssst make out some of the ingredients to one of my recipes. Here are a few blurry flicks of me at work ...
A view through a monitor on set, so the crew can see how the viewer at home will have the image framed and seen on their television ...

And the camera men working hard to focus on the food!
Question: In blog world ... Do 4 blurry photos equal one clear one? If so, here's a clear one of myself and another guest on the show, along with one of our coworkers ...
On the left is Jay Brooks, she works in the Food Network kitchens and does so many things. To try and encompass them in a sentence would be silly. She's an amazing chef, food stylist and before I even began working at the network she was a smiling face of encouragement through my final screen test. I can't even really tell you how much the latter means to me. To know no one on the kitchen staff and have her as my first working introduction, was pretty neat. Again, I can't really say enough. She was there to help prep the ingredients and lend support from the kitchen. BTW, if you subscribe to Food Network Magazine, you can catch many of her recipes out of the 100s in each issue ... yes ... HUNDREDS. The mag is a mini cookbook and really, think about it, some cookbooks don't even have that many recipes, and there are pictures for every recipe in the mag! I know, this sounds like an ad ... but it isn't, you gotta check it out. Pretty nice and it takes up less bookshelf space! And hey, I just thought to tell you ... remember this post? Well, in the new issue on stands now, the team at Food Network Magazine feature a small story about Food Network chefs and their tattoos. They caught my blog and asked if they could use the picture I took of Michael Symon's leg for his part of the tattoo story. Of course I said yes and now I'm pretty happy to have a picture credit in this fine magazine, even if it isn't a photo of food. Kinda makes up for all the blurry photos I post up here for viewing, eh? No? I digress ... :-)

Then on the right of me is Claire Robinson, host of 5 Ingredient Fix! I met her for the first time a few weeks back, but it was so brief and I didn't get a flick, so I didn't tell ya, sorry. . Again, if I tweeted, I'm sure I would've ... these are the things people tweet, stuff they can tell you in detail later I guess. It was a quick chat the first time, this time we sat and chatted while I devoured a tuna nicoise salad for lunch. She's funny and lively and lives right here in New York. She was there to tape segments on Dear Food Network as well, though I'm not quite sure it's the same episode, but it may be. I didn't check, bad reporting skills.

I don't know when the show airs, but when I do I'll post it. Until then ... want a couple more hints at one of my recipes for the show?? While developing and testing the recipes for the episode at home, I took some pictures along the way ...

Any guesses?

19 comments:

Sue said...

The last two pictures are of finely, finely diced bacon frying away and quickly sautéed scallops, which you'll add to a really unusual stuffing recipe in place of oysters. How'd I do?

Anonymous said...

Firstly my guess . . corn beef hash???

Secondly, digging your new do.

Thirdly, I THOUGHT that was your picture in FN Mag of M. Symon's tattoo!!

And thirdly, Claire Robinson is great! I love 5 Ingredeitn Fix! Is it just me, or could she be the sister of Jillian Michael's from the Biggest Loser? They resemble each other greatly.

Anonymous said...

You've got me thinking about Thanksgiving now. I'm looking forward to all the yummy ideas on Food Network! I've been watching your show whenever I can I love how tasty and accessible your recipes are ... Do you have a cookbook out? Or plans to publish one? I'd definitely buy one!

mantipp said...

Stuffing? By the way, I'll be adding u to my friends list on the ps3 tomorrow. Bagelnutz is my gamertag.

Kabrina Jackson said...

I have no idea but it sure looks yummy! Keep up the good work Aries sister!

Staci said...

I'm looking at the pics and first of all, you look great as always! I love the new hair cut. I wanted to post a guess about the food pics and I think you are making a hash of some sort. Those pictures actually have provided me with an idea for tonight's dinner! Thanks :-)

Gaby said...

very cool Sunny! I can't wait for the episode to air! And I can imagine how fabulous it is to have someone like Jay there for you when you first started! I mean if I was a Food Network Star (hopefully one day) I would be so thankful to have someone there like her!

Sunny Anderson said...

sue, good guess, but no. you are right that the first pan is protein, but not bacon. and the second pan, you are waaaaay off. but they are sweet like scallops. sounds like you eat good though, i love oysters in my stuffing!

cooking mama, no, not corned beef hash. but it is a hash in the sense of the word. glad you like the 'do. it's a wig ya know? i got a few cut the same way in different shades, wear em like accessories lol. and about the magazine picture, look deep in the spine they always give credits. it's how i figure out clothing lines and stuff sometimes in magazines that don't have the shopping index. and ita about claire, she's a cool chick with plenty of ambition and i can see the resemblance. if you squint :-).

g.beans, i know ... i'm sorry. if it's any help, i was eating stuffing and winter foods all summer planning my winter episodes, i've got winter weight on during the summer! love it!!! thanks for the kind words, i don't have a cook book out yet, but it is in the pipeline as soon as i get time to get it done. thanks again for the words and thanks for watching! can't do this without ya!

mike, well, yes ... you are right. it's a stuffing, but what kind?? i was on over the wknd ... send me a msg and friend request.

kabrina jackson, hey! thanks for checking in my fellow Aries :-) hug the family and thanks for the continued support!

staci, thanks. it is a hash in the pure sense of the definition, but it ends up as a stuffing. hope din-din was yummy!!!

gaby, hope you like the show, i'll post the air date when i get it. and yes, jay provided support early on and has continued to be just one of those people you look forward to seeing at work. pretty neat. trust me gaby, if you join the ranks you'll fond more people just like her ... foodies are pretty sweet.

Cassandra said...

Hi Sunny, I love your show and the blog. I can't wait for the Dear food network shows to air this year because I so enjoy your cooking style and the advice that you provide. The food in the pan looks like chorizo, tofu, and dried apricots. Keep up the good work

Sunny Anderson said...

cassandra, thanks for watching and i'm glad you found the blog! i'll be watching right along with you when the shows air. as for my pans ... you are on point in a couple of places. yes on the chorizo and yes, those orange chunks are dried apricots!! no tofu involved ... but really good guess.

Rich'n'Rach said...

I just subscribed to the FN mag - can't wait to get my first issue!!! we moved into a new apartment last month and have been having tv issues every since...needless to say I am going through major withdrawls from my fave channel & shows (pretty sure you know which ones i'm talking about - for real!)

Sunny Anderson said...

rich'n'rach, welcome to the blog! glad you subscribed to the mag it's pretty neat. i know how it is to have cable issues! one of my lines needs to be redone by the company, so one tv goes in and out, luckily it's in a room we hardly every use. i really appreciate the support and still can't believe i continue to work through my goals in life and get to dreams. hope you like the new shows on the way. i just finished taping some a few weeks back, you'll know they are new when you see the menus get a winter note of ingredients ...

ChiTown Momma said...

How fantastic! I cannot wait to see this! You know, with the weather here in ChiTown being a lot colder than usual(we had a reeeally cold summer! Literally, we swam outside twice) I felt it necessary to warm up the house not only with the heat of the oven baking/roasting, but made a turkey breast and all the fixings, ala Thanksgiving(in August). My family LOVED it and I highly recommend everyone doing it more than once a year; especially if your summer was cold as this not only warmed our house, but our hearts.

Thanks again, Sunny! You are the best!

ChiTown Momma said...

PS: I too love the new "DO" on ya too!

Sunny Anderson said...

chitown momma, 1st, i didn't post the other comment on the other post because i have yet to write down all the food suggestions you gave for chitown and i don't want to lose it's place on my blog in my memory lol. i'm heading there very shortly and want to give a place or two a try if i have time. and thanks for the packing suggestion, guess i'll need a coat for eves? thanks for the compliment on my new cut n color :-) ...

ChiTown Momma said...

That's OK, babes! You're a busy bee with a new season to tape and stuff like that..it's all good. Just let us know where you go when you come to Chitown and when the segment will be aired...and yes, sister; bring a heavy coat and a light coat just in case because in Chicago it can be 80 degrees at 1pm, then go down to 39 degrees by 7pm. Seriously, it has happened. Hugs and take care!

Sunny Anderson said...

chitown momma, i just left!!! it wasn't for work, for pleasure! just got back ... had myself a chi-town dog and plan to post about it shortly.

ChiTown Momma said...

Yes, post about it! Wanna hear all about your visit and how you liked your dog!

Sunny Anderson said...

chitown momma, it's on the way!!!