Hittin' the links!

No golfin', just some links from my Memorial Day appearance on Good Morning America. Again, I had plenty of fun while working with them and every time I go back, it's nice to reacquaint myself with the crew. This time we were outside the studios in Times Square with loads of onlookers and some special ones here for Fleet Week! A big hug to all the Navy and Marine personnel I connected with that morning! I left my phone, so no pics :-( ... I think I may get a few from our pr staff, but until then, here are the links!

The Video is here ...
Sunny Anderson's Fajitas and Corn

aaaaaand the recipes are over here ....

Sunny Anderson's Flank Steak Fajitas

Sunny Anderson's Mexican Street Corn

Sunny Anderson's Berry Berry Fizz

7 Things I Learned on Vacation

I just got back from vacation last week and I'm so thoroughly rested I'm popping up early in the morning to run errands and just start the day off nice, no snooze button yet! We decided on a two-part vacation. One half roughin' it and the other ... not. We both enjoyed the roughin' it leg of the trip and learned so much more about the country we visited that way. Without giving too many details, here's a list of the things I learned while on vacay ...

1. Breaking down a conch is hard. 

We bought 8 or so from the dock and all the guy did was release the muscle part from the shell and throw the conch -claw and all - into a big plastic bag. I thought, what am I gonna do with this??? I searched the net for some videos and after watching several very shaky and non-descriptive videos, I decided to let my culinary instinct lead the break-down effort. We were in a house with a stocked kitchen, but I really should've brought my knife kit. It took me about 2 hours to trim, clean, cut and pound out all that conch. I smiled the whole time though because, boy was I hungry for some fritters and I knew I'd never run into conch in such a raw form back home. I then chopped it and made some conch fritters adapted from my Codfish Fritters recipe. Very yummy, very. 

2. Fried "Barry" is bangin'. 

After a gentle foodie tussle with the owner of a local take-away spot (that's what they call" takeout"), I got my hands on some fried barracuda and loved it. She warned of it's potency ... almost to the point of not selling it to me! She said that some people get sick from it. I think by people she meant Americans lol ... because not a second later several natives stopped in for some of her Fried Barry and she didn't give them the quiz like she did us. It totally reminded me of my "No Poi for You!" story from last year. Really the thing is, if you tell me I'm not gonna like it ... chances are I feel compelled to try it and know why you think you know my taste buds lol ... boy was it good! So good we saved half and reheated it the next morning for a part of breakfast!

3. Interventions need to happen on the beach. 

I have no flick of this, but at our second location ... omg there was a woman on the beach that was much darker than me and she was originally fair-skinned. She'd sit there from dawn to dusk, just laying there, oiled up! Very unhealthy and I just wanted to go tell her to stop, she was already super dark, why overdo it? Even crazier is she was in her mid-20s. With her tan, she was much darker than me with my tan, feel me? Crazy.  This is me on the balcony after I'd had enough sun, I was sun-screened, sun-blocked ... all of that. Still got a bit darker though ...

4. It's hard to go on vacation with a blog.

I pre-posted some blogs, but found it hard to leave the laptop home. I wanted to make sure if you had questions or comments that they could be posted and answered. It actually didn't bother me to do on vacation, but I think next time I'll have a guest blogger or something, I dunno. 

5. The Amazon Kindle thingy is an amazing gadget. 

I love to read, but hate toting books on vacation. If dedicated I can do a book a day, so imagine carrying all that weight. Right before we left, I buckled and bought one. I am the slowest on technology, mostly because I want to wait until the definitive product is released instead of getting the first-stab offering. Look, I just got an ipod lol. Anyway, had I known about the Kindle earlier, I would've bought it. Full books download in seconds and they are cheaper than buying at the store. Sure the Kindle is expensive, but for a reader it'll pay itself off soon with the discounts. It is so easy to use and the screen didn't even glare in the sun. I read 2 Chelsea Handler books and parts of a Brad Metzler book and it also downloads newspapers and magazines. Very neat.

6. A Garden can turn into a jungle in 10 days flat. 

We had a nice neighbor water our garden, but that doesn't mean weeds don't grow while unattended, heck, that's actually what they need to grow! So, yesterday was garden day. Plenty of weeds, but beneath them all .... my first harvest of mixed lettuce!!!

Doesn't it look store bought?! My dude and I hugged when I showed him the leaves all washed and lined up. Neat feeling. I had to rush and harvest these because they were about to go to seed and flowers were about to sprout. I'll take a wide shot update of the garden soon, it looks so wild!

7. There's no place like home.

Besides missing my garden and my cats, boy did I miss sleeping in my own bed! We were speed walking from the airport to our car all the way talking about how happy we were to get home. Vacation lasted just as long as it should've ... now back to work!

Don't forget to catch Good Morning America on ABC tomorrow morning! I'll have some Memorial Day eats and should see ya in the 8AM hour!

Memorial Day with GMA!

Hey all! Just some quick news ... 1st, stay tuned for my blog about what I learned on vacation ... yes, I just got back from vacation! 

And 2nd ...

This Monday catch me on Good Morning America for some Memorial Day eats! Looks like it should be in the last hour of the show, so somewhere between 8AM est and 9AM est. I'm making some good grillin' food and refreshments as well! 

As an Army Brat and Air Force veteran from a huuuuge military family, I hope everyone takes some time to think about the people that work hard to protect our freedom. Memorial Day isn't all about sales and picnics. Have a great weekend with your family and hope to see ya this Monday!

Catch Me On Rachael Ray!

Hey there! Well, I have the airdate for the recent episode of Rachael Ray I taped and blogged about. I'm not alone on the set ... Bobby Flay, Adam Perry Lang and Rocco Dispirito also hung out the entire hour and we all had plenty of laughs. It's called Rachael Ray's All-Star Summer Entertaining Guide. It's a full-hour roundtable of summer food discussion dotted by recipes, tips and Q&A. I was too excited to return, so I hope you catch it!
DVR or watch it 'live' :-)! 

It airs this Wednesday, May 20th at 10AM est in NYC. Or click here for other listings.

One Girl's Trash Is Another Girl's Treasure ...

Look what a long stroll through Brooklyn on a sunny day can bring ...Oh please, do click on the picture to get a zoom view ... I'll wait .... :-)

Yep, it's what you think it is. It's a newer version of what precious few of us adult foodies had while growing up ... the play kitchen. I remember having an Easy Bake Oven and that was it for a while. Then there was this stove top looking thing with a fake cast-iron frying pan and fake bacon and eggs, sunny side up. Nothing fancy in any way, the basics. I was quite happy with it, but as I was walking by I saw this sleeker version and immediately stopped. I was transformed back to childhood and as an adult, I was instantly envious, just green with envy, green like the obviously marble (!?!?) counter tops. Because they wouldn't be Formica, not in this kitchen would they? Not with the stainless steel appliances! The contractor went a bit wild with a fullsized-water dispensing fridge ... on the countertop!? Plus, I have a sneaking suspicion that the blank spot beneath the countertop below the fridge ... is for a dish washer. Wow, I have one, but can't use it due to my new digs ... I'm even more green with envy now, and this is just a toy!!  Teeheehee ... wow, lemme tell ya ... times are so crazy and neat at the same time. Wish I had this big toy as a kid and then as an adult, I wonder how hard it must be for parents to buy toys for their kids that give off such an expensive lifestyle. Really, stainless steel is pricey! :-)

Anyway, the neat thing about this is the former owner of this cute little kitchen was sitting on her stoop. I asked her if it was hers and told her it was reeeeeally nice (totally jealous, I was) . She said thank you and went back to concentrating on writing a sign that she put on it after I snapped the picture. It said in a cute 'I just learned to write well' penmanship:

"Not for Sale

     Free

for anyone"(with a smiley face).

Too cute. Some lucky little girl (or boy) is gonna get a neat toy, just from their parent taking a slow stroll on a sunny day like I did. Wish I was Marty McFly right about now ... or at least a young foodie growing up in a foodie friendly world.

Brooklyn Dinin'

Last month I read in the paper about Dine In Brooklyn and got totally excited. I truly enjoy eating and eating out is a nice break from prepping on my own. The big city (Manhattan) has it's own. Restaurant Week, but I'd just moved into a new hood of Brooklyn and needed a new list of spots to try. Another crazy thing is the restaurants are getting hit bad during the recession, so what a great way to support businesses and my belly at the same time, eh? 

I made reservations at a few spots, but one day I had a hard time finding a place participating in Dine In Brooklyn that was also open for lunch. One of the few available restaurants with the special menu for the event was the Stone Park Cafe. They didn't have a special menu set up for lunch like the others, but it was in an easy area to get to, plus supporting is about supporting, right? So, special menu or not, I was out to give my Brooklyn crew some biz. Cool thing is I had a business meeting planned and when possible I like to have them in Brooklyn, that's right ... I made someone come to Brooklyn for biz teeheehee! It's hard to get people over the bridge or through the tunnel - and it's just 5 to 10 minutes sometimes, it was that way when I lived in New Jersey. I'm sure they'll be back to Brooklyn after the meal. Boy, was this food bangin'! The service was cool and reminded me of my favorite place in the city ... they'll let you sit there all day if you want and never try to turn the table. It's small and totally good for dates and business and the bar drinks are yummy. Over the next weeks, I revisited to try the full menu, which is small and I have my theories about the small menu/seasonal spots, so I was pleased with the outcome. One time we went and had the most amazing scallops for an app. We talked about them throughout the entree course so much that we skipped dessert and decided to order the scallops again to finish the meal ... I know, crazy, but that's how good they were. I'm now accustomed to calling in advance to see if they are on the menu, thing is even if they are not I still make a reservation. I just want my brain and tummy to be ready for the scallops. This is one of my plates post-scallop ...

If you look close my dude's plate is clean too. One time they were sprinkled and crusted with bone marrow. OOOOOOOOWWWWWEEEEEEEEEE! So anyway, I wanted to spread the news to my Brooklynites or anyone planning a visit. Yes, Manhattan has some great spots, but there's nothing like Brooklyn Dinin' :-). Give us a visit for a meal! Again, this isn't an ad ... just a friend, telling a friend about a great meal! P.S. ... they have a kitchen with a view from the street, it's small and congested and they are turning out some banging food ... you don't need space and bells and whistles to make great stuff, remember ... it all started with a fire and some cave dudes ... 

Dimwit Twit: My Visit Down Home w/ the Neely's

Hey! So remember when I went down to SoBe for the Wine and Food Festival? Well, I got to spend a bit more time with the Neely's there and we just really hit it off. They have such great chemistry and have plenty of fun at work, which is how I like to keep it. Light and easy, no stress. They invited me to join them on their show and I thought I'd bring you along for my second Dimwit Twit, or tweet, you know the deal ...I expect to go over on the 140 character limit ... this is totally not Twitter :-).

Thursday March 26, 2:30PM: Like the Rachael Ray visit and any other television show visit, there is the pre-interview. We had to figure out if I was coming on the show, just what would my part be? So, on the line was just myself and one of the producers. She began by telling me how the show worked and which one they wanted me to guest on. The episode theme is "High on the Hog". That's a term we used plenty growing up when eating a fancy meal, because the more expensive parts of the pig are the one's furthest from the ground. So, I was familiar with the phrase and the funny thing is immediately in my head I thought of two desserts, but kept my mouth shut to hear the rest of the show's menu description. When the producer finished talking to me about the current menu, she suggested my part of the show would be to come up with a dessert! Well, great thing is, I was thinking a spiked tiramisu. Tiramisu because it is classy and kinda fit the High on the Hog theme, plus as pretty and fancy as it is, it really is the easiest to prepare. Then a split second later my brain came up with the word "highball". I knew that was a type of drink, I also knew I wanted to spike the tiramisu ... so it was set, my dessert recipe on Down Home with the Neely's would be called "Highball Tiramisu". All I had to do now was take what was in my head and mentally on my tongue, then transfer it into a recipe. I got off the phone with a bit of work to do, but I was happy I came up with something so quick. Again, I get nervous my brain won't work during moments like this, then boom! Highball Tiramisu! lol ... I have work to do ....

Friday March 27, 8:00AM: I just finished writing the recipe and can't seem to find one place in my local hood that sells ladyfingers! Quite alright, I can taste the recipe in my head and it's fine, so I email it to the producer for approval. The real issue is now that I've thought about and written the recipe, I want to taste it so I head to a major grocery store and abandon my local grocers for a lady finger hunt. There I find several varieties and decide I'd like to try them all with my recipe so I can make a brand or type recommendation in the ingredient listing. This sometimes helps people make the recipe just like they see it on the show. I head home and make 3 different batches, throw them in the fridge and wait for the 2 hours of chill time to pass. I give a taste and instantly know my preference and make edits to my recipe. I also know which one is best because my dude empties the glass with lots of clinking noises. I made some more ... this time in a tray, here's his damage so far ...

It isn't picture perfect because quite like I think a mom of 5 kids may feel, my dude hovered over me for this, so I slapped it together after making 3 previous batches and knew that no matter what he'd kill it ... I don't even think he waited for it to chill teeheehee. (curious? that's some gravy/sauce I'm developing on the left with the 1/4" fat layer and on the right, a familiar brand of ground chicken.)

I forgot to mention another thing about the title; it's twofold, it's a Highball Tiramisu because of the alcohol content, but also because I plan to layer it in high ball glasses like a parfait. I get into cute titles and stuff like that, when it works. So now I'm comfy with the recipe and all I have to do is wait for the trip!

WEEKS ELAPSE >>>>>>>

Sunday May 3, 9:40AM: I'm 10 minutes late getting into the car service heading to the airport. So nice of the Neely's to send a car :-).  Halfway to the airport I realize I forgot something and have my dude race to the airport with it, what a mess I am lol. I hate flying and get anxious beforehand, so stuff like forgetting to pack items also adds to the anxiety. I don't know how people do it when they just fly and don't stress, I stress. 

Sunday May 3, 10:25AM: Arrive at the airport. I sat in the front area waiting on my dude to pull up with my suitcase's missing items and take this time to calm my flying nerves with a bit of music ... last week, I joined civilization and bought an iPod lol, I know I'm late.

Sunday May 3, 10:50AM: My dude arrives and before the cop could even tell him go, he was gone. Remember the days when you could sit and actually wait at the airport? Now it's like slow the car down and roll out the door, do not stop, do not pass go ... etc. I head through security, buy two travel magazines and a coffee then head to board the plane.

Sunday May 3, 1:47: Yaaaaay! I'm in Memphis! What a flight, it was a small plane! I'm met at the airport by a production assistant I'll call K-solo. The first thing he asked was the first thing I needed, a stop at a store. I needed all things that come in sizes larger than what is it ... 4 ounces? I really hate that flying rule, but I enjoy my safety so I'll deal with it. Each brand should come up with a travel size, because the travel sizes offered are never the brands I like, feel me? I get my goods and snag a bag of Cheetos Flamin' Hot, cuz they are hard to find in NYC and hop back into the car with K-solo. We get to the hotel I'm staying in and I realize there's no nail salon within miles. Did I tell you I don't drive? I mean I used to, but I don't anymore and now my license is expired, so I couldn't rent a car. That means I gotta walk ... and I don't mind it, but it was raining! Did I pack an umbrella? Nope. Did the hotel have a loaner umbrella? Nope. So ...

Sunday May 3, 3:30PM - I run in the rain across the parking lot to a shopper's oasis ... TJ MAXX! (love the new commercials btw if you haven't seen them they are hilarious. I need to have a buying intervention with a friend of mine lol) As soon as I walked in dripping wet, there were jillions of umbrellas to choose from right at the entrance. I got one, then headed to Sally's Beauty Supply down the strip mall for some nail stuff, mainly a buffer. I like a shiny nail with no polish, easy to keep clean and looks decent on tv. I got back to my room and settled in, dinner was in a few hours with the production team.

is this boring??? see ... I think twitter would be boring too ... i digress ...

Sunday May 3, 6:30PM -Dinner with two of the Down Home with the Neely's producers. Can I confess? I was so hungry after the flight that when I got back to the hotel from my rainy errand run, I promptly walked across the street and got a bite for take out at Joe's Crab Shack. There were memories there because I spent my 31st birthday at a Joe's in California, I was alone then and sad. What a difference a few years make :-). Very wack crackin crab legs solo on your bday lol. It was nice to change the memory of that place to a spot that gave me much needed nutrition after long morning followed by a run through the rain. Anyway, I didn't eat much at dinner with the producers, but the conversation was great and I knew that the following day of taping would be fun based on what we discussed.

Sunday May 3, 10:15PM - We all returned to the hotel and turned in for the night. I stayed up a bit to clean and buff my nails just in case they got a close up the next day and then I tried to sleep, but it didn't work. A combination of being what I call "too tired" and some music coming from I think the gym next door kept me up a bit, but somewhere between 1 and 2AM, I got to sleep.

Monday May 4, 11:00AM - I get picked up at the hotel by K-solo and he takes me to Horton's where I load up on donuts and coffee, have you seen these donuts??? HUGE, take a look at the top row ...

Then we head out for the drive to the Neely's home, not set. Yep, they tape at home and the kitchen you see on the show is theirs. They began the series taping in a rental home, but then decided it would be easier and make so much more sense for them to build a kitchen for television at home.

11:30ish - We get there and there's plenty of activity. There's an attachment to the house that is a make-shift prep kitchen for the culinary staff and cars are parked everywhere. Looking further into the back yard area I see camera and stuff set up and hear a familiar voice. It's Gina, she's taping the interview portion of the show. I really like this part of the show, it gives up a bit more background on the recipes and the people in their family. Very neat. She stops to say hi real quick, but I have to head inside the house to get my hair and make up done and she still has questions to answer during the interview. We part and I go inside to get settled. 

From here ... gotta be honest, I lose track of time. We are in a taping bubble where time slows and flies alternately. Here are some pics ...

This is Gina's Glam Squad, Kim, Kris and Greg ... fab hair, fab face and fab clothes, respectively. :-). We all had too much fun talking and laughing, it felt like old friends or family. Very cool vibe and I love what they did with the scrap I gave em ... here I am halfway through the process ...

See, all smiles! Then when I was done getting all made up, I headed back into the kitchen area to re-introduce myself to the crew ... that's how drastic a change it was with the before and after lol. Everyone had a good laugh and then I told Pat to smile for the cam ...

That's Mark, one of his producers on the way out of a smile or on the way into a smile, either way he is caught mid-emotion, but he's a smiler. :-) By this time it was lunchtime and everyone ordered out, I got SONIC! I saw it on the drive over and made a mental note. I would turn down a Michelin star meal for those onion rings! Later during the shoot we had to move outside for the grilling segment and we all kept talking about how it was about to rain and ruin the shoot. Here's Pat about to shoot his scene ...

Then, Gina arrives and I've cleverly cropped out a really neat grill she has because it hasn't been revealed on the show yet, but you must see this grill ladies (hint)! MUST SEE! Here they are both prepping together, but separately. It's such a dance and they do it gracefully, really not much coaching on the personality and interaction. Only "Action!" and "Cut!"

8PM-ish - It's a Wrap! We beat the rain, sure it came down for about 5 minutes, but the crew scrambled and got everything out of the rain and back into it, just in time for our final shot. We ended eating the meal at the table, then dessert on some patio benches. No sooner did we finish eating was there a surprise celebration for one of the producers ... she'd just gotten engaged! So, on the tail of Highball Tiramisu, we all had cake and champagne! What a way to end the day and really it wasn't over. 

Monday May, 4 9ish - I then headed out to dinner with Gordon Elliot and the entire production team. Gordon is cool and that's all I can say really, just cool. I could talk to him about everything for hours, he's lived such a life and he has a radio career under his belt like me, so plenty to chat about. We all dined on sushi (my tummy was like, really? ... donuts, coffee, bbq, Sonic Drive-in onion rings, foot long coney and cherry limeade, Highball Tiramisu, champagne, and now sushi??? lol)

Tuesday May, 5 - Fly home! My flight was delayed, but I didn't mind. I had an iPod and plenty of work to do online. Hope you like the show when it airs, I'll post the air date as soon as I know. 

Irish Eyes Smilin'

Hey there! 

On tomorrow's newest Cooking for Real, you'll see the episode I told you about back in January when I taped it. It features one of my favorite chicks in NYC, my girl Fiona.

That's us during taping. We have been buddies since we met working the red carpet as reporters years ago. Well, really it was the black carpet because it was Jay Z's Fade to Black movie premiere, either way there was a carpet. We didn't walk on it, we reported on the people walking on it :-). I was in radio and she was in print. Since that night we've been buddies and see each other only over a plate of food. She's from Ireland and works here with just a few visits back home. That was perfect for this show because I wanted to make something from home and then make a couple of other things for her as well. She's just so sweet and cute and she's been there for me during the tough and the sweet times. Like Dionne Warwick sez, that's what friends are for. Here's our menu tomorrow ...

Cooking for Real - new shows! Saturdays @ noon & Weekdays at 4PM est.

Irish Smiling Eye - 

• May 09, 2009

  12:00 PM ET/PT

• May 11, 2009

  4:00 PM ET/PT

• Jun 07, 2009

  9:00 AM ET/PT

Grilled Lamb with Apple-Mint Jelly

Orange-Braised Fennel

Irish Cream Dream

Hope you like the show!!!! Thanks Fiona! What a trip we have both had huh? Love ya bunches!

"Most Likely to Keep in Touch"

Remember superlatives in school? Best dressed, most popular, most likely to succeed? Well, I was actually voted funniest in middle school before I had any idea I was the class clown, but in high school I was all over the place. I ran the German club as the prez, worked for the yearbook staff and tried my hand at pep squad among other things. Along the way I met one of the coolest and funniest people I'd keep in touch with from high school, heck ... just about the only one I keep in touch with from those days ... Christina Common. Oh she's got a different last name now just like many of my girls from high school, but she hasn't changed a bit! We ran for school office on a combined ticket, hung out in the neighborhood on weekends and just generally behaved like kids ... we were trouble back then, but always in good fun so when I was asked if I wanted any guests to come cook with me, the first people I thought of were my girls! I only have a few and Christina was just as crazy as me in school, plus she had an artistic side which is really what brought us together in the first place. So, today's Cooking for Real features me and my only girl that's a mommy, perfect for the holiday on the way. We still have great jokes about our art teacher and built our campaign for student council around great artwork for advertisements. We were two peas in a pod at times and she even joined the Air Force after graduation like I did, so keeping in touch was easy because we have so much in common. It's hard to do when you are moving around and maybe a few months go by without a chat, but then again it makes the bond that much more lasting that we can hold on from the good ol days!

She flew in all the way from the big state of Texas with her hubby and for a full day we cooked and laughed and did our best to look natural with tons of people on the crew watching. I consulted with her before her visit about the menu and we came up with some good stuff. We decided on fajitas and then she gave me her recipe for cheesecake, she's an amazing cook and mommy. The coolest thing I find about this is now my buddy from high school and I have a recipe together on Food Network's website. Just like we have a piece of art we both worked on for our high school yearbook ... what a full circle. Catch Cooking for Real: Deep in the Hearth of Texas today at noon and Monday May 4, 2009 at 4PM ... because, did you know shows air weekdays at 4PM now? Check em out!

 Here's our menu together ....

Flank Steak Fajitas

Lonestar State Cheesecake

Here we are during taping ...

Thanks Christina for taking time out of your hectic schedule as a mommy to come play with me here in NYC. You were one of the best parts of James Madison and Eden Roc for me ... it wasn't easy being the new girl and you made it all laughs for me. I'd take on the mean girls with you anyday :-). Love you for that and more.