Grillin' with my girls ...

Hey there! I hope you are enjoying your Memorial Day weekend so far. A special thank you to all the military members, veterans and family members. As a veteran from a large military family and a person living the American dream you make possible, I thank you for your sacrifices.

If you happen to be grilling this weekend I have plenty of stuff to let you know about ...

A few months back I taped an episode of Food Network Challenge and the week was so busy I took pics and didn't have time to share. Well now I can because I'm chillin' on a lovely weekend with time to spare and the show airs tomorrow night! Food Network Challenge - All Star Grill-Off airs Sunday, May 30th at 8pm. It's a battle of the sexes with Melissa d'Arabian, Aida Mollenkamp and myself for the ladies and Aaron McCargo Jr., Adam Gertler and Michael Symon for the guys ...
Ahem, yes, if you'll notice I did fashion the chef's coat they had for me into a cook's apron. I'm not a cop, I'm not wearing a cop uniform. Teeheehee. Plus it was hot and stuffy! I don't know how you chefs do it. That's like a whole other layer! We taped the show in California a few months ago and the weather was warmer there than it is here today in NYC.

Nice right? That's the evening before the shoot, all the crew was working hard to set everything up in time. Even better, the company that produces Food Network Challenge, also produced How'd That Get On My Plate? and it was such a great surprise to see some of the old crew from those road trips!
Those are my guys! Road trips like the ones we took are bonding adventures and it was so great to see them again and talk about the funny stuff. I even talk about them on Cooking for Real here and there. Bruner, second from the right is the reason I did my Sunny Lomi Salmon. Read about the story here. Ok, so then we got to grilling and the judges got to judgin' ...
I can't tell you the outcome of course, but I can tell you who I was sooooo excited to meet!

Yaaaay Keegan!! I am such a corny fan. When I met him, I told him how much I loved watching the show and like what he brings to the table as well. I think at first he thought it was just lip service, until I began listing episodes and specifics. I have to tell you, there's nothing better than the marathon of FN Challenge when you can catch it. I've sat and watched a whole day seems like. Anyway, Keegan was really cool and if you are a fan, hopefully you can live vicariously through me a bit because I totally gushed for him. To the point where I had to nonchalantly bring up that I had a boyfriend because I didn't want him to think ... "this girl has an eye on me!" lol! Ever do that? Ahh good times, well that's all I can tell you and show you because it's a competition. I can tell you that the money that usually goes to the winner is donated to charity! Hope you catch it ... Food Network Challenge - All-Star Grilling, this Sunday at 8pm!

Speaking of charity, remember a couple of weeks ago when I was in Providence, RI for a charity event? The final tally is in and Miriam Hospital raised $443,000 for their expanding cancer center. It was such a nice event with an auction and dinner, capped off by a cooking challenge with local chefs. Robert Irvine hosted and I judged along with Miriam Garron, restaurant critic Linda Beaulieu and food journalist Gail Ciampa. Gail actually reported on the event as well and it's on Providence Journal's site. Thanks for the link Jacob! Not the Jacob I usually refer to here on the blog, but a co-worker that buys all the food at Food Network. His dad is related to the cause and was a great host to the city. We had a super satisfying meal the night before the event at Al Forno, if you are ever in the area, I suggest the pizza for an app, everyone kept asking the next day if I'd had it and I was so glad I did. Obviously the locals know. It's super thin, crispy and the ingredients are premium, just real smart and good. We had one plain and a pepperoni, both to a thumbs up from the table. I also recommend if they have a special and it's a steak, just get it. The wine sauce alone was worth it, it had a nice molasses flavor and I plan to make a lil batch of my own at home now.

Ok, now for the other grilling news ... If you are up on Monday morning, catch me on the Today Show! I'll be on late in the 9AM hour and I can't wait!! I've been on before, but can you believe I haven't 'cooked' yet? Nope, just showing products and giving tips. So, now I get to step behind a counter and work! Hope you can catch it. If you've read my blogs from my first and second visit to The Today Show, you know they love to rehearse the day before (if not, check the links. I share pics and little stories). So, I'll take pictures tomorrow and share if anything interesting happens.

Aaaaaaand now the last bit of grilling news ... LOST? No, not the series that just wrapped and left everyone just that ... lost. I'm saying, do you need more brainstorming help for your cook out? We have a cool grilling site over at FoodNetwork.com/grilling. There's plenty of new videos with Bobby Flay and the Neely's, recipe links, sample menus, grilling guides and tips, just plenty of stuff. Take a look.

Ok, have a great weekend and I hope you get a chance to enjoy your friends and family. I'll post a few pictures of my visit to the Vice Presidential residence next week, but I just wanted to get you some grilling news.