Week-at-a-glance

Hey there! I looked up and realized halfway through the week, that it's almost over! Last time we chatted I was on the way to a secret taping for a show. Look who I shot the show with ...
Look familiar!? It's Kelsey Nixon and Adam Gertler, former finalists on Next Food Network Star, Season 4. That's at rehearsal last week. We are working on a new show for the Cooking Channel called Next Food Network Star: After Party. It debuts in just a couple of weeks on Sunday, July 18th. I am really excited about this show, basically each week after someone is sent packing on NFNS, they'll arrive on our show over on the Cooking Channel to talk about getting sent home and how the competition was for them. I cannot wait! Only thing not so fun is that I know who gets the boot before it airs, which as a television viewer takes out the fun, but rest assured, I won't tell you a thing! You'll have to catch the show and then hopefully ... :-) watch our After Party. A program note, it is designed to air right after NFNS, just switch over to the Cooking Channel and we'll be waiting at 10PM eastern ... except for July 18th, the night it debuts. That show airs at ... 11PM, 1 hour later. I know, pretty late for a school night, but totally worth it! One of the judges on NFNS stops by ... I won't say who, but they have a chat with the person they voted off, good stuff. I mean even if I weren't on the show, this is right up my alley of viewing, really happy to be a part of it. I hope I ask the questions of the finalists and judges you want to know as a viewer, if you have any along the way, feel free to post them here! Hope you catch it live, or on Memorex :-). (showin my age, 35) I'll surely give a reminder here before the show begins to air. If you want to check out a new blog, give a Happy Bday over at the Cooking Channel's blog, they're 1 month old!

Remember how I told you about taping The Best Thing I Ever Ate a couple of weeks ago? Well, yesterday was the follow-up taping here in Brooklyn at the actual restaurant that serves one of the best things everrrrr. I can't tell you what it is or where to get it ... but I can share this picture. They brought it out while I was eating a smaller version as a surprise ... I immediately whipped out my phone for a pic!
What a mammoth of a ... well, can't say can I? So many secrets today, huh? Sorry. Let's see what can I tell you ...

I'm wrapping up my menus for the next season of Cooking for Real! I tape in August and the shows begin to air in the autumn months, so I'm doing plenty of off-season eating at home while in the final recipe testing stages of the process. I like to make sure that when the shows first air, they are in season. Plenty of stews and roasts and ...
Meatballs!! Like my fine china? Teeheehee. I am soooo over dishes when in recipe testing mode, sorry for being a bit too real ;-). As soon as the website gets relaunched, I promise I'll try to class it up a bit. This is in an episode I'll call "First Date Spaghetti". I can't tell you how many times over the years I've heard about a friend or someone making spaghetti for someone on the first date at home. It's an easy sell to a date, easy to prep and not a wallet buster. My version has mega meatballs I flavor up and sear in a pan then finish off in the oven and the sauce is so easy and tasty, I hope you give it a try. If things go as planned, I'll tape this episode along with 12 others in just a couple of months. I can't talk about this without an emotional knee-jerk response to tell you thank you. You with those eyes reading this. Thank you so much for the support and for watching Cooking for Real if you have already or intend to do so. Because my parents raised me, I know I am capable of anything, but because I am always chasing dreams and sometimes landing them, I also know nothing is done alone. Thank you so much for being here. I wake up every day happy and thankful.

On to today in my week-at-a-glance ...

Ever learn a new word or hear about something and the next thing you know it keeps popping up? Well, just after doing my first ever SMTea a few weeks back, I got up at 5am this morning and headed to the city for my second SMT. It was at a completely different studio and this time I was there to talk about cool recipes for the 4th of July weekend. Look who I ran into!
That's Jack, he was at my very first SMTea and if you caught the blog he's also in one if the pictures I shared, hooking me up with some audio. Today he was running the camera behind us. When I walked in and saw him I was too excited! Nothing better than a familiar face from my first go at it. Look at what time it is! 107PM. We started around 8AM and just after we took this picture I did one more interview and we wrapped. Then I headed out to another meeting about my website. I can't wait to launch it! Looks like a few months at the most and I'll have new bells and whistles.

Hey speaking of new ... I learned a new trick from Kersti Bowser and her Gourmet Butterfly crew today ...
That's my Blackberry Gin Fizz Float with blackberry sorbet ... or is it, take a closer look ...
All morning the drink sat on set and that 'sorbet' never melted. I guessed and it was right, it's vegetable shortening, lard really, blended with black berries. Smart, eh? Reminds me of one of my favorite posts here on the blog; Making food ready for it's close up. Give a read if you are in to food photography or just interested in how food is made to look so yummy on camera. Here are the ladies that pulled off the lard trick today! Chef Kersti is on the left ...
What a day! I have tomorrow off and plan to spend it in the kitchen! Then I get up early on Friday to hang out with Good Morning America in Central Park for their Summer Concert Series!! I have a great 4th of July spread ready to go and I'll post the recipes from the show on Friday. Now all I have to do is find something festive to wear! If you are in NYC, it's a FREE concert with Mary J. Blige!! Come on out and have some fun in the park! If you are elsewhere, I hope you tune in. Click the link above for all the details. Here is a map to Rumsey Field if you plan to join. I'll try to take pics and post them as well! See you Friday!

NYC is the place to be!

If they could see us now, eh ladies?!

That's friend to the blog and cool foodie Toby on the right and Barbara on the left. I've known them for about 3 years and they just visited a few weeks ago. Between their heavy Broadway and restaurant schedule ;-) and my computer malfunction (I know, beating the dead computer, eh?), we were able to meet up at the place where we first met, inside NYC's Chelsea Market. That's where many of the shows on Food Network tape and every year it feels like the heart of the New York City Wine & Food Festival.

It's a neat scene during the festival with the piers close by and a teeny park just out doors. Usually people retreat inside the market for a bite or the A/C. If you haven't enjoyed the fun yet, this is my personal invitation to come this year! I have a cooking demonstration scheduled and would love to make time to hang if you want, maybe coffee at my fave stand in Chelsea Market? Tickets are on sale now for this year's event. Check www.NYCWineandFoodFestival.com for details. Just so you know, 100% of the proceeds from the NYC Wine and Food Festival help the hunger relief organizations Share Our Strength and the Food Bank for New York City. It's a pretty neat way to enjoy a foodie treat, while treating someone in need with food.

Speaking of food :-) ... I had an NYC first yesterday, but first I stopped by Martha Stewart Radio to chat with Kim and Betsy and ran into Simon Doonan...
Simon's the creative director for Barney's, author and so much more. I cringed thinking my outfit wasn't up to par, White linen pants, a bright orange top layered with a thin cardigan and ... flip flops. They asked me to dress like I was going to a cookout, so I did my best lol. Just as I began to worry he'd think I looked a hot mess, he gave me a compliment on my shirt! Even asked where I got it, when I said New York & Company, he made a cute joke about wishing it were from Barney's. He even okayed my flip flops because they matched and I had a nail appointment after the show. Even if he didn't mean it and was just being nice, I took it at face value ... why not right? I'll take a freebie :-) So, after the interview with Kim and Betsy about summertime eating, their producer asked me to fill in when Kim goes on vacation in August. I, of course, said yes! So if my taping schedule works out for the next season of Cooking for Real, I'll head back to the common grounds of radio for a week in August to chat Martha-style. Just when I thought I was out... they pull me back in! Teeheehee ... can't wait. Truly. I'm one step closer to Martha, she's a smart business woman and I like when she loosens up with musical guests. I really just want to meet her so I can ask all kinds of boring gardening questions.

So while waiting on the nail place to open, I decided to finally cross a thing off my NYC foodie to-do list ... get a bagel at Murray's...
That's my poppy seed bagel, not toasted, with scallion cream cheese along side a regular coffee. Sooo good. I'm a bottom half lover for the crisp crunch, but the top half was so chewy and fluffy ... ooowweeee! I think really, the water here in NYC is the best. It tastes great and makes bagels and pizza dough, just really unique. A special hello to the couple I met from Austin. They were here on a foodie mission and it was neat to meet them as I was playing tourist in my own city.

Okay, that was my Monday take care! Stick around, I'm taping a new show this week and I'll share everything I contractually can :-).

One day @ a time - #10 This is it! - June 15

"This is it. This is it. This is life, the one you get so go and have a ball" - One Day at a Time - theme song lyrics

See how the lyrics of One day at a Time really pull this blog-orama together? I know, I'm corny.

I made it through a day of bloggin. Truth be told, I wrote 3 of them yesterday, but woke up this morning knowing I set a deadline of getting one up per hour. So, here's the last one ...

Rewind to ...

Tuesday, June, 10, 2010

So, somewhere in all the craziness of my schedule and the computer malfunction, I got a comment here on the blog from Toby. I met Toby and her travel buddy a couple of years ago as I was leaving work in Chelsea Market. We stopped, chatted and I took a pic with her friend Barbara ...

Cool thing is I got to see Toby (not pictured) earlier this year in Florida while I was on tour with Viva Towels. We made a joke that we saw each other once the first year we met, and now it's two for the second year ... guess we have to go for 3 next year? Or maybe 3 this year ... I just got off the phone with Toby, I was asking her to email the picture we took last week and it sounds like she may make it up for the Atlantic City Food & Wine Festival! So Toby, I'm looking forward to it! I'd also like to thank you so much for your support. You're my type of foodie! I had a great time and in a busy week it was a joy just sitting for a few minutes and catching up. You ladies are a riot, I needed all those laughs! If you come up here one more time and go to a Broadway show without me ... I'll give up dessert! Eww ... well maybe not dessert, but you get me. :-) Can't wait to see the pics and share them ... until then, here's Barbara's picture of my mom's Easy Classic Funnel Cake from last month's issue of Food Network Magazine.
Lookin' goood! I may have to fry up a batch this weekend! Okay, looking forward to the email Toby!

This is the end of my "One day @ a time" posts ... thanks for hanging around these parts. I hope you have a great weekend! I hope you catch Cooking for Real tomorrow at noon! I'm making the meat and potatoes crew happy and giving Popeye a run for his money :-).

One day @ a time - #9 Recipe Testing Time! - June 14

Hey there! Hope you've had a fun Friday! This is the last post of the day, I think :-). Wait, it isn't so check back in 15 minutes, forgot something ...

Monday, June 14, 2010

Today was the start of recipe testing for Cooking for Real and the end of menu development for the Atlantic City Food & Wine Festival. Here are some onions going on one of my sliders ...

I should give you the menu, eh? Ok, first the event is my Sunset, Sliders & Spirits rooftop pool party at Caesar's in Atlantic City. The event is in the early evening on Saturday, July 31st. Jen in comments already has her tickets and I can't wait to meet! If you want to come hang out, get your tickets by clicking here.
Here's the menu;

Bar Snacks:

Don't Lose All Your Fried Plantain Chips

Sunny's Sunset Veggie Chips

Spirits:

Brooklyn Iced Tea

Cucumber Cooler

Jersey Shore Juice Head Martini

Sliders:

Sunny's Caprese Sliders

Sunny's Opa! Lamb Sliders

Oyster Po' Boy Sliders

Mini Chicken Chorizo Patty Melts

Sweet:

Chocolate Raspberry Sliders

I may make a few changes here and there, but this feels pretty solid and I'm excited for you to try everything!

Ok, so I woke up this day with one deadline to turn in that menu to my event planner and then I had to head to Chelsea Market to prepare some of the recipes I pitched for the upcoming season of Cooking for Real. Here's Santos playing with something I'll call a Celebration Trifle on a new episode...

I'd spent time layering it and making a cute pinwheel design on the top with strawberries and blueberries, then I turned my back and in an effort to not waste the leftover berries, Santos thought he'd pile on the love ...

That's me pretending to be annoyed with the pile of berries and Cedric aka Ced-lover over my shoulder photo bombing me. If you check here regularly, he'll look familiar. A few months ago I shared with you a picture of him testing a recipe for Food Network Magazine and guess what?? It's in the issue out now! The Cook Out! issue ... subscribe if you haven't already, it's like a cook book every month.

Here's another recipe I'll share when I tape the next season of Cooking for Real ...
I know it's hard to tell what is even in that flat bread, huh? What with all the cheese oozing ... that's heaven for me and I plan to put it in a show with a jicama salad I hope you like as well as some craaaaazy brownies. Totally a kid theme here and I hope to write an intro reminiscent of Mister Roger's Neighborhood. Sounds weird, but I have a plan to make it all work ... hopefully.

Hey remember earlier today when I told you about taping Best Thing I Ever Ate? Well a week before this is when I taped it, but they were still at Food Network taping other hosts while I was recipe testing. I got to shoot a scene with Marc Summers that I hope doesn't hit the cutting room floor. Really childish and selfish ... so I can mentally tap my 12 year old self on the shoulder and tell me that "one day, I'll tape a segment with the host of Double Dare". It only took a few seconds and I don't want to give it away, just in case it actually makes it into the episode. And remember the producer that didn't think my "Best Thing" sounded appetizing?? I ended up taking him and Anne, a camera woman, to the place in Brooklyn for a taste test. Here he is after the first few bites of my secret dish ...
That's Eddie, the creative mind behind Best Thing I Ever Ate. I've blurred out my mystery dish, but I have to tell you ... chances are if I didn't you still wouldn't be able to tell what it was because in just a few swipes, he massacred it! And yep, he liked it! So much that his cell phone is in his hand ready to take his own picture to mark the moment. He promptly emailed it to another person on his staff that usually gets to eat cool stuff, to basically say ... "Take that!".

And with that ... there's just one more blog I need to post to finish my game of ketchup, ahem ... catch up. :-) Gimme 5 and the post will only take 5 to read...

One day @ a time - #8 Dim Sun eats Dim Sum - June 12

Almost done with the blog-athon! I'm just making up lost time due to a Macbook malfunction. I'm now playing on my new MacBook Pro, but feelin' like an amateur, teeheehee.

Saturday, June 12, 2010

So after the crazy week that started off with me Buffering due to my broken lapto--uhh, notebook :-), I set out to take a mind clearing stroll through Brooklyn and instead got my mind blown! We moved to this area shortly after our house was broken into and did the initial stroll around the blocks. We picked up menus and I made mental lists of what groceries were where. We saw this huuuuuge building under going a remodeling and at the time it looked like a fish market??? What do you think?

The "Plaza"part is what made us feel like it was a seafood market of some type. Well, that was a year and some change ago and every time we pass it on the way to another seafood market, we'd wonder when it would finally open. This day we were coming from a stroll and saw activity outside of the entrance. First we stood on the corner, then we slowly inched closer towards the building. Both looking up at it and mumbling things like "I wonder what's going on" and "Is it open for business?". We mumbled right up to the foot of the steps and that's where we met a nice lady talking to two other businessmen. I think she knew we were clueless and inquisitive because she walked up to us and asked us if we needed help. We both explained that we didn't know what was inside, but wanted to go in if it was finally opened. We asked if it was a seafood market and she said no, it was a restaurant. A RESTAURANT!?!?!?! My heart skipped a beat! We live on the cusp of many different nationalities in my area, so given her nationality as Chinese and the word "seafood" on the building, I got super foodie excited. We already have authentic Greek, Italian, Middle Eastern and South American food at our footsteps, so this would be the cherry on top! She invited us in and that's when I realized she had ties to the building. I was impressed, she was so inviting and we instantly got hungry, but it was Saturday and we were both in our weekend worst of cargo pants and wrinkled t-shirts. I told her we looked a mess and would return cleaned up, but she told us it was casual and we looked ok as is. I like a sweet, but hard sell. She ushered us up the steps and into what I can only explain as a Dim Sum Palace! You'd expect to see something like this in Manhattan's Chinatown. Huge. Pretty Lighting. Loud. Busy. Aaaaaand we were the only non-Asians in there ... something of a coup in the ethnic dining trenches of NYC. Take a look at our first round ...
Look at that! That's only a third of what we ordered. So happy I was Dim and it wasn't a seafood market. I don't mind walking a bit further for seafood if that means Dim Sum is close to home! If you've never done Dim Sum, it's fun and instant gratification. The waiters come by with carts of steamed dumplings and small bites and all you have to do is point to what you want and it's on the table in seconds, straight from the cart. We'd pretty much said yes to everything and then realized we had to slow down or we'd have more on the table than we could fit or eat. That's when this beauty rolled by ...
It had me at bacon. We both looked at each other for approval, then before even getting each other's response, told the lady with the cart we'd take a few of the bacon thingys. I don't know what you call it but inside was crab meat and spices. That's all I can discern, it was crispy, not greasy and delicious. We thought surely we were breaking the bank there with all of our cart hijacking and I kept thinking this would be a nice way to say welcome to the neighborhood and congrats on getting the business opened. Turns out when we moved into the area over a year ago, it was almost ready to open, but the city slowed the process by not issuing an occupancy certificate. Must've been stress waiting for that as a business owner. Anyway, we ate for 2 people and had enough left to take home for 2 more people ... grand total?? $36. Crazy!!! I love a stroll through Brooklyn!

Ok, I'll post the next and last blog for today around 5:30 for my East Coast foodies reading live that have to clock out from the cubicle :-) ....

One day @ a time - #7 SMTea - June 11

Hey there! If you are following this blog live, thanks for hangin' with me in a Friday! I'm catching up from blogs lost when I had a lil computer implosion, so sorry for all the posts, but also sorry I missed them when they happened...

Friday, June 11, 2010

That day was another early wake up because I had an SMT scheduled with Lipton. Check out my spread!
I went to make sure it was all pretty and ready to go the day before. SMT stands for Satellite Media Tour. I'm callin' it an SMTea because of the obvious reasons. :-) I'm corny. Don't know what an SMT is? Well, the easiest way I can explain it is, you know when the singers get voted off American Idol? And the next day you see them on your morning news sitting in front of an American Idol backdrop talking about their experience from a studio in Los Angeles? They are doing an SMT. It's a way for many media outlets around the country to interview one person, without the person having to travel. Pretty neat and it was my first one live, so I was excited. Here I am probably trying to memorize "coolest summer cookout dot com" on set while I get wired for sound ...

That's the website to check and the one I gave out all morning, Lipton's summertime hangout ... www.CoolestSummerCookout.com. Here I am seconds later, microphone pack in my back pocket and ready to go!
Every anchor had a set list of possible questions to ask me if they are at a loss for words, but it wasn't scripted. So, if we ever got off topic or didn't get time to explain everything, I wanted to make sure I gave out the website for more info. There's cool stuff over there as well as a sweepstakes. I'm actually sippin' on some Lipton Cold Brew as I type this. Have you tried the Lipton Cold Brew Bags yet? I had no idea they even existed because I'm more of a traditionalist and just look for my regular tea bag box. Basically these are tea bags you pour cold water over and in 3 minutes, the tea is done! If you want instant without the powder and you don't want to heat up your kitchen this summer just to get a pitcher of tea, I'd say look for the Cold Brew box. I am in love with it and also like the Diet Sparkling Green Tea. I don't know how they do it, but the diet doesn't taste diet. Crazy. I'm so happy to work with them, feels like they've grown with me over the years and there's new flavors and tea technology for me to enjoy. Pretty neat.

Some of the interviews I did during the SMTea were live, but some will air in the near future, here's a list of all the action just in case it's close to where you live;

8:50 WYAM - TV Huntsville, AL ... it was live with Susie and she was a cool chick!

9:00 WCBD - TV Charleston, SC ... taped with Tara and I don't know when it will air or if it has already.

9:05 Daily Buzz National - airs on the 1st day of summer, June 21. I don't know where though, but it's national :-). The guy hosting obviously thought I was only literate in ebonics? And bad ebonics at that. He went from proper English during his first story as I listened in my ear bud, then proceeded to introduce me with the worst slang ever, I thought ... here's someone that has never caught the show and also thinks we all must speak that way. Tragic. I mean , I have my times when I get lazy with words, but there's a time and place for everything, eh? I started the interview by telling him he wouldn't get let across the Brooklyn Bridge with his attempt at slang. Funny, but I think my comment set us on the right path.

9:20 WTVR - TV Richmond, VA ... it was live and on the weekend of the city's centennial parade! Happy BDay Richmond!!

9:30 WRBU - TV St. Louis, MO - I chatted with James, he was cool. This was taped and I don't know the airdate :-(.

9:35 WYYZ - AM Atlanta, GA - I taped it with Matt and for the first time that morning got a chance to walk around instead of stand on set during the interview because it was radio.

9:45 WNEM - TV Flint, MI - this was taped too and I used to live close by in Detroit, so it was a fun interview.

9:50 KCMN - Radio Colorado Springs, CO - I had the best time talking to the host, Tron. It was live and he is really funny, lucky you if you live in his listening area.

Then I got a 10am break for 10 minutes ...

10:10 WAMV AM Roanoke, VA - I talked with Bob live.

10:20 KJTV TV Lubbock, TX - I actually interviewed myself for this one, lol. I was asked to begin by saying hi to the host and then just talk for 3 minutes straight. That was pretty easy, seeing as though I love to talk. I don't know when this aired or airs, but I know it was taped for Christal.

10:30 Tampa 21 - for this, I don't know the station or anything, just that it was for television and for radio. Maybe if this is your area of livin' you know better than me. :-)

10:35 WSAV TV Savannah, GA - I taped this interview with Everett and was so happy to talk with someone in Savannah. I'd just left there and taped a show with Paula Deen, so I was happy to gush about her and the beautiful city squares and all. Savannah, take care of miss Paula, she's a sweetie. News has surfaced about her being robbed by her own house keeper and when I was there it had just happened to her. She told me on set as were about to tape. I didn't share with you because it was Paula's personal information, but a few weeks later the report came out and now we all know. People that steal just don't get it. 9 times out of 10 the people they steal from would have given of themselves freely. I know this to be true about Paula, she has such a big heart. I too, had a break-in about 18 months ago and hinted about it here, but never really touched on it. It's hard and makes it super hard to trust people. Hope Paula gets her feeling of security back and maybe even some of her stuff. Ok...

11:10 Cable Radio Network - it's a national show and I taped the interview, no telling when it will air, but the guy I spoke with ... forget his name, he was so funny. I could tell by his questions that he was a total bachelor. He had questions about expiration dates on things that were in his pantry for over a year. Cute and funny.

Then it was all over ... I said through my microphone, "who's next?" and the director replied into my ear bud "that's it!". So, I went around and gave some high-5's and hit the road back to Brooklyn. I had a date with a pillow. Up next, what a stroll through Brooklyn can do for your belly ...

One day @ a time - #7 Best follows Worst - June 10

Hey there! I'm almost caught up with my sharing! Hope you are enjoying your Friday or whatever day you catch this. I have a back log of blogs I'm logging. Say that 10 times fast ...

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Well this was day #4 of my computer disaster. I had the blow up and blank face on my computer screen Monday. Tuesday I headed to the computer doctor and found out my computer was dead and needed replacing. Wednesday I completed setting up my new home office and finally got my wireless everything to communicate seemlessly. Then, Thursday I had to leave my new office digs and head to Chelsea Market to chat about some of the best thing's I've ever had. Here I am with some set props ...

That salt shaker was so big, I could barely palm it. I didn't use any of these props, but just thought you'd like to see them. I taped two episodes and would love to tell you what food I discussed and where I got it from, but I'm sure the producers would get mad. I can share with you that one of my favorite dishes sounds sooooooo crazy, the producer didn't believe me when I said it was life changing. So, just a few days ago, I invited him to Bay Ridge, Brooklyn for a taste test. I'll update you in a post later today, I'm trying to do this in chronological order.

BTW, Best Thing I Ever Ate has moved from Friday to Monday's at 9PM. I left this taping and headed up a few blocks to oversee some preparation for the work I had lined up the next day with Lipton. Details on that in the next blog post ...

One day @ a time - #6 Pizza Pizza! - June 3

Hey there! This is #6 in a series of blog posts I'm adding today to catch up. Welcome to the blog if you are new here! If you are here regularly, you may have noticed I fell off for a couple of weeks. Well, one of the weeks was because I was just so busy and couldn't stop to breathe let alone blog, but the next week when I was ready to share, my computer blew up on me. So, I've been in recovery and my old brain has had to learn new tricks with new equipment, but I'm toot-tootin' along with a smile. These blogs today are things I wanted to tell you as they happened, but with my setbacks ... couldn't.

Thursday, June 3, 2010

Well, I remember I woke up pretty tired that day but had errands to run. I got through them all and got home to realize I didn't have what I needed to make dinner and a few recipes I was developing. So, being super tired from a week of pre-6am wake ups, I sent my guy to the grocery store for a few things. Here's my culinary layman's list for my guy ....

He always asks several questions that usually repeat every time he does me the favor of shopping, so I thought I'd draw him some pics. He thought it was funny and unnecessary, but for the first time I didn't get a call or text while he was out and he returned with the right stuff! Perfect for us both because while I waited for ingredients to test a recipe, I got started on a dinner I was thinking about for two weeks.

Remember the trip to D.C. where Spike Mendelsohn gave me a tour of his pizza joint under construction? Well, I left really wanting some homemade pizza and almost every day I thought about it but didn't have to time to execute it. Thanks to some doodling on paper, a cool boyfriend and tastebuds that wouldn't let up on my brain ... I kneaded out some dough and topped it off with smoked mozzarella, garlic, pepperoni, ground beef, onions and more. Here's the oven shot ...
I roll and pull it until it's thin and then I par or flash bake my crust dry on a pan with olive oil and minced garlic, then I remove it and top it. I took that picture for myself, but when it came out of the oven it was so pretty I wanted to send a pic to Spike to thank him for the inspiration. This is the pic I sent him ...
He liked the picture, but he said it made him hungry because he was on the road headed home to D.C. from his big book tour in NYC. I apologized, but thanked him again for reminding me of something in my repertoire I hadn't used in some time. So Pizza tonight anyone?

Stick around, up next I hang out with utensils waaaay too big to actually use ...

One day @ a time - #5 My Garden Grows! - June 2

Hey there! Well, I'm part of the way through a blog-letting ... if you get my play on words. I'm just trying to catch up after a forced break due to computer issues.

Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Today was my day off. I had plenty of work to do though. Summer is on the way. I'd just finished talking about entertaining with friends for the summer the day before with Lipton, so I woke up energized to get my back yard in shape. Remember when I started my garden? Well, I started it last year and had some success with leafy greens like collards and mixed lettuce, but failed with fennel, onions and pretty much every thing else.

Here are links to my garden blogs if you want to catch up ...

Sowing the Seeds of Love

Mulch Ado About Nothing

7 Things I Learned On Vacation

Mi Lechuga and My Laziness

You Say Tomato, I Say To-not-o

I'm Seeing Red!

Gardening was fun, but I needed much more time to dedicate to it for it to flourish, Martha makes it look so easy. I bet it has something to do with her having help :-) So I called in a horticulturist and took a trip to a nursery in Red Hook, Brooklyn to pick out some babies ...Those are cactus' and succulents. My favorite one is in the bottom left corner. All perfect for me because I don't havee to water them everyday. I did get some bushes and trees, but these lil dry sand lovers are my babies. Just so you know ... I didn't scrap the whole garden. I did have something nice happen ... my onions that didn't bulb underground, grew lonnnng stalks and began to flower! So, we uprooted them and plotted them along my back fence. Look at how tall they grew in just one year from a seed!
Pretty neat, huh? And that was through the winter with snow cover and all that. Those were some troopers! For the people that may be into landscaping, I also got wisteria, clematis, some bamboo, a corkscrew willow, a spidery looking conifer, a Japanese maple and a new word I learned from the horticulturist ... two procumbents.

So now instead of waking up every morning wondering if bulbs of onions and fennel are forming beneath the ground, I wake up wondering how far up the trellis a vine has grown.This is my wisteria vine, it only took a week for it to travel from the bottom of the picture to the top. Pretty neat.

Up next, I get inspired by a chef friend and send my guy to go grocery shopping...

One day @ a time - #4 Musical Video Interlude ...

So, I thought in the middle of my blog marathon I'd share my inspiration for the title. Music is a huge part of my life and sometimes I find songs say things best ...

That was a cool show if you ever got to watch it. Those were the days! Pretty cool lyrics too, I like when I can pull my love of music into my love of food. That's where I Want Mussels, Goin' Back to Cali, Kinda and On the Wings of Love come from. Before it's over I'll have Dear Mama and Girls Just Wanna Have Fun worked in somewhere :-P ... my attempt at personal nirvana teeheehee. Ok, hope you liked the musical video interlude ... more bloggin' on the way. Happy Friday!

One day @ a time - #3 Lipton Calls - June 1 ...

Hey there! I'm in the middle of a blog-orama, just catching up after some time off due to technical difficulties, so I hope you enjoy and if you've missed any, please scroll down... btw, my burn was from an All Clad handle. I got it two weeks before that picture at a charity event. A chef took a pan out of the oven and rested it on the counter top, it looked to have been there for some time. I was one of the judges and the chef neglected to tell us he took it from the oven. In the chaos I lifted it to catch the aroma ... and well ... you can see what happened. Pretty much my favorite burn scar right now ...


Tuesday, June 1, 2010

So this day I got up early and headed over to New Jersey to hang out with Lipton. They called a couple of months ago and told me they wanted people to "drink on the bright side" and thought I'd be the perfect person to help get the word out. How nice, eh? I grew up on Lipton! As I navigate this area of my career, companies call to partner, but not all of them are products I use or even trust. Actually, it happened plenty in my radio career too now that I think about it. I remember telling a company I wouldn't help promote a product because I'd never used it and still didn't want to use it. The company actually didn't care if I used it or not and also didn't mind if I lied about it, that was a quick no. Good thing ... months later the product was pulled from shelves nationally because it wasn't safe and people were having health problems. I didn't make the sales department at the radio station happy when I said no at the time, but in a few months time we all were happy. So, it has been easy to say no and just stand on principle alone in this new chapter because of past experiences, but it's easy to say yes when it's something I love. That being said, and I hope you take this the right way ... you have my word, I'll only do business with companies I actually use and trust. I'm so not here for the wrong reason. I really love what I do and it's so neat that you share the same passion as I do, which is food, eating and of course ... cooking. So I'd never betray your trust like that. Not my style ...

Wow, so now that I've said that ... how bout some tea and pudding? :-).
That's a tray of vanilla pudding, graham crackers and swedish fish, made to look like the beach! A little fun for the kids during summer, my fondest memories are of playing with food and helping around the kitchen ... and yard, but that's another blog.

This is Marni n me.
She finds all the jeans that fit my crazy shape, colorful and bright shirts I like and even some of the accessories I wear on Cooking for Real. I like how she dresses me up there, so anytime I can, I ask her to help me with other television stuff. Many of you have asked in comments about my clothes, I promise to finally ante up and interview Marni for the blog the next time I tape in August.

It took a few weeks of planning, but Tuesday was the day I'd tape some fun segments for Lipton with some local foodies. Here I am with two of them ...
That's Matt and Nikki. They are young, married and new to NYC. We all laughed when we looked at this picture, Nikki said Matt always finds a way to make a funny face in pictures. They were lots of fun and really cool to hang out with. They remind me of when I first moved to work in NYC, I was fresh and excited and open to everything the city had to offer. Nothing really has changed for me and it was great seeing myself in them. There's truly something about moving to NYC to chase a dream. They have friends over plenty and wanted to know how to entertain in a tight space during the summertime. I was more than happy to help because counter space and square footage is hard to come by here and with summer on the way, it's hard to have a cookout without any outdoor space.

Lipton put up a website with some of the tips I gave them it's www.CoolestSummerCookout.com. Check it if you are feeling lucky because there's a sweepstakes to enter! There's money! A trip! And you and I can spend time cooking here in NYC!

Speaking of websites ... I am totally aware that my website is a mess lol. I have been looking for a company for a couple of years now and finally think I've got it! Plans are being made and I hope to soon relaunch with a better site. I have fun stuff planned too if you are like me and like to play and stuff online on a boring day. Let's be bored together, eh? So stick around for news on my relaunch of www.SunnyAnderson.com and ...

For the next post I'll show ya what happened to my garden ...

One day @ a time - #2 Balthazar, Books & Burns - May 31

This is part 2 of several posts today. I'm just catching up after a computer meltdown, scroll down for the details ...

Monday, May 31, 2010

So after I left The Today Show, I headed down to SoHo for breakfast at Balthazar. Usually, I'd head back home or run errands, but that day was the same day Spike Mendelsohn was on GMA promoting his new cookbook. We saw each other the week before when I visited Washington D.C. and found out we'd be on opposite channels at pretty much the same time, so it would be hard to watch and support each other. That's when I suggested we toast and celebrate his book right after our morning gigs and he chimed in with the location. Here we are mimosa toasting away ...

Balthazar is pretty darn good, it's one of the first NYC cook books I bought when I moved here back in 2001. Spike's book: The Good Stuff Cookbook is killin' the charts and you can get it here. At one point in our conversation we started talking about cooking scars and burns and I showed him my newest one. He was confused because we'd just run into each other the week before and he didn't notice it, that's when I had to explain how I doctored it up so it wouldn't look nasty for my meeting with the Vice President, his wife Dr. Biden and the troops. I'm not great at covering up a mess on my face, but I did pretty darn well on my hand. It's in the palm of my right one so I knew it would be a yucky shake if I didn't doctor it and make it less noticeable. Anyway, that's not what I want to share, because most of it probably should've been done by a professional with some medical skill. What I do want to share is how I think it was funny that Spike couldn't figure out what the burn was from until I outlined it for him right there at the table ...

Can you tell what gave me the burn? As soooon as I showed Spike my outline, he not only chimed in with what burned me, but what brand ... that's a hint :-). I'll let you know in the next post on the way...

One day @ a time - #1 Today Show - May 31

Ok, so this is the first of a day of blogs I'm posting to basically catch up ... scroll down for the details, but the gist is my notebook/laptop blew up on me just as I was getting out of the weeds, so I had to pull some weeds before I could smell the roses again ... I'm currently smelling clematis...

Monday, May 31, 2010

Back on Memorial day I woke up at 4am to get ready for an appearance on The Today Show. This would be my third visit, but the first time actually getting to cook during the segment so I was very excited. Here I am just before the segment aired ...
That's my Strawberry Chocolate Jiggle-Fluff Pie I'm sprinklin'. Who knew a family favorite I converted over the years would be in demand, but I get plenty of comments about it and it makes me feel good about liking something sooo baaaad. bad in a good way :-). I blend right into the flower arrangement, eh? That dress was a runner up for the Vice Presidential visit the week before. I was happy to have it because when I got booked for the The Today Show the week before I had no space in my schedule to find something nice to wear, so good thing I over shopped for the VP. I still have pictures and stories to tell about that, so stick around.

Here I am with all the hosts that day ...
I feel like E.F. Hutton looking at this picture teeheehee (showin' my birthdate!). That's Amy Roback, Lester Holt, Natalie Morales and Peter Alexander. I found out that morning they'd all be around for the segment and was excited to meet Lester. I watch him on some investigation shows on another network all the time and it didn't hit me until after I left that I should say that to him. Everything went so fast I didn't get the chance. We said hello, I complimented Amy on her shoes, they gave us a countdown and I started explaining my Grilled Smoked Pork Chops with Sweet and Sour Glaze Here we are midway through ...
It was a fun segment and I was happy to join them on Memorial Day. I thought I was booked because I was a veteran of the USAF, but the day before in rehearsal I mentioned it and it was a surprise to the producer. So it was nice to be booked on culinary merit alone, but super nice to be able to say a quick note of thanks to the troops on air before I began the segment. Really nice of them to give me a few seconds to stop and mention the real intent of the holiday.

After I finished up with the segment, I headed down to SoHo for breakfast with a friend to celebrate his new cook book ... details in the next post - next hour :-).

One day @ a time ...

Hey there! Well, I'm slightly back in biz compared to a week and some change ago. The laptop blew up and now I'm the proud owner of a newer model, seems my old one has a hard drive that doesn't want to drive anymore. I still have hope of maybe some data recovery, so I'll check into that option, but for now ... it's all about moving along and not getting set back! So I'm back where I wanted to be the day my laptop blew up, In my back yard about to handle some work and blogging on my computer...
I took the pic then realized I was relaxing next to two companies I work with and happened to love before I ever began with them ... Viva Towels and Lipton. I'm quilt-free and cold brewin'!! Have you seen the new commercials for both companies? Click the names above to see. Very cute and funny, I'm very happy to work with them both because it seems like the perfect fit and personality. I like happy products. Stick around for some contest details with Lipton.

Ok, so I wanted to tackle all of the blogging I couldn't get to in the last couple of weeks due to my technical difficulties. That's why I called the blog "One day @ a time" ... I plan to tackle one day at a time and post them every hour tomorrow until I run out of back log. That'll start tomorrow at 9am/eastern.

I have to say thanks to the guys at Tekserve in NYC - not an advertisement - just letting you know they are all smiles and great advice in there. They have great "bedside manners" and let me down really easy when they diagnosed my drive in the computer ER. Even when I asked them if they had a new black Mac book, they did their best to not laugh at me because mine was so old, they don't even make black anymore. Teeheehee, I giggle at that myself. Plus, I kept calling it a laptop and finally someone told me I sound crazy and should say "notebook" now because the word laptop was dropped by companies trying to sway users from burning their laps. All of this information and I still had to spend money I didn't plan on ... didn't matter though, I left smiling. They were just that pleasant. So If you happen to have the same issues as I did and you also happen to live in the area and need to be treated with kid gloves because you're not so tech-savvy :-) ... look 'em up. Ok, hope you enjoy your Friday and my day of posts, thanks for all the computer-fritz well wishes in the comments section ...

Buffering ...

Hey All! Well, I did plenty of work this past week and was ready to sum it all up with pics and stuff until I tried to turn on my trusty laptop this morning and got this ...
Yup, my Mac is on life support. It just blinks the question mark over and over and over. I checked it like a pot of boiling water for the better part of an hour this morning, just being optimistic ... then I snapped into reality. I had recipe deadlines due today for my next season of Cooking for Real (yaaaaaaay! thanks for watching!!!), but my Mac didn't care about deadlines lol. Needless to say I used some tissue to wipe away my pitiful tears and went to work on my desktop. Crazy thing is, my desktop was a mess! It wouldn't connect even though it said it had a connection, I mean I totally turned into an at-home IT today. Luckily all my recipes go into my notebooks first and I did have some stuff backed up, but not the things I just wrapped up yesterday like my finalized 13-episode pitch :-(. I had such a plan for today. I knew I was behind on blogging because last week was so busy for me so after sending in my work, I was going to "play" ... which for me means spending time over here sharing pictures and stories. With the computer meltdown and all I'm a bit setback. Gimme a day or so to visit the computer doctor, they say it'll take 3-5 days to fix and recover files. In the meantime, I'm getting my desktop set up for real work and I'll check in with some stories about last week as soon as I de-stress and put out my lil fire. It was a busy week though, I did the Today Show, celebrated a cookbook release with Spike Mendelsohn, moved my garden around, shot some videos with Lipton and some fellow New Yorkers, made a pretty pizza and began menu planning for the AC Food and Wine Festival party I'm throwing. It's called Sunset, Sliders and Spirits on the rooftop pool at Caesar's. (click on the link for tickets, the event title is wrong on ticketmaster, but it's for the right event) BTW, speaking with the event planner, I found out it's pretty intimate, so get them early if you plan on being in AC for the fest. I'd love to meet ya and eat with ya!

OK, gimme a few tech days and I'll be back in shape ...