2nd Annual GLAAD Media Awards in Advertising

Hi there! Well, I headed out last night to present an award at the 2nd Annual GLAAD Media Awards in Advertising along with Anne Burrell. Here I am on the carpet smiling away!

Getty Images

I had on some pretty shoes, but they gave me trouble all night. Ladies, why do we do this to ourselves? I gave up heels at the beginning of the year, but they are like the mob ... they keep pulling me back in! Anyway, I tumbled to the stage and gave away an award with Anne ...Can you see the clear teleprompter things next to the podium? Very presidential, lol. The one on Anne's side was blank or I had the wrong angle to catch it and the one on my side worked, but my angle didn't allow for me to see the whole thing, it was too funny. Good thing I memorized my lines before the show. Too funny. The event was at the Hyatt at Grand Central Terminal and was presented by Omnicom Group, Publicis Groupe, Rokk Vodka, which btw I recommend the apple flavor :-).I tell you the sponsors not because they are paying me, but so you can see the companies involved in causes I believe in, which is equality for all and the portrayal as such in media. I can remember when the Cosby's first aired on television people acted like it was an unrealistic portrayal of an African American family, just to pander to the audience asking for more positive portrayals. To me, it wasn't unrealistic because at the time my dad was a doctor and my mom a lawyer, with many of the same story lines. So, there's something very powerful about media showing all people in a realistic light. It empowers people in a major way and I'm in support of that. But like I say, it was a wedding, over in 2 seconds! Before we went on there was a really funny performance by Mad Men star and host of the evening Brian Batt (Salvatore, if you watch!). He has a one man show on the way called "Batt on a Hot Tin Roof" that begins in a few days if you happen to be in the area. He's hilarious and has a nice voice! Ok, so after Anne and I gave Levi's Gay History Month/Logo Leaders Campaign the award for Outstanding TV Campaign - LGBT Market, I headed back to the little green room to catch a picture with someone I was chatting with just before we went on ...It's Bethenny Frankel!! She was so nice! Even her assistants were nice, which isn't always the case and I found it refreshing. I watch most of the Housewives shows and even watched her spin-off show. There were so many people there! Bravo's Andy Cohen also presented an award and I even caught a glimpse of Ru Paul's Drag Race winner Bebe Zahara Benet, she was so tall and had a really pretty blue dress on, I watched that season so when she walked in I said to myself "ok now we're talkin'!". She brought the glam! Ok, that's it. I didn't get anymore pictures, but I had a great time and was happy to be invited to participate.

I'm headed to my old stompin' grounds of San Antonio, Tx this weekend for Aetna's Healthy Food Fight! Join me at the Grand Hyatt this Sunday! Check the website, they have recipes and winners from each city listed. It's free to come and watch the cooks battle it out this Sunday, so come join us! I went to high school in San Antonio and spent 3 years of my Air Force life there, can't wait to see familiar places and faces! It's been 13 years! Way too long! Ok, I hope to meet you this weekend!

Don't forget the 8th season of Cooking for Real is underway!!! This Saturday catch the new episode "I Have an App for That". I share some small bites that'll get you through any home invasion of friends :-). My Fake Crepes are pretty easy and gooey fun, I also share my Pizza Bites and a recipe that is great with frozen or fresh shrimp, my Shrimp in Garlic Pepperoni Sauce. All are super simple and crowd pleasers. Hope you like the show!

Cooking for Real, Food Network, this Saturday at NOON!

Tell a food friend, don't be stingy, unless it's biscuits :-)

Cleveland Rocks!

Hey! Well, I am slow to post these pics from my visit to Cleveland's Ripe! Food and Garden Festival over the weekend. I headed there Saturday evening so I'd be in town to judge the Healthy Food Fight with Aetna and it was a teeny bit chilly. Inspired by my Hot Choco Loco in the debut episode of the 8th season of Cooking for Real just that very morning, I settled in my hotel room and ordered a hot chocolate ... Ahem, as you can see in lieu of the 2 missing jalapenos, I subbed in two other ingredients :-).I was tired from the flight and this knocked me out! The next morning I headed to Cleveland's Botanical Gardens for the event and settled into a full day of small bites as I judged the competition. Here are some pics I took ...This is a salmon dish, I can't remember her name (Sunny note: it's Stephanie! she visited the blog in the comments section!), but I DO remember her sauce on the side with the chopped scallions. Mostly because after I ate the entire tasty plate, I asked if there was more of her vinaigrette back there some where. She replied yes and brought it out in a glass liquid measure, I took a spoon and went to town! Drank it all!! I don't feel too crazy because one of her relatives chimed in and admitted the whole family laughs at her for doing the same. Well, that's a crazy family! Anyone drinking that tangy, sweet goodness is smart! Thanks for letting me drink the rest! I don't know the tallies on the scores or anything so these are just the pictures I had time to take. Everything was so good!

Here's another contestant with a really moist and sweet apple cake that was a family treasure and she had the recipe card to prove it...That cake was so good we all kept asking, how is this healthy?! It must be, because at this stage of the competition the recipes have already passed a nutritional evaluation. I ate the whole piece and others were trying to figure out how to divvy up the rest of the cake.

Here's a picture of a really soft egg white omelet made by a fun contestant I traded some laughs with ...

The contest is not only judged on nutritional value, but for taste and presentation as well. So, the cool thing is some people really did their best to step it up in the plating and presentation department. Check out these pretty flowers for a gazpacho ... Pretty huh? And the gazpacho was the first of the competition so far, very smart! Actually, her presentation inspired me to get my paarty on ...Teeheehee ... I told everyone I was going to wear it in support of Aarti Party and they all smiled and said they liked her show and the flower! It fits her personality! Have you caught the show? My guy's mom says she LOVES it! There's a cool article she did in this month's Food Network Magazine that details the hours after she won and right through the taping of her first shows! Pretty cool read!

Ok, I'm headed to present an award tonight along with Anne Burrell at the 2nd Annual GLAAD Media Awards in Advertising! Happy to be invited and involved!

Chow Down TODAY!!! Cleveland tomorrow!

Hey there! Well, here I am getting ready for a trip to Cleveland today for work tomorrow and my guy turns on Food Network to watch. I say "scroll forward and see what I'm cookin' today". He scrolls forward and it looks like a NEW episode of Cooking for Real is on today!!! I just taped it not a month ago and it's ready for you to catch!

NEW EPISODE OF COOKING FOR REAL TODAY!!!!!!

It's called Chow Down and the star of the show is my Chunky Chicken Chowder, perfect if the weather is starting to turn on you wherever you are. A little behind the scenes for you ... The chowder is inspired by a soup I get here often in Brooklyn when I'm feeling under the weather. It's called pesole and actually, my guy goes to get it for me, because this is my go-to soup when a cold has socked me a huge punch and I can't even get out of bed. Traditionally pesole is a soup made with pork, but we get it with chicken to mimic a good ole cold-killin' chicken noodle soup. I've even make it even when I'm not sick, so I give you my version today, not the traditional with pork. A bit healthier and the taste is out of this world! There are huge, plump hominy kernels I simply call white corn or choclo and then what I really like about the soup is locally here in Brooklyn, there's always a huge bone or two in your bowl with meat still attached, sooooooooo gooood! The bone adds flavor, but I love getting to the bottom of the bowl and knawing the rest of my way to health :-).

So, the behind the scenes thing is, to many - that bone in the soup may look unappetizing. Matter of fact it sounded very unappetizing to a member of the production team. There was actually discussion about me not putting the bones in the soup and the final bowl I make for myself. I actually had to make a case for them, even though it may look unappealing to some, it's authentic that way. Gladly, the team agreed I should keep it authentic, ahem Real :-), and the bone stays! To go with the Chunky Chicken Chowder I have my Roasted Tom and Jack Grilled Cheese Sandwiches, these are grilled cheeses for the grilled cheese lover. Roasted plum tomato slices, cilantro, red onions and pepper jack cheese, geez. Hope you really give this one a try! I finish up with a drink only for the heat lovers, it's my Hot Choco Loco. It's chocolaty and it's crazy!!! It's heat on top of heat and I'll just say, it's one of my fave things to have when snuggled up on the couch watching television during cold or rainy weather. I start with 2 jalapenos, but if you are not into it .. maybe try with one? Trust me though ... the heat of two are so on point if you like spicy!

Well, that's it! Food and new tales of eating on today's newest ep of Cooking for Real!! Season 8! Thanks so much for the support!! Hope you like the new season. If you are catching this late because you enjoy internet free weekends ... Catch the show on Monday as well at 4PM!

Aaaaaand ...

Cleveland! I'm on the way! I'm getting into a Healthy Food Fight with Aetna and it's been plenty of fun so far! Come out and hang with me at the Ripe! Food and Garden Festival Sunday all day! Just look for the blue and orange Aetna truck!

Don't forget! Today, Cooking for Real: Chow Down at 12noon eastern. Tell a friend!

Did you catch The View!?

Hey there! Well, it's not even been a week and I am still really happy about going on The View! Take a look if you missed it!!!

Did you want to watch the full episode? Click here ... The View - Victoria Beckham, Sunny and Bedbugs! :-)

All the ladies were so nice and as I explained to you in the post below, I was worried if Whoopi would make one of her cameo appearances during the segment. Imagine how crazy it felt to watch the show on Friday and see not only that, but Barbara Walters munchin' on one of my PB&J Pancakes! I didn't notice it during the taping because I was caught up in the moment on stage and I remember briefly seeing a monitor with Whoopi on it, but I find when things are live you are hyper-focused and often lose the details for the big picture right after it's over. Kind of hard to explain, it's like saying plenty of stuff consciously and knowingly, then two seconds later when the event is over, you are left wondering if you said all of what you think you said or if you thought to say some of it and didn't get a chance to. Better? I'm just trying to let you know how it feels for me. I'm hyper aware and there's a part of me so hyper aware that it is ready to speak and fill in the blanks at any moment, coupled with movements and other things your body needs to do, I have to say I don't know how to make it work, it just does. I say that because some people ask me when I meet them how I manage to cook, instruct, tell a story and look at the camera. The answer is, I have no idea, it just happens. Anyway, totally off topic, but to bring it back around, I had no memory of Barbara Walters noshin' on my goods, but I was so pleasantly surprised with it all. The video is below, I think my favorite part is when Sherri needed me to slow down on the pancake ingredients. She is hilarious! The yelling at Jeffrey, the beating the eggs joke, I can't believe how much fun it was in just a few minutes.

So, I didn't tell you but I went on a little vacation the day after I taped The View and ended up watching it air Friday with my guy and one of my best friends, just steps from the beach. I just got back today and although I've always made it a practice to go on vacation at least once a year, I've never had the occasion of doing that and watching myself on The View. It was truly a neat moment and I cried like a baby. I am so happy and I think it would be phony to act like all of this is totally normal or expected. This gives me another chance to urge you to chase the dream. Whatever it is, it can bring you some unexpected moments of happiness. I just enjoy cooking and sharing and talking about pretty much everything to anyone, it's what made radio so enjoyable for me. So, to do this job is truly rewarding. It's why I really mean it when I meet you and tell you thank you for watching and even here on the blog, thanks for reading. You are supporting a dreamer willing to do the work and I can't thank you enough.

Ok, stick around these parts because I still have cool information for anyone that has asked in the past about the bowls I use on Cooking for Real, details about them are one of the most asked questions and I have answers! Plus, more behind the scenes stuff from the most recent taping of Cooking for Real. I wrapped just a few weeks back and it looks like the first new episodes from that season begin airing in November. I ate and cooked comforting winter food all summer to prepare and write down my recipes for this new season, can't wait for you to see all the food!

P.S. "radiodugger" over at fnf - thanks, means plenty coming from someone in radio land :-).

Catch me on The View Tomorrow!! Friday!!!

Hey there! Well, tomorrow is the day! I join the ladies on Friday's episode of The View and assist host Sherri Shepherd with her foray into cooking at home for herself and her cute little son, Jeffrey. She talks about him plenty on the show so you get to feel like you know him and he sounds like a ball of fun, which makes since because so is Sherri. I don't want to give away much so I'll just say we had a great time. The segment is called Cooking Sherri and it's a result of her moving to Harlem and not being able to order the food they want to eat. We taped the show Tuesday and I was so nervous I barely slept the night before. I wonder if everyone gets like that? Luckily I had my girls with me to calm me down and make me look presentable …That's my hair stylist Hadiiya Barbel on the left and JJ on the right does my make up. These are two very talented women and I'm so lucky to have them by my side when I do because I share them with other women that have seriously busy schedules. We were all smiles and ready to go. We took that in our green room, and then right before the show we were escorted right by Victoria Beckham prepping for her appearance on the same show. She has a clothing line and had models there for a mini-runway show after her interview segment. The dresses were allllllll beautiful! I can't wait for you to see them, they've been on some A-list celebs and I didn't know they were her designs, pretty cool. So a few turns and an elevator ride away from our first green room was a bigger green room where all of the guests and the guests' guests (say that fast) could hang out before going on. There were pictures on the walls from all the seasons of The View and the lights were dimmed so people could watch the show on the television. Take a look …I hung out in here for a second and the next thing you know it was go time! A producer came to get me as the previous segment ended and you can see in this next picture the hard working crew changing the set during the commercial break ...We were only out there for about 6 minutes, but it was so much fun! I don't want to give anything away, but I will tell you one other thing I was nervous about. Whoopi Goldberg! You see, I watch the show all the time and whenever there's a cooking demonstration or food on the set, if Whoopi eats it, it's golden. Many times if the segment is hosted by someone else, she'll pop in from no where to steal a bite then disappears into the plush greenroom just steps away from the stage to share with the ladies, or not :-). For days all I could think about was first, possibly meeting her, but then if she would pop out during my segment with Sherri and take bite of something. I even said it to the producers the day before, I was excited about it all; Sherri, the cooking, The View and maybe even a Whoopi walk-on!! So, I did get to meet Whoopi and the ladies and even got a chance to tell Elisabeth how much I love her line of clothing because the jeans fit a regular-sized woman like me. Everyone was so nice and you can tell it's such a good work environment, pretty cool. I hope you catch the show to see if Whoopi comes out or not while Sherri and I are preparing breakfast. Here I am with Whoopi after the show was over …She was sooooo nice and humble and tiny. All of the ladies were tiny and just as sweet! Ok, to paraphrase the ladies … I hope you take a little time to enjoy The View tomorrow!! Check your listings, but it airs on ABC in NYC at 11AM for the satellite lovers!

I'm doing The View!

Hey there! Well, this one will be fast ... I'm taping The View tomorrow!! I don't know when it airs. I'll get those details when I tape and pass it on to you. I visited the set today for a rehearsal and actually showed up just as some audience members were leaving from the live show today. I got a chance to say hi to a few then I took my place on the set ready to rehearse a cooking segment with Sherri Shepherd ...I have a fun and easy menu planned for tomorrow, but today it was sans food, just place markers, the producers, our culinary team, the crew and me. Here's my view from the stage ...I can't wait for the real thing tomorrow. As I was leaving I ran into Nancy Grace in the elevator! I watch her allllll the time and converted my guy to watching. We love her attitude and determination, but I really love how she honors the troops at the end of every show. Pretty cool to meet her. I'm about to knock out to get some rest so I'll be fresh and ready to go tomorrow. I tape late in the afternoon after the live show and then I'll head off to New Jersey to hang out and cook with the winners of the Coolest Summer Cookout contest with Lipton! A full day of cooking away from home, I can't wait!! Thanks to everyone that came out this weekend to the Healthy Food Fight with Aetna at the Mushroom Festival in Kennett Square, PA. It rained off and on, but it didn't stop us from having a great time while tasting some pretty healthy dishes. I still don't know who won the rounds yet. Here's one of the contestant showing off her chicken dish. It was sweet and tasty!

Ok, that's it! Hope your week started off nice!

BTW and Didja Know ...

By the way ...

Hey there! Remember when I said here that I'm back in the studio and I had a cool visit from the crew at Airman Magazine? Well, they are putting together an article, but they also shot video I have below. Because they are from the same department I worked in while a broadcaster in the Air Force ... they have file footage of me at work back then so it's cut into this short video ... take a look at me at 20, ahem with my real hair and big glasses! :-)

Who knew back then that video would all be archived?? I had a good laugh watching it! I should've worn makeup or something, which btw, I used to get in trouble for the color of my nail polish in the military, too funny. I get more of a kick looking at the old equipment, boy has technology really changed the face of broadcasting and journalism. Those days we checked and double checked sources, these days some journalists are so lazy, they'll take a tweet and use it as a quote to make a full story. Crazy, but also I guess the natural progression with the changing times, eh?

And Didja Know ...

Remember when I was at the "up fronts"? I mentioned it briefly in an unrelated post, then forgot to share, or didn't have time to share a picture of someone I met there ...

Yep, on the other side of me is Andrew Zimmern! The guy between us works with us in the Chicago office and if you didn't know, Travel Channel and Food Network are owned by the same company now, so it was neat meeting a few of the other people at the Travel Channel that day. Andrew was really cool and about to head out on another eating adventure. He asked if I would do a mini Q&A for his blog and I said suuuuuure! It's on his blog now, just click the link to Sunny Anderson on AndrewZimmern.com and read away!

Annnnnd ...

The best is saved for last ... I just got word yesterday that I'm booked for an appearance on The View!!!! Tuesday!!!! WOOOOOOHOOOOOO!!! I met Sherri Shepherd last year in New Orleans and blogged about it in my post called Essence Festival Wrap Up. I of course was thinking at the time, boy would I like to cook on The View and feed the ladies and now it's about to happen! My segment is with Sherri and I don't want to give away what we are making, but I am just too excited! Please plan to catch it or Tivo or DVR! More details as they come!

I'm fighting with Bobby Flay!

Hey there! You read it right! I'm in a fight with Bobby Flay! Add to that Cat Cora and Sara Moulton, but it's not a catty fight, it's a food fight :-). I already made a joke like this in my last post, but I totally wanted to recycle it. This Labor Day I headed out to Rutherford, NJ and took the fight to the streets! We are all teaming up with Aetna Healthcare for a food fight and you can get more details at HealthyFoodFight.com. Basically, we are challenging cooks around the country to make a healthy dish that tastes great. Each event is the semi finals and the last of course is the big one where someone takes home a nice cash prize and culinary gifts! I took some pics while I was there, but most of the day was filled with eating dishes from the contestants and chatting with all the local food people that stopped by to watch all the cooking drama! Here's the booth/kitchen where all the contestants prepared their dishes ...There were three rounds of cooking with new contestants each round. If you happen to join us to watch the food fight in a city near you, make sure you stop at these kiosks in the pic below ...If you step up to those and enter your information, you can win a complete set of cookware. I asked one of the event planners how many and he said that plenty were available at each event, so sign up!!! Ok so, here's the first round of contestants right before they started cooking ...
This next picture is of the winner of the round. I took this prior to even eating or voting, but something told me she would be at the top or close to it. They were cookies made with no butter, sugar, flour, or eggs. Just figs, dates, walnuts, bananas, apple sauce, oats and I'm sure I'm missing something, ahem along with her name. I know, bad reporting, but I think the food and the heat took about 20 IQ points from me that day teeheehee. Anyway, she was pleasant and her family was there to support her and the cookies were so good, I swiped one to eat on the ride home. It didn't make it far :-). Here she is proudly presenting her cookies ...
We had two other winners that day, but everything was great so I bet the scoring was pretty close. By the way, we judge on taste and presentation. Then the recipe is sent to the people at the Culinary Institutes of America and they test it and determine the nutritional value.That portion is 50% of the score. So it's a really rounded competition. We don't judge solo either, Aetna has the judging panel packed with food people galore! I met someone Monday, a fellow judge, I'd like you to meet ...
That's Rossella Rago, host of a web series called Cooking with Nonna. Turns out she is featured on an upcoming episode of 24 Hour Restaurant Battle with her mother! Check the webisodes, I really like them and they remind me of David Rocco's show on Cooking Channel. He had me captivated the second I turned the channel and he was taking direction from an Italian grandma while she kneaded a massive pile of dough into submission. "Nonna" means Grandma in Italian, so in each episode of Cooking with Nonna Rossella cooks with a different Italian grandmother and it's not just cooking, there are old pictures, stories and at the end ... MANGIA! :-) I think she is working towards something, something good. So I support her, give her a look! Okay, that's it for today ... I went to Chip Shop in Brooklyn a few days ago and took a picture of one of my favorite desserts. The owner told me about a new show on the way that shot an episode there. Guess who the host is?? I can't tell, but I will say it's one of the finalists from the most recent season of NFNS! I bet I'm late on this and it's on the web somewhere, but I just wanted to let you know to inspire you ... it's not always about winning, sometimes it is truly about the journey and gaining all the experience you can. If you think you can do this, I say send in a tape to NFNS ... you never know! Although I can't tell you who is hosting the show ... I can show you one of my fave desserts ...A Fried Mars bar! Now, that's some food worth fightin' over! :-) Take care and hope you are enjoying your week! Excuse the typos ...I'm runnin' errands and posting at the same time...I'll fix 'em tonight after dinner.

Today's Recipes and Tomorrow's Eats ...

Hey there! Well, let me get down to business. I see in comments that many of you have looked for the recipes I shared on The Today Show Saturday, but to no avail. My sincere apologies ... sometimes it takes time for recipes to appear on their website, so here goes ...

TODAY'S RECIPES!!!

Chicken Chorizo Patty Melt

Recipe courtesy Sunny Anderson, 2010

Patties:

1 pound ground chicken

6 ounces fresh chorizo

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons fresh oregano, chopped

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Onions:

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 Vidalia or sweet onion, halved and sliced

kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

4 tablespoons olive oil

4 flat bread or naan discs

kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

8 slices jarlsberg or swiss cheese

ketchup, to taste

Begin by making the patties: In a large bowl, gently but thoroughly combine all ingredients. Form into 4 equal-sized thin patties roughly half the size of the naan (nah nah nah naaaan :-P) you will be using for the sandwich (imagine the finished patty on one side of the naan, allowing you to fold the other side of the naan over it to make a sandwich). Cover patties with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile make the onions: In a pan on medium heat melt butter with oil. Add the onion and season with a pinch of salt and a couple of grinds of pepper. Saute until onions are caramelized, about 20 minutes, set aside.

Preheat grill to medium high heat and brush with 2 tablespoons of oil. Place patties on grill and cook on both sides until cooked through, about 3 minutes per side.

Assemble the sandwiches by brushing the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil on 1 side of each naan. Place them on the grill with the oiled side down and place one slice of jarlsberg cheese on each, only covering one half of the bread. Place a cooked chicken chorizo patty on top of the cheese, then add a mound of onions, another slice of cheese and allow to melt slightly. When the top layer of cheese begins to melt fold over the other half of the naan. Press on the sandwich with a spatula to seal. Serve immediately with a side of ketchup.

Yield: 4 servings

Sunny's Jicama Salsa

Recipe courtesy Sunny Anderson, 2010

1(1 ½ pound) jicama, peeled and diced

1 Granny Smith apple, cored and diced

½ small red onion, peeled and diced

3 tablespoons lime juice

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 tablespoon sugar

2 teaspoons hot sauce (recommended: Frank's Red Hot)

1 tablespoon cilantro, chopped

1 tablespoon mint, chopped

kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Combine all ingredients in a bowl, seasoning with salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate for at least one hour before serving. Serve alone as a side salad or with tortilla chips.

Yield: 4 servings

Sunny's Brooklyn Iced Tea

Recipe courtesy Sunny Anderson, 2010

6 ounces lemoncello

3 ounces dark rum

3 ounces tequila

24 ounces bottled sweetened iced tea

ice

lemon slices, to garnish

Pour lemoncello, rum, tequila and tea over ice in a pitcher filled with ice and stir vigorously. To serve pour into ice-filled highball glasses outfitted with a straw and garnished with a lemon slice on the rim.

Yield: 4-6 servings

Red Velvet Swirl Brownies

Recipe courtesy Sunny Anderson, 2010

1 tablespoon butter, for greasing baking pan

Red Velvet Brownie layer:

1 stick unsalted butter

1 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 cup cocoa powder

pinch of salt

1 tablespoon red food coloring

1 teaspoon vinegar

2 eggs

3/4 cup flour

1/4 - 1/2 cup walnuts, gently chopped, (amount is to taste)

Cream Cheese layer:

8 ounces cream cheese

1/4 cup sugar

1 egg

1/8 teaspoon vanilla

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Butter an 8x8 baking pan, set aside. In a sauce pot on medium heat melt the butter. Remove to a bowl and add sugar, vanilla, cocoa powder, salt, food coloring and vinegar, in that order mixing between additions. Whisk eggs in a small bowl and combine with warm cocoa mix. Fold the flour into the chocolate batter and combine lightly. Add walnuts and pour into prepared baking dish, saving a ¼ cup of batter for the top.

For the cream cheese layer, blend together the cream cheese, sugar, egg and vanilla in a medium bowl. Gently spread cream cheese layer on top of brownie batter in the pan. Dollop remaining brownie batter over the cream cheese layer. Using a skewer or the sharp end of a knife, drag the tip through the cream cheese mixture to create a swirl patter. Bake brownies for 30 minutes. Remove to a cooling rack and allow to cool completely before cutting.

Yield: 8-10 servings

Hope this helps! I had such fun with Lester and Amy. Amy seems like a woman I'd like to hang out with! Every visit I find more things great about her and I love a girl that goes for dessert first!! Here I am Saturday just before go-time ...

The weather was great and I had a great time meeting everyone with signs and smiles just behind the set up.

Ok, now for

TOMORROW'S EATS!

I'm getting into a fight with Bobbly Flay, Cat Cora, Sara Moulton and AETNA Health Care!! Ahem, a Healthy Food Fight! Check the link for deets and join me this Labor Day in Rutherford, NJ at their Labor Day Street Fair!

If you think you've got the chops to make something really yummy and healthy, read the rules then click here to enter ... there's still time! If you are in the area and don't feel like firing up the grill, but want some Labor Day fun, please join me and make sure you say hi if you're a blog reader! Take care and enjoy the rest of the holiday weekend!!

GMA - Labor Day Wknd!

Hey there! I just woke up from a mid-morning nap and thought I'd share the video, some pics and recipe links from this morning's visit to Good Morning America, in that order :-) ...

George, Elizabeth and Bianna were so nice! I always liken these visits to a wedding ... there's plenty of planning, lots of primping and prepping and it's over in just a few minutes! I'd say the honeymoon is eating the goods! Here's entire setup in the hallways this morning before they wheeled it outdoors to set up ...Then, before the segment airs, there are usually a few mini segments called "teasers". They usually want you to do something like prep or just stand there and smile while they promote that you'll be on next. I did both this morning. Here I am during the one with action, starting a shred on one of the many pork shoulders we had on set this morning ...If my count is correct there were 7 pork shoulders on that segment. 1 raw and untouched, 1 with marinade and plastic wrap, 1 with marinade and no plastic wrap, 1 on the grill, 1 on the cutting board, 1 shredded and one shredded with my BBQ sauce on it and really if you count the fact that there were plates of my Pulled Pork Sandwiches already made for the hosts and the crowd, that's really 8 pork shoulders!! That's not all, there was the Biden's Pasta Caprese Salad and my Patriotic Berry Trifle as well, all spearheaded and styled by Chef Karen Pickus. Here she is as usual ... beaming and smiling under heat and the pressure of time ...The time it took to slow roast all of that pork deserves a hug alone! Elizabeth really liked the pork and took the dessert to go, I like a woman that doesn't forget the sweets! It was such fun and as George mentioned at the beginning of the video, the pace is so fast he almost didn't make it to the segment! He came running towards me just a split second before you see us say our hellos. I just love that morning energy! I knew yesterday I would be teamed with George, but halfway through the segment is when I noticed Elizabeth and Bianna. They were both so sweet and Bianna's eyes were really pretty. Here we are making our way down the line ...I got a chance to talk to pretty much every one in the crowd and there were some ladies from Dallas, TX and some from further east in the state, a few people from Ft. Lauderdale and even North Carolina. At one point before we went live it just kind of hit me, I was in Times Square, happy and working. I turned to the crowd and just simply blurted "We're in Times Square!!!" and they just erupted in the biggest cheer! I was happy they were just as excited as I was. How neat. Here I am about to pour on my Apricot BBQ sauce ...

Then, like I said it was all over. Hope you caught it! Visit the links from above to get directed to the GMA website and if you don't already have one, get the September issue of Food Network Magazine for complete coverage of my visit to the Vice Presidential residence to cook for and honor our war veterans. Have a great Friday and if you have a 9-5er I hope you get to scoot out a bit early :-).

BTW, you can catch my other recipes on GMA's website with the links below ...

Flank Steak Fajitas

Vegetable Chips with Blue Cheese Dip

Sunny Side Up Burger

Green Eggs and Ham

Mexican Street Corn

Berry Berry Fizz

Sunny's Money Salad

GMA Friday and The Today Show Saturday!

Hey there! Yesterday we wrapped up taping on my 8th season of Cooking for Real! I've been in and out of a sleep deprivation coma all day, partially brought on by the wrap party we had last night :-). I can't wait for you to see the new episodes and I still have more things to share from my time taping, but I just thought I'd drop in to let you know where you can catch me talking about Labor Day food this weekend. Tomorrow, I'm hanging out with George Stephanopoulos and the gang at Good Morning America on ABC. They invited me to talk about all the food we dined on at Vice President Biden's residence with the troops and I'll demonstrate a couple of my recipes from that day. Catch the full story in Food Network Magazine and here on my blog by clicking the "VP visit" link below this post. Here we are at the event...

Then, Saturday wake up early and catch me with the team at The Today Show on NBC! I have a completely different spread to share and it's actually a preview of things to come on the new season I just finished taping.

Ok, I just wanted to drop in and let you know where to catch me. Both websites will have the recipes available, but I'll put up links over the weekend. Thanks for all your support, it is so neat to continue to join both morning shows on holiday weekends and I know I can't do it without ya! All the clicks, Tivo's, DVR's and "didja know's" that you share with friends and family really matter and I appreciate it. Hope you enjoy the holiday!

Remember GMA Friday and The Today Show Saturday!