New Show - Chile Chile Bang Bang!

Hey there! Well, it's been a week, eh? The festival always has the effect of drinking while sitting, when you stand up (when it's over), that's when you feel it! It's full days of running around and packing in all that you can. I had a crazy good brunch last weekend with Holly from Random Cravings and her friend Steve to cap it off and I'll share some pics in a sec, but first ... today's new show!! BTW, Holly posted about our brunch too check it out!

Chile Chile Bang Bang is the newest addition to Season 8 of Cooking for Real and again, I had some fun with the title. I actually was reading Chelsea Handler's similarly named book while planning this episode and it hit me, I have plenty of chiles going on in this episode. Chiles in two different forms are in the main dish and the side, why not have fun with the play on words myself? So, although I know the original inspiration is a 1968 movie title Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, being born in 1975 and more of an old scary, not old kooky movie fan, I've never seen it. Hope you see my newest show, though. :-) It is scary how many ways you can fry a chicken (Chile-Lime Fried Chicken) and I did make some kooky changes to the classic Long Island Iced Tea with my Brooklyn Iced Tea. To round it out, I make my first cornbread on the show so far with my Bacon and Green Chile Cornbread. It's amazing how many shows I can go through and still have things I want to share from my home kitchen, feels like I have a jillion recipes.

I have some news ...

1. I just got picked up for Season 9 of Cooking for Real!! Thanks for watching! I can't do it without you!

2. I'm headed back to co-host all week on Martha Stewart's Sirius radio show Morning Living with Betsy Karetnick. This Monday through Friday tune in from 7am-10am eastern, if you have a tuner :-)! So glad to go back and hang out with the crew!

3. I had a brunch last week that I'm still thinking about this week, here's what I ordered ...Yes, I ordered two plates! On the left, a Fried Oyster Omelet with a side of bacon and on the right, Huevos Rancheros. This is a place on 1st Street and 1st Avenue here in NYC called Prune, but Seinfeld fans know this area as the Nexus of the Universe!Love Seinfeld! Here's a peak inside the Fried Oyster Omelet that was served with hot sauce (visible in the 1st picture) sweetened by powdered sugar ...

I have to tell you, fried oysters are like bacon to me, they make everything better. The people at Prune know how to make an egg too, there was not a spot of browning on either side of my omelet, high standards and a sign that the eggs would be fluffy and light. Boy, were they. I was enjoying myself and the current company so much I forgot that one of our expected brunchers stood us up! Seems the festival got to him and the early wake-up was a bit much, so I sent over this picture to show him what he was missin' ...

Teeheehee, he sent a reply that he was jealous and I went back to eating my two plates. I didn't finish them both, but there was definitely an emphasis on the oyster lol. I just wanted to taste both and was glad I did. I actually have plans to head back very soon, it was just that good. A bit of a wait for a seat, tiny tables, tiny dining room, but big flavor. That's what the Nexus of the Universe delivers!

4. Forget carving a pumpkin a year early, I actually made holiday cookies for December a month ago! Sign up for this year's 12 Days of Cookies and watch here in the next week or so, I'll give a preview of my cookie.

5. Did I mention ... NEW SHOW TODAY!!! :-) Cooking for Real: Chile Chile Bang Bang 12 noon eastern, 11am central! If you miss it today, catch it Monday at 4PM on Food Network!