My Turkey Coma ...

Hey there! Well, I am just now waking up from what I like to call my "Turkey Coma", a bit of hibernation, if you will. Truthfully I woke up yesterday from the coma, but by the time I got home from work ... it was time for a Tylenol PM coma. I somehow got the sniffles and with recipe testing this week among other events, I can't really be sick. I thought I could post a blog last night, but just 30 minutes after taking the meds, I couldn't even aptly respond to emails without thinking about how to spell simple words or compose a thought. So anyway, I hope you had a great turkey day and an enjoyable hibernation as well!!

I started last week with a trip to Martha Stewart radio where I handled the Turkey Hotline. The reason I mention that is the hosts, Kim and Betsy laughed and shunned me when I said I was frying my turkey ... inside instead of the recommended back/front yard suggestion. I told them, "Reeeeelax, I'd found a counter-top turkey fryer and intend to test drive it". Well ... it drove ...

Look at that wing!!! Look, I'm not an endorser, but if you want to know where I got the counter-top turkey fryer just ask in comments and I'll give up the goods. The fryer does up to a 22 pound turkey and what I really like about it other than it actually works, is it's also a huuuuuuuuge vat for deep frying at home, so the next day instead of doing my stuffing bites in batches, I threw all 10 of em in the big vat with confidence that the temperature wouldn't fall due to overcrowding. I actually did my Stuffing Bites as croquettes, a bit bigger than the bites. I just roll the stuffing into a ball, flatten it, dredge in flour, then egg wash, then panko breadcrumbs. 350 degrees and about 6 mins later after a sprinkle of salt ... yum yum yum ...Perfect thing about this recipe is if you like your stuffing ... you'll love your very own stuffing bites! I serve it with the leftover cranberry sauce blitzed with some walnuts. This year I thought I wouldn't make cranberry sauce, but ended up doing it anyway. Hey, wait ... can't get ahead of myself. Did you want to see the bird? It was an 11.11 pounder, I brined it in a small cooler for 2 days in my fridge (I was shooting for 3 days, but my schedule didn't really allow it). Then I rubbed and rested it on it's end right on my counter top to let it dry and come to room temp. It took just 38 minutes to fry. I promise when I get my website relaunched, (I'm on track for a late January launch!) I'll get my act together and have more "styled" photos if you like, but there's nothing like a cell phone cam in a pinch ... :-)That's right before I tented it with some aluminum foil for a rest. Lemme tell you those legs just pulled right off! I broke it down and plated it. What do you do? Do you make slices of the breasts or do you take off the breast as a whole and then cut it against the grain? I do the latter, seems like there's more meat that way, a total optical illusion for me. Then I made mac and cheese, collard greens, sweet potato casserole with a pecan topping, rice, sweet ice tea, chorizo and plantain stuffing, giblet gravy, cranberry sauce and a blueberry apple pie. Ok, ready for the "real" part of Cooking for Real? I was so busy the few days before Thanksgiving that I got up late that day, therefor starting late ... I did everything that day with no prep other than the bird brining. Here's the real part ... we didn't eat until Conan O'brien was on! Pretty late, but totally worth the wait. Take a look at dessert in the oven!I know they sell pie guards, but Kim over at Martha Stewart radio and I agree, it just takes up too much drawer space. Aluminum foil does the trick, non-stick aluminum foil is even better! (Cooking for Real! Don't need the fancy stuff to get it done!) The day after Thanksgiving we continued to hibernate and had pie first then I made some turkey pot pies out of the dark meat, the leftover gravy, some frozen rice, carrots, stock, cream and I made extra dough for the blueberry apple pie and froze it, so I used that for the crust. And yes, I totally support pre-made pie crusts in a pinch, but it's the holidays and I was feeling it, so I went old school and made it :-). Here are a few of the pot pie shots ...

We tore into those for late lunch, because of course the pie was a late breakfast, gluttons. For dinner we did a turkey day repeat with the stuffing bites being the only difference. Then Saturday for breakfast I made eggs, grits with the giblet solids I strained out of the gravy on Thursday and left over chorizo that didn't make it into the stuffing. I also made waffles and folded in the leftover sweet potato casserole, then made a pecan caramel sauce to drizzle over it, pretty darn good. I wrote down the recipe and I'll try to share it in a future show. We did the waffles two days in a row. I froze them the first day so day two, was all toaster time! I just sat here trying to remember every meal so I asked my guy for help, let me tell you how much we ate ... we just both got tired even trying to list the meals and what we had. So I've totally missed some meals here, but I just wanted to share. There were so many "snack" meals lol. The "hey, go warm up some of the stuffing bites real quick" or the "gimme a piece of skin". I feel like I'm in confession, I really over ate! Check out Holly's blog Random Cravings to see more turkey talk! She decided weeks ago to cook for real for 6 weeks, so last week she made some of my Thanksgiving recipes. Check out I'm Thankful for Sunny's Turkey Recipe and Thanksgiving Leftover Bonus!

Ok, well as if all that eating that wasn't bad enough, Monday morning was the first day of pre-production for Season 9 of Cooking for Real! What that means is I get in the Food Network kitchens and pretty much demo the bulk of the recipes from the menus I've pitched for the upcoming season. Lot's of eating!!! There are so many reasons we do this, but the main one is to make taping that much easier. When everyone on the team knows how I make it, what it looks like and how long the processes are, it makes planning each act of the show and each taping a breeze! You'd never guess how much time we spend talking about where in the show to start making each dish or if we need to move things from the oven to the stove top or vice versa. I totally enjoy the process and can't wait for you to see the new shows! So far I've plowed through shows I have tentatively titled "Easier than it looks", "Diner Breakfast", "Cookin' it Old School", "Comforting Classics", "Much Ado About Stuffing" and "Fish n Grits". Here's the first pic I took Monday, pretty much says it all ...

Alright, that's it. I'm headed to Chicago for a quick trip. Can't wait to tell you all about it and hope you'll join in on the plan! Especially if you like baking cookies :-) Stick around!

Access Hollywood and Turkey Talk!

photo credit:NBC Universal

Hey there! That's Access Hollywood Live co-host Kit Hoover just before we got cookin'!

This is just a quick check-in. I'm busy writing up my final pitches for Season 9 of Cooking for Real. Next week I go into the kitchens to prepare them for the culinary team. It's what we do before we tape each season, really helps every one on the team know what the final product looks like, that the steps are and where to begin making them in the show so by the time the last act of the show rolls around, everything comes together. Can't wait to share more kitchen time stuff soon!

Ok, so here's the first place I stopped by when I landed in Los Angeles for Access Hollywood Live with Billy Bush and Kit Hoover ...I have to tell ya, this right here ... this vision above ... brings me joy. It's the pick up window from Lucy's on Pico and La Brea. If you are here on the blog often, my obsession is nothing new, but if you are new around these parts, Lucy's is my fave taco stand in Los Angeles. There's no real way for me to tell a "fast story" lol, but basically this is a stand I found when frequenting the Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles up the street. I lived faaaaaar away in Rancho Cucumonga and would drive into the city for meetings. Each time I'd fix my schedule and plans around eating at both Roscoe's and then Lucy's on the way home. Yes, I was an eater-and-driver. Admitting it is the first step to quitting it. So, without going too personal, but to explain, these were tough times for me - living in California. These trips to the city were the only time I felt like I was really functioning, other times I was just going through the motions of life. So crazy to say, but we are sharing here right? So now that I go back, when I visit this taco stand, it's a nice pat on the back for getting out of that space in my life. I only spent 6 months there, but I think I did my one-two punch of Roscoe's and Lucy's at least 10 times. That's alot of drivin; for chicken, waffles and chorizo!!

Ok, so then I headed to my hotel to watch the American Music Awards and knock out for the early 5AM rise. I got up, got dressed and JJ hooked up my face, then we hopped in a car at 615AM. We got to the studio lot at around 650AM and as soon as we pulled on to the lot I noticed the parking spaces had reserved signs and one said "Jay Leno". It was empty, but that's when I realized, "oh ... I'm on the NBC lot!". So anyway, we pulled around to our spot which simply said "Reserved" and were met by a show producer. Once inside I wasn't in the kitchen for 2 minutes when I heard a familiar voice ...It's Henry Winkler!! WOW!! Of course many know him as "The Fonz" from Happy Days, but more recently I've totally loved him on a show called Royal Pains. I started watching it when it started and I'm super happy it won't be a summer staple anymore. The new season begins in January! If you haven't caught the show yet it's really funny with some good long-running plots that still have yet to unfold. So happy for him and he was sooooo nice! Like sugary sweet nice. What a pro. Then I went on to show Kit and Billy how to carve some calories before you carve the turkey ... aka brining :-)

That was fun and quick. I always compare these visits like a wedding, plenty of planning and it's over in 5 minutes! I find it so funny people want me to tell them how to cut calories when I've always been a regular-sized chick. I mean I haven't seen size 10 since high school lol. Kit was so sweet and we talked about hair and extensions because she just got some. I'm not outing her, they spoke about it on the show. I gotta tell ya, up close the color and texture match are on the money! That's that Hollywood money!! Gooooo Kit! Then Billy, right when I was about to tell him congrats on his career because like me he started in radio, he cut me off to say not only did he know I was from radio, but HOT 97. How neat. Such a small community of us radio people and it's nice to know that we all support each other. Radio isn't all fun and games, plenty of hard work, long hours and stress. It's never just 4 hours of music and goodbye.

The recipes I provided for Access Hollywood Live are on their site just click right here for my Thanksgiving Recipes. Right after I finished my segment I ran into Max Adler from Glee. I watch or DVR the show every week and his character has a great arc this season. He plays an outwardly homo-phobic jock that is secretly attracted to men. He bullies the school's only outed student and then secretly kissed him after pushing him around, very intense, but very compelling. Pretty appropriate for the times and all of the bully-talk going on. He was kind and took a photo as well ...Shortly after this we headed out for a quick rest at the hotel before the flight. It was around 850AM at the time and as we neared the gate I wondered ... is Jay Leno at work yet ???Yup! He's known to drive a different classic car to work each day and this day was like any other. Just after I took the picture out of the car window, Stuttering John showed up. I quickly high-tailed it off the lot because I totally looked like a tourist! lol. Ahhhh can't take me anywhere!!

Alright, well I got back to my hotel and even though it was early morning, I thought I'd sit on my teeny patio and enjoy a drink ... Teeheehee, ahem this is not an advertisement, just a look at a cute billboard. Zoom and and you can see artist renderings of people leaning out the window just like me trying to get a sip. Shortly after this I went to pick up some treats to bring back to NYC then headed to the airport.

I got home around midnight and got up bright and bushy-tailed for a quick stop by Martha Stewart Radio this morning. I filled in a few weeks ago and it was nice to go back as a guest. All this week they have an all-out Thanksgiving experience! You can all 1-866-675-6675 and ask various guest chefs and cooks (me :-)) about your big turkey day issues. Here we are after we talked turkey for my hour-long visit ...

photo credit: MSLO

That's Kim on the left and Betsy on the right (my left). Here's a pretty pre-dawn shot of Brooklyn and Queens in the distance ...Best thing about going to work early, no traffic!! Boy do I love New York. Ok, that's it for now. If you have any turkey questions, you are more than welcome to ask me here or give em a call over at Martha Stewart Radio or check her radio blog! Take care and if I don't chat with you before the big day, enjoy the meal, the family and the game. Gooooooooo LIONS!!!!

Catch me Monday on Access Hollywood Live!

Hey there! Just a quick one, I'm heading into the weekend and can't wait to sleep in tomorrow!! I'll be in Los Angeles Monday to stop by the studios fro Access Hollywood Live. Host Billy Bush and Kit Hoover invited me to stop by and cook up some Thanksgiving love! I never say no to promoting an eating holiday so, catch some entertainment news and me, this Monday. Click here to check out your local listings. It comes on here at 11AM on NBC.

My Foodie Holiday @ Barneys!!

Hey there! A couple of months ago I got an email from Lee Schrager asking if I'd like to be a part of his cookbook launch party and partnership with Barneys New York. Lee is the beautiful mind behind the South Beach Wine & Food Festival and the one here in New York as well. He always donates the proceeds to charitable causes and his events are like an all-out celebration of food, wine and the city. I just love that the one in New York has the Burger Bash in Brooklyn!!! Anyway, Lee's new book The Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival Cookbook is now on sale and filled with recipes from the events and behind the scenes stories as well. Funny thing, I don't think I'm in the book, but I was way too excited to be invited to join some major names in the windows at Barneys, so I of course said yes.

Ok, so fast forward a couple of months and the Simon Doonan designed windows are up! Here I am outside the big event ...

That's Rachael Ray on the left and Martha Stewart on the right. My picture is actually above and between them ...

Can you see it? It's a total click-and-enlarge, but I'm in good, sweet and delectable company next to cake maven Sylvia Weinstock and Top Chef Just Desserts host Gail Simmons. Pretty cool! Here are some more pics of the windows ...

I took these pictures and then did a few interviews on the red carpet. With the breaking news of the royal engagement of Prince William, everyone wanted to know what I would make for the wedding. I opted for the groom's cake, red velvet all the way! Here I am talkin' cocoa ...

Right when I was about to head into the party, I ran into my girl, Alex Guarneschelli ...

Alex is a hard working chef and every time I see her she is all smiles. Doing the restaurant, her television shows, she's a mommy ... so much and she's always such a joy to see. We said our hellos and I headed inside to enjoy the launch party for Lee's book.

That's Marcus Samuelsson, he has a new show starting on Martha Stewart's Sirius channel and Russell Simmons was his first guest.
Super packed right? Look who I ran into ...
It's Anne Thornton, the host of Food Network's newest show, Dessert First. I watched her drizzle maple glaze on a pie last week and silently cursed the woman lol. I told her I can't watch if I'm close to my pantry. Her show makes you want to cook ... and cook something baaaaaaad :-). My bestie Natina came from Chicago to celebrate the night with me ...
I actually had her on Cooking for Real with me. It's an episode called "Girls that Grill" and I blogged about it on a post I called "Really, where did January go?". It was nice to have her here to celebrate! The party was actually plenty of fun and not the stuffy affair you might expect, most of it owed to the DJ ...

That's my long lost text-buddy Beverly Bond! Back when I was in radio we kept in touch here and there with just basic hellos and kindness among two women in the biz. We lost touch, but we've both been busy. She founded Black Girls Rock and just a week ago a show she produced for her movement aired on BET to record-breaking ratings. Check the Black Girls Rock page on BET (Warning before you click link:music plays automatically on homepage). Pretty cool to run into her again and say hi. So happy for her!!! Ok, I'm off to lunch! Enjoy the day!

Hidden Valley, but not the ranch ...

Hey there! I'm in Hidden Valley, PA today for a charity event tomorrow and before you ask yourself, let me answer ... nope, this isn't where they make the salad dressing. It's close to where my parents live and my dad works at the hospital nearby. A little while ago he asked if I'd come to town for a charity event with his hospital and like daddy's lil girl, I of course said yes. I grew up in a medical family so I know how these events can really provide relief in much needed areas at a hospital and this event is no different.

So I'm here in NRA country with my family for the Cooking for Hope charity event to benefit the Somerset Hospital. It's sponsored by the Pittsburgh affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure, Big Picture Communications, Cyndi's Hope Fund, the Daily American and the Tribune Democrat. If you are in the area and plan to head over, I can't wait to meet you and your ticket alone is doing a great service, but come ready for a great silent auction as well. At the end of the event I have a menu I plan to demonstrate that is perfect for the holiday season. It's my Butterflied Cornish Hens with Sage Butter, my Holiday Parsnip Puree and a recipe I haven't shared yet on Cooking for Real, my Simple Sauteed Mustard Greens. If you have plans to join us tomorrow at the Clock Tower Restaurant, save room in your belly because I'm not just Cooking for Real, you'll be able to eat what I'm Cooking, for real :-).

I'm happy to be here for a great cause and even better, it's neat to make my daddy proud. Feel me on that girls? I just never grow up where he's concerned. Speaking of, there's a new episode of Cooking for Real on deck, it's called Game Changing Thanksgiving. I sat and watched my dad grin like the cheshire cat today while I presented to the food world his turkey recipe on the newest episode. So neat to see him grinning like that. I took this picture without them knowing while I sat back here typing this up. This is happiness for me ... proud parents.Ok, now on to something I will probably never live down with some, but be a member of the club with others. I took a trip to get a childhood taste of ... don't laugh ... don't cringe ...YESSSSS!!! THE MC RIB IS BACK!!!! This is not an advertisement, as if they need me to shill for them ... it's the MC RIB!!!!!! Wanna know what my bff replied when I told her I was on the way to get a Mc Rib? She said "Sunny, that's disgusting". Teeheehee, I know, but it's so wrong, it's right.

Alright, have a great weekend. If you missed my Thanksgiving episode catch it Monday at 4PM on Food Network and if you are in Hidden Valley, I'll see you tomorrow!!

Bon Bons and a Kitchen Boogie!

Hey there! A week can really breeze by, huh? I started my week with a trip home from Foxwoods where I hosted the Bon Bon Boogie Bash at the 4th Annual Foxwoods Food and Wine Festival. Here I am with my "Bon Bon" for the night ...That's my Molten Chocolate Cinnamon Pots topped with a scoop of my Butter Pecan Buttermilk Ice Cream with Butter Sauteed Bananas. Lots of butter in the latter part recipe description because it's what I made for Paula Deen on one of her future shows! I blogged about visiting her set in "Just got back from Savannah!" and can't wait to see the episode when it airs.

Want a little background on why that was my "bon bon" for the night? Well, up to just a few weeks before the festival myself, Anne and Alex were to host a gala dinner together with each of us handling a course. It was cancelled for some reason so, to fix things they put us at the bowling party together. Then, so I could still do something with food, I ended up hosting the then host-less Bon Bon Boogie Bash. The event planners decided the same recipe I was going to present at the dinner would work as a dessert for the new event, just in a smaller version. I was all ready to send over some new options, but when they gave me the solution, I thought why not? Other things at the event were very loosely bon bons, so I didn't feel too crazy for such a big serving! Take a look ...Popcorn!! Reminds me of those biiiiig canisters of popcorn you see around the holidays. And check out these cuties ...Those little egg-cups are filled with Creamy Ginger Polenta, Pumpkin Gelee & Candied Chestnut.

Thanks to everyone that came out to the festival and the party! I had so much fun!

Then, I went home to boogie in my kitchen and do some Cooking, for real :-). I recently shared the great news about being picked up for season 9 of Cooking for Real. Well, I tape the new episodes in January 2011! What a way to start off the year and that also means the end of my year is all in preparation for the next 13 shows. Actually I plan 15 and pitch 15, then they choose the 13 they like the most. The decision is usually based on seasonality and variety. I write the recipes, then theme the shows, title them and even write the show introductions. Here's something I made last night to add to an episode I'm planning ... It's a stuffing I thought up when I saw that the green plantains I bought a week or so ago were now black :-). From hard and starchy to soft and sweet, my kind of transformation! I was already making some pork chops so in the blink of an eye, I decided to stuff em and work the plantains into the game plan. I sauteed the plantains after the veggies then tossed them together for a really nice stuffing. I always save the specifics for the show, but it was sweet, spicy and savory. I stuffed it into 2-inch thick chops I pre-seared and split, then wrapped them in bacon to keep the stuffing in. It was really a huuuuuge portion. I think I'm going to call the episode "Bigger is Better". Hope it makes the cut, the final dish was so tasty my guy and I barely talked much at dinner. Can't wait to share the recipe with you!! Speaking of, Holly is still Cooking for Real over at her blog RandomCravingsBlog.com. Check out how her Cooking for Real @ home is turning out! Btw, if you are Cooking for Real @ home and have pics, let me know in comments! I'd love to see them!

Ok, hope you've had as swift a week as I have! One day until the weekend. Hey, did you hear Conan O'Brien may start working at Food Network one day???
Teeheehee, I am so happy Coco is back! I was actually down to watching a web feed of the stairwell at his office building in the weeks leading up to his debut. The stairwell show was actually funny, but the real show is obviously better! Glad it's back! Ok, enjoy your Thursday, if that's when you catch this :-).

Foxwoods Food & Wine Festival 2010: Celebrity Bowling Bash

Hey there! Hope you are enjoying the weekend if that's when you catch this :-). I took a ride out to Connecticut yesterday from my home base in Brooklyn so I could hang out at the Foxwoods Food & Wine Festival. I remember my first time here back in 2005 was on a near perfect date--minus the guy lol (isn't it horrible to say that? but I can't be alone, the person that goes on a date and thinks about how much more fun it would be with someone else. Coincidentally, the someone else I was thinking of ended up not being so great in the end so ... tmi, huh?). Ok, so then my second time here was my first ever food and wine festival as a Food Network host. I blogged about the experience in "I survived my 1st Food & Wine Festival!". So now on my third visit, I think I'm finally getting the full complex covered. It's huge here and really hard to see everything in just a day or two.

Last night was the Celebrity Bowling event here within the complex and the last time I was here, I don't remember there being a bowling alley. I asked about it and turns out it is brand spanking new and was broken in by Kim Kardashian and her heels, she kept them on even while bowling they said. Cute, but my feet can only handle heels for a cumulative of about 8 hours a week lol. So I got my size 9.5 bowling shoes and went to work on some gutter balls. I'm not saying it to be cute, look at our final scores ...I love how the graphic conveniently covers up all of my zeroes lol. My gutter balls were like the O's in Warren Buffet's bank account ... they kept going and going and going. That's until a guy on the team in the lane next to us offered some help. I used it and began actually hitting something. Midway through the game I looked over to ask him his name and noticed the screen said "Jesus". Teeheehee, Jesus taught me to bowl. Sounds like a t-shirt. He and his girlfriend and another couple hung out with us all night. Here's Alex Guarnaschelli on another one of her day's off :-), finishing her last frame -- one foot in her heels and the other foot out of the bowling shoe, but not yet back at home in the matching heel ...I had to get that photo because Alex actually had a great last frame, but missed most of the game because she was being interviewed. It was a loose game and anytime someone was missing in action, we brought in a pinch-bowler ...Joey Fatone!!! Woooohoo!!! Did I just bury the lead? Teeheehee, well he was super nice and a GREAT bowler, I half wished I'd been MIA during the beginning of the game so he could give me some of his pin-action. He's here at Foxwoods hosting a casino version of Let's Make a Deal. I always thought he was one of the better dancers in 'Nsync, so it only made sense that his footwork and coordination were both on point to make some great frames.

Ok, that's it for last night! I did an interview with FollowCb.com before I started throwing gutters and he already has it up! It's called "The Extremely Sunny Anderson". Then I also spoke with Track Gals TV from Boston. So plenty of clickin' around if you want to read up on their coverage of the festival.

Tonight, I'm headed to host the Bon Bon Boogie Bash. They had me at Bon Bon and sealed the deal with a Boogie. :-).

Hope you liked the new Cooking for Real: After School Special today, if you missed it, reruns! Monday at 4PM eastern!

Buns, Apps, Cravings, Fun and More!

Hey there!

BUNS!!!
I made mention a post or so ago that I was still rounding out my menus for the next season of Cooking for Real because we start taping in January. Seems far, but it's close when the holidays are on the way and we are already getting into mid-November. Here's the latest addition to my season 9 menus ...Those are my Glazed Apple-Pecan Cinnamon Buns and if you do a count, it's a bakers' dozen!! Recession is ova!!! Teeheehee, whatever happened to the "baker's dozen"? Well, I got this one by accident, really. In development you just try stuff out and I was concerned with the "room-to-grow" factor and removed a few buns from the cake pan before the ride in the oven. I ended up with 13 buns, but plenty of dough left, so I'm plumping up the height of the buns on my next test to make sure I leave no dough on the table. :-) Sounds like I'm brokering a deal! Hope you like the recipe when I share it on the show, the website and now .....


APPS!!!
Well, just over a month ago I had an episode of Cooking for Real that I titled "I Have an App for That". It was a play on the whole advertising campaign for the iPhone applications many people use to make their day easier. Well, my "Apps" weren't applications, but were totally applicable to Appetizers. Now, we have a real App you can use! If you are App crazy, head to the App store and download the Food Network: In the Kitchen application! It's basically more than 45,000 recipes straight from FoodNetwork.com and more neat bells and whistles. There's a shopping list function, a measurements and amounts converter, a cool clock that counts down while you are cooking, the ability to upload your own recipes, neat categories for recipes or an ingredient-based search and so much more. The one thing I like the most about the App is that every time recipes get added to FoodNetwork.com, they are added to the App! It's a cookbook that keeps growing! It's just a buck.99 :-), not bad for 45,000 recipes and more at your finger tips!

Last night was the kick off event for the App and I spent some time on a panel with our design team and creative people that brought it to life. I never got a chance to take any pics, but there was plenty of tweetin' goin' on. Teeheehee, sounds funny when I type it. Ok, real quick, so you know I'm totally feeling old because I need my bff to give me a twitter 101 course before I start talking and stuff. I see plenty of people I just want to say hi to, but I first need to know what I'm doing. Is this the beginning to feeling old? Not intuitively knowing technology? Too funny, well take a look around for some fun pics from last night and click and follow me in the meantime, @SunnyAnderson :-). I promise when I start tweeting, for real :-), I'll withhold my minutiae and do my best to have fun with it. I'm no @AzizAnsari, but I'll do my best to make you smile :-). Ok ...

CRAVINGS!!

Hey, remember when I told you about a brunch-changing experience I had at Prune here in NYC? Well, one of my brunch co-conspirators was Holly at RandomCravingsBlog.com. She put up a cool post just after, then surprised me with an even crazier post soon after that! Turns out she's Cooking for Real, for 6 weeks in a row and sharing it with all her readers!! I was too busy to alert you to her first results post Cooking for Real, Week One - Appetizers and Dessert, but I'm right on time for her second post Cooking for Real, Week Two - Moderation Flies Out the Window! It just went up this morning for your weekend enjoyment :-). Holly has hand-picked some recipes from this new season of shows and is taking them into her kitchen, even adding me to her Thanksgiving menu! Niiiiiiiiice, I'm seriously honored. Check out the blog and bookmark it, she's got some good stuff over there.

FUN ...

I'm headed to Connecticut in the next few hours for some Food and Wine fun! Check in over the weekend and I'll post some pictures from the Foxwoods Food and Wine Festival. If you are in the area, tickets are still available and I have plans to do the bowling event to night and I host the Bon Bon Boogie Bash tomorrow! Come out and say hi! No, really ... say hi :-), I never mind stopping to talk!

More!!!

There's a new episode of Cooking for Real premiering tomorrow on Food Network! It's called Cooking for Real: After School Special. Back when we were taping this episode I wanted to do a tribute to Mr. Roger's and even shared my goal here with my post, Trivets aren't Trivial, but as it would happen, it takes plenty to fill those shoes. Like how do I walk in the door with everything I need to immediately get started on cooking? There were camera lighting and blocking issues and just too many kinks I hadn't considered. Well, I didn't have the answer then, but after we did an actual walk-through on the set, my brain began to work on it and I realized I could plan the show and recipes better. So, I scrapped the whole tribute and will hopefully chase that teeny goal in my next season of shows in January. Can't wait to give it a try after planning it better! In the meantime, catch the show and enjoy my Chicken Chorizo Patty Melt, Jicama Salsa and my Red Velvet Swirl Brownies. Holly says she's going to try the Jicama Salsa and the Red Velvet Swirl Brownies for next week's RandomCravingsblog post, can't wait! If you already have the Food Network: In the Kitchen App, these recipes are already there! Ok, take care and enjoy your weekend! Again, if you are headed to Foxwoods, say hi so we can chat, for real :-)!!

Circle of Sisters was a hit, Halloween, not so much ...

Hey there! Well, Saturday I headed out to the Circle of Sisters Expo here in NYC. This is my third year doing a cooking demonstration there and each time it gets better. This time around I did an easy menu that is perfect for this time of year. Click for the links to my Proscuitto-Wrapped Beef Cubes with Mustard Pan Sauce and Parmesan-Herbed Orzo. I also shared a recipe of mine from the new season of Cooking for Real, my Simple Sauteed Mustard Greens. That recipe will be available as soon as the episode it appears in airs on Food Network. Ha! "Appears in", the food is totally the star! I call that episode Borrowing from the South and it isn't even up on my episode page yet, so it was a real sneak peek for all the attendees. A big hello to Charles! He comments on the blog and it was our second time meeting, I turned around after it was all over and he was gone! Charles, thanks for coming, wish we could've chatted longer and maybe walked around a bit! Here's one shot of some people that came to hang out while I cooked, for real :-) ...I said hi to anyone that wanted to chat and then made room for the next cooking demonstration with Chef Jeff Henderson ...He's busy working with a movie production team on his life story. I think I heard someone say that Will Smith is playing him in the movie, I may be wrong, but a movie is in the works no less. Pretty cool story he has, Google and Bing away if you don't already know :-).

Then Saturday night I decided to go out to one of my favorite places in Brooklyn, Tanoreen. I actually featured something from their menu on Best Thing I Ever Ate: Nutty. It's this crazy good dessert called Knafeh and it's hard to describe, you just really have to try it. It's gooey cheese that's baked in a buttered and shredded fillo dough shell, then doused with a sweet syrup of orange blossoms and more then sprinkled with pistachio nuts. There's so much more to it and if you can find it locally, I say make an RSVP! If not, NYC is great in the fall, especially Brooklyn :-). Anyway, here's my piece ...Before that, I struggled through eating and not eating all of my dinner so I could actually fit in the Knafeh for dessert. It's hard and I promised myself next time I was just going to do it ... order dinner backwards. Ever do that? Anyway, we also got some vegetarian kibbie balls that are becoming another favorite of mine ...They are crunchy on the outside (looks and tastes like a wheat germ mixture) then the inside is moist and the greens taste almost southern with a nice lemon kick and there's chunks of walnuts here and there, very good. See the cute Halloween candle in the back ground? I like when restaurants do cute little things like that for holidays.

Well, dinner was great and the next day, yesterday, Sunday :-) ... I bought some candy, set up the lights, left the porch light on. Then I set up shop and waited for trick-or-treaters ... and waited ... and waited ... No one showed ... last year, I think maybe one person did. What was I thinking? I now have two huge bucket loads of treats to deal with. Any suggestions? Maybe I can find a charity that gives out food or something. I can't humanly eat all that candy!

Ok, just wanted to share a bit ... I have to get back to work. It's been a productive Monday of transferring recipes from my notebook to my laptop. I have a week or so until I reach my personal goal of having all my Season 9 menus typed up so I can turn them into the network. We tape in January, what a way to kick off the year and what a way to kick off the week with plenty of admin work. Actually, I'm about to take a break from typing to get in the kitchen to bake some cinnamon buns. I haven't shared my recipe yet on Cooking for Real, so I decided to make some to get all my amounts measured. I'll write in my journal, transfer that information to my laptop and include the recipe in the pitch for my next season of shows ... easy, sticky, cinnamon buns anyone? Hope your Monday is scootin' along ...

P.S. Thanks to everyone following me on Twitter, I'll start tweeting right after I relaunch my website, hang on and tell a friend :-) @SunnyAnderson .... no spaces, hyphens or underscores :-)