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!

My Jovi-al weekend! (BON JOVI!!!)

Ok, I had two choices this weekend ... actually 3. Sleep all day, Go to a concert called Rock the Bells here in NYC or head out to the Hamptons with my girl Lisa Evers, a friend and reporter for Fox 5 here in NYC. I chose the latter and later the music buff in me that was missing Snoop Dogg perform his entire first album from front to back, was HANDSOMELY REWARDED!!!
OMG! Isn't he handsome!?! And he was so nice in person. Yes, I am never too cool to get really excited about something like this meeting. We were all in South Hampton at a private dinner hosted by Jason Binn and special guest Dwyane Wade at Madame Tong's. We left shortly after this picture even though people were being seated for dinner because we'd already dined on B. Smiths' place in Sag Harbor and started the day at the closing for the Mercedes-Benz Polo Challenge at the Bridgehampton Polo Club. Here we are hours away from meeting Jon Bon Jovi :-) The weather was perfect and I'm happy I chose to hang with my girl Lisa! We keep in touch, but would you believe we haven't seen each other in years?? Two busy gals in the city ... Ok, I'm back to work today taping new episodes of Cooking for Real. I'll check in with some behind the scenes stuff later if I'm not zonked! Happy Monday!!!

Trivets aren't trivial!

Hey there! I'm currently taping season 8 of Cooking for Real in Food Network's Chelsea Market studios and yesterday I shared a picture of my favorite dish so far. I go so much response to the plate, I thought why not show you another neat addition to my repertoire ... two pretty trivets!That's Jamie and she styles my set along with Wendy. Today when we were ready for the final act of the show we realized we needed a few more trivets than the tiles I usually use and a few seconds after the request, Jamie waltzed over with those beauties! I gasped a bit, so simple, but very pretty to me. They were reminiscent of nautical rope, but sweet. I did the flip to see if there was a tag or identifying mark and I found none. Pretty neat though. Then right before the show ended, I made a drink I can share with you here because I've already served it plenty of times this summer at events. It's my Brooklyn Iced Tea. 6 ounces of lemoncello, 3 ounces dark rum, 3 ounces tequila, 24 ounces sweet tea. Pour it in a pitcher of ice and lemon wedges, stir, then pour in a highball glass with ice ... way better than a Long Island Iced Tea, of course I'm biased :-). Here it is on set today ...It was tasty, but I couldn't sip too much because I was only on my first show and needed to finish my second show of the day! In the background you can see my purple door ... tomorrow I'm going to attempt walking through that door on the show for the first time. I am super excited about it because if I do it right, it'll be a nice tribute to Mr. Rogers. If it doesn't look good we'll scrap it, but just wanted to tell you so you have the inside scoop! Wish me luck pulling it off, I am so corny that I've wanted to do it from the start, hope it works :-)! Ok, have a great evening/day. I'll do my best to keep posting while I'm taping, but I do find my time crunched a bit. Thanks for all the comments! BTW, the website redesign is going very well, hope you guys like my new home!