Thursday, October 28, 2010
Twitter! I'm @SunnyAnderson
Hi there! I just found out I have an impersonator on Twitter. They seem nice enough, it's just not me, nor my recipe tips and musings, etc. I'd hate for you to be mislead. I'm working on getting my account verified, but If you tweet, follow me @SunnyAnderson. I've been there for some time just waiting to get my act together :-). No underscores, no hyphens, just my name with no spaces. @SunnyAnderson. I'm not tweeting just yet, but as soon as I relaunch my website, I'll start tweeting. Until then, tell a friend and follow me! Remember it's @SunnyAnderson :-)
Sisters and Spaghetti!
Hey there! If you're in New York this weekend I'm hanging out at the Circle of Sisters event with WBLS at the Jacob Javits Center. It's a 2-day event (Sat. & Sun.) with entertainment, seminars, stuff for the kids and I'll be there Cooking, for real :-). Here I am just this morning on local station WPIX talking about the event and more with host Sukanya Krishnan aka "Suki" ...
Sukanya and I have a mutual friend in common so it feels like we know each other and I was too excited to see her again. My first visit to her show was back in 2008 and I blogged about it in "CW 11 Posts video!". Seriously seems like yesterday. You know what they say about time flying, eh? Pretty accurate. Hope you'll join me this weekend at the event and if you can't, please join me for a new episode of Cooking for Real!
I call this new one First Date Spaghetti. I make my Spicy Spaghetti with Mega Meatballs, Easy Garlic and Olive Knots and a drink I call a Juicy Martini. I did this menu for a few reasons. A while back I had dinner at a friend's place and he served spaghetti with a nice kick. It was just on the edge of hot, made you want more to calm the heat that would return with each bite. A crazy vicious cycle and I loved it! I make almost everything a bit spicy, so I'm sharing my personal recipe for a spicy sauce. I love meat balls so I thought I'd go big or go home with some mega meatballs of flavor and stacked them with plenty of love so they aren't just big chunks of meat. I keep 'em juicy and tasty so if you have leftovers you can do a meat ball sandwich the next day with some reserved spaghetti sauce!
Sukanya and I have a mutual friend in common so it feels like we know each other and I was too excited to see her again. My first visit to her show was back in 2008 and I blogged about it in "CW 11 Posts video!". Seriously seems like yesterday. You know what they say about time flying, eh? Pretty accurate. Hope you'll join me this weekend at the event and if you can't, please join me for a new episode of Cooking for Real!
I call this new one First Date Spaghetti. I make my Spicy Spaghetti with Mega Meatballs, Easy Garlic and Olive Knots and a drink I call a Juicy Martini. I did this menu for a few reasons. A while back I had dinner at a friend's place and he served spaghetti with a nice kick. It was just on the edge of hot, made you want more to calm the heat that would return with each bite. A crazy vicious cycle and I loved it! I make almost everything a bit spicy, so I'm sharing my personal recipe for a spicy sauce. I love meat balls so I thought I'd go big or go home with some mega meatballs of flavor and stacked them with plenty of love so they aren't just big chunks of meat. I keep 'em juicy and tasty so if you have leftovers you can do a meat ball sandwich the next day with some reserved spaghetti sauce!
Then to go on the side I share my version of an NYC pizza place staple, the garlic knot. Mine are sandwiched with the flavor of garlic, parmesan cheese and olives between two thin layers of pizza dough. I keep pizza dough frozen and defrost it in the fridge over night, but you can also find it in a pop-tube thing. I find the pop tube thing to be a bit on the sweet side, so use a bit more salt when I use that version of dough. It's a really easy recipe and I do it the way I show on this week's episode as well as with other fillings. Sun-dried tomatoes and parm being my second fave, then jalapeno and cheddar.
The drink is something I wanted to share with party guests this summer at the AC Food & Wine Festival. I had a full menu of drinks, sliders and dessert to share at my Sunset, Sliders and Spirits pool party. As we went through the process of trimming the menu down, we had to cut one drink and one slider. I cut the Chicken Chorizo Patty Melt Sliders and My Juicy Martini was put to the side to share at a later date as well. When I was planning this show I thought dessert on a first date would be nice, but with the pasta, the huge meat balls and the knots it just felt really heavy. A drink sounded like a good idea. I love making drinks at home and sometimes do one big signature drink in a pitcher to serve everyone, or myself all night :-). Just kidding ... ok, I hope you enjoy the show! The Chicken Chorizo Patty Melt is on a future show too! Don't forget ...
Cooking for Real: First Date Spaghetti, this Saturday @ noon on Food Network. 11AM central. Tell a friend!!
Monday, October 25, 2010
Catch up, Must herd and Ketchup
Catch up ...
Hey there! Well I have some admin to do over here. Sometimes days go by faster than I can chronicle them here on the blog. Last week I filled in for Kim Fernandez on Martha Stewart Radio's morning show, Morning Living with Betsy Karetnick. This was my second time filling in, but I've visited the show in the past to talk about Cooking for Real and food, of course :-). Each time they ask me to fill in I put my radio hat on and it fits nicely with my home cook apron :-). I never over step my welcome by suggesting instead of hosting, I actually do some cooking. Cool thing is, they always ask so I never have to push it and this time the producer suggested Wednesday that I prepare something for Friday's show. Cool thing is, just the day before, a radio friend in Philadelphia asked if I'd provide a backstage/green room treat for the performers at her radio station event! She already gave me tickets and a great experience for the same concert last year, so this was an easy "yes" for me. I quickly got into catering mode from my old days and decided on something that would work for both occasions. My Mini Pecan Pumpkin Pies! Here I am Thursday night working on my masterpieces ...
I had to make enough for 10 performers' gift bags at the concert, 5 people in the studio and extra for people along the way, because I'm a giver :-). I only had one mini-muffin tin at home because I keep losing my kitchen in my various moves around Brooklyn. Somewhere out there is a box with my rice maker and waffle iron in it :-). Anyway, so after I left radio Thursday at 10AM, I headed out to a kitchen store and then to the grocery store in search of pretty pecan halves, then I made a trip to the florist to buy some cellophane to wrap the boxes and a final trip to another store for colored tissue paper and ribbons. I didn't get started until that evening, but the recipe is pretty easy, as are all of mine, so I was done in no time! This is proof you can make 100-plus mini pies on a week night! If I can do it, you can do it! Here they are all lined-up after I placed them in some cute little Halloween cups I found at the kitchen store ...
I made four batches and ended up with a half can of pumpkin puree, so I improvised and came up with a new recipe for Pumpkin Hummus. Just that day I was looking around the internet at Halloween decorations and saw someone put hummus in the hollowed out core of a pumpkin, but it was just hummus. Here I was hours later with the perfect chance to go the extra step, so I did. It was tasty and the recipe is on Martha Stewart's Radio blog somewhere, but I can't find it. Actually before I could even pass out the chips to dip, the producer finished his bowl off with just a spoon! So, here it is ...
Oh wait, I forgot to tell you! I wasn't just tired from the radio show hours that Thursday I stayed up late to bake, but I also made a quick trip to a co-worker's new set that day after the radio show to say hi! I actually had to pass at being a guest on his show because I was already booked to fill-in on the radio show, but that didn't mean I couldn't stop by to spread some smiles. Lucky for me I got there right when it was time to eat! Check out my spread and the chef that made it ...
Can't see him waaaay in the back? It's Big Daddy aka Aaron McCargo Jr. on his new set! Am I breaking news here?!?! *giggle* Yes, a new set!!! Well, the set is really nice and after looking around for a second I realized I'd been there before. Remember the cookie swap video we shot last year? Yup! Same set! Just different design elements to make it his own. I can't tell you what was on my plate from his show because it hasn't aired yet, but it was tasty and hit the spot! There it was 11-something in the morning and I was drinking a fancy cocktail, I had to be a good guest right? Way better than the "5-o'clock somewhere" excuse. :-) Here we are right before he went back to work on his second show of the day ...
I headed out from there to get my act together for a bake fest!
Oh wow, --- wait ... can I back this up again? This is starting to feel like that Seinfeld episode that was told from end to beginning. Thursday during the show Amanda Freitag came by to hang out and I thought it was our first meeting, but she promptly reminded me I shoved some red velvet twinkie-like cakes at her in the hallways of Food Network in a blaze of glory! Long story short, I went down south and found these cute little bites at a convenience store and had enough will to not buy one at the time, but when I got home and blogged about it, something in me woke up and said "hey wait-a-minute, you won't at least TRY one?". So, I went on a mission and with some help, tracked down a way to order them by the case. I bought enough to share with the crew when we taped Season 8 of Cooking for Real, but I had a case leftover. Needless to say the teeny cakes were and still are burning a whole in my red velvet pocket! If I keep them all, I'll eventually eat them all, which isn't good. I decided one day to take them to work and just hand them out randomly. That's when I first met Amanda Freitag and I didn't stick around, I just said hello and "would you like to try some of these red velvet teeny cakes?" lol. I didn't even stick around for an answer, I was seriously unloading them and getting away before I could second guess myself, that's how moist and equally spongy they were. Evil, in a sweet little package. Here we are after our second, less calorie-filled meeting ...
Turns out she wasn't the only one needing to hand-off the tasty bites, she passed a couple on to a chef friend of hers and they too, fell in love. I gotta unload these babies, I still have a few boxes left.
Must Herd ...(get it? mustard?) :-)
Well, Friday after finishing up a week of co-hosting with Betsy on Martha Stewart's Morning Living radio show, I herded into a train for Philadelphia to deliver my back stage treats to the artists performing at that night's Powerhouse 2010. I catered plenty in the radio business when I was a DJ, so this was familiar territory for me the only difference is I didn't know any of the performers. Years ago, I knew plenty of the current artists, so I also knew what they ate and what they liked. I settled on the Mini Pecan Pumpkin Pies because they were sweet small bites and seasonal. Then, because I partnered with Lipton this summer, I threw in some of my favorite Lipton products, the To-Go packets you add to water. I also measured out and bottled a mass amount of my house seasoning for them to use at home. The idea was to Eat for real, Drink for real then Cook for real :-). I did all the assembly in the hotel and took this picture right before I closed up the boxes and covered them with tissue and clear cellophane ...
The final boxes were cute. I put purple tissue on the inside, then placed the pies in a ceramic dish I bought at the store and the seasoning/rub was sealed in a tiny glass with a plastic lid. As soon as I looked up from finishing the ribbons on the last box, the time was 5PM and I had to be there in an hour! I made a quick change and headed out to deliver the goods. The show was at the Wachovia Center and the performers included Drake, Ne-Yo, Rick Ross, Nicki Minaj, Bobby V, Lloyd and more. Here I am with one of my box recipients and Powerhouse performer, Rick Ross ...
Just after we took that picture he went on stage to perform and I got a chance to chat with someone I worked with at HOT 97 here in NYC ...
It's Miss Jones, most people simply call her Jonesy. She went from being the co-host in the morning to hosting the show when we worked together in NYC, she also had a short stint during that time in Philadelphia. So now she's back in Philadelphia loving it and sounding great. I ran into soooo many people that night that I haven't seen in years. Pretty nice. The show was great too, I was soooo tired and only on maybe 4 hours of sleep, but I managed to keep my eyes open for Nicki Minaj and Ne-Yo ...
Nicki Minaj reminds me of so many great traits in so many artists, I really like her. I can see big sales and things for her, one of those feelings I'd get about new artists that were going to "stick" happened when I watched her stage show. And then Ne-Yo had a great show ...
He had dancers and live instruments to go with what was a pretty polished show. He sings a song I really like called Miss Independent and when it came on I thought, this was worth staying up for! Take a listen and look ...
Great song and performer.
Hey there! Well I have some admin to do over here. Sometimes days go by faster than I can chronicle them here on the blog. Last week I filled in for Kim Fernandez on Martha Stewart Radio's morning show, Morning Living with Betsy Karetnick. This was my second time filling in, but I've visited the show in the past to talk about Cooking for Real and food, of course :-). Each time they ask me to fill in I put my radio hat on and it fits nicely with my home cook apron :-). I never over step my welcome by suggesting instead of hosting, I actually do some cooking. Cool thing is, they always ask so I never have to push it and this time the producer suggested Wednesday that I prepare something for Friday's show. Cool thing is, just the day before, a radio friend in Philadelphia asked if I'd provide a backstage/green room treat for the performers at her radio station event! She already gave me tickets and a great experience for the same concert last year, so this was an easy "yes" for me. I quickly got into catering mode from my old days and decided on something that would work for both occasions. My Mini Pecan Pumpkin Pies! Here I am Thursday night working on my masterpieces ...
I had to make enough for 10 performers' gift bags at the concert, 5 people in the studio and extra for people along the way, because I'm a giver :-). I only had one mini-muffin tin at home because I keep losing my kitchen in my various moves around Brooklyn. Somewhere out there is a box with my rice maker and waffle iron in it :-). Anyway, so after I left radio Thursday at 10AM, I headed out to a kitchen store and then to the grocery store in search of pretty pecan halves, then I made a trip to the florist to buy some cellophane to wrap the boxes and a final trip to another store for colored tissue paper and ribbons. I didn't get started until that evening, but the recipe is pretty easy, as are all of mine, so I was done in no time! This is proof you can make 100-plus mini pies on a week night! If I can do it, you can do it! Here they are all lined-up after I placed them in some cute little Halloween cups I found at the kitchen store ...
I made four batches and ended up with a half can of pumpkin puree, so I improvised and came up with a new recipe for Pumpkin Hummus. Just that day I was looking around the internet at Halloween decorations and saw someone put hummus in the hollowed out core of a pumpkin, but it was just hummus. Here I was hours later with the perfect chance to go the extra step, so I did. It was tasty and the recipe is on Martha Stewart's Radio blog somewhere, but I can't find it. Actually before I could even pass out the chips to dip, the producer finished his bowl off with just a spoon! So, here it is ...Pumpkin Hummus
Recipe provided courtesy of Sunny Anderson, 2010
1 15.5-ounce can garbanzo beans (chick peas), drained
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons tahini
3 garlic cloves, peeled
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1 pinch freshly ground nutmeg (5 swift scrapes on a grater)
1 pinch ground allspice
2 tablespoons lemon juice, plus more to taste
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
salt, to taste
Place garlic and olive oil in a ramekin and place in oven for 20 minutes, making sure garlic does not begin to brown, but just turns a light golden color. Remove from oven and add garlic cloves plus 2 tablespoons of the oil from the ramekin to a food processor along with the garbanzo beans, pumpkin puree, tahini, cinnamon, cumin, nutmeg, allspice, 2 tablespoons of lemon juice and a nice pinch of salt. Blend until smooth, scraping the sides with a rubber spatula if needed. Then add a bit more olive oil to smooth out the texture. Taste and add a bit more salt and lemon juice, to taste. Spoon into a bowl and pour any remaining olive oil over the top, cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours. When ready to serve, Add pumpkin seeds and a pinch of salt to a saute pan on medium high heat. Toss while toasting until seeds are fragrant and develop a bit of a sheen, about 4 minutes. Sprinkle toasted pumpkin seeds over top of hummus and serve cold or at room temperature.
Yield: 2 cups hummus
Preparation Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 24 minutes
Inactive time: 2 hours
Oh wait, I forgot to tell you! I wasn't just tired from the radio show hours that Thursday I stayed up late to bake, but I also made a quick trip to a co-worker's new set that day after the radio show to say hi! I actually had to pass at being a guest on his show because I was already booked to fill-in on the radio show, but that didn't mean I couldn't stop by to spread some smiles. Lucky for me I got there right when it was time to eat! Check out my spread and the chef that made it ...
Can't see him waaaay in the back? It's Big Daddy aka Aaron McCargo Jr. on his new set! Am I breaking news here?!?! *giggle* Yes, a new set!!! Well, the set is really nice and after looking around for a second I realized I'd been there before. Remember the cookie swap video we shot last year? Yup! Same set! Just different design elements to make it his own. I can't tell you what was on my plate from his show because it hasn't aired yet, but it was tasty and hit the spot! There it was 11-something in the morning and I was drinking a fancy cocktail, I had to be a good guest right? Way better than the "5-o'clock somewhere" excuse. :-) Here we are right before he went back to work on his second show of the day ...
I headed out from there to get my act together for a bake fest!Oh wow, --- wait ... can I back this up again? This is starting to feel like that Seinfeld episode that was told from end to beginning. Thursday during the show Amanda Freitag came by to hang out and I thought it was our first meeting, but she promptly reminded me I shoved some red velvet twinkie-like cakes at her in the hallways of Food Network in a blaze of glory! Long story short, I went down south and found these cute little bites at a convenience store and had enough will to not buy one at the time, but when I got home and blogged about it, something in me woke up and said "hey wait-a-minute, you won't at least TRY one?". So, I went on a mission and with some help, tracked down a way to order them by the case. I bought enough to share with the crew when we taped Season 8 of Cooking for Real, but I had a case leftover. Needless to say the teeny cakes were and still are burning a whole in my red velvet pocket! If I keep them all, I'll eventually eat them all, which isn't good. I decided one day to take them to work and just hand them out randomly. That's when I first met Amanda Freitag and I didn't stick around, I just said hello and "would you like to try some of these red velvet teeny cakes?" lol. I didn't even stick around for an answer, I was seriously unloading them and getting away before I could second guess myself, that's how moist and equally spongy they were. Evil, in a sweet little package. Here we are after our second, less calorie-filled meeting ...
Turns out she wasn't the only one needing to hand-off the tasty bites, she passed a couple on to a chef friend of hers and they too, fell in love. I gotta unload these babies, I still have a few boxes left.Must Herd ...(get it? mustard?) :-)
Well, Friday after finishing up a week of co-hosting with Betsy on Martha Stewart's Morning Living radio show, I herded into a train for Philadelphia to deliver my back stage treats to the artists performing at that night's Powerhouse 2010. I catered plenty in the radio business when I was a DJ, so this was familiar territory for me the only difference is I didn't know any of the performers. Years ago, I knew plenty of the current artists, so I also knew what they ate and what they liked. I settled on the Mini Pecan Pumpkin Pies because they were sweet small bites and seasonal. Then, because I partnered with Lipton this summer, I threw in some of my favorite Lipton products, the To-Go packets you add to water. I also measured out and bottled a mass amount of my house seasoning for them to use at home. The idea was to Eat for real, Drink for real then Cook for real :-). I did all the assembly in the hotel and took this picture right before I closed up the boxes and covered them with tissue and clear cellophane ...
The final boxes were cute. I put purple tissue on the inside, then placed the pies in a ceramic dish I bought at the store and the seasoning/rub was sealed in a tiny glass with a plastic lid. As soon as I looked up from finishing the ribbons on the last box, the time was 5PM and I had to be there in an hour! I made a quick change and headed out to deliver the goods. The show was at the Wachovia Center and the performers included Drake, Ne-Yo, Rick Ross, Nicki Minaj, Bobby V, Lloyd and more. Here I am with one of my box recipients and Powerhouse performer, Rick Ross ...
Just after we took that picture he went on stage to perform and I got a chance to chat with someone I worked with at HOT 97 here in NYC ...
It's Miss Jones, most people simply call her Jonesy. She went from being the co-host in the morning to hosting the show when we worked together in NYC, she also had a short stint during that time in Philadelphia. So now she's back in Philadelphia loving it and sounding great. I ran into soooo many people that night that I haven't seen in years. Pretty nice. The show was great too, I was soooo tired and only on maybe 4 hours of sleep, but I managed to keep my eyes open for Nicki Minaj and Ne-Yo ...
Nicki Minaj reminds me of so many great traits in so many artists, I really like her. I can see big sales and things for her, one of those feelings I'd get about new artists that were going to "stick" happened when I watched her stage show. And then Ne-Yo had a great show ...
He had dancers and live instruments to go with what was a pretty polished show. He sings a song I really like called Miss Independent and when it came on I thought, this was worth staying up for! Take a listen and look ...Great song and performer.
Ok, if you read here often, you'll know I have an obsession with cheesesteaks at this one place in Philadelphia called Max's on Broad Street and Germantown Avenue close to Erie Street. Well, after the show I went, I saw, I conquered. It was 1AM and there was police tape everywhere, but I walked right by the lights and sirens right into cheesesteak heaven. I was just too tired and distracted for a picture to share. Sowwy, I'll leave you with something sweeter ...
Ketchup ...
The next morning I headed back to the train station for a trip back up to NYC. I stopped at the food court in Philadelphia's 30th Street station and got some seasoned hash browns to go with my coffee. I sat down at the little iron tables in the food court and opened my bag to find the cutest little packets of ketchup ...
Can you see them? Totally worth a click to enlarge. Really cute! Ok, that's it. Catch up, Must Herd and Ketchup ...Stick around for more sharing :-) and thanks to every one that tuned in last week on Morning Living. Plus a special hi to the girls I met in the audience at Powerhouse, thanks for watching!!!
Ketchup ...
The next morning I headed back to the train station for a trip back up to NYC. I stopped at the food court in Philadelphia's 30th Street station and got some seasoned hash browns to go with my coffee. I sat down at the little iron tables in the food court and opened my bag to find the cutest little packets of ketchup ...
Can you see them? Totally worth a click to enlarge. Really cute! Ok, that's it. Catch up, Must Herd and Ketchup ...Stick around for more sharing :-) and thanks to every one that tuned in last week on Morning Living. Plus a special hi to the girls I met in the audience at Powerhouse, thanks for watching!!!Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Martha Stewart Radio Rocks!
Hey there! Well, I'm midway through my week filling-in on Martha Stewart's Sirius morning show, Morning Living. The usual co-host Kim is taking time off, so all this week I was invited to sit in with host her co-host, Betsy. The show airs from 7-10AM Monday through Friday on Martha's Sirius/XM channel, so all this week I'm waking up like I'm in basic training again. :-) Luckily for us, on Tuesday we got a wake up call from acapella group Rockapella. And I do mean wakeup, take a listen ...Sounds pretty cool, huh? This is just one of the jingles they are known for singing in commercials. Others include Dr. Pepper, Almond Joy, Budweiser and because I did a quick internet search I knew to ask them about the Preparation H jingle I'd never heard of. I didn't get it on video, but it was hilarious. Worth a look around on the internet. If you like acapella music they have a new cd out right now called "BANG!". Sounded great! If you want more videos and behind the scenes stuff from this week, Martha Stewart Radio has a blog and even posted more video of Rockapella Live on Morning Living.
We also had on Chef Gavin Kaysento talk about braising (!!Loud!! music on that link if you are at work). The great thing is I was already set to braise some beef because my guy requested it on Monday, so when Chef Kaysen mentioned his braising trick, I took it and ran. What's the trick? Nothing major, just a way to cover a dish without needing a lid ...
Use parchment paper! The good thing about this is it keeps the tips that peek out from your braising liquid from getting dry and tough, while still creating steam so every thing cooks. Something Chef Kaysen didn't get a chance to mention is how this method also allows a bit of the moisture to evaporate around the edges, giving you a thicker consistency without using a thickening agent, verrrry nice. Here's how my Beef and Barley Stew kicked off after I seared all the beef chunks with olive oil, salt and pepper ...
It's the usual suspects. Some people call it a mirapoix (MEER-uh-pwah) or French for the combination of celery, carrots and onion, but I often add one or two other things to my base flavor so I call it a mirapoix plus 2. The two extra ingredients here are parsnips and garlic, then I threw in some spices. I'm really on a parsnip kick lately. I love all the eating seasons, but I think this time of year, when the seasons are changing is the best! Just a few short, hours later and an addition of some wine, broth and barley in the last hour, we were ready to eat!!!
On the bread was just good olive oil, salt and pepper. I toasted it in the already hot oven and called it a night! It was late and we were hungry! I was happy to make my guy happy with a request, because he almost never requests anything, he just takes what I make and it always changes so he likes the variety more than anything. I'll add this to the line-up on Cooking for Real so I can share all the particulars with you, but if you are considering braising anytime soon, give the parchment method a try. Really nice results and if you are like me and sometimes want to use a dish that didn't come with a lid, it's a great little trick that is better than aluminum foil.
Ok, one more pic, then I need to get to sleep so I can be awake and ready to go in the morning! Remember how I told you about my brunch at Prune on 1st Avenue and 1st Street in NYC? Well, I made plans with a friend last week to return and today was the day I fell in love again ...
That's our plate of Fried Sweetbreads. I say OUR because the preamble to this declaration was both of us devouring our own plate of Prune's Fried Oyster Omelet. I was too excited when my friend said on the final swipe of her omelet plate "I'm still hungry!". I immediately suggested "Sweetbreads? Wanna split?" and she happily agreed. Actually when we first ordered the sweetbreads were the first thing that came to mind, but I just couldn't resist another plate of the omelet, so I gave in. Let me tell you ... I have had some sweetbreads in my life, but these are right on par with the best. Gee whiz. I mean tender, smooth and the crunch on the outside was perfect without being a tad bit greasy. Now, I'm hooked and know I have to go back and finish the whole menu. I'm an omnivore and I have no dilemma lol. Luckily it's not a book, just a 1-fold menu:-).
Ok, hope you have a chance to tune in, we are having a great time and just laughing the whole way through the morning. It's Martha Stewart Radio - Morning Living 7-10AM eastern, Sirius 112 and XM 157. Tune in and join us for some fun! Wanna steam it online for a free trial period of 7 days? Click here :-).
We also had on Chef Gavin Kaysento talk about braising (!!Loud!! music on that link if you are at work). The great thing is I was already set to braise some beef because my guy requested it on Monday, so when Chef Kaysen mentioned his braising trick, I took it and ran. What's the trick? Nothing major, just a way to cover a dish without needing a lid ...
Use parchment paper! The good thing about this is it keeps the tips that peek out from your braising liquid from getting dry and tough, while still creating steam so every thing cooks. Something Chef Kaysen didn't get a chance to mention is how this method also allows a bit of the moisture to evaporate around the edges, giving you a thicker consistency without using a thickening agent, verrrry nice. Here's how my Beef and Barley Stew kicked off after I seared all the beef chunks with olive oil, salt and pepper ...
It's the usual suspects. Some people call it a mirapoix (MEER-uh-pwah) or French for the combination of celery, carrots and onion, but I often add one or two other things to my base flavor so I call it a mirapoix plus 2. The two extra ingredients here are parsnips and garlic, then I threw in some spices. I'm really on a parsnip kick lately. I love all the eating seasons, but I think this time of year, when the seasons are changing is the best! Just a few short, hours later and an addition of some wine, broth and barley in the last hour, we were ready to eat!!!
On the bread was just good olive oil, salt and pepper. I toasted it in the already hot oven and called it a night! It was late and we were hungry! I was happy to make my guy happy with a request, because he almost never requests anything, he just takes what I make and it always changes so he likes the variety more than anything. I'll add this to the line-up on Cooking for Real so I can share all the particulars with you, but if you are considering braising anytime soon, give the parchment method a try. Really nice results and if you are like me and sometimes want to use a dish that didn't come with a lid, it's a great little trick that is better than aluminum foil.Ok, one more pic, then I need to get to sleep so I can be awake and ready to go in the morning! Remember how I told you about my brunch at Prune on 1st Avenue and 1st Street in NYC? Well, I made plans with a friend last week to return and today was the day I fell in love again ...
That's our plate of Fried Sweetbreads. I say OUR because the preamble to this declaration was both of us devouring our own plate of Prune's Fried Oyster Omelet. I was too excited when my friend said on the final swipe of her omelet plate "I'm still hungry!". I immediately suggested "Sweetbreads? Wanna split?" and she happily agreed. Actually when we first ordered the sweetbreads were the first thing that came to mind, but I just couldn't resist another plate of the omelet, so I gave in. Let me tell you ... I have had some sweetbreads in my life, but these are right on par with the best. Gee whiz. I mean tender, smooth and the crunch on the outside was perfect without being a tad bit greasy. Now, I'm hooked and know I have to go back and finish the whole menu. I'm an omnivore and I have no dilemma lol. Luckily it's not a book, just a 1-fold menu:-).Ok, hope you have a chance to tune in, we are having a great time and just laughing the whole way through the morning. It's Martha Stewart Radio - Morning Living 7-10AM eastern, Sirius 112 and XM 157. Tune in and join us for some fun! Wanna steam it online for a free trial period of 7 days? Click here :-).
Saturday, October 16, 2010
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 ...
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!
Sunday, October 10, 2010
NYC Wine & Food Festival 2010; Demo Recipes!
Hi there! Yesterday was my cooking demonstration at Comix for the NYC Wine and Food Festival and I want to get down to business and share the recipes as requested, then some more sharing ...
I sure hope these help you recreate some of the fun we had Saturday afternoon! My cooking demonstration was sandwiched between Tyler Florence and Andrew Zimmern. When I showed up Tyler was still on stage so I caught a quick peak ...
Can you tell that's him? I took that pic then headed to the engineer's booth to drop off my iPod. I decided somewhere during the week that I thought it would be nice to come out after my introduction to a little music. I am such a music person and often like to combine the two when it works, so I gave it a try. Here's the view from the sound booth in the back ...
The music intro turned out pretty nice because my choice, Empire State of Mind, was perfect for the occasion. Here we all were in NYC, the concrete jungle where dreams are made, enjoying a dream weekend for any food person. These festivals are so much fun and I'm not just saying that. I love a food experience! So there we all were yesterday just talking and having fun all while I cooked the menu above. I like to treat these 45 minutes like an extended episode of Cooking for Real, just no commercials and plenty of time to cook and tell stories! I never really have a true plan, other than to finish all of my recipes and have fun. I guess I'd say the hardest part about doing a cooking demonstration like that is choosing the recipes. Things I think about are seasonality, what techniques, methods and appliances I'd like to run through and if I can actually get it all done in the time given because I love to talk and I always worry I'll start telling a story and end up with 5 minutes left for a 45 minute process. Happily, the menu worked out I got to meet some really fun people along for the ride! The recipes are just in time for the weather change we are headed into and if you were there I hope you enjoyed our time together! Thanks again to everyone that made time to join me. If you aren't a parsnip lover like me, it's ok ... I understand, try my Garlic Mashed Potatoes. They're a great substitute!
Butterflied Cornish Hens with Sage Butter
Recipe courtesy Sunny Anderson, 2010
4 (1 3/4-pound) Cornish game hens, butterflied
1 stick butter, softened
5 to 7 sage leaves, finely chopped
1 lemon, zested
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Olive oil, for sauteing
4 strips bacon, chopped
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
Place hens on a sheet tray fitted with a cooling rack in the refrigerator to dry skin out for 1 hour. Meanwhile, in a small pan over medium heat, melt butter with sage, zest, salt and pepper. Remove hens from refrigerator. Preheat 2 large saute pans over medium heat, lightly coat with oil. Season hens with salt and pepper and sear, skin side down, in the pans (if you have a pan large enough to fit them both, by all means reduce the dishes you'll have to wash later and just use one pan!). Sear until skin caramelizes and turns golden brown and crispy, about 7 to 10 minutes. Flip birds over, and baste with sage butter. Sprinkle tops with chopped bacon and place in preheated oven to finish cooking, 25 to 30 minutes, basting occasionally. Let rest 10 minutes before serving.
Yield: 4 servings
Cooking Time: 30 minutes
Sunny's Holiday Parsnip Puree
Recipe courtesy Sunny Anderson, 2010
4 parsnips, peeled and cut into chunks
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1/4-1/2 cup heavy cream, room temperature
1 pinch nutmeg
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Heat oven to 400 degrees.
Toss parsnips, garlic and olive oil on a baking sheet and season with salt and pepper. Roast until edges are golden and caramelized, about 30 minutes. If a check during roasting reveals the bottom of the parsnips are cooking faster than the top, give a toss and return the baking sheet to the oven.
When parsnips and garlic are roasted, pour into food processor with butter and 1/4 cup of the heavy cream and a pinch of nutmeg. Blend until smooth and if needed add a bit more heavy cream. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Yield: 4 servings
Preparation Time: 35 minutes
Simple Sauteed Mustard Greens
Recipe courtesy Sunny Anderson, 2010
4 strips bacon, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 bunches mustard greens, stemmed and chopped
2 tablespoons stone ground mustard
1/2 cup chicken stock
salt and freshly ground black pepper
In a large pan with straight sides on medium heat add bacon and saute until crispy. Add onions and season with a pinch of salt and a few grinds of black pepper. Saute until onions are tender then add garlic and cook a minute more. Add mustard greens and saute while tossing to wilt. Once wilted add stone ground mustard, chicken stock and stir. Raise heat to simmer, then lower and cook for about 5 minutes more. Serve warm.
Yield: 4 servings
Cooking Time: 15 minutes
I sure hope these help you recreate some of the fun we had Saturday afternoon! My cooking demonstration was sandwiched between Tyler Florence and Andrew Zimmern. When I showed up Tyler was still on stage so I caught a quick peak ...
The music intro turned out pretty nice because my choice, Empire State of Mind, was perfect for the occasion. Here we all were in NYC, the concrete jungle where dreams are made, enjoying a dream weekend for any food person. These festivals are so much fun and I'm not just saying that. I love a food experience! So there we all were yesterday just talking and having fun all while I cooked the menu above. I like to treat these 45 minutes like an extended episode of Cooking for Real, just no commercials and plenty of time to cook and tell stories! I never really have a true plan, other than to finish all of my recipes and have fun. I guess I'd say the hardest part about doing a cooking demonstration like that is choosing the recipes. Things I think about are seasonality, what techniques, methods and appliances I'd like to run through and if I can actually get it all done in the time given because I love to talk and I always worry I'll start telling a story and end up with 5 minutes left for a 45 minute process. Happily, the menu worked out I got to meet some really fun people along for the ride! The recipes are just in time for the weather change we are headed into and if you were there I hope you enjoyed our time together! Thanks again to everyone that made time to join me. If you aren't a parsnip lover like me, it's ok ... I understand, try my Garlic Mashed Potatoes. They're a great substitute! Ok, then after I was done I headed for lunch at one of my favorite places in the city, Petit Abeille on Hudson Street. I ate a nice late lunch and walked back to Comix just in time to say hi to Andrew Zimmern before he headed to the stage for his cooking demonstration. He is such a nice guy and I love the activity on his website too. Can't wait for my website to relaunch soon! Here's Andrew making a replica of some street food he's had while on the road taping one of his shows ...
Those ribs look nice in the wok, huh? He cooked with chopsticks, goooooooo Andrew! Pretty cool to watch! Ok, stick around I had brunch at a crazy good place in Manhattan at the "Nexus of the Universe" (any Seinfeld fans?)
Please excuse any typos, I'm runnin' on chili cheese fries for fuel :-) ...
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Carvin' out pumpkin/burger time
Hey there! Well, today was a full one. It started in midtown Manhattan with Aarti Sequeira, Anne Burrell, Claire Robinson, 8 pumpkins, 2 carving kits and 1 photographer. Confused? Well, it's a bit ahead of it's time, but we all four gathered to carve pumpkins for a feature in Food Network Magazine's Halloween 2011 issue, yes next year's October issue is already in the planning stages! I can't tell you or even show you what I, or anyone else did to their pumpkin, but they were all pretty different and unique. Here's an obstructed view of my pumpkin, not even completed ...
I mentioned before Andrew and I met at an industry event in Chicago and since then we've done some interview stuff for his website and each time I see him he's such a joy. Really nice guy. We said our hellos and I headed out to search for Bobby Flay's burger and found it was still "Crunchified" with blue corn tortilla chips, jalapenos and a creamy cheese sauce over a juicy slider ...
That's a tequila shake in the brown hand :-). Crazy! I actually wish I had a couple of them, I'm not a real tequila-only drinker. I like to mix it, but this was a very good combination. Very good. I headed over to another section of the Burger Bash tent and immediately ran into my buddy Spike, dressed up for the occasion ...
Teeheehee, he is so funny! His burger (king) was a play on a Vietnamese Banh mi. He followed up the theme with his own shake, a Vietnamese Coffee Shake, pretty smart! His shake, again maybe I have a thing for shakes like cupcakes, but they just make me happy and his, well I couldn't slurp through the custom-cut straw fast enough! My starter shake is a Shake Shot, simple and easy ... what I'm all about! Give it a try if you have a frozen hard corner of vanilla ice cream somewhere and a shot of vodka :-).
Not long after having Spike's burger everyone headed to the stage area to hear the results of the competition ...
Oh, wait ... I didn't tell you? Well, burger bash is more than just a festival of eating, it's a competition. Each chef puts out their best burger and each is evaluated by a judge. Those scores are added to the amount of chips each chef gets deposited in a bank on top of their display table and those chips come from each attendee at the party. If you have a burger and like it, it gets your chip. Can you imagine being a judge and having to eat 24 or so sliders? That's heavy duty work. I had 2 of Bobby's and one of Spike's, that was enough to call it a night for my belly! Ahem, save for a pumpkin ale beer :-). After all the dust settled, it was neither of the guys with the top braggin' rights. Bobby Flay did win the People's Choice award and for the Heinz award of the night and the big overall trophy ... seems us ladies know how to make a burger right!!!
Congrats to the team at The Shake Shack! (Ahem, I'm sure there were some guys that helped out, but it's the ladies holding the trophy, quick joke, not a stab at the whole team I'm sure it took to win Burger Bash). Although I didn't have one of the @ShakeShack sliders at Burger Bash, I've had a Shake Shack experience and I know the award is very well deserved! I mean people share tables and pack it in tight for a Shake Shack burger! It's so hard to get around to all the burgers at this event. Anyone that does it deserves a button, plate or a beer stein like the Volksmarches I did growing up.
Ok, that's it. I'm heading out to Comix tomorrow for a cooking demonstration at 130PM. If you have tickets I can't wait to hang out and Cook, for real :-). I have an easy menu perfect for this weather changing that's goin' on ... Take care and a special hello to blog reader and occassional comment maker, John. It was great running into you and thanks so much for taking time to say hi! What an event, eh? Ok, I'll see you out and about if you are in town for the NYC Wine & Food Festival!
That's Aarti in the background working on another assignment for a future Food Network Magazine issue. Often times when many of us hosts are in town for something like this festival, other people utilize the fact that we'll be together to get work done. So, once she was done with carving pumpkins, Aarti also had another feature to finish for a future Food Network Magazine. If you are wondering why we did work this year for next year's Halloween issue, well it's pretty simple. Magazines are usually produced and planned 3 months in advance and 3 months before Halloween is the worst time to look for carving pumpkins. Pretty forward thinking and I was happy to be invited. If you are looking for some ideas this year, never worry! Because this month's issue has pumpkin carving ideas from many other Food Network hosts, which makes me wonder ... did they do theirs a year in advance as well? I guess so, eh? There were pumpkins left when we were done today so I took two with me for carving at home. Can't wait! It was good quiet creative time! Can't wait for you to see all of our creations ... next year :-).
After carving the pumpkins this morning, I headed off to run some errands before the Burger Bash. I called up my girl Lisa Evers and we hit Brooklyn ready for burgers, beers and shakes. It was sooooo crowded! Here we are with Bizarre Foods' Andrew Zimmern ...
I mentioned before Andrew and I met at an industry event in Chicago and since then we've done some interview stuff for his website and each time I see him he's such a joy. Really nice guy. We said our hellos and I headed out to search for Bobby Flay's burger and found it was still "Crunchified" with blue corn tortilla chips, jalapenos and a creamy cheese sauce over a juicy slider ...
That's a tequila shake in the brown hand :-). Crazy! I actually wish I had a couple of them, I'm not a real tequila-only drinker. I like to mix it, but this was a very good combination. Very good. I headed over to another section of the Burger Bash tent and immediately ran into my buddy Spike, dressed up for the occasion ...
Teeheehee, he is so funny! His burger (king) was a play on a Vietnamese Banh mi. He followed up the theme with his own shake, a Vietnamese Coffee Shake, pretty smart! His shake, again maybe I have a thing for shakes like cupcakes, but they just make me happy and his, well I couldn't slurp through the custom-cut straw fast enough! My starter shake is a Shake Shot, simple and easy ... what I'm all about! Give it a try if you have a frozen hard corner of vanilla ice cream somewhere and a shot of vodka :-).Not long after having Spike's burger everyone headed to the stage area to hear the results of the competition ...
Oh, wait ... I didn't tell you? Well, burger bash is more than just a festival of eating, it's a competition. Each chef puts out their best burger and each is evaluated by a judge. Those scores are added to the amount of chips each chef gets deposited in a bank on top of their display table and those chips come from each attendee at the party. If you have a burger and like it, it gets your chip. Can you imagine being a judge and having to eat 24 or so sliders? That's heavy duty work. I had 2 of Bobby's and one of Spike's, that was enough to call it a night for my belly! Ahem, save for a pumpkin ale beer :-). After all the dust settled, it was neither of the guys with the top braggin' rights. Bobby Flay did win the People's Choice award and for the Heinz award of the night and the big overall trophy ... seems us ladies know how to make a burger right!!!
Congrats to the team at The Shake Shack! (Ahem, I'm sure there were some guys that helped out, but it's the ladies holding the trophy, quick joke, not a stab at the whole team I'm sure it took to win Burger Bash). Although I didn't have one of the @ShakeShack sliders at Burger Bash, I've had a Shake Shack experience and I know the award is very well deserved! I mean people share tables and pack it in tight for a Shake Shack burger! It's so hard to get around to all the burgers at this event. Anyone that does it deserves a button, plate or a beer stein like the Volksmarches I did growing up.Ok, that's it. I'm heading out to Comix tomorrow for a cooking demonstration at 130PM. If you have tickets I can't wait to hang out and Cook, for real :-). I have an easy menu perfect for this weather changing that's goin' on ... Take care and a special hello to blog reader and occassional comment maker, John. It was great running into you and thanks so much for taking time to say hi! What an event, eh? Ok, I'll see you out and about if you are in town for the NYC Wine & Food Festival!
P.S. Catch a NEW episode of Cooking for Real tomorrow, Saturday at 12noon eastern/11am central, hey Texas :-). I call it "Wonton Be Startin' Something" Hope you like it!!!
Thursday, October 7, 2010
NYC Wine & Food Festival begins!
Hey! I hope you are in NYC for the Wine and Food Festival, but if not ... I hope to bring you along for the ride with a few pictures and stories! Last night was the unofficial kick-off party hosted by Food Network Magazine for it's readers. Subscribers were invited to come hang out and since I love the magazine I was more than excited to meet some readers. Here I am with some other attendees ...
That's Marcela from Mexican Made Easy, Food Network Magazine Editor Maile Carpenter, me and Food Network Magazine Publisher Vicki Wellington. The event was also a chance for all of us to raise money for Share Our Strength. Some signed items will be auctioned off for donation. There were so many Food Network hosts there and every time I turned around I got a chance to talk to someone that read the magazine and also watched Food Network. I gotta tell ya, if you want to meet any one on Food Network, these festivals are the place to go because every time I turned around I was bumping into a host. When I was in radio, there was a person notorious for having high-priced birthday parties and the guests would pay crazy amounts of cash to get in only to find the host locked away in the VIP section. Out of sight, no pictures, no chance meeting, not even a chance to say happy birthday. I felt it a waste of people's money and couldn't believe they did it year after year and got away with it. If I pay $$ I want something for it! lol, So the cool thing is here you get great wine, food, experiences and at these events everyone is approachable, so it's not like you have to look from afar. Get up close and personal and say hi! If you are here in town and reading this, please stop me and say hi if you see me and want to meet!
That's Travel Channel's Samantha Brown! I watch her show allllllll the time and really enjoy the way she tells a travel story. She really makes you feel like you are a friend on the trip. What a sweetheart in person and come to find out, she lives in Brooklyn! Her husband was there with her and they looked so cute together. I see a Brooklyn dinner in our future! It was pretty crowded at the bar so I wiggled my way around and ran into the Cake Boss ...
That's Spike Mendelsohn of Good Stuff Eatery. I have to say he makes one of the best burgers ever and if you live in the Washington D.C. area, it's a must try. The shakes are crazy too. I'm looking forward to this week's Burger Bash in Brooklyn. I'll make sure to stop by his booth and get a close up of the juiciness. He also has a pizza place next door to his burger place, but I haven't tried it yet. I think I need to give Amtrak a call and make arrangements! I can't wait for the Burger Bash and I hope he makes a repeat effort on the milkshakes he did at the last South Beach Food & Wine Festival. Can't wait for Burger Bash! Ok, last pic then I'm headed into the city to pick up my passes...
It's Guy Fieri and Cooking Channel host Darryl Robinson from Drink Up.Darryl and I worked together on an episode of Next Food Network Star: After Party. He made some really tasty drinks, I remember a cucumber one that was soooo good. I'm a sucker for cucumber drinks. Try my Mean Green Cucumber Juice if you are like me. Alright, I have to get out and start my day. Hope you enjoyed the pics. Like I mentioned before, if you are here for the festival and you catch me walking around, please stop and say hi! The weather is perfect! I have plans to head out to another kick-off party tonight hosted by Art Smith, so if I see anything fun, I'll snap a pic! Check back in ...
That's Marcela from Mexican Made Easy, Food Network Magazine Editor Maile Carpenter, me and Food Network Magazine Publisher Vicki Wellington. The event was also a chance for all of us to raise money for Share Our Strength. Some signed items will be auctioned off for donation. There were so many Food Network hosts there and every time I turned around I got a chance to talk to someone that read the magazine and also watched Food Network. I gotta tell ya, if you want to meet any one on Food Network, these festivals are the place to go because every time I turned around I was bumping into a host. When I was in radio, there was a person notorious for having high-priced birthday parties and the guests would pay crazy amounts of cash to get in only to find the host locked away in the VIP section. Out of sight, no pictures, no chance meeting, not even a chance to say happy birthday. I felt it a waste of people's money and couldn't believe they did it year after year and got away with it. If I pay $$ I want something for it! lol, So the cool thing is here you get great wine, food, experiences and at these events everyone is approachable, so it's not like you have to look from afar. Get up close and personal and say hi! If you are here in town and reading this, please stop me and say hi if you see me and want to meet!Check out my girl aka "hot mama" ...
It's Melissa d'Arabian, host of $10 Dollar Dinners! Even though she lives all the way in Washington we keep in touch pretty well over the phone and her kids and I are fast friends! They are too cute! There was plenty of tiny finger food around to nosh on, but the treasures of the night were the regulation-size Sprinkles cupcakes being offered as dessert. One of the owners Candace Nelson and I met back in 2006 before I was on Food Network. I was trying to get a show on the network and they sent me out to Los Angeles to shoot a pilot featuring some great places to eat in Los Angeles. Sprinkles was my first stop and after traveling to many other places and eating more food, Sprinkles was also my last stop that night lol. No shame in my game, I went back when the cameras weren't rolling that evening and indulged some more. Suffice it to say, it was a neat reunion with Candace because now not only do I have a show on the network, so does she! She judges the popular show Cupcake Wars! Here we are along with Maile, Aarti and Cooking Channel's newest addition, Lee Anne Wong (you may remember her from Top Chef).
Lee Anne hung out for a second and promptly found out we had the same goal ...
Eat cupcakes!!!! This actually was right before I left the party, so I made sure to grab another one and take them with me for a late night snack at home. Again, no shame in my game ... I'm pretty sure I was the only one walking out double-fisting cupcakes. Then when I got to the car I realized I had to find a way to transport them. I give you the reason why all cars should have cup holders ...
Because every once in awhile, a girl needs to travel with cupcakes! I thought I was pretty clever with this discovery and felt good about leaving them in the car while I mingled at the next party. This one had no press, so I bring you some real behind the scenes pics! The next party was thrown by a company many Food Network hosts work with as well as other television hosts and production companies. I walked in happy knowing I had cupcakes for dessert and immediately got another happy surprise ...
That's Travel Channel's Samantha Brown! I watch her show allllllll the time and really enjoy the way she tells a travel story. She really makes you feel like you are a friend on the trip. What a sweetheart in person and come to find out, she lives in Brooklyn! Her husband was there with her and they looked so cute together. I see a Brooklyn dinner in our future! It was pretty crowded at the bar so I wiggled my way around and ran into the Cake Boss ...
That's Buddy Valastro, owner of Carlo's Bake Shop and the producer of Cake Boss, Art Edwards. Then I ran into one of my favorite people ...
That's Spike Mendelsohn of Good Stuff Eatery. I have to say he makes one of the best burgers ever and if you live in the Washington D.C. area, it's a must try. The shakes are crazy too. I'm looking forward to this week's Burger Bash in Brooklyn. I'll make sure to stop by his booth and get a close up of the juiciness. He also has a pizza place next door to his burger place, but I haven't tried it yet. I think I need to give Amtrak a call and make arrangements! I can't wait for the Burger Bash and I hope he makes a repeat effort on the milkshakes he did at the last South Beach Food & Wine Festival. Can't wait for Burger Bash! Ok, last pic then I'm headed into the city to pick up my passes...
It's Guy Fieri and Cooking Channel host Darryl Robinson from Drink Up.Darryl and I worked together on an episode of Next Food Network Star: After Party. He made some really tasty drinks, I remember a cucumber one that was soooo good. I'm a sucker for cucumber drinks. Try my Mean Green Cucumber Juice if you are like me. Alright, I have to get out and start my day. Hope you enjoyed the pics. Like I mentioned before, if you are here for the festival and you catch me walking around, please stop and say hi! The weather is perfect! I have plans to head out to another kick-off party tonight hosted by Art Smith, so if I see anything fun, I'll snap a pic! Check back in ...
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Deep in My Heart, is Texas
**warning, this is a long one**
Well, I don't think I've cried this much in years. I just got back from an extended weekend in San Antonio, TX. I left San Antonio back in 1997 and never looked back traveling to New Orleans, Montgomery, Detroit, Jersey City, NJ, Rancho Cucamonga, CA then finally to where I live right now ... Brooklyn, NY . I was fresh out of the Air Force and headed towards a dream. Before I left San Antonio those years ago, it gave me so much life experience to pave the way for my present and I'm pretty sure my future as well. I miss my city, the only city I lived in growing up for more than a year. I was actually able to complete all four years of high school there, a luxury as a military dependant. Here I am acting like a tourist on San Antonio's famous Riverwalk, something I never did when I lived there ...
I tell you I cried most of the tour behind those shades, just thinking about the good ole days. We passed the Hooters I won a wing eating contest at back in '96 and as corny as it sounds, I cried as we floated by. I did my best to hide it and slipped myself a tissue from my bag. I acted like I had something in my eye lol. Even when I got off the highway downtown after arriving from the airport, I cried when I saw the new arena for the San Antonio Spurs. I pulled around the corner and saw the bar we used to have a pre-game drink at before the games and yup, I cried more there too. I mean just crying all around from me. I was a mess! I miss my city and as someone that grew up moving around almost every year, it was the first city I got to really know. The streets, the people, the eats, everything. I've never had the luxury of driving by the place I did so and so, or first saw such and such. You know? And that, if you have it, is a neat luxury. I'm not pouting though, there are so many things I gained from moving like crazy growing up and I feel with everything lined up, pros versus cons, I came out on top.
Yup! That's NFNS contestant Dzintra and her daughter! They came all the way from Austin to say hi and spread some smiles. Dzintra is doing great and actually has a supper club (oh so chic!) in Austin called Plate by Dzintra. If you're in the area, you gotta check it out and tell her I said hi! What a nice family!
Wait, I'm a little backwards here, I'm so excited to tell you about the visit, I'm out of chronological order...
Well, I don't think I've cried this much in years. I just got back from an extended weekend in San Antonio, TX. I left San Antonio back in 1997 and never looked back traveling to New Orleans, Montgomery, Detroit, Jersey City, NJ, Rancho Cucamonga, CA then finally to where I live right now ... Brooklyn, NY . I was fresh out of the Air Force and headed towards a dream. Before I left San Antonio those years ago, it gave me so much life experience to pave the way for my present and I'm pretty sure my future as well. I miss my city, the only city I lived in growing up for more than a year. I was actually able to complete all four years of high school there, a luxury as a military dependant. Here I am acting like a tourist on San Antonio's famous Riverwalk, something I never did when I lived there ...
I tell you I cried most of the tour behind those shades, just thinking about the good ole days. We passed the Hooters I won a wing eating contest at back in '96 and as corny as it sounds, I cried as we floated by. I did my best to hide it and slipped myself a tissue from my bag. I acted like I had something in my eye lol. Even when I got off the highway downtown after arriving from the airport, I cried when I saw the new arena for the San Antonio Spurs. I pulled around the corner and saw the bar we used to have a pre-game drink at before the games and yup, I cried more there too. I mean just crying all around from me. I was a mess! I miss my city and as someone that grew up moving around almost every year, it was the first city I got to really know. The streets, the people, the eats, everything. I've never had the luxury of driving by the place I did so and so, or first saw such and such. You know? And that, if you have it, is a neat luxury. I'm not pouting though, there are so many things I gained from moving like crazy growing up and I feel with everything lined up, pros versus cons, I came out on top. I don't know why I haven't gone back sooner and I think it's a weird Army brat thing, that maybe another Army brat could explain to me. So there I was this weekend, in the city I know and love, ready to work and then steal some time for a trip down memory lane. Well, I wouldn't call it work, it's actually fun! I'm a judge for Aetna's Healthy Food Fight which means a day full of eating tasty, healthy food! Look who showed up to say hi ...
Yup! That's NFNS contestant Dzintra and her daughter! They came all the way from Austin to say hi and spread some smiles. Dzintra is doing great and actually has a supper club (oh so chic!) in Austin called Plate by Dzintra. If you're in the area, you gotta check it out and tell her I said hi! What a nice family!Wait, I'm a little backwards here, I'm so excited to tell you about the visit, I'm out of chronological order...
I got in two days before work on Sunday to have a mini-reunion with friends from James Madison High School's class of '93. Have you ever caught the Cooking for Real episode I call Deep in the Hearth of Texas? Well, one of my best friends from high school joins me on that show and we made sure to carve out some time Friday night for laughs and margarita's!
Her Lone Star Cheesecake recipe is all the rage, check it out! Our other girl, Adriana decided to show up fashionably late, so we caught her up on the drinks and took this pic on the way out ...
I gotta tell you, nothing has changed and quite like the noise we used to make in the cafeteria at lunch, we turned the prim and proper setting of Las Canarias into a loud girls night out. Good thing most of the customers were outside on the Riverwalk patio while we dined inside. The staff was so nice and I must say the drinks, the food, the girls ... it was a great night. Then the next night, Christina took to facebook and rounded up some people for a mini reunion at La Hacienda. Here we all are ...
It was so overwhelming to see everyone and hear all the stories. Seeing my next door neighbor Jon was a surprise. I used to look over the fence at all the fun they were having with many of the kids from school and couldn't go hang out because my parents could see that it looked like "too much" fun lol. I remember wishing he lived a few streets down instead of right next door so my parents wouldn't know just how much fun was goin' on. Instead, my mom made me get an internship at KSAT-12, writing copy for the news and editing video, funny how life works out. He's doing great and everyone had such cool stories of what's happened in the last 17 years. Then another big surprise I can't even begin to explain, my long lost hangin' partner, TJ ...
Man, I can't even tell you how much he, I and our other best friend Craig, hung out in high school. I mean, quality time. Day in and day out and even on the weekends. Why we haven't kept in touch, I have no idea. Crazy. After what I call my girlie first year of trying to fit into high school in a new city, I gave up cheering on the pep squad and decided to just be myself ... a total tom-boy. I mean, I was the president of the German club and a member of the yearbook staff before it was all over, but the heart of me was hanging with the guys that worked on cars. I had a '68 VW Bug that was rare because it was a standard/automatic with no clutch and a stick shift, yes ... very rare. I even worked on the engine and gave it a fresh paint job with one of my first Sonic paychecks. I just felt so special to be taken in by the guys back then. TJ and Craig shared my love of cars and engines and all things "arrrrgh" (think Tim Allen). They treated me like one of the boys and it really shaped many of my future friendships. We left high school and did our best to keep in touch, but now the only thing missing is Craig. Craig, if you ever come across this, we miss you, ask about you often and hope one day you can come back into the fold. We miss you and love you no matter what. It's the reason I still have your mom's # on speed dial. [ Sorry, about the personal biz over here guys, but the internet is crazy and I have to give it a try. You never know :-) ]. Ok, so we all traded stories that night and somewhere in there I got a delivery of one of San Antonio's biggest claims to fame, next to the Riverwalk and the Alamo ...
The PUFFY TACO!!!! WOOOOHOOOOO! La Hacienda did it major justice! I'm going to have to share my recipe for puffy tacos soon on Cooking for Real. They've had a visit by Bobby Flay for Throwdown! and even Emeril Lagasse wrote the foreword for their restuarant's cookbook. Thanks for the copy and the hospitality guys! Ok, so then we went to a club called Rumi, had some drinks and called it a night. I knew I had to put in a full day of eating and judging food on Sunday. The event was at the Grand Hyatt and just as I was settling into my seat as one of the judges, I turned around and saw something very familiar! Turns out a local radio station was setting up to broadcast live from our party on the patio ...
Good thing I had my shades on because the tears flowed again, KONO happened to be my second job in radio back in 1995. Just about 14 years ago I worked there part-time and spent many weekends broadcasting live from events just like the one I was judging this weekend. Back then it was called KONO-Good Time Oldies and I played music from Buddy Holly and Elvis. Now it plays different music, but some of the staff I worked with in San Antonio at another radio station worked there now, so it was a fun reunion.
Her Lone Star Cheesecake recipe is all the rage, check it out! Our other girl, Adriana decided to show up fashionably late, so we caught her up on the drinks and took this pic on the way out ...
I gotta tell you, nothing has changed and quite like the noise we used to make in the cafeteria at lunch, we turned the prim and proper setting of Las Canarias into a loud girls night out. Good thing most of the customers were outside on the Riverwalk patio while we dined inside. The staff was so nice and I must say the drinks, the food, the girls ... it was a great night. Then the next night, Christina took to facebook and rounded up some people for a mini reunion at La Hacienda. Here we all are ...
It was so overwhelming to see everyone and hear all the stories. Seeing my next door neighbor Jon was a surprise. I used to look over the fence at all the fun they were having with many of the kids from school and couldn't go hang out because my parents could see that it looked like "too much" fun lol. I remember wishing he lived a few streets down instead of right next door so my parents wouldn't know just how much fun was goin' on. Instead, my mom made me get an internship at KSAT-12, writing copy for the news and editing video, funny how life works out. He's doing great and everyone had such cool stories of what's happened in the last 17 years. Then another big surprise I can't even begin to explain, my long lost hangin' partner, TJ ...
Man, I can't even tell you how much he, I and our other best friend Craig, hung out in high school. I mean, quality time. Day in and day out and even on the weekends. Why we haven't kept in touch, I have no idea. Crazy. After what I call my girlie first year of trying to fit into high school in a new city, I gave up cheering on the pep squad and decided to just be myself ... a total tom-boy. I mean, I was the president of the German club and a member of the yearbook staff before it was all over, but the heart of me was hanging with the guys that worked on cars. I had a '68 VW Bug that was rare because it was a standard/automatic with no clutch and a stick shift, yes ... very rare. I even worked on the engine and gave it a fresh paint job with one of my first Sonic paychecks. I just felt so special to be taken in by the guys back then. TJ and Craig shared my love of cars and engines and all things "arrrrgh" (think Tim Allen). They treated me like one of the boys and it really shaped many of my future friendships. We left high school and did our best to keep in touch, but now the only thing missing is Craig. Craig, if you ever come across this, we miss you, ask about you often and hope one day you can come back into the fold. We miss you and love you no matter what. It's the reason I still have your mom's # on speed dial. [ Sorry, about the personal biz over here guys, but the internet is crazy and I have to give it a try. You never know :-) ]. Ok, so we all traded stories that night and somewhere in there I got a delivery of one of San Antonio's biggest claims to fame, next to the Riverwalk and the Alamo ...
The PUFFY TACO!!!! WOOOOHOOOOO! La Hacienda did it major justice! I'm going to have to share my recipe for puffy tacos soon on Cooking for Real. They've had a visit by Bobby Flay for Throwdown! and even Emeril Lagasse wrote the foreword for their restuarant's cookbook. Thanks for the copy and the hospitality guys! Ok, so then we went to a club called Rumi, had some drinks and called it a night. I knew I had to put in a full day of eating and judging food on Sunday. The event was at the Grand Hyatt and just as I was settling into my seat as one of the judges, I turned around and saw something very familiar! Turns out a local radio station was setting up to broadcast live from our party on the patio ...
Good thing I had my shades on because the tears flowed again, KONO happened to be my second job in radio back in 1995. Just about 14 years ago I worked there part-time and spent many weekends broadcasting live from events just like the one I was judging this weekend. Back then it was called KONO-Good Time Oldies and I played music from Buddy Holly and Elvis. Now it plays different music, but some of the staff I worked with in San Antonio at another radio station worked there now, so it was a fun reunion. The Aetna Healthy Food Fight competition was great in San Antonio, I was looking forward to tasing food made by my hometown residents and was totally in love with this presentation ...
Can't see it? Blame my phone, it didn't want to use the flash and I didn't have time to change it to "always on", it was presentation time!
Can't see it? Blame my phone, it didn't want to use the flash and I didn't have time to change it to "always on", it was presentation time! --WAIT!! Air Force photographer Lance Cheung read my blog and noticed this picture above needed help and he uploaded it, fixed it and sent it to me as a surprise! Thanks Lance! So now, what my cell phone couldn't do --
Pretty cool, huh?! Now you can see the definition on the dish and the dish maker! Thanks Lance!
Pretty cool, huh?! Now you can see the definition on the dish and the dish maker! Thanks Lance!It's a chicken salad in a wheat bread cone. She put the bread on a waffle iron with a spritz of oil, then while it was warm she molded it into a cone so it would hold when it cooled. It was clever and cute! I sometimes do french toast that way, kinda the best of both worlds. Can't wait to see who wins this leg of the trip! Congrats to all the contestants! It sounds cliche, but they already won by being chosen from all the entries as nutritional enough to make the cut. It means they've begun to find ways to eat a bit healthier. Now, we just have to see what tastes and looks best! Good luck!
My cousins also came by to visit during the event, and I didn't even get a picture, but it was so neat seeing them! Pretty cool. After the event, I started to walk home -- Wait, wanna hear something funny? Totally behind the scenes stuff. I stayed at the Westin, just 4 short blocks from the Hyatt where the event was and do you know they actually sent a car for me to get to the event? lol I promptly cancelled it and walked. Very funny to me. Who needs a car for literally a 5 minute walk? I say I needed that walk, especially with all the eating I was about to do! -- Ok, back to the thought, on the way home is when I took that tour of the Riverwalk (first photo on this post), I saw people loading up and decided why not be a tourist in a city I lived in so long? I met some really nice people on the boat and they were food people! I didn't know it until the boat ride was over and they stopped me as I was walking back to my hotel to say hi. Thanks so much for watching the show guys!!! Hope they didn't think I was crazy for crying as we passed Hooters on the Riverwalk lol.
Okay, then yesterday I stuck around for an extra day so I could make the rounds and visit some more people and places I missed. First stop, my old office at AFNEWS. This is were I formed pretty much all of my broadcasting and work environment experience that would thrust me into the civilian world of radio and television. I still call my bosses a few times a year just to check in and say hi, but haven't been back since I was honorably discharged on June 22, 1997. Here are the 3 men that put up with my youthful rebellion and often spirited debates about the editorial direction of my news stories from 1993-1997 ...
My cousins also came by to visit during the event, and I didn't even get a picture, but it was so neat seeing them! Pretty cool. After the event, I started to walk home -- Wait, wanna hear something funny? Totally behind the scenes stuff. I stayed at the Westin, just 4 short blocks from the Hyatt where the event was and do you know they actually sent a car for me to get to the event? lol I promptly cancelled it and walked. Very funny to me. Who needs a car for literally a 5 minute walk? I say I needed that walk, especially with all the eating I was about to do! -- Ok, back to the thought, on the way home is when I took that tour of the Riverwalk (first photo on this post), I saw people loading up and decided why not be a tourist in a city I lived in so long? I met some really nice people on the boat and they were food people! I didn't know it until the boat ride was over and they stopped me as I was walking back to my hotel to say hi. Thanks so much for watching the show guys!!! Hope they didn't think I was crazy for crying as we passed Hooters on the Riverwalk lol.
Okay, then yesterday I stuck around for an extra day so I could make the rounds and visit some more people and places I missed. First stop, my old office at AFNEWS. This is were I formed pretty much all of my broadcasting and work environment experience that would thrust me into the civilian world of radio and television. I still call my bosses a few times a year just to check in and say hi, but haven't been back since I was honorably discharged on June 22, 1997. Here are the 3 men that put up with my youthful rebellion and often spirited debates about the editorial direction of my news stories from 1993-1997 ...
(U.S. Air Force photo/Lance Cheung)
From the left that's Mr. Starr (Ret. Army Colonel), Mr. Gilliam and my immediate supervisor, Gerry Proctor. It is no understatement to say these men took great care of me and guided me as if I was part of their family. We really were a family, I guess. It was really emotional for me to see Gerry Proctor, he knew I was coming but to everyone else it was a surprise. I started crying when I saw him first and it seems like I only took breaks from crying to snap photos. Mr. Starr was actually my commander in Korea, my first stop in the Air Force, so working for him again at AFNEWS was a treat. Larry Gilliam played referee plenty when I got passionate about stories, I'm a passionate person, not afraid to state my case and opinion, surprised? :-) Then Gerry, as my immediate supervisor gave me so much I can't even begin to thank him. I learned about forming radio news stories, writing them, producing them, conducting quality interviews, editing stories and how to drink black coffee :-).
You know how you do things as a child and then as an adult you fess up? Well, when I was in the Air Force I didn't want to get promoted to the next rank because I wanted to stay in the field reporting, not at the desk which was reserved for the next rank, I also knew I was getting out of the military, but didn't want to tell everyone. Well, I purposely failed my promotion exam, twice. I got in so much trouble and even had to go to the "shirts' " office. (A "shirt" is the equivalent of HR with power in the civilian world. I was in trouble!). So anyway, Gerry defended me to no end and always had my back. I finally fessed up Monday that I was failing on purpose back then and he replied "I know". LOL, the things we think we are sneaking by people. He also helped me with the paperwork to exit a month early so I could begin the next semester at Loyola - New Orleans. Great man, even better boss. Just in case you wonder what AFNEWS is, it stood for Air Force News Agency. It is now called something different, but they still do the same thing. They basically do all of the news around the world for the Air Force. From Airman Magazine, to radio and television. I was in the radio department of a section there called Hometown News. My job was to travel the country and tell the story of the military member, then send that news story to the hometown of each military member for local press. I covered inaugurations, training camps, and events that had anything to do with the Air Force or had Air Force involvement. I'd show up at a military base and interview an entire squadron of members, then head home to AFNEWS to edit each story individually, then mail them out to each individual service member's local radio stations for broadcast. Yes, I mailed them! I mean from concept, to writing, to editing, producing, packaging, marketing to the local stations and mailing the tapes, one person did it all. These days they simply MP3 the files, but it is still a one person gig. Pretty cool, but plenty of work.
Then once a year, I headed out on "Holiday Greetings". These are the video greetings shot overseas that you see military members sending around the holidays on local and national television shows. Those are the pride and joy of that department and every time I see them around the holidays, I ... ahem, well you guessed it, I cry. Those were long TDY's or business trips that took 40+ days on the road and I always got picked for the Pacific-rim leg of the trip, so Japan, Hawaii, Guam, Honduras, Korea and many places in between. We'd show up to a base that knew we were on the way and I'm talking ALLLLL of the base it seemed would wait in line the entire day just to tape their greetings. We'd film before sun up and end after sun down. A three person team - camera, lighting/sound and me, the tape logger. Plenty of work. Back then, I was low ranking so my job was to log all the tapes by zip code as well as help with the set up and break down every day. Can you imagine how many zip codes are in the USA?!?!? I'd have nightmares of zip codes and floating states lol. Talk about grunt-work! These days, it's not as tough because they use discs instead of tapes, but it's still a pretty tough gig ...
(U.S. Air Force photo/Lance Cheung)
Boy those discs would've made it so much easier back then! I was amazed by how much has changed, but also shocked by some of the things that haven't. They still log them by zip code and the work usually goes to one person. Here's the young airman that now holds my old position ...
(U.S. Air Force photo/Lance Cheung)
That's Airman 1st Class Alina Richard getting me mic'd up for a quick follow up interview to the one I did just a month ago on my studio set in Chelsea Market. This is her first assignment and she also handles the television news, plenty on her lap and she is handling the pressure with a big smile. What a flashback!
After the quick interview I took a tour of the building and visited with some familiar faces. This is Mr. Whitted ...
After the quick interview I took a tour of the building and visited with some familiar faces. This is Mr. Whitted ...
(U.S. Air Force photo/Lance Cheung)
We weren't in the same department back then, but the whole building was such a family and we all often enjoyed holiday parties and extended lunch breaks together as a group. A few minutes into catching up, he did something that made me cry like a baby ... he "coined" me!
(U.S. Air Force photo/Lance Cheung)
I can't explain getting "coined" succinctly enough to do it justice, but suffice it to say it's an honor and a tradition going back to some say the Egyptian times, others say the first World War. A quick google search gives many pages to learn about the tradition of being coined. In all my time in the Air Force, I was only coined three times and never had an AFNEWS coin. Look at my my lonely three ...
I got the one on top from my time in Korea, the blue one from William J. Perry when he was the Secretary of Defense and the one on the right by General Ronald H. Griffith when I did a story at The Pentagon on military members working there. They presented them to thank me for all the work I was doing to tell the story of the Airman there, I was honored then and now years later, I felt just as honored to get coined after my military service ...
Then, on the way out as I was saying my goodbyes I was coined again by the commander!
That one in the right is heavy! By this time I was all cried out, but let me tell you it was a huge honor that makes me cry now even as I type it. I'm such an emotional mess, please don't judge me. :-). Here I am in the commander's office at his desk trying to look like I'm in charge ...
(U.S. Air Force photo/Lance Cheung)
As the head of Defense Media Activity-San Antonio (formerly AFNEWS), Col. Clifton Douglas has plenty to oversee, so it was very nice of him to make time and allow me to interrupt the work day all over the building. Glad I met him because it turns out his grandma makes Hallie's Apple Butter and I walked away with a jar! 
(U.S. Air Force photo/Lance Cheung)
I love a food gift! He gave it to me and said "you're from the South, so you should know what to do with this!" and I promptly replied "SPREAD IT!" before he even got the words completely out of his mouth and he completed the thought with "on Biscuits!". That's right!!! I can't wait to try it! I sat and signed some notes of thanks to his grandma in advance of tasting her goods ...
(U.S. Air Force photo/Lance Cheung)
Look at that back drop! How can you not look important sitting at that desk, eh? Then we took a quick pic before I headed out to the next stop ...
(U.S. Air Force photo/Lance Cheung)
That's Chief Robert Jackson on my left - a big Food Network fan :-) and my new best friend due to the apple butter exchange, Col. Clifton Douglas, Commander.
Up next, many times here and on Cooking for Real I mention a place that changed my life ... the taco joint just outside of the base. I think I may have had about a jillion tacos from there over the 3 years I worked at AFNEWS, I'm talkin' breakfast, lunch and sometimes one for the road as I headed home from work!! What changed my life was the addition to my diet of beans and chorizo ... combined. Not side-by-side or mashed together in a tortilla, but mixed together while cooked. Lemme tell ya, those two, chorizo and beans combined, are like "wonder twins activate!" on my palate! It is one of my all-time favorite combinations. Like Mac and Cheese, Meatloaf and Mash, Red and Velvet. :-) Anyway, before this place, I just didn't know what a good taco was. Here it is, just across the street from my old office. You can jussssst see my old building on the far left of the picture...
Here's a better view of the taco joint from another angle ...
Nothing big or fancy, that's where the good stuff usually is! It used to be called something different and it has a new owner now, but that didn't matter to me. I knew from asking the team when they visited my set from San Antonio a month ago that nothing internally had changed. They also informed me of the newest award my favorite taco place received ...
Wooohoooooooooo!!!!! La Laguna!! (sorry, no website) I knew years ago the tacos there were award winning! To keep it nostalgic, I ordered my usual ... 2 bean and chorizo tacos ...
Now let me confess, I'm a tortilla-phile, I can totally tell a fresh tortilla by just looking at a picture, so I hope you share my same love and can enjoy the simple pleasure of gazing at two tender, freshly made flour tortillas wrapped around chorizo and beans, not pasty or greasy, just good and creamy with the perfect amount of seasoning. It was warm and chewy and had a slight dusting of flour still on it from being made fresh. The texture was crazy. Wow, oh wow, oh wow. It was piping hot and took me right back to escaping from work for a minute to get a quick bite that would turn into an experience. A co-worker and I would drive the short distance in my truck with George Michael's "Fast Love(rmx)" blaring in my speakers and then pull back into the parking lot at work and eat the tacos in the car before we got out. I mean we did this ritual more times than I can even count and I'm talking the same song, same order of tacos, eating them in the car ... all of that. Those were the days!
Next was a trip to my alma mater, James Madison High School ...
Up next, many times here and on Cooking for Real I mention a place that changed my life ... the taco joint just outside of the base. I think I may have had about a jillion tacos from there over the 3 years I worked at AFNEWS, I'm talkin' breakfast, lunch and sometimes one for the road as I headed home from work!! What changed my life was the addition to my diet of beans and chorizo ... combined. Not side-by-side or mashed together in a tortilla, but mixed together while cooked. Lemme tell ya, those two, chorizo and beans combined, are like "wonder twins activate!" on my palate! It is one of my all-time favorite combinations. Like Mac and Cheese, Meatloaf and Mash, Red and Velvet. :-) Anyway, before this place, I just didn't know what a good taco was. Here it is, just across the street from my old office. You can jussssst see my old building on the far left of the picture...
Here's a better view of the taco joint from another angle ...
Nothing big or fancy, that's where the good stuff usually is! It used to be called something different and it has a new owner now, but that didn't matter to me. I knew from asking the team when they visited my set from San Antonio a month ago that nothing internally had changed. They also informed me of the newest award my favorite taco place received ...
Wooohoooooooooo!!!!! La Laguna!! (sorry, no website) I knew years ago the tacos there were award winning! To keep it nostalgic, I ordered my usual ... 2 bean and chorizo tacos ...
Now let me confess, I'm a tortilla-phile, I can totally tell a fresh tortilla by just looking at a picture, so I hope you share my same love and can enjoy the simple pleasure of gazing at two tender, freshly made flour tortillas wrapped around chorizo and beans, not pasty or greasy, just good and creamy with the perfect amount of seasoning. It was warm and chewy and had a slight dusting of flour still on it from being made fresh. The texture was crazy. Wow, oh wow, oh wow. It was piping hot and took me right back to escaping from work for a minute to get a quick bite that would turn into an experience. A co-worker and I would drive the short distance in my truck with George Michael's "Fast Love(rmx)" blaring in my speakers and then pull back into the parking lot at work and eat the tacos in the car before we got out. I mean we did this ritual more times than I can even count and I'm talking the same song, same order of tacos, eating them in the car ... all of that. Those were the days!Next was a trip to my alma mater, James Madison High School ...
It may be a bit hard to see, but boy has it changed since 1993. The part that was the school for our class is now swallowed by more buildings surrounding it. I went in and chatted with my former English teacher, Ms. Valentine and my guidance counselor Ms. Gish. Next thing you know plenty of teachers and staff members I knew popped in to say hi. Then, guess what happened?? I got coined again!!
They weren't doing this when I lived there, but San Antonio is such a military town, it only makes sense that a military tradition would spill into the local community. Thanks to Chris Thompson, he was a social studies teacher when I attended from 1989-1993 and now he's the school principal. It was a neat visit and I went by when school was just letting out so, we had plenty of time to visit. To my surprise, they have a culinary course of classes now with a chef as the teacher. How neat. Madison was an enviable school then and it still is now. I didn't take any pictures because I just talked the whole time! Totally didn't think about it until I was pulling away, so I snapped the picture above from the street.
I was probably so absent minded because I knew where I was headed ...SONIC!
This is the first place I worked other than volunteering or interning and I often tell the story about wanting to work in the kitchen and they would never let me because they wanted me to be a car hop. I would beg and beg because it seemed like only the male employees were allowed to work the line and finally my manager let me in the kitchen - to prep onion rings. That was good enough for me! I loved the work and more importantly, loved the product!!! That made it real easy!
They weren't doing this when I lived there, but San Antonio is such a military town, it only makes sense that a military tradition would spill into the local community. Thanks to Chris Thompson, he was a social studies teacher when I attended from 1989-1993 and now he's the school principal. It was a neat visit and I went by when school was just letting out so, we had plenty of time to visit. To my surprise, they have a culinary course of classes now with a chef as the teacher. How neat. Madison was an enviable school then and it still is now. I didn't take any pictures because I just talked the whole time! Totally didn't think about it until I was pulling away, so I snapped the picture above from the street.I was probably so absent minded because I knew where I was headed ...SONIC!
This is the first place I worked other than volunteering or interning and I often tell the story about wanting to work in the kitchen and they would never let me because they wanted me to be a car hop. I would beg and beg because it seemed like only the male employees were allowed to work the line and finally my manager let me in the kitchen - to prep onion rings. That was good enough for me! I loved the work and more importantly, loved the product!!! That made it real easy! I thought maybe I'd stop by and see if I could take a picture of me finally inside the kitchen there and the manager said I couldn't for legal reasons lol. I guess I will never get in a Sonic kitchen, eh? Teeheehee, as long as they keep crankin' out the onion rings it's fine by me! I still have the picture my dad took of me as I headed off to my first day of work there. That was a fun job. After that, I drove to my old neighborhood and did a bit more crying when I saw our old house. I gotta tell you this was the first time I've seen any childhood anything from growing up other than my grandparent's place because we visited them almost every summer between moves. Now that I've done it, I'm going to make a plan to revisit all the places I lived while growing up as an Army brat. There are many places and it may take some time, but the feeling was so rewarding, I feel it's a must now.
Ok, well that's it for one of the longest blogs I've posted. Sorry it was so long, but hopefully it helped you waste some time while at work. :-). Stick around ... the NYC Wine & Food Festival kicks off tomorrow and I'll share some stuff as I get it!
Ok, well that's it for one of the longest blogs I've posted. Sorry it was so long, but hopefully it helped you waste some time while at work. :-). Stick around ... the NYC Wine & Food Festival kicks off tomorrow and I'll share some stuff as I get it!
P.S. I'm headed to Miami for a March of Dimes event and to get out the word, I did an interview that is posting in parts, want more inside stuff? Check out The Miami New Times blog for the first part ...
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