California Love! again :-)

Yeah, really don't have words to describe that plate. And I knew I could write anything before it, would totally disrespect the plate. All the cliches to describe this would seem like a cliche. I mean, I can say "heaven on a plate", but that's just over used. It was more than that. Of course this is from Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles! Then check out a plate from The Ivy ...
Yes, AGAIN ... the non-regulation 3-egg huevos rancheros! With out warning from the menu I got my threebie just like Yolk in Chicago. Those are some tiny eggs though, very California healthy, along with the 3 tablespoons of black beans. Look at how they make little teeny corn tortillas to sit beneath the eggs. Very cute and I must admit, I thought The Ivy was all talk and no food for some stupid reason, but when the concierge suggested it for brunch, he was right on! The patio setting was nice, the food was excellent and we even had a slice of red velvet cake that was waaaaay moist. It had a pretty pink frosting to match the color of the cake and the layers were thick, but airy. Very good, make an rsvp, it's in a great shopping area. Then a quick trip to the hills ...
My guy took that picture, it was his first time in California and so we did our best to make the rounds on this, his bday weekend! Nice when work and life collide! I was in California for work this past Monday and he came in over the weekend to celebrate. Of course, I had to take him to my favorite taco stand, Lucy's Tacos on Pico and LaBrea. Here's his lap holding our meal ...
That's 2 carne asada tacos, 1 carnitas taco, 1 bean and chorizo burrito, 3 bags of chips, 3 pickled jalapenos and 3 little containers of hot sauce. I ate the burrito ...
I really love that burrito. I just keeps getting better. Then, someone here on the blog told me the last time I was in California that I hadn't really visited without a trip to The Stinking Rose. So, I put that notch on my belt and downed at least 50 cloves of garlic over the course of dinner and dessert -- garlic ice cream, which by that time I couldn't discern the garlic flavor because I was all garlicked-out). Here's my appetizer ...
A strawberry mojito and a jillion garlic cloves bathing in oil. They call it the Bagna Calda. We called it the beginning of the end! Loved it!!!

Ok, that's all the food stuff, here are some pics from my visit to Access Hollywood Live! I ran into Lloyd Boston, he has a book out called The Style Checklist. We have some business associates in common so it was fun to chat and discover common bonds and of course we talked about SAG Award styles. Pretty fun to talk with a pro!
Then, Tia Mowry walked in preggers and beautiful! I had no idea she was expecting!
Feels like I grew up watching her and she actually said she loves Cooking for Real! How neat! I may have to have her on the show soon now that I have a diner-counter on the set! If you haven't caught her on The Game, it has a new home on BET. Seems it was cancelled on the other network and the fans brought it back! I loved it back then and have to catch up with the new season soon on my DVR. A few minutes after we took this picture I headed out to the set and got to work!

I think I'm in love with Kit and Billy. Really. They have such great chemistry on camera and are hilarious! Hope you catch the show, they just celebrated their 100th episode last week. BTW, so did I! I don't know if I told you, but during taping Season 9 of Cooking for Real, the 100th show came and went ... just another day at work. Thank so much for making it possible! Like my last visit to Access Hollywood Live, Jay Leno's car wasn't there when I arrived, but it was when I left ...

Take care and click on these links for Super Bowl fun!!
ESPN.com: http://espn.go.com/espn/page2/index?id=6079437

CNN.com’s Eatocracy: http://eatocracy.cnn.com/2011/02/01/55-sunny-anderson/

SheKnows.com: http://www.sheknows.com/food-and-recipes/articles/823371/sunny-anderson-talks-super-bowl-food

Don't forget ... all the recipes, videos, tips and more are on ...

FoodNetwork.com http://www.foodnetwork.com/big-game/package/index.html

Access Hollywood and Turkey Talk!

photo credit:NBC Universal

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

photo credit: MSLO

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