BTW
Tonight's How'd That Get On My Plate? is at a NEW time!!!! 830 PM EST and Pacific ... NEW TIME NEW TIME NEW TIME! :-) it's' 830PM now!!! Check here for local listings, there's a tab at the top for each time zone. This week it's all about the only fruit we eat with seeds on it's outside ... strawberries!! Check here for the local press. Then, check your TV tonight for the rest. (my attempt at a loose rhyme... "press", "test" teeheehee)
Didja know ...
Last week I was in garlic country a.k.a. Gilroy, CA. Scroll down for the stories. Christopher from the local paper came by and he shot video instead of print- which is what I guess I expected ... go figure! I love a paper that has vlogs on it's site ... check me out talking about my love of garlic and check for the 10 foot pile of garlic in the background ... crazy!!!
ANNNNNNND ... Tonight if you are a Sirius listener, tune into MAXIM radio with Devore and Diana tonight around 730ish and then I'll be hanging out with the ladies of Lip Service on Shade45 radio around 8ish. See ya on the radio!
p.s. If ya follow the blog, i wrote this on friday in anticipation of my mess today as i'm moving into a new kitchen. just got my wifi so i feel human again ... like on Seinfeld ... "Serenity Now!"
Showing posts with label Garlic. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Garlic. Show all posts
Monday, July 28, 2008
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Fellowship of Foodies
Well lemme tell ya ... I think I love Portland. I say think because I've only been twice and the first time, which was just a couple of weeks ago, was really in the outskirts not the city. This time around we flew in for a one-night stay before a day of shooting in Portland, so we stayed right in the city. Ok, how do I tell this story .... ummmmm where to start ... ok, well I'll say that I love street food.
About a year ago I began researching street food vendors in various cities across the states. I called city councils to get the amount of street vending permits, the where's the who's. I went on websites to find foodies talking up local street food and I got lucky here and there and actually found pictures of food and truck-fronts, not store fronts :-). Ok, I have to admit I have a horrible memory and last year seems like 20 years ago, so imagine the deja vu I had while riding to the hotel in Portland ... we passed a row of street vendors and things began looking familiar ... I'd stumbled on the very street vendors whose pics were still in my hard drive from last year's research!!! Ok, so we get to the hotel and I needed to run some errands (read- shop in a tax-free state), but the whole time all I really wanted to do was eat some street food. I just knew if I ate first, I'd rush it to get in some shopping time. In my world, I'll starve to enjoy a meal. Hope that makes sense to you lol. So, here I am in this great city of Portland, the weather is beautiful, no tax :-), and I'm armed with a hotel-style map. I'm super tourist! lol! On the street corner with the big map all opened up looking lost. What a mess, but a good one, reminded me of when I first moved to NYC.
So, right when I begin to wrap up the errands and walk in the direction I believe the street vendors are in, my internal compass gets messed up and I'm sure I'm walking in the wrong direction. Just at that moment ... I mean riiiiight at that moment ... I see a dude walking towards me with a purpose and I dunno, something told me to ask him which way to go. Here's kinda how it went ...
Me: Excuse me, are you from here?
Dude: Yeah
Me: Ok, well uhhhh I was just driving in today along I think this road or a parallel road and then we turned left I think somewhere over there (motioning), then right before we turned I saw these street food vendors in a parking lot and I think it was that way (pointing the direction I was walking, and a few other directions as well). There was Thai food and another thing. Anyway, do you know what I'm talking about?
Dude: Actually that's where I'm going right now and it's that way. (pointing over my shoulder, I was walking the wrong way)
So, he was like you can walk with me if you want. I was like heck yeah!! Lemme tell ya, I was really far off with my mental compass. Turns out the guy's name was Zachary. He was not only really cool, but on the 15-20 minute walk I learned he was an avid foodie, eating all over the place and he has friends that live thisclose to me in Brooklyn! Small world. We got to the corner of the street vendors and I was in heaven ... here are some pics ...
Crazy scene ... we decided to get some yakisoba topped with an egg and I got the chicken, Z got the pork. Well, our walk to the street vendors was slower than I'm sure he planned (remember, he was walking with a purpose when I stopped him on the street), so that being said he had to get to work, but I didn't. So we ate, but he left to get that check and I still had a few noodles to tend to when he left. I sat there eating and just thinking about how cool life is - food wise. I am beginning to think I have food esp, like how do I research a street vendor scene last year and dream about going, then I get there? This same thing just happened to me in South Carolina recently. I don't wanna understand it, I just hope I can get some more meals out of it! So, should I begin to dream or talk about German food and then I'll get back there soon? Hasn't worked yet, been wanting to go back for years.
Alright ... I know this is getting long, but I called the post Fellowship of Foodies, and that means two.
Anthony. What a pleasure to meet you if you ever catch this blog.
I met Anthony right after I left the row of street vendors. I took a few minutes to snap the flicks above, then I crossed the street to make the trek back to my hotel room. I walked about 200 feet and I saw a row of 20somethings in chef whites just chillin' leaning up against a building. I love foodies, so I wasn't gonna just walk by, I stopped and said "hey, what are you guys doin'?" ... a split second after I said that, I see the logo on the lapel ... they were standing in front of Portland's branch of Le Cordon Bleu! Ha! I didn't even know there was one here and right after meeting a nice foodie that walked me to lunch, I bump into a whole row of them. I chatted with them all, but Anthony and I began to wax philosophical about GARLIC. I still smelled like it from the flight from Gilroy that morning and I was still a bit excited I'd seen so much garlic up close. Some 5 million pounds of garlic! So, we talked and he told me of his garlic stories, how he loved food and cooking for others and his plans for externships and how he wanted to fit in the culinary world. If he cooks like his words are passionate about it, I know he will flourish. I began to see myself in him, just some of the things I say about food and how sometimes people said things about my drive in the beginning of my radio career. I just really felt his dreams and goals and hope he achieves them. He's a dreamer, a skilled one. I told him my stories and then talked about my very own love of garlic and then it hit me, I should show him my garlic pics from Gilroy. I whipped out my phone to show him and I could see he was kinda pleased to see I wasn't just talking about it to talk about it. I mean, I am zoomin' in on roasted garlic in a cell phone for goodness sakes teeheehee ... just then as I completed my show and tell ... Anthony reaches in to his bag and brings out his show and tell - a bright yellow plate with ridges in the center ... I've never seen one in real life, but I'd heard of them. They were used back in the day to mince garlic ... his grandmother gave it to him and then, this cool foodie told me he could get another from her and gave me the one right out of his bag. I was like you sure???? He was like yeah!! We took this pic below ... and then he asked me if I wanted him to autograph it, Darn Skippy!!! He pulled out a Sharpie and hit me with the sig ... I smiled all the way to my room. I'd just met 2 cool foodies in the land of port.
Anthony, you've dared to dream it, now dare to live it!
A special thanks to Dave at Portland's city hall visitor's desk. I just walked in and asked him for some suggestions and he ended up being a mini foodie himself! Just in case you are wondering ... he had no notion I was from FN. I just specialize in talking to strangers lol. He found a swanky place for the crew to eat so I could head out and do my street food thing!
I'm in Pasco, WA tonight and return from the road Sunday ... Then I'm moving into a new place, so if the blog goes silent for a few days, it's just me getting my life in order. Have a great weekend!!
About a year ago I began researching street food vendors in various cities across the states. I called city councils to get the amount of street vending permits, the where's the who's. I went on websites to find foodies talking up local street food and I got lucky here and there and actually found pictures of food and truck-fronts, not store fronts :-). Ok, I have to admit I have a horrible memory and last year seems like 20 years ago, so imagine the deja vu I had while riding to the hotel in Portland ... we passed a row of street vendors and things began looking familiar ... I'd stumbled on the very street vendors whose pics were still in my hard drive from last year's research!!! Ok, so we get to the hotel and I needed to run some errands (read- shop in a tax-free state), but the whole time all I really wanted to do was eat some street food. I just knew if I ate first, I'd rush it to get in some shopping time. In my world, I'll starve to enjoy a meal. Hope that makes sense to you lol. So, here I am in this great city of Portland, the weather is beautiful, no tax :-), and I'm armed with a hotel-style map. I'm super tourist! lol! On the street corner with the big map all opened up looking lost. What a mess, but a good one, reminded me of when I first moved to NYC.
So, right when I begin to wrap up the errands and walk in the direction I believe the street vendors are in, my internal compass gets messed up and I'm sure I'm walking in the wrong direction. Just at that moment ... I mean riiiiight at that moment ... I see a dude walking towards me with a purpose and I dunno, something told me to ask him which way to go. Here's kinda how it went ...
Me: Excuse me, are you from here?
Dude: Yeah
Me: Ok, well uhhhh I was just driving in today along I think this road or a parallel road and then we turned left I think somewhere over there (motioning), then right before we turned I saw these street food vendors in a parking lot and I think it was that way (pointing the direction I was walking, and a few other directions as well). There was Thai food and another thing. Anyway, do you know what I'm talking about?
Dude: Actually that's where I'm going right now and it's that way. (pointing over my shoulder, I was walking the wrong way)
So, he was like you can walk with me if you want. I was like heck yeah!! Lemme tell ya, I was really far off with my mental compass. Turns out the guy's name was Zachary. He was not only really cool, but on the 15-20 minute walk I learned he was an avid foodie, eating all over the place and he has friends that live thisclose to me in Brooklyn! Small world. We got to the corner of the street vendors and I was in heaven ... here are some pics ...
Crazy scene ... we decided to get some yakisoba topped with an egg and I got the chicken, Z got the pork. Well, our walk to the street vendors was slower than I'm sure he planned (remember, he was walking with a purpose when I stopped him on the street), so that being said he had to get to work, but I didn't. So we ate, but he left to get that check and I still had a few noodles to tend to when he left. I sat there eating and just thinking about how cool life is - food wise. I am beginning to think I have food esp, like how do I research a street vendor scene last year and dream about going, then I get there? This same thing just happened to me in South Carolina recently. I don't wanna understand it, I just hope I can get some more meals out of it! So, should I begin to dream or talk about German food and then I'll get back there soon? Hasn't worked yet, been wanting to go back for years.
Alright ... I know this is getting long, but I called the post Fellowship of Foodies, and that means two.
Anthony. What a pleasure to meet you if you ever catch this blog.
I met Anthony right after I left the row of street vendors. I took a few minutes to snap the flicks above, then I crossed the street to make the trek back to my hotel room. I walked about 200 feet and I saw a row of 20somethings in chef whites just chillin' leaning up against a building. I love foodies, so I wasn't gonna just walk by, I stopped and said "hey, what are you guys doin'?" ... a split second after I said that, I see the logo on the lapel ... they were standing in front of Portland's branch of Le Cordon Bleu! Ha! I didn't even know there was one here and right after meeting a nice foodie that walked me to lunch, I bump into a whole row of them. I chatted with them all, but Anthony and I began to wax philosophical about GARLIC. I still smelled like it from the flight from Gilroy that morning and I was still a bit excited I'd seen so much garlic up close. Some 5 million pounds of garlic! So, we talked and he told me of his garlic stories, how he loved food and cooking for others and his plans for externships and how he wanted to fit in the culinary world. If he cooks like his words are passionate about it, I know he will flourish. I began to see myself in him, just some of the things I say about food and how sometimes people said things about my drive in the beginning of my radio career. I just really felt his dreams and goals and hope he achieves them. He's a dreamer, a skilled one. I told him my stories and then talked about my very own love of garlic and then it hit me, I should show him my garlic pics from Gilroy. I whipped out my phone to show him and I could see he was kinda pleased to see I wasn't just talking about it to talk about it. I mean, I am zoomin' in on roasted garlic in a cell phone for goodness sakes teeheehee ... just then as I completed my show and tell ... Anthony reaches in to his bag and brings out his show and tell - a bright yellow plate with ridges in the center ... I've never seen one in real life, but I'd heard of them. They were used back in the day to mince garlic ... his grandmother gave it to him and then, this cool foodie told me he could get another from her and gave me the one right out of his bag. I was like you sure???? He was like yeah!! We took this pic below ... and then he asked me if I wanted him to autograph it, Darn Skippy!!! He pulled out a Sharpie and hit me with the sig ... I smiled all the way to my room. I'd just met 2 cool foodies in the land of port.
Anthony, you've dared to dream it, now dare to live it!
A special thanks to Dave at Portland's city hall visitor's desk. I just walked in and asked him for some suggestions and he ended up being a mini foodie himself! Just in case you are wondering ... he had no notion I was from FN. I just specialize in talking to strangers lol. He found a swanky place for the crew to eat so I could head out and do my street food thing!
I'm in Pasco, WA tonight and return from the road Sunday ... Then I'm moving into a new place, so if the blog goes silent for a few days, it's just me getting my life in order. Have a great weekend!!
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Hop, Skip and Jump ...
That's where I am from Gilroy, CA ... a hop, skip and a jump. This morning the crew all got up early ... me late (set my phone alarm and uhhhh, also decided I didn't want to answer the phone lastnight, so I set it to silent ... so in the morning, I heard nothin' lol ... I'm not always the smartest lol) Anyway, we hopped a quick flight to Portland, OR and boy did I have a great first day! I took pics and all, but now my phone is having a hard time sending all the pics I took today to my email acct ... I have such a nice story of foodies in the streets of Portland I can't wait to tell with some flicks, but in the meantime ... here's what I still smell like ... and I love it.
Roasted Garlic!!! This goes mostly to food service (restaurants and stuff)... so chances are you haven't seen it in stores, but there is a smaller size they service to a very limited amount of grocery chains. So, I guess in some cases the chef didn't roast those cloves on location, huh? I'm not mad. Just gimme the garlic!!
Roasted Garlic!!! This goes mostly to food service (restaurants and stuff)... so chances are you haven't seen it in stores, but there is a smaller size they service to a very limited amount of grocery chains. So, I guess in some cases the chef didn't roast those cloves on location, huh? I'm not mad. Just gimme the garlic!!
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
I Stink, Therefore I Am ...
... in Gilroy!!! Here's a pic of just 40 of the some 8000 acres of garlic Christopher Ranch owns in Cali. The field hands are out here at 5AM pulling up bulbs!
So, you 'd think it stinks here, but it doesn't ... and lemme first say that I LOVE GARLIC. I actually feel like if my dude didn't, we couldn't date. Like really ... I'm cooking for two, no way I'm living without garlic. No Way. My guy is actually as enthusiastic about it as I am, so it works. Anyway, just so you don't think the word stink is detracting, I love the smell. Now, the cool thing today was going in a processing plant where they take the skins off and sort them for whole or minced. The fumes had every one's eyes on the crew watering, except mine. I'm like ... i crush, mince, chop and eat these things whole almost every day! No tears for me ... call me Johnson&Johnson!! I just got back in the hotel room and as I was hanging my clothes I wore today, I could smell the garlic!!! Yummy!!! Just in case you caught that, I'm hanging stinky garlicky clothes that I wore today, so I can wear them again tomorrow ... that's all for continuity. Even though we film in different cities on different days I will always have the same outfit throughout an episode. Do you ever pay attention to that? I don't really, but I get it, probably a subconscious thing. So, I usually bib-up at lunch so I don't mess up my top. Then, sometimes between road trips I take the television clothes to the cleaner. Sometimes, I have doubles of television outfits, but those get messy too ... All I know is, I don't mind sweating all day and getting back into the same clothes tomorrow ... they smell like garlic!! We leave Wednesday, the day the Garlic Fest starts arrrrgh! It's ok, I plan to get in some quality garlic time before then.
So, you 'd think it stinks here, but it doesn't ... and lemme first say that I LOVE GARLIC. I actually feel like if my dude didn't, we couldn't date. Like really ... I'm cooking for two, no way I'm living without garlic. No Way. My guy is actually as enthusiastic about it as I am, so it works. Anyway, just so you don't think the word stink is detracting, I love the smell. Now, the cool thing today was going in a processing plant where they take the skins off and sort them for whole or minced. The fumes had every one's eyes on the crew watering, except mine. I'm like ... i crush, mince, chop and eat these things whole almost every day! No tears for me ... call me Johnson&Johnson!! I just got back in the hotel room and as I was hanging my clothes I wore today, I could smell the garlic!!! Yummy!!! Just in case you caught that, I'm hanging stinky garlicky clothes that I wore today, so I can wear them again tomorrow ... that's all for continuity. Even though we film in different cities on different days I will always have the same outfit throughout an episode. Do you ever pay attention to that? I don't really, but I get it, probably a subconscious thing. So, I usually bib-up at lunch so I don't mess up my top. Then, sometimes between road trips I take the television clothes to the cleaner. Sometimes, I have doubles of television outfits, but those get messy too ... All I know is, I don't mind sweating all day and getting back into the same clothes tomorrow ... they smell like garlic!! We leave Wednesday, the day the Garlic Fest starts arrrrgh! It's ok, I plan to get in some quality garlic time before then.
Monday, July 21, 2008
Dear FN Shoot
Happy Monday!!
So, I'm on the road again to tape How'd That Get On My Plate? and began my day by waiting for 2+ hours on a tarmac in a plane with no A/C ... very funny. Now look, I know it isn't really funny, but watching how heat can really turn a good thing bad, is a bit funny. Like alllllll the pleasantries were over as soon as the people on the plane realized they were gonna sweat. Now, I've been in the land of sweat (hot factories, hot farm fields) plenty lately, so my resistance is built up n stuff. I just sat there in my seat with the sweat trickling down my face and watched as people complained. Honeymooners mad that they'd miss their connection. Another woman mad she'd have to add a day onto her vacation. And then there was the crazy man that got so bad, we had to pull back up to the gate after 2 hours of being pushed back just to let him off ... via escort. Now, that ... was funny. Ever see the Spike Lee flick Do The Right Thing? Kinda like that ... heat can make people go crazy! Anyway ... real quick, I wanna tell you about the Dear FN shoot I had this past Thursday with Brian from North Carolina.
He saw the posts and press about Dear FN and sent in his own video request for us/me ... I can't tell you what he wanted cuz that would give the segment away, but I can tell ya a bit about the day ...
So, I had some stuff to do before he arrived to set. We flew him in to be on camera with me and wanted him to be rested so I began the day early and he joined us after lunch.
That morning I got in and my task was to tape these little segments that will run in every show, I think there are 8 total. My segments are short n sweet with little ideas for holiday guests and parties. The afternoon shoot with Brian, our viewer, is more of a cooking segment. I was actually so busy in the days leading up to the Thursday shoot that I didn't know where the shoot was until that morning when I got in the car headed towards the city. The driver (I know, a driver lol) says to me "seventy-five 9th?" and I was like ... "I guess, if that's what you have!" teeheehee. I got excited immediately because that's the familiar address of Chelsea Market and Food Network! I dunno where I thought I'd be taping, on location or in another studio, so I was really happy to be going to a familiar place. Even better, I'd get to see some familiar faces -- as in almost everyone I worked with on Cooking for Real! The whole crew is like a set staff with only a few rotating parts. So, the guy that does camera on Iron Chef, chances are he does camera work on various other shows, like mine. Anyway, after spending a coupla weeks of long days with the entire crew, you get to really miss them when you are gone and done taping. I just sat in the car from Brooklyn to Manny Hatty thinking how seeing them during my Dear FN shoot was gonna be great. Now, you may say duh, Sunny, of course you were gonna tape at Food Network's studios ... and to that I say well, even though the show is on the network, it isn't produced by it ... so, that's why I guess I thought we'd tape elsewhere ... again, I'm a rookie.
:-)
Ok, so I get there and find out I'm shooting in the Food Network test kitchens. You've seen this kitchen if you watch NFNS or Throwdown and it's very familiar to me because it's where I did my recipe testing for both runs of Cooking for Real. It's actually where Aida and I did our commercial shoot as well. Everything was really fast and almost every 20 minutes or so I'd see a familiar face pop in from the Cooking for Real crew, so the morning whizzed by.
For lunch we all walked in a single file line like hungry little kids to another floor of the building where there's a break room, but forget the break room ... I WALKED PAST THE EDIT BAYS!!!! Yeah, here I am walking by these little edit booths and I hear something familiar ... me. I stopped in my tracks and looked right, there it was ... a frame of Cooking for Real, on a big screen being edited to life! Ok, call me stupid, but I kept walking while looking ... a bit caught off guard and slower like in a trance. Then not a few steps later, my continual right-facing slow walk paid off ... I heard me and saw me again, this time in another edit bay. So, finally I was like forget lunch, what is going on here?!!?!!? I'm all loud and noisy, so I back tracked to the first room said "hey!" and met the people that take all my stuff and piece it together into a show. That was super cool. I've wanted to meet everyone in the process, but sometimes I think we are kept out of the real stuff so the real work can get done ... no editor needs me sitting in his/her booth saying which angle I like better, you know? But how neat is it to meet the very people that "make" the shows!!! As a voice over person I also wanna meet the chick that voices some stuff on the network, what a velvety voice. Great pipes! And you'd think after watching hours and hours of unedited me, they'd be sick ... but they actually were really nice, welcoming to their office and even said they'd taken some of my recipes home. That's a huge compliment, especially from the people that see it up close and unedited. Thennnnnnnn I learned something I find quite crazy, but they said it's true ... I'm the first person they'd met at the network, that they edit. As much as it seemed a huge treat for me, I think we were all kinda excited by the Twilight Zone I'd walked into. I even got to dub a voice over for the promo in the next room they were putting together. All because I happened to walk by, doors were open and I could see them working on me. Lemme tell ya, I can't say enough how much hard work the editor's go through. I don't think they see daylight much because just imagine the workload ... and when you watch a show produced by the network, you don't get credits, so lemme give em some credit! Take a look at us ... we took this twice to juxtapose the screen in the back over us, so you could see what I walked in on ... ha, I'm wearing orange, twice!!
Ok, then after lunch I finished up some segment stuff and the whole time I saw this guy off to the side of the set just smilin' away ... I'm thinkin', must be an exec I haven't met yet. He was just watchin' and smilin' and then I'd smile ... it was a smile-fest. Turns out it was Brian!!! The man of the day!!! Just months ago he'd sent in a video about a holiday food issue and here he was now in the Food Network test kitchens about to get his food problem solved ... or so we hoped!! Teeheehee ... anyway, he was great!!! I think I was more nervous than him ... I'm like I hope I don't make a mistake! Then he's like me too! LOL ... I'm so wack right? I'm supposed to reassure him it'll be ok and here I am worried. Well, we go our nerves out and in just one take, got all the stuff done!!! Then we had to do close-ups and inserts ... those are almost self-explanatory. The close-up is of course a zoomed shot of a hand or a spoon stirring, a can being picked up ... sometimes they are caught live during taping, then sometimes they are done right after the wide shot. In this case they can also be categorized as "inserts" ... I'm the blind leading the blind here if you don't know TV terms ... I'm learnin' and lovin'. We did those and then moved on to the next segment ... I can't say what it was, but it ended with a drink!! A rum drink!! What a way to end the shoot huh??
So, Brian and I went into to the big studio that was being used by Guy Fieri for his Big Bite and I introduced him to Guy and the rest of the crew that also worked on Cooking for Real. Guy is such a class act, took time to say hi and all while he was in the middle of acts and taping his show. We watched for a bit, I showed Brian the layout of the studio, the mini kitchen and all the stuff that happens behind the scenes and then we parted ways ... me off to do some voice-over work and Brian off to tour the big city! I can't wait to see him on the show! He had such a funny story and really took well to the process. Hi Brian!!!! (he says he reads the blog)!!! I'll post a pic of us in the Food Network test kitchens as soon as I get it!!
I'm in Gilroy, CA a coupla days for GAHHHHHHHLIC!!!!
So, I'm on the road again to tape How'd That Get On My Plate? and began my day by waiting for 2+ hours on a tarmac in a plane with no A/C ... very funny. Now look, I know it isn't really funny, but watching how heat can really turn a good thing bad, is a bit funny. Like alllllll the pleasantries were over as soon as the people on the plane realized they were gonna sweat. Now, I've been in the land of sweat (hot factories, hot farm fields) plenty lately, so my resistance is built up n stuff. I just sat there in my seat with the sweat trickling down my face and watched as people complained. Honeymooners mad that they'd miss their connection. Another woman mad she'd have to add a day onto her vacation. And then there was the crazy man that got so bad, we had to pull back up to the gate after 2 hours of being pushed back just to let him off ... via escort. Now, that ... was funny. Ever see the Spike Lee flick Do The Right Thing? Kinda like that ... heat can make people go crazy! Anyway ... real quick, I wanna tell you about the Dear FN shoot I had this past Thursday with Brian from North Carolina.
He saw the posts and press about Dear FN and sent in his own video request for us/me ... I can't tell you what he wanted cuz that would give the segment away, but I can tell ya a bit about the day ...
So, I had some stuff to do before he arrived to set. We flew him in to be on camera with me and wanted him to be rested so I began the day early and he joined us after lunch.
That morning I got in and my task was to tape these little segments that will run in every show, I think there are 8 total. My segments are short n sweet with little ideas for holiday guests and parties. The afternoon shoot with Brian, our viewer, is more of a cooking segment. I was actually so busy in the days leading up to the Thursday shoot that I didn't know where the shoot was until that morning when I got in the car headed towards the city. The driver (I know, a driver lol) says to me "seventy-five 9th?" and I was like ... "I guess, if that's what you have!" teeheehee. I got excited immediately because that's the familiar address of Chelsea Market and Food Network! I dunno where I thought I'd be taping, on location or in another studio, so I was really happy to be going to a familiar place. Even better, I'd get to see some familiar faces -- as in almost everyone I worked with on Cooking for Real! The whole crew is like a set staff with only a few rotating parts. So, the guy that does camera on Iron Chef, chances are he does camera work on various other shows, like mine. Anyway, after spending a coupla weeks of long days with the entire crew, you get to really miss them when you are gone and done taping. I just sat in the car from Brooklyn to Manny Hatty thinking how seeing them during my Dear FN shoot was gonna be great. Now, you may say duh, Sunny, of course you were gonna tape at Food Network's studios ... and to that I say well, even though the show is on the network, it isn't produced by it ... so, that's why I guess I thought we'd tape elsewhere ... again, I'm a rookie.
:-)
Ok, so I get there and find out I'm shooting in the Food Network test kitchens. You've seen this kitchen if you watch NFNS or Throwdown and it's very familiar to me because it's where I did my recipe testing for both runs of Cooking for Real. It's actually where Aida and I did our commercial shoot as well. Everything was really fast and almost every 20 minutes or so I'd see a familiar face pop in from the Cooking for Real crew, so the morning whizzed by.
For lunch we all walked in a single file line like hungry little kids to another floor of the building where there's a break room, but forget the break room ... I WALKED PAST THE EDIT BAYS!!!! Yeah, here I am walking by these little edit booths and I hear something familiar ... me. I stopped in my tracks and looked right, there it was ... a frame of Cooking for Real, on a big screen being edited to life! Ok, call me stupid, but I kept walking while looking ... a bit caught off guard and slower like in a trance. Then not a few steps later, my continual right-facing slow walk paid off ... I heard me and saw me again, this time in another edit bay. So, finally I was like forget lunch, what is going on here?!!?!!? I'm all loud and noisy, so I back tracked to the first room said "hey!" and met the people that take all my stuff and piece it together into a show. That was super cool. I've wanted to meet everyone in the process, but sometimes I think we are kept out of the real stuff so the real work can get done ... no editor needs me sitting in his/her booth saying which angle I like better, you know? But how neat is it to meet the very people that "make" the shows!!! As a voice over person I also wanna meet the chick that voices some stuff on the network, what a velvety voice. Great pipes! And you'd think after watching hours and hours of unedited me, they'd be sick ... but they actually were really nice, welcoming to their office and even said they'd taken some of my recipes home. That's a huge compliment, especially from the people that see it up close and unedited. Thennnnnnnn I learned something I find quite crazy, but they said it's true ... I'm the first person they'd met at the network, that they edit. As much as it seemed a huge treat for me, I think we were all kinda excited by the Twilight Zone I'd walked into. I even got to dub a voice over for the promo in the next room they were putting together. All because I happened to walk by, doors were open and I could see them working on me. Lemme tell ya, I can't say enough how much hard work the editor's go through. I don't think they see daylight much because just imagine the workload ... and when you watch a show produced by the network, you don't get credits, so lemme give em some credit! Take a look at us ... we took this twice to juxtapose the screen in the back over us, so you could see what I walked in on ... ha, I'm wearing orange, twice!!
Ok, then after lunch I finished up some segment stuff and the whole time I saw this guy off to the side of the set just smilin' away ... I'm thinkin', must be an exec I haven't met yet. He was just watchin' and smilin' and then I'd smile ... it was a smile-fest. Turns out it was Brian!!! The man of the day!!! Just months ago he'd sent in a video about a holiday food issue and here he was now in the Food Network test kitchens about to get his food problem solved ... or so we hoped!! Teeheehee ... anyway, he was great!!! I think I was more nervous than him ... I'm like I hope I don't make a mistake! Then he's like me too! LOL ... I'm so wack right? I'm supposed to reassure him it'll be ok and here I am worried. Well, we go our nerves out and in just one take, got all the stuff done!!! Then we had to do close-ups and inserts ... those are almost self-explanatory. The close-up is of course a zoomed shot of a hand or a spoon stirring, a can being picked up ... sometimes they are caught live during taping, then sometimes they are done right after the wide shot. In this case they can also be categorized as "inserts" ... I'm the blind leading the blind here if you don't know TV terms ... I'm learnin' and lovin'. We did those and then moved on to the next segment ... I can't say what it was, but it ended with a drink!! A rum drink!! What a way to end the shoot huh??
So, Brian and I went into to the big studio that was being used by Guy Fieri for his Big Bite and I introduced him to Guy and the rest of the crew that also worked on Cooking for Real. Guy is such a class act, took time to say hi and all while he was in the middle of acts and taping his show. We watched for a bit, I showed Brian the layout of the studio, the mini kitchen and all the stuff that happens behind the scenes and then we parted ways ... me off to do some voice-over work and Brian off to tour the big city! I can't wait to see him on the show! He had such a funny story and really took well to the process. Hi Brian!!!! (he says he reads the blog)!!! I'll post a pic of us in the Food Network test kitchens as soon as I get it!!
I'm in Gilroy, CA a coupla days for GAHHHHHHHLIC!!!!
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Linner: Garlic Overloaded Pasta
Ok, so this is leftovers I reheated just a minute ago. I'm working online today and thought I had a meeting in the city, so I scrambled early to get some things out of the way and low-n-behold, how 'bout a cancelled meeting!? So, I put on the Aqua Teen Hunger Force Movie I DVRd, began my secondary online search for my blog gig, and let the microwave do the rest. Why cook Linner when there are leftovers? Alright, this is Spinach Fettuccini (bought fresh, I didn't make this time :-) ) with shiitake mushrooms, grilled chicken and roasted garlic in just a bit of an asiago cream sauce. I had my dude grate the cheese :-), it's a hard cheese and my muscles were tired. All in all, this was fast when I initially made it because I cut the chicken into thin strips from the breast and put the garlic in the oven while I boiled the pasta. Fresh pasta can really speed up the process, give it a try. Felt like 15 minutes. Here are my pics, and then the last one after I get the pepper on! I bought a new grinder yesterday, I LOVE fresh ground pepper, super coarse is super great!
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