Tour, Interrupted

Today, I was in the Food Network building taping another webisode of the FN Dish - Ultimate Recipe Showdown Viewing Party, what a mouth full :-). BTW, check the link for the video, they pop up online right after URS airs Sunday nights on Food Network. If I'm slow here on the links you can always find it on the FN Dish blog. Okay, so after I was done taping I decided to stop by and say hi to the editor's of Cooking for Real. They are still hard at work editing episodes I taped a couple of months ago. I've made it a regular stop as much as I can since I first discovered them working hard on the scraps I'd given them :-). So, imagine ... here I am walking down the hallway towards their editing room and I see the door to their room opened. I think to myself, that's weird because they usually have it closed and I creep really slow trying to hear which room has sound coming from it. My memory is so bad, every time I go, it looks brand new, can't remember a room number to save my life. So, I get closer and just as I get close enough to see in the room, I notice about 10 people all piled into it staring intently at the big TV screen. I actually stopped in my tracks fast because I was thinking I was going to walk into a room with just 2 people working away, but I was creeping :-) so close to the wall that I didn't see there was no room to enter until a step before I actually tried to. Anyway, the result? Just as I noticed people were watching me get edited on the screen, they all noticed me behind them almost walking into an already very tight room. It was a pretty funny moment, surreal. I was freeze-framed on the big screen in the middle of making a dish for an upcoming episode. Turns out the 15 or so people were all on a tour of Food Network and just as they were learning about how Cooking for Real gets whittled down to size, I pop up unannounced to say Happy New Year to the editors. So, not to interrupt ... I asked if I could sit in and they all said sure! LOL .... really this was such a neat moment, because as I sat down to watch this portion of the tour, I learned something myself and said the ahhs and the wows right along with the people on the tour. Editing is so neat, and although I know how to do it with audio, mixing visual with audio is pretty neat to me. Anyway, after the demo was done I asked them If I could take a picture for my blog and they said in unison, sure! Here we are slightly blurry ...


I didn't get any names except Jessica and there were families from Texas and Long Island. If you guys happen upon this post, what a neat thing to bump into you today! Hope you enjoyed the rest of the tour ... after you guys left the room we were joking that you guys probably thought me popping in was a plant or something with the new ticketed tour lol ... nope, just me saying hi to my peeps, but what a neat coincidence huh? Ellie Krieger was also in the Food Network kitchens today working on some web stuff, so I hear they ran into her as well while she was working and I met her when we were both getting ready for our separate shoots. She is a cool chick y'all. Cool chick. Any New Year's resolution types looking to get healthy, you gotta check her show. Alright, I start taping again real soon so stick around for some on-set flicks!

See FN Dish pay a visit to my set ...

So, back when I was taping the most recent 13 episodes of Cooking For Real, newly-minted host of FN Dish Bruce Seidel came by to chat and take a tour of the set. The video is up now on the FN Dish blog. Zoom by and take an inside look at my set and stuff as we chat about places for bacon and recipes passed down. I'm feeling another Slo Mo Slide Sho coming on soon ... stick around!

New episodes begin the first Saturday of the New Year at noon!

BTW and Didja know ...

BTW ...
Here's that FN Dish clip I promised. It was taped back in April to promote the debut of Cooking for Real. Plenty has changed since, then ... like ... I invested in a new kitchen and that meant a move to fit it all, but I'm still in Brooklyn, my spices are still organized, and I still have plans to use my pot rack for something other than a pot rack :-) ...


and Didja know ...

I'll be back with Wendy Williams tomorrow! This time on the radio! She's on 2-6PM eastern and her live stream is here, click the red "on air" icon in the upper left corner and listen away!! I'm taking a full menu of food and my life is an open book(kinda), so who knows where it'll go, but I know we'll be well-fed and have fun!

BTW and Didja Know ...

BTW ...
Cooking for Real is now on Saturdays as well!!! So catch me today at 12pm ... noon is a more palatable time for some, but my Sunday people, don't worry ... Sundays stay the same with an airing at 1030am with the reruns on Wednesdays at 130pm ... wow, thanks for everything guys! Your viewership is surely the reason for the additions to the schedule! Click here for local listings.

and Didja know ...
There's a new video up of my old apartment on the FN Dish? Check for it here. I'll post the vid here soon too ... but if ya wanna see an interesting video of me burning my tongue ... check the post below. Ouch!

What I Had For LINNER: Beef on flavored skewers

Hey hey hey! It's faaaaaat Sunny!!! And I'm gonna sing a song for youuuuuuu .... I've been cooped up eatin' a thing or two-ooooo.

Teeheehee ... a lil ode to Fat Albert. I've been cooking all weekend just getting some recipes together and then of course feeding myself. So, here's what I decided on for linner ... I marinated some beef chunks in balsamic with garlic, olive oil, cilantro, lime, salt, pepper and a tap of cayenne. Then well, you can kinda see the rest, some jalapenos, red bell pepper, pineapple and red onion. I got the flavored grill sticks from my local cooking store ... real neat. I actually wasn't trusting the infusing of the flavors promise on the package, but out of the two flavors I used I could really taste one of them. I used the Honey Bourbon and the Citrus Rosemary. I could really taste the latter, the other not so much. I think my marinade could have over powered the honey bourbon, but all was still yummy. On the side I made some orzo with a light cream sauce, broccoli and parm. That's it ... and I'm back to work on some palmiers. Hope you are having a great weekend, I can't wait to watch NFNS tonight. The weather in NYC is crazy this weekend, sunshine, then rain, then thunder, then more rain. Can't wait to start the week. Check in tomorrow and I hopefully will have some news one various places I'll pop up in the next week or so to promote the new shows. I'm so excited! Ok, if you catch NFNS tonight, check the website for the FN Dish viewing party with me and Adam Roberts. Again ... Linner for a recipe developin' chick on a Sunday early evening ....

New NFNS vid up ...

Aloha from Hawai'i ... if you are a Next Food Network Star watcher, check on Food Network for the show page, there are interviews with the cast after they leave and everything. Pretty neat, plus there's a weekly webisode with me and Adam Roberts yakkin it up about the week's episode. This week, I brought along my "brother" Du. Now, I call him my brother, but really he isn't. Basically, we are so close, we don't need people thinking we are dating, so we call each other brother and sis ... His mom is not my mommy, but boy has she been there for me. Du has also been there for me just like a brother. He gives me advice about boys and career and life ... we hang out and just really act like family. I love him :-) .... ok, oh hey also, coincidentally if you ever go on my Cooking for Real page on Food Network's website, you'll see a video about my best kitchen moment and I tell a story about Du and my fried chicken .. check it out, but first check out what all 3 of us, Adam, me and Du had to say about this week's NFNS ...



Hip Hop heads may recognize Du as "do it all" from Lords of the Underground, he's also done plenty of television and film work, so he may look familiar to you ...keep an eye out.... he's got some things on the way.

NFNS Webisodes up every week!

Hi All!

Well, my new buddy Adam Roberts of the FN Dish and Amateur Gourmet, has invited me along every week to watch and chat about Food Network's Next Food Network Star. Plenty of links for one sentence huh? teeheehee ... Okay, anyway every week he's invited me to his place and we watch the show together, then chat about it and comment on the contestants. We even talk about the person voted off. It was plenty of fun last week. Check it out below ...

So watch the show Sundays at 10PM/9C and then right after, click here and check for our commentary. This year is interesting so far ... I already have my faves and my not so faves ... feels weird because what if I meet one of them in the future and there I am talking about them on the webisode? Well, you've got my word I'll be honest and as constructive as possible, but I'm also gonna have fun with it. It's a fun show, plenty of different personalities and culinary points of view. I totally got the "Holmes" part of my Lisa Garza comment from a funny post on Jacob's blog here ... alright, hope you enjoy em and if you don't or do agree with my comments, it's cool to say it ... it's an open forum, just don't get too crazy I've seen some angry posts about contestants floating around. :-)  Btw ... the popcorn you catch a glimpse of was from my new 13 episodes ... fresh popped and drizzled with bad stuff, more details when the show runs. We had beers and popcorn while watching, Adam is my kinda guy! Next week, I'm bringing by a close friend to hang out and watch.

Yaaaaaaaaay! Thanks for watching!!!!

Well, I have some amazing news I can finally share! A couple of weeks ago I found out I get to continue taping Cooking for Real for Food Network! I can't believe it, I am so HAPPY! This is a result of early support and viewership, I can't tell you how thankful I am. I've met so many great people here on my blog and myspace. I've even reconnected with friends I thought I'd lost because I moved around so much growing up. Then, the cool thing is exchanging food ideas and stories with people. I really enjoy it. So, if you've watched Cooking for Real, taped it to watch later or told someone about the show, I truly appreciate it. It means so much to me. I've only heard good reports from my bosses and it's a direct result of support. It gives me a chance to continue living in this crazy dream. Life is pretty amazing when you just live it and make deliberate choices. I still can't believe it! When I got the call I was totally caught off guard and couldn't say much. It's one of the few times in my life I've searched for the next word and I used to be called motormouth growing up teeheehee ... I'm sure somewhere in there though I said Thank You, cuz wowwwwww, am I thankful for this opportunity. It feels crazy! Thanks to you too, just reading this blog means if you haven't watched the show, you may catch in the future. If that is the case, I hope you do get a chance to see the show and I hope you enjoy it.

So, with the news of more shows I was just super happy and then all of a sudden my mind went in a jillion directions ... I have work to do!! I found out there's no delay and I begin taping verrrrry soon! I wanted to say something when I got the word, but just got the green light so I can give you some behind the scenes stuff. This week, I'm in the Food Network kitchens working with my producer and the culinary staff. We're testing my recipes so when we post them up on FoodNetwork.com they are written in a uniform way. It's also a major help when we tape the shows, it helps the producers see what the cooking process looks like for my recipes. This helps them map out segments in each episode. We began cooking yesterday and so far I think we've got some great shows planned with some really yummy recipes. Yesterday we started with Chicken Sausage in Vodka Sauce for breakfast and ended the day with Grilled Fish Tacos, I have a belly of steel lol ... the list of recipes between the two was quite varied and all great things I can't wait to share with ya! Today, I cut cabbage, smashed garlic, fried fries, cut mangos, sliced onions, cut cucumbers, seasoned pork, reduced liquids ... and the fun goes on! I think the best part of the day was the end, and not because it was over, but because we baked up my Peaches n Cream cookies and killed a few while cleaning up for the day. Take a look at a shot I took last night when I tested them in my home kitchen.

And then a long shot of the kitchen ...

and two lonely cakes that the kitchen staff cooked up...

I had a piece of the one on the right. They cook all day in the kitchens for various projects and the amount of tasting and passing around of food is just like heaven for me!! Everyone is cooking and sharing, really a cool environment. Lemme check and see if I can give out the cake names below cuz they aren't mine, the slice I had was dense, moist, creamy and a bit light at the same time. I saved most of it and took it home so I could massacre it in private and give it the time and attention a good slice of cake deserves. Yes, that's how good it was. Verrrrrrrry, I mean verrrrrrrrrrrry good. Check in here and there if you are in to pics, I'll take more to post now that I have the go ahead to blog away about the new episodes! :-) Speaking of blogs, head on over to The Amateur Gourmet and check in on Adam Roberts ... I ran into him today at work and I'm really enjoying his webisodes, he's taller than I remembered, but just as nice! The FN Dish updates weekly on FoodNetwork.com Here's my webisode with him ...

Press and Pizza .... wait PIZZA and Press lol!!!

It's friday and I wanna know where my week went, for real. I've had two hair cuts, one baaaad and one that was Edward Scissorhands grrrrreat! A bad headache or two, a few meetings, I had an over cooked porterhouse, that broke my heart .... such a nice cut of meat, butchered by a nyc restaurant and let's seeeee .... I got lucky and got a pie in just 20 minutes at Di Fara's!! So, it wasn't too bad a week now that I think of it. And wait, now that I type away, something amazing happened this week!!! I can't even share yet, but you know as soon as I can, I will spill the navy beans. See, that's how life is, you think it's bad or stressful, but if you sit for a sec and think about it, there are some gems in there. How could I forget some of the good stuff this week?? Alright ... I have some pics to share ... first, oh wait, the FN Dish thing ... so if you saw the episode, it was a good thing I gave a behind the scenes rundown and toldya about my apartment and our walk through my 'hood, because that part didn't make the cut :-). So they got right to the chase and started it at Di Fara's Pizza. It is THE BEST PIZZA EVER. I described the way they top pizzas there as "The Ben & Jerry's of toppings", meaning, what you ask for you get in abundance. I mean, you will never search a slice for garlic, a garlic pie ... is a GARLIC pie. teeheehee ... take a look ... these are not stunt pics, real slices I began and couldn't finish until I shared the beauty of gaaaaaarlic ahead of me. So, here's two slices of Di Fara's with pepperoni and garlic. I also like the porcini mushrooms on it, so if you ever go, give them a try and be prepared to wait for a long time, but just know it is worth the wait. really. you are eating a piece of history, formed by an artisan. period. and now .... the slices ... remember, i didn't set these up, no strategic placement of any topping ...first the wide, then the close up for each ...yummy!





Okay, so that's the pizza, now the press ... There's a 2 part interview I did with Jacob from Food Network Addict, give it a click and read :-)

Then, this Saturday ... TOMORROW ... I'll be on the CBS morning show, eating and cooking for less than $40 bux, so hope you can wake up and catch that ... feels like a 7 or 8AM situation.

And, my bad ... i got so busy I didn't even promote the fact that I would be hanging out with Ed Lover and his team on Power 105.1 here in NYC yesterday. I hope to get the audio and post it soon. We had such fun! I brought breakfast and they tore it up. They had my french toast with caramelized pecans, strawberries and cream. I also threw in a side of bacon. At first, when I suggested it, I thought I'd cook at home and bring it in, but then Food Network offered me THA ENGINE lol ... so, two cool chicks from the kitchens helped and did alot of the work, so I gotta say thanks to them. It is so neat to see other people prepare your recipe. Feels weird too ... I was like yeah, the bread is sliced just how I like it, and they were like ... we read your recipe and measured them. That's serious. Let me tell you, that's why I love Food Network, they are serious about food and so am I! So Ed, Kut, Lady O and the gang hopefully enjoyed every bite. Ed's was gone in 60 seconds like the movie teeheehee. Then they asked me about the beginning of my catering days, here I am talking about catering for Jadakiss, Styles P and Sheek Louch (D-Block), when who walks into the building??? Sheek!! We chat via text here and there just to catch up and say hi, but I hadn't seen him in about 3 years!!! It was soooooooo good to see him. Those guys were just always great to me and treated me like a little sister. So of course I cooked for them and they were first to throw me grocery money for cooking. Next thing you know, I'm catering for N.O.R.E and the list went on. So, I'm forever thankful for the smiles and the "mmmmmm good's" I got from them. Sheek specifically used to tell me my food tasted like "LOVE" awwwwwww .... how sweet huh? Anyway, he has bulked up, so I know his girl is killin it in the kitchen!!! Get his CD Silver Back Gorilla and look at the inside flick, he's in the gym son!! lol ... ok, here are some pics from yesterday ...


That's DJ Kut, Me and Ed Lover


annnd me and Sheek Louch ... just two days guys! i'm nervous and anxious. :-)

The FN Dish Preview

TGIF!!!

Whatta week ... ever have one, where it feels like a month? That was me this week. Friday couldn't come fast enough! Ok, so before I give ya some details on the interview I did with Adam Roberts, just a heads up ... I also spoke with Jacob from Food Network Addict today and that interview should be up soon. Check his blog, I luuuuv the voice it's written in. I'll link the interview when it pops up.

So, about two weeks or three weeks ago Adam Roberts stopped by to film another eopisode of his new show The FN Dish. I've always wanted an inside, behind the scenes show on Food Network, so I was too excited to be included. Super excited. You gotta know, I'm so new that I don't expect inclusion in all aspects, so it's neat to be included with the rest of the FN team. We talked about doing the interview in the city, but thought it would be great to hang out in my 'hood. We'd tape some at my place and then walk the streets. So, that we did. I cleaned my place up and still didn't think it looked perfect. I was so nervous and wanted to make a good impression. We did a teeny tour of my place ... any tour would have to be teeny. :-) And we even got a look at my fridge. Now this is an area I didn't clean up for the cameras. Why? Well, 2 things. I really hate it when I see "stunt fridges". You know, all product labels to the front, way more of 1 item than needed for product placement. I just dislike it, it's like, don't show me your fridge like I'm getting the skinny on what it really looks like and you've set-dressed it. lol. Also, I've watched Adam's show and one of the episodes, he shows his fridge and thank goodness it didn't look dressed up. He had week-old Lemon Bars in there!! Loved it! No way I was gonna fake the funk on my fridge ... Uh hello the show is called Cooking for Real. Ok, so what you see if he shows my fridge shot, is really what I'm workin' with. No care to hide or make any thing or any brands prominent.

Then, I showed some old pics from growing up. My first day on the job at Sonic Drive-In. I totally had to fight to get any kitchen time, they don't like women in the kitchen in fast food places, at least they didn't then and I was so annoyed. I wanted to prep onion rings all day! Instead ... it was me, a change belt and some roller-skates most days, serving the locals. I also showed him a pic of me doing some military radio ... plenty of questions lately about is my service for real or not. lol. Why someone would lie about being in the service truly escapes me, you got my word ... I did my time :-).

Alright, after the apartment tour, we headed out for pizza and on the way stopped by a store just 4 doors down from me. It's like the best little foodie store ever. I won't ruin the whole show because I'm not in on the editing and don't know what will make the final cut, but it was an unexpected stop for us and the owner, funny moment to me. I go to the store all the time, but looking a mess. I mean a mess. It's usually when I'm cooking. I'll run down the street for a new baking dish or something. Anyway, the owner has served me at the register many times and kinda looked over/through me every time. Like, gimme your money! Next! LOL! So anyway, the last time I went in there before we taped, I got to checkout and asked him about a coupon I'd gotten from them via email. He very tersely grunted "HOW DID YOU KNOW ABOUT THE COUPON???" Like, he said it as if, who are you and what are you doing in the inner sanctum of my valued customers??? So, I was like, uhhhh I'm on your email list. And then all of a sudden he was cool, wanted to show me the item on the shelf and everything. But I tell ya, it's as if he wanted to know how I got into the club. LOL.

When we were done lookin' at ramekins and listening to the owner talk our ears off about the cooking courses he offers (yes, it is truly an amazing store, cooking classes, gadgets, dishes, and attitude :-)), we took a walk around the corner for this (below)... and you know what??? That's nuff said, you should know who this guy is below, if ya don't catch The FN Dish next week. Adam says it should be up on Monday ...start looking for it then!! And now .... the LIVING LEGEND ...