Workin' for the weekend!

Hey there! Some pics from the AC Food and Wine Festival!! It's been such a lovely week ... Thanks to every one that came out!!! We were sold out at both Sunset Sliders and Sweet and Stylish!!! Here's some flicks ...That's me at the VIP Dinner. Each year they ask me to come out as a surprise guest during a jillion course meal. I always ask to look at the menu before I choose what I'm making so it's not a train wreck on the tongue. This year I made my Quick Apple and Sweet Potato Soup. It's great hot or cold, but that night it was great not even made ... lol. The heat on the burner just wasn't cutting it, so I walked through the steps and then walked through the crowd. Some people watch Food Network Star and they say things like contestants not getting all the equipment or ingredients for a challenge would never happen and I say it happens all the time. It's no biggie if you ask me, the show must go on!! Ok, here's half of the VIP crew ...Then, just like last year, there were these really cool angle-perspective wall drop thingys lol ... click the link and see the ones that were still here this year. This one below was the only new addition, totally had to take the pic!Then, Saturday night after the Sunset Sliders party I headed over to my other shin-dig Sweet and Stylish, take a look at the crowd...
Can you tell this is a really fast post for me? I'm in a rush to head out to the Mets game. I'll tweet a pic @SunnyAnderson. Check out The Neely's on Pat's birthday! This is at their event on Saturday, really good brunch and music!!!
These are the guys in charge of the food for pretty much all the events ...

I have more pics, but I was busy having so much fun at the Sunset Sliders party, that I didn't get many personal ones. If you went and have any pics, comment, I'll get your email and we'll exchange hellos :-). Ok, Thanks again to every one that came out to the entire weekend!! It was so much fun!!!

Don't forget ... ALL NEW Cooking for Real tomorrow!! Season 10 at 10am!! Curry On Baggage!!

Curry Lamb Shanks with Potatoes

Twice Fried and Mashed Green Plantains (Tostones!!!)

Chocolate Chai Milkshake

Gettin Piggy Wit It ...

Hey there! Well, last night was a big night for co-workers and sweethearts, the Neely's ...
Love em! We always greet with a smile and hug ... Here's a less candid shot ...We're all chillin at the opening of their first foray into the NYC Restaurant scene, The Neely's BBQ Parlour. It's over in a hood that needs some down home cookin, 1st and 62nd on the mid-upper east side. When I say it was a zoo there last night, I mean lions, tigers and bears, oh my!!! Plus, can we talk? Sometimes when I out solo people think I'm Gina lol ... look, I get it ... ok, I do, but I thought I'd disspell rumors and stand next to her a bit lol. I wonder if she gets the same thing? I've texted her before like "girrrrrl someone is gonna thing you are cheating on Pat cuz they just called me Gina and I'm on a date with someone!". Too funny, ok, anyway it was packed in there and I still managed to get a taste of the shrimp and grits then just as I thought I wasn't gonna get another bite cuz it was so crowded, I turned around to see dessert being passed!!! Woot wooot!!!Red Velvet of course! My chunky butt popped the whole thing in my mouth only see everyone else taking bites ... seriously? It's "bite sized", to me call anything that and that's a challenge to get it done in a bite! I can't wait to head back for brunch and the occasional dinner!! Right after that I headed over to the Red Rooster, Marcus Samuelson's spot. We just started getting grades from the health dept. here in New York for restaurant kitchens. His hasn't been scored so well (a "C", actually) and he's taken a hit in the press, so a friend and I headed out to show a sign of support. Seems like we weren't alone, on a Tuesday night, it was packed ... but Marcus was nowhere to be found. Gotta be tough, eh? I dunno, but I must say anytime I hear people complain about clean kitchens at restaurants, I wonder if the health department came to our homes, would we pass? I would, but omg, ever go to a friend's house and see the kitchen and gag a bit? Lol, anyway, I digress ... The food was good and the service was great. Hope he catches an "A" like my fave banh mi spot in Brooklyn, Thanh Da...That's the "Beef Ball Soup", the broth is were it's at!! I don't really care about the balls, but the broth?!?! Ooooooh it's onion-yyyy and ginger-yyyy and cilantro-eyyyy ... which really equals taste-yyyyy :-). And then the real reason I go there is the banh mi, or traditional Vietnamese sandwhich ...Oooooowwweeeee!!! That's the BBQ Pork Banh Mi and when I go with a friend, I'll order that one, and the traditional one and share halves, but today it was just me, so I sipped half my broth and ate half the sandwich, then walked home in the heat with a smile on my face cuz I knew I had a lil treat for later.

Speakin' of treats, I got a chance to cook for an old friend this past Sunday night. I've told the story here and there about him, but it's so much deeper than words. Suffice it to say, there would be no Cooking for Real without me first cooking for my friends and them encouraging me to chase my dreams. N.O.R.E. was one such person and not only did he encourage me to cook more for a living, he gave me my first catering gig with a real invoice, then on my last day in radio he was there to cheer me on and tell me I wasn't crazy for chasing a dream. The story of that night should go in the books, which book, I dunno lol. But he is such good family, he could ask me to cook in an impossible mission like Robert Irvine and I'd do it!! So anyway, so much more can be said, so much. So with an early morning wake up for The Today Show @430am, I said "SO WHAT?! WHO CAY-UHHS?!?!" (SNL making fun of Joy Behar on The View), threw beauty sleep and caution to the wind and cooked all day for him and his crew. Here he is about to break into some Food Network Wine - Entwine, coming soon!!!(note my Dr. Oz trophy on my mantle :-) ) ... and here's the spread ...It's hard to see, but he requested turkey meatloaf, so I made two with a dark meat turkey-chicken blend. Then I made roasted fingerlings and new potatoes with garlic, rosemary and thyme. I also got some pretty vine-ripe cherry tomatoes and roasted those as well with just some olive oil, salt and pepper. In the forefront is a quick salad of blanched peas, red onion, whole grain mustard, dry porcini mushrooms brought back to life in the same water I blanched the peas in, I just added some apple cider for punch. Then for dessert I made Austin's German Chocolate Cookies. I used to really cook fattening stuff for Nore, and then he'd decide we wanted to be healthy a bit, that's where Nore's Slumbo, comes from. It's a play on gumbo with no pork and a 5-star recipe on FoodNetwork.com ... all from his palate! We really had a good time and it was great seeing him, then 2 hours after they left, I got ready for The Today Show, I didn't really sleep, moreso just roll over and look at the time every 20 minutes lol.

No worries, I wouldn't have to cook or anything, just eat and judge the food. Here I am ready to eat!!!The winner made a really tasty cornbread bottom, BBQ chicken middle, coleslaw topped tower of power ... and I do mean power!!! It was instant, when I and the other judge took a bite, we knew instantly it was a landslide. All the food was good though, things like that, it's already the best of the best, so it's hard to say something didn't taste good, cuz I'd be telling a lie. Firemen eat goooood!! I am waitin on a firehouse show. Ok, here's the winner with his trophy ...And just cuz they are so cute ... my cats. Cheddar (aka Ched-Rock) on top and Truffle (aka Truffle-Duffle) chillin in the center. I took that a few days ago. Both are rescues that bring me joy everyday. I was just recently watching television with Truffle and I tell people all the time, and it's true, there's not a day that goes by I don't look at them and think how sweet they are and how much I hope I'm giving them a nice home life. I constantly thank the ASPCA in my head. Anyway, I was thinking it and Truffle looked so cute as he sat next to me on the couch, so I decided to take a video of him with my cell and something really cute happened ... take a look ...

Thanks for reading! Tune in this Saturday for an all new Cooking for Real at 10am!!!

AC Food & Wine Festival: Pictures and about a thousand words

Hey there! Well, I've finally recovered from a packed-tight weekend at the Atlantic City Food and Wine Festival. I had such a great time!! I gambled a bit, sipped a bit and ate a bit. Between all that, I met some nice people and enjoyed what turned out to be some beautiful weather after a rainy start early Thursday. I have so many pictures to share from the last two days, so I guess I'll go in order ...

On Saturday, July 31st ...

I caught a ride on what I call Monopoly way ...
It's my view from a wicker rickshaw. That was my preferred mode of transportation this past weekend along the boardwalk passing streets like St. James Place and Park Place. Sure, it took a bit longer, but I get car sick very easily and it's hard to justify taking a car or taxi just a few blocks when I'm by myself. The weather was perfect for it so that's what I did Saturday morning to get to the Blues, Brews and BBQ event at the Showboat Casino. The event was hosted by The Neely's and musician Robert Cray.Can't see Robert Cray that well there, but I was also trying to get the checkered table cloth in the shot because I liked that it was BBQ down to the decor. Here's a better stage shot...Not too much better of a picture, but I did my best :-). I walked around a bit and got my hands on 2 little cups of beer then stopped to take a pic with the Neely's...They took pictures with everyone that came up to them, then ended the event by signing copies of their cookbook. After that, I took the rickshaw back to Caesar's for a late lunch at the Pier Shops and by the time I was done, it was time to start getting ready for my Sunset, Sliders and Spirits pool party that evening. I got to the party 30 minutes before the official start for a VIP reception and I was so happy to enter hearing the DJ play Billy Idol's Flesh for Fantasy...

Billy Idol - Flesh For Fantasy

I just can't say how crazy it was to hear this song! Brought back memories and I instantly thought how I was about to make some more memories that night. A huge thanks to DJ Sonatra He navigated the 80s, 90s and the 10s, with style. Like I said when we ended the night, there's no party without a DJ. Here are some of the people that stopped by ...That's Jen from the comments section here and the blog "one curly fry in a box of the regular". We've chatted plenty in comments and email, but this was our first meeting. We had a bet that I had to find her in the crowd based on her picture and I'm happy to report not 2 seconds after I stepped onto the pool level to find her, I said aloud to myself, "I'm looking for Jen". She actually turned around and I thought ... "is that her?" I walked closer to get a better look and it was!! Here are her girls ...How neat to finally meet! It got packed pretty fast and the next thing I knew the party was in full effect/swing! ;-)
That's the southern dream-team of the Neely's. Word has it they are expanding, official details to come soon :-). Pat and Gina are always so nice to me. They both often ask how I'm doing and ask if everything is ok. Pat feels like he could be an uncle giving out sage advice at every turn ...
We had a second to chat and then I ran into someone I missed at Thursday night's NFNS: Kick Off Party ...
It's Aarti, Next Food Network Star finalist! She looked like the sunset with her color choice and radiant smile. I kept seeing her throughout the weekend, but this was our first chance to chit chat. It was so nice of her to come to the party! It was sold out, but there were several "lists" so, it was packed to the brim and I made sure to move around to see everyone. I headed upstairs next to catch the sunset and ran into these partying ladies ...

On of them had two drinks and I said, now these are my kinda girls!! I mean, they were tiny drinks so why not have two at a time? Then I headed down the steps and caught a glimpse of one of my favorite rays of sunshine ...
Awwww that's my girl Alex Guarnaschelli of Chopped, Alex's Day Off and her home, Butter. I met her when we were both trying out for Food Network shows. We auditioned together on set and out of all the people I auditioned with I thought she was the most pleasant and interesting, besides being a great chef. I wake up to her show most Sundays at 9:30 and immediately get hungry! Here's someone I just met a few weeks ago ...
That's Serena from this season of NFNS. She was just eliminated last week, but she still has dreams and desires to be on the network, so you never know! She and I both got lucky and caught a tray of sliders and my Summer Corn Salad coming out from the kitchen and hijacked it for a couple of bites. I was so happy with every thing; the food, the music, the weather. Then I met someone I never expected to meet, much less in this setting!
She should look familiar to you if you watch Food Network faithfully. It's Marlie Hall, she once hosted Recipe for Success on Food Network. There's also another special she hosted that I always watch when I catch. I can't remember the name of it, but it's a candy convention in Las Vegas and I can't turn away from it. It was so nice meeting her as I was a fan long before being on the network. Then another face I missed the first night of the festival popped just in time to close the night out ...

That's super mommy Melissa D'Arabian. She had such a busy schedule for the weekend so it was so nice that she made it out. It truly is a busy weekend for all of us with many parties overlapping or closely scheduled, so it was hard to make every event. With that being said ... NOTHING was getting in the way me heading over to Sandra Lee's Sweet & Stylish party right after my pool party was over. I quickly changed and headed over to the ballroom to catch her on stage hosting a fashion show ...I took that standing right next to a table with my offering for the event, my Easy Blueberry Peach Cobbler.That's Gerry manning the table and passing out my desserts with a smile. When Sandra was done working I caught her backstage to say hi and get a photo for the blog. Her outfit was sooooooooo pretty. She looked just beautiful, this picture does no real justice ...Foxy lady and just the sweetest! I finished my night by heading to an after party, sorry no cameras ... and then I went to my favorite night spot "Club Bed", with a bottle of water for bedside table service to combat the dry air of a hotel room. :-)

Sunday August 1st ...

I slowly pushed myself out of bed around 11am and headed over to the House of Blues for a little brunch with Jen and friends at the Neely's Gospel Brunch. I walked in to the sounds of church ...The choir sounded so crisp and full. The acoustics in the House of Blues are great in so many cities. They really put music first there. I said my hellos to the Neely's and promptly sat down at the next table with Jen and her girls eager to get a full pot of coffee in my system lol. We ate and chatted between songs as much as we could, then when it was over and we got up to leave Tony Neely, Pat's brother, stopped by to say hello.I ran into him the day before at the Brews and BBQ event while he was overseeing the menu, this time we had a bit more time to chat. Not for long though because I had plans to quickly make my way over to Alex's Farm to Table Brunch at Caesar's. So, I hopped in a trusty rickshaw and headed back down the boardwalk to another plate of Saturday night recovery food.Looks classy, eh? I got there just in time to sit down and catch Alex's introduction and explanation of the menu ...Next to Alex is a representative from Wild Horse Wines, the featured vintner for the brunch. Here's my view of brunch. No words needed. It was yummy, just wait until you scroll down to dessert ... OMGrizzlyGoodness!! Click on this first pic to read the full menu on the side. I didn't get all the parts and mostly because the beignets came out warm, so no delaying for a photo! They were tender chewy little dough balls filled with raspberry jam. I had one, then split the guilt over a second one with a neighbor... Take a look at the salad when you zoom too ...

JUST LOOK AT THAT!!! The guy across from me killed his in no time flat so I corralled another one and before you know it, it was empty just like the first serving. This is where I try to end simply so this last picture can speak for itself. It was the perfect ending to my weekend. However you think it should taste ... is how it tasted and more. It was pretty darn perfect. After this I went back to my room and headed into a much needed food coma. Thanks for getting through this marathon post and if you were in Atlantic City this past weekend and we met, thank you so much for saying hi! I had fun at every turn and can't wait until the next one ... NYC is on the way!!! Tix are available now here.

AC Food & Wine Festival: Surprise, Surprise, Surprise!

Hey! I got my Gomer Pyle on last night here at the AC Food & Wine Festival and surprised a packed house of over 700 VIPs at Harrah's for dinner! I couldn't tell you about the planning stages here because it was supposed to be a secret, but early yesterday when I went to the venue to check on my recipe and ingredients, people started to ask me why I was there and I had to just answer very vaguely. It was funny and I really just wanted to burst and say "Oki'mhereplanningasurprise!", all in one breath. It was in a huge ballroom and as soon as I stepped inside, I realized just how big the crowd was going to be ... That's not even a good picture to represent the span of the room, but the room was long and every table was already set and ready to go at around 2PM. There was a set menu for the VIP diners, but my part was to interrupt between courses and prepare a recipe for them. When we were planing the surprise, my first question was ... "Do, they get to eat it?" and to my surprise, the planners said "That's up to you". I quickly said that of course I want them to try what I'm making, that would be crazy to cook something in front of you with no tv screen between us and when I'm done I just pack up and go ... taking my food with me lol. So, I also made sure my recipe was easy to prep for 700+ food people and small so they could easily pass them to the tables. I decided on my Cod Fish Puppies ... They mass produced them catering-style and planned to do a quick run in some heat before they served them with a Mango Habanero Sauce recipe I provided. I usually serve the puppies with an avocado mash, but this was for a large group and 1. no one wants to break down all those avocados, I try to take it easy on the kitchen at events like this because they are already stretched thin. And, 2. Avocado just doesn't hold up well in catering conditions. Can you imagine dolloping 700 trays with avocado mash only to look at the first one and realize the time it took to finish allowed for the oxidation and color change to start? Only so much lime I'm willing to squirt on my avocado to keep it pretty, before it ruins the flavor profile. I am so proud of putting my catering hat on for all events now. I had no idea years ago when I began catering that it was training me for moments like these. Here are the chefs that brought it all together ... That's Chef Robert and Chef David, both were so nice and actually had little tasting plates ready for me when I arrived to check the flavor and texture of my puppies. They were perfect and I was very happy they didn't dial back the heat on the habaneros. For 700+ servings they used 25 habaneros! That may not seem like much, but imagine just putting a whole, un-chopped habanero in a pot of soup will spice up the whole thing ... to chop them down and add to a sauce, the heat is crazy! Crazy good, I hoped. :-) Happy the chefs liked it and so did the committee with me that was escorting me around. All I had to do was wait for the attendees of the VIP dinner!

On the way out of the dining room is when I got stopped with all the curious questions and it's partly my fault for almost blowing my cover for the VIP event that night, but there were some neat back drops set up in the hallway and I wanted to take a few pictures in front of them ...The scale was large, but the mix of colors and the proper depth in some of the backdrops made me feel like Alice in Wonderland, after her first sip of "poison". :-) Crazy right? I don't know if it's me, but it looks like I'm actually in the kitchen! The artist didn't sign a name and none of the planners with me knew who did them, but I just think they are so neat. Here's another one ...It was up pretty high, so I played along with it and tip-toed to act like I was trying to see over the stove. These are in the event registration hallway at Harrah's if you are here and feel the urge to take some kooky photos. I didn't see one person using them, but I just loved them! After taking the pictures and almost blowing my cover, I headed back to my room to get ready for the rest of the day and ran into this sign, take a look! It says "Saturday, July 31 The pool and gym will be closing for a private event." Wooohoooo! That's my Sold out Soiree! Sunset, Sliders and Spirits on the rooftop pool at Caesar's! Can't wait to see you there tonight if you have plans to attend! Here are a couple of pics from the VIP event last night ...It was packed! Sorry it's a bit blurry. I had a great time and thanks to everyone that came up and said hi! Also a big thanks to Sandra Lee, she had a surprise visit to a VIP dinner right before mine and left plenty of her cocktail ingredients, so I begged the kitchen to shake up a pitcher for us and we all enjoyed a sip back stage ... I don't know what it's called, but it had me at Goldschlager and Grand Marnier :-). Thanks Sandy!

Afterwards I went to hang out at some of the after parties and ran into 2 of my favorite people ...Can you see them? It's the Neely's! Also if you look close (sorry about the blurs), on the left you can see Cooking Channel host Darryl Robinson of Drink Up! and on the right you can see Roger Mooking, host of Everyday Exotic on Cooking Channel. Darryl and I worked together on NFNS: After Party and he knows his drinks! Really cool guy and I just met Roger the other night at the kick off party, but he escaped before I could get a pic. Everyone else in the picture are co-workers in our PR/Marketing department. They shine up the engine and make it run! Here's me and my girl! Ms. Gina Neely. I so wished she lived closer to me or vice versa, she's a ball of fun and energy. I'm often mistaken for her and end up sending her texts like "someone just mistook me for you while I was with my boyfriend, so just in case people think you are cheating on Pat, it's really me and my guy" lol. Too funny. They have a brunch thing going on today at noon and looking at the time, I need to hurry up with this, so I can head over to that! Hope you enjoyed the sharing! If you are here and checking my blog between sips and bites, can't wait to bump into you. Please say hi!

Oh wait ... one more thing ... did you know Caesar knew how to fry ... in a pan ... with a spatula??? Totally wrong ... lol. I feel like a person watching Mad Men pointing out all the era errors ... say that fast.