A Brownie Baking Memory

Here is a really funny picture that I found when I was rummaging through old photos today! I was four years old and was busy baking some delicious brownies with my new apron and Jack, my big brother (who is not in this photo). I am sure he got to lick the spoon covered in ooey gooey batter and was delighted to share in that joy. You see, my job is to actually bake the treats and Jack's job, well it's not really a job but, he gets to feed his passion for eating sweets!

A Once In A Lifetime Experience

At a gorgeous house in Malibu, on July 20, I was eating a burger poolside next to Giada de Laurentiis surrounded by bright lights and big cameras. You might wonder, why would that be? Well, I was invited to make a guest appearance on Giada at Home for a pool party episode. I was tickled pink to find out that I was going to be on a tv show with one of the most famous chefs in the food industry. I brought my brother along with me and since it was a pool party episode, our job was to splash around in the pool while Giada grilled burgers. When it was time, we ate the food.

The menu was genius for a pool party and all of the kids seemed to enjoy it!

It was simple and yummy...

-Burgers a la Pizzaiola
-Penne in Brown Butter with Arugula and Pine Nuts

-Tropical Watermelon Sorbet

I imagine you might ask what are Burgers a la Pizzaiola. Let me tell you, they are no ordinary cooked round patties of beef. They are burgers stuffed with everything you would find on a pizza; sun dried tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese and red pepper flakes. They were so tasty. Then there was penne with a brown butter sauce, cherry tomatoes, arugula, and pine nuts. The penne was al dente and the brown butter sauce had a nice flavor to it. As for dessert, there was a really refreshing watermelon sorbet - pretty straight forward.

I couldn't believe how welcoming and gracious Giada was. She was unbelievably kind and sweet to me and made me feel so comfortable. I look up to her and I realized how confident and poised she is. She knows exactly what she is going to say with no script on hand. She was a natural at leading our group. Her 2 year old daughter Jade, was on the show and she is adorable. Hearing her pronounce the word wahtamemon (watermelon) was just the cutest thing.

Giada's pool party was a great experience for me and I really enjoyed meeting everyone on team Giada~ producer, Ann, assistant, Jocelyn, makeup artists, Cynde and Julie, and of course, Giada herself. As soon as I get the recipe for the burgers I will post it! In the meantime, here's another recipe from Giada that I love...

Mushroom Parmesan

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for greasing the grill pan
• 4 to 6 portobello mushrooms
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup marinara sauce (store bought or homemade)
• 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan
• 2 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces

Directions

Place a grill pan over medium-high heat or preheat a gas or charcoal grill.

Drizzle 3 tablespoons of olive oil over both sides of the mushrooms. Sprinkle the mushrooms with salt and pepper. Drizzle olive oil on the grill to prevent the mushrooms from sticking. Grill until the mushrooms are heated through and tender, about 5 minutes per side.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Spread 1/2 cup of the marinara sauce on the bottom of a 9 by 13-inch baking dish. Place the grilled mushrooms on top of the marinara sauce and top with the remaining marinara sauce. Sprinkle with the cheeses and top with the butter pieces. Bake until the cheese melts and the top is golden, about 15 minutes. Serve. And Enjoy!!!

Thirst Quenching Summer Treat

Who doesn't love a nice, cold, and refreshing drink in the middle of a hot, summer day? I know I do. My mom made an amazing two glass' of watermelon juice for my brother and me. With a spritz of lime it makes the perfect after camp snack (especially with some fresh cut up watermelon on the side). It is really simple and you can also make popsicles out of it. Here is the recipe-

Watermelon Juice


1/2 of a watermelon cut into cubes

A handful of ice cubes

2 teaspoons of lime juice


Mix everything in the blender. If you prefer it smooth, then strain it and pour into glasses.



Watermelon Popsicles


1 recipe watermelon juice


Pour the watermelon juice into popsicle makers and then freeze for about 6 hours.

The Greatest Cooking School in the World!!!

I am currently going to camp at the New School of Cooking in Culver City and I absolutely love it. Each day we "go" to a different country and we make 4-5 dishes from that country. Then, at the end of the day we get to eat it all! The head chef is Carol Cotner and she is an amazing chef with a great personality. Then there are three other teachers in my class. There is Pace, Sue, and Hillary. Pace is really good at cooking chicken, Sue is a master chopper and Hillary is really good at teaching and making desserts! My favorite day was on Thursday. We cooked the foods from France and made this really good chicken paillard in a shallot-butter sauce. We also made magnificent chocolate eclairs drizzled with a homemade chocolate glaze. The New school of Cooking also teaches professional classes which focus on one type of food. I think that this is an amazing school and if you ever find yourself in Culver City, then you should definitely check it out!

My Fun-Filled, Food-Packed, Shopping-Crazy Trip to New York

I have come back from my trip to New York, and I have to say it was fantastic. We saw 2 broadway shows and they both went over the top (in a good way that is). If you are ever in New York, you have got to see Billy Elliott. The dancing is phenomenal and we had a great Billy. Fela! was a very lively show and yet again the dancing was great. It also has a very interesting story. We had second row seats so my mom was joking that the actors sweat was going to fly onto us. It turned out that our seats were marvelous. So, the theatre district restaurants that we went to, Becco and Osteria la Doge, were just average. Becco is a restaurant that I was looking forward to because it is owned by Lidia Bastianich and her son. I have watched Lidia's cooking shows and I have made pasta with my mom from one of her cook books. Unfortunately, our experience was underwhelming. We hardly noticed the food because the restaurant was swarming with people and was super crazy with waiters running from end to end. It just so happened that the night we were dining there, a gang of toddlers was eating next to us and we suffered from their relentless impersonations of owls. It was completely bananas! Osteria la Doge was nothing special, but the spinach salad did have some good fried onions on top as a garnish. The restaurant was quite toasty, but then again I am not blaming this on the restaurant because it was like 100 degrees out! Balthazar, on the other hand, was spectacular! My mom and I shared an ooey-gooey cheese plate which included a camembert, goat cheese, blue cheese, and a hard cow's milk cheese. We then had the chicken for two which was really tasty and was accompanied by two large containers bulging at the seams with salty french fries. I know that I am already overwhelming you with too much food, but wait there is more! For dessert we had a small scoop of lip-smacking ice cream and the waitress, who, by the way, was fantastic, brought over a large saucer overflowing with rich, chocolate pot du creme.

It feels good to be home with my main squeeze Daisy (my 7 year old Labradoodle) but NYC was fantabulous. Now, I am going to start my favorite camp in the whole, wide world-cooking camp. To find out about my adventures there, stick around for more! See ya!