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!!!