Onions and Turkeys

I bought and carried all these onions.  52 total.  Onions are dense.

 

I bought and carried these turkeys.  Turkeys are heavy.  And smell like turkey, which is now how my house and car smell.

 

Cindie getting the birds ready for their close-up:  Kitchen Bouquet, Pam and a blow torch= pretty turkeys.

 

A photo of some of the spread.  I didn't really follow through with taking photos of the rest of the spread.  Probably due to 3 hours of sleep.  Nightmares of overcooking the onions and having to shop for more at 5am.  Yes, I made stuffed sweet onions at three in the morning.  If you can't sleep, you might as well cook!

 

Photographer in action.  Whole 10 hour day.  One shot (maybe one and a half).  Tick tock.

 

The onions are making love to the turkey.  They all up in that. 

I bought and carried all that.  Cindie is the genius stylist.

Thursday workout:  3 mile run in the dark.  My crazy is showing, clearly.

Wedding Reality Show Audition

Sometimes we're a bit bored on a Tuesday and we think to ourselves; why not put on a wedding dress, make a cupcake bouquet and drive to Burbank for a wedding reality show audition?!

Just kidding.

Denise had a super fun opportunity pop up and, using her creative talent and moxie, thought it would be pretty damn unforgettable to have blog mistress Mandy sport her $99 David's Bridal dress and accompany Denise to talk to some producers (said dress was purchased for some upcoming "gorgeous wedding on a budget" TV segments). It totally worked!



Mandy unearthed the dress and took a drive over to Denise's abode. She learned there is a reason why the bride doesn't drive the getaway car. It's not easy navigating LA without getting tulle in some uncomfortable places.



At the production office. We were a bit early and decided to have a pre-ceremony photo shoot. Mandy is relaxed in her supporting role.


"Can I have a cupcake yet?" asks Mandy.

"No, you may not. You might get sprinkles on your polyester. I can offer you 3 Tic Tacs, however." replies Denise.



Helpful tip: No groom leaves a bride at the altar if she's carrying a cupcake bouquet. Love (and buttercream) is blind.




And if he does leave you at the altar, you already have the subsequent binge right in your hands!

In all seriousness, the audition itself was a smashing success. Denise is a marvelous fit for the show, the producers were super cool and it would definitely be a great opportunity to spread the word about Food Fanatics. Now we will wait and see...so stay tuned!

Swordfish After An Audition

I pan fried a ginormous swordfish stead and served it with sharp cheddar polenta and sauteed veggies in a wine wine pan sauce.



Mine: crudites, a mix of hummus and Trader Joe's fat free balsamic vinaigrette, broccoli, nuts and 2 fruit bars. I was out of string cheese (NEVER thought that would happen), so I improvised with the crudites and hummus.

Today Denise asked me to accompany her on an audition for a wedding reality show. This brought back so many memories. The last time I auditioned, I was 25, or maybe 24? I'm 32 and I wore a $99 wedding dress and carried a cupcake bouquet. I still got it! It was so much fun and such an honor to be a part of the greatness that is Denise Vivaldo!




That's all I can say at this point and I will be posting more pics on Food Fanatics Unwashed in the next day or so. Needless to say, we are excited, we are hopeful and I am grateful!

Wednesday workout: YogaGlo 90 minute vinyasa flow with Isabelle. Ugh. Too hard and too easy at the same time. Weird and nothing flowy about it. Next.

The Proposal Movie Premiere

Denise has a wonderful neighbor, Jasmine, who handles publicity for Disney and invited Denise to the premiere of The Proposal. In turn, Denise invited Mandy and husband, and off we went to stargaze, eat our free bucket of popcorn and view a romantic comedy that, in fact, WAS sweet, touching and funny!


Our first red carpet. Hmmm, too comfortable to be tourists, too old to be actor wannabes, too married to be cruising...I decided to pretend we were documentary filmmakers doing research on the culture of the red carpet.


Yep, there's Ryan. This was the first of several sightings, including him brushing Mandy's shoulder at the Roosevelt during the dessert reception. It was shocking to the newbies (that would be Mandy and husband) that all of the cast, including Sandra Bullock, were just standing around us mere mortals, breathing the same air. It was a gawk fest, for sure.


Sandra on the red carpet. How fabulous did she look? Very. We love the fact that she is 44 with a lineless face and a cellulite free body; it keeps Mandy's body dysmorphia intact.




Husband enjoying some wedding cake at the dessert reception. We also tried some amazing Japanese pastry, fruit tarts and carrot cake. Oink. Yes, I totally consumed flour and sugar and am feeling just fine.

Other star sightings included Elizabeth Banks and Adam Shankman who is a guest judge on the best show that existed ever on television (according to Cindie and Mandy), So You Think You Can Dance?

Thank you, Denise, for the amazing evening. Husband is in love with you.

Styling In No Ho

Hi lovelies! I've been blogging, just on another blog. Check the styling. It was hot!

What I've Been Up To

Hello! I've been a busy little food styling assistant and Food Fanatic blogger. Let's catch up!

There was breakfast, fabulousness and cupcakes.

A Day In The Foodstyling Life

Cindie's gorgeous (and labor intensive) cupcakes. Ended up mostly covered in a single shot. This is how it works. You must love them and let them go.


Food styling involves a lot of paper towels.



Denise checking the shot list with the client. Although the studio is quite the commute; it is really great. This is a huge island in a fully equipped, beautiful kitchen, which makes our job a lot more fun. Thanks, Ryan!

Food Styling Day

I was a bad blogger and forgot my camera.  I still wanted to share my day with you, which was amazing.  It was truly one of those "I can't believe I'm getting paid to do this" experiences (of which I have had very, very few...like, none).  I spent the day baking chocolate chip cookies, decorating brownies and pizzas and helping two genius stylists with whatever they needed (I mostly washed lots of dishes).  Being in the kitchen is my favorite form of meditation, so doing so in a supportive and creative environment is just a dream for this girl.

On the workout tip, I ran about 4 miles with husband at 5:30am.  Impressed.

Food Fanatics (my gurus) on Food Network Tonite!

Two of my favorite ladies, Denise Vivaldo and Cindie Flanigan, of Food Fanatics media food styling, will be appearing on Food Network's prime time hit, Will Work For Food. 

I have had the honor of learning and working with these women and I must tell you, they are as talented (and hilarious) as they are kind and generous.  I cannot wait to see them with Adam Gertler.  Make sure to check it out and let me know your thoughts!

Food Styling 101

These are my pancakes.  They have paper towels holding them up, are completely covered in Pam so the syrup won't penetrate, oh and the syrup is not actual pancake syrup, it's Karo syrup (pours better).  The strawberries are real.

I spent the weekend learning how to style food for the camera.  To say we barely scratched the surface would be close to accurate.  SO much goes into this that I have never, ever considered.  It's incredible and makes me look at food in a whole new (and not very appetising) way.

I loved it and will be assisting Denise and Cindie on a couple of jobs this month.  Yippee!

This is my chicken salad.  The lettuce is being held in place by lard.  I also made little herbed goat cheese globs from lard and rosemary (YUM).  Ready for close-up.

Learning how to make a Norm's billboard worthy fried egg.  You separate the white from the yolk and barely cook them in a vat of lukewarm oil.  Hungry yet?

Cindie showing us some techniques.  This could be my future.