Giada De Laurentiis and Chocolate Rice Pudding

On Saturday afternoon I went to the second annual food show in Lexington. Giada De Laurentiis was the celebrity chef this year and I was so pleased to have the chance to meet her. Giada was very gracious to her fans at the book signing. She took the time to talk, pose for pictures, and give hugs. By the time I arrived to have my book signed, security was ushering her along. I managed to snap this picture while she was signing my copy of Giada's Family Dinners. I had a million questions, or things I wanted to say to her, but I think I got awestruck. She is absolutely radiant in person! I managed to say something silly like "It's so nice to meet you." (Brilliant, right?)

Later in the day, Giada did a cooking demonstration where she pulled members of the audience up on stage to help her cook. She took a lot of questions during the cooking demo and was very open with the audience. She talked about some of her most embarrassing moments, discussed the filming for her show, and also her family. You could really tell that she enjoys talking to her fans.

The highlight of the show, at least for me, was when one gentleman asked her for a knife so he could cut his spaghetti. Giada replied "You can't cut pasta. You suck it!" The audience roared with laughter.

Another member of the audience asked the ultimate food question. "What is your favorite thing to eat?"

Giada replied very quickly. "Dessert. Chocolate to be exact."

I had to chuckle because Chocolate Cravings is our theme this week at I Heart Cooking Clubs, where we are celebrating Giada's recipes for the next 6 months. How fitting!

Never having made or ate a rice pudding before, I decided on Giada's Chocolate Rice Pudding. During her cooking demo, Giada talked about how she prefers semisweet chocolate to milk chocolate. She told us that many times she tends to write her recipes to include semisweet chocolate and that we should use whichever chocolate we prefer. I prefer milk chocolate, which is what I used in this recipe. The rice pudding is accented with orange zest and orange liqueur, giving the pudding that fantastic flavor of orange and chocolate. I garnished mine with more orange zest and orange segments on the side. Perfect colors for the Halloween weekend coming up!
Chocolate Rice Pudding
Adapted from Giada at Home
Serves 6-8
5 cups whole milk
2/3 cup Arborio rice
3/4 cup sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons grated orange zest (from 1 medium orange)
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1-1/2 tablespoons orange liqueur
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (I used 3/4 cup milk chocolate, 1/4 cup semisweet)

In a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine the milk, rice, sugar, and orange zest. Scrape in the seeds from the vanilla bean and add the bean to the saucepan. Bring the milk to a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring frequently, until the rice is tender and the mixture thickens, 35-40 minutes.

Remove the pan from the heat and discard the vanilla bean. Stir the cocoa powder and orange liqueur into the mixture. Add the chocolate chips and stir until melted. Allow the mixture to cool for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Spoon the rice pudding into serving bowls. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2-1/2 to 3 hours or up to 1 day before serving.

Now cooking the recipes of Giada De Laurentiis!

The Incredible Food Show & Suggestions

The Incredible Food Show was sponsored by Kentucky Proud, a "buy local" initiative created by the Kentucky Department of Agriculture. Inside of the convention center there were over 100 booths and tables set up with local suppliers. There were so many different foods to sample and they were all local creations.

There were local wines; cheeses; chocolates; local dairy barns with ice cream; bakeries with cupcake buffets; barbecue stations; gourmet sea salts and spices; fishmarkets, beef, lamb and goat farmers; jams, jellies & preserves; gourmet foods; and of course everything made with Bourbon. After all, if there is one thing that Kentucky is famous for, it would be bourbon. What is your area famous for?

There were also local restaurants and caterers with stations set up like this for food demonstrations. I went to one presentation on cheesemaking, which was really interesting. It was put on by Kenny's Farmhouse Cheese. I was hoping it would be more about the process of making cheese, but the owner shared some interesting stories of how he got started. He also said that dairy farmers are really having a hard time right now. Evidently, when the milk goes to market, it is selling for the same price it sold for back in the 70's. Because of the low prices for milk, he is converting even more and more of his milk into cheese products and is thankful that there is such a huge market for cheese.
I loved these Halloween-themed wines. They were $15 a bottle, but I didn't buy any. I am slapping myself for that now. Aren't they cute?
After much shopping around, I bought these two products below from Bourbon Barrel Foods. Their foods are aged in bourbon barrels, leaving a slight hint of bourbon in the products. The Bourbon Vanilla Sugar smells so good and is made with demerara (raw cane sugar) and vanilla beans. The Bourbon Smoked Sea Salt smells slightly smoky.

I would love to hear your ideas and thoughts about how I can use these two products. I definitely want to make a steak and serve the bourbon smoked sea salt on top. Besides the steak, I can't think of how else to use the bourbon smoked sea salt. I'm looking forward to some great suggestions.

Bobby Flay Loves to Talk With His Hands

I thought it was the Italians that were known for talking with their hands? Maybe it's the Irish that love to talk with their hands. In fact, this was one of the first things I noticed about Bobby Flay. The man loves to talk with his hands. I thought it was rather cute. He was very animated and all, but I really wanted a picture of his face. In addition to talking with his hands (a lot), he is also a very quick mover. I did manage some better pics, that I will post tomorrow. In the meantime, I thought these were cute.

I also wanted to say thanks to everyone for all your sweet comments yesterday! I love reading my comments and yesterday's were filled with very kind words. I treasured them all!
In both of these pictures (above and below) Bobby is extolling the virtues of Jif peanut butter. He used peanut butter in a glaze/sauce for some ribs that he made. Bobby shared with us that Jif was his favorite brand. He likes creamy in recipes and chunky on his sandwiches. He also said that you could use natural peanut butter, but that he doesn't like the way it separates. He said he prefers the stabilizers in Jif. Everyone in the audience laughed when he said that.
In the picture below, Bobby is talking about his visit the night before to Malone's. Malone's is a very popular steakhouse in Lexington. It's a very nice restaurant, but one that most people can afford to go to here and there. Nothing super duper fancy. He was telling us that they made him wait in line to sit down. He seemed to like that. Later on, he asked the waiter for a specialty aged bourbon that had been aged six years. He was visited by the chef a couple of minutes later. The chef apologized that they were all out of the specialty bourbon. Instead, the chef offered Bobby some 25 year aged specialty bourbon that he kept in his car!! Bobby really enjoyed the fact that this chef kept 25 year aged bourbon in his car. He did end up having some of that bourbon. This picture is him laughing about his experience at Malone's.
In the picture below, Bobby is busy making my apple dessert. I took this picture while I was standing in line to talk to him. An eleven-year old boy had just asked him what his favorite foods were while he was growing up. He explained that he LOVED deviled eggs, pudding, and lamb with mint jelly. Moments later, he laughed and said that was the "entire extent of his mother's cooking repertoire". Bobby turned the question around and asked the young boy what his favorite foods were. The boy replied salmon and artichokes, which made Bobby laugh. He teased the young boy, telling him that he had just learned what an artichoke was this year. He followed that up by saying how great it is that everyone was interested and learning all about food. He said he hoped that the Food Network had played a big role in that. I was the next person up in line and I shared that I had been watching him on the Food Network for years. I have to say that the Food Network has taught people a lot about food and how to cook. It was their cooking shows that inspired me to get in the kitchen. I, myself, have learned a lot watching the Food Network channel.

Don't you just love the way he's using his hands in every picture? There is a lot I could say about this, but I'll stop here. You know where I'm going anyway:D I'll have some more pictures tomorrow, along with some stories that Bobby shared with us.

I didn't get around to making this week's My Girl Paula selection. My weekend was too busy, and my hubby was sick. This week's selection was Pumpkin Gingerbread Trifle and I bet it was delicious!! Head on over to see how everyone else enjoyed it. I'll be back to My Girl Paula next week with Mini Mummies, a great Halloween recipe for the kids!!

My Conversation with Bobby Flay....

As I type this post, I'm shaking with excitement. In fact, I think I need a chill pill. The Incredible Food Show in Lexington was a complete blast. I had an incredible and amazing day perusing all the goodies, meeting local chefs, and watching cooking demos. But, the very best part (and the highlight of my year) was Bobby Flay's cooking demonstration!

Bobby came on stage to a screaming audience. He is even more attractive in person. In addition to his looks, he carries himself extremely well. He is one of those people who are both impeccably dressed and well-groomed. On top of all that, he is completely charismatic, charming and full of raw sex appeal. Let's not forget that THE MAN CAN COOK! All you ladies out there know that this is a winning combination!! I had to pick my jaw up off the floor just to concentrate on the cooking :D Bobby is a real people person. He was chit chatting with the audience and made everyone feel right at home. He is a prankster and practical joker. He kept cracking jokes throughout the show. He also talks with his hands, alot. This made it difficult to get good pictures of him, but I did manage some. I'll be posting more later this week.

Towards the end of the show there was time for a Question and Answer period. Guests were invited to go up to the microphone and ask questions. If you had the chance to meet me you would notice very quickly that I am TERRIBLY shy. I have been shy my whole life. It must have been Bobby's looks that caused me to climb out of my shell today!!

DO YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT I DID?

Picture an arena full of people, all ages. Then there's me, and about 10 other people in line. I don't know what I'm going to say, but gosh darn it...I'm gonna say something. The question and answer period is going on while Bobby is making an apple dessert. The show is winding up and I am the VERY LAST PERSON to ask a question, or I guess I should call it a statement : O

Me: Hi Bobby! I am a huge fan of yours and I have been watching you on the Food Network since it began.

Bobby: Well, it's always nice to hear about fans from way back.

Me: I have had a crush on you since back then and I just wanted to tell you that you're gorgeous!!

What happened next is something I'll never forget! Bobby blushed and smiled, really big!! He asked me if I liked apples. I, of course, said yes. Then he gave me my very own dessert, made completely by him and told me thank you!! He was over his time limit and ran off stage after that. Mind you, I'm standing in front of the stage with my dessert in hand and 500 hungry people behind me! I was one big ball of nerves. My adrenaline was pumping and I was all hopped up. I quickly found a place to take a picture (or 50) of my handmade Bobby Flay dessert. Some of the other audience members wanted to take a picture as well. And, everyone wanted to know how it tasted.

Onto the dessert. I believe it was from his Mesa cookbook. It was a Caramel Apple Shortcake with Apple Cider Reduction and it was PERFECT (just like Bobby)!! I only wish that my adrenaline wasn't running so hard because it was really hard to calm down and enjoy it :D
We watched Bobby make it all from scratch on stage. His shortcake biscuits were so light and flaky. They were better than any I've ever had before. It was almost like a pie crust, but the best pie crust imaginable. Everything was cooked perfectly and tasted delicious.

I walked out of that arena with a huge smile on my face and I was kind of laughing to myself. This is exciting stuff for a housewife!! Here I am a married woman, with two kids, in my mid thirties telling a married man that he's gorgeous. It's not something I would normally do, but it was totally what I was thinking and IT SURE FELT GOOD TO TELL HIM!! In the end, it paid off well :D

It all reminds me of what my Grandpa used to say whenever we were lucky, doing well, or things were going our way. He used to always say "You must be livin' right". On the other hand, if we weren't winning and were having bad luck then we "weren't livin' right". My Grandpa loved to see people "go for it" and today reminded me of him. Tonight I can hear him telling me that I'm livin' right!!