Barefoot Contessa boozes hard!

I knew I loved Ina for a reason other than her flipped up collars...today Ina made Long Island Ice Tea's, Mai Tai's, and Manhattan's. See above link for all her recipes....cheers!

Dave Lieberman & Hellmann's is "In Search of Real Food"

Dave Lieberman, like myself, started cooking at a young age with his father. Now, he hosts two shows on the Food Netowork: Good Deal with Dave Lieberman & Get This. I regularly watch Good Deal and I love it...I am somewhat embarrassed to say I have never watched his other show. I will keep a look out for it though, and let you know what I think. Today I was informed of this new online video series with him on Yahoo Food so I had to check it out. He is in search of real food and what that means to people across the country. It should be interesting to see what he digs up. For myself, real food means meals that are no less than absolutely delicious. I grew up with a father and a god mother who were (and still are) incredible in the kitchen. Needless to say, I was spoiled growing up eating the most amazing dishes on a regular basis. To me, real food must also be relatively quick and simple. Being a new mother I have less and less time for myself, but I refuse to sacrafice healthy, delicious meals.

Rachael Ray - Sex Myths & Truths

Because I have yet to get into Recipe for Success at 10:00am on the Food Network, I have begun watching the Rachael Ray Show. I realize this is not on the food network but since Rachael Ray has 349434 shows on the Food Network, I feel like this is relevent. What makes todays show extra comical is that she is discussing "Sex Myths & Truths." She brought back Dr. Manny Alvarez to debunk a few sex myths, none of which had to do with getting sexually aroused from being spit on. Hehehe.... For those of you who are out of the loop her husband a while back was accused of paying a hooker large amounts of money to spit on him and perform other kinky sex acts. Both Rachael and her husband John deny these allegations. Someone should have stood up and asked her about THAT! Now THAT would be GREAT daytime television! Sorry Rachael, I couldn't resist. Ok, moving on - her main meal (Roasted Chicken with Potatoes & Veggies with Dijon Asparagus) didn't excite me today and either did the quick dip she made. Rachael made a Four-Layer Mediterranean Dip...I don't think I will be trying this one any time soon. Although I love every layer individually, I'm not so sure I would like to eat them all together. Hummus - yes. Pickled Vegetables - yes. Kalamata olives - YES. Roasted red peppers - YES! All those together - BOO! If anyone out there is daring enough to try this PLEASE let me know how it turns out!

Dave Lieberman - Boston Lettuce Avocado Salad

I would just like to say, I love Good Deal with Dave Lieberman. Not only is he cute, but he shows you how to stretch a buck. I'll be completely honest with you though, I wouldn't try most of his recipes... but this one is a winner - thanks Dave! Believe it or not, this is my new favorite salad. I have made it on several occasions and everyone has loved it! This is another recipe which requires making a dressing so tweak it according to your taste. For this recipe I wouldn't change anything. I left out cilantro once, I do not sugguest doing that. Don't take any shortcuts. If anything, use more avocado.

Bobby Flay - Stacked Tomato Salad

Today I made the Stacked Tomato Salad that I saw Bobby Flay make earlier this week. They were easy, tasty and looked fabulous. I give it an A for taste and presentation. These were perfect for today considering it was nearly 90 degrees. No cooking involved! I made the dressing according to his recipe (I did not put the basil in the dressing, I just layered it on the tomatos). I may have used a little more honey and mustard than Bobby did. The trick is - just keep testing and tweaking the amounts until it tastes good to you. I took a few different types of tomatoes (whichever ones looked good in the store) and used fresh mozzarella cheese. I left a few items out, however, when I made the black olive tapenade. I'm sure you would not be able to taste the anchovy fillets he threw in there, but I don't do anchovies. One day I will try them - today was not that day. His recipe also called for pine nuts but I didn't feel like buying them just for this. As it turned out, the tomatos were amazing without either one of those ingredients in the tapenade and I saved a few bucks too!