Contrary to popular belief, girls do EAT. It’s time to enjoy food through the eyes of a girl who considers herself an avid eater both simply at home and around town. You won't know if you like it until you try it!
In the premiere episode of Food Network Star, 15 hopefuls arrive in New York to compete for the ultimate dream job: to host their own show on Food Network. The finalists arrive at the Food Network kitchens to greet their team leaders, Alton Brown, Bobby Flay and Giada De Laurentiis, and meet their rivals for the first time! Special guest Robert Irvine gives the finalists their first Star Challenge: to create their very own Pop-Up restaurant from the ground up – with an extremely limited budget and very little time.
Photo and episode synopsis taken from Food Network website
Each week I will breakdown the latest episode of The Next Food Network Star and make my prediction for the week to come. I hope that you will join me and share your thoughts on who you think will be the Next Food Network Star.
Watch as I breakdown the premiere episode, “Impossible Beginnings,” of the Next Food Network Star:
Follow me on Twitter @anncampea for future vidcasts!
My friend was in a bind. She needed to get home and just couldn’t seem to find a way. So I did what I think any friend would have done. I drove her home. She was very thankful for my kind deed. She thanked me and I was happy to help. What I did not expect was her appreciation to carry over to the next day. The next day she surprised me with home made chicken chili verde enchiladas and spanish rice. She said she was so grateful that when making dinner with her mother last night, she thought of me and what better way to repay a fellow foodie and friend than with a delicious home made treat.
Once a month, I travel to Sacramento for business. But whomever says one can’t mix business with pleasure is insane. Every time I head up to Sac Town, I make it a point to try a new dish. The recent renovation of the airport has presented many new food options, one of which is cafeteria 15L, a comfort and eclectic urban restaurant offering American comfort cuisine with a classic flair. The use of reclaimed woods, industrial light fixtures, and an array of mixed and matched chairs create an atmosphere both whimsical and cozy. Traditional dishes are created with a twist to evoke the nostalgia and comfort of a home-cooked meal, including the one below, which is a fantastic twist to your traditional fried chicken wings.
In an area filled with chain restaurants, it’s nice to see one of a kind joints pop up every now and then. The Salted Pig is a casual gastropub located in Downtown Riverside, and it’s by no surprise that people experience excessive wait times just to get a seat. They specialize in craft beer, boutique wines, and a seasonal menu with daily offerings. My guy friends go for the beer. I go for the burgers. You’ll see my favorite burger below, the plain ol’ burger.
Thanks to the Food Network show “Ace of Cakes”, foodies and non-foodies alike were introduced to the art of cake making. We witnessed master cake makers transform sheet cakes into monuments, vehicles, animals, and the list goes on and on. Today we celebrated a coworker’s birthday and as you can see, she loves Hello Kitty. Hello Kitty is iconic and what better way to celebrate another year of life than with a delicious Hello Kitty inspired chocolate cake. Not only was the cake extremely cute, but it was chocolate-ty delicious!
False expectations are a commonality when it comes to food. Sometimes a menu exaggerates a dish’s description and when presented to you, a sense of “Oh, that’s it?” takes over. It’s like meeting someone on Match.com, only to realize that their description really doesn’t fit the person standing before you. It happens. Today it happened to me. My friends and I decided to hit a local restaurant called Chronic Tacos to watch the UFC fights. If you don’t already know, I’m a big MMA fan. To my dismay, we had to each pay a $10 cover charge. But I was wrong to think that was the only disappointment of the evening. I ordered the tostada salad bowl. What came out is what you see below. Sure there’s a tostada bowl, sour cream, cheese, tomatoes, and olives, but where the heck is the “salad”?! If I wanted to order tacos, I would have ordered tacos! To present something as a salad and come out with maybe an ounce of lettuce is the perfect example of a false expectation. Lucky for me, the MMA bouts offered some redemption to a night filled with disappointment.
Sunday morning breakfast is a tradition for us and something that Mr. (my husband) and I very much look forward to every week. Whether we spend the morning indoors whipping up breakfast together or choose to hit the local diner, for us, Sunday mornings are refreshing and a nice toast to another week’s end. Today we decided to hit a local breakfast joint called Goodfellas Cafe in Corona, CA. The breakfast portions are not only huge, but very tasty. From traditional breakfast choices, like corned beef hash and eggs, to Spanish inspired dishes like chorizo, tortillas, and eggs, Goodfellas serves up hearty breakfast plates to jump start your day. Let’s face it, sometimes life can get away from you. Take a break from life’s hustles and bustles. Wake up early, smell the roses, and enjoy a hearty breakfast while you’re at it. I mean, it is what they say it is- the most important meal of the day.
Although Corona, CA is not known as a foodie town, there are still foodie gems to be discovered. That’s why my friends and I have started this tradition called “Tour of Corona” on the Fridays we have off from work. Basically, we hop on Yelp and pick places that are highly rated in the area. Today we found Luna Modern Mexican Kitchen. The interior design of this restaurant is elegant, yet inviting. I would describe the food as inexpensive gourmet. The torta was on point. I could have done without the bun and eaten a bucket of the beer chicken drenched in mole. The sweet jalapeno fries made for a great pairing, providing the perfect amount of sweet to counteract the spiciness of the mole. I would give this place a 4.5 star Yelp rating. I recommend you check this place out too!
Today was a really, really, REALLY tough day at work. After spending 9 hours staring and working on the same project, at the end of the day I was able to complete it. But instead of feeling enlightened by the fact that I accomplished such a tough task, I felt physically and mentally exhausted. What’s worse is that I still had an hour commute home. But sometimes, on the worst days, food can be the perfect pick me up. Thanks to my friend, Cindy, the day ended pretty sweet. Before dropping me off at the train station, she handed me these – a bag of Mission tortilla chips, sweet sugar and cinnamon flavor. A smile from a friend and a bag of sweet chips is all it took to make me forget about this truly exhausting work day.
About a year ago, when I was trying to better my eating habits, I actually debated turning vegetarian. After one week of no meat, I realized the lifestyle wasn’t for me. However, I did discover many vegetarian eats that I enjoyed. One of which was quinoa. Quinoa is an amazing substitute for meat, as it packs just as much protein as meat and the textures are pretty similar. I found this easy to make package of quinoa and whole grain brown rice at Costco. All you have to do is pop this puppy into the microwave for 90 seconds, wait a few seconds for it to cool, then serve. Not only is it easy to prepare, but the quinoa and whole grain brown rice packs a lot of garlic flavor and guess what? It’s good for you!
