I had the pleasure of speaking with Claire Robinson, the star of 5 Ingredient Fix.  If you’re not familiar with her and the show, you’re missing out.  She truly brings you recipes that are easy to make, full of flavor, and many times will remind you of family favorites that grandma made.

I have three recipes here, on My Wooden Spoon, that came from the 5 Ingredient Fix show; Blackened Catfish, Homemade Creamed Corn, and Tomato Bacon & Onion Gratin.  All three were absolutely fabulous and packed with flavor. I had never made catfish. My husband usually takes over when it comes to that type of food but I did it and it was so much easier than I thought it would be.  Imagine Paula Deen but faster, healthier, and more budget friendly.

THE CLAIRE ROBINSON INTERVIEW

When asked, “What 5 tools and pantry items are must-haves?”, Claire replied with the following:

5 Essential Tools

1. A good spatula
2. good set of knives (she has 5 favorites)
3. good “hot” pan
4. food processor
5. and whatever YOU can’t live without.

5 Essential Pantry Items

1. GOOD unbleached flour
2. sugar
3. Olive Oil (one for cooking and one to finish)
4. Balsalmic Vinegar
5. depends on the season, mood–currently a flavorless oil

She recommends that you don’t buy sugar and flour in bulk to insure you are keeping them completely fresh.  She made it a point to say how important it is to check the expiration dates on everything, even the flour and sugar.

When asked, “Are your recipes easy to double and triple?”, Claire said absolutely!  When she first approaches a recipe she’s writing, she looks at it as if it was being made for feeding a big family and then pairs it down to feeding 4.  While she might not always like leftovers, she does like going into the fridge throughout the day to eat more of that dish!  My kind of gal!

When asked, “What substitute refrigerator item should be on hand?” ,Claire replied with Greek Yogurt!  She said it’s good for breakfast, great for substituting for sour cream, great for everything.  She went on and on about it! She’s do dang cute.

Her most favorite snack that fuels her is Pumpkin Seed Dried Cherry Trail Mix.  She said she can eat gallons of it! LOL  It’s her go-to snack!

She stresses the importance of playing with a recipe.  She said too many folks tend to focus on the EXACT ingredients and their amounts that it makes the cooking process less fun.  She says you should read the recipe, put it away, and do your own thing. Don’t be afraid to swap an ingredient out or add more or less.

EXCITING NEWS FROM CLAIRE ROBINSON

Claire had a book, 5 Ingredient Fix, coming out on October 27th. I am extremely excited about that!

She also has recently joined forces with Food Network Challenge!!!  We all love the show and I can’t wait to see her personality and expertise on the show.

It was a great interview and I wish Claire all the best and look forward to seeing much more!

This give is part of the Bloggy Giveaways!  Go check it out for hundreds of other giveaways.  (starts at 8am CST).

The gel comfort technology in the Gel Pro Chef’s Mat alleviates nagging foot & back pain, so that you can enjoy your time standing there cooking, or washing dishes! I love it. I had this in my holiday gift guide and it was a hit and with good reason. I’ve had one since Christmas and I can honestly say it’s fabulous! I’m barefoot all the time so I don’t have any sort of shoe padding to help comfort my feet and when you cook on a ranch and for 3 boys, you’re always on your feet. It’s been a nice addition to say the least. I just wish I had a longer one that would run from one end to the other. On my wish list *ahem*.  Not just for my kitchen either but for my laundry room because I am ALWAYS in there!

They come in all sorts of colors and style like

• Basketweave
• Cordoba
• Striated
• Crocodile
• Ostrich
• Rattlesnake

Now if I could pick another one out, I would choose Rattlesnake because well, it’s countryfied!  We’ll be doing rattlesnake hunting in Feb so it would suit us well I think.

WIN ONE!

Up for a win is a standard size Gel Pro Chef’s Mat!  (color & style TBA min. prize value is $99)

HOW TO ENTER

Visit the Gel Pro website and tell me what color & style you would choose if you could get any one.  Come back here and leave a comment with your answers.

Additional ways to enter

• Join my foodie community
• Blog it
• Stumble and/or Twitter this giveway
• Subscribe to my blog via reader or by email.

This giveaway ends on February 1st!  Also check out my cowboy blog for a Flip Video Camera Giveaway!

On Wednesday, Sept. 17th, which is tomorrow, Gwyneth Paltrow chats Oprah about motherhood, marriage, Madonna, and how she got that body everyone’s talking about.  And lemme tell ya folks, she looks good!

Later on in the show, Gwyneth’s pal, Iron Chef Mario Batali joins in to chat about a culinary couple’s trek across Spain while eating, cooking and taking in the sights on a new PBS documentary.  Batali will also be cooking a mouth-watering 15 minute meal! And I love me some Batali!!!  He’s a heck of a chef.

Here’s a tease for you  then tune in tomorrow to watch the real show on Oprah.

First, lets give a hand to my fantastic guest poster, belhoste!! She did a wonderful job standing in for me with the posts and I hope you all are so kind as to visit her blog and say hello:)

If you recall, I went the Blogher conference in San Fransisco this past weekend and one of the exciting parts of it was getting to see Rocco DiSpirito!  Not only is he easy on the eyes, he’s also witty and down to earth!  He cooked up some pasta using the quick and easy Bertolli pouches.  Very simple to use and I loved watching him taste everything…he kept licking his fingers:)

I also loved that he walked the room so that we all got to see him instead of just staying in one place where the back people wouldn’t be able to see.

He told us his story on the turning point of becoming so interested in food and what drives him today.  When he’s home, he loves to eat soup!  He seems very genuine, down to earth, funny, and I adored how would reference his mother….he’s a good boy;)

It was definitely one of my highlights and I’m glad that he accepted the offer to participate in Blogher and I’m extremely grateful to be a part of it!

Here were are together…….

Ermmm, now onto the food!

I was able to attend Guy Kawasaki’s party on Thursday night and I must say, he had the most fantastic food!  The party was beautiful and the food was delicious:)  See all my photos from San Fransisco here including Guy’s party!

Anyways, the colors were vibrant, the variety of drinks rocked, and the combination of flavors were divine:)  Take a look at some of what he offered…………

First up is some good ol’ barbecue!  A little more fancy than what I prepare but just as good!

Wild Rice & Peppers anyone??

For you meat lovers, how about this with a side of asparagus??…YUMMY!

We attending a Macy’s party and enjoyed these cute little Chinese takeout boxes complete with chopsticks!

These were cute too, just a little bigger than a quarter:)  I did learn that I don’t like tofu….which is what these are :/

I had a blast and loved every single minute of it! I tried to bring a little of Blogher to you since I know that many of you can’t attend…I hope you enjoy these pictures as much as I loved taking them!

WOOHOO!  Who’s ready for another season of The Next Food Network Star???!!  I know I am.  You know, I sorta knew Rory (the runnerup) from Season 3.  She was also in another reality show filmed in Vega, TX and we lived at the Fulton Quien Sabe Ranch at the time.  She fell in love with a cowboy! 

Anyways, there are some new faces and new challenges this season and by the looks of the sneak peek I got of the episode, it’s gonna be a great show! 

I’ve got a surprise related to The Next Food Network Star coming soon:)  So be sure to stay tuned and scroll down and read the press release!

Bobby Flay Turns Up The Summer Heat For Ten Finalists With The Chance To Star in Their Own Series

Season Four of Food Network’s Top-Rated Program, “The Next Food Network Star” Sizzles
With Guest Appearances by Martha Stewart, Rachael Ray, Paula Deen, And Many More!

The Next Food Network Star is back this summer with a star-studded fourth season on Food Network. This season Bobby Flay takes a seat with the selection committee full-time and the finalists are put through the ringer to prove that they can take the cake (and the pizza, and the lobster, and the potato salad) to be the last chef standing and winner of his-or-her own Food Network show. The series kicks off  on Sunday, June 1st at 10pm ET/PT.

“What’s unique about The Next Food Network Star is that having top culinary chops is only half the battle,” said Bob Tuschman, Senior Vice President, Programming and Production. “If you can’t find the winning formula to deliver first rate creative food, a unique culinary point of view, and star charisma week after week, you’re going home. This year’s finalists are absolutely the most talented and fiercely competitive we’ve ever had on the show.”

The 10 finalists include: Nipa Bhatt (Victoria, MN), Jennifer Cochrane (Woonsocket, RI), Lisa Garza (Dallas, TX), Adam Gertler (Philadelphia, PA), Cory Kahaney (New York, NY), Shane Lyons (Colorado Springs, CO), Aaron McCargo Jr. (Camden, NJ), Kelsey Nixon (North Ogden, UT), Kevin Roberts (San Diego, CA), and Jeffrey Vaden (White Plains, NY).

This season’s finalists are put to the test with complex challenges that determine their culinary competence and on-screen star potential. Challenges include a late night race through the streets of Manhattan, creating easy versions of complicated dishes for the staff of Bon Appétit magazine, teaming up with girl scouts to create healthy meals and cooking under the bright lights on the Las Vegas strip.

Throughout June and July, the selection committee, aided by a rotating cast of remarkable guest stars including Martha Stewart, Rachael Ray, Giada De Laurentiis, Alton Brown, Cat Cora, Sandra Lee, Gina and Pat Neely, Masaharu Moriomto, Tyler Florence, Michael Symon and Season Two winner Guy Fieri, will narrow the field down until the finale. This season, the selection committee will select the winner and he-or-she will be revealed during the series’ finale on Sunday, July 27th at 10pm ET/PT and will receive a six-episode show that will premiere in August 2008. The Next Food Network Star is produced by CBS EYE too Productions.

Fans of The Next Food Network Star can make their voices heard, by logging on to www.FoodNetwork.com/Star and participating in the network’s first-ever “fan favorite” vote! Starting Monday, June 2nd, viewers will have the opportunity to vote for their favorite contestants throughout the season. The finalist with the most votes will be crowned the “fan favorite” and will win assorted prizes.