Where to begin?   “Mmmm.”   Let’s start with that.   Four days of delicious food, wine, champagne, sunshine and all of my favorite Food Network cooking superstars at the South Beach Wine & Food Festival.   Giada, Bobby, Rachael, Emeril, Guy.   OMG!

Some people go crazy over the championships in their favorite sport.  Well, this event was better than the Super Bowl.  I mean this was wine and food heaven for me.   And for it to be in South Beach Miami, one of my favorite places in the world, was like whipped cream with a cherry on top.

This was an important assignment, so I headed down to Miami to do what had to be done.  I stayed at my favorite place, the Gansevoort South Beach and enjoyed every minute and every mouthful.  Let’s start with my favorite event, which was my last event, an “Italian in Paradise” at the Ritz Carlton with Giada De Laurentiis.

An Italian in Paradise at the Ritz Carlton with Giada De Laurentiis

We had a wonderful sit down dinner with Giada and a couple hundred others.   The cocktail hour included amazing litte flat bread pizzas and cheeses while we enjoyed champagne . . .

Giada and her hubby (at the table with her below) were super sweet and we could not have had a better time at this event.   She was as gracious as a bride on her wedding night, saying a warm hello and touching everyone in the room.  I think she visited every table personally.

The menu, which included wonderful wine pairings with each course, included Giada’s own Chilled Cauliflower Soup, a Risotto with Scallops (shown here), Wild Boar, Grilled Cobia and a Prime Rib with Fresh Polenta that was so good I was sorry it was last (we were so full!).

Of course my husband John also had to have his picture taken with Giada.  He can’t resist a beautiful Italian woman who knows how to cook . . . .

Bobby Flay Bubble Q with Perrier Jouet

The night before Giada’s event, we enjoyed a huge party under the tent at the “Bubble Q” with Bobby Flay.  This event was a lot more crowded than the Giada event but we enjoyed so many great foods and met so many great Food Network chefs.   And lots of champagne.

Bobby Flay served up a really tasty taco . . .

I enjoyed the crispy taco dish from Bobby along with a short rib and some other treats when we found a table . . .

Then, I washed all of that down with a couple of bigger glasses of champagne.  They were so generous

. . . Chef Robert Irvine (below) from Kitchen Impossible was there  . . .

. . . Kat Cora (below) served up a delicious little duck meatball . . .

Al Roker, with his own BBQ Chicken recipe . . .

Chef Anne Burrell (below) . . .

Oh, and of course, Giada was there too!

I even ran into Guy as I was leaving the Bubble Q event  . . .

All of the barbecue dishes were amazing that night but I think that the winner of the night for me had to be the dessert bar made completely out of ice by Sweet Street . . .

5th Annual Rachael Ray Burger Bash

The first day of my time at the festival, I went to Rachael Ray’s event, the “Burger Bash” with my sister, Michele.

Here is Rachael Ray tasting one of the burgers.  She made the rounds to taste all of the burgers and spoke to the crowd from the stage but you really could not make any contact with her whatsoever.  She was surrounded by as much security as I’ve seen on anyone outside of the White House . . .

Chef Michael Symon won the best burger and believe me he deserved it! His Yo! Burger with fried salami, provolone, and shasha sauce was so good I ate it before I even took a photo of it. He is such a nice guy. Out of all the celebrity chefs I met that weekend he was one of the friendliest. He totally loves what he does and loves getting up close with the crowd.

This was the Town Kitchen & Bar of Miami’s burger with a stout float.  Unbelievable . . .

Anthony Bourdain was there . . .

Here are some of the judges of the event . . .

Here’s Rachel sampling another.  There were so many  . . .

And it was a really big, fun party with all the fixings . . .

Here’s Chef Michael Symon again enjoying another photo op . . .

and I even got to meet David Bromstad, host of Color Splash . . .   It was a star studded event!

Relaxing at the Gansevoort Hotel

Of course, after all of the commotion, I had no choice but to settle in at one of South Beach Miami’s hottest hotels, the Gansevoort South and nibble on some of their own little dishes.    Lisa at the bar started me off with this special drink of hers (just research) . . .

And of course we had some poolside snacks, including tuna tartar over tortillas and cilantro shrimp with a lime and spicy mango salsa (both below) . . .

John and I have been to the Gansevoort a few times over the last couple of years and they always take care of us.   Lisa is a bartender who makes the best bloody mary’s and Caipirinha’s in Miami.

Then there’s Don, the manager who make it all happen on the rooftop pool deck . . .

Life is pretty good in Miami in February!

All in all, the South Beach Wine and Food Festival was an amazing weekend.   I can’t wait to go back next year!   To see more photos of my trip, please visit http://facebook.com/cookingwithsugar

I’ve been drinking one or two protein shakes a day and for years now I have only been able to drink vanilla because the flavor of all the chocolate protein I have tried has been horrible and hard on my stomach.  This all changed when I tried Gaspari MyoFusion in the Milk Chocolate flavor.

Recently, I had the privilege of meeting one of the greatest athletes in the bodybuilding world, Rich Gaspari and his wife Liz.  Rich’s past titles and achievements according to his website include:

“The Mr. America – known now as the NPC Nationals, Mr. Universe, Professional Mr. World, 1st Arnold Schwarzenegger Classic Champion, Three Time runner up for the biggest and most coveted title in professional bodybuilding, the “Mr. Olympia”, and many other professional bodybuilding competitions.

Rich didn’t stop with achievements in bodybuilding.  Over the past decade, he and his wife have developed their own line of supplements under the name Gaspari Nutrition and become one of the most recognized and loved supplements in the world.

Rich and his wife are super nice and despite their fortune and fame they are very down to earth.  I’m sure their warm and friendly personality is a result of being from Jersey.  Since I’m a Jersey girl transplanted here in the south I love to meet people from back home.

When we were talking about working out and what to eat and drink, Rich told me his chocolate protein is the best tasting on the market.  Now what would you expect the owner of the company to say – “my chocolate protein tastes like cardboard and has an awful after taste?”  LOL!! Of course not!   But, honestly, that is how most of the other chocolate protein drinks taste to me.   But I know enough to take a Jersey boy at his word because they usually tell it like it is.   Rich was right.

The chocolate MyoFusion is amazing and my new favorite.  It’s so good I feel like I’m drinking a chocolate ice-cream shake.

Here is my recipe.

• 1 cup skim milk
• 1 banana
• 3 strawberries
• 1 tablespoon natural peanut butter
• 1 scoop milk chocolate MyoFusion
• A few ice cubes

Put all the ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth.

Enjoy immediately….

“A man who has not been in Italy, is always conscious of an inferiority, from his not having seen what it is expected a man should see.”

Pictured: Mario Batali – Quote: Famous British author Samuel Johnson

Can’t make it to Italy this year? No worries. Get your fix right in downtown Manhattan. “Eataly” is Mario Batali’s new 50,000 square-foot Italian Gallery of Gastronomic wonder, located in NY City at 200 Fifth Ave. between 23rd and 24th street. Multiple restaurants that are integrated into retail spaces for everything from Italian specialty items like wine, cheese, and pasta to housewares and even a cooking school. It sort of sounds like heaven to me.

The goal behind the complex seems to be based on teaching more of a culture and lifestyle, not just a cool place to eat and shop. This is exactly what I’m all about. I want people to experience food and enjoy cooking like they never have before, and then share it with family and friends. I hope that this sort of mentality starts to spread like wildfire.

According to Blog Metropolis (Wall Street Journal), Batali was quoted as saying:

“This isn’t a giant food court,” said Batali, clad in trademark orange. “This isn’t a selection of restaurants under one roof. This is a retail store where we peddle the greatest of Italian gastronomy to people who want to eat it and know how to appreciate it. You ask any Italian and all of the smart Americans where the best meal they ever had in the last ten years was, and it was never in someone’s restaurant. It was always in the house. And with these products, and this ideology, we’re hoping that’s what we’re going to bring to New Yorkers.” http://blogs.wsj.com/metropolis/2010/08/25/first-look-at-mario-batalis-monster-italian-marketplace/

He said the most memorable meals were in someone’s home. Being an Italian-American, I love and can totally relate to that statement because so many of my favorite meals have been at my mom’s, my grandmothers’, and my aunts’ homes. Batali is encouraging people to explore the facility with all the smells, tastes and sounds and then buy and learn how to cook amazing food at home. Like me, he wants people to know that it doesn’t have to be difficult. Most of the time it means just starting with the best ingredients, which apparently are in plentiful supply at Eataly.

As if that weren’t enough, the facility will also have an in house travel agent to help you plan that perfect Roman Holiday of your own, when you’re ready to take the plunge from just Eataly to Italy!

I wish Mario a lifetime of success with his new adventure. I can’t wait to plan a trip to see this place with my own eyes.  I’m sure it will bring back all sorts of memories for me of my recent trip to Italy.

Many people won’t ever get to see Italy for themselves but fortunately, Eataly can give everyone a taste of La Dolce Vita that they can bring right into their own home. Now that’s what I’m talking about!

.

.

.

.

* Photos from newyork.grubstreet.com and www.eataly.it

Recently, I ran into my good friend, Ava Cowan, at a fitness competition here in South Florida.  Ava is a five-time overall figure champion.  Overall!  That means that when she wins, she not only wins within her age and height group, she beats everyone competing at any size or age in the figure competition on that date.  She has such an amazing figure. She is perfectly proportioned, toned and balanced. She is truly an inspiration to anyone in the fitness industry and to women in general, including me.   She must have a lot of really amazing diet and fitness secrets to pull that off, right?

Well, not really.  I talked with Ava briefly about her diet. She is on a very strict diet for a competition (again) and can’t enjoy any of the things that most of us eat during the week without any real thought.  She does not eat bread or butter, or chocolate or wine!   Yikes!  That sounds like hell to most of us, right?   But for Ava, this is a way of life. She sacrifices what she needs to, in order to reach her goals and be the best in her class.   There are times when she is “off” and can indulge in some of those pleasures, but when she is training for a competition, these treats are off limits.

Ava’s story made me think about how wimpy most of us are in our every day lives.  I know that only a very tiny percentage of people out there who will ever strive for Ava’s level of health and fitness, let alone achieve it, but her dedication proves that it can be done.   And that’s the point of this article.   If it can be done at that level of excellence, how hard would it be for the rest of us to do just a little better and care about our health and fitness just a little more than we do now?

How many times have you said to yourself “I have to treat myself,” “I need that glass of wine,” “I just can’t live without that slice of pizza, that burger. Blah, Blah, Blah”.    I do it all the time, too.   But Ava’s commitment made me realize that it’s all a big platter of “cop out”.    If she can do it, anyone can do it and maybe we ought to, more often.  Why do we think we can eat whatever we want and not be fat and out of shape?

I’m not training for any fitness competition. I don’t make a living off of having a fit body and no one is paying me money to look good in a swimsuit, so why would I care enough to deprive myself of these treats. Right? The answer really should be “yes, I should care and I should be depriving myself of these things”  because my strength comes from being healthy.  Being fit is a spark for romance in your marriage.  Being fit makes it more likely that you’ll enjoy active times with your children and a long life with your family, and perform better at work, be successful and enjoy life in general.

None of us has to ever achieve Ava’s level of fitness but we need to realize that at least getting into reasonable, healthy shape is not a complicated or secret process.  We just need to and should set guidelines for ourselves in our every day life and be intentional about sticking to our guns.  Most of us don’t think about driving through a fast food restaurant and eating something on the go but we should.  I think most adults need a wake up call. We need to cut out the soda, fast food and other unhealthy snacks. We need to realize that our bodies do matter and our level of fitness does make us money and improve our way of life.

Are you tired all the time? Are you rushing though most meals each day?   Are you relying on frozen or prepared foods most weeks?   It’s time to take a reality check and see how fast you can change your habits and start looking and feeling better.   If this is already freaking you out, I recommend you start off slowly.

Here’s my advice to you for this week.  Pick just one thing from the list below and give it up.   Just say “I’m not eating this any more.  I’m not putting that in my mouth ever again.”   Don’t whine about it or get upset.  Put your big girl panties on and cowgirl up!!   We don’t need a Big Mac, or a GIANT FROZEN COFFEE!   What we need is more energy, healthier bodies and to feel good in and out of our clothes, instead of feeling like we need to cover up each week’s dose of salty, fatty fast food.

Once you are off one of these things for a while, then give up another one. Eventually you will be cooking more and eating healthy without much thought and you won’t miss these things as much as you think you will.   Here’s the list of enemies to your health.  Give one up this week and then build on it:

1. Sugary Drinks – Coffees, Juices and Soda, even diet soda. Give it up. If you don’t know why it’s bad read my article here.
2. Fast food – No Wendy’s, No McDonalds or No Burger King or any chain like this. (I don’t want to hear that you will have the salad because chances are if you go there you won’t have the salad. LOL!!!
3. Prepared meals from the super market. No tub of mac and cheese or prepared meats and casseroles.
4. Snack items. No chips, pretzels, cereal bars, or candy!

For more tips on getting back to your fighting weight, please enter your email at the right side of this page and download my ebook or email me if you need additional advice on this topic.

Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver is trying to win the hearts of a West Virginia City by getting them to eat healthy foods. His new show “Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution,” documents his efforts to change eating habits in a community the network calls the nation’s unhealthiest community (Huntington, WV). If you haven’t seen the show I highly recommend it. It airs on Friday nights and is a must watch (check your local listings).

Jamie Oliver’s philosophy about food is a lot like mine.    When I first saw the show, I was nearly moved to tears because I thought, “Finally!  Here is someone preaching what I have been trying to tell people for years.” It was so moving for me to hear him talk passionately about what I have practiced and preached for most of my adult life:

My philosophy to food and healthy eating has always been about enjoying everything in a balanced, and sane way. Food is one of life’s greatest joys yet we’ve reached this really sad point where we’re turning food into the enemy, and something to be afraid of. I believe that when you use good ingredients to make pasta dishes, salads, stews, burgers, grilled vegetables, fruit salads, and even outrageous cakes, they all have a place in our diets. We just need to rediscover our common sense: if you want to curl up and eat macaroni and cheese every once in a while – that’s alright! Just have a sensible portion next to a fresh salad, and don’t eat a big old helping of chocolate cake afterwards.

Knowing how to cook means you’ll be able to turn all sorts of fresh ingredients into meals when they’re in season, at their best, and cheapest! Cooking this way will always be cheaper than buying processed food, not to mention better for you. And because you’ll be cooking a variety of lovely things, you’ll naturally start to find a sensible balance. Some days you’ll feel like making something light, and fresh, other days you’ll want something warming and hearty. If you’ve got to snack between meals, try to go for something healthy rather than loading up on chocolate or potato crisps. Basically, as long as we all recognize that treats should be treats, not a daily occurrence, we’ll be in a good place. So when I talk about having a ‘healthy’ approach to food, and eating better I’m talking about achieving that sense of balance: lots of the good stuff, loads of variety, and the odd indulgence every now and then.

It’s amazing to see this sort of movement taking shape.   Jamie’s not alone in this.   Other celebrity chefs across the country are also joining in on this new push to advocate healthy eating. These tactics have been called “The eat healthy movement.”  The concept is becoming more mainstream but we all know we have a long way to go.

I think part of the problem has been all these crazy diets. The low-fat & low-carb diets are so confusing and so complicated. When did the simple act of eating become so mind-boggling? All of this has to change and go back to the basics. I believe and what I was taught as a kid by my family, is that you have to have a balance and eat whole foods. That means it’s OK to have cake or ice cream but not every day. I think we all believe it is far better to eat healthy fresh foods with whole milk, butter, and cheese than it is to eat processed fat free fake foods yet most people don’t do it.

The main reason I started my website is to inspire women to get back in the kitchen and start cooking real food for their family. It doesn’t have to be the fanciest, or prettiest, but it does have to be real. I know if I can get more people back in the kitchen cooking and being conscious about what they are putting into their bodies, lives will be transformed. Everything is better when we feel healthy and fit.

I don’t know if I can adequately state with the right tone, the importance of this message but I would encourage you to watch this video featuring Jamie Oliver from a talk he gave in February of 2010.  After you watch it, read about my own challenge for you to change how you look at food and cooking.

So, if you can smell what Sugar is cooking, I challenge you, all of my readers, for the next month to eat what you cook and cook what you eat and let me know if you see a difference. If you’re not sure how to do that or what that means than be sure to get my “How to lose 10 pounds this month” and do what I recommend. It’s free and it’s full of simple common sense things that need to become part of your lifestyle, not a fad diet.

I dare you!

This weekend, I journeyed from balmy Palm Beach, FL to icy Atlantic City NJ for a girls’ weekend and had the unexpected pleasure of sitting next to NBA Basketball Player, Mark Blount.   [Secret:  I had no idea who he was.]    I only knew this was the tallest man I had ever laid eyes on, much less sat next to on a cramped airplane.  Holy basketballs!

Mark Blount with Sugar

So, we’re having a nice conversation, mostly small talk, when people suddenly begin lining up for his autograph.   Ahh. Now, I get it.   7-feet tall, autographs – he must be a professional athlete, right?   I don’t really follow basketball so I had no idea.  Politely and almost apologetically, I said, “I have no idea who you are but you must be someone famous.”

We both laughed out loud and he introduced himself.  I don’t think he has to do that very often.  I told him my name and that he could call me Sugar and we resumed polite conversation, all fame being behind us now.

Now, I don’t know a forward center (that’s his position in basketball) from my elbow, so I started talking about food, like I always do.   I doubted that Mark wanted me to ask him all sorts of stupid sports questions about basketball anyway.

To my delight, he was very interested in food.  Home cooked food especially.  Go figure:  a hungry 7-foot tall pro baller (see, I know the lingo now).   But, that’s when it hit me that food is a bond we all share as humans.   It doesn’t matter where you live or what walk of life you are from, how much money you have, we all like to eat and have to eat.  And although Mark enjoys eating out, his favorite thing is a home-cooked meal.

Since we are both from South Florida, we started to talk about the restaurants we like to eat at but the more passionate discussion was about the foods we like to eat at home.    His sister is apparently a great cook and she always asks him what he wants her to make.  I then told him my background with food and how I love to eat and cook and talk about eating and cooking.

For 2 hours, we talked about many things, but it always came back to food as our common ground.   Stuffed artichokes, meatballs, sausage, all kinds of pasta and even BBQ.   You name it, he likes it and I am sure that at his size and activity level, he must eat a real lot.

After the flight, we said goodbye, but as fate would have it I bumped into him again, of course coming out of a restaurant.   He was coming out of Carmine’s Italian Restaurant in the Tropicana where he and his friend just had a huge meal.

On the flight back home, we were seated next to each other again (go for the front row.  It’s where the tall athletes sit).    This time, I did ask some questions about basketball but all I could think about was getting home to my husband and kids and our Sunday pasta dinner.   I told him that my Mom was cooking that day.   We take turns cooking the big Sunday meal and today, she would be making homemade raviolis.  I could taste them while I was talking about them.   Carmine’s was so-so but when I thought about my Mom’s “home-maders,” I knew Carmine’s didn’t come close to a home cooked Italian meal.

So, I told Mark, any time he wanted a true Italian meal he was welcome to come over.   Who knows?   Maybe someday he will take me up on it.   He may be famous but to me, he was another man whose heart is easy to find.  In his stomach.  I didn’t give him my email address but I told him where he could find it if he really wanted to take me up on my offer – cookingwithsugar.com.

Are you cooking yet?  Somebody wants you to.