Hangin' out with a few celeb chefs...

My uncle is an administrator at St. Joseph's Hospital in Paterson, and invited me to a great event that raises money for their children's services.  It was their fifth year running it and from what he said, it gets bigger and better every year.  My sister and I were honored to attend, knowing it was for a very good cause, and also excited that there would be representation from many good local restaurants.  Who can go wrong with good food and wine, all donated for a meaningful charity?

Everything was delicious - and there was SO much to choose from - I didn't even make it to half the tables!  The wine was flowing, the band was playing, and there were some great gifts being auctioned off.  Such a great night out.

Soooo, I was happy to find someone who I've talked about a lot here lately when we first arrived...

Yes, that is Lidia Bastianich...the person I was thrilled to spend some time with on the phone last month.  I introduced myself and she was very sweet, thanking me again for contributing my pasta e fagioli to her website.  I was so honored!

Now, I know I have a lot of readers who are Top Chef fans...anyone who watched Season 5 is well aware of who this lovely lady is...

Ariane Duarte (who in my opinion, got robbed on TC and should have gone all the way!), well known chef and owner of CulinAriane, was just as wonderful in person as I imagined she would be!  So friendly and warm...and her ricotta spring vegetable crostini was delicious.  We're looking forward to dining there soon...hopefully Ariane is reading this now (I gave her my card!) and will save us a great table :)

All in all, it was a fantastic evening...my uncle assured me this will become an annual thing, and I'm more than happy about that!

My phone call with Lidia!

I was so excited after winning Lidia Bastianich's recipe contest with my Pasta e Fagioli.  I had some great loot sent to me (can't wait to really dive into the cookbooks!), but the best prize came last week when I got a phone call from the one and only herself.

                                                

I really had no idea what to expect going into it.  First of all, she called me directly, which really surprised me!  I was expecting a patch-through or something.  But nope...I answered my phone, and there she was.

We talked about my winning recipe, and she asked me (a lot of) questions about it.  Where did it come from, why did I enter that particular one, etc.  Lidia and I have at least one thing in common - we both love food and love family, and they tie in together naturally.  So, we chatted about that, too.

The best part?  She was looking at my blog while we were talking!  I couldn't believe it.  And she loved it.  I'm not sure if anyone realizes what a HUGE compliment that is for me, but seriously, it doesn't get much better than that.

Lidia was gracious enough to allow me to post my blog link and Facebook page link onto her Facebook page.  She said that her fans and my fans must have a lot in common, so they'd definitely appreciate checking out my blog and recipes.  Again, another amazing compliment!

All in all, it was a wonderful conversation and an amazing opportunity.  Never in a million years did I ever think I'd end up chatting away with Lidia Bastianich.  The closest I've ever been to her is sitting my butt down on a chair in one of her restaurants, eating some incredible food that likely came from a recipe developed in her mother's kitchen.  Now, I feel like I actually know her :)

Thanks to everyone who supported me and voted during the contest.  Without you, this wouldn't have been possible!

Here's what I got from Lidia!

I'm taking a recipe break today to show you what has happened since I won Lidia Bastianich's contest!

Check out my loot!  6 cookbooks, all SIGNED by Lidia herself...3 beautiful baking/casserole dishes (one of which dinner will be served in tonight)...4 boxes of Lidia's pasta (not shown) and 2 jars of her sauce (this will be one time I'll allow the jarred variety in my house!)

Then, yesterday, my winning Pasta e Fagioli recipe was posted on her website!  Click here to see it on there.  My first time published...woohoo!

It also landed on her Facebook page again, and her team tweeted about it as well.

Next week, Lidia and I will chat via phone for about half an hour.  I CANNOT WAIT!  I have so many things I want to talk to her about!  If you had the opportunity, what would you ask her?

I made a promise...

...so here they are!  Veronica's (the winner of my second giveaway) choice for favorite Italian dessert to have with espresso/coffee...pignoli cookies!

I went right to Lidia's recipe, and couldn't believe how easy it was...and how delicious the cookies are!  Next time though, I'll keep these two things in mind...

- The cookies spread way more than I thought they would...so, don't place them too close together.

- The recipe says to "pinch" the dough and roll it in your hand.  Well, the dough was REALLY wet and sticky.  I even sprayed my hands with cooking spray but it didn't help.  So, I sprayed a spoon, scooped up the dough and set it on the pan, then sprinkled the pignoli nuts on top.  I suggest you do the same.

Try them out - they're SO easy, and they taste terrific.  Can't wait to have another one later with my coffee :)