In these days of hectic, multitasking careers maneuvers, today is one I am in the midst of that essentially defines who I am at this point...which may signal that I am bi-if not TRI-polar. Allow me to explain via a look inside my Sybil-esque BlackBerry calendar for August 12th, 2009:
1pm: TV appearance on regional sports network in Tampa Bay (http://www.bhsn.com/). Round table segment discussing the Rays, the Bucs, et al. It's the first time on this show that I'm introduced as being affiliated with ESPN/1040 radio. Pretty cool...
1:30pm: Call-in guest on local radio show, "Dining out Radio" (http://www.diningoutradio.com/) to discuss Home Cooking, and tout the Taste! Food & Wine Expo I will be hosting next May in Myrtle Beach. Introduced (via radio) to the "Love Chef" of Regis & Kelly fame. May try to work on getting him to appear at the expo next year!...
4:45pm: boarding a flight to Philadelphia (I digress...if you haven't tried it in a while or ever...try typing the word Philadelphia. For some reason it's one of my favorite words to type -- could just be because I'm a hopeless 'hunt-and-peck' pounder on the keyboard...OK, discuss!) to make my premiere appearance on QVC. It'll be a tremendous learning experience and incentive for me, to run with truly the lead dog in the pack, so to speak...
So, there you have it. Greek mythology refers to a Hydra (take that, Dennis Miller!). My three-headed monster is my career. Sports. Cooking & Food. TV shopping. All mashed and jumbled together in one day.
I often question myself,
"Do I need to focus on just one of these disciplines? Is it wise to be this diversified and/or versatile? Do I need one specialty instead of three?"
Thoughts? Comments? Observations?
I ponder these and other deep thoughts as I spend my remaining time before heading to the airport with my family...
Just another day as a Home-Office Dad...
Showing posts with label home cooking star. Show all posts
Showing posts with label home cooking star. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Random Thoughts
Had one of those "mark it down in the mental rolodex" days last Saturday: Completed my first triathlon that morning, and accomplished all 3 of my goals: 1) Don't drown, 2) Don't crash the bike, and 3) Don't look like a schmuck crossing the finish line ... a great thrill, made even better by having my family there for support...
The afternoon was topped off with my sweet Princess Lindsey's Princess Tea Party to celebrate her 4th b'day. She was in all her glory, and my wife outdid herself with everything from the invites to the decorations and everything in between...
John Hughes passing is the loss of the most influential cultural touchstone of my generation. I could recite The Breakfast Club verbatim at one point in my adolescence. That movie poster hung in my childhood bedroom, alongside the one declaring "Leisure Rules," from Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Hughes was funny, provocative, but most importantly, dead on in his depiction of every teenage paradigm we can all, in ways large and small, relate to... Most of us never heard of or will ever visit Shermer, Illinois...but damn if it didn't remind us of where we grew up...
I've now secured a spot as co-host of a Sunday, weekly sports talk show (thanks, Steve Kyler). Every time I think the sports side of my career is exiting stage left, or on extended vacation, at least, it seems something else pops up to keep the embers glowing in me...
Check out http://www.thegameradio.com/, if you care to...
Finished 5th overall in the Home Cooking Star online reality cooking series, and no sooner do I chalk it up to a fun, learning experience, than I see in my latest edition of Food & Wine touting its very own Home Cooking Super Star contest (www.foodandwine.com/superstar)!! So, here we go again...!
The afternoon was topped off with my sweet Princess Lindsey's Princess Tea Party to celebrate her 4th b'day. She was in all her glory, and my wife outdid herself with everything from the invites to the decorations and everything in between...
John Hughes passing is the loss of the most influential cultural touchstone of my generation. I could recite The Breakfast Club verbatim at one point in my adolescence. That movie poster hung in my childhood bedroom, alongside the one declaring "Leisure Rules," from Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Hughes was funny, provocative, but most importantly, dead on in his depiction of every teenage paradigm we can all, in ways large and small, relate to... Most of us never heard of or will ever visit Shermer, Illinois...but damn if it didn't remind us of where we grew up...
I've now secured a spot as co-host of a Sunday, weekly sports talk show (thanks, Steve Kyler). Every time I think the sports side of my career is exiting stage left, or on extended vacation, at least, it seems something else pops up to keep the embers glowing in me...
Check out http://www.thegameradio.com/, if you care to...
Finished 5th overall in the Home Cooking Star online reality cooking series, and no sooner do I chalk it up to a fun, learning experience, than I see in my latest edition of Food & Wine touting its very own Home Cooking Super Star contest (www.foodandwine.com/superstar)!! So, here we go again...!
Monday, June 22, 2009
Music City Musings
Hello, Nashville...
It didn't take me long to get my eat on upon arriving in the Music City. This has to be one of the most underrated little big cities in America (little big cities are the ones I favor, a la Charlotte, Scottsdale, even my own St. Pete). They love what I love: their food, their sports, their music...
Took an old production buddy's recommendation and lunched at the Copper Kettle, just a 9-iron away from the heart of downtown Nashville. Let me tell you, this place puts the SOUTH IN YOUR MOUTH! Award winner for best Meat & Three, as it's known in the Deep South, and with a fairly spectacular view of downtown Nashville and the Titan's football stadium. I hunkered down for some Coconut Chicken, green bean casserole, sweet potatoes, and mac-n-cheese, plus a side of corn bread and mango tea to wash it down. Let me tell you: Diabetes be damned -- this was GOOD STUFF (don't worry, ma, I took my shot beforehand)!
Everything was just so...homemade. No frills; just fine, filling, comfort food, and really friendly service (another Southern perk). I purposely abstained from the BBQ pork, knowing full well my culinary compass would point me in that direction for dinner... the question is: where to go?
One driver recommended Jack's downtown; another Neely's, closer to my hotel (the same Neely's of Food Network fame).
I think I'm gonna go with Jack's, for 2 reasons: it's location, right in the heart of the action on Broadway,so I can then walk off my wares afterward, and also because of it's longevity. Jack's is one of the dining institutions in Nashville, and you can tell that just by looking at it's gruff, yet welcoming exterior...
No, this is decidedly NOT Memphis, the BBQ mecca, but it's close enough to pull from that source and carry it's own BBQ bravado.
Dinner's only a couple of hours away...
Editor's note: I am now officially a Top 20 finalist for my BBQ recipe on "Home Cooking Star." The voting resets now, so if by some way you find this post, please feel free to vote -- again, or for the first time -- http://homecookingstar.ning.com/group/richhollenberg
Cheers (y'all)
It didn't take me long to get my eat on upon arriving in the Music City. This has to be one of the most underrated little big cities in America (little big cities are the ones I favor, a la Charlotte, Scottsdale, even my own St. Pete). They love what I love: their food, their sports, their music...
Took an old production buddy's recommendation and lunched at the Copper Kettle, just a 9-iron away from the heart of downtown Nashville. Let me tell you, this place puts the SOUTH IN YOUR MOUTH! Award winner for best Meat & Three, as it's known in the Deep South, and with a fairly spectacular view of downtown Nashville and the Titan's football stadium. I hunkered down for some Coconut Chicken, green bean casserole, sweet potatoes, and mac-n-cheese, plus a side of corn bread and mango tea to wash it down. Let me tell you: Diabetes be damned -- this was GOOD STUFF (don't worry, ma, I took my shot beforehand)!
Everything was just so...homemade. No frills; just fine, filling, comfort food, and really friendly service (another Southern perk). I purposely abstained from the BBQ pork, knowing full well my culinary compass would point me in that direction for dinner... the question is: where to go?
One driver recommended Jack's downtown; another Neely's, closer to my hotel (the same Neely's of Food Network fame).
I think I'm gonna go with Jack's, for 2 reasons: it's location, right in the heart of the action on Broadway,so I can then walk off my wares afterward, and also because of it's longevity. Jack's is one of the dining institutions in Nashville, and you can tell that just by looking at it's gruff, yet welcoming exterior...
No, this is decidedly NOT Memphis, the BBQ mecca, but it's close enough to pull from that source and carry it's own BBQ bravado.
Dinner's only a couple of hours away...
Editor's note: I am now officially a Top 20 finalist for my BBQ recipe on "Home Cooking Star." The voting resets now, so if by some way you find this post, please feel free to vote -- again, or for the first time -- http://homecookingstar.ning.com/group/richhollenberg
Cheers (y'all)
Friday, June 19, 2009
Travels...Musings... & More
So I'm in the top 20 finalists for this online cooking reality series (www.homecookingstar.ning.com/group/richhollenberg), whose topic this inaugural season is BBQ recipes. I entered one whose most provocative ingredient is Dr. Pepper. I in no way take credit for this: that goes to a chef friend (and James Beard nominee) Zack Gross, of Z-Grille, in St. Pete. I had also seen Dr. Pepper featured in "Top Chef" a while back.
But, the recent influx of Dr. Pepper sightings on TV and in food blogs, etc. is becoming almost ridiculous! It was featured again on TV, this time by both Graham Elliot Bowles and Susanne Tracht on "Top Chef Masters" this past Wednesday night, and no sooner do I catch that on the DVR, than I read about Dr. Pepper ribs on the NY Magazine food blog, "Grub Street." It's everywhere!! Maybe that "23 secret ingredients" campaign really worked....
In the midst of a foodie media tour, travelling to 10 different markets to give tips on BBQ/grilling season. One of the most pleasant surprises was Albuquerque, NM. Stayed at a fab hotel right on the cusp of Old Town (Hotel Albuquerque), and visited 3 spots that I would recommend to anyone: Seasons appears to be the most contemporary, hip, fine dining you'll find in the area, and the 2nd floor views are breathtaking, as is the menu, and the wine and beer list (as I'd hoped, lots of west of the Mississippi microbrews on tap)... Little Anita's is almost stereotypically New Mexican, but don't ever ever ever call in TexMex! The dishes looked the same, but the taste was miles beyond what we're used to... next day, had lunch at Church St. Cafe, which occupies the oldest standing building recorded in Albuquerque. Exactly what you want from this type of town: rustic, charming, brimming with local ingredients (I ordered (and loved) the Pueblo Burger).
My two favorite takeaways from this 24-hour stopover: blue corn pancakes, topped with pine nuts, and a peach-maple syrup for breakfast... and Indian fry bread (which is what my Pueblo Burger was served on). Also, be prepared to sample fresh green chile on...everything! It's as common there as any condiment you can think of. All in all, outrageously simple, good, locavore-inspired food, and the people are kind and welcoming, too...
Does anyone have any grilling/BBQ tips they'd want to share, that I can then suggest on my tour (I'd give you credit for it on TV!)?? If so, make sure to comment...
Anyone ever been to Albuquerque, and care to comment on your fave spots? Let me hear your favorite places to eat when you're abroad... always looking for good recommendations!!
This week, I'm off to Nashville, New Orleans, and Orlando...
Been to Nashville once before and encountered (I swear) the best pizza joint outside NYC... Christopher Pizza -- funky, fun, and fresh made, original 'za with such creative toppings and combos... Love the fact that even though I won't get to the French Quarter, I can still get a Cafe DuMonde fix (in Metairie) -- gotta love the chicory and bignets...
I must say it is with a heavy heart that I write this latest entry. The patriarch of the Hollenberg family, my Papa Harry, passed away Thursday. He will be missed and remembered fondly by so many friends and family members. And my 2 sons and I carry on his good name proudly...
But, the recent influx of Dr. Pepper sightings on TV and in food blogs, etc. is becoming almost ridiculous! It was featured again on TV, this time by both Graham Elliot Bowles and Susanne Tracht on "Top Chef Masters" this past Wednesday night, and no sooner do I catch that on the DVR, than I read about Dr. Pepper ribs on the NY Magazine food blog, "Grub Street." It's everywhere!! Maybe that "23 secret ingredients" campaign really worked....
In the midst of a foodie media tour, travelling to 10 different markets to give tips on BBQ/grilling season. One of the most pleasant surprises was Albuquerque, NM. Stayed at a fab hotel right on the cusp of Old Town (Hotel Albuquerque), and visited 3 spots that I would recommend to anyone: Seasons appears to be the most contemporary, hip, fine dining you'll find in the area, and the 2nd floor views are breathtaking, as is the menu, and the wine and beer list (as I'd hoped, lots of west of the Mississippi microbrews on tap)... Little Anita's is almost stereotypically New Mexican, but don't ever ever ever call in TexMex! The dishes looked the same, but the taste was miles beyond what we're used to... next day, had lunch at Church St. Cafe, which occupies the oldest standing building recorded in Albuquerque. Exactly what you want from this type of town: rustic, charming, brimming with local ingredients (I ordered (and loved) the Pueblo Burger).
My two favorite takeaways from this 24-hour stopover: blue corn pancakes, topped with pine nuts, and a peach-maple syrup for breakfast... and Indian fry bread (which is what my Pueblo Burger was served on). Also, be prepared to sample fresh green chile on...everything! It's as common there as any condiment you can think of. All in all, outrageously simple, good, locavore-inspired food, and the people are kind and welcoming, too...
Does anyone have any grilling/BBQ tips they'd want to share, that I can then suggest on my tour (I'd give you credit for it on TV!)?? If so, make sure to comment...
Anyone ever been to Albuquerque, and care to comment on your fave spots? Let me hear your favorite places to eat when you're abroad... always looking for good recommendations!!
This week, I'm off to Nashville, New Orleans, and Orlando...
Been to Nashville once before and encountered (I swear) the best pizza joint outside NYC... Christopher Pizza -- funky, fun, and fresh made, original 'za with such creative toppings and combos... Love the fact that even though I won't get to the French Quarter, I can still get a Cafe DuMonde fix (in Metairie) -- gotta love the chicory and bignets...
I must say it is with a heavy heart that I write this latest entry. The patriarch of the Hollenberg family, my Papa Harry, passed away Thursday. He will be missed and remembered fondly by so many friends and family members. And my 2 sons and I carry on his good name proudly...
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