Harvest Salad

What a busy few days it has been! On Friday I had the pleasure of recording a little blurb for KEYT morning news out of Santa Barbara. I had so much fun! Granted I got up at 3:30 in the morning and my bleary and puffy eyed little self had to be in Santa Barbara by 5:30 but who cares! It was a blast. The lovely Lisa Carey who is handling all of the PR for the event was with me as well. You can see a clip of it here.

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Kate’s Crispy Egg Salad

I’ve been busy all day playing hide and seek with the girls and enjoying my little spidergirl. One of my best girlfriends lives in Chicago and works for McDonald’s corporate. When she heard how much my little Buggies loves Spiderman, she sent a HUGE box stuffed with all things Spidey. I mean really; coloring, t-shirts, nail polish, a slip and slide, backpack, sunglasses, the list goes on. Which put Buggies into Spidey-Heaven. She immediately changed out of her adorable tutu dress and into some brown pants and her spidey shirt. And then grabbed her sunglasses and backpack and told me she was off to gymnastics camp.

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Shrimp Scampi, a Puppy and Wedding #2!

Dinner, Grub. | June 12, 2012 | By

We landed back in Los Angeles with exactly one day to unpack, do laundry, grocery shop, and get some rest before the East Coast Gesell Invasion of 2012 was set to commence. That’s right…wedding #2 was getting underway! Let me not forget to mention that we were also getting our puppy two days after getting home from Mexico.

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Braised Short Ribs

Dinner, Grub. | December 7, 2011 | By

It’s windy here. Like, 60 MPH windy. I can handle rain, cold temperatures, blazing heat— but wind? It messes with my sanity. It’s a good thing I don’t live in a city that the Chumash Indians named after their word for “WINDY”. Oh wait, I do. Yep, that’s what Simi means. The Valley of the Wind. I’ve lived here since I was a baby but I swear I don’t remember it being this bad growing up. It’s seriously getting on my nerves. The “everyday-ponytail-look” shows way too many of my roots. It looks like I haven’t been to the salon in a year. But I can’t go now. I’m on a very tight hair schedule for the next seven months given the three bachelorettes, three bridal showers and three weddings that I will be a major part of in the next year. You hear me girls, don’t you? You gotta plan those hair salon visits accordingly.

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Dederich Family Spaghetti Carbonara

Dinner | September 16, 2011 | By


In the kitchen, my husband is amazing at making exactly two things: Sicilian Chicken Marsala and Spaghetti Carbonara. As I talked about in our marsala recipe, Ryan’s grandparents were stationed in Sicily for a few years. Their house was situated over this fabulous little Italian restaurant and while Jerry was out being a Master Chief Signalman, Doris made friends with her landlady.

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Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Parmesan Polenta and an Herb Cream Sauce

Dinner, Grub. | August 7, 2011 | By

I go through these kicks where I want to literally empty everything in my fridge and freezer and start anew. By that I mean, cook everything we’ve got. I HATE wasting food – especially produce – so I try to be very conscious of what we have lying around to make. One night I said to Ryan, “Choices are: Potstickers with fried rice, Ramen Pad Thai (I got VERY creative in college) or pork and polenta.” He chose the pork and polenta and… alas! A new recipe was born.

Hubby’s Note: Herb Cream Sauce! Herb Cream Sauce! I want to bathe in it!

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