What's Cooking-- So You Don't Have To !

All this weekend on "What's Cooking" on News 12 Connecticut we have a special holiday edition of wine pairing and holiday dinner recipes. While it may be too late to change this year's menu, if something comes up and you need to quickly pull something together, I suggest the beef filet wrapped in bacon. The recipe is courtesy of  Stew Leonard's, and the executive chef Georges Llorens says you can use turkey bacon if you want to cut fat or not use pork. We show you how to put it together on this weekend's show, but here is the recipe for clarification.

Also, Stew's in Norwalk is doing something different this year. There is a new holiday menu where you can order pre cooked meals for up to... name any number. The menu includes a Traditional Beef Wellington with truffles and Foie Gras ( Chef Georges also shares this recipe on this weekend's "What's Cooking" ) as well as Seafood Paella and roast Cornish Game Hens. 

Okay, now for the laugh.

While the crew from Stew's was at the station, they brought the store's latest commercial to my attention. During the shoot on the farm with cows, they explained how the cows just wouldn't stand there and cooperate. They were pushing and bumping Leonard out of the way. They said the ad agency originally put together a serious commerical from the shoot, but kept all the outtakes as a laugh for the company. Ultimately they decided the problems with the cows made the better commercial. So here it is if you haven't seen it. Silly cows.

Cookies and Love Needed

Anyone who can get me to want to bake cookies for her is either asking for a tremendous cause, or is just extremely persuasive. In this case, it's both.

Let me tell you about a woman who has done something no Martha Stewart, Rachel Ray or even Emeril could do.

JoAnn Keene has me baking cookies, and I hope by the time you hear her story you will too. Or at least donate your old coat to her.

Keene is the Home School Coordinator at McKinley School in the East End of Bridgeport. She spends her day, and from what I see, every waking hour year-round working to help people in need. The day I met her, she ran around introducing me to everyone on staff at the school. She is the first person parents know, because she reaches out. Not only does she visit classrooms to try to figure out what students need, she makes sure parents and older siblings have coats and clothes as well. She says, "they need to be warm too!"

Keene has one room at the school where she stores as many coats, blankets, cribs and extra clothes as she can. Currently she says she doesn't have as many adult coats as she needs. But she says if only she could get a trailer, or some sort of storage area, she'd fill it with donated items and offer them to anyone in the community who needed a change of clothes or bite to eat.

It might sound like an extreme desire at a school where education budget cuts have cost them after-school programs and a computer lab. But the principal at McKinley, Mr.William Rice, says he supports anything Keene says she wants to do because he knows she is capable, even if she has to do all on her own. He says he was amazed at her past Thanksgiving drive. He said he watched her, from October, compile names for donations, aquire donations, then pack all the boxes herself. He said she then packed the majority of the items in her own car and drove to homes to makes sure everyone had a turkey. At one point she had to drive from agency to agency to find turkeys for some homes.

Keene needs cookies for the Christmas Pageant at McKinley School. It is Wednesday, December 20th at the school at 342 Logan. She'd also love cupcakes, cake, chips, snacks or any other favorite dish.

That is one project. Her other holiday undertaking is Zandra's Kids. Back in 2001, she says a young, beautiful, talented angel walked into the school looking for ways to help. It was Alexandra Ducsay of Milford. Together, Keene and Duscay spent the past five years collecting toys for students at different schools. However, this past May, after Ducsay had signed a contract for an acting gig, she was found beaten to death at the steps of her home. Milford police say the case is still open and no arrests have been made.

Keene is not about to give up Zandra's Kid's. She hopes to take it even further over the years, no matter how long it takes. She says they had a larger vision. They wanted to bring professional dancers into the school to teach the children how to take care of their bodies and feet. She wants to teach ballet, hip hop, african and jazz and call it "Zandra's Dance School at McKinley."

Yet for now Keene needs cookies. She needs coats. She needs donations. She says its wonderful people go to Africa and adopt and send money, but she says "my babies right here in Bridgeport need help too!"

If you can volunteer or donate in any way, contact Joann Keene at 203-333-7194 or 203-576-8037.

Happy Howl-idays

Now that the weather is more seasonable you might finally be in the mood to get your Christmas tree. I went last weekend with my photographer Lori Golias. She needs one so we will have a background for some upcoming holiday "What's Bugging You" reports and whatever else comes up. We went to Jones Family Farms in Shelton to cut our own. No matter how large, the cost is 50 dollars if you cut your own. However, when we arrived last Friday, it was raining. So first we made a stop to see Jamie Jones in his wine tasting room. He studied at Cornell near the Finger Lakes wineries, and is now in his third year of wine production at his family's farm.

Before long the rain stopped, so we went to get our saw and find Lori's tree.  Here she is cutting down a beautiful nine-foot Fraser fir.

My apartment is much smaller than hers, so here I am with my tree of choice. However, I decided to leave it there for next year's harvest.

Despite the early rain, it seemed much too warm for early December. It was the first time I've ever worked up a sweat searching for a tree.

This next picture is a re-inactment of Lori's tree falling. Of course right as it fell, I pushed the wrong button on her camera and turned it off instead of getting the shot. Re-inactments are not condoned in the news business, however since we were just out having fun and I am disclosing the truth, aren't you glad for having the picture? We basically just picked the tree back up, set it up straight, yelled timber, and I snapped as the tree fell for a second time. Despite having a seemingly dull small handsaw, the tree came down very easily. Less than three minutes of cutting time.

Once we cut the tree, we had to carry it back to the main area of the farm. There, you can have it wrapped up for easier transport. (Make sure you bring someone who has a truck.) Here is Jay wrapping up our tree. I wanted to check for critters first, but oh well, it wasn't going to my house.

Wine tasting, tree hunting, cutting and wrapping really works up an appetite. So before heading home we stopped in Monroe at Senior Pancho's for some Mexican food. Here is Juan making our guacamole tableside. 

In other tree news, my dog Willamena and I visited the Rockefeller tree the day after it was lit. We had a stranger take our picture.

However, I think we are going to have to go back now that the weather finally makes it feel like the holiday season. Plus, Lori gave Mena one of her gifts early, a santa suit. I might have to re-inact the Rockefeller photo, but with the santa suit. What do you think?  The dog dressed as Prancer is Otis, Lori's dog. 

Happy Howl-idays.   

HO HO HOliday SHOping

I don't know why I went to Macy's on 34th street the day after Thanksgiving. I don't like to go there any other day of the year unless I know exactly what I want and go straight to it.

I guess I just wanted to see the crowd and test my patience. It proved good practice. I used yoga breathing exercises.

However, I must bring into question the report released by MasterCard Worldwide earlier this week. It revealed "Black Friday" didn't rank in the top five of busiest holiday shopping days of last year.

Hence we must define shopping. MasterCard is looking at money spent, not number of wailing women surging through turnstalls. Yet for most, shopping doesn't necessarily mean spending. Don't get me wrong, I like spending, just not shopping. So I can see why the majority of people aren't spending the most money the day after Thanksgiving. They are looking; searching for the deals the stores advertise and promise. I think shopping for some is escapism, with thoughts like: "Who would I be if I owned this pocketbook and jacket?" It's time away from responsibility and reality.

Maybe I should go shopping more?

I had a fun time "shopping" at Tiffany's in Westport with my photographer Lori Golias as we were preparing our "What's Bugging You" on holiday gift giving.

We also took our annual picture with Santa. Both of these are from the Connecticut Post Mall in Milford.

However after this year's shoot I was asked what I asked Santa for. That's when I realized I hadn't asked him for anything. So I started thinking about what I wanted.

2006 & 2005 at the Milford Mall.

Sure, for my Bugging piece I made a list of things ranging from a maid to a Lexus to a crumb scraper, but realistically, what did I want? I decided to make a of list of what I could do better in life, and then what actions I had to take to achieve those goals.

I figure while spending or receiving can cheer you up for the moment, living the best life you can is actual fulfillment. 

That's not to say that large, though empty, Tiffany's box (remnant from my Bugging piece) sitting on my desk at work isn't a thrill.  I smile every time someone freaks out over it and I get to undo the ribbon again and show them... its empty! Well, except for that wish list I made. And a picture of John Mayer. But that is a different story.

            

Rockefeller Tree Lighting

It is a special night for that 88-foot Norway Spruce chopped from a Ridgefield home two days after election day. The nine-ton tree will be lit tonight as the centerpiece at Rockefeller Center for all of the world to admire and capture in the four-inch screens of their new cameras.

The tree, which stood near a home off Peaceable HIll road for nearly 90 years, has gone through quite a transformation to get ready for its three-month stint in New York City. Following a journey on I-95 on a 115-foot long trailer, the evergreen was decked with 25-thousand crystals and a 550-pound star. All you have to do is jump Metro North to check it out!

If you are heading to New York for the lighting or any other time to see the holiday sights, you might want to check out www.hopstop.com. HopStop is a MapQuest of sorts for the subway and walkers. Just enter your destinations, and hopstop will tell you which subways to take as well as how to get to the stations. It will even calculate an estimated taxi fare for that distance. Before you go you can calculate whether checking out the tree and all the holiday window displays is faster on foot, by subway or cab.

If you don't have time for any of it, or just can't get near it once you are there, I found a sneak peak of some New York City holiday windows. Here is this year's Macy's display.

Here is the window display at Saks.

Now Let's Burn

So knowing that it would take 19-miles to work off that Thanksgiving meal, you still overate. Counting leftovers, you probably need to walk 40 miles to burn the calories you consumed.

Even if you don't burn off the extra calories, its not too late to maintain your weight over the holiday season. Mary Ellen Conway, Outpatient Dietician at St. Vincent's Medical Center in Bridgeport, told me today that one mess up isn't license to over eat and over indulge the rest of the season.

She says to always have a plan when going to parties so that the event doesn't control you. First she says don't try to save up calories for the event. She advises her patients to eat three balanced meals a day. When at the party, fill half your plate with high-fiber, low calorie veggies. The other part include a protein and the one food you consider an indulgence.

She says make exercise a priority, but also try to work it into your everyday schedule, such as taking the stairs or doing an extra lap around the mall. Click here for a list of calorie burning activies including driving to the in-laws'.

Calculate how many calories your body burns in a day.

Calculate how many calories you burn during your workout, whether it's housework, cooking or yoga.

Here are some more ways to get fit without the gym.

This is an article on having a plan.

You can also figure out how many calories you'll likely consume during the upcoming holiday party. It's like the Thanksgiving one, however, instead of saying I'd have to walk 19 miles, seems I will need to figure out a way to burn the equivalent of walking 30 miles.

Conways also warns about holiday libations. She says wine can have 90 calories a glass, but a mixed drink 250. She says if you have two drinks at 250 calories each, but do that for seven nights, that is easily one holiday pound.

Tasty Thursday to Fasting Friday

Halloween always begins the indulging season for me as all the left over candy is brought into the news room. The sugar rush somehow speeds up the 24 days until the next big binge of the year, Thanksgiving. Doesn't it feel like Halloween was last weekend?

Every year I hear people say they are not going to overeat at Thanksgiving. But by the time they take just a little of Aunt Carolyn's stuffing, a spoonfull of Grandma's green beans, Sara's sweet-potatoes, and Fran's fruit cocktail, then add desert and all the drinks, there is no going back. Except for seconds and thirds.

However, here is a calculator that just might make you take smaller spoon-fulls. Using it, I found I'd have to walk 19-miles to burn off the calories of my projected meal. And I was underestimating what I'd eat. Bon-walk!