Cold Stove and tonight's event

I haven't posted one single recipe all week. I have a very good reason...er, excuse. I work at a high school and graduation is coming very fast. Suffice it to say, that I'm busy-- crazy busy. By the time I head home for my 40 minute commute, I'm toast. I just cannot get enough energy to cook. All week long, my family has lived on what's in the freezer, frozen pizza, or cereal. This is highly unusual for me, except this time of year. The next round of my stress will hit the week before the new school year starts.

Plus, my wonderful husband "built" a new laptop for me. He's a computer guru, and it was time for me to upgrade my seven year old HP. I'm now cooking at a faster speed with a lot more memory. Problem is, I've got to reconfigure a lot of stuff, including my photo editor. Arrrgh.


Fortunately, it's the weekend where I get to sleep in and then at 9:00am I am right here, for my exercise and stress-relief:





tonight, I have a special evening with someone I admire, from Food Network:

Yep, here he is! Alton Brown-- "Good Eats" and commentator for "Iron Chef".

Tonight, I'm getting one more night off from cooking. A dear former client of mine (when I owned a Skincare Clinic.. I'm a licensed esthetician) gifted me with one ticket to a very special event in Monterey. It's the Annual "Cooking for Solutions" at the world famous Monterey Bay Aquarium! Tonight, I will see Food Network's Alton Brown as the host for the Seafood Challenge-- an Iron Chef version with celebrity chefs.

SOLD OUT

Sustainable Seafood Challenge

Saturday, May 16 (5:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m.)

Monterey Plaza Hotel $150,
Aquarium members only
(tax-deductible portion: $50)

Join us at the elegant Monterey Plaza Hotel as four of our celebrated chefs race the clock to create tasty (and sustainable) seafood dishes while Sam Choy and Alton Brown offer lively commentary. This year’s challenge features Alexandra Guarnaschelli, Nate Appleman, Paul Rogalski and Xavier Deshayes. Frank Stitt, Alton Brown and Sam Choy will be the judges as the chefs compete for honors in one of four fun categories. You’ll enjoy fine wine and abundant hors d’oeuvres, and take home a set of plunger-style measuring cups from the signature line of Alton Brown Gear.

The weather is incredible for this event. It's already in the 90's where I live, and in the mid-80's in Monterey (30 minutes from here). I am smuggling my digital camera, hoping that I will be allowed to take photographs. To be honest, I'm very shy about walking into any kind of event or party if I'm not with someone I already know. However, I'm not going to miss this opportunity.

My husband is dropping me off, so that I can enjoy the wine and not worry about driving home. I hope to have photos to post and stories to share. Will some of my California food bloggers be there? I sure hope so! I'll be the blonde, with a wine glass in her hand, hovering over the hor's doevres and scoping out a good seat to watch the action.

Tomorrow, I will be grilling. I have so many recipes to make. I think my boys have missed my culinary action. I have to agree with them. I am craving lots of fresh vegetables and fruit! I've had too many starchy carbs and it's time to get back into the kitchen.