NYC Food and Wine Show

First of all let me apologize for long time no write. But Im back from NYC and want to share with u how GREAT it was. I worked the show on Saturday for ZYR Vodka hhtp://zyrvodka.com I got to meet the other ZYR Brand Ambassadors and soooo many people in the food and wine industry. U know I was in HEAVEN. Yes of course celebrities too. Aaron McCargo hhtp://aaronmccargo.com Scott Conant http://scarpettanyc.com/ Iron Chef America host Mark Dacascos Marcus Samulson hhtp://aquvit.com to name a few!!!! Yes I was excited and yes I was luvin every minute fo it. I took some video which has to be edited and will be posted soon. I also took many photos that will be posted. The food was delicious and many times very unique. Braised lamb sliders, seafood salad with a lemon vinaigrette, chowder that was the best ever, tomato basil sauce from an old family recipe. Sooo much its hard to remember. I do remember it was all good, all fresh and all served with love. That must have been the secret ingredient!!! And the Wine and Spirits werent bad either!!! More to come, stay tuned Ciao

COOKING WITH CINDY

Well Well Well Its time to get cooking. Click on the title to see the video. I started working on my first ever on line cooking series. It will be instructional but fun, easy to follow and educational and most of all you can eat your work!!! Now you cant say that about most classes. The lessons will be live time over the internet soo you can follow along just like we were in the kitchen together. I will email you the recipe and ingredients you will need in advance so you will be ready to cook with me. You can email your questions live time and I will answer you live time. How cool is that. Or you can down load the lesson and watch at your convenience. You can watch alone or have friends over and make it a party!! No worries just easy going Cooking with Cindy! Would you be interest in taking classes? What would you like to learn to cook? Let me know Grazie, Cindy

STILL WORKING ON THE NAME

Hi everyone, Well the consensus was a thumbs down on the name Outrageous Olives. To many peeps thought it was aggressive, unpleasant and kinda negative so its a no go. I have come up with another option, many to be precise but have narrowed it way down. What do ya think about QUEEN OF OLIVES? Regal isnt it. Ya know olives have a very regal history. Olives were considered more valuable than gold at one time. Highly sought after and used as currency. So what do ya think? OUEEN OF OLIVES. I always wanted to be the queen. I can wear my crown of olives. Hmmm, fashion statement!!! Im working it all the time. OK let me know, thumbs up or thumbs down???

WOW HAS IT BEEN THIS LONG!!

Hello Boys and Girl, I guess I lost track or lost my mind or have just been soo busy that I have not updated all of you. Well here goes... Ive been working on new packaging and a new name for my "soontobefamousolives' OUTRAGEOUS OLIVES Hmmm, what do you think? I like it because they are outrageous, dah and the definition is "to exceed the bounds of what is right and proper!" Oh yah, thats what Im talking about. Over the top for sure. We are talking about flavor of course. Amazing, outstanding, delicious, bursting with OUTRAGEOUS OLIVE flavor. Let me know what you think about the name. Im also working on the packaging for my new accounts. Yes you heard it here first. We are opening up the wholesale division of the company and will be selling into retail stores such as liquor stores, dellis, produce markets and groceries. Quantum Leaps here. Buying lots of olives and lots of other stuff to make the olives OUTRAGEOUS!!!! OK you get the picture. All suggestions and comments graciously accepted. Dont be shy otah. Ciao

CHOP IT, MIX IT, EAT IT

Hey boys and girls, sorry so long no write but family in town and its been one meal after another. So now what do I do. Start cooking of course! Im in development. My new luncheon menu that is. Im working on the next most amazingly scrumptious sandwich ever. Im not kidding. Ive got plenty of classics but now its time for over the top, reach for the fence, delicious with a twist. Flavors that blend well and are tasty but make you say"HMMM, what is that" Memorable and leave you wanting more. Just one more bite. Yum. Im testing out a few ideas this week. Do you have any suggestions? Unique is the key. Interesting on steroids. You know what Im talking about. All suggestions welcomed. I will test out your idea and let you know how it works. Menu will be out soon. keep posted. Later, back to the kitchen.

HSN Audition Yeepie

Yesterday was my audition for HSN (home shopping network) for an on air chef. I got to make something and explain the recipe. I made Bruchetta 3 ways. First was a tapenade spread on crostini and topped with parsley. Tapenade is an olive, garlic, capers and olive oil paste which can be used for many things. I mixed it with sour cream and made it into Bruschetta #1. Next I made a pesto spread with my take on pesto which has Italian parsley and lemon in addition to basil, Parmesan cheese, garlic, pine nuts and evoo. Pesto is not just for pasta any more. I mixed in sour cream and topped it with chopped olives for Bruschetta #2. #3 was my take on the familar tomato bruschetta topping. I chopped tomato, onion, garlic, parsley and mixed it with evoo, Italian seasoning (my own blend of oregano, thyme, basil, rosemary and more) and the special ingredient.... chopped olives, S&P to taste, Yummie. This topping can be used on pasta for a fresh and delicious sauce. Try it!! I also had a plate of my "soon to be famous" Sicilian Garlic Olives. The crew loved everything so I hope I was able to influence their decision by getting them in the stomach. Watch out Wolfgang!! :)

LETS DO THIS

Hi all, I want to let you know I am now the Brand Ambassador for ZYR Russian Vodka. I will be doing tastings and events throughout the Tampabay area introducing this amazing Vodka. I love Vodka and have always enjoyed premium vodka. ZYR beats them all. Its smoother and easier to enjoy. I will be Zyrifying (pronounced zeer) the west coast of Florida. ZYR is unique. It is made from wheat and rye in small batches and has no sugar or flavors added. Zyr received 100 points from the Wine Enthusiast and is the Triple Crown Winner!! Zyr has to be tasted to be believed. I hope you will attend one of my tastings soon. How about some Sicilian Garlic Olives with your ZYR. A perfect combination. Next event in Tampa is The Gourmet Festival at the Hyatt Regency, downtown Tampa, August 6th. Go to The Centre for Women website to purchase tickets. Hope to see you there.

OLIVES AND OTHER STUFF

Excellent Market, They came, they ate, they bought!!!! Gotta love it. No room to hide with Olives. You either love em or hate, want em or dont. Your mouth is either delighted and you say MMMM or you mouth freaks and you turn up your nose. Luckily more people love em and wont live with out a "tasty" olive. So the Olive Lady is being born. The new olive dips were a smash tooo. People love a goood dip. The comment I heard most was how much you could taste the "olives' Thanks to everyone who came out, tasted and bought my stuff. You make me very proud. Hope you went home, couldnt stop eating and you need another OLIVE fix real soon!! Ciao, Cindy

Hello St Pete Summer Market

So its back to the market I go!! Looking forward to the Saturday Morning Market in St Pete. I am going green. Green Olives that is. My soon to be famous Sicilian Garlic Olives will be featured in new packaging and new labels!! Looking forward to the feed back. I will also feature Olive Antipasta which is a mix of Green Sicilian and Kalamata olives, whole garlic cloves, fresh rosemary, red pepper, marinated in oil and vinegar. This can be used as a dressing for salad, a topping for fish or chicken or as a side with cheeses . Just add wine and you have a party!! New products will be my olive dips. Kalamata Tapanade Dip and Green Olive dip. Fantastic with chopped veggies, crackers or chips. Also can be a topping for burgers or sandwiches!!! You gotta try them. Yummie. Check back. I will let you know how things go. Ciao, Cindy

GOING TO THE MARKET

OMG How amazing is Mazzaros. Wine tasting, cheese tasting, olive oil tasting. Im sure I missed some other tasting. All under one roof this place is a deli, a butcher, a wine shop, a cheese shop, a bakery, a cafe, a groccery, a fish shop. Im sure I missed something, o yah fresh pasta shop and expresso bar. Yummy on steroids. Love it and and always meet great, fun nice, very Italian people. Im right at home. I think I will make it my home away from home. THEY ARE WHAT I WANT TO BE WHEN I GROW UP

Pesto, Pesto and More Pesto

Gabbie called me yesterday and ordered more Pesto and Tapenade. YEAH!! She said it sold out quickly so they increased their order this time. I will be making Pesto today!! Meeting with Bill and his wife later to talk about working with them on their new catering business. Would like to put this one together and start getting accounts. Also went to the Powerhouse Gym to follow up with Mat. The place looks great and is state of the art. They want me to work with the trainers and their clients to prepare low fat, nutritional meals. Im putting my brochure together to pass out. Really looking forward to kicking this off. Lots of stuff moving forward. Very exciting!!

Nice Weekend

Wow what a busy and great weekend. My sister came to visit from Orlando so we went to lunch Saturday to catch up. Seems we never get to talk anymore so we finally made time. It was nice and relaxing and I think we actually finished our conversation without being interrupted. Mission accomplished. Then I was off to serve at an event catered by Felices Italian Deli. All Italian people celebrating pops 75th birthday. Music, drinks, lots of people and of course enough food to feed an army!! Everyone seemed to have a fantastic time reminiscing, celebrating and enjoying one and others company. Sunday Dad and Mom came over for Fathers Day and I cooked. Appetizer was marinated artichoke hearts wrapped in prosciutto with provolone cheese. Next was salad with strawberries ( I have to give my sister credit for this) and a lite raspberry vinaigrette. The entree was my famous Chicken Marsala, heavy on the mushrooms. The wine I served was an Italian Red, Il Canneto from the sangiovese grape. My brother Ron surprised us for a little while. Then my niece Adrianna came by too. It was a nice day to get together relax and enjoy Fathers Day together.

Nice Evening at Liado

Last night was a unique experience for me and I loved it. I went to a meeting for the Italian American Women of Today group called Liado. This is a wonderful group of women of all ages who get together share stories, take care of some business and raise money for many charities throughout Tampa Bay. Several young people were there to receive a scholarship from the group to help with their college expenses. A woman from the care takers for Alzheimer patients also received a donation for her group. The warmth in the room is what I remember. I was welcomed with open arms and asked many times where my family came from. Everyone is very proud of their heritage and boasts about it openly. However, I must say they are equally proud to be an American and the love of this country was very obvious. Thats how I was raised. My family has never forgotten its roots. When my grandparents were with us they told many stories about the old country. Thats how I learned about my heritage. But they always emphasized how marvelous this country is and how proud they were to be an American. In essence thats what this group is all about and I was delighted to have met so many interesting Italian American Woman. Grazie to you all

Did You Know

Sooo many things to follow up on today. Friday was an amazing day. Many things fell into place and I made several contacts. I am setting appointments with potential clients for my products and for Food and Wine Parties!! This is exciting and it feels like things are moving forward with the catering end of my business. Gotta go. I will up date you later.

Happy Sunday

Last night Ocean Prime was fun. This has got to be the trendiest place in Tampa. I actually thought I was in Miami. The place is gorgeous, overlooking water, (used to be swamp but dont tell anyone) The outdoor bars have couches so you feel like you are in your living room. The indoor piano bar is very comfortable with large booths and several high top tables. There are a variety of dining rooms and private party rooms throughout this rather large up scale bistro. The food is delicious. Tuna tartare stacked on top of avacado, crab cakes, fresh seafood (the ocean) aged steaks (the prime) and more. I had my fill just checking out the sights. Nothing like people watching to make for an interesting evening. I'll be back :)

How Exciting!!!

Yesterday I took samples of Pesto and Tapenade to Gabbie at Felices Italian Deli in Palm Harbor. They loved them. Gabbie said it was the best pesto she had ever tasted. I almost cried. What a compliment coming from an Italiano!! I will be delivering thier first order next week. Thanks so much Gabbie and Pappa too!!

I DID IT!!!

I changed the template. I like this one a lot more. Dont you? More Tuscanish

Working on linking Twitter to my blog and visi versi. I feel like a computer geek. OMG I never thought I would say that. :)

Just finished making Pesto. YUMMIE Taking samples to 2 prospects tomorrow. Looking good. Im excited. Getting ready to make Olive Tapenade. I have several recipes for these products. I will share them soon.

Way Cool

OMG I just created my blog page :) This is so exciting. This is my first blog message. OMG I will be linking this to my website, www.famigliacucina.com facebook, and twitter!!! Now we are talking Social Media baby!!