Entertainment Tonight's Nancy O' Dell, from being a Charleston crime reporter to being a Rusk Haircare fan girl.

By Laura Medina

Entertainment Tonight's Nancy O' Dell making an appearance at Ulta for Rusk.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOgqejEU2lo&feature=youtu.be

People may know Nancy O' Dell as the flaxen-haired glamazon anchor of Entertainment Tonight but what people don't know but this scribe did know...Nancy paid her dues being an hard-hitting crime reporter in Charleston, South Carolina which this scribe assumed she'll be when she was promoted to be a crime reporter in Miami.  This was long before Access Hollywood, or Hollywood itself, much less Entertainment Tonight or being Rusk Haircare's spokesperson.

This scribe grew up watching her reporting on crack dealers and addicts in the worst part of town at the worst hours.  So, this scribe can't help but be swelled with pride watching her rising up the ranks to where she is today or last night, Entertainment Tonight host making an appearance at Ulta for Rusk Haircare.

Underneath all that shiny armor of glamor is a toughness, sharpness, and practicality that she learned and earned as a cub tv news reporter in Charleston, South Carolina and which determines everything from interviewing celebrities to directing and editing camera angles when she's profiling a celebrity to right down to her favorite hair products.

"Funny, I feel like I got the best training ever in Charleston, SC because I was relatively new to the news scene. People don’t realized I did hard news for eight years before I started entertainment journalism."

Reflecting back, she saw her trainee years, as a crime reporter,  in a small city like Charleston, as a training ground to build her foundation in television journalism to where she is today as a top-notch entertainment reporter.

In fact, having Nancy talk about her early professional background is great advice for young girls everywhere watching her on TV.  In the same way, her as a young girl growing up in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, watching Entertainment Tonight's Mary Hart, thinking that was the coolest job either.

"I remember, growing up, watching Entertainment Tonight in my hometown, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, thinking that would be the coolest job ever to have!  Who would had knew that I would be hosting it someday."

As Charleston's WCBD-TV  cub crime reporter, "It was great training because we did everything, the editing, the writing, the producing.   You know, I would literally do my own camera shooting."

She learned and did all that riding shotgun with Charleston cops chasing down drug dealers and bad guys in the worst part of town in the dark of night, witnessing and documenting every nitty-gritty detail to be broadcasted in a nanosecond for the next morning as WCBD's morning anchor.

 

"It was great training.  Now, that I understand it more in everybody’s job in what they do.  It helps me be able in being a better reporter for Entertainment Tonight in entertainment where we have all the other people doing it.  I understand their jobs."  

By learning, training, and being a "Jill of all Trades," being her own Director of Photography, Director, and Editor, she can now tell, today, an Entertainment Tonight camera operator when and how to catch and shoot her in a certain angle when she expresses a certain thought and expression to better tell a story.  Nancy O' Dell literally calls the shots.

After building and earning her credentials, this scribe watched Nancy being transferred and promoted to the bigger market of Miami...as crime reporter.  She talked about how she wound up in Los Angeles as an entertainment reporter.

"But to make the transition, it kinda happened along the way.  Starting in Charleston, which is my favorite city in the entire world, then moved to Miami to do the news there with NBC. It was there that they said they’re starting up this new entertainment program.  That was Access Hollywood.  I did Access Hollywood for thirteen years then I wound up at the crème de la crème, the golden throne of entertainment shows, Entertainment Tonight; and I love every minute of it."

   

Those eight years as a cub crime reporter was the most exciting and the most formative time in her life, not that she's complaining about her life now, as Entertainment Tonight host and Rusk Haircare Spokesperson.

Working long, grueling hours in the trenches as a crime reporter in both Charleston and Miami taught her the importance in looking polished and using makeup and hair care products that are durable, nourishing, and making her look polished non-stop.

This is why Nancy is a fan girl of Rusk Haircare.  Alright, she's obsessed with it.

Imagine having to make do with whatever is on hand in a small town then hoping it'll last, you can ask this scribe and Nancy about that then discovering the wonderful array of choices and quality that you can only unearth in Hollywood, the land of the top-notch beauty products.  While making do with limited supply and quality of beauty products in a small town, you'll learn to make do and then super-appreciate bountiful top-notch beauty products, all in one big city.

"Literally, from the moment I first set foot in LA, I found out products.  Everybody said “Try the Rusk products.”  I love them and they’re great for TV." 

She's been hooked ever since then.

In the later half of this interview, she constantly mention the demands of constant hair styling to maintain the standards of entertainment reporting and the merits of Rusk Haircare's ability to lock in color to lessen the time committed to highlighting and low-lighting while nourishing and straightening the hair, all awhile on a glamorous but busy and demanding schedule.

She swears how Rusk can meet the demands of being on-air while improving your hair.

She talked about the brand and the products so much that the president of Rusk approached her to their spokesperson..."why not be the official spokesperson?  So, I said I would love to because I use all their products anyway!"

RUSK® W8less™ Strong Hold Shaping and Control Hairspray http://www.rusk1.com/catalog.php?product_id=650

After being on-air for years, having her tresses messed with, Nancy knows the importance of good but tough haircare,..

 

“It was a natural partnership.  I mentioned in a magazine that Rusk as my favorite product.   Rusk’s Weightless Hairspray because I have to get my hair styled so much.  You know, being constantly styled through-out the day.  I may be styled then later, I may be styled again.  Rusk W8Less Hairspray doesn’t weight it down but it has incredible hold." 

Now, as Rusk's official spokesperson, Nancy is also their official "guinea pig" testing out the newest and the latest in Rusk Haircare while on-air.  After gladly testing them out on-air and hours of prepping and editing,  these are the products Nancy vouches for...

http://www.rusk1.com/

 "I love the new Styling Line that they have."  

RUSK® Freezing Spray (Humidity-Resistant Hairspray,  http://www.rusk1.com/catalog.php?product_id=641

"They have this anti-humidity hairspray, (RUSK® Freezing Spray, (Humidity-Resistant Hairspray) which is great because no matter where you live, whether it’s California when it’s humid, especially in the South where I grew up, the anti-humidity hairspray keeps it fresh.  The great thing about it also holds in the color.  The ingredients in the hairspray actually locks in the color so you don’t have to constantly get your hair highlighted or low-lighted as often because it holds in the color.  That’s my new favorite product but, I can go on and on."  

 

RUSK® Deepshine® Oil Protective Oil Treatment, http://www.rusk1.com/catalog.php?product_id=627

"If you have dry hair, I am obsessed with the Deep Shine Moisturizer.  I would put it in when my hair is wet.  Before, if I just put it in, my hair would be like straw because it’s styled so much.  When I put it in (when wet), my hair is soft, manageable, and pliable (afterwards).  Again, it helps to keep the color in, keeps it moisturizing."

That’s the great thing about Rusk.  They also look into the health of your hair, not only to style it but also to help.  

She hasn’t forgotten her roots!

 

 

Emmy Makeup & Trends: Classy, Sassy, Approachable, & Fun!

By Laura Medina

 

 Julianne Hough wear Nars Cosmetics for the Emmys.

Makeup artist, Spencer Barnes, used Nars for Julianne Hough's look for last Monday night's Primetime Emmys.

 

Beauty Inspiration:  “The inspiration for this look was a modern-day Grace Kelly. The simplicity of Julianne’s dress allowed the makeup to really pop, even though it was a soft, fresh look.”

The look was bold and minimal.  Clean skin highlighted  by  413 BLKR Illuminator.  Eyes lined with Snake Eyes Eye Paint then lips tinted with | Julie Audacious Lipstick |

Red Carpet/Evening Makeup doesn't have to complex nor do you have the need to haul tons of makeup in a tote bag.

Red Carpet makeup is actually all about the "touch-ups," cute, clever, and nifty little compacts to add a little of color or a "pop" to best emphasize an actress' best feature before the flashing bulbs on the red carpet.  Always, these "pretty potent" makeup better be tiny enough to stash in a clutch.

Making Jouer Cosmetics the ideal Red Carpet/Evening Clutch makeup.

Here's their guide to Camila Alves' Red Carpet Jouer Makeup:

Makeup Artist, Mary Phillips, went the opposite from Julianne Hough's classic Fifties Hollywood makeup.  She went sultry and flesh-toned and somewhat '60's Mod for Camila Alves.

"After prepping skin with La Mer Crème De La Mer, I applied Jouer Age-Repairing Perfector in No. 6 (Honey), contouring with No. 8 (Tan).  I used Age-Repairing Concealer in No. 4 (Buff) where needed."

She used three shades of Jouer Age-Repairing Perfector in a classic makeup artist's trick to sculpture and highlight without obvious rouge.   #6 in Honey all-over the face.  Darker #8 Tan to contour the cheekbones and nose bridge and jaw.  Lighter Age-Repairing Concealer in #4 Buff to undereye-bags.  Remember, Jouer's Age-Repairing Perfectors come in their inter-locking and clicking compacts to connect together then separate.  Clicked together, they already form the building block of your evening makeup kit.

Then Mary,..."Eyes were lined with Eye Definer in Noir. Jouer Powder Eyeshadows in Almond was applied all over lid, Cappuccino in the crease, Caramel to highlight inner corners of eyes & Crème under brow. Lashes were finished with Jouer Everyday Effortless Mascara in Noir."  Remember, the eyeshadows and mascara also come in inter-locking "click & clack" compact to customize your own look.

After contouring Camilla's face with Jouer Age-Repairing Perfector in No. 8 (Tan), Mary added a touch more bronze to Camila’s already beautiful skin with Jouer Mineral Powder Bronzer in Sunshine. Cheeks were warmed by blending Jouer Tint in Bare and Mineral Powder Blush in Blossom.  Jouer's Tints are double-duty stars in tinting both cheeks and lips that this scribe cannot live without.  Everything in this paragraph comes in inter-locking compacts to build or lessen upon your needs and wants.

Last but not least, the lips...

The look was finished with a creamy nude lip using Jouer Hydrating Lipstick in Gigi and Moisturizing Lip Gloss in Oasis.

If you're just interested in Moisturizing Lip Gloss in Oasis because you can "click & clack" the essential Camila Alve's Emmy look (Jouer Age-Repairing Perfector in No. 6 (Honey, Jouer Everyday Effortless Mascara in Noir, Jouer Tint in Bare , & Moisturizing Lip Gloss in Oasis.) for a more wholesome and lighter daytime look, you can "click & clack" the above Jouer items together for your everyday sultry nude, but not boring, look.

 

Funny, the pre-Emmy style, beauty, and okay, gifting lounges were occurring at the same time as the Los Angeles Food & Wine Festival, both ideal places to discover the latest in food trends as in snack treats...especially on a hot, sweaty day in August.

While Church Key was freeze drying their tequila pops fresh at the Lexus Grand Tasting lunch buffet, actors like Viola Davis, Corbin Bleu and Maksim Chmerkovskiy were sucking down on these LIQRpops, frozen cocktails on a stick, a.ka. cocktail popsicles.

LIQRPOP LLC has invented and engineered a new, patent-pending delivery mechanism that creates a hard frozen confection with a full serving of alcohol contained separately inside which can be either injected over the frozen cocktail flavored surface, or sucked from inside the pop while enjoying the frozen outer confection. The alcohol can also be shot strongly (4-6 feet) from the frozen pop if a more playful serving method is desired. In summary, the mix of alcohol and frozen cocktail can be uniquely controlled by the consumer.

LIQRpops are 20 proof and made with premium flavored ingredients and spirits to create a smooth tasting shot when it goes down. All four of our flagship flavors are profiled to cocktails consumers already identity with and already love. But now, consumers get a new, exciting, and thoroughly refreshing way of enjoying them!

Strawberry Margarita  -  "STRMRG"

Pop flavor - Strawberry Margarita Flavor. A margarita is the most common tequila-based cocktail in the United States. And Strawberry is the favorite flavor of them all.

Shot - Strawberry infused Tequila.

Coconut Pina Colada  – “COCOLADA”

Pop flavor - Piña colada, pineapple and coconut flavoring mixed perfectly with delectable Coconut rum. What could be more luscious, more mellow & more savory?

Shot – Coconut Whipped Rum.

Apple Martini  – “APLTINI”

Pop flavor - Apple Martini blends apple and kiwi fruit flavors and has proven to be a very popular flavor giving consumers the ability to enjoy a smooth sweet & tart cocktail.  Recently, Mark Zuckerberg made the Appletini Facebook's official drink!  We've created that sweet & sour favorite to be enjoyed....as a Popsicle!

Shot---Sour Apple Pucker Vodka.

Sex on the Beach  - “SEXBCH”

Pop flavor - Sex on the beach is a mix of refreshing tropical flavors including peach and orange, which gives you the feeling of being "at the beach", no matter where you are.

Shot---Peach whipped Vodka.

If all that alcohol dries them out and those actors need all the vitamins to keep pace with appearances, rehearsal, and dress rehearsals, they're really guzzling down...

 Jennifer Falls actress Jaime Pressly poses with a Citrus Burst HYDRIVE Energy Water

TV's hottest cable and NetFlix stars were chugging down HYDRIVE Energy Water to their thirst and electrolytes in prepping for the Primetime Emmys, such as "Jennifer Falls" actress Jaime Pressly.

The low-calorie energy water, with just the right amount of caffeine, is the hottest new trend among celebrities who need an energy boost both on and off screen at only 30 calories/bottle.

Expect to be chugging them yourself soon at your local supermarket.

The fun...and the stress didn't stop pre-Emmy, they still continue onto the night of the awards show itself.

KeVita Sparkling Probiotic Drinks calmed everybody's nerves backstage of the Emmys.

"No one wants to feel bloated in their custom Robert Cavalli gown," said Michelle Dolge, Senior Brand Manager for KeVita. "And those nervous event jitters can do a number on the digestive system. We were proud to have our refreshing and tasty beverage on hand for nominees and presenters. With all the bonus probiotic power, plus low calorie and low sugar attributes, KeVita wins for 'Best Supporting Role' in an everyday diet!"

Probiotics, widely acknowledged as an immune and digestive health booster, have also been proposed to support a myriad of functions. As one of the fastest growing brands in the functional beverage industry, KeVita is championing this probiotic awareness and encourages consumers to take control of their health through smarter choices.

Among the growing trend of cultured and fermented foods, KeVita's popularity is largely due to its lightly refreshing fruit juice taste, combined with its natural health credentials.Each of KeVita's 12 delicious flavors is low-calorie, certified organic, non-GMO Project Verified, vegan, magnesium enhanced, dairy-free and gluten-free.

  

 
Truth be told, celebrities have more fun pre-Emmy Awards Show because they like shopping and spotting new trends in stuff too...and being the firsts to try them out.

At one of the most chill pre-Emmy style, beauty, and gifting lounges, Beau Bridges (Masters of Sex), Damien Puckler (GRIMM), Dancing with the Starspro Gleb Savchenko trying on sunglasses from Serengeti Eyewear, Sam Richardson (VEEP), Alysia Reiner and Madeline Brewer (Orange Is The New Black, Elliot Gould (Ray Donovan), Patrick Gallagher (Night at the Museum), Teyonah Parris (Mad Men), Wes Ramsey (CSI: Miami), Alex Meneses (The Goldbergs), Drew Seeley (A Cinderella Story), Tenille Houston (The Canyons), Taylour Paige (VH1’s Hit the Floor), Scott Bailey (The Bay), Maitland Ward (Boy Meets World), Octavius Johnson (Ray Donavan), Drew Scott (Property Brothers) and Kyle Keller (VH1) enjoyed "shopping and spotting" really cool products that they and their families can use...

John Paul Pet Body & Paw Wipes and Oatmeal Shampoo is really good for Coachella camping.  O.P.I. Nail Polish and HAI Styling Tools Flat Iron for the big night.  Fresh Body Fresh Balls because nervous nominees sweat like pigs.  Youth Eternal by Kellyann Nourishing Beauty Serum, always needed by actresses and needed lately by mature actors.   J.Andre All natural Hykunari Blending Sponges, if your makeup is all-natural...why can't your makeup tool?  Serengeti Eyewear Sunglasses, people can always use sunglasses to prevent eye wrinkles and make them look mysterious and sexy!

This scribe has always enjoyed scoping out the newest, the latest, and the trendiest in consumer products.  Don't get that idea that these products are for celebrities only.  Celebrities need them first because they're under the glare of the cameras, surrounded 360 degrees.  But, they're guinea pigs testing out those products that will eventually come down to us mere mortals.  If they're "celebrity approved" then imagine what they'll do for us!



 

 

 

 

 

Hip-Hop Artist, Common, "We All Gotta Eat!" Headlining the Los Angeles Food & Wine Festival 2014

By Laura Medina

Common serenading a much-deserving girl chef trainee, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAAjDu59Nwc

"We all gotta eat!" was the rallying cry for the Los Angeles Food & Wine Festival's fashionable foodie crowd, mostly celebrity publicists sneaking away for scrumptious gourmet meals, delectable array of wines, and an headlining concert by hip-hop artist, Common.  Truth be told, they were fueling up before taking off to the Emmy parties the Saturday night before Monday's broadcast of the Primetime Emmys.

These experienced movie and tv publicists crowd, intermingling with restaurant sommeliers, went "fan girl" and "fan boy" ecstatic enough to crowd-surfed a girl chef trainee (taking a breather from prepping meals) onto the stage so Common can serenade her then romancing  her with impromptu, "I want a lady who can cook gourmet meals and graduated from the Cordon Blu."

For Common, this headlining performance was a warm-up to the next night's MTV's Video Music Awards.

But for the Los Angeles Food & Wine foodies, a fifty/fifty split between equally highly educated and cultured Gen-Xers (the Emerging Establishment) and rising Millennials, his concert was the highlight of the festival.

There have been multiple food festivals sprouting up like crops, each best representing regional cuisine and culture.  Being Los Angeles, a.k.a. "Hollywood,"  the Los Angeles Food and Wine Festival out-did them all and out-doing themselves every year when they got a Grammy Award-winning Hip Hop Artist, Common to perform a full-out concert.  He's really thankful he got both ends of the stick, all you can eat gourmet dishes from the country's best chefs then attending Video Music Awards the next night.  Lucky dude!

Sure, Common maybe the headliner but remember Los Angeles Food & Wine Festival is all about the chefs...the celebrity chefs who chopped, grilled, and flambe their way into our tv consciousness and heart by competing on Food Network's "Iron Chef" and Bravo TV's "Top Chef", reflecting our educated and wandering palette. 

Here's Harrison Ford's chef son, the equally down-to-earth Ben Ford. https://www.tastemade.com/@the_arriviste/ekgNkf3USHqPPgU7CQ6Eww

Bravo's "Top Chef" "Team Euro" Fabio Viviani on his way to compete with Ray Garcia in the Ultimate Bite Cook-Off on Opening Night....https://www.tastemade.com/@the_arriviste/ekgNkf3USHqPPgU7CQ6Eww

Recent San Diego transplant, Richard Blais doling samples from his new restaurant, Juniper & Ivy.

Elizabeth Falkner, Iron Chef and Top Chef pro...https://www.tastemade.com/@the_arriviste/ekgNkf3USHqPPgU7CQ6Eww

Ray Garcia competing against Ben Ford and Graham Elliot, with Fabio Viviani on Opening Night's Ultimate Bite Cook-Off...https://www.tastemade.com/@the_arriviste/37fnuzzTQpmKOEsGTada3Q

Graham Elliot dicing alongside Ben Ford, against Ray Garcia and Fabio Vivian, in the Ultimate Bite Cook-Off...https://www.tastemade.com/@the_arriviste/37fnuzzTQpmKOEsGTada3Q

Last but not least, Jonathan Grahm of Compartes' Chocolates, the same night as Common's concert.
https://www.tastemade.com/@the_arriviste/1vEvfUtVTKO4K221B1Oi6Q

It's palpable that Food Network's and Bravo TV's cutthroat cooking competition shows, from the venerable Iron Chef (a Fujisankei Japanese TV Network import) to the more ramp-up "Chopped" on Food Network, are what fuel the thrilling aspects of cooking as something exciting, physical, and macho.  As in, there is nothing more masculine...or sexy than knives a blazing over shooting flames of fire.  This brought a new level of street cred respectability never witnessed before.

To least think that today's top crop of celebrity chefs are testosterone-driven...and male, the most innovative yet the most classical upholders of tradition are the women chefs.

 

Elia Aboumrad, Second Season Top Chef top four finalist and Top Chef All-Star, survived apprenticeship at Le Cordon Bleu's 'Grand Diplôme' then trained under Joël Robuchon in Paris, as his very first woman sous chef.  

She then moved to Las Vegas to open his restaurants at the MGM Grand Hotel. Later, she was recruited as Executive Chef of The Café at The Hotel at Mandalay Bay. The Hotel garnered their fourth AAA Diamond under her realm.^[3]   

Two years ago, she opened her own idea of a French cafe/bistro, Gorge, on the Sunset Strip, gorgela.com

Since the Opening Night was themed Ultimate Bites, a casual take-down on the more appropriately apt "amuse bouche," fancier, steroid-sized hors d' oeuvres where a snack is a portion-controlled single dish, something like the women-focused buffet, The Wicked Spoon at the femme-focused Cosmopolitan Hotel (which was also at Opening Night of Los Angeles Food & Wine).  

In other words, Los Angeles Food & Wine's Opening Night Ultimate Bites was Ladies' Night where patrons (an equal mix of straight women checking out the mostly male chefs) were testing and fueling on portion-controlled variety of amuse boches, requiring no more than one or two bites then moving onto the next tidbit, without busting out a gut.

This is where Elia Aboumrad's Gorge comes in.  Among a sea of "standard dishes with a twist," she revived long-forgotten French amuse bouches such as savory cream puffs piped and stuffed with duck mousse rilletes, the savory cream puffs are called pate a choix.  A meaty but delectable meal in one bite.  She also served "Mad Men-sque" chicken liver mousse piped onto puff pasty squares of golden and crispy toasts.  Okay, one, two pops on the mouth.  Time to move onto...

Stephanie Boswell's whimsical "Alice In Wonderland-sque" candies from The Cosmopolitan's new social club, Rose. Rabbit. Lie.

After a night of savory bites, people were lip-smacking craving for something sweet to balance out the palette. 

They were grabbing Stephanie's thick chunk of sesame brittles, roasted hazelnuts enrobed in dark chocolate and dusted in confectioner sugar, her surreal marshmallows, and her creamy chocolate truffles encased in solid chocolate shells, and macaroons, the next dessert to upstage cupcakes.

In fact, this is where Los Angeles Food & Wine gets the legs up on other regional food festivals.  Whereas the majority of food fests promote and uphold their own unique but traditional food fares,  Los Angeles has always work on being the first to launch trends and fads, the innovators and the outliners over-throwing the apple cart.

Once cupcakes landed in third-tier towns,  macaroons set the dessert beat in Los Angeles as the new standard bite-sized sweet.

During Los Angeles Food & Wine's lunch fare, the huge Lexus Grand Tasting, the lunch-time version of the night-time feasting, debuts the niftiest of food trends, frozen alcoholic popsicles and dried sea cucumbers as the new puffy, crunchy pork rinds.

In fact, liquid nitrogen is gaining a foothold as common place, mostly in frozen desserts for the sweltering Summer, like right now.

Think of "frozen macaroons," freeze-dried meringue in berries or coconut flakes, again another sweet amuse bouche pop in the mouth.

The Church Key's frozen tequila popsicle sticks, freshly freeze-dried by pouring in vats of liquid nitrogen into cooler boxes, were the adult afternoon treats for grinning grown-ups on a sweaty, stinky Summer, Downtown LA day.

Another trend that Los Angeles have set sail and, thank god, will never go off into the sunset, All-American burgers and sandwiches done justice, yes...the gourmet, upscale burgers and fries and sandwiches.

Sang Yoon sparked the onion marmalade, blue-cheese slathered kobe beef burger and shoestring fries revolution at My Father's Office, a decade ago, saving the burger and fries from being thrown into junk food chute which a many copy cats followed.

The heir apparent to the gourmet fast food gone good and right is Steven Fretz.  When he isn't going high on the hog at the more formal The Church Key, he's doing the roast beef sandwich right by operating the down-home, retro, Fifties' simple sit-down fast food, The Top Round Roast Beef, simple chic roast beef sandwiches spread by handmade gourmet cheese sauce and BBQ or drenched in Beef Au Jus,  crunchy fries, and concrete-slurry thick frozen custards.  Yes, it's Arby's done right. His Gravy and "Dirty" Fries sound like hangover meals.  What's better, everything is no higher than $8.

This fashionable foodie has found her tribe and we're all whetting our appetite for next year's Los Angeles Food & Wine Festival and waiting to be the first to taste and sip the newest and latest and best in food and beverage...and okay, hopefully the next concert.

Emmy Snacking with Wine, Pairing your Favorite Junk Food with Wine.

By Laura Medina

Let face it, after a long, hard day at work...on a Monday no less...you just want to relax in front of the TV.

Boy, you're in for a treat.  Instead of the usual Sunday night, the Primetime Emmys are being broadcast tonight on NBC.

So, this means you want something nice, some fancy but you're just too pooped out to whip up something special; and you're low on budget after the weekend splurge or hustling for ingredients is just too exhausting right now.

Have no fear, the "Wine Wise Guy," Anthony Giglio, Details Magazine's Food & Wine columnist and one of "Mr. Boston Official Bartender's Guide" editors, is such a wine expert that he is no snob.  Nothing gets pass him.

He tells it like it is.  He and his Italian-American brood, they too, get exhausted after a long hard day of work...and school; and they would love nothing but relax in front of the tube...and snacking.

If swinging by Kentucky Fried Chicken or grabbing a bag of Buffalo Wings is the closest and quickest thing to a gourmet meal tonight, Anthony suggested pairing it with the acidic but bubbly Scharffenberger Cellars "Brut Excellence," Mendocino, California's answer to champagne, just as good but cheaper.

Think of this as a grown-up version of soda where the acidity breaks down the grease, balancing out the palate.

Four years ago, an adorable French wine guy suggested the same thing, pairing effervescent white wine (if it's produced outside of the Champagne Region of France then you have to call it sparkling white wine) with my bucket of fried chicken.  No shame in that.

That's the point Anthony was driving during his "Junk Food & Killer Wines" Seminar on the last day of the Los Angeles Food & Wine, don't be a snob about saving good wine for special occasions only, make wine part of your everyday life like when he was growing up in a very traditional Italian American up in the North-East, ok, New Jersey where the kids ruled the basement rec room and made their own wine spritzers to pair with...

Pizza.

According to Anthony, you can't go wrong with "The Rooster," Badia a Coltibuono Chianti Calassio, a.k.a., good ole Chianti, a big bottle of red.  If you see a rooster on a bottle of Chianti then you know it's good and the real deal from Tuscany.

Anthony, despite being one of the top wine experts, is not beyond ordering in pizza or dropping by the supermarket and grabbing a box of frozen french bread pizza or being a cheap and creative college student making do with pizza bagels for a week.

 

Since the best Chianti is reasonably priced in the mid-twenties,  Anthony always had it growing up as a kid.  When the kids run-over the basement rec room, he and his childhood buddies would make their own cocktail, "Spaghetti Spritzer," where they top their slightly tannin-bitter Chianti with the sweeter Cream Soda for easy gulping.

The antioxidant/tannin in dark red wines cut through the heaviness of red meat sauce, making Chianti an ideal partner in greasy and tomato sauce (another rich source of antioxidants) rich pizza and pasta.  This scribe wholeheartedly agree with Mr. Giglio.  This scribe loves classic Margherita Pizza slathered in "red sauce" and nothing get this scribe through a tough day and a rough week like a big bowl of spaghetti and meatballs.  This is one of multiple reasons why this Gen-X scribe is usually mistaken for a Gen-Yer.

Pour on the red sauce...and the red wine, the big reds!

If jostling with soccer moms and their noisy kids in over-sized supermarket carts gives you fits after a Monday work day, you can always be resourceful, quick, cheap, and easy by dashing off to your nearest 7-Eleven, where they indifferently knock-down the older wines...hint, hint.

When you're a singleton in whatever stage of your life, you can get away a bag of chips for dinner then "class it up" with yummy affordable and fun wine.

At 7-Eleven, you can easily locate a good bottle of Vietti Moscasto d' Asti, otherwise known as Asti Spumante next to bags of Mission Chiccharones "Picante" Style Pork Rinds.  Yep.  The "grown-up" soda, Asti Spumante pairs well with the protein-packed crunchiness.

Think of how much money you'll be saving while gourmet shopping at 7-Eleven and the quickness of it, just in time to catch the Emmys.

If you have a sweet tooth like this sweet scribe and you much rather be munching on gooey, chewies while watching your favorite TV hunk win a well-deserved Emmy, Anthony suggested saving Port...yes, that old men's wine liquor,...for dessert.

Remember, watching the Emmys or any award show for that matter is dessert for your brain.  "Brain candy" doesn't have to be cheap or nasty.  Candy in any form can be a classy treat after a long, hard day or week.

For Anthony, he likes matching the caramel-tone, richness, and sweetness of Port with the rich, dense cakey Dunkin Doughnuts Munchkins, heavily coated in cinnamon sugar.

That's too "dusty" for this sweet Southern Belle scribe and prefers the much neater sugar glaze of the puffier Krispy Kreme Eclair piped inside with decadent dark chocolate custard then elegantly glossed on top with dark chocolate glaze.

Shoot, now that this sweet Southern Sweet Tooth resides in Los Angeles, here's the LA version of pairing Port with sweets.  The caramel sweetness and the maple syrup viscosity of Port goes well with See's Candies' Nuts & Chews drenched in dark chocolate or their big can of Almond Royal, bites of dark chocolate caramel enrobing two nuggets of almonds.

You can use Anthony Giglio's "Junk Food & Killer Wines" Guide for any awards show, other than the Emmys or for any of your favorite tv shows.

Down-to-Earth doesn't have to be trashy and neither does classy have to be snotty.

Make wine a part of your life.

 

 

Frozen Summer Treats for Adults Only!

By Laura Medina

http://snobarcocktails.com/

Okay, the kids are out of your hair for now.  Don't you love it or loved it when school starts back in session during the hottest days of the year, the dog days of August.

Don't you wish or wonder about treating yourself to a alcoholic sundae or a creamy, frozen treat?  Can't go to an exclusive 5-star hotel/restaurant that makes their own from scratch and their freezer is broken?

Can't make one? Don't ponder, SnoBar and BuzzBar Ice Cream and Sorbet Popsicles are here for a culinary afternoon delight or weekends.

SnoBar makes a personalized carton of liquor ice creams in chocolatey Brandy Alexander Chocolate with the whole cocktail mixed in.

If chocolate mint is your thing, SnoBar's Grasshopper is chocolate mint in mint green ice cream.

http://snobarcocktails.com/flavors/

If you prefer licking your frozen cocktails on a stick, rather than sipping or slurping them, SnoBar's popsicles come in not-too-sweet Margarita, Mojito, and Cosmopolitan.  The alcohol content cuts down on the sugar, making them less "kiddy."

https://www.buzzbaricecream.com/main2.html

If you still yearn for your childhood treat of ice cream bar on a stick but with a little more oomph, BuzzBar Ice Cream mixed in childhood favorites with adult liquor like Cookies n' Cookies Ice Cream with Bourbon or Coffee Ice Cream with Irish Cream or here's a real treat, Strawberry Ice Cream and Rum, speaking of which...

http://www.maliburumdrinks.com/us/Products/Malibu-Rum-Sparkler/

Ever wished for an "adult smoothie," something packed with much-needed adult antioxidants but with a little "kick" or a sparkle?

Can't figure the right amount of rum and champagne to mix in?

Don't worry, Malibu Rum has release their new Malibu Rum Sparklers just in time for Spring's and Summer's bumper crops of fruit, specifically berries. 

What to do with all these berries?

 

http://www.maliburumdrinks.com/en/rum-drinks-and-cocktails/frozen-strawberry-beach/

Easy, follow this Frozen Strawberry Beach recipe using fresh strawberries.  Better yet, you can use any ripe berries, such as in-season blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries.  Shoot, you can combine all four berries in one drink!

While the kids are sweltering away in wool Fall clothes at school, you can afford to kick back with  well-deserved treats.