I've been keeping a secret. Back in March, I didn't take any days off of my resolution, but I cooked for people outside of my family. I cooked for The Rachael Ray Show.
A camera crew came to my house to film, and then a week later my mom and I flew to New York.
EEEEEEEK!
I signed a confidentiality agreement that I wouldn't talk about the details of the show until I was given an air date.
I now have an air date.
Wednesday July 9th! So, mark your calendars, set your TIVOs and take the day off work!
This is what the show's website has to say. The video link won't be live until after the segment airs.
The Details.
At the end of February, Stefanie Javorsky from the Rachael Ray show called. I had emailed the show sharing how I made crème brulee in the crockpot. It was 11:30am and I was trying to get lunch ready and my three-year-old prepared for a nap. She was quite cranky (my 3-year-old, not Stefanie--she was lovely) and since the number in the caller ID was listed as "unknown" I was pretty sure that the caller was a salesperson.
I braced myself, and heard "Hello, do you have time to talk? This is Stefanie calling from the Rachael Ray show."
All of a sudden I had all the time in the world. We had a very nice conversation, and I think I may have handed my preschooler a tub of frosting and a spoon to keep her quiet in the background. Stefanie asked a lot of questions, and we had 3-4 separate conversations before I learned that a camera crew was definitely coming to my house.
That's when I freaked out. I immediately called Jenny and she talked me down. Then I emailed Susan to discuss clothing options and high-powered deodorant.
At My House.
Adam took the day off work, and I kept the kids home from school and their various activities. The camera crew arrived at 9am, and
we were told to act natural. It's, um, hard to act natural when great big huge men are bringing great big huge pieces of equipment into your home and discussing how to best light the teeny tiny kitchen and whether or not they should move this furniture here or there or maybe do this or that in order to best film. They did it, though. My kitchen has never looked so good. I think I
want to rent some of those huge lights for my next party.The filming went well. I was nervous, but calmed down after about an hour. These were some really nice guys. They were dads, and seemed genuinely interested in learning more about the crockpot. They stayed for just under six hours. I made enchilada casserole, baked potatoes, buffalo chicken dip, and crème brulee.
After the filming, we ate the food and Adam made margaritas. It was really nice.
I began to relax about the trip to New York and was looking forward to going. The show paid for me to go, and my mom was going to use her miles to come with me.
But then we got sick. Really sick. We were all sick on Easter Sunday, and I was supposed to get on the plane on Wednesday morning. On Tuesday, I didn't get out of bed and begged Laura to do my BlogHer work. Laura rocks. Somehow I pulled myself together and got on the plane as scheduled.
New York.
The plane ride was uneventful and a driver named Jimmy picked my mom and me up at the
airport and drove us to the hotel. Barack Obama was evidently in that hotel the same night we were! We missed him by nano-seconds, but saw the secret service entourage. My mom and I walked around and saw a bit of Central Park and Rockefeller Center while we were waiting to be taken to the taping.
I prepared a crème brulee in the test kitchen of the studio, and sat back and waited. I did not meet Rachael before going on stage. The producers like the meeting to be fresh.I was pretty nervous, and still felt sick. I had taken an antihistamine
and a bunch of Advil, and felt really out of it.My mom kept ensuring me that I was
going to do fine, and I was so happy that she was there. I got my hair and make-up done backstage, which was really cool. 
When it was time to go on stage, my knees went a bit weak. Rachael was standing at the counter of the kitchen set, and the lights were dim. The audience was watching the footage that was filmed at my house (I didn't get to see the film, but my mom says it looks good).Rachael reached out to grab my hand---and whispered "you okay?" I whispered back that I thought I was going to puke. She said "Oh no, honey. No puking."
And then the lights went on and we started filming. We filmed straight through, with no cuts, and the
whole thing took about 5 minutes. They gave me a brand new crockpot that Crock-Pot sent. It's a really cool one.And that was that!
Before I knew it, I was back in a car on the way to the airport. I had a face full of HEAVY make-up; more make-up than I have ever worn. After we checked in at the airport, I washed my face in the restroom. There weren't any paper towels, so I dried my face with a toilet-seat cover.
Totally classy.
Mom and I made it home, and all was good. Adam and the kids were still sick, and were home for the next few days to recover.
I had the most fun, ever, and can't wait to do it again.
Rachael? Stefanie? I'm free next Thursday...
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