What's Cookin Today Hour ONE:
Dine LA's Carrie Kommers Tells Us the History of This Awesome Event!
Created in partnership with American Express and the Los Angeles restaurant industry, dineLA’s goal is to position Los Angeles as a premier dining destination by creating year-round programming and events which highlight the diversity and quality of LA’s culinary community. Carrie conceptualized and launched the city’s official Restaurant Week event which, now in its third year, includes over 200 restaurants countywide; created and oversees the official dineLA.com Web site and e-newsletters; and continues to create strategic partnerships with LA restaurants, chefs and restaurateurs, high profile media partners such as the Los Angeles Times, KTLA, Los Angeles magazine and Clear Channel Radio, as well as event partners such as Artisinal LA, Wally’s Central Coast Wine Classic, LA magazine’s The Food Event, the Los Angeles Times Celebration of Food & Wine, and more. She also conceptualized and created the first-ever LA Chef Family Tree and the dineLA Restaurant Week Food Truck.
Prior to joining LA INC., Carrie served as the Director of Marketing for Culinary Adventures, an Orange County-based fine dining restaurant group, overseeing their branding and expansion into the LA market. Previous roles include marketing for the Kor Hotel Group, cooking school director, innkeeper, caterer and pastry chef. A trained chef with degrees from the Scottsdale Culinary Institute and Cal State University Long Beach where she earned a B.A. in Creative Writing, Carrie also serves on the LA Board of the California Restaurant Association as well as the City’s Official Green Restaurant Certification Program scheduled to launch in late 2010.
T-Rex A Family Man? Who Knew?!? Best-Selling Author Homer Hickam Shares the Surprising Family Life of the Ferocious Tyrannosaurus Rex, and His New Novel, The Dinosaur Hunter
Dinosaurs are ever-popular in the public imagination and the iconic Tyrannosaurus rex never ceases to fascinate. Every year, it seems we learn more about these amazing animals. Recently, it was announced that a T.rex discovered in Montana had viable remnants of cellular tissue that told researchers it was not only a female but she was also pregnant! One of the men who helped discover that T.rex and also discovered two more with viable blood cells is Homer Hickam, author of The Dinosaur Hunter (St. Martin's, November, 2010). Homer is perhaps best known for his #1 New York Times best-seller Rocket Boys that was adapted into the award-winning film October Sky. Working with other bone hunters in the badlands of Montana over a ten-year period, Homer has also found many Triceratops and Torosaurus dinosaurs. In fact, so many bones of these animals were brought in to be studied by world-famous paleontologist and Jurassic Park advisor Dr. John (Jack) Horner, he has concluded these two animals were actually one and the same species. This announcement has caused a considerable stir in the world of dinosaur academia and illustrates why, according to Hickam, "there is nothing better than getting out into the field and sweating a little in the name of discovery."
Homer Hickam's latest novel is set to hit bookshelves on November 9th, 2010. Homer has most recently made appearances on all major news and broadcast networks, including NBC, CNN, NPR, MSNBC, CNBC, FOX News, The CW, AP, ABC News Radio, Voice of America, CBS Radio, Washington Times Radio, and numerous others.
Good Housekeeping Director of Nutrition, Samantha Cassetty, MS, RD Gives Us Easy Tips To Stay On Track Including:
•The Top 5 Ways to Drop 5 at work •Ideas for Brown Bag lunches •Healthier Swaps at fast food places •Tips on how to beat the office candy bowl •Ideas on how to get in some exercise at work (Just 6 five minute walks a day can lead to a 10lb weight loss over year!) Samantha Cassetty, M.S., R.D., is a registered dietitian, became the Nutrition Director at the Good Housekeeping Research Institute in 2008. She is responsible for reporting on nutrition news and trends, noteworthy products, weight-loss tips, and Good Housekeeping's healthy diets. Prior to Good Housekeeping, Cassetty wrote nutrition and health articles for several Johns Hopkins consumer publications and edited their consumer reference books. Before that, Cassetty spent several years as the editor of SouthBeachDiet.com. She received her bachelor's degree from Vanderbilt University and her M.S. in nutrition from Boston University.
What's Cookin Today Hour TWO:
All ABOARD! Erik & Paul Hop on the Napa Valley Wine Train with Chef Kelly!
We are gearing up for a pretty wonderful Valentine's weekend. The Wine Train is one of the most romantic experiences available! The vintage cars that are beautifully restored, the world class restaurant -- and its groovy chef and being in the Napa Valley with all the mustard blooming in the fields! At night, the cool winter air hugs the train as it travels across the silver vineyards. Inside, lovers lean across tables and hold hands while velvet tasseled draperies sway quietly and the warm glow of light from 1915 lamps gently illuminates the intimate meal. Choo Chooooooo!Movie Guy Steve Evans Gives us the Movie Hits and Misses!
Steve Evans, the Movie Guy, is going to tell us what we need to run out and see and what we can avoid in the movie theaters, this week! So, grab your popcorn, folks! Get your movie news and reviews right here on the What's Cookin' Today show! Steve “The Movie Guy” will take a look at what’s hot at the box office and the new films being released this weekend including…
The Mechanic - this film stars Jason Statham as an elite assassin who forges a deadly partnership when he takes on a protege in pursuit of revenge.
The Rite - a thriller starring Anthony Hopkins about an American seminary student who attends exorcism school at the Vatican.
From Prada to Nada - a film about two, spoiled, Latina sisters from Beverly Hills who are forced to move in with their estranged aunt in East LA.