Apple Blue Cheese Potatoes Au Gratin

Stefanie Paganini's Potatoes


Apple Blue Cheese Potatoes Au Gratin with Walnuts

Ingredients:

1 ½ lbs medium Yukon Gold potatoes
1 cup heavy cream
1 garlic clove, finely minced
½ teaspoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon white pepper
1/3 cup crumbled blue cheese
2 Granny Smith Apples
1/4 cup coarsely chopped toasted walnuts (optional)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

2. Peel potatoes and apples and slice them 1/8 inch thick. Mix potatoes and apples with the heavy cream, garlic, salt and pepper in a skillet.

3. Cover with foil and roast until potatoes are very tender. Approximately 25 minutes.

4. Remove from oven and preheat broiler. Remove foil and sprinkle potatoes with cheese and walnuts. Broil until top is browned, 2 to 3 minutes

Getting to Know Terry

In an effort to get to know new co-host Terry Moir better, we recently put to her the 10 questions James Lipton asks every movie star he interviews for "Inside the Actor's Studio."
(Her answers are in parentheses)

1. What is your favorite word? (alacrity)
2. What is your least favorite word? (no)
3. What turns you on [creatively, spiritually or emotionally]?(learning)
4. What turns you off?(ego)
5. What is your favorite curse word?(dag, as in dagnabbit)
6. What sound or noise do you love?(baby laughter)
7. What sound or noise do you hate?(dentist's drill)
8. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt? (tightrope walker)
9. What profession would you not like to do?(brain surgeon)
10. If heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the pearly gates?
("You seem like you had a lot of fun. Want to do it again?"

Don't Look Up

A reporter's worst nightmare: bird poop in the mouth.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=BzjLlqIuVhI

Italian Pizza Popcorn

Stefanie Paganini's game-time snack

Italian Pizza Popcorn

2 Bags of air popped popcorn
1 Tbl Italian Seasonings
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
¼ cup grated Pecorino Romano
¼ cup unsalted butter
3 Tbl Tomato Powder or 1/3 cup finely diced sun dried tomatoes


Instructions:

1. Melt butter in a small saucepan and add garlic powder, onion powder, Italian seasonings, and red pepper flakes. Mix together. Remove from heat and set aside.

2. Mix together in a large mixing bowl popcorn, cheeses, and tomato powder (or tomatoes), and butter sauce.

3. Feel free to add or subtract ingredients to suite your tastes.

Log onto www.lpscinc.com for information about upcoming classes at the Loretta Paganini School of Cooking.

Shaw's Mighty Cardinal Marching Band

Follow the link to Connie Schultz's moving column about the Shaw High school marching band, and their efforts to make it to the summer olympics in China.
http://www.cleveland.com/schultz/index.ssf?/base/living-0/1201253560124200.xml&coll=2&thispage=1

You can help by donating to the band. Send your check the Shaw High School Marching Band,
14305 Shaw Avenue
East Cleveland, Ohio
44112
216-268-6580

The Blizzard of '78

It's been 30 years since the Blizzard of '78. Here are two links to coverage of the blizzard from WEWS TV5. Ted Henry, Don Webster, big ties and big hair. Precious.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqIoWFTeuUs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0F-0WLPT0bg

Share your memories of the blizzard.

A Perfect Party Panini

Stefanie Paganini's latest recipe for your Perfect Party Panini!



Perfect Party Panini

What is great about this Panini is it tastes gourmet using simple ingredients you can find in your local supermarket.

Ingredients

Deli Sliced Smoked Turkey breast
Green Apple or Pear sliced thinly
Fresh Spinach or Arugula, washed
Bacon strips or pancetta slices
Spread able Brie or Goat Cheese
Olive oil
Texan Toast Bread or thickly sliced Italian Bread

Honey Dijon Mayonnaise Dip

1 Cup Honey (preferably lavender honey)
1 Cup Dijon Mustard
1 Cup Mayonnaise
2 Cups Sour Cream

Instructions

Heat Panini grill or large skillet pan. Brush bread slices with olive oil. Spread cheese on bread. Layer remaining ingredients in sandwich as desired.Place sandwich in grill and cook until bread is golden brown. Secure sandwich with toothpicks if necessary and slice into thin dip-able sized strips. Serve with Honey Dijon Mayonnaise Dip. Note: You can bake pancetta slices in the oven at 300 degrees F on a parchment lined baking sheet until they are crispy as an alternate to frying them in a pan. Honey Dijon Mayonnaise DipWhisk together honey and mustard until blended.Add mayonnaise and sour cream. Chill in refrigerator for 2 hours

Dr. Michael Roizen

Dr. Michael Roizen joined us to talk about his book "You On A Diet Workout". The workout DVD can be purchased at Target or by going to the website http://www.realage.com/

Zoned Out at Work?

"Cube Monkeys: A Handbook for Surviving the Office Jungle" is a parody of office handbooks, published by the editors of CareerBuilder.com and Second City Communications. An example of its irreverent humor is the following list: Top 10 Snappy Responses and Quick Recoveries to Questions You Didn't Hear Because You Were Zoned Out...

1. I'm not going to dignify that with a response!
2. Whoa, I just had one of my psychic realizations: someone in this room is embezzling money!
3. What did you say about my wife? (The questions will then be quickly repeated.)
4.Raise your index finger to your lips and say, "Shhh, let's all just listen with our hearts for a
moment. I think the answer will become obvious."
5. "I must have answered this question a hundred times in the last month! Doesn't anybody
listen anymore?"
6. Act as if you are silently falling in love with the person waiting for your response.
7. Act as if you are going to respond, then pause to reconsider your response. Repeat for hours
on end until quitting time.
8. Hang your head and say, "What difference does it make? We're all going to die anyway."
9. That may be true. Or not. What do you think, Ed?
10. I didn't hear your question; I zoned out. I was a million miles away. Which brings up a
greater issue: what are we going to do to liven up these lame meetings?

Heath Ledger Interview

Andrea Vecchio of Good Company on WKYC channel 3 interviewed actor Heath Ledger several times. Here's a link to her final interview with the actor, recorded in New York last November, as he publicized the film, "I'm Not There."

http://www.wkyc.com/video/player.aspx?aid=52984&bw=

Office Romances

Author STEPHANIE LOSEE wrote an employee handbook for finding and managing romance on the job. Losee is imminently qualified; she has been married for 16 years to a man she met on the job. Among her observations: the odds of finding love at work are better than online, in a bar or at the gym. Think about it: Nearly half of us log over 50 hours at work and maybe you should use that to your advantage to do it right. Losee says work-based romances are more like courtships --they develop gradually over weeks and months. You actually get to know one another. Wow, what a concept. Her advice on how to do it:
--Join co-workers for happy hour
--Go to industry conventions and conferences
--Listen to colleagues who want to link you up with a co-worker
--Expand your network to friends' office
--Go job hunting

Offbeat Places to Meet Someone

The following list comes from msn.com (with some slight variations:)

1. Your local hardware store
2. The driving range, early on Saturday afternoon
3. Jury duty
4. Improv class
5. The flat-screen TV section
6. The blackjack or craps table
7. In line at the DMV
8. The nearest bar to the Q after a Cavs game
9. Skyline Music, or some other instrument store
10. Frequent flyer lounge at Hopkins

Radio Recipe

Stephanie Paganini, of the Loretta Paganini School of Cooking, shares this radio recipe:

Vegetable Beef Puff Pastry Pasties
Makes 4-6
Ingredients:

10 oz ground beef
1 onion, diced
1 carrot, diced
1 potato, diced
½ cup shredded cheese of choice
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 sheet phyllo dough
1 egg, beaten

Instructions:


Heat oil in a large skillet.

Sauté in the heated skillet the ground beef, carrots, onions, and potato until beef is fully cooked. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Let cool.

Roll out puff pastry and cut into 6-inch rounds.

Portion the filling into the center of each round. Add a small amount of cheese.

Brush the rim of each pastry with egg and bring the sides up to meet in the center. Pinch the edges and shape into uniform ovals.

Place pastries on a prepared baking sheet and brush with remaining egg. Slit each pasty on either side of the seam to allow steam to escape while cooking.

Bake pasties in a 375 degree F oven for approximately 15 minutes, until golden brown.

Remove pasties from oven and serve warm. Watch cheese will be very hot.

Jeopardy Brenda's Tips for Prospective Brides

The story of the "Walk-Away Groom" in today's Plain Dealer has inspired WDOK's Jeopardy Brenda to offer the following tips to would-be brides:

-Avoid in-laws; marry an orphan
-Never marry someone who's been married more than once. Everyone deserves a starter marriage, but more than one prior indicates a continuing problem.
-Don't expect to change him. A fixer-upper is OK, but not one with structural damage.
-Live together first. (Not supported by statistics, which show couples who did NOT live together first have more successful marriages.)
-Expect to work hard.


Listeners have added their own tips to help the prospective bride.

-Never rely on him to support you. Get education, or training that you can use to support yourself, just in case.
-Choose your first husband by deciding who you'd want your children to spend their weekends with.

Feel free to add you own advice by leaving your own comment.

Finally, be sure to get the right wedding dress, not one of these:
http://www.wdok.com/pages/1465337.php

Favorite TV and Movie Stars

The latest Harris Poll shows ELLEN DeGENERES is America's favorite television star, beating out OPRAH WINFREY for the first time. Oprah has topped the poll for the past five years. The entire top ten: 9. (tie) Ray Romano and Homer Simpson 8. Bill O'Reilly 6. (tie) David Letterman and Stephen Colbert 5. Jon Stewart (3) 4. Hugh Laurie 3. Jay Leno (6)2. Oprah Winfrey (1)1. Ellen DeGeneres (tied for 8) Dropping off the chart this year: Conan O'Brien and Kiefer Sutherland.

Denzel Washington tops the annual Harris Poll of the America's favorite movie stars for the second year in a row. Tom Hanks is at No. 2 for the second straight year. Looking at the rest of the top 5, Johnny Depp comes in third, Julia Roberts is fourth and Will Smith rounds things out. John Wayne came in at No. 6, even though he's been dead for nearly three decades.

Left is Right

A new survey shows that if you want to get up on the “right side of the bed” that you should get out on the left side! Major British hotel chain Premier Inn conducted the study. Sleep scientists, feng shui experts and psychologists helped with the findings. One said that getting out of bed on the left side is associated with things people would consider important --family, health and money. The brain’s left side supposedly helps people think rationally about their day. In contrast, the right side of the brain is responsible for less positive things like fear and stress.

Tearjerkers

Here is the Entertainment Weekly top 25 "tearjerkers" list:

25. Goodbye, Mr. Chips
24. Charly
23. The Joy Luck Club
22. Longtime Companion
21. Steel Magnolias
20. Stella Dallas
19. Ordinary People
18. Love Story
17. Glory
16. Titanic
15. Life is Beautiful
14. Kramer Vs. Kramer
13. Brief Encounter
12. Old Yeler
11. The Notebook
10. Field of Dreams
9. Ghost
8. ET
7. Brain's Song
6. Brokeback Mountain
5. It's a Wonderful Life
4. An Affair to Remember
3. Sophie's Choice
2. Bambi
1. Terms of Endearment

No Pants 2k8

The comedy outfit "Improve Everywhere" pulled their annual pantless prank on the New York subway system Saturday, January 12. Here's a link to their website, which features pictures
(funny, not dirty) of this year's prank.

http://www.improveverywhere.com/

Law of Abundance

Law of Abundance

Want to make billions of dollars this year? Or at least tens of dollars?
As a public service, we once again present the rules of The Law of Abundance. Many people swear by this method for getting rich.

Write a check to yourself, with your name on the name line. Do not date the check.
On the “amount” line, write “Paid in Full.” On the “memo” line, write “By Divine Right.” Sign the check “Law of Abundance.”

Do this on the day of the first new moon of the year. This year it is January 8, 2008.
You can place the check anywhere, but Terry Moir, Program Director for WKYC Channel 3 and guest on the Morning Show, suggests placing the check in a location where you’ll see it frequently.

When you hit your fortune, remember us in your will, will you?

Ten Musts to a Child's Tidy Room

The House Fairy, Pam Young offers these suggestions:
1. Waste paper basket
2. Bulletin board
3. Hooks
4. A calendar
5. Small containers for toys with many small parts
6. An easy-to-make bed
7. Streamlined dresser drawers
8. Lowered Rod in Closet/small hangers
9. Book shelves
10. A launch pad for the next school day

House Fairy's New Year's Resolutions for Kids:
1. Mind my mom and dad without arguing
2. Go to bed on time
3. No food in my bedroom
4. Set out clothes the night before
5. Help with household chores
6. Brush my teeth without being reminded
7. Be nice to brothers, sisters, and friends
8. Put my dirty clothes in the laundry room
9. Put away my toys and books
10. Make my bed every day