Yesterday, I woke up in New York to a beautiful blue sky and a day filled with fabulous adventure … and sandwiches.

Do you like sandwiches? I do. But not plain, slapped together ones. They need to be built with precision and care. They need to be well-thought out and considered.

So, when the PR team for Hellman’s contacted me about being one of the Club Sandwich bloggers for their new Build the Perfect Sandwich program, I was happy to say yes. Hellman’s is the only mayo I buy, and it’s what I grew up on. That said, I am a little funny about mayonnaise. I don’t like it smeared on a sandwich. But if you mix it up with other ingredients to make an awesome spread, I am all about it.

Yesterday was the big ol’ kick off for Build a Better Sandwich in New York. The Club Sandwich bloggers spent two fabulous days in New York, eating well and picking up some great tips on sandwiches.

The ultimate highlight of the whole thing? Meeting and interviewing Bobby Flay. Oh, yes I did!

In person, Bobby Flay was a lot like the affable man you see on his many shows – funny, charming and filled with fabulous culinary knowledge.

He did a quick sandwich making demonstration, showing us three sandwiches — including a panini where he spread mayo on the outside of the bread (instead of oil or butter … super interesting). He also shared a tidbit on how to make your sandwiches look amazing when you cut them. Instead of just cutting diagonally, cut them diagonally on a bias (meaning at an angle), so that you can really see exactly what’s inside. Pretty cool idea, right? Read the rest of this entry…

When I saw the cover of Sweet Melissa Baking Book, my mouth watered. The confectioner’s sugar topped dessert looked too good to be true. And when I later read the book (during my breaks at work), I was intrigued. I love author Melissa Murphy’s style. Her brief tidbits with each recipe really make the book for me. And her recipes for delights like chocolate peppermint meringues are the stuff dreams — at least my dreams — are made of.Melissa Murphy owns Sweet Melissa’s Patisserie in Brooklyn. She is a graduate of the French Culinary Institute who has appeared on the Food Network. I had the opportunity to ask Melissa some questions and got some great answers. As my son often says, here ‘a goes!

Why did you decide to write The Sweet Melissa Baking Book?

MM: A literary agent from Regal Literary’s Culinary Cooperative approached me in my Cobble Hill store. I tried to write this book 8 years ago, but I wound up too busy baking for Sweet Melissa’s, and had no time to do the book the way I really wanted, so we decided to wait a while. I am glad I did, I had that much more experience 8 years later when it was finally the right time. Read the rest of this entry…