Kitchen Confidential via Instagram

My regularly scheduled editorial calendar is on indefinite hold. I usually get flustered when I fall behind, but  my relapse into untimeliness has been for great cause. Like super great.

I’ll keep it short for the sake of establishing a teaser and keeping you curious. In a nice way, of course, but if I indulge in it all now, there’d be no reason to get excited with anticipation of what’s to come.

So, let’s go back a bit. Remember when I was hired by General Mills back in 2009 to be their on-air talent for a campaign they were launching? I flew out to GMs’ headquarters, met and cooked with the Betty Crocker kitchen executive chef and filmed a few vignettes in a nice chocolate chef’s coat bearing the particular brand campaign name. In the end, I was going to be on Univision for 7 months, doing live cooking demo’s with some of their food brands targeting the Hispanic market. I was beyond excited and proud of the work I’d done to that point which garnered the gig.

But, it never happened.

I won’t bore you with those detalles, but I walked away with a sense of gratitude and understanding this: Everything happens for a reason. Storybook cliché, but I’m a testament to its truth.

All has been sweet since. Lots of work in all areas of what I do, fashion included.

Just two weeks ago, the best Twitter conversation happened. I was recommended as a Latin chef who knows the cuisine and the South. Having JUST left Atlanta, I felt I qualified. The Twitter exchange was followed up by an email the very next morning asking me to be the “face of the issue” featuring food and traditions shared by Latinos during the Holidays! In essence, develop a number of recipes for  a new print magazine published by one of the biggest media companies in the U.S. You can take a guess if you think Rachel Ray and the like.

How fun is that?! Oh, wait, it gets better. Circulation is over 1 million which means I’ll be front and center in all these homes. (Lawd, all I ask is for them to get a great shot of my shoes and arm candy!)

Needless to say, this having just happened two weeks ago, I’ve been in my kitchen confidential, whipping up and designing special recipes to share with their readers. And you!

Here are a few pictures I’ve been taking during the process. Instgramming them of course, because the idea of stopping and snapping with my real camera is unfathomable when my hands are full of utensils and sticky with this, that or the other.

Can you take a guess of how many ingredients are in here? Actually, that wouldn’t be fair. This is a partial line-up. But it was a lot.

This here is  something I’ve been playing with for 3 days. A secret sauce based course. And, one that took 9 hours to cook. Yeah, I’m not that kind of cook, you know. I like to pressurize things! But it was well worth the time invested in creating it.

And you already know what this is for! But, wait until you see what newness I’ve come up with! The South will fall in instant love. They’ll become converts. Their default dessert staples may suffer a switcharoo.

So, the writing gig is amazing and  I can’t wait to share more with you sometime in November. I know, a long ways away.

But, the kicker is this on-camera gig that just fell on my lap. Much of my career in food has happened that way. Notwithstanding the endless hours of work I put in, the tears shed, the flat out “NO”s and a few stumbles, it’s all been a semi-glossy experience.

A few months ago, I was approached by a colleague who has a great resume in TV, news and journalism. We’d worked together a few years back on a long-term writing gig. She said she remembered my work and personality and wanted to invite me to host my own show on a new online network launching this fall.

Fall.over.right.now.

The conversation was very casual and kinda matter of fact. We exchanged ideas on what her vision for the network was and as if I had come up with it myself, our thoughts and energy  lined up in  harmony.

I love it when that happens. Unlike other TV offers, this just felt right. We didn’t meet in for me to audition or to discuss terms, etc… it just happened.

I started filming a few weeks ago and went for 5 days of intense retakes, etc… I fell madly sick the night we wrapped the D.C. segments. We’re not done yet, though. Another 10 days awaits my schedule. In the meantime, I get to pick out fabulous outfits,  shoes and meet some amazing people along the way. I’ll let you read more about it on my “Chronicles of a Hat & Shoe Queen,” my fashion blog, where I highlighted what I wore on my 1st day.

It’s all so dreamy. It’s seems as though my move was hiding things I had no clue would be for me. I’ll take them all so long as I get to be in some bad pumps and speaking Spanglish. I’m thinking people actually like the idea of an intermixed conversation. It adds enigma to the whole experience. Plus, I draw a blank in either language at any given moment. Crazy.

See, life takes you on rides and you have to be ready for them. There’s still so much to share, but I have to wait it out. This was fun enough for now. I hope you’ll ride with me as things evolve. I’d love to have you around! After all, the success of Flanboyant Eats has been in large part b/c of you! So, without you, I’d not be doing a lot of these life-chaning, super fun things.

¡Life is muy, muy bueno!

Eat well, love unapologetically, pray with true intention, and take care of yourself.

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Don't forget to check out my debut cookbook!