Check out the latest Q&A in our new Glass of Sass column. We know our sassy fans have questions, and we've already poured a glass of wine so we're ready to fire off some answers!
Got a question of your own? Send it in and we will answer it in a future column!
I'm in love with Bradley Cooper. I've seen The Hangover 10 times and watched every episode of Kitchen Confidential. Is he really your intern?
If it's possible, we think we love Bradley (or Coop as we call him around the office) more than you do. That's why we made him our honorary intern.
What does that mean? It means that creating simple recipes for you is way more fun with a hottie around as our sous chef/intern. And you have to admit our Facebook status updates are WAY more interesting when there's a drool-worthy photo of Bradley attached, right? Right.
And that's about as much as we're going to divulge. Bradley is a little embarrassed at how much he enjoys giving us foot massages so he asked us to keep our lips sealed about the details of what he does for us. We agreed because let's be honest - he had us at "lips".
Want more Bradley? Check out his blog posts. Happy Friday!
It's Spa Week!!
Posted by the jaynes family Labels: easy recipes, no brainer tip, Sous Chef Program, who knew?Other than the Chilean miners being rescued this week (thank goodness they're all safe!) the most amazing news is that it's SPA WEEK, October 11-17. This is not just permission - it's your duty - to have a spa treatment at someplace fabulous - mani, pedi, massage, facial, body wrap, whatever little pick-me-up moves you!
In honor of this week, Vicki and I have decided to give our famously hot sous chef & intern, Bradley Cooper, the week off from foot massage duty. Instead we're going to treat him to a little spa treatment. Jealous girls? You should be!
And when you make a sassified, simple FunnySpoon meal for dinner no one will ever know you spent the better part of the afternoon relaxing!
Enjoy ... and happy hump day!
Hump Day with Bradley: Top 5 Aphrodisiac Foods
Posted by Vicki Labels: date night, Sous Chef Program, The FunnySpoon Five
Hey ladies! It's not all beer and barbecue over here - I do have a softer side. Check out today's tips on the top five aphrodisiac foods. Be sure to tell me which ones you'd like to try ...
- Bradley
You've probably heard rumors and myths about certain foods having aphrodisiac qualities. While the FDA says there are no aphrodisiac foods, I say that takes all the fun out of it. So here are 5 foods to try next time you're in the mood to, er, get in the mood. Can't hurt, right?
- Chocolate. The sedative in this dual-action treat helps with relaxation (thus lowering inhibitions) while the stimulant helps increase desire for physical contact. Considering it was banned from monasteries in the past, my bet is there's something to this myth.
- Garlic. Bad breath? Sure. But it might be worth it for the increase in blood flow it encourages. Cue in more stamina and extra energy.
- Caviar. Loaded with zinc, this delicacy aids in the production of testosterone, which can help increase stamina. Not big on fish eggs? Pine nuts also have a large dose of zinc, so toss a few on your pasta for a romantic dinner.
- Honey. While "boron" may not be the sexiest word, honey is jam-packed with it, which means honey can stimulate estrogen production in women and testosterone production in men.
- Almonds. It's not the almonds themselves so much as the aroma. Whip up some pastries with almond extract and fill the air with a sweet, sensuous smell.
Ready to try at home? Start with these easy Chocolate-Covered Strawberries and see where the night takes you!
Bradley's still on vacation (we can't wait to check out his tan!) so Nola Solomon is filling in. Hope you're all still as psyched about the World Cup as we are!
- Vicki
I am sure everyone witnessed the highway robbery that was the USA tie against Slovenia. I hope that ref prepared a bunker to hide out in until the drama blows over. I've already sent out a search team for him. The World Cup has taken an interesting turn and so has the way we watch it. With France eliminated, Portugal racking up seven goal leads, and Germany and Serbia battling to make it out of their brackets, no one is quite sure what to expect in the next round.
I decided to take a break from the raucous bar scene and watch the games from the comforts of my parents' couch. Half-asleep and eating a fresh fruit salad, I watched the 7:30AM games this past weekend. No one else was awake yet and in the quiet I was actually able to hear what the announcers were saying. The late morning and afternoon games were family affairs. We prepared a grilled chicken and avocado salad and settled into the TV room, fighting over the remote, the volume, and who was blocking whom.
Although the World Cup bar scene is hopping, many Americans prefer to watch the games from home, opting to tune in when it's convenient, and simply read the New York Times Sport Section the following morning for the details they missed. Does that make them any less obsessed than the rest of the world? I'd like to think no, except that most aren't willing to drop their lives for 90 plus minutes three times a day.
If you're watching the World Cup at home, try my new recipes and let me know what you think!
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 | We are happy to have Nola Solomon on board as an intern for FunnySpoon.com. As a French-American, she offers unique culinary insight on how to enjoy your food and efficiently plan for a hectic schedule. Give her recipes and tips a try! |
Bradley's on summer vacation so our new intern, Nola Solomon, from New York is filling in. She's an even bigger soccer fan than Bradley, so count on her posts to be action-packed and beer-filled. Enjoy!
- Vicki
Everyone is still talking about the ball British keeper, Robert Green, let slip through his fingers into the net for the memorable USA – England tie. Even more unbelievable was the surge of Americans who showed up at bars all over Manhattan to watch the game and, well, get drunk.
I set out on Saturday morning to my usual World Cup dig, Nevada Smiths, a bar in the lower east side that boasts cheap beers and a great atmosphere, but was unable to enter due to a line wrapping around the block. I ended up standing amidst a raucous crowd of all ages at Texas Western BBQ, an upscale grill restaurant and bar in Union Square, gorging on the house specialty, BBQ spicy chicken wings, and struggling to keep from spilling my Hoegaarden. I watched enviously as a couple lucky enough to get a seat at the bar dug into a steaming cast iron skillet of nachos supreme.
Tension ran high between the horde of Americans and the few Englishmen brave enough to sit at the bar and openly cheer their team. When Clint Dempsey’s turn-around shot petered into the goal, the bar erupted into a showering of beer and screams. Thank goodness the vuvuzelas have not yet made their way into Manhattan!
BIG GAME OF THE WEEK: USA vs. SLOVENIA, Friday, June 18 at 10AM EST!
Bring a taste of the bar scene home with Popcorn BBQ Nachos and Hoegaarden. Go USA!
| We are happy to have Nola Solomon on board as an intern for FunnySpoon.com. As a French-American, she offers unique culinary insight on how to enjoy your food and efficiently plan for a hectic schedule. Give her recipes and tips a try! |
Hump Day with Bradley: Beers that help your 6-pack
Posted by the jaynes family Labels: beer, Sous Chef Program
I've been moonlighting from FunnySpoon and working on this action flick, The A-Team. It's high energy so that means I've got to be in great shape and cut calories where I can - ridiculous Hollywood rules. But give up beer? No way, not this dude. Here are a few tips I've picked up about low-calorie beers - what's worth the trade off and what's not.
- Bradley
Michelob Ultra.
The original low-carb beer, right? It's still one of my favorites. It's a crisp, clean, light American-style lager. And at 95 calories it's an indulgence that I don't have to worry about. Oh ... it has an alcohol content of 4.1%. Sorta important if you're hoping to dull the pain of the week. Or kick off a bachelor party weekend.
MGD 64.
I'm pretty sure this was Miller's answer to Michelob Ultra - a low(er) calorie beer that's low in carbs. And that it is. Again, it's a light lager that has a little sweet/corn taste. No heavy beer taste. It only has an alcohol content of 2.8% so you could probably toss back a 6-pack of these before you knew it.
Budweiser Select 55.
Not my fave, but not horrible if you're just looking for a beverage with dinner or in a social setting, but not looking to get loaded. It's got 55 calories, obviously, and 2.4% alcohol level. (As a comparison Budweiser Select has 99 calories and 4.3% alcohol level).
Corona Light.
At 109 calories and a 4.5% alcohol content this has to be one of my favorites for a hot summer day at the beach. It's refreshing, got the right amount of calories and booze for my taste and makes me feel like it's really summer. ¡Salud!
There are a few others that are worth checking out:
- Good ole reliable Coors Light - can't really go wrong with the Silver Bullet, can you? About 100 calories and 4.2% alcohol
- Molson Light - a middle of the road beer that's more acceptable to savvy beer drinkers. Less than 85 calories and 2.4% alcohol.
- Amstel Light - One of the best light beers around. It's a Dutch beer so it's OK to drink at swanky events and feel cool. It's about 125 calories and 3.5% alcohol so it'll do you right, but not leave you in a stupor.
Whatever beer, or drink, you choose it's OK to indulge in the high calorie stuff occassionally, but not every day. Drinking the beers above means less running and fewer sit ups. So ... bottoms up!
Memorial Day is the official kick-off of summer grilling. Let the feasting begin!
- Bradley
As you know, I love beer, especially in the summer. But my other love (besides Carrie and Vicki, of course) is grilling. Beer and BBQs - you can't really get any manlier than that. So naturally one of my favorite recipes is Beer Can Chicken. If you haven't tried it, give it a go this weekend. Grab a 6 pack of beer, a whole chicken, and some seasoning and you're most of the way there. You can get that bad boy on the grill in 10 minutes, and you and your friends can drink the remaining 5 beers while it's cooking. Then get ready to feast on super moist and delicious chicken!
If you try it out, let me know how it goes!
Happy Hump Day, ladies. Since I've been talking about beer a lot lately, I figured I'd throw this one out to you. Hope everyone is enjoying their week so far.
- Bradley
For me, summer is great - time for cutting the grass, grilling out, and sitting back with an ice cold beer. But I know not everyone (I'm talking to you, ladies) is the biggest fan of beer. So as a compromise you can serve this Punchbowl. Everyone can agree it's refreshing and it's really easy to make. So go ahead and serve it at your next BBQ and you'll be surprised how many guys drink it. I may even be drinking some right now, you know, as part of the job ...
Hump Day With Bradley: 7-11 Game Day Beer
Posted by Vicki Labels: beer, Sous Chef Program, who knew?Hope everyone enjoyed last week's post about beer. Maybe it even inspired some of you to try an orange wedge in your wheat beer.
I figured this week I'd go with the beer theme - I'm still new at this so I'm sticking with what I know. Let me know if you have any other topics you'd like me to write about.
- Bradley
We've all stopped in 7-11 to pick-up some snacks and beer (and maybe a few scratch-off lotto tickets - being an intern doesn't pay the big bucks you know). Maybe a Big Gulp or a Slurpee on a hot day. But did you know 7-11 is about to start selling their own beer? Yup, according to this April article 7-11 will soon be offering Game Day Ice and Game Day Light beers. They're being marketed as a "premium beer at an affordable price".
Has anyone seen it in their store yet? Anyone tried it? Let me know when it becomes available - I'm pretty sure I can convince the girls I need the afternoon off to test it out ...
Hump Day With Bradley: Is it cool to put fruit in your beer?
Posted by Vicki Labels: beer, Sous Chef Program, who knew?After an intense intern orientation (I've never met two girls who like foot rubs as much as Carrie and Vicki), I'm ready to start my new blog series: Hump Day with Bradley. It'll be a weekly dose of manly cooking and entertaining tips. I figured I'd start with beer - specifically, pairing fruit garnishes with the right beer. Enjoy!
- Bradley
As summer approaches, it sure feels nice to crack open an ice cold brew. Warm weather and cold beer were meant to be together, right?
So that got me thinking about beer and fruit. We all faithfully put a lime in our Corona and often get a lemon wedge with our wheat beer. Ever wonder why?
There doesn't seem to be much conclusive evidence out there, but here are some myths:
Limes in Corona
- It's a marketing ploy by Corona to help it stand out among American beers.
- The lime keeps out flies, dust, and sand while you're drinking - particularly important since it's often consumed outdoors and/or on the beach.
- The lime can be used to wipe away the rust left from the bottle cap.
The truth? Beer goes bad pretty quickly when exposed to light and air. Since Corona is in a clear bottle, it used to go bad faster than other beers, so the lime was to help cover the taste. Nowadays, though, the processes have been improved and it's no longer an issue, but it's a fun tradition to hold on to.
Lemons in wheat beer
- Lemons improve the taste of wheat beer.
- The lemon juice helps bring down the head on extra fizzy beers.
- It's the tradition in Germany.
The truth? Most beer afficionados say that the lemon juice adversely affects the flavor and is unnecessary. They also say that it's not actually very common in Germany.My conclusion? Toss in what tastes good. If you like limes, lemons, or even oranges with your beer - go for it. After all, it's just the refreshing, relaxing taste we're after and everyone has different tastes.
You voted, we listened and we are super, SUPER excited to announce our newest sous chef. Please join us in welcoming BRADLEY COOPER to the FunnySpoon team!
As you all know, cooking and talking about food is a very tough job. We take our jobs very seriously. That's why we had to carefully weigh the qualifications of all of our sous chef applicants. We narrowed it down to three - Antonio Banderas, Jon Bon Jovi and Bradley Cooper - but needed your help for the final decision. And what a fine, fine choice you made!!
Bradley is busy going through orientation today, but you'll be hearing from him soon. He's excited to share insider information on what REAL MEN like to eat, give his unique kitchen tips and weigh in on all your cooking questions (or whatever else you may want to know!). Naturally, he has other responsibilities - like foot massages and taking out the trash - but he'll be blogging and Facebooking before you can finish watching The Hangover. (Oh, and we encourage you to watch it ... he's shirtless in the first 15 minutes!)
And, if we're lucky, we may be able to get Antonio and Jon to stop by occasionally ...
Note: This is purely for entertainment purposes. Obviously, Bradley Cooper is not really interning for FunnySpoon. He's our pool boy.
As you know, we're busy entrepreneurs (and a mom and a social butterfly!) so we think it's time to call for a little extra help around here. That's why we're opening up a FunnySpoon Sous Chef Program (aka internship). Currently, our top three candidates, are you ready ladies, are:
Bradley Cooper Antonio Banderas Jon Bon Jovi
We thought we'd open it up to you, our favorite supporters, to see who we should select. I know, it's such a difficult job we have, I mean decision to make!
Oh, right, you probably want to know about the job description. Details, details.
It goes something like this:
- Assist in all kitchen prep duties (shirtless, of course)
- Clean all dishes after cooking, eating and snacking (with no complaints & no lonely dishes left behind)
- Proofread all of our recipes, blog posts & emails (while giving foot massages)
As they master the basics of the sous chef program, they will move up the ladder and begin developing their own recipes, blogging about their favorite foods and give us a manly-man's perspective on cooking, food and all things kitchen. Oh ... and they're going to pick their favorite FunnySpoon Facebook Fan each month so there may even be some perks for you!
All three of these candidates have tremendous strengths - they’re smart, funny, charming and HOT! We can all work together to help them bridge their current lack of cooking knowledge, yes? It does make cooking just a little bit more fun, doesn't it?
So c'mon ... which one do you think? Leave your vote in the comments section of Facebook or the blog or tweet it to us!
And don't worry guys - we'll soon have some entertaining eye candy for you, too! Stay tuned ...
