Cook Your Heart Out

Thanks everybody for filling me in on your back to school wake up times. My readers are burning the candles at both ends. I don't know about you all, but I'm already looking forward to Fall back. The promise of an extra hour in the future is my current motivation. I think we should all get together and have a great big sleeping party. Bring your pillows. Zzzzzz.I'm minutes away from leaving for NYC. I'm taking my two younger sisters, Heidi and Mary Kate, with me. We've got tickets to see Promises Promises and big plans to eat our way to the core of the Big Apple. It might sound like a pleasure trip, but I'm actually there on some serious business. Good Housekeeping magazine is hosting The Cook Your Heart Out cook-off, sponsored by the American Heart Health Association. The grand prize is a whopping $125,000, plus they're offering six category prizes of $5,000. I'm in the Ethnic Favorites category, making my original recipe of Grilled North African Spice Rubbed Chicken Foldovers. You should read the titles of the other recipes; they all sound fantastic. I have little hope of winning, but I feel like I won already since I get to spend the weekend in NYC with two of my sisters. That's a huge prize in itself.

And don't worry. This time I packed my black shoes, pajamas, and ahem, underclothing, first thing. And yes, they will be filming for TV. I'll let you know the details when I know them myself.

PS Check out September's Rachael Ray magazine. My West is on page 133.