Show 561, January 20, 2024: Lil’ Luna’s So Easy & So Yummy – The Ultimate Resource for Feeding Your Friends and Family with Author Kristyn Merkley Part One

Kristyn Merkley of Lil Luna's

Lil’ Luna’s So Easy & So Yummy – The Ultimate Resource for Feeding Your Friends and Family by Kristyn Merkley invites the reader to cook with joy and feed the ones you love with 200 plus recipes for all occasions from the creator of the wildly popular Lil’ Luna cooking blog.”

“Need a hand in the kitchen? Lil’ Luna has you covered. From hearty breakfasts to festive apps to mouthwatering main courses, Lil’ Luna’s So Easy & So Yummy helps you navigate everything from meal prep and party planning to last-minute dinner solutions for your family. With more than 200 go-to, no-fail recipes—many ready in thirty minutes or less!—this innovative and approachable cookbook will revolutionize your mealtime routine.”

“With Lil’ Luna, you can whip up showstopping breakfast treats, bring the best game-day snacks with out of this world dips and bites, get cozy with warming soups and stews, fix tempting veggie sides and bright, flavorful salads, celebrate summer with barbecue and picnic classics and feel festive with irresistible holiday treats.”

“Featuring tips, tricks, bonus recipes, and even links to online video instructions, most of the recipes within are designed with a big family or a bunch of friends in mind. Cooking for a smaller crew? Hello leftovers! You’ll also find inspiration and support throughout with handy charts, checklists, and meal-planning guides. Whether you’re feeding your family or a whole crowd, this crave-worthy cookbook is the ultimate resource for nourishing, tried-and-true recipes that are, above all, so easy and so yummy.”

Kristyn graciously shares the two recipes that she demonstrated virtually for the Melissa’s / World Variety Produce Food Media Group in late December. They are the recipes for Apple Brickle Dip and Fruit Dip.

Good suggestions for yummy “Big Game” snacks on Super Sunday, February 11th.

Author Kristyn Merkley is our guest with a whisk at the ready.

Show 561, January 20, 2024: Lil’ Luna’s So Easy & So Yummy – The Ultimate Resource for Feeding Your Friends and Family with Author Kristyn Merkley Part Two

Kristyn Merkley of Lil Luna's

Lil’ Luna’s So Easy & So Yummy – The Ultimate Resource for Feeding Your Friends and Family by Kristyn Merkley invites the reader to cook with joy and feed the ones you love with 200 plus recipes for all occasions from the creator of the wildly popular Lil’ Luna cooking blog.”

“Need a hand in the kitchen? Lil’ Luna has you covered. From hearty breakfasts to festive apps to mouthwatering main courses, Lil’ Luna’s So Easy & So Yummy helps you navigate everything from meal prep and party planning to last-minute dinner solutions for your family. With more than 200 go-to, no-fail recipes—many ready in thirty minutes or less!—this innovative and approachable cookbook will revolutionize your mealtime routine.”

“Creating this cookbook has been a labor of love,” said Merkley. “I wanted to share my passion for cooking and my belief in the power of food to bring people together. With ‘Lil’ Luna’s So Easy & So Yummy,’ I hope to inspire others to cook with joy and connect with their loved ones over delicious meals.”

“Featuring tips, tricks, bonus recipes, and even links to online video instructions, most of the recipes within are designed with a big family or a bunch of friends in mind. Cooking for a smaller crew? Hello leftovers! You’ll also find inspiration and support throughout with handy charts, checklists, and meal-planning guides. Whether you’re feeding your family or a whole crowd, this crave-worthy cookbook is the ultimate resource for nourishing, tried-and-true recipes that are, above all, so easy and so yummy.”

“Kristyn Merkley is married to her best friend Lo. They have six kids ages 6-16 who keep them busy, but they wouldn’t have it any other way. Coming from a long line of cooks and bakers, it was inevitable that Kristyn would fall in love with the same hobbies. The Lil’ Luna website was born right after her second child in early 2010. She started sharing all of her favorite Mexican recipes she got from her mom, aunts, and grandma as well as some of the traditional American recipes that came from her dad’s family.”

“It began to grow and grow until it became what it is today. Now Lil’ Luna has thousands of recipes on the website, and through Google, email and various social media platforms, millions of people visit and make recipes every month from the Lil’ Luna website. With a team of almost a dozen people working behind the scenes, they continue to create the easiest and yummiest recipes for all to try. Her readers and followers have given her the greatest gift ever—She gets to do what she loves, and make a living doing it! She could not have done it without them!”

Kristyn graciously shares the two recipes that she demonstrated virtually for the Melissa’s / World Variety Produce Food Media Group in late December. They are the recipes for Apple Brickle Dip and Fruit Dip.

Good suggestions for yummy “Big Game” snacks on Super Sunday, February 11th.

Author Kristyn Merkley continues as our guest with a spatula at the ready.

Show 156, January 23, 2016: Show Preview with Executive Producer & Co-Host Andy Harris and Chef Andrew Gruel

Andrew Gruel and his son WilliamExecutive Chef Andrew Gruel of the rapidly growing Slapfish empire with restaurants in Huntington Beach, Laguna Beach, Newport Beach, LAX, Irvine at UCI and, now, Brea, is back as today’s special Guest Host.

Next a tempting preview of Saturday’s treat-filled, sumptuous but always healthy show and not, with profuse apologies, for dieters. If we’re doing it right we will always leave you hungry and thirsty. In our case that’s absolutely a good thing…

Dean Kim has developed an incredible (and well-deserved) following among the top (and most demanding) restaurants in Orange County as the personable artisan bread baker with a superior, boutique product and unmatched customer service. He’s just moved into a vastly expanded new bread bakery. Dean actually has the enviable problem of having more business than he can handle. Baker Dean tears himself away from the morning bake to bring us up-to-date on the new Orange facility. Yes, he’s always on the rise…

Shortly after leaving his post as Chef de Cuisine at The French Laundry in 2013, Chef Timothy Hollingsworth moved to Los Angeles and opened Barrel & Ashes in Studio City in 2014. It’s an updated take on traditional BBQ. Late last month he debuted his first solo project, Otium, and it’s an ambitious one. Located on Grand Ave. adjacent to The Broad – L.A.’s New Contemporary Art Museum in the Historic Bunker Hill neighborhood of Downtown Los Angeles, Otium strips away the formalities of fine dining while focusing on quality food and service. Chef Tim is our guest.

We value Restaurant Weeks on the “SoCal Restaurant Show.” It’s a chance for food enthusiasts to experience new dining spots (on their best behavior) at great values. “Celebrating 10 Years of Good Taste” Newport Beach Restaurant Week is on through Sunday, January 31st.

Special prix-fixe menus are featured with lunches for $10, $15, $20, or $25, and dinners for $20, $30, $40 or $50. Jim Walker, the President of the organizing ewport Beach Restaurant Association, joins us with all the needed 411. Make your reservations now!

We love inspirational entrepreneurial success stories on the “SoCal Restaurant Show.” You’ve probably seen Chefs’ Toys fleet of trucks navigating the freeways in Southern California. It all started in 1985 as a modest, mobile knife-sharpening business. Today, Chefs’ Toys with 6 massive, fully-stocked warehouse stores in Southern California, is the largest full-line supplier of foodservice equipment and smallwares in the West. Co-founder Steve Dickler, a working chef by background, is our guest.

Our Co-host, Chef Andrew Gruel is always talking about the impact of positive Social Media in driving guests to a restaurant. It’s powerful…A key Social Media influencer in Orange County is Edmond Cartojano of the Daily Food Feed blog. He has an incredible 150,000 followers on Instagram.

All of this and lots more absolutely incredible deliciousness on Saturday’s show!

January 23: Dean Kim, Timothy Hollingsworth, Newport Beach Restaurant Week, Chefs’ Toys, Edmond Cartojano

Podcasts

Segment One: Show Preview with Executive Producer & Co-Host Andy Harris and Chef Andrew Gruel
Segment Two: Dean Kim, Master Baker, OC Baking, Orange, CA
Segment Three: Executive Chef Timothy Hollingsworth, Partner, Otium, Downtown Los Angeles Part One
Segment Four: Executive Chef Timothy Hollingsworth, Partner, Otium, Downtown Los Angeles Part Two
Segment Five: Jim Walker, President, Newport Beach Restaurant Association, Newport Beach Restaurant Week
Segment Six: Steve Dickler, Founder & Co-Owner, Chefs’ Toys Part One
Segment Seven: Steve Dickler, Founder & Co-Owner, Chefs’ Toys Part Two
Segment Eight: Edmond Cartojano, Daily Food Feed

Andrew Gruel and his son WilliamExecutive Chef Andrew Gruel of the rapidly growing Slapfish empire with restaurants in Huntington Beach, Laguna Beach, Newport Beach, LAX, Irvine at UCI and, now, Brea, is back as today’s special Guest Host.

Next a tempting preview of Saturday’s treat-filled, sumptuous but always healthy show and not, with profuse apologies, for dieters. If we’re doing it right we will always leave you hungry and thirsty. In our case that’s absolutely a good thing…

Dean Kim has developed an incredible (and well-deserved) following among the top (and most demanding) restaurants in Orange County as the personable artisan bread baker with a superior, boutique product and unmatched customer service. He’s just moved into a vastly expanded new bread bakery. Dean actually has the enviable problem of having more business than he can handle. Baker Dean tears himself away from the morning bake to bring us up-to-date on the new Orange facility. Yes, he’s always on the rise…

Shortly after leaving his post as Chef de Cuisine at The French Laundry in 2013, Chef Timothy Hollingsworth moved to Los Angeles and opened Barrel & Ashes in Studio City in 2014. It’s an updated take on traditional BBQ. Late last month he debuted his first solo project, Otium, and it’s an ambitious one. Located on Grand Ave. adjacent to The Broad – L.A.’s New Contemporary Art Museum in the Historic Bunker Hill neighborhood of Downtown Los Angeles, Otium strips away the formalities of fine dining while focusing on quality food and service. Chef Tim is our guest.

We value Restaurant Weeks on the “SoCal Restaurant Show.” It’s a chance for food enthusiasts to experience new dining spots (on their best behavior) at great values. “Celebrating 10 Years of Good Taste” Newport Beach Restaurant Week is on through Sunday, January 31st.

Special prix-fixe menus are featured with lunches for $10, $15, $20, or $25, and dinners for $20, $30, $40 or $50. Jim Walker, the President of the organizing Newport Beach Restaurant Association, joins us with all the needed 411. Make your reservations now!

We love entrepreneurial success stories on the “SoCal Restaurant Show.” You’ve probably seen Chefs’ Toys fleet of trucks navigating the freeways in Southern California. It all started in 1985 as a modest, mobile knife-sharpening business. Today, Chefs’ Toys with 6 massive, fully-stocked warehouse stores in Southern California, is the largest full-line supplier of foodservice equipment and smallwares in the West. Co-founder Steve Dickler, a working chef by background, is our guest.

Our Co-host, Chef Andrew Gruel is always talking about the impact of positive Social Media in driving guests to a restaurant. It’s powerful…A key Social Media influencer in Orange County is Edmond Cartojano of the Daily Food Feed blog. He has an incredible 148,000 followers on Instagram.

All of this and lots more absolutely incredible deliciousness on Saturday’s show!

Dean KimDean Kim has developed an incredible (and well-deserved) following among the top (and most demanding) restaurants in Orange County as the personable, artisan bread baker creating a superior, boutique product along with unmatched customer service. He’s just moved into a vastly expanded new production bread bakery with state-of-the-art equipment and ten ovens.

Dean actually has the enviable problem of having more business than he can comfortably handle. Baker Dean tears himself away from the morning bake to bring us up-to-date on the new Orange facility. Yes, he’s always on the rise…

“An artisan baker is a craftsman who works with flour, water and salt rather than clay, stone or paint to create a work of art. And while the basic elements are the same and available to anyone, it’s the personal knowledge, experience and talent of the baker that helps create his own signature artisan breads.”

OC Baking Company‘s award-winning executive artisan baker Dean Kim has been baking handcrafted breads for many of Southern California’s leading hotels and restaurants for nearly 18 years. He works hand-in-hand with chefs to create artisan breads that complement their meals. Artisan breads, like fine wine and cheese, each have their own aromas, taste and structure that impact the overall taste of the food and wine.”

“OC Baking Company is dedicated to producing “the ultimate in artisan breads” for its customers that are as unique as the meals with which they are serving.”

Timothy HollingsworthShortly after leaving his post as Chef de Cuisine at The French Laundry in 2013, Chef Timothy Hollingsworth moved to Los Angeles and opened Barrel & Ashes in Studio City in 2014. It’s an updated take on traditional BBQ that pays homage to the food of Hollingsworth’s youth growing up in Texas.

Late last month he debuted his first solo project, Otium. Located on Grand Ave. adjacent to The Broad – L.A.’s New Contemporary Art Museum in the Historic Bunker Hill neighborhood of Downtown Los Angeles, Otium strips away the formalities of fine dining while focusing on quality food and service. Chef Tim is our guest.

Chef Timothy Hollingsworth’s 13- year history in Napa Valley, blended with his present roots as an Angeleno living in downtown Los Angeles, sets the stage for an environment of sophisticated rusticity with highly eclectic, vibrant, and seasonal flavors.

While working at The French Laundry under Chef Thomas Keller in 2008, Hollingsworth competed in the Bocuse d’Or USA, where he was awarded the opportunity to represent the United States at the Bocuse d’Or World Cuisine Contest—the biennial global cooking competition first envisioned in 1987 by revered French chef Paul Bocuse.

Hollingsworth subsequently completed a rigorous training process, during which he worked with some of the industry’s most influential figures. In early 2009, Hollingsworth traveled to Lyon, France to compete in the prestigious event, where he placed sixth out of 24 prominent chef teams from around the world.

In his current role and first solo project at Otium, he looks to be a mentor to the next generation of aspiring chefs. Hollingsworth has been awarded Rising Star Chef Award from The San Francisco Chronicle as well as the Rising Star Chef of the Year Award presented by the James Beard Foundation.

Otium is a contemporary restaurant that draws from the rich culinary heritage of Chef Timothy Hollingsworth. It is designed to be a social restaurant with an open kitchen merging indoor and outdoor spaces. The restaurant’s name, Otium, has its roots in Latin, a word that is meant to emphasize a place where time can be spent on leisurely social activities.

Adjacent to one of Los Angeles’ most important cultural corridors — Grand Avenue — and next to its newest, most vibrant addition, the contemporary art museum, The Broad, Otium strips away the rigid formalities of dining while focusing on the quality of food, warm service, and relaxed casual ambience, paralleling the true essence of its name. The restaurant draws inspiration from the 100-year-old olive trees planted in The Broad’s adjacent Plaza by utilizing rustic cooking with wood fire and sustainable ingredients grown in the garden of the restaurant’s mezzanine.

“Walk through the beautiful Plaza that sits between Otium and The Broad. Face Otium’s front patio. Walk left towards our far exterior wall. Turn your head right. Admire. Yes, THAT IS a Damien Hirst mural (“Isolated Elements”) adorning the outside of the restaurant.”

Opening next door to the Broad presents many exciting opportunities for Otium to identify itself first and foremost as a place for artistic expression in all its forms, and this has given me an amazing blank canvas to craft a very unique and exciting restaurant for Los Angeles,” –Timothy Hollingsworth

I’ve always been a great admirer of Damien Hirst’s work, so we were thrilled when we had the opportunity to include a mural of his as part of the restaurant’s design.” -Timothy Hollingsworth

We greatly anticipate Restaurant Weeks on the “SoCal Restaurant Show.” It’s a chance for food enthusiasts to experience new dining spots (on their best behavior) at great values.

Dine Newport Beach Restaurant WeekCelebrating 10 Years of Good Taste” Newport Beach Restaurant Week is on through Sunday, January 31st. Special prix-fixe menus are featured at over 60 participating establishments with lunches for $10, $15, $20, or $25, and dinners for $20, $30, $40 or $50.

Jim Walker, the President of the organizing Newport Beach Restaurant Association, joins us with all the needed 411. Make your reservations now! www.dinenb.com

In it’s 9th year, Newport Beach Restaurant Week was created by the Newport Beach Restaurant Association to drive business to its member restaurants and build awareness for the Newport Beach culinary community. The event not only introduces new business to restaurants, but also enhances the economic vitality of Newport Beach.

Newport Beach Restaurant Week is reported to be the top grossing culinary event for the City of Newport Beach. In 2015 it generated $4.6 million in consumer spending. Culinary sales tax revenue is impressively the 2nd largest sales tax generator in the City.

Steve Dickler of Chefs ToysWe love entrepreneurial success stories on the “SoCal Restaurant Show.” You’ve probably seen Chefs’ Toys fleet of distinctive trucks navigating the freeways in Southern California. It all started in 1985 as a modest, mobile knife-sharpening business.

Today, Chefs’ Toys with 6 massive, fully-stocked warehouse stores in Southern California, is the largest full-line supplier of foodservice equipment and smallwares in the West. At any given moment millions of dollars in equipment and supplies are in stock locally and ready for delivery.

Co-founder Steve Dickler, a working chef by background, is our guest.

Chefs’ Toys, the leading restaurant equipment and supplies company in Southern California, has recently acquired Michael Blackman & Associates. MBA, as the company is often referred to in the foodservice space, has been operating for over 30 years and is known as one of the top restaurant kitchen designers in southern California and nationally as well. With an impressive roster of customers, MBA has received numerous awards and accolades since its founding.

“Chefs’ Toys has provided commercial kitchen design services for many years. Michael Blackman & Associates has developed an exceptional reputation in the industry”, says Steve Dickler, President of Chefs’ Toys. “With their deep expertise in kitchen and bar design, restaurant interior design, tremendous knowledge and resources for restaurant fixtures, architecture, planning and construction, the MBA team will help take Chefs’ Toys to a whole new level”.

With its acquisition of Michael Blackman and Associates, Chefs’ Toys offers full professional services including design, planning, consulting, and project management services for restaurants, bars, and commercial kitchens.

Edmond CartojanoOur Co-host, Chef Andrew Gruel is always talking about the impact of positive Social Media in driving guests to a restaurant. It’s a powerful tool…

A key Social Media influencer in Orange County is foodie Edmond Cartojano of the Daily Food Feed blog. He’s food obsessed just like the rest of us.

Edmond has an incredible 148,000 followers on Instagram and he’s not done yet. His passionate followers were all developed organically which adds more credibility to his efforts.

We’ll get the scoop on how all of this came about and what’s in store for the future. We know Edmond loves ice cream, too, so there is a lot to chat about…

Podcasts

Segment One: Show Preview with Executive Producer & Co-Host Andy Harris and Chef Andrew Gruel
Segment Two: Dean Kim, Master Baker, OC Baking, Orange, CA
Segment Three: Executive Chef Timothy Hollingsworth, Partner, Otium, Downtown Los Angeles Part One
Segment Four: Executive Chef Timothy Hollingsworth, Partner, Otium, Downtown Los Angeles Part Two
Segment Five: Jim Walker, President, Newport Beach Restaurant Association, Newport Beach Restaurant Week
Segment Six: Steve Dickler, Founder & Co-Owner, Chefs’ Toys Part One
Segment Seven: Steve Dickler, Founder & Co-Owner, Chefs’ Toys Part Two
Segment Eight: Edmond Cartojano, Daily Food Feed

Show 55, January 4, 2013: Bill Esparza, The Mexican Food Maestro and Street Gourmet LA Blog

Bill EsparzaThe 16th Annual Los Angeles Times Travel Show returns to the West Hall of the L.A. Convention Center on January 18 & 19. Our favorite Mexican Food Maestro, Bill Esparza, of the Street Gourmet LA blog is with us to preview his activities at the show.

Bill has cooking demos on the Flavors of the World Stage on Saturday at 3:00 p.m. and on Sunday at 11:00 a.m. The Sunday demo he is doing with Mariana Oviedo who represents the 2nd generation of the acclaimed Guerrerense food cart in Ensenada, Mexico started by her mother, Sabina Bandera in 1962.

Bill joins us from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil where he is on assignment.

Show 29, May 18, 2013: Bill Esparza, the “Mexican Food Maestro” and authority on the food of Baja California

Bill EsperanzaBill Esparza was inspired to begin his extensive field research into the foods of Tijuana and Northern Baja from the writings of food journalist Barbara Hansen, the long-time Food Section staff writer for the Los Angeles Times. Currently she contributes to the “Squid Ink” Blog as part of LA Weekly.

Bill also leads escorted food tours of Tijuana and Northern Baja for journalists and the public alike. He’s given advice to Travel Channel’s Andrew Zimmern, among other notables.

On Sunday, June 23rd he’s hosting LA Weekly’s TacoLAndia Tacofest from Noon to 5:00 p.m. on the parking lot of the Hollywood Palladium. Celebrated taco makers from some thirty restaurants from as far away as Ensenada will be serving their tasty creations.

Regular admission is a bargain at $20 per guest. VIP which includes tastings of libations at the hosted bar is $40.00.