Send your grocery receipt with the Kraft item circled along with a 3″x5″ card with your name and address. Your bag will arrive in four to six weeks. For the mailing address and other details, visit the Kraft Foods Web site.

(photo courtesy of Kraft Foods)

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Get a Free Reuseable Bag from Kraft

On April 19, TLC will premiere the new series Cake Boss, featuring Buddy and his NJ-based Carlo’s Bakery. The show will feature his amazing cakes and a whole lot more. It will also deal with the drama of Buddy working with mom and the rest of his big Italian family.

“I was born into this business and practically have icing in my blood. Though my big family can sometimes drive me crazy, we are all working hard to make my father’s dream come true,” says Buddy. “My passion is uniting old-world recipes with modern techniques, and I can’t wait to share what we’re doing with TLC’s audience.”

This morning, Buddy appeared on Good Morning America and delivered a special cake to Rachael Ray for her 500th show. Check out the pictures below and look for Cake Boss next month. Personally, I can’t wait to see all of his fabulous creations!

Good Morning America - Rachael Ray and Buddy Valastro (Image: Robin Roberts abcnews.com)

Good Morning America - Rachael Ray and Buddy Valastro (Image: Robin Roberts abcnews.com)

Good Morning America - Rachael Ray and Buddy Valastro (Image: Robin Roberts abcnews.com)

Images: abcnews.com - Robin Roberts

Post from: Blisstree

Get Ready for Cake Boss

In the end, Mr. Trump let her stay Miss (is it Ms.?) USA. But she has to perform her duties while in rehab.

Oh Boo Hoo! What did I just say about holiday partying and young women!

Keep your shirts on and your booze under control.

And by the way…if this were you or I who’d done this at work…damn straight we’d have our crown removed.

But she’s blonde and he’s Trump.

And speaking of trashy celebrity news…how nasty is it to dedicate an entire community blog to making fun of Rachael Ray? (The name of the group on “Live Journal” is Rachael Ray Sucks).

It’s one thing to blog about silly, vulgar Paris Hilton: she deserves it…I’m not sure “The Rach” does. It just seems so wasteful to spend an entire blog bashing some poor little cook:

About the community…

This community was created for people that hate the untalented twit known as Rachael Ray.

But that’s America for you…build ‘em up, then tear ‘em down.

I have always thought that both the Miss USA organization and the blogosphere were meant for better things.

Image: AP

Post from: Blisstree

Should Miss USA Give Up Her Crown? And Other Ridiculous Non-News.

I love, love, love well-known brands of cosmetics… Bobbi Brown is probably my favorite, but sometimes plopping down a wad-o-cash for some of her products is a bit much.

In the spirit of EVOO (Rachael Ray)…I find products around the house that can work wonders for everything, from dry cuticles to the occasional blemish…and these are products you’ve known and loved for years.

Here is my list, but if you have better suggestions, please feel free to let us know about them:

• Vaseline — chapped hands, lip gloss, highlighter, and believe it or not fly-away winter hair (a scant amount).
• Visine — blemishes, broken capillaries (yes!)
• Hair conditioner — substitute for shaving cream.
• Dyer sheets — everyone knows this one…rub on your hose and your dress won’t cling.
• Baking soda — toothpaste, mouthwash (toothpaste — cleans wood…lol).
• Pond’s cold cream — the greatest make-up remover on the planet.
• Corn starch — relieves skin irritations.
• Oatmeal — facial exfoliant.
• Mint leaves or Basil — breath freshener
• And the Queen of all multi-purpose household items: Olive oil! — Damaged hair treatment, body lotion, make-up remover and much, much more…:)

I still love you Bobbi…but sometimes a girl has to do what girl has to do.

Post from: Blisstree

Are Expensive Cosmetics Really Better? Ten Household Beauty Items.

It took me a ridiculous amount of time to compose an e-mail and send it…only to find out moments later, that I’d sent it to an incorrect address which caused the note (and its giant image) to bounce back to me — typos and all. I’m cranky, delusional, paranoid and freezing.

So for tonight, I think I’m going to log off and watch Desperate Housewives or Iron Chef America, it’s Rachael Ray vs. Giada Delaurentis…how dumb is that? I said HOW DUMB IS THAT?

Post from: Blisstree

Under The Weather.

Because we sometimes don’t have the patience to wait for, never mind read, an actual review…we foolishly rely on New York Magazine’s goofy Approval Matrix — self described as: Our deliberately oversimplified guide to who falls where on our taste hierarchies.

That line immediately tells you  how pompous we are and that you can either be intimidated–as in–gosh those New Yorkers sure know everything about EVERYTHING. Or, you can giggle–as in–New Yorkers need to seriously lighten up.

In this week’s chart, Rachael Ray’s new daytime talk show landed flat in the middle between “despicable” and “lowbrow”, and slightly below “killer spinach” and Megan Mullally.

I talk a lot about Rachael Ray here, not because I’m the biggest fan of her work, in fact sometimes I find her to be exasperating; but because I admire her work ethic and her sense of drive.

If I had that same energy, I would imagine The Pet Set would have been a household name by now.

So, Rachael just know there is one New Yorker and thousands of New Jerseians pulling for you..”how great is that?!”

And if you get cancelled, there’s always “45-Minute Meals” .

Post from: Blisstree

The Elusive New York Thumbs Up.

Recently, during my profoundly relaxing (or brain-cell-numbing) vacation, I caught some of Martha’s “Premier Week”! (I say that with all of the enthusiasm that peeling potatoes gives me.)

Doesn’t she sometimes look and sound like a 4th grade teacher from “back in the day” as Rachael Ray likes to say? (More on Rachael’s “Premier Week!” in a minute.)

Anyway, I love Hydrangeas — in fact, outside my office window is a gorgeous bush that has grown into a healthy specimen over the years; so I was happy to see her doing a segment on my favorite plant.

I didn’t care so much about the crafty part of the show…I could just imagine the utter frustration that I would experience, if I EVER tried to make the dried Hydrangea wreath that she was demonstrating.

Here’s what kept me from putting a shovel in my eye while watching Martha that day…did you know that if you cut a branch from your Hydrangea plant, you can force new growth from that stem and create a whole new bush??

All you have to do is put it in some special soil and presto…new growth! I am so totally doing this.

As for Rachael…best of luck to you on your new show…but lordy, lord girl — who are you yelling at? And please, please…you are a 30-something year old woman…(late 30s, by-the-way) stop saying Awesome!

Post from: Blisstree

Martha Stewart Rocks!

As usual, I was thinking about the 8 billion things I have to get done, while preparing a light meal. One of the ingredients was sweet relish. The bottle was almost empty…so I went to the ‘fridge to see if there was another, but what did I find? Near-empty bottles of ketchup and mustard as well.

I decided to blend the remainder of each of these into a bowl, to see if I couldn’t create a sauce of some kind. Eureka! The secret McDonald’s Big Mac sauce! I even did the famous Rachael eye roll, just before she is about to shout “Yum-O!”

I’m sure many of you may have already figured this one out…but, I swear…if this isn’t as close to the real thing as possible, I don’t know what is…try it on your next burger.

So, while Pet Set may be on the back burner for a moment, at least I know what we’re having for dinner…and I’ll bet this sauce is great on fries too.

But…the secret ingredient is YELLOW Mustard–NOT deli mustard.

Post from: Blisstree

Food Network Chef Moment…

If you are marooned out in the suburbs–and you don’t have children, it can sometimes be like living in Superman’s “Bizaar-O” world, where everything is the opposite of what it really is.

Once again, I take you to my local “gi-NOUR-mo” store…the supermarket: Have you seen the size of milk and juice containers? They’re huge–why is that? And 16 pork chops in one package? Why, is Rachael Ray on the pork council now too? And why are loaves of bread the size of small cars?

You practically have to wear a trench coat and sunglasses to even think about breaking apart a dozen eggs in to 2 half dozens.

I totally understand that I live in two-car garage country (one car with ballet slipper sticker and one with soccer ball sticker)…and that it’s much easier for moms to make one or two food-shopping jaunts per month, rather than what I do, which is several times a week.

But honestly, we who dare to dine out several times a week, take multiple vacations each year, have jelly-free homes…have needs too. If the supermarkets would realize that and sell pint portions of milk…one or two pork chops…teeny boxes of cookies and mini loaves of bread…THAT my friends would be –

THE HOLY GRAIL!

Post from: Blisstree

The Real Da Vinci Code

Since I am a self-described chef/bar/restaurant groupie, I knew all the hot spots before they opened…I was an absolute ace at snaggiing a bar stool, no matter how packed the place was. I was familiar with most neighborhoods, and I knew the best places to hail a cab…I snickered at tourists who tried to get one in the pouring rain in front of Grand Central Terminal.

Work was great–New York was fabulous. I loved my city more than any city on earth. I’ve had several offices in gleaming towers, in some of the chicest neighborhoods in the city. And I had the wardrobe to go with it…especially the shoes!

But as the the previous millennium clicked into the 2000s, I began to realize that corporate America and my soul don’t mix together very well.

Thus, I began The Pet Set, and now work in my office in suburban NJ. As I write this post, I sit in my ’60’s inspired office (red paneling and all) my front window facing a blooming hydrangea plant, my dog is barking at the mail-man–all while wearing pj’s covered in illustrations of dogs.

Later this afternoon, I will have to take a pause in my work to play “toss the tennis ball with your nose” with my dog, feed him and walk him around the neighborhood. Looks like the guy on the corner hit the Lottery, he just put in a built-in pool. God, I wish my next door neighbors would paint their house, it looks decrepit.

I have re-accepted the role of house-person and have learned to cook everything from home-made pizza dough to Rachael Ray’s hot dog mac and cheese…oiy.

The memories of old NY and my old persona were tested recently, as visitors from Phili trusted me as their guide to find today’s chic bar. I was going to take them to one of the snazziest lounges in the city. These outta towners will be so impressed.

So I put on my brand new 4-inch silver strappy sandles and told them to meet me at “The Biltmore” in the Chelsea neighborhood of town. We get there, and you’ve never seen a sadder sight. The once gorgeous, over-the-top restaurant bar, promising the most glamourous cocktail scene…was shackled closed….for rennovations.

There we were, 2 rubes — or was it 3? — sitting on the stoop of the place, not knowing where to go next. Did you know that the famous Patsy’s only serves beer and wine? I had to fake it with a lame excuse…I’m sorry, I never spent much time in Chelsea.

Then the truth hit me, I wasn’t Carrie Bradshaw anymore, and strappy sandles hurt, and maybe I never was that person.

I am business owner, deliriously happy wife and dog mom and my jeans always have a tennis ball or doggie treats in the pockets.

Dinner out these days may be the local Sopranos-looking joint, but I can see the Chrysler building on a clear night… from my deck.

Photo: Flickr.com

Post from: Blisstree

The Big Apple vs. The Big Tennis Ball