Come with me on a behind the scenes tour of the Food Network!  From the test kitchens where recipes are developed, to the studio set where your favorite shows are filmed.  Food Network star Sunny Anderson even gives a special “shout out” to Better Recipes!

Were you inspired by all those burgers being tested in the Food Network test kitchen?  Get creative and enter your best burger in our monthly contest!  Hurry -- entries are due by the end of the month.  Remember, $1,000 could be yours!

If you enjoyed that video, you will love the Food Network photo gallery on our Facebook page!  In addition to our peek behind the scenes, I wanted to get an inside scoop on this season of Next Food Network Star.  If you have been following this season, you know that the stakes are high and the talent is top notch.  I think there are a few early stand-outs, but I have a special affinity for Aarti Sequeira, aka “Aarti Paarti!”  She and I both attended Northwestern University, so I have to root for a fellow “Wildcat!”  I had a chance to ask Aarti a few questions about her culinary background and experience on the show.

(Photo courtesy of Food Network)

Tell us a little bit about your cooking background!

“I spent a lot of my childhood in my mum’s kitchen, watching and helping her prepare traditional Indian dishes.  We were living in Dubai, far from our home in India, so eating those traditional foods were so important to maintaining that lifeline to the motherland.  I baked a lot, but never tried cooking on my own until I was in college, when those same dishes turned out as colossal failures!  Oh man, were they bad!  Once I moved to LA, and I was lost, my husband noticed how planning dinner was becoming the highlight of my day; I couldn’t drive, so every day, after picking a recipe out of “the joy of cooking”, I’d walk 20 minutes to the store, buy groceries, and walk another 20 minutes back home.  By the time Bren got home, there was a piping hot meal ready to devour.  For Christmas that year, Bren got me enrolled at the New School of Cooking in Culver City, a few doors down from my house — it’s a part-time professional cooking program.  When I graduated, I interned at a James Beard Award-winning restaurant, Lucques, for a short spell before realising that was not the job for me.  Back to me being lost for a while, but still cooking… and a few years later, blogging and shooting aarti paarti.  Phew!”

Why did you decide to audition for NFNS?

“By the time I applied, I had been doing on online cooking show, aartipaarti (aartipaarti.com) for about 8 months.  Actually, let me really set the scene here.  I was at a total loss.  When I had graduated from uni, my belly was on fire for journalism.  I had such a burning passion for it, and I landed my dream job straight out of school: working at CNN.  But after a few years, I realised that the passion wasn’t there anymore.  There I was in LA, having relocated from NY after marrying the love of my life (who I’d met on the 2nd day of new student week at uni!), but with no job.  I struggled for 5 years, going from unemployment to working on myriad projects, including a documentary about Darfur, called “sand and sorrow.” But still, I didn’t have that purpose that made me jump out of bed every morning.  I began to think that didn’t exist.  When I started doing aarti paarti though, I suddenly understood.  This was fun!  And people thought I was good at it!  A couple of close friends, and my husband, encouraged me to try out for The Next Food Network Star, while I had little confidence in my ability to do it, I was driven by other people’s confidence in me.  I figured, what do I have to lose, right?  So I sent in a video that my husband shot, of me making a strawberry-basil-black pepper lassi, and that was enough to merit a callback flight to NY!  After that, the ball was rolling, and I couldn’t stop it.  I was so scared to do the show, and wished I could back out, but I didn’t want to let anyone down.  That’s why I look so damned scared on the first few episodes; I really didn’t think I’d get very far, and worse, that I’d look a fool before being sent home.”

What advice would you have for people who want to try out for next season?

“First off, be yourself!  I think some people have this old-fashioned image of what it takes to be on camera — a huge, cheesy personality, with lots of yelling and mugging for the camera.  But if that’s not who you are, it’s not going to work.  Be yourself.  I always think of someone like Ina Garten — she has this laid-back warmth that gently wraps itself around you and seduces you into spending 30 minutes with her.  If you’re anything other than who you are, then don’t do it.  Also, be prepared for a grueling schedule.  Some nights, we only slept 3 hours.  And finally, KNOW your point of view.  If you don’t have a strong point of view, you’re cooked.”

I know you can’t reveal the outcome of the show, but what are your plans for the future?  Will you continue to pursue your passion for food?

“I don’t know how to live without a passion for food!  I plan to continue shooting my cooking show — being on The Next Food Network Star actually really helped me figure out what my unique style, and that is such a precious gift.  I had been so lost before, cooking Indian-Arabic-California cuisine.  Now I realise that my passion is to find ways to bridge the gap in my heart between my home in India, and my new home in America.  And you’ll find that reflected in my food.  Take my grilled cheese with tomato chutney: a simple grilled cheese sandwich (picture perfect American food) with a complex sweet and tangy Indian chutney.  That’s me on a plate!”

GRILLED CHEESE WITH TOMATO CHUTNEY

Recipe courtesy: Aarti Sequeira

2 cups grape tomatoes
a little more than 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup red onion, chopped finely
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tbsp ginger, minced
1 tbsp brown sugar
Handful cilantro, minced
2 tbsp vegetable/canola oil
1 tsp urad dal (optional)
1 tsp black mustard seeds
Pinch of red chili flakes
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
White bread
Cheese of your choice, freshly grated (I used cheddar)
Mayonnaise

Throw tomatoes, vinegar, and onions in a pot over high heat. Season with salt and boil for 5 minutes.

Add garlic, ginger, cilantro, and brown sugar, plus a splash of water if it’s too dry. Stir and boil for another 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a small skillet, warm oil until shimmering. Add urad dal and red chili flakes.

When dal has turned a little darker, add mustard seeds, and stand back! They’ll splutter! Once they’re done spluttering, pour into the tomato mixture (which should be done boiling).

Turn the heat down, simmer 20 minutes until the tomato mixture takes on a jam consistency. Try to keep some of the tomatoes whole.

Allow chutney to cool.

Heat nonstick or cast iron skillet over moderately low heat.  Build the sandwich, slathering the bread with cheese and tomato chutney.

Slather some mayonnaise on the outside of one side of the sandwich. Place it mayo-side down in the skillet. Spread mayo on the other side.

Wait a couple of minutes until it’s browned, then flip and brown the other side.

Cut into triangles and serve!

Categories: Around the World, Better Recipes, Celebrations and Parties, Foodie Events, Tasty Travel | Tags: Appetizer Recipes, Cheese, Easy Sandwich Recipes, Sandwiches, Vegetarian Dinner Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes
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