Rachael Ray Shares March Madness Recipes on Good Morning America

Check out Rachael Ray on Good Morning America, where she shared recipes for a basic guacamole, Crabby Guacamole, Apple and Almond Guacamole, Buzzer Beater Chili, Turkey Chipotle Chile, and Veg-Head Three-Bean Chili.  She suggests these for a March Madness party.

Rachael Ray Does Not Use a Ghostwriter

Ya know, when I saw this story in the New York Times yesterday, I thought it was wrong, but I couldn't be sure.  In every interview where she is asked about her recipes, Rachael Ray talks about the notebook she carries around with her to write down recipe ideas.  She even has a coded system to remind herself of whether it will go in one of her shows, in the magazine, or in a cookbook.  Given that amount of detailed work, what would a ghostwriter do, right?  Plus, she's always asked whether she writes her cookbooks, and she always says yes.

Given that consistent stance from Rachael, I would have been really disappointed if it turned out that her cookbooks were ghostwritten.  However, Rachael came out strong to defend herself.  On her twitter feed and to the media, Rachael Ray is denying that she uses a ghostwriter.  She says the chef quoted in the story is a food stylist, not a ghostwriter.  All  can say is: phew.

Rachael Ray in the News (Martha and SXSW Edition)

• Do you think Martha Stewart really gave Rachael Ray the evil eye in a fancy pants NYC restaurant?  I'm not so sure, but the press sure is loving the story.  What I find interesting is that Rachael Ray's talk show is moving into Martha Stewart's vacated studio (Martha's show was cancelled).  Rach's set is so unique already - I wonder what on earth they will do with it now.

• In other RR news, Rachael is participating in SXSW in Austin again this year.  Billboard has the details on the lineup of this year's show.  While that's all well and good, let's get to the really interesting part - Relish Austin has details on this year's menu.

Top Three Recipes from Rachael Ray's First 1,000 Shows

Rachael Ray went on Good Morning America today and shared the recipes for the top three recipes from her talk show's first 1,000 episodes.  I have made all of these and agree with their top three status!  Make sure you try them:

1. Spinach Artichoke Mac and Cheese
2. Buffalo Chicken Chili (my review)
3. Pretzel Crusted Chicken Breasts with Cheddar Mustard Sauce (my review)

In other show news - Variety says the ratings are up from a year ago, which is great.

It's a Keeper: Chicken and Chorizo Romesco with Spanish Potatoes and Kale

Can you tell we moved?  New counter!

Tonight's dinner was Chicken and Chorizo Romesco with Spanish Potatoes and Kale because I just needed a little something different.  I have a huge stockpile of chicken in the freezer that I got for dirt cheap (1.89/lb) so chicken and I are quickly getting tired of eachother.  This one, however, knocked me right out of that rut. My husband came home and thought it looked like an "exciting" dinner, which it certainly was.

My only complaint with this meal is that it used two skillets and two pans, plus the food processor, a strainer, two cutting boards, and two knifes.  I have to say the flavor was worth it.  

By the way, I've started using Plan to Eat to plan my meals and shopping list each week and I cannot say enough good things about it.  I has literally solved all my meal planning issues!  I can upload a recipe and it automatically creates a shopping list for me, which is very customizable, too.  Then I drag and drop recipes onto a calendar.  I absolutely love it.

Here's the recipe with my comments in brackets:

PREP20 Min
COOK30 Min
TOTAL50 Min  [this is allegedly a 30 minute meal, but there is just no way']

Ingredients
1⁄2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided
5 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
2 pounds baby Yukon gold potatoes, halved [I used Russets because it's what I had on hand and I think they were just fine.]
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 bunch kale, stemmed and coarsely chopped [Lacinato Kale came in my fancy Farm Fresh to You basket and it was sooooo good in here.]
1 cup chicken stock
1 cup shredded manchego [No Manchego in my store, so I used cheddar.]
1 to 3 slices stale bread, toasted, cut 1/2-inch dice
1 cup pequillo peppers or roasted red peppers
1 (15-ounce) can fire roasted tomatoes, drained, about 1 1/3 cups
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar [I also could not find sherry vinegar, so I used white wine vinegar.]
1⁄2 cup marcona almonds (Spanish toasted almonds), substitute toasted sliced or peeled almonds if unavailable [Yeah, if there's no sherry vinegar, I am sure you can tell there were no marcona almonds. I toasted some sliced almonds.]
4 pieces boneless skinless chicken breast or thigh meat
2 teaspoons orange zest or lemon zest
1 teaspoon smoked or sweet paprika
A handful flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
3⁄4 pound Spanish chorizo, casings removed, cut into 8 pieces on the bias [The chorizo in my store isn't fully cooked, so I used lingiuca.  I also think 1/2 pound would be fine, since there was lots left over.]

Heat about 1/4 to 1/3 cup olive oil in a medium skillet over medium-low heat. Add the garlic and slowly cook until crisp and golden brown.  [For some reason, this took forever, but I was so scared I was going to burn it.]

Place potatoes in a pot and cover with water, bring to a boil, season with salt and cook 15 minutes or until tender, drain and return to hot pot. While the potatoes cook, simmer kale in salted water 10 minutes then drain. When you are ready to serve, mash potatoes with stock and cheese, fold in kale, adjust salt and pepper.

While potatoes come to a boil, move forward with the meal. Add to a food processor: toasted garlic (reserve the oil), some of the toasted bread in pieces, the peppers, tomatoes, sherry vinegar, almonds, and salt and pepper. Turn processor on and stream in reserved "garlic-oil" and add the rest of the toasted bread in pieces until you get a pesto-like consistency. Transfer sauce back to the skillet and keep warm over low heat.

Cut each piece of chicken into 3 chunks and season with citrus zest, smoked sweet paprika, salt, pepper and parsley. Set aside.

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chorizo and render it 1 minute. Remove the chorizo to a plate and then add chicken and cook 10 to 12 minutes, turning occasionally.

Pour a pool of sauce onto each dinner plate and top with a mound of potatoes and kale and chunks of chicken and chorizo.

Rachael Ray on Good Morning America

Rachael Ray appeared on Good Morning America to promote her new show: Rachael v. Guy.  She shared a recipe for Muffaletta Panini and hosted a sandwich cook off between the hosts of the show.

Rachael Ray's Talk Show Renewed

According to Broadcasting & Cable, Rachael Ray's talk show has been renewed for two more years.  Woot woot!  When I saw that Martha Stewart's Hallmark Channel show was being cancelled, I got worried that it was going to be a trend, but there was no need for concern.

A CBS Television Distribution executive, Joe DiSalvo, said: "Rachael Ray has been a solid performer in stations' lineups and has had a recent surge in ratings. We're thrilled to be taking the show through eight seasons."

The show has been on since 2006 and won Daytime Emmys for Outstanding Talk Show in 2008 and 2009.  Rachael has been nominated for Outstanding Talk Show host four times.