Rick Bayless & Cookbook Giveaway

Happy October and fall-ish weather!  I have wonderful and exciting news to share. I finally bought my custom domain name. I'm officially a dot com and I have created my own official Facebook page. Yipee!! (picture me jumping up and down in joy.) Please bookmark and update your feeds to my new site at http://www.mrsregueiro.com/. There is a new RSS and I have my own official email as well. You can find my Facebook page link to the right side, and if you love my fun-foodie posts please like me! But you'll have more reason to like me because I have an awesome cookbook giveaway.

Recently I was contacted by Everywhere about an upcoming fun-foodie event with Macy's Culinary Council member, Rick Bayless. Top Chef Master, Rick Bayless, would provide a food demonstration from his new cookbook "Fiesta at Rick's." After the cooking demonstration, he would sign copies of his book. The event cost $5 but the proceeds were donated to Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County. Of course I would attend - I have Rick Bayless listed on my foodie fun list as one of the many chefs that I would love to meet someday. I brought two of my foodie girlfriends along for the event, and a big thanks Kathy and Monica for coming along with me, too.

I was beyond thrilled to see a Top Chef Master in action because you know I am such a wannabe-chef and crazy foodie-fan. I have only made one Rick Bayless recipe in my kitchen, mexican beans with chorizo and greens, and it was full of spicy flavor. I knew that Rick Bayless would provide insight on some new Mexican-inspired dishes because he seemed like a genuine and humble chef. I'm always on the lookout for new inspiration on recipes, its more chef-knowledge in the bank for me. Plus, I love his Frontera products of salsa and have been dying to sample one of his yummy Mexican dishes. We got to sample three of his dishes and they were all delicious and caliente!

Rick Bayless was very charming and very likable, and explained to the 200+ audience about his inspiration for his latest book - he loves to entertain and throw parties for the heck of it. Wow, I would love to be your neighbor and celebrate the harvest of corn or tomatoes. Who does that? Ahem, well I love to entertain and host parties for no reason at all, to celebrate birthdays, kitchen renovations, and I'm always finding an excuse to hang out with friends and family. He also dished about his winning challenge on Top Chef Masters and explained to us that it was one of the hardest challenges that he has ever done. He was in total awe of all the other chefs that were competing as well.

Rick Bayless had commented that America "is a chip and dip culture" and that we love our "dip." He made a point that white onions are different compared to yellow and brown and white onions are best used in guacamole for its light flavor. Funny thing, he was making bacon guacamole as one of his demo dishes. His cookbook is filled with numerous versions - he bacon-ifies it, sweetens it with mangoes, or adds a fall touch of pumpkin seeds to guacamole. Bacon guacamole is so good, and you have to try it. It's smoky and buttery and you'll be eating the entire bowl before you know it.

Overall, I had a wonderful time at the food demonstration, sampled wonderful eats from Rick Bayless and got through the book signing very quickly. I was simply in awe of the wonderful entertaining recipes that this cookbook had. Lots of drinks, appetizers and party-planning ideas are all throughout the cookbook and it has my head brewing with Bayless-inspired items. I can't wait to have a Rick Bayless themed-dinner party! This is a wonderful cookbook with a unique twist. Each chapter is broken up into an outline for a party from drinks, appetizers to main course, including group size and even a suggested playlist. If you want to throw your own Fiesta but do know where to start- this is definitely the book for you.

Now onto the giveaway for one lucky reader, I’m giving away a signed copy of Fiesta at Rick's by Rick Bayless. I picked up an extra copy thanks to Everywhere for one lucky reader. I had to share the wealth of Rick Bayless's recipes with my readers because he's just awesome and a food hottie. One of the audience members told him that she had a food crush on him, and called him a food hottie. He blushed as red as the chipotle peppers sitting on the counter. My, my Rick Bayless, you're a food hottie!

To enter the giveaway for Rick Bayless's new cookbook: Fiesta At Rick's: Fabulous Food for Great Times with Friends:
Leave a comment telling me what dish that you love to entertain with! (I love to hear your thoughts.)

I will keep the comments open until Saturday, October 9th, MIDNIGHT PST, and announce the winner (using a random number generator) on Monday, October 11th. This giveaway is open to US addresses ONLY.

Comments will close at MIDNIGHT – PST on Saturday, October 9, 2010.
Bonus Entries: (*Each bonus entry requires a separate comment to be counted!*)
Become a fan on Facebook. Come back and leave a separate comment telling me you’ve done so (or if you already “like” me on Facebook).

Sign up on my RSS Feed.  Come back and leave a separate comment telling me you’ve done so (or if you’re already a subscriber).

Buen provecho and good luck!