Greetings from Charleston!

We had a wonderful time at this years South Beach Food & Wine Festival. Lee Schrager really knows how to put on a great weekend of events!

It was nice to see all of my Food Network friends and spend some time together. It was especially nice for everyone to see my wife's growing belly. By far our highlight of the weekend would have to be EJ, Emeril's son. Talk about a personality. That boy is hysterical, loves Elvis, sings Hound Dog, and wants to have a restaurant one day of his own with a "Big Old E" hanging on the front door. It was so much fun to spend time being entertained by him.

We had some wonderful dinners in Miami. Thursday night we went to Table 8 with Cat Cora, and Dave Lieberman. It was outstanding. Our friend Govind Armstrong has outdone himself with the menu. Saturday night we went to Prime 112 with Giada and her husband Todd. It is a great place to grab a steak next time you're in South Beach. Sunday night we had an amazing dinner at Casa Tua with Michael Chiarello and his wife Eileen. We were anxious to catch up with both of them since they are our new neighbors in California. We're going to be able to spend a lot more time together, and look forward to introducing their 1 year old son to our new arrival.

From there, we went on to my home town of Greenville to see my parents and to attend our baby shower. My father was cooking all of the family favorites - homemade pimento cheese sandwiches, biscuits & gravy, fried chicken, chicken salad...the food was endless and delicious. We drank a few gallons of sweet tea and headed out to Charleston. I'm here for the Charleston Food & Wine Festival this weekend. If you're in the area, come by and check it out.

My wife and son, Miles, have planned a big family dinner at one of our favorite Charleston restaurants for my birthday on Saturday. I'm not sure what's on the menu because they want it to be a surprise. I did overhear them talking about shrimp and grits, so I'm looking forward to it.

After this trip to Charleston, we head back to California. We've been remodeling our house while we've been out of town, so I am anxious to see the progress. I'll be home for a few weeks, with a small trip to the Housewares Show in Chicago and then back to New York to shoot another season of Tyler's Ultimate. We've taken all of your requests and come up with some great new episodes, and recipes. I'm excited to get back in to the studio for more shows...

Tyler

Big news to share.

I am packing up the family and moving to the West Coast. Believe it or not, I almost moved to California a few years back & it has always been a dream of mine. Marrying a local California girl gave me the opportunity to spend a lot of time here looking around for the ideal location for a home.

We've bought a wonderful old 1920's house right outside of San Francisco in a beautiful place called Marin County. I'm minutes to San Francisco and right on the way to Napa...

I have lived in New York for over a decade and thought that it was time for our expanding family to have space to continue to grow and for our boys to have a back yard.

Our house is in a grove of old redwood trees with two creeks running through the backyard filled with apple trees, blackberry bushes, plum trees, and herbs. I am going to love living here and I am looking forward to the influence that California living will have on my cooking. My Mom was in town this week from South Carolina helping us get settled in and she loved it! We hiked, and walked in to town for eggs & toast, and went out on the Bay for an afternoon boat ride, followed up with fresh dungeness crab rolls at one of my favorite local finds, a restaurant called Fish in Sausalito.

The movers arrive today with our things from NY, and we're slowly getting settled in. I'm also looking in to some restaurant opportunities here out west, and will keep you posted.

Looking forward to seeing some of you next week in Miami at the South Beach Food & Wine Festival.

Tyler

Hey chocolate fans! Be sure to catch me on Food Network's All Star Chocolate Special...

The show airs:

Wed, February 07, 2007 9:00 PM ET/PT
Thurs, February 08, 2007 12:00 AM ET/PT
Sat, February 10, 2007 2:00 PM ET/PT
Sun, February 11, 2007 8:00 AM ET/PT

And I'm happy to be back in California with my wife and the worlds laziest dog...

Hello from Miami!

We are still here shooting the show for ABC. It's been going really well. We have had some long days working at the schools. I start my day at about 5am and have been getting back home at dinner time. Long hours, but it's all for such a good cause. I'm learning a lot.

Working with Shaquille O'Neal has been great. He is a really, really nice guy. Tonight, we are heading out to the Miami Heat game to watch him play.

Sadly, this is our last week in sunny Miami. Next week, I'll be heading back in to the kitchen with my sous chef Anthony to work out all of the recipes for a new season of Tyler's Ultimate! We have a lot of new shows planned and some Ultimate recipes to go with them.

I've also been busy trying to be a good husband for my very pregnant wife. She is almost 6 months pregnant, and we couldn't be happier. The pregnancy has been a dream, and Tolan is feeling better than ever. The cravings continue, and I try my best to make sure she has everything she needs. This week, it's all about scrambled eggs from the News Cafe ...she can't get enough of them! Last week was the week of the meatloaf, she had to have meatloaf but not just any meatloaf, my Dad's meatloaf. So I made her some. It's been a fascinating experience.

I am thrilled to tell all of you that we are having a little boy. My son Miles is especially excited to have a little brother, because he was hoping for one in the worst way. We can't wait to meet our new little guy this summer.

I hope all of you have a great Super Bowl weekend,

Go Bears!

Tyler

Hi everyone,

Well it looks like the Super Bowl is just around the corner and I'm sure a lot of you will be having some Super Bowl parties of your own.

How about some wings? I am going to post three of my Ultimate Wings recipes below.

Also, make sure to tune in on Friday, February 2nd. I will be doing some local television whipping up some Super Bowl snacks live from this years Super Bowl host city, Miami.

TV Schedule:

6:45am CBS, Miami, FL
7:15am FOX, Greensboro, NC
7:20am CBS, Tucson, AZ
7:25am CBS, Denver, CO
7:30am CBS, Flint, MI
7:35am FOX, Albany, NY
8:15am ABC, Milwaukee, WI
8:45am CBS, Raleigh, NC

I'll keep you posted with updates to that schedule.

A quick update: The Weekend TODAY Show has been postponed, and I will not be appearing on Feb 3, due to the show being preempted. I'll keep you posted on a new date and time!

I hope that all of you have a great Super Bowl.

Tyler


Here are a few of my favorite Chicken Wing recipes:


Crisp Chicken Wings with Chile-Lime Butter:
4 pounds chicken wings
Extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 big, fat rounded tablespoon Thai red curry paste
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 lime, halved
Chopped cilantro leaves, for garnish

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
Rinse the wings under cool water and pat dry. Put them in a bowl, drizzle with olive oil and season well with salt and pepper. Toss to coat with the seasoning. Then spread the wings out on a baking sheet and roast about 25 minutes until the skin gets crisp and brown, and the meat is tender.

While you wait, throw the butter, red curry paste honey and soy sauce into a blender. Season with salt and puree. Scrape into a big bowl. When the wings come out of the oven put add to the bowl with the curry butter. Squeeze the juice of the lime over the wings. Give it a toss and you're done. Garnish with cilantro.

Teriyaki Chicken Wings:

2 dozen chicken wings, about 3 1/4 pounds, rinsed and patted dry
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Olive oil
1 tablespoon sesame seeds, toasted in a skillet over medium heat until lightly browned
Leaves from 1/2 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped
Teriyaki Sauce:
1 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1 cup grapefruit juice
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
1/4 cup ketchup
3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 fresh, hot red chile, halved
5 garlic cloves, halved
2-inch piece fresh ginger, smashed with the side of a large knife

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Season the chicken wings with salt and pepper and drizzle a little olive oil on them to prevent sticking. Lay the wings in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes or until the skin gets crispy and the wings are cooked through.
Meanwhile, combine the teriyaki sauce ingredients in a large saucepan. Simmer over low heat and reduce until slightly thickened. Pour the sauce into a large bowl. Dump the wings into the bowl and toss to coat them with the sauce. Transfer to a serving platter and sprinkle with the sesame seeds and cilantro. Serve hot.

Sticky Honey-Soy Wings:

2 pounds chicken wings
1 cup low sodium soy sauce,
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 lemon, juiced
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup honey
Sesame seeds, for garnish

Rinse chicken wings and pat dry. Remove tip and discard; separate each wing at the joint into 2 pieces. Place wings in a shallow dish and pour over the soy sauce, ginger, cilantro, garlic, and lemon juice. Toss well to coat; marinate, refrigerated, for 2 hours.
Remove wings from marinade and pat dry; season with salt and pepper. In a large saute pan over medium-high heat, melt the butter in the olive oil. When the butter stops foaming, add the honey and chicken wings and fry until browned on each side, about 5 minutes. Continue cooking the wings, turning them over often to coat them as the glaze reduces. Cook until the wings are sticky and cooked through. Garnish with sesame seeds and serve.

Hi All,

Greetings from sunny Miami. I've moved my family down to South Beach for the month while I shoot the new show "Fit Kids" for ABC. We're having a great time so far, and the weather has been perfect.

We're staying on the beach and the person enjoying it the most is our dog Jake. He is sleeping under the covers, with his head on the pillow, and snoring as I type. He is a bit spoiled.

I had the ultimate South Beach experience last night and enjoyed our first dinner at Joe's Stone Crabs. We had dinner with our friend Lee Schrager who runs the South Beach Food & Wine Festival and his partner Ricardo, along with Katie Lee and her husband Billy Joel. It's so great to be able to see friends who live in the area and catch up. Lee ordered the food, and it seemed like we had one of everything on the menu. We wanted to try as much as possible, so we all shared. We started with their chopped salad, pretty traditional but we loved their secret ingredient - honey roasted peanuts. Then we tried the coleslaw, which was really interesting and flavored with a lot of sweet pickles. For our main course we had a huge platter of stone crabs, sirloin steaks, and fried chicken. All of it was delicious. The fried chicken was especially crispy and juicy. The side of hash browns, is also not to be missed.

For dessert, we tried one of everything but the highlight was the homemade key lime pie. It had just the right amount of tart and sweet, and the crust was perfect.

Next time you are in the Miami area, it's worth a trip to stop by! Or check out their website where you can have their famous stone crabs and key lime pie delivered to your house!

www.joesstonecrab.com

Cheers!

Tyler

Hope all of you had a great first week of the New Year. Mine has been jam packed.

As I type I am in Kansas City with my sous chef Anthony. We are testing a new batch of recipes for Applebee's here at their corporate headquarters. Be on the look out for the Applebee's menu to be changing on a regular basis!

From here, I head back to New York to shoot the Valentines Day special for the Food Network. And then the next day I am off to Miami for 3 weeks to shoot a new primetime TV show for ABC. The show is called "Fit Kids" and I am partnering with Shaquille O'Neal to tackle the childhood obesity epidemic. It's a growing problem in our country and I am really happy to be a part of the show. There will be a lot more info on the show soon, so be on the look out.

After we wrap the ABC shoot, I'm doing the South Beach Food & Wine Festival, then the Charleston Food & Wine Festival and then in March I head back in to the Food Network studios to shoot another full season of Tyler's Ultimate!

We'll make sure to post any calendar updates and appearances on my website at www.tylerflorence.com in the Chef's Life section.

Cheers!

Tyler

Happy New Year!

I hope that all of you enjoyed the holiday break.

I had a wonderful holiday in Northern California with my wife and her family in the Bay Area. My son Miles came for Christmas, and I was cooking up a storm.

For Christmas dinner, I did a prime rib rubbed with fresh California herbs, garlic, and olive oil. I found a great local olive oil here at the Marin County Farmers Market that I really like. It's called McEvoy Ranch Olive Oil and it is made locally here in Petaluma, California. It's cold pressed which really preserves the natural taste of the olives, and very rich with a grassy taste. You can order their olive oil online at www.mcevoyranch.com and they also sell their products at the San Francisco Ferry Terminal.

Anyway, back to dinner. For appetizers I did traditional latkes with various toppings - California Osetra Caviar, sour cream, applesauce, bacon, and local dungeness crab. For dinner, we had the prime rib with baby organic carrots that I roasted in the oven and finished with an orange juice and brown sugar glaze, creamed spinach, yorkshire pudding, brandied mushrooms, and roasted yukon gold potatoes. For dessert, my wife baked. She did coconut cupcakes, chocolate cupcakes with peppermint cream cheese frosting, old fashioned brownies, and we discovered something new this year that we tried. The local grocery store here carried Ina Garten's baking mixes and we baked her Raspberry Thumbprint cookies that were a huge hit! Next time you see Ina's mixes in the store, grab one because we thought they were delicious.

We took the family up to Lake Tahoe to ski for a few days, and had a blast. It was my first trip to Tahoe and it was ideal weather, almost like Spring skiing.

For New Years we came back to the Bay Area and headed out to Fishermans Wharf for lunch yesterday. We went to a fabulous old school restaurant called Fishermans Grotto, Number 9 - which is the original Fishermans Wharf restaurant. The front of the restaurant faces the main street, and the inside faces the harbor of fishing boats. Almost all of us all had crab of some form - I had a crab stuffed avocado salad with louis dressing (aka thousand island), Tolan had a steamed crab, and my mother-in-law Marge had a crab sandwich. Miles had spaghetti but discovered his first taste of real San Francisco sourdough bread. He ate almost a whole loaf, and even when the meal was over - he went back in for one more slice. He said it was the best bread he had ever had.... the dungeness crab at Fishermans Wharf is as traditional as a New York City hot dog. We loved it so much - we went outside on the street selected our fresh love crabs, and had a few pounds steamed right in front of us & we are going to have a crab dinner at home tonight.

For New Years Eve - we had a fondue party. Miles gave us a beautiful Le Crueset fondue bowl for Christmas and we wanted to use it. For dipping in the cheese fondue, I slow roasted baby back ribs with garlic and rosemary, made chicken tenders, roasted broccoli, kielbasa sausage, portobello mushrooms and had chunks of fresh sourdough. For my cheese fondue I combined swiss, gouda, and emmentaler cheese. We had a wonderful fondue party in front of the fireplace and rang in the New Year with champagne, and for Miles and my pregnant wife - sparkling apple cider.

The holiday festivities come to a close tonight - with our fresh crab dinner. Tomorrow morning - we all head back to New York. From my family to yours - Happy New Years! May 2007 be filled with health, success, happiness, and great food!

Cheers!

Tyler

I'm so happy to share this photo from my wedding... Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from the Florence family!

FAVORITE DECEMBER RECIPE

Hot Cocoa and Homemade Marshmallows
3/4 cup powdered milk
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate
Homemade Marshmallows, recipe follows

Combine all the dry ingredients in a large bowl and mix well. Take the bittersweet chocolate and roughly chop it up to give a chunky but consistent size. Mix well with a wooden spoon and then store in a dry airtight container. To make the hot chocolate, simply add 1 cup of water per 1/2 cup of hot cocoa mix. Heat in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring with a whisk. Heat until hot, but do not boil, about 6 to 7 minutes. Serve with marshmallows.

Homemade Marshmallows
3 tablespoons (3 packets) powdered gelatin
2 cups cold water
2 cups sugar
2 egg whites
2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted, plus more for dusting pan and marshmallows
Butter, for greasing pan


In a medium sized saucepan soak the gelatin in the cold water. After the gelatin has softened, approximately 10 minutes, add the regular sugar and then gently dissolve over low heat, approximately 8 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool to room temperature.

In a mixer, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks and then fold in the sifted confectioners' sugar. While the mixer is on low, slowly pour in the cooled gelatin mixture. Increase the speed and beat until white and thick. The volume should double in size and should form between soft and firm peaks.

Line an 8 by 8-inch baking dish with high sides with foil, grease slightly with butter, and coat with confectioners' sugar. Alternatively, you can use a baking sheet, but the marshmallows will not be as tall. Pour marshmallow mixture in and top with more sifted confectioners' sugar. Leave out overnight or for at least 3 hours to set. The marshmallow should be light and spongy when set.

Loosen marshmallow from edges of tray and invert onto a large cutting board. Peel off foil and use a large knife to cut the marshmallows into cubes. Dredge each piece in confectioners' sugar.

Enjoy & Happy Holidays!


FAVORITE MEAL
Last night I made something that was a big hit with my family. I roasted a chicken and served it with a puree of parsnips and potatoes and garnished it with creamy black eyed peas that I had slow cooked with pancetta and fresh herbs. I finished the dish off with some chicken jus, and arugula pesto. I'll have to write this one down and keep it in mind for a future book. A great tip when you roast a chicken - I always roast two at a time, and keep one for the next day. We had open faced chicken sandwiches with watercress, a little mayonnaise, and fresh cranberry sauce. Delicious.

FAVORITE PURCHASE
I love the Braun immersion hand blender. I just bought one for my mother in laws kitchen and it's a great holiday gift. We used it to puree a batch of cauliflower soup. It's a great tool for soups especially because you don't need to move the hot soup to a blender - just take the blender to the soup pot.

FAVORITE RESTAURANT
Poggio in Sausalito, California. I am in Northern California with my wife and every time we get out this way to see her family - we eat at Poggio. It's a fabulous local restaurant with fresh Italian cuisine. The wine list is also amazing. The menu is seasonal and always changing but make sure to get an order of the spinach and ricotta gnocchi with beef ragu, and for dessert - they sometimes have homemade rum raisin gelato that it pretty delicious. After dinner, take a walk down by the water and see the views of San Francisco across the bay.

FAVORITE SEASONAL INGREDIENTS
Right now we are in California, so there is an abundance on amazing seasonal ingredients. I've been using parsnips, and pomegranates a lot. And since it's dungeness crab season here in San Francisco - I'll be using a lot of fresh local crab.

Thanks so much to everyone for the well wishes on my wedding, and all of the great feedback! Its great to have so much support. Many of you also have good questions about recipes and tips. If you include your email address when posting your comments, I am happy to get back to you with answers to those questions.

Also, its that time of year to really impress with holiday dinners. I hope that some of my recipes will come in handy, but I would also love to hear what traditions you have for your holiday meals. It is such a perfect time of year for bringing people together to celebrate, and really enjoy the experience of cooking. Whether you're a host, or attending a holiday party or meal, I'd love to hear what you have planned this season. As for me, I'm enjoying some time away from New York, and looking forward to Christmas in California with my wife and her family. My son Miles is coming to join us for the holidays and then we are heading up to Lake Tahoe for a family ski trip.

For those of you celebrating the first night of Hanukkah, we wish you a very happy holiday.

During my recent book tour promoting Tyler's Ultimate, I made a visit to my son's school in Charleston, SC, to teach a class on measuring. What better way to practice measuring than to make chocolate banana bread? I think the kids loved it as much as I loved teaching the lesson... Check out the photos:

Big news! I got married this weekend. It was an amazing time with family and friends, in South Carolina at my favorite hotel, The Inn at Palmetto Bluff. And I am so happy to have tied the knot with my beautiful bride.

The weather was perfect, 70 degrees during the day. We rode bikes, swam, and spent time with all of our friends and family. We kicked off the long three day weekend with cocktails and s'mores outside at a bonfire.... there is something about s'mores that isn't only fun for kids, we all got into roasting marshmallows, although a few ended up in the fire pit.

The rehearsal dinner was catered by my friend Paula Deen's restaurant, The Lady & Sons.... definitely a great night of food. The wedding was a formal black tie affair at a chapel by the May River, followed by a cocktail reception and fireworks! (Yes, fireworks! My son is going to think that happens at every wedding... and hey, why not!)

If you plan on visiting the South Carolina Lowcountry - you should try to spend some time at the Inn at Palmetto Bluff. It was just voted #2 resort by Conde Nast Traveler Magazine. Its also a great place for family trips, since they have beautiful homes available by the night as well. For more information go to their website www.palmettobluffresort.com

It was an event to remember. InStyle Magazine will feature the wedding in their March issue, so make sure to pick up a copy for some of the photos...

I think everyone went home happy....

Hi everybody... Welcome! I am so excited to share brand new recipes and tips with you here on AOL. These recipes cannot be found anywhere else, and I hope you enjoy them.

Outside of that, I'll keep you posted on what is going on in my life. Whether its pushing through a nationwide tour supporting my new book, telling you about my brand new projects, or catching up on what I got up to this weekend with my family and friends, I'm all yours!

I want you all to feel confident about cooking, and I'm here to help you do that. And in the process, we'll get to know each other a little bit better.

I'll be checking in often. Dig in!