One of the greatest thing about the Cleveland culinary scene is the solidarity amongst the chefs.  That solidarity was evident last night when I and about 50 other people got to witness three local chef’s rock themselves silly behind the mike at Rock & Roll Wine Project: Karoke Edition.  That’s right friends, I said KARAOKE.

First off we had Chef Steve Schimoler rock out The Door’s classic Light My Fire:

Following Steve, Chef Rocco Whalen came out for Brooklyn, Biggie Small style.  (Needless to say this was one of my all time favorite performances of the evening).

And last but never least, the man I like to call the Chef (along with myself and the BC crew) ended the night with a booooootiful version of Don’t Stop Believing.  And we didn’t stop believing.  All night long.

Head on over HERE to view more of the awesome insanity of Chef Karaoke!  Muchos Muchos Gracias Genna & Chris for the being the most badass MC’s ever.

I may have given myself an ulcer yesterday. It really was one of the most nerve wrecking days in my life (besides my wedding and the results of Catcher’s kidney diagnosis). The am found the Chef & I at the Idea Center in downtown Cleveland for an On Air interview on NPR. As I sat in the green room with Chef I totally started psyching myself out. It’s hard not to. Everything is so dead silent in a radio station and you don’t know what questions you are going to be asked…I was a mess (inside my head). The interview went off without a hitch and Dee Perry made us feel so at HOME. Plus her voice is by far the most soothing voice I have ever heard, besides this man.

To hear the interview in it’s entirety click HERE.

After NPR I headed home to hang out with Biggie Smalls and CatcherCrazyFace.  We lounged outside, washed my car, and saw the next dog we are going get.  In a few years of course.

How enormous do my ladies look?  I look like this chick. Insane.

I had to go back downtown by 7pm to meet the Chef (who had been in the kitchen since 8am) for the Dinner Impossible Premiere party.  The Chef & David Lowe (the other Sous Chef on DI) recreated the menu that the DI boys served on Alcatraz.  It was DELISH.  The place was packed and everybody was up and arms at every break.  I, of course, got a bit emotional when it all started.  I am total cheese.  Mr. Kyle Roth aka Chef Paparazzo took some ridiculously fantastic photographs and you should totally check them out!  Here’s a taste:

By the end of the show my belly was busting out of my denim skirt and I was ready to grab the chef, take him home, and watch the show all over again (amongst other things that we don’t talk about here:).  In a perfect world. After I ate the soap I begrudgingly left the Chef and went to my ‘rents to get my babies.

This morning I awoke to a naked 3 year old.  After I got him presentable for the outside world I packed up my car and headed downtown again.  This time the Chef & I would be doing an interview (on camera) with a TV station.  We headed to the new place and we were thrust into the interview.  It went OK and of course once I saw it I swore that I would NEVER again go on TV.  And I pretty much stand by that. Or at least until I lose a couple lb’s…

It’s been a whirlwind and it’s been fun and it’s been crazy.  It’s a stressful and busy life that the Widow family lives but nights like last night shared with such supportive people make all the insanity totally doable.  Much love people.  Much love.

Mike Symon & friends (including my Chef) find themselves at Alcatraz for this week’s Dinner Impossible premiere. Wednesday night @ 10pm is the beginning of the brand new season of Dinner Impossible hosted by Cleveland’s own Michael Symon.

When Mike asked my Chef to accompany him on his Impossible journey we had no idea what he would be in for. He was super excited to travel all over the country and be tested at his skill. In three short months Chef Symon, Chef Sawyer, Chef Lowe, Chef Bando, and Chef MacLaren, traveled all over the country attempting the impossible. They went east, west, north, and south. They flew to the undisclosed location the eve before set, then they filmed on location for 15 hours straight and flew back the next morning. Insane. The Chef filmed 5 episodes and I know that they kicked his ass. I can’t even imagine how Symon managed to do 20 some episodes in three short months. He is a total maniac (in a good way). Although I am pretty sure he just took a week off for some much needed relaxation (aka Golf) time.

Make sure to tune in or join the Chef & I for this:

In honor of the premiere of DI, the Chef’s restaurant is having a bash where he & David Lowe (the other chef from the show) will recreate the menu that the DI boys made while doing time on The Rock.

After the SOS sabering competition experience, I thought the boys were done.  How could I have possible known that the ladies would end up conquering all!

Monday night brought out all the foodies for the Terra Madre fundraiser at Lolita.    Cleveland Chefs, Yummy Food, Great Bartenders, and of course, a sabering competition experience.  Looks like we have a new party past time.

Lizzie Symon gave it a go ahead against alongside the Chef.  They tried to get me to jump in on the action but me & big knives don’t mix.  At all.  Lizzie went first and aced it:

The Chef followed (hard act to) and came out glourious as well:

The two of them came out with almost perfect bottles and of course I came out with a cut on my index finger.  (Someone thought it would be a good idea to put the cork/glass in my purse to take home as a souveniwer).  That idiot was me.

Liz & Chef’s Respective Masterpieces

And then I got this email from reader Heidi, of Life in Recipes fame.  She just wanted to let me know what a bad ass saberer (sp?) looks like:

Badass.

It’s my turn tonight people. I’ve got third row seats, a party bus, and the chef. What more could a Widow want?

Remember how we were celebrating last week?  Well this is why…

The Chef was honored with the title of Best New Restaurant for this month’s Northern Ohio Live.  He also received honors in 5 other categories: Best Pizza, Best Bar, Best Appetizer, Best Chef, Best Late Night Dining.

I am so so so so so so so proud of him. I just went to Borders and bought them out with tears streaming down my face.  Shit I’ve got tears streaming down my face right now.

He is such an amazing man.  Everything he does, his 15 hour days, his time away from us, it’s all worth it when something like this comes out.  He deserves every bit of it.  He works hard, he makes amazing food, he’s passionate, and he cares so much about the industry and the chefs in our fantastic culinary scene in the Cleve.  I absolutely adore him.

*******UPDATED BELOW*******

This weekend was a rager.  It kicked off with a fun little after hours @ Cento after working all night.  We were there till 6am.  We were celebrating something totally AWESOME, however you’ll have to wait a few more weeks to find out what.  Saturday morning, ca 9am, the kiddies came home and I was grumpy.  Chef’s Widow + No Sleep = Jerkface.  The chef headed into work early because he would later be leaving to accompany me to the Iron Chef’s house to party with some bad ass famous women chefs in town for the SOS dinner.  The kids & I had a princess party to attend.

I packed up the car and headed to the BFF’s house.  It was 90 freaking degrees and I wasn’t sweating out all the Cantillon I had been drinking just a few hours before.  Mom of the year award coming soon.

Party time w/ the widow kids

Catcher had a blast, in fact Lou had a blast too.  She was sampling all sorts of pasta salads and grass and she couldn’t be more content.  By the time we had to leave Catcher had met some older ladies who decided that his nails would look better painted pink.  And you know what?  They did.

I dropped the kids off at the in laws and headed downtown to pick up the chef.  I was running late, big surprise, and I almost missed eating the delicious food catered at Symon’s.  Luckily I’ve got an in and chef hooked me up with some pork & beans.   Our plan was stay until 12, head back to the restaurant, close, and head home.  Needless to say that did not happen.  We walked into a house full of super bad ass chick chefs that my chef has looked up to ever since he started in the industry.   He was in heaven.  Then things got even better when the Iron Chef asked my chef to host the after hours of the SOS Dinner at Bar Cento.  We closed up shop around 2am, headed home around 3am, and woke up at 9am to prepare for T-ball, family anniversary dinner party, and the big after hours for a bunch of fantastic female chefs.

Sunday was awesome.  It made my year.  It may have made the chef’s life.  We took the kids to Catcher’s T-ball game.  I think.  At that point sleep deprivation started to kick in.  Then we took the entire family down to Cento to celebrate the anniversary of the chef’s parents.  I had to work for the after hours but was able to sit down and eat some super yummy buckwheat pasta and clams with the fam.

Louisiana the Beautiful & Catcher the Great

By 4, the kids were loaded into the in laws car and the chef and I got ready for the big night.  We had no idea what we were in for.

By 10pm, 8 of the most accomplished women chefs in the country were sitting at the Chef’s bar eating his delicious food.

SOS Dinner After Party @ Bar Cento

By 11pm, three of the women became Cento’s newest dj’s, spinning awesome vinyl for the duration of the night.

April Bloomfield, Celina Tio, Anita Lo, & the Chef’s Arm

By 12am, the Chef & the Iron Chef were having a competition.  Celina Tio taught them how to saber a bottle of bubbly with a giant knife.  She perfected it.

Symon got it (for the most part), ******UPDATE*****  Mike Symon just called to let me know that he DID in fact saber the bottle 100% perfectly and my Chef, well not so much:

Chef’s Neckless Bottle

By 2am, Mr. and Mrs. Symon decided to call it a night.  By 2.01am, the lady chef’s decided that even though they all had early flights they were going to stay and kick it.  The Chef was freaking ecstatic.  By 3am, Anita, Celina, & Karen had taken over the kitchen to make pizza.  It was pretty fucking cool.  I thought the chef was going to pass out.

April Bloomfield, Jonathon Sawyer, & Karen DeMasco

Seriously though, how many people go into a career and ever get to meet, let alone hang out with the people they admire, the people that inspire them.  Very few.  Especially in this industry.  I could NOT have been happier for the Chef.  Seeing these awesome women (in an industry full of men) come up on top and then having them be a part of the Chef and his restaurant was overwhelming.  Awe inspiring.

In the kitchen with Jonathon Sawyer, Karen DeMasco, Anita Lo, Celina Tio, & Skippy

By 4am kisses and hugs and business cards and chef love was spreading like wildfire.  Cabs were called, the chefs were squeezed into tiny cars, and my Chef was on cloud nine.  By 5am the Chef and I were at home.  I laid in bed and the chef came in.  I told him to get into bed and he told me he needed time to think about the night.  He sat on our porch for a half hour, drank a glass of red, came back into our room, woke me up (begrudgingly I did), and told me this:

” The best day of my life was when I married you.  The second best days of my life were the kids being born.  Tonight was the third.”

By 8am, I was wide awake thinking about his words, thinking about the night and how it would forever change his (and our) life.

By 10am, the kids were home and life was perfect.

And….

I almost forgot.  In the midst of all the famous people I got to meet Grady Sizemore.  And I never really thought he was that cute on TV.  But in real life…..WHOA, he’s a looker.

In the past few weeks I have had such an outpouring of support regarding this blog that I simply must let you all know how awesome it feels and how grateful I am for such a kick ass group of readers.

After this post, I received the most comments ever and I would have to say that 99% of them were positive.  Which is always nice.  Lord knows I have had my share of bleach blond nitwits who never have a nice (or intelligent) thing to say.  You guys were articulate and passionate about a city that has so much potential and so much talent.  I have something in the works regarding the lack of intelligent coverage of our food community.  More details to come soon.

Within moments of writing this I received countless emails regarding their own experiences with such an evil drug.  The letters were kind, thoughtful, and inspiring.  They brought me out of the funk I was deeply in.  It always helps one’s soul to know that there are normal people just like yourself going through (and getting through) something so devastating and heartbreaking.  Plus hearing all of the positive outcomes of being clean & sober really brings me hope.  And I need hope.  Cause all I have right now is hate.  And that is just unacceptable.

And the coolest thing ever.  Meeting some of my super rad readers at this chef studded event and out and about in Cleveland (Hey Joan, Nancy, and Natalie!).  I must say that meeting my readers is sometimes daunting to me.  I get nervous and second guess absolutely EVERY word I write.  But putting real human faces to people who support me, the chef, and this blog is superbad.  {As is awesome}

I am a lucky chiquita.  Sometimes I am a stressball.  And sometimes I say the f word.  But that’s ok because the support system I have from all my peeps makes it all worth it.  Thanks for rocking my world.

Monday night brought out the bigwigs in the Cleveland culinary scene for the Slow Foods Bastille Day Celebration. We had chefs, an iron chef, the coolest kids ever, and a very nice jackass:

My Chef, Matt Harlan, Rocco Whalen, & Steve Schimoler

Steve Schimoler & Mike Symon (Mike, sorry about the pic, it was the only one and I couldn’t not include you:)

The Widow Family in all our golden glory.

Randoms + Ryan Dunn (of Jackass fame & fortune)

The food was on point and super yum and the entire event raised tons of cashola for the upcoming Terra Madre Conference in Turin, Italy.

Roasted Kid Goat w/ bacon & quail egg

Coppa

Events like the one on Monday should happen WAY more frequently in Cleveland. Getting all the cefs together in support of something shows such a camaraderie in a very important industry. Believing in each other as equals instead of competition is so important in this little city of ours. Cheers to you boys (& girls)!!

BTW

And to top a great event off, we celebrated the only way you can on Bastille Day!

w/ the Green Fairy!!!!!

AND IF YOU ARE FEELING XTRA LUCKY THERE ARE STILL RAFFLE TIX AVAILABLE TO WIN SOME BAD ASS PRIZES:

• Trip for two to Turin, Italy for the Slow Food Salone del Gusto
• Cooking class with the Iron Chef himself, Mr. Michael Symon
• Dinner cooked by the Terra Madre Chefs (including my man)
• & More!!!

Email hotcookLG@roadrunner.com for more info or to buy some tix!!!!!