Alejandra on Telemundo

So last Friday was a fun day at Always Order Dessert headquarters! I was interviewed and featured in a segment on Telemundo here in NYC. They contacted me because they wanted to do a feature based on a class I recently taught on the subject of cooking once for the whole week.

We filmed the segment at City Cookhouse (the amazing commercial rental kitchen here in NYC where I teach my cooking classes and host private events), and during the taping I demonstrated a few recipes and techniques that folks can use in order to prepare a week of meals in just a few hours of cooking. I talked about menu planning and selecting recipes that use similar ingredients as a way of streamlining your cooking time. The recipes I demonstrated for the taping were mini beef & mushroom meatloaf (prepared in muffin tins for easy serving and reduced cooking time); a chorizo, bean, and veggie soup, and a Latin-style ground beef saute called "picadillo" that can be served on it's own as an entree or turned into burritos for lunch the next day.

It was a fun morning with only a tiny mishap when I accidentally sliced off the very tip of my thumb (I was using a borrowed knife that was a bit dull and it slipped on a tomato)...ouch! When you spend as much time as I do in the kitchen, accidents are inevitable (the burns and scars are actually a mark of pride), but it's a little unnerving when it happens on camera! Thankfully it wasn't live. The reporter and cameraman helped bandage me up and we shot the rest of the segment without drawing any more blood (plus one bright blue restaurant band-aid).

I should note that while the interview was arranged directly with the producer, my dad is actually the anchor for this newscast. The funny thing is that I didn't tell him about it and a few days after it was all setup, my dad found out and called me. "Why didn't you tell me you were going to be on the news?!" he asked excitedly. I honestly thought he already knew!

We ended up working the fact that I'm his daughter into the package so that at the end the reporter asked me what my dad likes to eat and then I signed off by blowing a kiss at him on the camera (which you'll see on the video below). He then explained that I was his daughter on the air and the weather and sports anchors Andrea and Veronica, (also long-time family friends), commented on my cooking and treats, which they've experienced over the years.

Watch the segment that aired (in Spanish):


And click the image below to watch the web extra with my extended interview + tips (in Spanish):

I'll be sharing the detailed recipes later this week!