Celebrity News, March 2013

Rachael Ray Visits Naperville

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Posted March 1, 2013 by Glancer Magazine

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COOKING FAVE DISHES UP A LOOK INTO LIFE AS RACHAEL RAY

Anderson’s Bookshop hosted the return of Rachael Ray and her husband, John Cusimano, to Naperville with her newest cookbook, My Year in Meals, including My Year in Cocktails, featuring over 100 of John’s amazing cocktail recipes.   Rachael Ray is a syndicated television star, iconic Food Network television personality, bestselling cookbook author, founder and editorial director of her own lifestyle magazine and founder of the Yum-o! Organization.

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1. Favorite guilty pleasure: “The Voice.”  I love all those sing-y and dance-y shows.

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2. Favorite part of returning to Naperville? We love the people of Naperville.  They are so friendly and our events have been so successful because of the great people.  In addition, John and his band, The Cringe, performed at Pfeiffer Hall with Blues Traveler in 2010.  We also come back to see a staff member who lives here, Andrew Kaplan.

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3. While you are in town, where will you go for dinner, and why? We go wherever Kappy (Andrew Kaplan) takes us. Usually Portillo’s.

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4. Personal favorite recipe from My Year in Meals?  I love them all.  The book started for fun, and we share personal stories with our own personal photos. There are so many different kinds of recipes because it is what we ate each day.  There are breakfast and brunch recipes, vegetarian, holiday, easy entertaining…. We keep a garden, so the recipes are also very seasonal.  We are just those weird people who take pictures of their meals every night and now share them!

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5. Favorite drink recipe from My Year in Drinks?  Ginger Snap.  John called me up and asked me for the ingredients in a Ginger Snap cookie and made the drink to taste just like the cookie.  It’s delicious.  His [version of] Bloody Mary’s, Bloody Johnny’s, are insane!

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6. Rachael Ray Nutrish Dog Food is the first food we personally found that doesn’t make our dog sick. Why, do you think?  I hear that a lot from people.  It’s because of the high quality of ingredients.  Our dog food is made to human standards, using human ingredients. Nutrish contains no by-products, artificial flavors or artificial preservatives.  With it we have raised approximately $4 million for Rachael’s Rescue.

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7. In your magazine, Every Day with Rachael Ray, what is your favorite monthly feature and why?  I enjoy writing the 30-Minute Meal.  I also love the step-by-step photos, all of our guest chefs, and our travel features—they are affordable and exciting and different. Of course, I love our dog column! I think that’s unique. I just think it’s a clever publication in many ways.

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8. You have really made a name for yourself. Who is your personal hero, and why?  My mom.  She is the hardest worker I have ever known.  She is an amazing cook, but she also always made life really beautiful for us.  Whether we had a lot of money or not, she cared about how the house looked, how we felt… she just made everything beautiful for us all the time.  She taught us to never take yourself or life too seriously.  You don’t need to be rich to have a rich life, and every day should be an adventure.

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9. People want to put in you a category—the next Oprah, the next Martha Stewart—but you are obviously Rachael Ray, with your own dreams and goals. What is your ultimate goal for your brand?  Our brand stands for value.  Not being the cheapest pot or pan, but the best value. Our products are problem solvers.  We want people to get more value out of each and every day of life.  We believe every day should be an adventure.  Accessibility [is important] for sure; when you look at the magazine, our show or our cookbook, can you envision yourself doing it and being successful? Does it improve the quality of your life? It’s about how you feel about yourself after you make our food.

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10. Are you surprised at how famous you are?  Surprised, no. Shocked, yes!  I’m shocked at the opportunities and love all of them.  We are just everyday people. We go to the grocery store, dry cleaners, come home and cook dinner together, watch TV, go to bed.  Most people don’t even notice us around New York City.

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-Interviewed by Kristen Kucharski
Pictured Above with Rachael & Her Husband

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 DCOOKING FAVORITE DISHES UP ON

 

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