After a month, I FINALLY got this dang video up! It’s my first time cooking LIVE on television - ABC morning news.
Now how backwards is this:
Live broadcast via very expensive digital news cameras -> transmits via fancy satellite somewhere up in space -> to massive receiver at my cable company that I pay $123.00 per month to -> though thousands of miles of underground digital cable to my HD-ready cable box -> that gets recorded in high quality, digital format (like Tivo) -> saved low quality to VCR tape (yeah, that is SO 1985!) -> pay someone $40 to get 4 minutes of video from scratchy quality VCR tape onto a DVD -> which gets converted to an .avi file -> which gets uploaded to YouTube -> which then gets transmitted through the tangled Internet tubes to your computer.
(whew!) I know there is an easier way, but I don’t have a video capture card on my computer. I asked Scott to build a computer that we could hook up directly to the TV, cuz…you know…he owns a computer company. But then again, I’m still waiting for a towel rack to be installed in the kitchen. That I asked for 5 years ago.
Here’s the studio kitchen, which is inches away from the newscasters. And NO, I didn’t drape seductively over this stovetop, like I did on this one. Cute little kitchen - the counter and cabinets in the back are about 6″ deep - perfect for people with really short, nubby arms. See that window? Just right outside are laughing children jumping rope, gorgeous, fragrant Gardenias, lovely palm trees, perfect, sunny 80F degree weather, a Stepford housewife tending to her garden, a dad playing catch with his son….all printed nicely on posterboard. 
Really, it was 5:30 am, still pitch black outside.
There are 3 of these big, bad cameras. You’ll see in the video that I didn’t know which one to look at! They are remote controlled, and remind me of some Star Wars robot. Pretty intimidating. They actually scared the bajeebers outta me when all three of them simulateously moved towards me with,
“Use the force, Steamy. Use the force” flashing on their screens. Damn robots.
Here is newscaster Silke Roble. Don’t let her nicely pressed, professional outfit fool you - she’s also wearing fuzzy pink flip-flops. Really!
And this is where they have special guests. See that thick wire and foot petal in front of the chair? That is a nifty gadget. The guest sits on the left chair, the host on the right. It’s a live broadcast, so if the guest says embarrassing things like, “I like turtles,” all the host has to do is nudge the foot petal and (poof!) guest gets ejected out of chair and crashes through that glass screen. All in a blink of an eye. Thank goodness they kept me in the kitchen.
Here’s the dish that I made - Chinese Fried Rice - it has Chinese sausage (lap cheong), eggs, carrots and peas.
So here are a few things that I have learned since that taping:
- 3 minutes is a LOOOOONGGGG time, especially when I’ve drank 3 espressos with a Red Bull chaser (because I woke up at 4:30am to get to the studio at 5:30am) and too afraid to run off to the restroom for fear that I would miss my spot and the camera would pan to the kitchen and …. um….where the hell is Steamy?
- I’m short. I need to practice cooking in my 4″ hooker heels.
- Confucious say, “Flappy arm sleeves may catch on fire if one not careful.”
- Live television is fun! Especially when I pre-warn the producer to keep finger on the “bleeeep” button in case naughty words escape my lips.
- Television adds 30lbs, not 10.
I must have not been THAT bad - they’ve asked me back! If you are in the area (Sarasota/Manatee counties) and get ABC Channel 7, tune in October 9th around 6:30am-ish. This time I promise not to drink espresso and Red Bull. TOO! FRICKIN’! PERKY!
Here’s the video! Alright, be gentle now,
I’m no 
Mario, Giada or Rachel! (yet). Gracious newscastress, Silke, made it so easy!
Chinese Fried Rice
A quick and easy recipe that takes about 10 minutes to make. I usually include “fish sauce” in my fried rice, but this recipe is made without it.
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup diced Chinese sausage
2 stalks scallions, minced
1/4 teaspoon grated ginger (use microplane)
3/4 cup diced vegetables
1 tablespoon soy sauce (or Tamari for gluten free)
1 teaspoon Chinese rice wine
3 cups cooked day-old Jasmine Rice (break up chunks)
1/4 teaspoon salt+ freshly ground pepper
1/4 teaspoon sesame oil
1. Fry the sausage & eggs: Heat up wok or large saute pan on medium-high heat. Add 1 teaspoon of cooking oil and when hot, add eggs. Fry eggs gently until 50% done, remove and set aside. Wipe pan clean. Turn heat to medium-low and add Chinese sausage. Cook the sausage until the fat melts. Remove sausage carefully, leaving as much of the sausage fat in the wok/pan.
2. Fry vegetables: Add the scallions & ginger and cook in the sausage oil for 15 seconds. Add diced vegetables. Cook until heated through, about 30 seconds. Add the soy sauce and rice wine, cook another 15 seconds.
3. Add the rice: Your rice grains should be broken up and as separate as possible. Add the rice, eggs, sausage to the wok/pan and fry until each grain is heated through. Season with salt, pepper and sesame oil. Stir fry until all ingredients are steaming hot.
***
Spam Fried Rice….and ode in the style of Seuss
Chinese Fried Rice (this recipe includes Fish Sauce…and this is normally how I made fried rice.
Easy Chinese Vegetables - Garlic Yu Choy (which is Chinese spinach)
September 19th, 2007 at 4:57 pm
Towel rack? What towel rack?
September 19th, 2007 at 5:19 pm
… dang, she’s just so frickin’ cute!
September 19th, 2007 at 5:26 pm
Congratulations! You look so poised in the segment. I’d just be frazzled and stare directly into the camera for seconds on end
September 19th, 2007 at 5:34 pm
I liked it! You were perfect.
September 19th, 2007 at 6:04 pm
I seriously need to find me a nice girl who’ll cook me fried rice at 6:30 in the morning. That looks soooo yummy (and you can also call it “rendering” when you cook the fat out of something. Try that next time, and watch the host go “Oooo… She’s a professional chef if she calls frying ‘rendering’”).
By the way, I think all Chinese food is cooked in less than ten minutes, isn’t it? But, it can’t be cooked on a freakin’ LIGHT BULB STOVE (mine’s currently driving me crazy).
Other than that, you were great. You didn’t stumble nearly as much as what’s-her-name who was hosting.
September 19th, 2007 at 6:13 pm
woohoo!!! jaden, you are damn cute!
September 19th, 2007 at 6:28 pm
You looked great and your fried rice looked delicious!
September 19th, 2007 at 6:54 pm
woohoo! You did great, Jaden! You should have a show all by yourself!
September 19th, 2007 at 7:11 pm
Wow you looked amazing! Yay!!
September 19th, 2007 at 7:32 pm
Congratulations!
September 19th, 2007 at 7:35 pm
That’s so freaking awesome Jaden!! I don’t have my volume turned on my laptop so I’ll have to watch the video at home. Either way, I’m sure you did fantastic
September 19th, 2007 at 8:00 pm
Look out!! You were great…there is an awful lot to think about in that situation and you just breezed right through it!! So cool!! Congratulations again!
September 19th, 2007 at 8:04 pm
Great job, Jaden - I’ve been on television several times, talking a bazillion words a second at an unnaturally high pitch. It may have been your first time but you look like a natural!
September 19th, 2007 at 8:19 pm
I agree, you deserve an encore!
September 19th, 2007 at 8:52 pm
Looks delicious! I love how simple fried rice is, yet how tasty. I always wish I could get the stove top just a little bit hotter though…
Topslakr
September 19th, 2007 at 9:14 pm
Fantastic! I think you did a wonderful job. Can’t wait to see you progress through your career. I really think you will go far.
September 19th, 2007 at 9:26 pm
Oh! what a lovely fried rice…… so colourful, so welcoming, and also comes together with “lap cheong”(preserved chinese sausage), this dish is a winner and just as beautiful done as the cook herself, Jaden!
September 19th, 2007 at 9:27 pm
Congratulations! You look gorgeous on TV - poised, interesting, and, hey, I’m personally delighted that I’m not the only short food blogger.
If the camera added 30 lbs, you must be painfully skinny in real life.
Seriously, hon, you look great, and you did a great job!
September 19th, 2007 at 9:55 pm
congrats! U look and sounds great!! So agree with the 3 rules you have for fried rice.. in fact, that’s what I’m having tonight! LOL.
September 19th, 2007 at 9:56 pm
congrats! U look and sound great!! So agree with the 3 rules you have for fried rice.. in fact, that’s what I’m having tonight! LOL.
September 19th, 2007 at 10:47 pm
“Confucious say, “Flappy arm sleeves may catch on fire if one not careful.”
no fair making me snort, out loud. You did fabulously, and looked really natural and comfortable on camera
September 19th, 2007 at 10:49 pm
Way to go, Jaden. You so totally rock!
September 19th, 2007 at 11:05 pm
I couldn’t hear you talk for some reason (only heard music) but you look very poised. Way to Go!
September 19th, 2007 at 11:09 pm
wow
from blogging to television - talk about turning a passion into a something like this! congratulations!
September 19th, 2007 at 11:22 pm
I was so excited to see that you were posting a clip of your appearance that I didn’t read the rest of the post properly and just clicked on the first youtube link I found! (me think I need to go back to primary school and learn how to read!)
The clicking mishap aside, I’m with everyone. You did great for a first timer.
Anywhoo.. great job. Cheers to future TV appearances and perhaps even your own TV show!
September 20th, 2007 at 1:32 am
Oooh! Its hot in here. Quite steamy ;). You are like a pro on the set, Jaden. You look gr8 too. dont worry abt the 30
September 20th, 2007 at 2:54 am
Woo hoo… I can’t believe that is your first live cooking show… looking like a pro there Jaden… and I must add, you are veryyy cuuuuuute…
September 20th, 2007 at 4:34 am
u were gr8 Jaden… i didn’t see any nervous freak there
September 20th, 2007 at 6:36 am
Wow Jaden, you really handled that well! I think I would have accidentally spilled those eggs on the floor…and there would have been rice all over the counter top! I can’t wait to see more!
Oh, and even though the stove was electric, if I were wearing the amazingly beautiful dress(??) you were wearing…I would have caught it on fire…my hair too!
September 20th, 2007 at 6:51 am
Hey Jaden! This is so wonderful! You look so comfortable and at ease like you’ve been doing this forever. You are a natural. You MUST have your very own show!
The holiday was good but it’s great to be back. oh BTW, you look a billion bucks!
September 20th, 2007 at 10:08 am
Jaden compliments , you were perfect, you was born to do this.
Fantastic Jaden.
at 6.30 am, I go on air at 7.30 am here with my program .
Early in the morning like you!!!
XOXO
September 20th, 2007 at 10:28 am
Super fun! I am super happy for you!
September 20th, 2007 at 10:40 am
Lady , you were made for television! You project really well. I love lap-cheung,we had it all the time growing up. I also like it in egg rolls - Yum! Oh god I agree, that stove was atrocious…you need some thing with licking flames , although I also agree those sleeves might catch on fire … hee!
September 20th, 2007 at 11:06 am
Jaden, way to go! I wish I still lived in Sarasota so I could attend a class! Ok, there are many other reasons why I wish I still lived in Sarasota, but maybe this one will push my wife off the fence!
Anyway, nice job for the first go-round. Fantastic blog, too! Love the sense of humor.
September 20th, 2007 at 11:27 am
WOW, congratulation Jaden! You made it such professional, like you would do it since many years on TV. And you have such a wonderful charisma. I am deeply impressed…….
Martin “BerlinKitchen”
September 20th, 2007 at 11:32 am
You did a great job Jaden. You were very composed and in control the whole time. And great tip about turning up the heat after adding the rice. I never knew to do that. If anything, I turn the heat down because I’m scared of burning everything. Now I know the ancient Chinese secret!
September 20th, 2007 at 11:39 am
Fame, fortune and photogenic!
Fun, too! Chao fun, that is.
Congrats on a great appearance.
September 20th, 2007 at 12:57 pm
Clap Clap clap, for the hot and steamy Jaden who is stunning in those Flappy arm sleeves …..:)
September 20th, 2007 at 1:09 pm
You were fantastic. And this post was LOL funny. Congratulations on a job well done–and on the next one!
P.S. Yours is actually the first video I’ve ever watched on YouTube.
September 20th, 2007 at 1:43 pm
Cool and poised, you are.
Delicious fried rice, it is.
So you woke up like 3am in the morning to get ready ?
I think I would freak out in Jaden Training Academy.
September 20th, 2007 at 2:17 pm
You did a great job, Jaden! Alright! I thought your explanation of the long and twisted road to having the clip on your website was hilarious!
September 20th, 2007 at 4:08 pm
wow, that’s great! congrats to you! i have a question. if i’d like darker fried rice… how would one go about that? also, i LOVE sesame chicken and peking chicken… and good takes on those favorites?
September 20th, 2007 at 4:29 pm
Woo hoo go Jaden! Love the segment. Perkiness. Everything. Don’t love their studio kitchen stove. Flat-top? Hate to cook on those.
Congrats. May there me many more.
September 20th, 2007 at 5:26 pm
you looked great! congrats on your tv debut!
September 20th, 2007 at 5:30 pm
/cheer
September 20th, 2007 at 9:47 pm
Aha ha ha ha ha ha - that is to say that I love you and I am so fiercely proud of you. Congratulations! It was wonderful to hear your voice too! Oh Jaden, I am so happy for you. I’m always overjoyed to see people following their passion and being successful at it. Tight hugs to you my friend.
I love lap cheong - it is not readily available here and the gourmet stores that sell them charge an arm and a leg and I am always suspect as to how long they’ve had the stuff in stock.
I look forward to your continued success which is richly deserved.
September 20th, 2007 at 10:03 pm
You did a fabulous job! Congratulations!
September 20th, 2007 at 10:29 pm
Yay! We finally get to see you talk and cook! No wonder they asked you back, you did an excellent job!
September 21st, 2007 at 12:38 am
Wow! You did it again. First you’re on Digg, now you’re on TV! Congrats!
September 21st, 2007 at 7:53 am
Thanks for postsing this, I loved watching you make your fried rice - very professional. Congratulations!
September 21st, 2007 at 8:31 am
Congratulations on your debut! You are a star!
September 21st, 2007 at 9:41 am
Great voice! Great camera presence! You’re so video-gynic, Mrs Steamy.
September 21st, 2007 at 2:01 pm
That fried rice is to die for…simply scrumptious. You look gorgeous. Mrs Steamy? Sounds like the female equivalent of McSteamy (of Grey’s Anatomy). Yes, you ARE insanely popular. I’m still up for that job of the portable cordless fan for that constant wind blowing in your hair look ;o)
September 21st, 2007 at 2:36 pm
Yay!!! Looks sooo yummy - and easy too!
you need your own show!!!
September 21st, 2007 at 2:51 pm
That was really cool to see!!! You did awesome, and what a great dish…everyone wants to make good fried rice. Rock on, girl!!!
September 21st, 2007 at 4:14 pm
Wow Jaden, Godd to see you in the show
You did an awesome job gal, hats off !! 
and Good Luck !!
September 21st, 2007 at 4:16 pm
Great job! Glad to see the video made it through the internet tubes…!
Now, about this towel rack. Do what my mother would do in that situation. 1) go buy the towel rack you want
2) buy appropriate mounting tools
3) suggest that the towel rack gets taken care of
4) if this doesn’t work…then don’t cook until it does
Good luck with that…
September 21st, 2007 at 4:33 pm
drexel-
thanks for the idea on the towel rack - and i’ll be taking it one step further this weekend.
1. buy towel rack
2. get drill, lawn edger, nail gun and the big table cutter with huge wheel cutting disk
3. bring all to kitchen. start turning all of them on simulateously trying to “figure it out” on my own.
do you know what kind of response this will bring from husband?!?!?
and do you know how fast that towel rack will go up?
xoxo
j
September 21st, 2007 at 9:49 pm
Actually, Jaden, just make your husband stand there holding the towels. Eventually, he’ll put two and two together, right?
September 21st, 2007 at 10:00 pm
hun, you’re a natural, u know that?
*claps
September 22nd, 2007 at 2:17 pm
If Food Network doesn’t want you now, then they are crazy! You exuded confidence and look so regal! I can’t believe this is your first time on TV! You did a fabulous job. I need to start the “Jaden Fan Club!”
September 22nd, 2007 at 2:40 pm
My favorite part are those two male anchormen eagerly using those chopsticks to eat up your delicious rice. They are shoveling that rice in!
(Based on their slightly hunched posture, it looks like they haven’t learned the “ways of the chopsticks” yet!) Very cute.
September 22nd, 2007 at 4:33 pm
Nice!
September 23rd, 2007 at 1:58 am
Great job, Jaden! I actually saw the broadcast live and thought it went really well. I’m glad that they invited you back.
I can definitely relate about the towel rack too. I’ve got a “honey do” list as long as my arm!
September 24th, 2007 at 12:45 am
WOW!! You look really good! And your fried rice too! Thanks for putting up the video here.
September 24th, 2007 at 10:56 pm
Muah! I love you for this one!!!! You looks absolutely like a pro…. very confident… I will wait to see some more.
September 27th, 2007 at 12:08 pm
A matter of time before you get your own show. You have “it”. Your personality really shines. Thanks and good luck!
October 12th, 2007 at 12:27 am
Your tv show was fantastic. You are undoubtedly a professional culinary expert. You have proven yourself. We need someone like you to cook (on a regular basis) on tv for us, your viewers. Food Network should offer you a post. Your cooking (which is different from the rest) will surely draw a lot of viewers not only nationwide but internationally.
I am based in the San Francisco bay area and I wonder if your tv show will be aired in this part of the country. If it will, can you tell me what time and channel?
Any cookbook in the making? Let me know, I’ll be the first one to buy it.
Chris Nyles
October 28th, 2007 at 10:36 am
jaden
congrats
you look great, keep up the good work
we are huskers fan as my sil too grew up in nebraska and my daughter went to lincoln
November 11th, 2007 at 4:43 am
Dear Jaden,
just discovered your Blog and your sense of humour, sheer bliss ! What “asking the neighbours over for dinner” is concerned, you have an advantage on me as your neighbours appreciate what you are cooking. Am living in Romania and culinary finesse here …just forget it. Basics: cabbage, OIL, OIL and LOTS of Meat ! Still, as a passionate cook I can’t help myself to want to share the taste of Love and Passion I put in my cooking:-)))))