Having Fun with Carla Hall

February 24, 2012

Posted by Lisa Mantineo

What a treat to have Carla Hall of ABC’s “The Chew,” host “Cooking Today” this week! Her energy and enthusiasm was intoxicating, and we learned a ton about food, drink, and taste from her guests!

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1 Chef Carla Hall serves as guest host on "Cooking Today" on SiriusXM's Martha Stewart Living Radio. (Photo by Taylor Hill/Getty Images)

2 Carla speaking with Mattson's Barb Stuckey.

3 Carla having fun hosting "Cooking Today."

4 Tea sommelier, Cynthia Gold talking about setting up tea pairings with Carla Hall.

5 The four teas Cynthia brought were steeping in various degrees of hot water.

The Hoch Ybrig, (in front) from Zurich was paired with the Lung Ching Dragonwell Green Tea, while the Organic Champlain Triple Cream from Vermont went perfectly with the Tindaharia Estate Darjeeling.

6 The Hoch Ybrig, (in front) from Zurich was paired with the Lung Ching Dragonwell Green Tea, while the Organic Champlain Triple Cream from Vermont went perfectly with the Tindaharia Estate Darjeeling.

The Aged Gouda (second from front) was the third cheese tasted and worked perfectly with the Golden Monkey Black Tea. The Valdeon Blue from Spain (in front) paired with the Gloucester Street Blend.

7 The Aged Gouda (second from front) was the third cheese tasted and worked perfectly with the Golden Monkey Black Tea. The Valdeon Blue from Spain (in front) paired with the Gloucester Street Blend.

8 Matcha tea cookies, and delicious thin bread crackers also went well with the teas.

9 As did the fruit terrine, and almonds Cynthia brought along to sample.

10 Cynthia pours Carla a sample of the Lung Ching Dragonwell Green Tea.

11 L'Espalier tea sommelier, Cynthia Gold with Carla Hall.

Barb Stuckey, professional food developer and executive vice president at Mattson, kicked off Wednesday’s show with a fascinating discussion about getting more enjoyment out of our food. Barb explained that developing new food products and food research involves using all of our five senses, and her upcoming book, “Taste What You’re Missing: The Passionate Eater’s Guide to Getting More from Every Bite” explains how we can better appreciate our food by using the “five basic tastes.”

We were delighted to have Savannah bakery owner, and author of the new book, “The Back in the Day Bakery Cookbook,” Cheryl Day share her Southern recipes and charm! Not only did she reveal that she and husband Griffith (co-owner of the bakery) got married at work, Cheryl was also kind enough to share the ‘Nana Puddin’ recipe that changed Carla’s way of making it!

Cynthia Gold, tea sommelier at Boston's L'Espalier restaurant taught us that there's a whole lot more to tea than heating up a kettle! Cynthia guided us through an amazing tea and cheese pairing, sharing advice for how we can incorporate tea into our recipes, and cocktails. Her knowledge was both informative and delicious.

And we couldn't think of a better way to review the top food stories and trends from the past week, than dish about them with Chef & Owner of New Jersey’s CulinAriane, and Top Chef Season five friend, Ariane Duarte.

If you missed today's show, you have another chance to catch it tonight at 10 p.m. ET or hear some of this week’s highlights below.

“Cooking Today,” airs live each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 3 p.m. ET / 12 p.m. PT, on Sirius XM 110. Be sure to tune in Monday, February 27^th when Bill Telepan, chef and owner of New York’s Telepan restaurant takes over the host chair!

Barb Stuckey explains to Carla that as a professional food developer she does more than just taste the new products.