Category Archives: Events

Leaving Nashville on the morning of January 1, 2013 was slightly cold, gray and foggy but we were ready to pack up and move on to the next destination. After a little over three hours on the road we decided to stop in Memphis, where we passed by the must-see Graceland. We pulled through a quickie little drive-through to grab a bite for lunch. Remind me never to do that again.

Jon and I decided to stretch our legs and make a full stop At the famed Sun Studios. The $12 entry fee and the 40 minute tour was well worth the stop. Standing in the very studio that Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, and so many others stood and sang in was almost eerie. Our tour guide played a few snippets of their songs and at those moments I felt chills. We both agreed it was one of the coolest stops we have ever taken.

Hitting the road once again we made a beeline for the Arkansas and Oklahoma border. We stopped in a town called for Smith, where we stayed at the Aspen Hotel and suites. We were greeted by the most friendly front desk hostess! The only fee she asked us to pay for having Marley with us was a few moments cuddling with her while we unloaded the rest of our stuff from the cars. Truly a very warm and friendly welcome and an absolutely wonderful stay at this little hotel in Fort Smith, Arkansas.

Sick of eating sandwiches and at side of the road jaunts, we decided to treat ourselves a little bit to a nice steak and some vegetables for dinner. Accompanied by the first spring seasonal brew from Sam Adams, yours truly was ready to pass right out.

The months of consideration, planning, and saving has come to this day. Throughout the morning, both Jon and I have been saying how we can’t believe the day is here; that we are finally doing it. So here we are, the end of day two, just over the border of Tennessee in Nashville, and lives packed in an 18-wheeler trailer driven by the guys over at UPack.com. We have just about every single emotion running through our minds, but ultimately, we are so excited for this trip and our destination.

We got off to a little later of a start than we hoped. Finishing a large pile of laundry and packing the Toyota with our bikes and some last minute gear put us on the road about 1:00pm. Thanks to a big breakfast courtesy of Mike and Ellen Haley of The DeBary Inn in Summit, NJ, we were more than ready. (Thank you guys!!!!) If you live around the area, then you know the weather has been absolutely frigid in New Jersey! The high winds whipping around 30 degree weather felt more like 12. The wind was particularly fun on the road pushing our heavier-than-usual cars around a little, but nothing too dangerous.

Within the first 45 minutes, a very scared and screaming Marley the cat, pooped right in her carrier. Great. We weren’t even out of Jersey yet!!

As a thank you to my ever growing Twitter followers, I can’t help but offer special follower #300 a little gift!   Just in time for the holidays, these cookbooks make amazing gifts.  They have been so wonderful to me so I am thrilled to share them with all of you!

Keep the numbers coming and the next milestone may see another fabulous gift!!  Good luck!

Follower #300 will receive a copy of each of these books:

(click jacket image for a link to Amazon to read more about each)

When I started this blog in 2009, I had very different aspirations.  I was ready to open my own restaurant with intentions to blog about my trials and tribulations along the way.  Since then, life simply happened.  I couldn’t raise the funds I needed for the restaurant and may partner backed out.  I found a job as a catering director in a small restaurant in Summit, and from there, I started my business a different way.  Since then I’ve been running Olivia’s Catering & Bake Shop and have been so thrilled for what I have achieved along the way.

I have made a point to leave my personal life out of all of this.  As many of you can understand, I didn’t care for my romantic issues or personal relationships to get in the way of the thing we all love to talk about most:  food & cooking.  But this time, and as you can discover from my last post, I realize that our personal relationships help to mold who we are.  We receive support and motivation from our family and significant others in ways we could never have imagined.  So with that long preface, I am so thrilled and excited to announce that 38 Miles from Manhattan will be moving to San Diego!!

One of our many excursions – The Adirondacks!

My boyfriend, Jon Fuzell, and I are packing up and driving out west DECEMBER 29th! We will be blogging and posting photos each day of the trip, stopping along the way to find some great hidden eateries and staying as close to schedule as possible. Join us on the journey as this move is more than just a trip to the west coast, but a complete change of lifestyle.

I will be posting new videos, blogging more frequently and talking about the amazing produce as well as more from the sunny coast in 2013.  38MilesfromManhattan.com will be up and running for a time until transition begins to OliviaSaez.com!  Stay with me as I make my mark into mainstream food tv news and more. This is one personality that won’t stay in the shadows!

Check out our countdown here:  www.oliviasaez.com/38MilesGoesWest!

Looking forward to hearing comments, tips, things to see, and places to eat along the way from our followers! In the meantime, more on holiday recipes and crafts this month!

The man of my dreams walked into my life so simply that I hardly noticed.  Although my hand belonged to another, there was something about this man I couldn’t ignore.  A cappuccino made by hand, an email exchanged to work together, and visits to the store for mutually needed items sparked a friendship so many wish they had.  It was as if real life didn’t exist, every moment he was with me. My eyes fluttered open at the sound of sweet words, and so did my heart.

The life I knew had changed long ago. As my eyes opened, I could see the unhappy soul I created for myself. A 27-year old trapped in the life of a 67 year old, at home, at work, wasting life away.  Unhappiness is our biggest enemy. The ability to make a change is our strongest ally.  So my eyes opened, and it was not until my heart found a new home, that I began to live.

I finally found love where I least expected it. The complete support to change my job, the overwhelming help I receive to find success, the love I feel when I need him most.  It is this I have searched for my whole life and exactly that I have found in him. I need no others, I desire nothing more. It is with him that I am all of me.

To whom do I owe gratitude? If soul mates exist, he is mine. If the universe has provided us a path, he was meant to join me on the journey.  No matter how long he is meant to ride with me, I am thankful for him.  Thankful for how he opened my eyes,  thankful for his support and guidance,  and abundantly thankful for the sheer love I have felt together with him.

It is his smile.  It is his strength.  It is his compassion.  And it is my heart given to him completely.  No matter how difficult days have been or are yet to come, this is love. This is passion.  This is the unity of two, as one, for an eternity, whether together or apart.

I am thankful this man has shown me love. I am even more thankful for the passion, desire, completeness, strength, happiness, bliss, and certainty that I have for this one man. My only, my life, everything.

The days leading up to a big storm in New Jersey are all the same.  Its either a mad dash to stock up on supplies for the trouble minded or highly doubtful thoughts of anything really happening for the skeptics.  As prepared as we all could be, there really was no knowing what end result could ensue, and the fact is, devastation does not even scratch the surface.

I consider myself to be exponentially lucky; I have power, water, heat and a means to go about my day to day life as best as I can.  Many others, however, do not; over 2million, in fact.

My boyfriend, Jon Fuzell, is the general manager of The DeBary Inn just off the main drag in Summit.  This old, gorgeous, 16 room inn always maintained power in storms of recent years, so we felt confident that this time, it would be the same.  Sure enough, in the thick of the rushing 80mph winds, crashing trees, and abundance of wet leaves, our hopes dwindled.  Eight other guests joined us in the house that evening, as, together, we did the best we could to make them as comfortable as possible in the dark.

For me, the best way I could help was to make sure everyone was well fed.  While Jon fled from floor to floor, checking for and doing his best to keep the home and that evening’s residents safe, I was thanking my stars the kitchen had a moderately decent working gas stove and oven. Although not a full service working kitchen on most days, this storm gave us little choice.  In anticipation of the event, I brought with me a few supplies and left over ingredients to make a simple, yet filling meal for 10. A bowl of fresh tomatoes yielded the perfect sauce, while flour, yeast, salt, and olive oil blended well for a crispy pizza crust.  A little planning and a lot of patience, allowed us to eat well.  Even without the stove, a little grill would have made this pizza just as perfect.  In times like these, a little knowledge of food and cooking can go a long way.  Sure, canned goods are easy to pop open and heat on an open flame, but just because we are without many of the commodities we tend to take for granted, it doesn’t mean we have to wreak havoc on our waistlines and lifestyles.

Although the majority of our town, those that are surrounding us, and beyond are without power, I can’t help but feel how utterly lucky we all are.  More than just a tear comes to my eye when I see photos of my childhood swept out to sea.  A boardwalk I have graced a hundred times and a beach I have laid my towel on, likely, more than that, resemble landfills.  The millions of homes that may or may not be salvageable, and the broken hearts of their residents, are inspirational in this aftermath.  Among their devastation, finding friends and family for support and speaking only words of rebuilding and starting anew are simply uplifting.

Because of our strengths, Jon and I helped to feed and bring at least some comfort to 8 others, stranded, with little means to find a way home.  An honor it was for me to be able to help in this way, when I don’t have very much to give.  As the queues for gasoline get longer and our patience wains, being thankful for our strengths, our loved ones, and our lingering health is something we should all try to remember.  Having waited in line myself and having had negativity from others unkindly thrust upon me, its only certain that this must be our goal. The more positivity we can throw into the air amidst this chaos, the stronger we all will become as survivors of this storm.  I just hope enough of my fellow neighbors feel the same way.  Good luck to all.

I really don’t mean to offend anyone.  I very much value the technique and education that culinary schools are said to offer.  These schools have been training some truly amazing chefs for centuries (well one full century and portions of others), and particularly some individuals I very much admire today.  But this article is not about bashing culinary schools, its about how every chef, cooking show, and the Food Network constantly give average home cooks (and converted non cooks) the notion that cooking takes zero time, and presents able bodied busy house wives and husbands with a recipe that really takes a minimum of 90-minutes (not 30).

Most of the general home cooking public is way too busy to spend two hours making a meal.  Really, by the time you chop your vegetables, you’re 30 minutes in and you have yet to cook anything.  Not to mention the list making and the store visit associated with that ONE meal.  It is the reality of home cooking, and a point that editors and executives fail to understand, that at home, most people don’t know how to use a knife “properly,” or can cut an onion in less than a minute, or know exactly how to season perfectly.  The reason why “30 Minute Meals” truly doesn’t exist.

Most of the cooking personalities we know (if not all of them) are culinary trained graduates.  In classes, they spend hours chopping onions, which likely makes them immune to the piercing and painful spray they omit.  It takes me 10 minutes to chop an onion. Primarily because I’m in the bathroom for 8 of those minutes washing my eyes frantically to just have the ability to see.  Yes, I have learned in random cooking classes how to cut an onion to help limit that painful problem, but most of you have not, and I have a feeling a good portion of you don’t really care about cooking enough to learn.

This is your first step. Start caring.

If you want to help yourself, a friend, a family member, or even a neighbor to shed pounds or generally help to reduce the obesity rate in our country, start by caring about food.  To commend the Food Network (and associates), they have brought an interest to food and cooking I have not seen before the last 10 years. This is what will help get us in the kitchen and focusing on our health and lifestyles. You don’t have to start taking fancy classes to start caring. All you need to do is pay attention.  Read recipes completely, consider using a vegetable you have never eaten before, and listen to your body when it tells you to stop giving it processed food.

Step two. Depending on how much you know about cooking, add at least 30 – 60 minutes on the “hands on” timing most recipes give you.

Gordon Ramsay and Giada DeLaurentis are two of my most favorite chefs.  As much as I can claim to be a good cook, in my reality, I will not be able to prepare a meal as quickly as they can. Yes, faster than most home cooks, but not nearly culinary-lightning-speed.  And honestly, I don’t want to.  ENJOY what you do when you cook.  Use the time to relax and meditate. Put the kids to work with the safe task of cleaning green beans or opening the bag of cleaned lettuce, and they’ll actually WANT to eat what they helped to cook. Don’t rush making the meal to fit into the 30 minute time slot. You will get frustrated, you will mess it up, and you will end up calling in for pizza.  HAVE PATIENCE WITH YOURSELF IN THE KITCHEN.

Step 3. Plan ahead.

Know what you are cooking all week.  Set up a list on your refrigerator of the meals for that week and start preparing on the weekends. Take a little time out of your social schedule to clean vegetables, precook certain items that may take longer, or just to make your list. You’ll know ahead what you need and how much time it will take you every night so you’re not stressed out about making dinner (you have enough to stress about).  You will start noticing a difference in your lifestyle sooner than you can imagine.  I’m willing to bet you’ll find yourself just a little happier.

If you just can’t give up that fast food, then present it to yourself as a weekly treat.  If its too challenging to start cooking every single day, then start with one day, then add another, and another, every week until you are cooking 7 nights per week.  It is not easy, but if you accept that and continue watching your favorite Food Network shows with the mindset of “its just a show,” then you’ll be on your way to cooking the way real home cooks do. Honesty, patience, and a lot of fun are the keys to becoming a great cook. Good luck!