UPDATE: The Grilled Cheese Truck...

So, remember when I posted about my family being filmed by the Travel Channel's Food Paradise? Well, last night about 11pm Mitch got a voicemail from his cousin Chad saying, "Man, that grilled cheese looked good...Call me!"

We had totally forgotten about the show, and never followed up to find out when it would air. Last night was the night. We hopped on the DVR and found a 2 AM taping and recorded it. This morning I watched it first thing and was so proud. Okay, okay, so they didn't even say a word and were only on air for about 5 seconds, but still!

So, being the proud (nerdy) mother-wife that I am, I took some screen shots with my phone, texted them to all our family and am now posting them on the blog. Sure, its a little ridiculous, but a fun memory to say the least.

(Cort, Kate, and Finn ordering their food.)

Here's the original post if you're interested:

Food Trucks are all the rage here in L.A. They serve up delicious food from cupcakes to Korean BBQ to yummy Buttermilk breakfast dishes. They are very gourmet for being whipped up inside a mobile truck, and you can find them anywhere from outdoor movies, boutique openings, or along any roadside.

We'd been wanting to try out the Grilled Cheese Truck for some time, and when our friends the Townsend's told us it was going to be close by, we hopped in the car to give it a try. Well, when arrived, some people from the Travel Channel's 'Food Paradise' were there filming and were going to shoot our friends eating their sandwiches and ask them a few questions. It was so exciting!

Well, to make a long story short, their little girl wasn't in the mood to make her TV debut, so they got the boot and suddenly it was Mitch, Dieter and Finnley sitting down to be interviewed. Here's the funny part...even though we'd never eaten there Mitch was suddenly the expert on the "Grilled Cheese Car" (he didn't even get the name right), Finnley was refusing to take a bite and said she didn't like it, and I couldn't even watch I was laughing so hard. Cort even had to step away so he wouldn't lose it. It was a good laugh and they got some good shots of Dieter biting into his Nutella and Marshmallow grilled sandwich.

We thought that was the end of it, thinking there's no way in H-E-Double-Hockey-Sticks they were going to use that clip. Nope! We got a call saying they needed Mitch to fill out a parent release because they wanted to use the clip. Hilarious! So, if you have the Travel Channel, set your DVR's to record 'Food Paradise'. I'll update the air date when we get it.

As for now, I'm going to the pool with my superstar family!

( above - the Grilled Cheese with Macaroni and Pork)

Night on the Town...

Oh, crazy nights without the kids...they are a must, and a fun break from reality. Luckily, we have a great group to spend them with while we check out fun new places around L.A.

Last Friday we ventured into Venice to eat on the quaint outdoor patio at C & O Trattoria. We gorged on garlic knots, fettuccine, and ravioli - family style.

We toasted our Diet Cokes and sang "That's Amore" while standing on our chairs. I got a "BeBe" shout-out from an old Ital-ian-o man with very large horn-rimmed glasses...it made my night.

Afterwards, we ventured to Westwood Village (maybe doing a Chinese fire drill on the way) to hit up Mitch's very favorite place - Diddy Riese. You pick your cookies and your ice cream and Wha Lah...your very own ice cream sandwich! Mmm...Mmm...Mmm.

Once again, a very very fun and memorable night.

Saddle Ranch...

A couple of weekends ago a few of us ventured into Hollywood for a night on the town (sans kids) and a hysterical dinner at Saddle Ranch.

We all piled into one car and quickly discovered that some people have weak stomachs (Alyssa) others have extremely loud, annoying, and oddly harmonious laughs (me and Kim) and others have a thing for tweens in limos (I won't disclose)!

It doesn't get much better than Saddle Ranch...
a) it has a mechanical bull smack-dab in the middle of the restaurant
b) it is in Hollywood which equals GREAT people (and celebrity) watching
c) biscuits, cornbread, and plain old home cookin' (I highly recommend the Slop-sloppy Joes!)
d) Dessert can include (but is not limited to) s'mores cooked over the fire or a GIANT cotton candy brought to your table. Seriously? Heaven.

The cotton-candy was the greatest! Who doesn't love pure sugar melting in your mouth? I think that's probably what caused our extreme hyper-active-high-school-behavior which resulted on our way home. I think I probably burned off my entire meal by laughing! And, thanks to Brad, I've been insecure about my laugh ever since. ;)


Kim and Alyssa (and Josh) took on the mechanical bull! We were so proud. It was extremely entertaining watching people (mostly girls) get thrown off that thing all night.

Anyway...Saddle Ranch was a blast. Can't wait for our next Hollywood Adventure!

Happy Birthday to Me...

I turned the big 2-6 last Sunday. Whew...I'm getting old! Mitch made (or purchased) my favorite cake - Angel food w/ strawberries, and we had a great little celebration.

Then, last night we were able to enjoy a fun and long dinner at Happy Sumo with my siblings and parents and then a quick stop at Magelby's for some delicious chocolate cake, berry pie, carrot cake, strawberry shortcake, and coconut cream pie...all alamode! It was such a great night. Thanks for making my birthday week fabulous!

All You Can Eat French Toast...

I was so excited to meet up with a few of my close friends and have some yummy all-you-can-eat cinnamon French toast from one of my Utah favorites - Hagermann's! When Mitch and I lived in Draper we would walk up on Saturdays and enjoy the yummy goodness for a whopping $3 Bucks! Can't beat that. I was so glad that so many ladies and kiddos could make it and that we were able to take a couple of hours and catch up on each other's lives. We ate and chatted for over an hour, and then headed up the street to enjoy the beautiful spring weather at the park. I can't believe how big all the kiddos are getting! Ladies...you are the best! Let's do it again next time I come in town.

Chee-Caw-Go

Well, I just spent 4 days in Chicago without Mitch or Finn. Luckily, I had one of the best brother-in-laws around to take me to dinner and be my shopping buddy! We were there working for the AORN convention with my pop's company, so we were mostly busy during the day, but had fun walking Michigan Avenue, seeing the "Bean", and eating at a lot of yummy restaurants at night.

If you know me, and know me well, you know that I am probably one of the simplest eaters around. Most of my family and close friends can order for me at most restaurants and be right on. Saying that, I have to post the following pictures as proof of my "adventurous eating" while in Chicago. We went to Hugo Frogs which is known for their appetizer of frog legs! I wasn't going to even touch them, but when they came out, I couldn't resist. Crazy...I know...especially for me! When I texted Mitch telling him he wrote back "Prove it!" Well, here you go!

I also suprised myself and tried crab cakes, lobster, calamari, and plain old jumbo shrimp! I can't say I enjoyed any of them enough to order them on my own, but if they are on the table at another dinner I might just have to have another taste. I wan't about to try the mussels or snail - I'm not that crazy, but seriously people, I am making progress!

Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles...

What do Jessica Simpson, Oprah Winfrey, Snoop Dog, Lebron James, Justin Timberlake, Bruce Willis, Whoopie Goldberg, and Usher have in common with the Duckworths?? They eat at Roscoe's! What is Roscoe's you may ask? It is a step up from a dump in "the hood" that serves deep FRIED chicken, on the SAME plate as yummy sweet WAFFLES! I was very skeptical at first. Mitch had gone with a group of dental students, LOVED it, and wanted to take me back. Let me just say that Mitch and I are FAR from being healthy eaters, so fried chicken, biscuits, and waffles are right up our alley and I was up for an experience. Well, it ended up being pretty DARN good! I devoured my waffle, buttery biscuit, and fried chicken breast. Finnley loved the waffles and fries, and Mitch ate it all. I was disapointed I didn't run into Lebron or even Oprah, but I'll go back none-the-less.