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cooking

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We hope you all are having as much fun this holiday season as we are having. It’s such an awesome time of the year. A time to reflect on the past year with family and friends and look forward to the future year with hope and anticipation. I love to cook a turkey and make the house as festive as possible. Ronn enjoys playing the guitar and singing with the band and friends visiting. This year we are thrilled to just stay home and enjoy the simple pleasures like trimming the tree with the kids and a few friends. We are also excited about our appearance in the Hollywood Christmas Parade that will air on December 10th. PLAYER did an awesome performance in it and Ronn, Creason, Calee and I get to ride on a float. There are numerous Christmas parties we are attending and I will throw my annual girls, “Potluck Christmas” with all my gorgeous girlfriends. Hope you are enjoying the Happy Christmas video and will spread it around. I did the  fancy camera work and it was the song the band originally wanted to sing in the Hollywood Christmas Parade. PLAYER \”Happy Christmas\”

Grilled bacon wrapped filet on top of steamed spinach and sliced potatoes with a mushroom and pepper sauce was a favorite dinner we had last week. Ronn even grilled them in the pouring rain, which made it all that more special. You can find this along with other recipes in my “Cooking Cajun ” cookbook.  Use “Devin’s Kickass Cajun Seasoning” on all your dishes to add an extra zesty flavor to your dishes. With the holidays around the corner, why not try giving a can as a gift and help the city of New Orleans rebuild from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina? I promise you won’t be disappointed with our amazing Cajun spice, so spread the word and the love with “Devin’s Kickass Cajun Seasoning” today! www.devronn.com

Here are a couple of yummy, healthy and simple appetizers that’s great to have as a snack or at your next dinner party. It great with Devin’s Kickass Cajun Seasoning which adds alot of flavor to everything! Simply take a few Roma tomatoes and cut the tops off, scoop out the interior and add fresh crabmeat mixed with Devin’s Kickass Cajun Seasoning and parsley flakes for bite size stuffed tomatos! Cut an avacado in half and take out the seed, put in the crabmeat mixture and serve with a nice Chardonnay. Ronn and I had both of these yummy appetizers yesterday and I just had to share it with you! For more recipes visit our website www.devronn.com

I thought you’d guys would like something Cajun, just had that feeling. So here is a great Jambalaya dish. Devin’s Kickass Cajun Seasoning makes it extra zesty!


Ingredients

  • 5 1/2 pounds chicken pieces (drumsticks, thighs, and breast halves with skin and bones)
  • 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 1/2 pounds andouille* or other spicy smoked pork sausage, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices
  • 3 medium onions, chopped
  • 2 celery ribs, chopped
  • 1 green bell pepper, chopped
  • 4 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 2 cups chicken stock or broth
  • 1 1/2 cups water
  • 1 (14- to 16-ounce) can whole tomatoes in juice, drained and chopped
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne (optional)
  • 2 1/2 cups long-grain white rice, rinsed and drained well
  • 1 cup thinly sliced scallion greens
  • Devin’s Kickass Cajun Seasoning


Pat chicken dry and season with salt. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a 10- to 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then brown chicken in batches, without crowding, turning once, 6 to 8 minutes total (add remaining 2 tablespoons oil as needed between batches). Transfer to a bowl as browned.

Reduce heat to moderate and brown sausage in 4 batches in fat remaining in skillet, turning, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a paper-towel-lined bowl as browned.

Pour off all but about 1 tablespoon fat from skillet, then cook onions, celery, and bell pepper in skillet over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until onions are golden brown and softened, about 8 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add 1 cup stock and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Transfer mixture to a wide 8-quart heavy pot and add chicken, water, tomatoes, cayenne (if using), and remaining cup stock. Simmer, partially covered, until chicken is tender, about 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 325°F.

Transfer chicken with tongs to a clean bowl and measure cooking liquid with vegetables, adding additional water as necessary to measure 7 cups. If over 7 cups, boil to reduce.

Stir rice into cooking liquid (in pot). Arrange chicken over rice (do not stir), then bring to a boil over high heat, uncovered, without stirring. Bake, covered, in middle of oven until rice is tender and most of liquid is absorbed, about 30 minutes. Remove from heat and let jambalaya stand, covered, 10 minutes. Gently stir in scallion greens, sausage, and salt to taste.

Spaghetti with Fresh Clams, Parsley, and Lemon

Ingredients

* 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

* 8 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

* 3 pounds fresh Manila clams or small littleneck clams, scrubbed

* 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley

* 1/2 cup dry white wine

* 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

Devin’s Kickass Cajun Seasoning

* 1 pound spaghetti

Preparation

Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add sliced garlic and sauté until light brown, about 1 minute. Add clams and 1/4 cup chopped Italian parsley; stir 2 minutes. Add wine; simmer 2 minutes. Add fresh lemon juice. Cover and simmer until clams open, about 6 minutes (discard any clams that do not open).

Meanwhile, cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite. Drain. Add pasta to clam mixture and toss to coat. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to large bowl. Sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons parsley and serve.

Here is a quick and easy salad that is great with Devin’s Kickass Cajun Seasoning and so healthy!


Herb Salad with Feta, Roasted Red Peppers, and Toasted Nuts
  • 1 5-ounce container herb salad mix
  • 1 cup coarsely chopped roasted red peppers from jar
  • 1/2 cup walnut halves or pecan halves, toasted
  • 1 10.5-ounce jar feta cheese in oil with herbs and spices
  • 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
  • Devin’s Kickass Cajun Seasoning
  • Here is a dish that you can serve over rice, pasta or your favorite veggie. I cooked it today and served it over green beans. You can also add capers or arugula instead of spinach. Of course, Devin’s Kickass Cajun Seasoning makes it extra zesty!


    Shrimp Scampi

    Ingredients

    • 2 cloves garlic, sliced
    • 1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
    • Kosher salt and pepper
    • 1 cup dry white wine (such as Sauvignon Blanc)
    • 1 5-ounce package baby spinach
    • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
    • 1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes, drained
    • 1 tablespoon fresh tarragon, chopped
    • 1 tablespoon fresh tarragon, chopped
    • (more)
    • 1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
    • Kosher salt and pepper
    • 1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes, drained
    • 1 cup dry white wine (such as Sauvignon Blanc)
    • 2 cloves garlic, sliced
    • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
    • 1 tablespoon fresh tarragon, chopped
    • 1 5-ounce package baby spinach
    • 1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
    • Kosher salt and pepper
    • 1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes, drained
    • 1 cup dry white wine (such as Sauvignon Blanc)
    • 2 cloves garlic, sliced
    • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter and a generous amount of Devin’s Kickass Cajun Seasoning

    I thought I’d share some of my favorite recipes with you guys on a regular basis since so many of you are asking what to use the Cajun spice on and how I cook alot of the dinners I tweet about for Ronn and the girls. This is a quick and easy recipe that I call, “Steak Devin” and of course I use a generous amount of “Devin’s Kickass Cajun Seasoning” on it. You can use our Cajun spice on everything from soups, salads, steaks, chicken and veggies. It gives food such flavor and just the right amount of kick to spice things up! Enjoy this dish with your favorite veggie, it’s low in calories and tastes delicious!

    Recipe of the week, “Steak Devin”
    Makes 6 servings
    Ingredients

    * 1 1/2  pounds  fat-trimmed narrow end of beef tenderloin
    * 1  to 1 1/2 tablespoons coarse-ground pepper
    * 3/4  cup  finely chopped shallots or onion
    * 2  tablespoons  butter or margarine
    * 1/4  cup  dry white wine
    * 1/4  cup  white wine vinegar
    * 1/2  cup  beef broth
    * 2  teaspoons  dry mustard
    * 1  tablespoon  Dijon mustard
    * 1/3  cup  whipping cream
    * 2  tablespoons  dry sherry
    * 2  tablespoons  brandy
    * Salt &
    Devin’s Kickass Cajun Seasoning


    Preparation

    1. Cut thickest part of beef across the grain into 1 1/2-inch-long pieces. Cut thinnest end into 2-inch-long pieces. Turn each piece onto a cut side and press down firmly to flatten.

    2. Sprinkle meat evenly on each side with pepper, pressing it onto the surface.

    3. In an 11- to 12-inch nonstick frying pan, combine shallots and 1 tablespoon butter. Stir over high heat until shallots are limp, about 1 1/2 minutes. Add white wine, vinegar, broth, dry mustard, Dijon mustard, and cream. Boil over high heat, stirring, until reduced by half (to 3/4 cup), 5 to 7 minutes. Pour sauce into a small bowl and set aside. Rinse pan and wipe dry.

    4. Return frying pan to high heat. When hot, add remaining butter and swirl until it melts, then add meat (pieces should all fit in pan without overlapping). Brown beef on one side, about 2 1/2 minutes. Turn over and continue to cook until brown, about 2 1/2 minutes more for rare.

    5. Transfer beef to a warm plate. Add sherry, brandy, and sauce to pan. Stir until bubbling. Pour the sauce, and any juices drained from the meat, onto plates. Top with the beef. Add Devin’s Kickass Cajun Seasoning and salt to taste.

    Ronn has a month off of B&B to rest and relax this summer and that starts now. We decided to drive near Yosemite to hang out with my pal Alana Curry and fellow Playmates LuAnn Lee and Jacqueline Sheen and their boyfriends to have fun swimming, jet skiing, boating and water skiing on a beautiful lake. It is just what Ronn loves to do to unwind himself into vacation mode. It’s also great for me because the cabin has Internet and enables me to keep up with everyone and it has a big beautiful kitchen for me to cook in so I feel right at home! I’ve enjoyed introducing everyone to “Devin’s Kickass Seasoning” with dishes like, Salmon and caper Buccatini, Lental soup and Steak Devin with Roasted potatoes. Ronn and I have been sleeping in every morning and enjoying every second of this amazing place. We plan to stop off and check out Yosemite before heading to our own cabin and picking up the kids next week. We will then head to Hawaii with them for a family vacation before Ronn heads back to work in mid August. It always seems like the summer just flies by with the kids, their friends, our friends and traveling. So we are just trying to enjoy every minute of it. I plan to finally finish my next book, “True Age, Timeless Beauty” as well as, make up some new recipes of course. We are also planning to renovate our cabin by next year so that we can have friends come and hang out with us there. Ronn just loves editing all the video he shoots and enjoys the peace and quite there. So we hope to spend more time at our cabin once it’s remodeled. Hope you are all enjoying the summer as much as we are!

    We kicked off our first dinner/movie night with great success. Ronn and I have a 12 seat movie theater and we love to watch movies with the girls. So far, the kids have used the theater to entertain their friends with movies more than us!  So this marks the first time in the three years we have lived in our home that we have filled our movie theater. As you know, Ronn’s busy schedule has made it nearly impossible to entertain that much and now that we have some time, we wanted to share our passion for movies with our friends. So we started with the band and their wives, along with a few dear friends to watch one of our favorite movies, “Arthur” with Dudley Moore. I cooked red beans and rice, Cajun jambalaya pasta, along with  salad, fresh fruit, baked cookies, strawberry cheesecake and wine to make sure the boys were happy enough to play a few songs. I now call the garage the “Moss Lounge” cause that what it feels like in there.
    We were all dancing to the music the band was playing and having a blast. After the movie, we hung out around the firepit and told funny stories before calling it a night. I think this will be the start of other smaller gatherings that we will do on an ongoing basis now. I’m already planning the next one in July!

    It’s hard to believe almost half the year is gone! Seems like yesterday we celebrating New Year’s Eve in Rome and Ronn was embarking on the Ballando challenge. Now that it’s all behind us, we have been focusing on our home and getting it into shape for summer parties. We plan to host a variety of smaller themed dinner parties, movie nights and BBQs of course. Everyone is now asking me about the next Jam party and I know we will have one, just not sure when or where?  Seems between friends, kids and neighbors, everyone wants to Jam with Ronn and the band now. I just can’t handle hundreds of people and kids running around my home, so I’m thinking of doing a charity event that will help boost “Devin’s Kickass Cajun Seasoning” and really help New Orleans. It just makes me so sad to see the devastation that my home state has endured. I know everyone ran to the rescue of the Haiti victims, including us, but folks we have major problems here in our own backyard to deal with and New Orleans needs your help! Ronn and I created this spice that is manufactured in Louisiana to help in a small way that we hope becomes large for this reason. We all need to do our part to preserve that area of the United States and it seems so little is being done down there? I urge you all to help us help the gulf by buying a spice and spreading the word to your friends, or buying one to give to someone as a gift. BBQ season is here and anyone who has tried the spice knows it’s amazing! So please do your part of help us help New Orleans. We are giving proceeds from the spice to Brad Pitt’s, ‘Make it Right” foundation who is already doing so much to help down there. Also, if you want to see Ronn on Dancing with the Stars here in the US, please join this facebook page#mce_temp_url# to show your support. It seems ABC has never had anyone under contract on another network on the show. So with your support we can possibly change this dumb rule they have had in the past because with the Internet anything is possible right?  Ronn and are planning to have a quiet Memorial Day weekend at home with the girls in gratitude for the men and women who died for our freedom. We wish you all a safe and great weekend.


    Love DevRonn

    Because so many of you have been asking for this recipe that I made up yesterday, I’ve decided to blog and post it. Really did come out delicious! I don’t use measuring utensils so you must use your own taste buds to estimate.


    1 large Spaghetti Squash
    1 large onion
    3-4 cloves fresh garlic
    3-6 small cans of chicken broth
    fresh rosemary
    real bacon bits
    olive oil
    milk

    Take a spaghetti squash and put it in the oven or microwave for a few minutes to soften it. Chop an onion and a few cloves of fresh garlic and get a few cans of chicken broth. Poke the squash with a fork to see if it’s tender and then take it out and let it cool for a few minutes. Cut it in half and scoop out the seeds. Season to your liking, I of course use my spice and put face down on a cookie sheet back into the oven for 1/2 hour. Then simmer the chopped onion and garlic in a couple of Tablespoons of olive oil til tender and add the chicken broth. Take the Spaghetti squash out of the over and with a fork take out the inside so it comes out like spaghetti.


    Add the squash to the broth and the fresh rosemary and bacon bits. I estimate how much depending on my taste buds. Add a dash of milk to thicken and simmer for 20 minutes stirring frequently. Then puree’ in a blender a little at a time and put back to simmer for another 15 minutes. Add a little fresh rosemary and bacon bits for garnish and serve with garlic bread. So yummy!

    Love Dev

    Since Easter, we have had the most amazing food and wine ever in Italy. We have visited a couple of the premier vineyards, including Sara Di Vaira’s vineyard. Here is Ronn in a photo with Sara’s father. We picked our own vegetables to cook and experienced the Tuscan way of life. The girls have loved it so much that we have opted to stay and extra day and not go to Venice. We will go back in a couple of days by train to spend our last day in the beautiful castle of Laura Biagiotti before returning home. The Tuscan part of our vacation has felt very homey. I cooked fresh picked artichokes the other day and the girls found the biggest head of cabbage we have ever seen! Last night we had a beautiful seafood dinner on the beach.  Ronn has enjoyed tasting the wines and it seems that there are a lot of tourist visiting right now for the food and wine obviously, we can understand why. Today, I will go to a spa and relax with a massage and soak in the hot springs. The weather is amazing today, so the girls are excited to pick more vegetables, including wild asparagus and will make homemade pizza. Looking forward to good weather for our last days here in Italy.


    Love DevRonn

    We left Roma for the quiet of the countryside a couple of days ago and went to spend some time in the ancient 1000 year old castle of designer Laura Biagiotti. It sits on 444 acres that includes it’s own amazing golf course. After having lunch with Lavinia Biaigotti, we play a game of 9 holes on the green. Lavinia got a hole in one on the first hole and thus a competition started with Ronn to see who would win. Lavinia got a hole in one on the 9th hole and thus won!  I’ll post some funny video of it later. The girls got a private golf lesson and drove the golf carts around, while I went back to the castle to study some more Italian. Then we were introduced to the Italian Easter tradition of breaking giant chocolate eggs for a surprise inside. Unlike easter baskets filled with jelly beans and colored eggs, everyone gives their friends and family a giant chocolate egg with just about anything you can imagine inside. We had fun with this process and the girls got little necklaces. Ronn got a little box that he put some beautiful gold earrings in, a gift from Laura. It was sad to say goodbye to everyone at the castle and journey on by train to Florence. Ronn wanted to introduce Michelangelo’s “David”  to the girls. Even though I had seen it before, the 17 foot tall statue never ceases to impress. I think Ronn looks alot like the David now that he’s in such great shape from dancing. We then met Sara Di Vaira and her husband who took us to a little town called,” Buti” near Pisa. We had the most amazing Tuscan dinner on Good Friday. Fresh mussels, clams and squid, pasta ravioli with truffle sauce, spaghetti with rabbit and penne pasta. Then Ronn and I had a bottle of champagne waiting for us in our hotel room, so we had to celebrate going to see the leaning tower of Pisa today. We will continue on through the beautiful Tuscan countryside and visit some vineyards, including the Di Vaira winery and spend Easter with Sara’s family.  Hope you all are having a wonderful Easter weekend. Will post more pics and video later.

    Love Dev

    It was a fun weekend spent with the girls. Creason had a few girlfriends over for a sleepover to start celebrating her 16th birthday, which is tomorrow! I told her she should celebrate for a whole month. So I cooked a bunch of Italian dishes and had some friends over to welcome Sara and her mother. Then I cooked a bunch of Cajun dishes in celebration of Mardi Gras and introduced it to Sara.  Ronn and Sara practiced the Rumba and the Marangie all weekend.  We shot some video of Sara gunshooting, horseback riding and visiting the set of B&B for a Ballando profile. I must say I am looking forward to seeing them perform the Rumba and think it’s going to be their best dance. It’s so sexy and beautiful to watch. Ronn has really come a long way and looks very graceful now when he dances. His body has transformed also into solid muscle. He was always in great shape, but he’s in amazing shape now! I believe we will continue dancing together after the show is over because he likes it and it will be fun for me to learn some of these dances now. We capped off a great week with Sara yesterday at the spa and had amazing massages and facials. I’m really proud of how much Italian I’ve learned and look forward to the next 10 days in Roma now to practice speaking more. I’m also taking my real estate workbook with me to study every night for my exam. I won’t be able to take the exam until the end of April, so I don’t want to forget what I’ve learned so far.  Right now I’m in the British Airways lounge waiting for my flight to meet Ronn in Roma. We are looking forward to going to Milan for Fashion week, compliments of Laura Biagiotti. I was hoping to see my friend Dita Von Teese there, but will just miss her, as she will arrive the day after we leave. So I’m hoping to visit her in Paris this summer and learn some French! Sara has invited us to visit her on her Tuscan vineyard during the wine festival and we are looking forward to doing that with Creason and Calee. After Ballando is finished, we will take our first family vacation with Creason and Calee and visit Florence, Venice and Roma!


    Love Dev

    Susan Flannery organized a beautiful wedding supper to celebrate our recent nuptials at the gorgeous Montage Hotel in Beverly Hills. It was held in the private dining room off of the elaborate kitchen and guests included, John McCook and his lovely wife Laurette, Ian Buchanan, Katherine Kelly Lang and her husband Alex, Maria and Billy Bell and our gracious host Brad Bell and his wife Colleen. The menu was absolutely amazing and the private chef told us about each course before their presentation. We ended the evening wedding cake and more champagne. We have certainly had our share of that in the past few weeks, hahaha. Since this is Ronn’s second family, we were, needless to say, thrilled and grateful for this amazing opportunity to share our joy with them. Here is a clip of the evening.
    [wpvideo EEZ0EFCW]
    Love DevRonn

    devronnlogo4-12-08It’s been over a decade since I last visited my home state of Louisiana and I can’t wait to have a great bowl of gumbo and some crawfish. We will also introduce “Devin’s Kickass Cajun Seasoning” to some of the locals and video tape the progress of the reconstruction down there . Ronn will be busy doing an appearance with other soap stars Winsor Harmon and Christian LeBlanc who are also native Cajuns. So I will be in good company. We promise to take lots of pics and video to share on our website Love DevRonn