Kc Quaretti - Real Women of Philadelphia Winner
As the Real Women of Philadelphia recipe contest continues, I've had the pleasure of getting to know the winning hosts. Kc Quaretti took time out of her busy day to answer some questions about her self and her experience with RWOP.
Each week Kc and the other three winning hosts are guiding people with different recipe themes. And each week one winning recipe wins $500 and a chance to be in a cookbook featuring Philly recipes later this year. Visit the Real Women of Philadelphia website and enter your favorite recipe!
1)
What is your earliest memory in the kitchen?
I guess you could say my love of cooking started as a VERY young child. I was
probably six when I began creating delicious “pancake” meals. I was not allowed to use expensive
ingredients like eggs, butter, sugar, so they consisted of flour and water and
maybe a few spices if I could sneak them in without my mom seeing. Our next door neighbor would gobble
them up telling me how wonderful they were! Knowing now what they must have tasted like, egad my
neighbor was nice! Next came an Easy Bake Oven for Christmas, probably because
my parents were tired of me wanting them to serve my special pancakes for
dinner. Wow, I loved making the little cakes in that tiny oven and thought they
tasted better than anything.
2) What is your favorite style/type of food to prepare?
Fresh, seasonal produce is the foundation of anything I make. I’m a huge farmer’s market fan and
searching out the locally grown fruits and veggies is such fun. When say, beans first come into season,
I’ll use them as the center of the meal. Sautéed onions and string beans make a
heavenly sauce for pasta when mixed with a little butter or cream cheese and
dill or sage. I marinade a mix of
veggies with a bit of olive oil and garlic before grilling. They are then chopped and used as the
topping for pizza; my whole family loves that! French and Italian are special favorites, but Asian,
Spanish, Vietnamese, Indian, the
list of cultures whose cuisine is based on fresh seasonal ingredients in huge
and I’m crazy about them all!
3) Have you had any funny kitchen or entertaining disasters?
From setting off the smoke alarm because the turkey juices overflowed to
singing my bangs the first time I made a flaming dish, I’ve had tons of
disasters when entertaining!
Always when there were lots of people around to watch and remember! I
think maybe the disasters created the most lasting memories, at least the
funniest for sure!
4) Why did you decide to enter in the RWOP contest?
I have had a secret desire for many, many years to host my own cooking show;
even made sample shows that my husband videoed many years ago. So, when I ran across Paula Deens
commercial for the Real Women of Philadelphia talent search, I knew right away
it was something I had to do. From
week one through the end of week eight, I cooked and chatted while my husband
caught it all on video. I am a true example of “Never Give Up” because I was
the very last finalist chosen! I will admit that by week six I was pretty sure
I was not going to be chosen and thought they weren’t looking for my “type”
personality. But, I just had to complete the contest, needed to know that I had
done my best from start to finish, so I kept going. And boy am I glad I did!
5) What was it like to meet Paula and what was your favorite moment with her?
Paula came to greet all the finalists the night we arrived in Savannah and she
just blew me away! She is truly
caring and supportive; a person who genuinely wants YOU to succeed. She makes a
personal connection with you, talks directly to you and on top of that she is
so quick witted and funny.
When
she was announcing the winners, Paula talked about never giving up, then announced my name and walked over
to get me. I have never been more
shocked in my life and standing there next to Paula will forever be one of the
most important moments in my life!
6) Now that you've won... what is your favorite part of your new roll as a RWOP
host?
This is a very hard question to answer; how to choose a favorite? Getting to chat and cook, all while
making videos is a complete delight. I am having such fun making a dessert
every day from the recipe submissions and so is my family. But the connections,
friendships, the sharing of ideas and support system that come from the RWOP
community are amazing, touching and unique! The RWOP is so much more than an online cooking sight for
people who like to cook. It is an
extended family that welcomes everyone with open arms! And I am the luckiest
girl around to be allowed to host the dessert weeks!
7) What is your favorite Philly recipe?
I am huge fan of crab cakes! One of my non winning recipes is a family favorite
and I am requested to bring it time and time again. www.realwomenofphiladelphia.com/user_recipe/view/11778/988/1
Often
times when it is for a meet and greet type get together, I’ll make them bite
sized and bring a big them on a big tray with lots of lemon slices. Usually they are gone within minutes!
One nice thing is that these crab cakes don’t have to be piping hot, slightly
warm or even room temp they are still tasty and a huge hit!
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