Frank Picchione

McDog

In 1985 William McVey (1904-1995) created this sculpture of his airedale, McDog. The statue now greets visitors to the Cleveland Botanical Garden. McVey was a well known artist whose works include the statue of Winston Churchill at the Brithish Embassy in Washington. McDog lived from 1958 until 1974.

Green Goddess Salad

Creamy and loaded with fresh herbs, this dressing is neither particularly healthy nor particularly light, but it is particularly delicious when tossed with cold, crispy hearts of romain.

Butterflies at the Cleveland Botanical Garden

Chicken Curry over Light Coconut Rice

Squid with Fennel, Leeks & Saffron

I combined this squid with grouper and scallops and served in over linguine.

Glazed Chocolate Loaf Cake

Pizza Two Ways

Margherita style, before and after baking.

Another with caramelized vidalia onions, fresh ricotta and fresh oregano.

For the dough I used Giada's recipe, which had a slower rise and was much easier to work with than Rocco's, which was a wetter Neapolitan style. Both were very tasty.

Hollywood Series

We drove and drove and drove until we found ourselves as close to the Hollywood sign as one can get, while only barely breaking the law. I wanted these photos to have an ominous, dusty, desolate feel, so Corey Nickols retouched them with a blue cast, which I think looks beautiful and plays well off the dirt and the red and white warning signs. I also love that Brian To was able to catch those two girls in the background - particularly the one in the denim short-shorts and midriff. I think these turned out to be really cool, stylized photographs.

Plum Tart

I served this tart with a dollop of sweetened mascarpone.

Behind-the-Scenes Clips of my Episode from Bravo.com

1. 

   Getting Introduced to Their Wait Staff

2. 

   Liza's Song

3. 

   A Possible Ringer?

4. 

   A Former Truck Driver, a Former Trainer, and a Current Soprano

5. 

   Happy Birthday Liza Minnelli