My Big Friggin' Wedding – Monday 9/8c On VH1
Posts tagged cooking
The question that is STILL on everyone’s mind…. Can Sandra Cook?
May 16th
Joey and I attended a slew of parties this month, and we were very fortunate to meet some very enthusiastic people who loved the show. We always get asked a ton of questions about it, but the one question that makes us laugh is: “Sandra, did you ever learn how to cook?!”
To answer, YES, I did learn how. It wasn’t easy, in fact, I feel bad for Joey considering he had to consume endless concoctions of failed attempts of turning something meant to be unhealthy into a meal that is healthy, but in the end, I have conquered the kitchen.
For starters, I have mastered the perfect steak (Round of applause please). I thank my mother in law for actually helping perfect it, and I have it down to a science. Grill steaks 7 minutes, each side. Joey is extremely grateful of this, and I feel better buying prime cuts now being that I have learnt how NOT to light them on fire.
My mother purchased me “the bible” or known to most as the “Better Homes and Gardens Cook Book”, in which has common recipes. She also bought me the entire cookbook series from Giada De Laurentiis and I have come to terms that she is my kitchen Guru. I have watched her shows, I read the books, and I literally owe that woman my life lol.
I also make some seriously healthy and delicious alternatives to really unhealthy recipes. Like I said before, this was no easy task.
I’ll take something bad for you, like loaded with cheese, fat, cholesterol, and I put alternatives in their place. I was a semi-vegetarian, so using products like Tofu, vegetable cheese, and non-meat products is something I am fairly use too. On the other hand, my husband cringes at the thought of tofu, and refuses to eat it unless it’s in miso soup. So trying to make meals suitable enough to be considered good yet healthy was friggin’ task unto itself.
There has been my fair share of failed attempts. Perhaps the worse was my attempt to make buckwheat pancakes oppose to whole wheat. I thought its nutritional value was a little better than whole wheat. I made the presentation perfect, right down to a berry sauce drizzled on top. It didn’t matter. Because it was absolutely the worse pancakes we ever had. So buckwheat was a fail.
I have, however, created some meals that are so healthy, and yet so tasty, that Joey actually tells me that he is craving it. SCORE! I mean that is major in my book! And I feel really proud of myself. Now this doesn’t mean I’m going to open a restaurant or something, but I was determined to be a master of my kitchen.
I also love to bake, as some of our fans know. Apple pies, crumb cakes, pumpkin pies, cookies, pastries, you name it, I make it. And I make them UNHEALTHY! Loaded with Sugar, butter, chocolate, and all the insane yumminess that would send Jenny Craig right into the arms of Weight Watchers lol. Don’t get me wrong; I make sugar free/fat free goodies for those who cannot have unhealthy desserts. I am very considerate; in fact, I made a delicious Angel food cake the other day with strawberries. My Lord, it was, excuse the pun, Heavenly.
And, I just want to put this on record; I make the BEST crumb cake in the world. And I can say this because my nieces and nephews say so. No but its really good. And that is a recipe that I will die with.
So for our fans out there, Announcement: I may not be an expert, but this girl can cook. Maybe one day I’ll share my recipes, but I’m actually really shy about it. I’m still very modest with compliments, which is good, because I will never be cocky. And, for the record, Joey does participate in the kitchen as well. He makes excellent pizza, from scratch. Apparently, my kitchen Guru Giada is rubbing off on everyone.
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- I don’t ruin steaks anymore!!!
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- Too much garlic in the chicken… scorn for life…
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- Pies that were made from scratch for Thanksgiving in 2010
Too Much Garlic in the Chicken Rollantini
Dec 2nd
What happens when you make your husband-to-be chicken rollantini without measuring the correct amount of garlic powder to put in the Italian recipe? He friggin’ orders pizza for dinner instead.
Episode 5 of VH1′s My Big Friggin’ Wedding showed Lynbrook’s Sandra Venturi and Joey Cimino once again bickering — this time about food. Venturi decides to make Cimino a nice Italian meal, which is met by his laughter and sarcasm.
“Boy, am I glad I ordered the pizza as a backup. I couldn’t get mad at the garlic thing,” Cimino said. “It was hysterical seeing Sandra dump it in and play it off like it was okay. Even the camera crew was like, ‘wow’. By the way, her face was priceless when she tried it for herself.”
Defending her culinary skills, Venturi admitted to putting her best cooking hands forward. Who needs a friggin’ measuring spoon anyway? Venturi certainly didn’t.
“It wasn’t that bad. I’m used to healthy food. The film crew sampled it and they said it wasn’t that bad, maybe they were really hungry or being nice,” said Venturi, “To be honest, I usually do it by eye but this time around, it came out a little fast. I was hoping Joey didn’t see it — of course that was the one thing he zeroed in on.”
Venturi decided that cooking chicken ratolini is not a meal she plans to make again. She plans to stick to what she friggin’ knows. “Grilling, baking, salads and anything I can cook in a NuWave oven,” she said.
Tune into VH1 on Monday at 9 p.m. to see next week’s drama-filled episode.
About this column:
After each episode of My Big Friggin’ Wedding, Ursula Moore will review what happened with the Lynbrook couple currently being featured on the show.
A visit to our reception hall, and Sandra attempts to cook (again)…
Nov 29th
The season is half way over!! Episode 5 is done!
Joey-
Wow, the editors really need to either catch up on sleep or something; Johnny is Friggin’ Joey now lol. Did anyone else catch that? Hey Meatballs, want to trade places for a day? I’ll make the meatballs, you eat Sandra’s cooking- good luck with that one 
Don’t forget to check out the bonus clips on VH1.com! There’s actually some very amusing stuff on there! Over the past few weeks, we have taken over the bonus clips department it seems….
Sandra-
Ohhhhhhh yeaaaaaa! I love the Surf Club!!! Our Hall is amazing! Ohmigod everything about the Surf Club blows me away; the grand ballroom, the menu, the scenery, the staff, the elegance EVERYTHING! It’s so elegant and so glamorous! We went to a few other halls while shopping around, but the Surf Club was by far the best hall we have ever been to. Aww and Jamie Gizzo is a great Banquet Manager! We couldn’t have asked for a better person to work with! How gorgeous does the venue look on camera! I’m going to walk down the stairs to the beach, and be married on the beach! I’m having a wedding worthy of an Italian movie! That place gives me GOOSEBUMPS! I love the Surf Club and I’m so happy Joey and I found it! Oh it’s perfect! Joey is giving me a wedding I could only dream of!
How much do you love the Steps!!! What a grand entrance! I literally wore a pencil skirt because my dress is tight around my knees and I needed to make sure I wasn’t going to kill myself. And I went down them perfectly! I can’t wait!!!
Brides: YOU’RE ALLOWED TO BE EXCITED ABOUT YOUR WEDDING AND ALL THE DETAILS!!! ANYONE WHO BEGS TO DIFFER IS JEALOUS!
I’m having a fantasy wedding!!!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!
How about Joe and his Brother huh? I’ll have you know that Joe’s brothers are a HUGE part of his life. They have a great bond. It’s really cool. Frankie is the one who torments the ever living crap out of me, but that’s ok because I do dish it right back. I don’t just sit there and take it. Ask him, he’ll tell you…
So my chicken recipe was from a health magazine. Hence the panko bread crumbs. But you know what, although I was angry about Joey ordering the pizza, you have to admit that’s pretty funny. What a sneaky guy! I need to say this one last time… I will never be a great cook. Average cook maybe. Not great. Cooks like my grandma, Joey’s mother, and cooks like Giada are GREAT… I’m average. And I am cool with it. I bake. I posted that on our fan page last week. But cooking is difficult because I’m too concern with calories and fat. I’ll leave the good cooking to the real cooks.
Thanks for the love everyone! Happy Holidays!
Ciao Ciao!
Episode 2- Ohhhh boy…. Sandra vs the Oven…
Nov 8th
We just want to say a Special Thank You to John and Franco at Silverfox Photography. Silverfox Photography provided us our engagement pictures and is the photographers for our wedding. They are our preferred vendor. Most of the pictures you see on websites or in print are actually the work of Franco, John and the Silverfox Team. You guys are seriously awesome! Thank you for everything! Invest in your pictures! They are help you remember that most important day of your life! And its pure Art!
Joey- What’s up everybody!?
Tonight’s episode was pretty good. I mean, in the first episode you really didn’t get to know Sandra and myself, and now you know a little bit more and the shit that we had to go through. Its right down to the last detail, like who gets picked up in a Bentley and it gets annoying. But everyone tells you the end result is worth it. I just hope so. Weddings, after all, aren’t cheap, and I don’t settle for anything but the best. $$$
For the record, Sandra still can’t cook lol. 2 Weeks ago, she set the smoke alarm off again, which was quite amusing. Of course, she didn’t take the blame for it. She tries at least. Not to say that most of the time her food is bad, she just hasn’t mastered it yet. Rachael Ray! Giada! I NEED YOU! SAVE ME!
And I really feel it’s important that you know that I am really not that grumpy or mean, however, that’s how I am perceived as on the show. You try planning a wedding, running a business, eating Sandra’s food, and dealing with all the shit I have too. It sucks. Its almost expected for anyone to crack! But in the end and Sandra can vouch for this, I really do care and I’m not a dick. But hey, you would be a dick too if you dealt with half the shit I had too lol. Get married, than come talk to me.
Avista Hardwood Flooring is the company I own and I am very happy that VH1 actually put it on the show. It was really cool to actually see my business on TV, especially since I worked so hard on establishing myself. I have been in this business for years, and thankfully, survived a recession, prevailed and came out on top. I’m not the type of business owner that goes with flow. Especially in this business, you need to be ahead of the competitor all the time. I have the best team, I expect the best from my employees and I am a tough boss, but the job gets done and it gets done RIGHT the first time. It’s something I really take pride in.
Sandra and I are Business people. While so many people say its hard working with your significant other, I really can’t complain that much. She does work hard. She just needs a kick in the ass sometimes. But she keeps the company in check.
If there is one thing I hate its when people really mess with her. That job destroyed her. Sandra is a happy, laid back person, and they ate her alive. I couldn’t be THAT mad at her when she told me she resigned because I knew that it was right. I wish she did wait, but in the end, my personal life with her got a hell of a lot better. She went back to normal. She was no longer a nasty bitch lmao.
Thanks for being a fan and see you next week!
Sandra-
Ughhhh well The Soup here I come lol. Joel McHale bring it on. Yes that’s right I set the oven on fire. That was a terrible day. All I remember was coming home, seeing the crew and being like WTF!? I had NO IDEA I was going to be filmed cooking that day; Never the less cooking steaks. I have such a fear using the broiler it’s not even funny. But I need to defend myself. I am a health food fanatic. I eat a lot of salad, tofu, grilled fish, lean beef and chicken. I don’t eat Veal (ew) or Pork (bigger ew) or anything like Rabbit or Deer or intestines or EWWWWW it’s making me GAG! So I very rarely use a broiler.
Joey’s mother is the BEST cook on Long Island, Hands down. She is Paula Dean ala Long Island! I will never compare, especially since butter is something not in my vocabulary nor diet lol. JoAnn felt so bad for us that she bought us a NuWave oven, which I LOVE, and I swear it has saved my life. Without that handy, dandy little oven I more than likely would have burnt the house down. Hint Hint Brides put that baby on your registries! Best invention EVER! Trust me!
And, yes I did resign from my position in tonight’s episode. Joey is the most supportive person ever. He may not have directly shown it, but when the cameras were down, he really was some what relieved that I finally got the balls and did something for me. He was worried for a while. I don’t think a job should ever bring you to the point where you are letting it consume your life. Life is too short and it’s not healthy. Jobs are like boyfriends. You need to break up with a few before you find the right one. And what’s the right one for me? Soon enough, I’ll be running my boutique and being my own boss. Joey has been a great mentor with that. He makes me so proud. And hopefully, within the next year, he’ll be proud of me too.
I’m a determined girl. I get what I want. And I am sure as hell smart about it.
Oh yeah… in case you were wondering, Joey and I own a WATER BED!!! LMAO it’s so funny to tell people that. Our bed is a wishy-washy water bed. And Joey and I love it. We couldn’t stop laughing when we saw our beloved water bed on tv!
Ok, and let me just defend myself one more time before I go because I just saw what Joey wrote and I am ready to kill him lol. I did NOT set the alarm on fire by myself! It’s the friggin’ broiler you ass! I, for the record, was making you pork chops (ew. YUCK) in a pan not the boiler. So whatever was in the broiler was causing the alarm to go off. So there! Jerk. HEHEHEHE. 
Well thanks again everyone! Hope to see you next week! We really appreciate the Love and Support! Don’t forget to let us know what you think! Comment here or Check out www.facebook.com/joeyandsandra and post it!
Ciao Ciao!
~Sandra and Joey