I Can Make You Hot! (39 page)

1 tablespoon baking soda

2 cups self-rising flour

½ cup water

Preheat the oven to 350° F. Lightly grease a sheet pan or two 8-inch-round cake tins.

In a double boiler over hot, not boiling water, melt the chocolate with 1 cup of the sugar. Set aside to cool.

Using an electric mixer, cream the butter with the remaining 1 cup sugar. Beat in the eggs.

In a small bowl, mix the sour cream with the baking soda and let it stand for a minute, then add it to the batter.

Beat in the flour. Add the water and the cooled melted chocolate mixture and mix well.

Transfer the batter to the prepared pan(s) and bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cool in the pan(s) before turning out to cool completely.
^*

don’t be afraid to make it up as you go along

On Season 4 of the
Real Housewives of New York City,
I made a mixed fruit pie for my kids with what was left over in the fruit bowl. I’d never had warm cantaloupe before, but it actually tasted delicious. Don’t be afraid to try new things, make mistakes, and have fun doing it. Most of all, don’t worry about what other people think about what you like. Who knows, maybe you’ll stumble across your own version of a mixed fruit pie. (And don’t be afraid to use a store-bought crust.)

Graham Cracker Icebox Napoleons

This is my version of the classic ice box cake made with chocolate wafers.
^*
It is slightly less caloric than a traditional napoleon but not exactly diet fare so save it for Sunday Funday or a special occasion. I like to say I’ve slimmed Napoleon down a bit and given him some height.

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

24 graham cracker squares

1 pint heavy cream, whipped

1 pint fresh ripe strawberries, hulled and cut in half lengthwise

Place two cracker squares side by side on each of four dessert plates. Spread one-eighth of the whipped cream on top. Scatter one-eighth of the strawberries over the cream. Top with 2 more crackers, another layer of cream and strawberries, and top with the last of the crackers.

make your own ices

Raspberry, mango, strawberry, lychee, pineapple, honey, or lemon teas, or even sweetened espresso, can be frozen to make fabulous homemade ices. Pour into an ice cube tray and stir once or twice during freezing to make it the consistency of a granita.

Beverages

GIN-Ginger Beertail

Kellade

Babylove

Kelly Green Juice

Blueberry Lemonade

Kelly’s Pink Lemonade

Superspicy Frozen Margarita

Gummi Bear Martini

GIN-Ginger Beertail

This drink was originally made with gin, but I don’t like serving gin drinks because I think it makes people mean. Try it with gin if you dare—just be prepared for a fight.

MAKES 2 DRINKS

2 ounces ginger vodka

2 ounces ginger beer

1 ounce freshly squeezed tangerine juice

3 muddled fresh mint leaves

Dash of sugar

Combine all of the ingredients in a cocktail shaker and use those arm muscles to shake it up. Pour into 2 glasses over ice and enjoy the fruits of your labor.

Kellade

I’ve always loved both beer and margaritas. So when I was in Mexico and discovered a frozen beer margarita it was like a dream come true. The one I make for myself isn’t frozen but it combines three of my favorite things—tequila, beer, and Mexico!

MAKES 1 TALL DRINK

1 ounce Patrón or other high-end Tequila

3 ounces Corona beer

4 ounces lemonade

Juice of ½ lemon

Dash of sugar

Combine all of the ingredients in a cocktail shaker and shake well. Pour into a tall, ice-filled glass and enjoy.

try a frozfruit margarita

For a fun margarita combine a jigger of tequila with a FrozFruit bar of your choice (sans stick, of course) and ice in a blender and blend until smooth. For a party get a selection of different fruit flavors and let your guests pick their favorites.

Babylove

When my oldest daughter was a baby I’d give her a nighttime bottle of formula with a little cereal and banana. As she got older, I began to make her these tasty, healthy shakes.

MAKES 1 DRINK

½ banana, cut up or ½ cup fresh blueberries

6 ounces unsweetened coconut milk

1 tablespoon slivered almonds

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

3 to 4 ice cubes

Combine all of the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.

Kelly Green Juice

MAKES TWO 8-OUNCE GLASSES

8 fresh mint leaves, chipped

4 fresh lemon balm or parsley leaves, chopped

3 kale leaves, chopped

1 cup chopped broccoli

1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lime juice

½ cup freshly squeezed orange juice

1 cup water

Combine all of the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.

Blueberry Lemonade

This is a great nonalcoholic summer cooler, but if you’re feeling frisky by all means add the vodka.

MAKES 1 DRINK

6 ounces cold water

Juice of 1 lemon

1 teaspoon cinnamon-sugar, store-bought or make your own with
²
/
₃
sugar and
¹
/
₃
cinammon

¼ cup fresh blueberries

3 to 4 ice cubes

1 ounce vodka (optional)

Combine all of the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.

Pour into a tall glace, with or without ice cubes.

Kelly’s Pink Lemonade

If you’d rather eat your lemonade for dessert, freeze the mixture in ice cube trays to make pink lemonade ices. Or add a jigger of vodka for Perky Pink Lemonade.

MAKES 1 DRINK

6 ounces lemonade

¼ cup fresh raspberries

¼ cup hulled and halved fresh strawberries

Ice cubes

Lime wedge for garnish

Combine the lemonade, raspberries, and strawberries in a blender and blend until smooth. Pour over ice in a tall glass and garnish with the lime wedge.

Superspicy Frozen Margarita

The ultimate in combining sugar and spice!

MAKES 1 DRINK

2 ounces tequila, preferably Patrón

½ jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced
^*

Juice of 2 limes

Splash of freshly squeezed orange juice

3 to 4 ice cubes

Sugar, for rimming the glass

Combine all of the ingredients except for the sugar in a blender and blend until smooth. Dip the rim of a large martini glass in water, then into the sugar. Pour the drink into the sugar-rimmed glass.

Gummi Bear Martini

If you don’t have a paper umbrella handy, Gummi Bears are a great way to put more fun in your drink.

MAKES 1 DRINK

2 parts orange, grape, or other-flavored vodka

1 part Triple Sec

1 part white grape juice

Splash of cranberry juice

Gummi Bears, as many as you like

Combine the vodka, Triple Sec, grape juice, and cranberry juice in a tall glass. Add ice and fill the glass with Gummi Bears.

Acknowledgments

I’d like to take a minute to thank everyone who worked tirelessly on this book, who laughed with me, and who helped me achieve all of those “ah ha” moments you don’t ever think you will have writing a book, but inevitably do.

To Jill Zarin who called Steve Cohen and said, “This girl has a great book in her.”

To St. Martin’s Press for believing in me; to Steve Cohen for meeting me over the phone and deciding in less than five minutes that I needed to meet with his editors, and for believing in me; to Elizabeth Beier, who offered me a book deal in less than twenty-four hours, and recognized an authentic voice when she heard it; and to John Murphy, who laughs at all my jokes and gets why you need to treat your body like a Ferrari.

To Andrea Barzvi, my agent from ICM, who signed her deal with me while she was weeks pregnant (I can’t imagine talking diet or food when I was pregnant; thank you, Andrea).

To Lauren Zalaznick, who saw me as more than a girl who looks like “someone” and gave me an entirely new life that makes it possible for me to provide for my girls.

A special thank-you to Christian Barcellos, who, after trying to put me on a TV show with Tim Gunn, pulled me aside to ask if I’d help him out with the
Real Housewives of New York City
. He told me I’d have a blast with the show. I never knew that one altercation with one stranger could put a show on the map. Thank you, Christian, for believing in me, and for helping me define who I am and what I love, one mistake at a time. Clearly reality TV bites, but it doesn’t sting.

To Andy Cohen, who believed in me for many seasons of the
Real Housewives of New York City
.

To Seth Levine, who is an amazing chef and has seen me raw, real, and uncensored, and who has taught me how to make my food taste
great
in less than three tries.

To my second assistant, Melissa Thompson, who threw herself into this book with me and went over it line by line to make sure everything was along the lines of KKBfit.

To Alexa Rea, who helped me research a lot of facts and apply them to my diet doctrine.

To my best friend, Leah McCloskey, who has cooked for me many times and always told me to be proud of who I am.

To my amazing glam squad, Bradley Irion and Quinn Murphy, who always make me look so amazing, even when I haven’t felt good about myself.

To Fernando Romano, who has been like a father to me in New York City and has taken care of all my finances.

To my sister and brother, who laughed at me when I cooked for them (I would have cried if I were the one tasting that food). To my sister-in-law, Mimi, who encouraged my sister’s idea to write a book about living well and eating well. Here’s your book. I did it for you.

To Carol Goll for taking me to ICM and seeing me as a household name.

To
Shape
magazine and Tara Kraft for their amazing September 2011 cover, which foreshadowed the ideas in
I Can Make You Hot!

To Tom Scott, Dan Honan, Chris Connors, and everyone at Plum TV for forecasting a future career for me.
Behind the Hedges
allowed me to show the allure and what I admire about amazing vacation destinations and talented people.

To Samantha Marcus Yanks, who created the InShape column in
Hamptons
magazine for me to explore what to do, what to wear, and where to go to enjoy a healthful lifestyle in the Hamptons.

To the coaches for all of my sports, and to anyone who ever ran with me, during any marathon, or even saw me on the street and said “hello” while running.

And to Professor Alan Ziegler from Columbia University, who inspired me to write about what I know and love. I am forever grateful.

I’d like especially to thank Eric Ripert for always offering to open up his kitchen to me and for trying to encourage me to cook, and hopefully cook well. He taught me a valuable lesson about cooking, that making food for those you love is a luxury, and that is always how I have thought about it. Thank you, Eric, for your amazing dishes and for feeding me while I was attending Columbia. Your talent and love for good food is infectious.

Special thanks to Judy Kern, my amazing writer, who made healthy living so much fun and inspired me to channel my passion and hard work into words, not be intimidated, and to enjoy the process.