I shared some super fun ideas for transforming store-bought holiday pies into something truly special during today’s holiday episode of the Pickler & Ben Show.
You guys, I have been DYING to spill the details from my super-secret television adventure with for weeks now. As I alluded to, an old friend and colleague who works at Conagra reached out a few weeks back about a segment that she was doing with the Pickler & Ben show for Marie Callender’s pies. She asked if I would be interested in going on the show to share some ideas for transforming store-bought pies into amazing custom desserts. Of course I said yes! Check out the full clip below…
As I mentioned in my last post, my in-laws serve Marie Callender’s at their Thanksgiving gatherings every year, so the subject matter was kind of a perfect fit. Most of the DIY ideas had already been brainstormed by one of Conagra’s other brand chefs (the amazing Catherine D’Orio — host of Chicago’s Check Please), so all I really had to do was show up and share the ideas. Sounds easy enough, right?
Of course it was still completely terrifying! I’m no stranger to live television at this point, but all of my appearances up until now have been with local shows. Pickler & Ben is one of the hottest nationally syndicated daytime television shows in the country right now — complete with a gorgeous celebrity host and the single most beautiful studio set I’ve ever seen. This was big time stuff!!!
So I was more than a little intimidated. Thank goodness, every single person I encountered was incredibly kind and helpful. I have to give a shout-out to the Pickler & Ben food styling team. Since I was flying in to Nashville to film the segment there was no way I could do any of the food prep myself. I gave them our recipes and overall vision via phone and they executed everything amazingly. The set was gorgeous, the food was perfect and I didn’t have to lift a finger. I even had someone there to touch up my hair and makeup.
The only minor snafu of the day was my own — I’d chosen a necklace I’ve worn for previous segments but on that day, it was a bit too jingly and interfered with the microphone, so I had to take it off. Not really a big deal. Btw, if you’re wondering, my outfit (including the not-pictured jingly necklace) was all from Stitchfix. They remain my go-to source for wardrobe for everything from everyday outfits to television attire. If you haven’t done so, you should check them out.
During this Thanksgiving week, this whole experience has left me feeling especially grateful. This was such an incredible experience for me. I am so grateful to my friend Lanie, Cat De Orio and everyone at Conagra for asking me to be part of their team for this project. And of course, the team at Pickler & Ben was amazing. However, I think I’m most grateful to my family and friends who have been my cheerleaders this year, enthusiastically following my journey and sharing my recipes this year as I’ve grown Homemaker’s Habitat and especially a few weeks ago when I asked my husband and neighbors to fill in on childcare so I could fly to Nashville unexpectedly. So, to all of you who have been part of this journey –even if its just by reading this…thank you. Thank you so much.
In addition to the clip above, you can get the recipes for the Handheld Holiday Pies here on the Pickler & Ben site. And you can get my recipe for the Leftover Pie Parfaits over here.
Thanks again for your support. I wish you a wonderful and relaxing Thanksgiving!
