I had the most interesting, and best tasting, invitation the other day. The NBC station in Chicago has a show called "Taste" that focuses on food in and around the area. They have a celebrity (their word, not mine) dining segment on "Taste" where they ask a local personality to pick their favorite restaurant, and the host, Jenniffer Weigel, joins them for a meal. Well, they asked me!

When I told my husband he said, "They obviously don't know how you eat." He claims I have all of four taste buds, and that I am quite possibly the most aggrevating orderer ever. And he may be right. No matter what's on the menu, it's not exactly the way I'd like it, so my conversations with a waitress go something like this, "May I have the chicken caesar salad without the caesar dressing, and with vinegarette on the side instead?" Not a big deal, and easily accommodated, but it drives him crazy.

As for the four taste buds thing, he came up with that after we learned that the average person has 10,000 taste buds. So I'm not someone who likes to try all sorts of exotic foods, is that a crime? Give me a turkey sandwich and I'm happy.

Today I had a hankering for cake batter - not the actual baked cake, just the batter. So I decided to make a cake. I got out the Pillsbury cake mix and started mixing when it occurred to me. I really didn't want to eat the cake, didn't want to have a cake sitting in the kitchen for my children to eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner for the next two days. Here's where being a "grown-up" has its advantages. Although I felt all sorts of societal pressures to make the mix and then bake the cake, I determined that a 37 year old woman can do whatever the hell she feels like - and I proceeded to just eat the batter out of the bowl without ever making the cake. Just me, three eggs, a package of cake mix, and a spoon. I don't think I'll tell the people over at "Taste" about this.

So, after much thought, I told the people over at "Taste" that I'd like to go to Roy's. They have a killer Hawaiin martini to start with, and a wicked molten chocolate souffle for dessert. Even if we didn't have any other courses, this is my kind of meal.

My friend Johanna Edwards has a new book out, so I thought I'd interview the "next big thing" about her book "The Next Big Thing."

Q: The Next Big Thing is about a woman who goes on a reality weight loss show, From Fat to Fabulous. Where did you get the idea?

A: I’m a big fan of reality TV and I had an idea for a weight-loss show. This was during the summer of 2003, well over a year before NBC premiered “The Biggest Loser.” I still think they ripped me off, but I digress :) At any rate, I made up a reality show and wrote a book around it. If I’d known anything about pitching the networks I probably would have taken that path.

Q: What do you think of the reality show trend? Is it dying out and are people tired of watching people compete for their 15 minutes of fame?

A: I do think it’s waning, which I blame on overkill. The networks went crazy for a while there and just threw any reality show they could think of on the air and people got burned out. I think certain shows – like “American Idol” and “Survivor” – will always be popular, but all of the “clone” shows are going to die out. But even when the trend dies down, I think reality shows will always be around in some form or fashion. MTV’s had “The Real World” and “Road Rules” on the air since the early ‘90s and both shows are still rating’s powerhouses.

Q: Can you tell us about your next book?

A: I’m under a gag order! I can’t even reveal the title. But I will say this: it’s very high concept and it has nothing to do with weight or reality TV. I hope that doesn’t disappoint my fans (um, do I have fans?) Since “The Next Big Thing” debuted on two bestseller lists there’s a pretty good chance my third book may be a sequel to that.


Thanks! You can find out more about Johanna's book at www.johannaedwards.com