Melissa d arabian biography meaning
The cooking of Food Network's Melissa d'Arabian is about more than Ten Dollar Dinners that are both easy and delicious; her brand of cooking is an extension of her life experiences and her philosophy about living well.
New York Times bestseller Ten Dollar Dinners (Clarkson Potter, a division of Random House, Inc.)
Raised by a single mom who put herself though medical school when Melissa was just a child, d'Arabian learned the hard way that the seemingly simple everyday act of feeding your children isn't so easy for everyone, and there's some days when it's downright impossible. In grade school, Melissa's mom often had to send her to school without lunch, or lunch money. So Melissa took advantage of the school's pay-back program: she would tell the principal that she "forgot" her lunch, and she would get a meal ticket -- and an IOU -- for the forty-five cent lunch.
"I did this for a while," recounted Melissa, "until the IOUs piled up and my mom was notified. My mom told me there was no way she could pay all this money back, and that she just couldn't afford even forty-five cents for lunch."
Then the receptionist at her school caught on to the fact that Melissa often "forgot" her lunch, and she knew that Melissa didn't live in the best part of town. The receptionist put two-and-two together and connected Melissa to a program whereby she could earn a "free" lunch. "I would serve lunch to the other kids during the lunch recess," explained Melissa. "Then when they went out to play I could sit down and eat for free. That small action on the part of the receptionist had a huge impact on the trajectory of my life."
Melissa's self-proclaimed personal life ambition is "To partner with women and help them to achieve whatever is their life ambition -- which really, whatever it is, is a life well-lived."
Starting with her mother and the kind receptionist, Melissa's life has centered around women and how they can have a positive impact on each others Growing up as the daughter of a single mother struggling to put herself through school, Melissa d'Arabian learned the value of a dollar. There was a time when the refrigerator was empty, save a jar of pickles. Not only do those memories stay with d'Arabian, they clearly resonate with her audience. Now in her seventh season as host of Food Network's "Ten Dollar Dinners," airing at 9 a.m. Sundays, the mother of four shows you don't have to break the bank to eat well. Expanding upon the budget-friendly focus of her program, she's compiled her money-saving strategies in a new cookbook, "Ten Dollar Dinners: 140 Recipes and Tips to Elevate Simple, Fresh Meals Any Night of the Week" (Clarkson Potter, $24.99). D'Arabian, who credits a Potato-Bacon Torte with helping her win "Next Food Network Star" in 2009, also shares tips and recipes on Cooking Channel's "Drop 5 lbs with Good Housekeeping" (10 a.m. Saturdays). She recently moved to San Diego with her husband and four daughters, just down the block from her sister and her five kids. For recipes and more, go to melissadarabian.net. Q.You lived and worked in France for several years and met your husband there. What were the food lessons you brought back? A. I'm a fan of saying, because it is true, living in Paris is really where I learned to cook from ingredients, not a cookbook. They're such an ingredient-driven culture. I love the idea of going to the produce market, then the butcher, the baker. All the little markets and picking up different foods, I loved that. That's what I took away from living in Paris for four years, this love of ingredients and letting the ingredients drive the recipes. Q. This path to Food Network and your first audition essentially came about with homemade yogurt? A. I was living in Dallas at the time. I was speaking to a lot of moms' groups, women's clubs, that kind of stuff, speaking to Here are the tastingspoons players. I’m in the middle (Carolyn). Daughter Sara on the right, and daughter-in-law Karen on the left. I started the blog in 2007, as a way to share recipes with my family. Now in 2024, I’m still doing 99% of the blogging and holding out hope that these two lovely and excellent cooks will participate. They both lead very busy lives, so we’ll see. – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – BOOK READING (from Carolyn): Jackie, by Dawn Tripp. Oh goodness. What a book. I loved it from the first page. It’s a novel, however. Tripp has done plenty of research, trying to ferret out the truth about Jackie Kennedy’s real life. If the novel is a true portrayal of her life, I admire Jackie even more. She was an extremely shy person. Jack cared about her, but not enough. She adored her children. She loved Jack (sadly). The Kennedy family insisted Jack marry a suitable bride, and he did. But he was so busy being a politician, he forgot about his family. And philandered, as we know. Tragic story, really. I never did comprehend why she married Onassis, but you’ll understand (better) if you read the book. The Day the World Came to Town, by Jim DeFede. Please do read this book. It’s a charmer. True story about the little town of Gander, Newfoundland, when 38 jets landed there on 9/11, and stayed there for days and days until the U.S. reopened its airports. It’s about the loving, generous people of Gander who gathered in the 7,000 people who came off those planes and needed to stay somewhere – and be fed, and bathed, and soothed. You’ll fall in love with the people of Gander. I sure did. The Frozen River, by Ariel Lawhon. I do like mysteries. Love Louise Penny, for instance. This is one that keeps your nose in it to find out what happens next. A man&# Melissa d'Arabian knows keys to cheap eats
November 1st always feel like a clean slate to me. The Halloween decorations are tucked away until next autumn and thoughts turn to cozy moments revolving around family and food. Recently I caught up with "Next Food Network Star" season five winner, television host, NYT best-selling author and mom of four, Melissa d"Arabian to talk about happy things, moving forward and her series "The Picky Eaters Project" on FoodNetwork.com.
The Happygirl: Good morning, Melissa! It's so good to meet you! I'm so excited to talk with you. You've had a pretty amazing life and career.
Melissa d'Arabian: I won't complain! I do like my life!
The Happygirl: I'd like to just dive in, if we could. Reading over your biography, you've had some dark periods in your life and yet you have the most ebullient personality. How did you maintain your faith and your strong belief system when things weren't in the brightest space?
Melissa d'Arabian: Are you referring to my mom?
The Happygirl: Yes.
Melissa d'Arabian: I will tell you this. My mom died by suicide when I was twenty and that sent me into a decade long bit of a faith crisis. That was a very difficult time but I think I came out of that with even a stronger faith and with a more personal connection to my faith. I think the result is that I rely on my faith for everything and it is such a deep integrated part of who I am. I think that going through a decade like that, in that moment, that loss put a lot of things into perspective. Also losing someone dear to me via suicide really proved to me that happiness is an inside job. I think that has carried with me into how I am now. People say “Oh, you have such a cool job. You’re on TV and you won Food Network Star. . .” Don’t get me wrong. I am grateful for all of that and what a huge blessing it was to have won. Was it exciting? Of course it was but the truth is I am not happier now than I was five years a