A lot happened during my 48-hour visit to my friends in Ohio. It included two television appearances, a program for staff at the Ohio State University Medical Center and a program for members attending the annual convention of the Ohio Dietetics Association.  There are so many wonderful messages about eggs to deliver. My hat’s off to Connie Cahill, a colleague of many – uh – decades(!) who set it all up for me!

My visit began, as it often does, chopping, dicing, slicing and organizing all of the ingredients I’d be using in my omelet-making demonstrations. Happily, Connie arranged for her friend Cindy to lend a hand. So, we invaded Connie’s kitchen to do the food preparation, and then sorted through it all to determine what went to each venue.  Incredibly confusing, but fun in the process! After all our hard work, we had an amazing barbecue dinner with Jim Chakeres, Director of the Ohio Poultry Association, and two of his staff. I don’t know how that Wonder Woman Connie found time to pull it all together!

Next I appeared on Channel 28 ABC/FOX “Good Morning Columbus” show where, in a 3½ minute segment, I taught the anchor, Andy Domiano, how to fix an omelet! Luckily, I also had just enough time to make a special omelet to celebrate Joe – the floor director’s – 28th birthday.  (*sigh* I’d kill to be 28 again.) The following morning at WCMH-TV NBC, I had a five minute segment with host Gail Hogan on “Good Day Columbus.” My favorite part of television appearances is watching people’s happy faces when they realize they can make a perfect omelet!

I also combined a couple of my omelet demonstration programs for my Ohio visit. Both of the programs covered how incredible the egg is – the nutrition, the versatility, the affordability, the body and mind energy it delivers, etc.  There’s so much to talk about when it comes to eggs! At the Ohio State University Medical Center, each of the 10 or 12 different omelet variations we cooked were plated and then displayed on a table. Then, everyone was invited to sample the omelets on display. At the Ohio Dietetics Association convention I held an “Omelet Workshop” where more than 200 dieticians prepared their own omelets for breakfast. I know they enjoyed the process!

There’s always time to enjoy myself on these trips, too. Wherever I travel I always ask my host to go to breakfast with me at a local restaurant where wonderful things are done with eggs. This time, Connie took me to place called Northstar on High St. in Columbus.  It serves fresh and organic fare so there’s plenty of granola, brown rice, tofu and beans on the menu – of course there’s eggs too. I ordered sweet potato and smoked turkey hash topped with two perfectly done sunny side up eggs. The combination was totally new to me, and it tasted terrific. Eggs with white potatoes are a familiar favorite, but sweet potatoes?  Whod’ve thunk!

Whenever I’m in Ohio I crave Skyline Chili, so I made sure to have a meal there with Jim Chakeres. He says the secret ingredient in the chili is cinnamon, but it isn’t just the chili itself that makes the dish. It’s the combination of spaghetti, chili, onions, beans and a huge mountain of shredded American cheese all piled on an oval plate. To eat it, you start at one end of the plate and slice through the pile with a fork in order to taste each layer in every bite. Twisting the spaghetti around the fork is totally unacceptable! I can’t get enough of it. In addition to all of my friends in Ohio whom I love reuniting with whenever possible, my reunion with Skyline Chili was a priority. What a great trip!

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