Cooking Cat food this week

This is Cat Cora week at Casa Kessel. In preparation for my interview with my favorite Iron Chef tomorrow at the Seminole Hard Rock in Tampa, I've been making something different every night from "Cat Cora's Kitchen" and "Cooking From the Hip."

I'm anxious to learn more about her new cookbook due out in June called "Classics With a Twist." I can't wait to get my hands on it!

At some point, Cat says, while you're preparing this Porchetta, the expression "What a mess!" will cross your mind. It did mine! But I didn't let that stop me. It was totally worth being covered from wrist to elbow in herb paste to taste this incredibly moist and flavorful pork loin. I served it with crispy roasted potatoes.

I noticed that each of her recipes has a surprising element to them. Capers with brussels sprouts? Mmm, mmm, mmm!

The pudding looks good, no?

My significant other can sometimes be tough to please, when it comes to dessert. Substituting anything other than frozen yogurt can be tricky business.

But we both enjoyed Cat's recipe for Rizogalo (Creamy Rice Pudding). Fresh lemon zest is added to the pudding, as it's cooking. Smooth and fragrant, the pudding cooks up quickly, and I was able to use the leftover rice I had in the fridge.