Gina Meyers is best known for her pop-culture television trivia books and cooking expertise related to the Twilight Saga and the iconic television show Bewitched.
From an early age, she had a passion for the culinary arts, experimenting in the kitchen with baking breads, muffins, cookies and cakes. For 7 years, Gina taught a plethora of entertaining and fun cooking classes for kids from Easy Meals in Minutes to Storybook Cooking and Crafts.
She has been a television consultant for Popstar! Magazine, Columbia Pictures Television and Nickelodeon Magazine. She is a featured business expert at business.com and is the San Jose Examiner’s cooking guru. Meyers has a Bachelor of Science in Business with an emphasis in Marketing and owns a Publishing firm, Serendipity Media Group.
Read more about Gina’s new book “Love at First Bite, The Unofficial Twilight Cookbook” HERE.
Let’s get to know Gina Meyers together…
What projects are you currently working on or have in the near future?
I am currently working on an I Dream of Jeannie Trivia and More book, a children’s book about the Louisiana oil spill, titled: New Hope, Help Our Precious Environment, and a recreation of Love at First Bite revamped in full color glossy photos, a keepsake, and My Life as a Twilight Fan, an autobiographical approach to the journey. Inspirational Life, Exploring Our Passions in 365 Days. I have recently completed a book of inspiration entitled: Life Lessons Learned from My Fortunes: Inspiration Edition.
I am also publishing Brooklyn artist and poet Liz Longos’ book on Australian birds, called A Bird and Its Albatross: a Tale of Renewal.
Twilight Cast on Alan Carr, Chatty Man Show, enjoying Twilight Tribute Punch, excerpt from my Love at First Bite, The Unofficial Twilight Cookbook.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAM6GKkqThg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xo2KeaJkXJA
Tell us about your new book, Love at First Bite?
Love at First Bite is brimming with juicy tantalizing recipes, so brace yourself and bring your very best table manners and appetites and don’t forget your forks.
The international phenomenon known as Twilight fever has ignited excitement in the kitchen. Delectable delights to satisfy the appetites of the humans can be found in the fictional book Twilight. Love at First Bite Cookbook, is meant to offer a satisfying array of warm, lovely dishes that anyone of any age can cook with ease and enjoyment. To help the reader determine the level of skill involved in preparing each dish, the recipes are labeled “easy”, “medium”, or “hard”. One fork means “easy”, two forks, “medium”, and three forks means it is a “difficult” or “hard” recipe.
Filled with forbidden love, action, and danger, so brace yourself, and bring your very best table manners and your appetites. Don’t forget your forks. Beautiful Bella Swan will be serving up some scrumptious delights to satisfy even the pickiest puritan “vegetarian” vampires.
Intertwined in the pages of Love at First Bite, you will find Bell’s Lasagna, Harry’s Famous Fish Fry, Mushroom Ravioli, Blushing Bella Punch, just to name a few. Your senses will be filled deep with the sweet aroma of mouthwatering I Dare You to Eat Pizza Edward, and sinfully delicious Red Velvet Cake. You know when the rooster crows, it is time to awaken your sense of taste and take a Bite at Dawn to Lemon Blueberry cake, Plum Pecan Waffles, or Grand Slam Sundae.
Red juicy ripe vine tomatoes marinated in raspberry vinaigrette tempts the taste buds and is a featured salad in the There Are Cold Cut Sandwiches in the Fridge section. Pucker up and take a long cool sip of Sparkling Honey Lemonade in a citrus salt rimmed glass, one of the virgin recipes found in the beverage chapter. Give into your epicurean temptation and take a bite into Love at First Bite Cookbook. The recipes will leave you breathless and hungry for more.
Besides luscious recipes, you’ll also find cast lists for Twilight, New Moon, and Eclipse, as well a Twilight Saga Party Planning Checklist, Bella’s Prom Planner, and tons of trivia. Also find invaluable resources on upcoming Love at First Bite Cooking Classes and more.
What made you want to produce this book?
My goal is to create excitement in the kitchen and reignite the passion for cooking. My goal is to bring teens and Twi-Moms and Twi-Dads back into the kitchen. I think reading is so important, and Stephenie Meyer has brought a lot of people back to reading, I want to bring people back into the kitchen cooking together and having unique themed parties. All of my recipes are labeled, “one fork” “easy”, “two forks” medium, and “three forks”, difficult. Most ingredients are very economical and the point is to have fun and to stay on budget.
I got into writing as a way to express myself. Through the art of sharing my experiences, and impressions of mainly iconic popular culture TV shows, books and movies. It is my interpretation and expression of these characters and settings.
Do you have a Twilight obsession?
I do not have a Twilight obsession; I am a fan and a popular culture expert. I enjoy igniting a passion for cooking in the kitchen. I express myself creatively through the exploration of entertaining tips, trivia tidbits, and through the art of grouping, naming and making unique themed recipes. I believe that Twilight is a love story, like Romeo and Juliet, with elements of forbidden love. The Twilight saga brings me back to a simpler time and rekindles the feelings of my first love.
Which foods and drinks most excite your taste buds?
Some foods that most excite my taste buds are sweet potato fries with aioli sauce, deep fried artichoke hearts, cracked crab marinated overnight in balsamic vinegar, olive oil, parsley, and garlic with fresh baked sourdough bread from San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf. My favorite recipe from Love at First Bite is Red Velvet Cake.
What is your greatest extravagance?
My greatest extravagance is traveling. I love exploring new cultures, tastes, flavors, sounds, and sights.
Greatest lesson learnt?
It’s the journey in life and not the destination.
My Mother/Father always told me…
Life is not a dress rehearsal. My father also told me to remember to stop and take time to smell the roses. My mothers also told me to remember to prune, feed, and water the roses.
Is there a charity/cause that is close to you and if so, why?
We contribute and participate in NAMI, the National Alliance for Mental Illness.
Signature dish?
Boneless, skinless Chicken breasts marinated in white wine, with fresh mushrooms, sun dried tomatoes, artichokes, and capers.
The one thing I can’t leave home without is…
The one thing I can’t leave home without is my purse. It weighs well over 10 pounds, I don’t even know what’s in there, but surely something I might need.
If you could be a fly on the wall of any celebrity home, who’s wall would you like to sit on?
If I could be a fly on the wall of any celebrities home, it would be actor Gerard Butler. He seems to have a keen sense of style.
Three pet hates?
1. Legalistic people
2. Ignorant people
3. Insensitive individuals
Where would be your ultimate holiday destination?
My ultimate holiday destination would be Sydney of course! Tahiti and the Almalfi Coast too.
What is one quality you have, that you hope your children will get and carry through life?
The one quality that I have that I hope my children will carry would be to be persistent in all things. In the long run, persistence is the only thing that carries a person through life, to have a can do attitude and to keep plugging along.
What is a fashion trend you hope will never resurface? (eg. Hyper-colour shirts!)
The worst fashion trend that I would hope would never come back would be the mullet hair cut and baggy jeans with the boxers showing, yuck. I am not a fan of leisure suits either.
What car do you drive, best thing about the car and why you bought it?
My favorite color is red. All of my cars at one time or another have been the color red. Our latest car is a convertible red Chrysler, Seabring. I love owning a convertible, it is so freeing, especially when we drive it to one of our favorite beaches in California.
If you were in a position where millions and millions of children globally admired you, what would be the one thing you would want to be a role model of? (eg. Body image, drugs etc…)
Princess Diana and Audrey Hepburn, both touched the lives of children through caring and compassion. I love children and as a result of my magical life, I get the opportunity to meet children and to share my love of cooking, writing, and creating with them. I want the children of the world to discover their true innate passions.
Love At First Bite can be purchased from www.iUniverse.com and through all major booksellers.
