Bertinelli Valerie - In the kitchen with David. QVCs resident foodie presents Comfort food shortcuts

When I learned that I would be on In the Kitchen with David with my first cookbook, Valeries Home Cooking, I couldnt believe it. David has long been my moms favorite QVC host. Not only has she been sending me Christmas gifts from QVC for thirty years, but Ive been watching In the Kitchen with David for as long as I can remember. To be asked to appear on Davids show was a dream come true. Boy, was I happy dancing all through my house!

David and I have much in common. We both celebrate food as the most delicious part of life. Both of us also learned how to cook from our parents. David learned to cook Southern classics like smothered pork chops, buttermilk biscuits, and coconut layer cake from his mother and grandmothers, while my mother, nonne (grandmothers), and zie (aunts) taught me Italian classics like Bolognese and risotto as well as Italian-American favorites such as Italian wedding soup and spaghetti and meatballs. (In truth, Ive been cooking longer than Ive been acting, and I started acting when I was twelve years old.)

What you dont realize until you meet and work with David and his QVC team is how genuinely kind they are. They all support one another, and it shows. The funny, smart, generous David that you see on-screen is just as funny, smart, and generous when hes not in front of the camera. David cares so much about food and works so hard to make comfort food easy to prepare. I think David is absolutely magical.

It was such a pleasure when David took me under his culinary wing. Hes been a mentor to me and helped me share my cookbooks, my recipes, and my wines on his show. During our time together we realized that we are true culinary kindred spirits. When it comes to food we think alike, as we discovered when we found that we both have recipes for tomato soup with grilled cheese sandwich croutons in our cookbooks! Inspired by the BLT sandwich, David offers a BETA (bacon, egg, tomato, and avocado) breakfast bowl in Comfort Food Shortcuts, while I have a BLT Pasta in Valeries Home Cooking.

David is genuine. So is his food. He wont recommend anything he doesnt believe in. Like me, he wants recipes that are quick and easy, because like you, were busy people. When we have time to prepare a long-simmering meat sauce, thats great. But more often than not these days, were short on time. Thats when Davids supermarket shortcuts come to the rescue, like an all-in-one skillet breakfast with quick-cooking grits on the bottom and eggs cooked in tomato sauce. Or Chicken Potpie that takes advantage of a rotisserie chicken, condensed cream of chicken soup, and refrigerated buttermilk biscuits. And a ready-in-minutes Cookies and Cream Dip thats a spin on the old-fashioned icebox cake with chocolate wafers and prepared whipped topping.

Once you pick up Davids Comfort Food Shortcuts, your cooking will become easier and faster. And you wont want to put down his book. Unless its time to sit down at the table.