Back From L.A "Now Eat This" Give Away!

I'm back from the fantastic, all expenses paid by Bertolli Frozen Meals, whirlwind culinary tour of Los Angeles that I won through a contest on Claudia's blog Journey Of An Italian Cook last Friday.

It was like living a dream ......

.....being picked up at home in this stretch limousine and driven to the airport......

.....and staying in a boutique hotel in Beverly Hills......

....located just a few blocks from Rodeo Drive one of the most famous shopping areas in the world!

I met Claudia the next day, and we were driven all around LA in this limo SUV....

....with four other sweet bloggers and their four contest winners....

...to have a day sampling delicious foods such as these...

...and these!

The ultimate highlight was having a wine tasting and small bite pairing at the Four Seasons Hotel new restaurant Culina with Rocco DiSpirito...

...who then graciously signed his wonderful new cookbook called "Now Eat This" for each of us!

Rocco's cookbook is full of delicious comfort food entrees that he has re-worked with healthy ingredients and cooking techniques to reduce them to under 350 calories each!  After this foodie trip I know I'll be using his cookbook faithfully the next few weeks as I now have to go on a diet.

I know delicious low calorie recipes are something many of us are interested in this time of the year, when our waistlines are so visible, and Rocco graciously signed a copy of his cookbook I bought for a lucky reader of my blog!  Please leave a comment telling me what your favorite comfort food is and you'll have a chance to win it! If you are a follower of my blog, or become a new follower, please let me know in a separate comment and you'll receive two chances to win. I'll announce the winner next Friday, May 21. Good luck! 

This post was just a few highlights of into the "Heart of L.A Culinary Tour" I was lucky enough to attend on Tuesday ... more details to follow!

FTC disclosure: I received this trip courtesy of Bertolli Frozen Meals (all-expenses paid covering transportation, hotel and meals) and my opinions are independent of the paid or sponsored relationship.

I'm adding this post to Foodie Friday over on the Designs By Gollum blog.  Michael Lee (aka Gollum) has a wonderful Le Creuset Skillet facebook give away contest going on, and links to many fabulous Foodie Friday contributors today's blog post you won't want to miss!