okay, perfect #9: a recipe-ish for a TV show premiere!

La Pitchoune: Cooking in France is on Magnolia Network, the Magnolia App, HBO Max, and Discovery+. Every Sunday through November (and into December) 4p/3c. Seven Episodes total!

TL;DR: La Pitchoune: Cooking in France premiered this past week on Magnolia Network. Each week at 4p/3c on Sundays, you can watch on the network. And streaming on HBO Max, Discovery+, and the Magnolia app the same day. And I almost ran over Chip and Joanna Gaines in line at my ski instructor job, and now I’m on their television network. Life’s weird, or is it?

Hi, if you’re new here, it’s probably because you opt-ed in at www.lapeetch.com, which opts you in to this newsletter, too.

Also…Below is a recipe for the Chickpea and Tomato Salad in the 1st episode of La Pitchoune: Cooking in France.

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In 2015, I bought La Pitchoune/La Peetch. I bought this ‘famous house’ pretty much ‘site unseen’, thanks to a strange breadcrumb that my Oma (grandmother) left behind right before her death. A story in and of itself, but that story…I’ll save for my cookbook.

This story, is about how we ended up with a television show. On Magnolia Network. From the outside, it probably looks ‘easy’ (like so many things). Citizen Pictures finds Makenna and Chris, makes show.

But like most things it’s a much, much, much longer and more convoluted story.

Before I bought La Peetch, I was a business consultant. I had worked with everything from Fortune 100 companies, to small-businesses, to oil and gas manufacturers. I had project managed. I had built a business that was wildly successful, as a neurodivergent human, who was openly queer. And I was burnt out, exhausted, and needed a break. So I decided to release most of my clients, and become a ski instructor for the year.

THAT is when I discovered La Peetch on the market. I saw it as a way out of hours and hours of Zoom meetings. A place where I could build a business and actually interact with people, without a screen. (Ironic, now. Considering what happened with the “pan-ini” and everyone going virtual for…everything…But I digress).

When I told a friend of mine what I was up to, he, a former executive at Food Network, recommended that I consider pitching a TV show to some production companies. The first he mentioned to me was one that had connections to Chip and Joanna Gaines.

I’m not a big TV watcher, but during that period of my life, I was an avid watcher (one might say binger) of Fixer Upper. So I knew a lot about the Gaines’ and their show. And the idea of pitching to someone who had connections with them (even if only adjacently) was SUPER appealing.

He figured since I was…

A) Buying a famous house that spent many years being occupied by Julia Child

B) That house was in France (Americans LOVE France)

C) I was doing something novel with how I was planning on teaching cooking

…that it was a no-brainer.


So I wrote a pitch. Found a few producers at said company on LinkedIn. And clicked send. (Little did I know most companies don’t like cold pitches, I learned that later.)

The next day, I quite literally almost RAN into Chip and Jo at my place of employment.  Ok, well not me….exactly.  But one of my weekly Development Team Ski Kiddos almost did–she might have been only four, but she seemed to always have rocket boosters on her skis.

As I pulled my student out of the barrier, Chip laughed and said ‘Hi there’.  And my jaw dropped.  Not because I cared about seeing Chip and Jo in real life in any other context, but in this case?

I took it as a ‘sign’. 

A little wink from the universe that I put in my back pocket for later. 

When I got off the hill, I told the story to my students’ mom. I figured any mom would find it funny that their child was inches away from plowing over some TV stars. 

Turns out that mom worked in the TV industry.  And her family was literally neighbours with an executive at the company I had just sent my pitch to. THE DAY BEFORE. 

She offered to help me out. 
She sent emails. 
Stood up for the project. Connected me with everyone she could think of.

EVEN with all those signs, the help, etc.  The production company turned me down.

Since then, I have followed all these breadcrumbs. And A LOT happened behind the scenes. 

I kept pitching. 
I kept getting no’s.
I kept meeting people who could put me in the right rooms, but they never came to fruition.
Eight pitch decks, multiple production companies, multiple no’s.

I applied for pre-existing shows, got accepted, said no due to contracts that could ruin my business.
I applied for shows, and got a lot of ’No thanks’. 


So imagine my JOY when ‘out of the blue’ a dream production company, Citizen Pictures (who makes a lot of food related content all over the big name networks) emails me in March of 2021, saying ‘We’d like to pitch a show about you, your husband, and your cooking school to Magnolia* Network.’

Yes, the very network Chip and Jo have been building. 

Serendipity?  You could say that. 
Part of the plan?  I’m not a big believer in plans. 
“Humans plan, God/Universe laughs”

(*Fun facts: Chris and I met on Magnolia St. and our Daughter is named Magnolia, too)

But I AM in a big believer of holding the energy and intention of the things you want.  Building from that place. And following the breadcrumbs/little signs without giving up.

Because when you do?  Things happen.  What you give attention to, grows.  But not because you waited. Rather because you continued to hold a vision, and build behind the scenes. Keep chugging, even when the ‘big vision’ you have isn’t ‘manifesting’. 

Because you never freaking know, when all the visioning and actions you’ve been taking and doing actually shows up in reality. 

From my first ‘glint’ of ‘maybe it would be fun to make a TV show about my life in France, and my experience running La Peetch’ to my first recognition that it could maybe actually happen’? FIVE AND A HALF YEARS. 

And that wasn’t even a real yes.  That was a ‘Sure, let’s try a proof of concept’. 

The YES LET’S GO TO SERIES took nearly SIX YEARS from when I first thought about it and took my first action. 

-Six years of ‘not yet’.

-Six years of building pitch decks, writing emails, meeting the ‘right people’.

-Six years of saying ‘keep going’

-Until…the ‘no’ became “it’s time, YES’. 

And now that YES is coming to your small screen. Every Sunday. For six more weeks. Our first episode has yielded in so many of your writing beautiful, and kind things to me. Rekindling your favorite memories of your experiences at La Peetch, and the Courageous Cooking School.

It those kind, and beautiful messages that keep the team going. Because for every nice message? There are some nasty ones too.

P.S. I’ll be addressing some things about recipes next week. Because I am BACK to being weekly! And I need to clear up a few things. I am not against recipes. Not one bit, I am a very (VERY) proficient recipe developer and tester. It’s just that I fully believe, we are far too reliant on them as home cooks. And THAT is what Courageous Cooking is really about.

Now for A RECIPE!

From my cookbook (coming in 2024 from Simon Element, an imprint of Simon & Schuster ) AND from Episode One of La Pitchoune: Cooking in France

Chickpea and Cherry Tomato Salad with Turmeric Fried Chickpeas

Since it is the end of tomato season here in France AND much of the United States, and the show just came out it seems like the PERFECT time to share my favorite cherry tomato salad. I riff on life while making this salad on Episode One, and it is a delight to share with family and friends.

Ingredients 

1⁄2 cup of drained canned chickpeas, (DO NOT rinse them) 

1 shallot, sliced thinly crosswise

1 teaspoon cumin seed, crushed

1 teaspoon coriander seed, crushed

Red wine vinegar

1⁄4 cup of cornstarch

Vegetable oil

1 teaspoon turmeric

2 pints cherry tomatoes, cut lengthwise. Try to multicoloured tomatoes if you can, or red will do just fine

1 teaspoon Kosher Salt

Olive Oil

4 tablespoons cilantro leaves, simply pulled off stems

1 teaspoon Chilli Flake of Choice (or red pepper flakes!)

Flaky Salt

Optional topping: Fried Garlic Chips (No recipe for this, it’s just super tasty)

The Approach

In the small bowl, mix the crushed cumin and coriander seed, and a pinch of salt. Add the shallots, cover the mixture with red wine vinegar, and set aside.

On a plate, toss the chickpeas in cornstarch. Make sure they are well-covered, and let sit for at least 3 minutes to allow the chickpea liquid to absorb a coating of the cornstarch.

In the large bowl, gently combine the tomatoes with 1 teaspoon of salt. Let stand for at least 10 minutes.

Using your hand as a colander, toss the chickpeas and let excess cornstarch fall off into the plate. Set aside until ready to fry.

In the frying pan, heat enough oil to come about 1⁄8 up the side of the pan. When the oil starts to shimmer, test it with a chickpea. It should sizzle loudly but not pop oil back at you. If it pops? Turn down the heat. If it makes no noise, increase heat (or wait a bit longer for it to heat).

Lower the cornstarched chickpeas into the hot oil, let sit for 15 seconds. Then swirl the chickpeas around in the oil so they roll around and get crisp all the way around. This should take less than a minute.

Using a slotted spoon, remove the chickpeas from the oil, and set into the paper towel-lined bowl. Let sit for 30 seconds or so, which will allow the paper towels to absorb any excess oil. Add 1⁄2 teaspoon of turmeric the bowl, and toss so the chickpeas get brightly colored.

Now! To construct!

Drain the excess liquid expelled by the tomatoes. Add a tablespoon of oil to the bowl. Mix gently with a spoon. If that isn’t enough oil to coat the tomatoes well, add another glug and repeat.

Place tomatoes on a serving platter. Scatter the shallots (evading the spices in the maceration) on top of the tomatoes.

Sprinkle with the fried chickpeas, top with cilantro leaves. Finish with a pinch of flaky salt.

Below is a little side note for paid subscribers. It’s a big thank you, and a little ‘hello’ from me since I have been MIA for a minute. If you want to become a paid subscriber? You can. It’s $7 a month.