The Cattle Call – Interview with Katie Lee, Cook Book Author, and Food Network Host

The Cattle Call – All the beef that’s behind the people who make & connect us to the Burgerverse.

Raised in West Virginia, Katie Lee learned the value of using seasonal ingredients by cooking alongside Grandma Dora with fresh vegetables from her grandpa’s garden and meat from her family’s cattle and pig farms. Today, Katie is a co-host on Food Network’s “The Kitchen,” and the author of three cookbooks, The Comfort Table (Simon & Schuster, 2008) and The Comfort Table: Recipes for Everyday Occasions (Simon & Schuster, 2009), and The Endless Summer Cookbook (release date: Spring 2015).

Katie also published her first novel, Groundswell, in 2011. Katie has a beautiful new cookbook coming out April 2015. Endless Summer features over 100 new recipes perfect for summer entertaining. The dishes are inspired by farm fresh ingredients and Katie’s deeply rooted love of the summer season—all of which are easy and approachable for home cooks!

Outside of her culinary and literary adventures, Katie sits on the Celebrity Board for Feeding America and the Culinary Council of Food Bank For New York City. When not working or volunteering, she enjoys surfing, traveling and playing with her pug, Fionula. She resides in the Hamptons and Tribeca.

Name: Katie Lee

Website: www.katieleehome.com

Where do you live: Southampton, NY

Favorite style of Burger: Diner burger.  I like really simple, but great quality, burgers.  I prefer them to be cooked on a griddle, on a regular bun, with perfectly melted American cheese, ketchup, yellow mustard, iceberg lettuce, thinly sliced white onion, and extra pickles.  And there needs to be grease running down my arm.

Favorite Childhood Burger: My grandma’s Logan County Burger (which won the NYCWFF Burger Bash!)

Burger that haunts your dreams at night: In-N-Out

What is the one Burger you’ve always wanted to try but still have not: I’d like to go to Louis’ Lunch in CT, which is supposed to be the birthplace of the burger.

The secret to making a great Burger:  Burger to bun ratio… I don’t like too much bun or too much burger, it’s got to be just right…

Under no circumstances whatsoever, what should NEVER be put on a Burger: I’m not into fancy burgers, so you won’t find me eating burgers with foie gras or truffles!

If you could have a Burger with anyone alive, or dead, fictional or real, who would it be and where would you take them: My grandpa! I would take him to Shake Shack, I think he would have liked their burgers and the crinkle cut fries. I know he would have loved their shakes too!

Please use this space to talk about or plug anything else you want: Summer is my favorite time of year, and I love making burgers during the summer. My new cookbook, The Endless Summer Cookbook, launches April 14th and has four delicious and inventive burger recipes.

We’ve hand selected Katie to be one of the official judges for the 2015 South Beach Wine & Food Festival® Amstel Light Burger Bash presented by Schweid & Sons and hosted by Rachael Ray.