Happy 2nd Anniversary to "Boating, Boarding & Burgers"

 I can't believe that it's been two years already. I started this blog two years ago today, June 21, 2014. It was the first day of summer 2014 and my intentions were to do a summer blog about burgers and boating. I was always posting pictures of my burgers on social media and I received so many requests for the recipes that I decided I would do a summer burger blog. I was going to just do the blog for the summer of 2014, kind of a 90 burgers in 90 days sort of thing. I posted one burger a day, without the recipe. At the end of the week, I then revealed the recipe for the burger that received the most likes and comments from all the social media posts. As you see, the "Summer 2014 Burger Blog" kept going even after summer was over.

I have been reflecting back on these last two years and so happy that the blog has continued. Blame it on the Summer Solstice, but I am truly grateful that this blog came into my life. It's amazing what happens after you become an empty-nester! I'm living the dream and fulfilling my passion for cooking. Humbled, grateful and truly blessed! 

Here's a recap of the last two years ~

2014-

Going on-air and doing live cooking demonstrations is one of the main reasons why the blog took off as well as it did. And I have WZZM TV13's Senior Producer, Denise Pritchard, to thank for that. Thanks, Pritchard!  My very first live, on-air grilling segment was just two weeks into me blogging. It was a fourth of July burger segment and TV host, Stephanie Webb, made it so easy. She was great to work with. Thanks, Steph!  (And thanks Robin for coming with me that day and hauling food, and pretending you were the weather girl.)

Then in August, I was asked to do a product review for a "Try It Before You Buy It" segment that aired on WZZM TV13. Thanks, Lauren Stanton! We had fun on that shoot, it was a beautiful morning at the Silver Lake Sand Dunes. 

Then a few weeks later, I was featured by Food Network's New York City Wine & Food Fest for the #nycwffdish burger contest. That was awesome! Thanks, NYCWFF! 

On August 27th, I was invited on to do a Better Bites segment on WZZM with Lauren Stanton during the noon news. I made my Pepperoni Pizza Zucchini Boats. Also, thanks to Scott & Rhonda Greiner for the continuous fresh and local vegetables. 

In September 2014, I went on Take Five & Co - WZZM and grilled my Cowboy Burger. Once the segment was over, then it was time to eat. 

Lauren Stanton, Denise Pritchard & Stephanie Webb 

Then in November, I went back on and did another Better Bites segment with Lauren. I made my Thanksgiving Crudite Platter & Harissa. 

2015-

 I started out the year with an on-air Better Bites segment on January 21st. I made my Buffalo Chicken Quinoa Bites with Apricot Arugula. 

In January, I received a phone call from the Rachael Ray Show. I couldn't believe it! They wanted me to send in a video of my Defend The Den Burger because I was chosen to be in their Fantasy Foodball segment. I was so honored! Thanks to my husband, Ted, for filming it and even being in the end of the video. I even had some great local press on it. Thanks, Allison Scarbrough - Oceana County Press. Then I sent the Rachael Ray Show my idea on what to do with game day leftovers and they wanted another video sent in so they could use it. My daughter, Ariana, and our good friends, The Kolenda's, helped me out and they were featured in the Rachael Ray segment using my recipe. Again, we received more press from Allison at OCP. Thanks, Allison, Kolenda's and Ariana! 

My next segment was on January 27th, I did my Food for the Big Game. Seattle Salami & Pesto Sandwiches VS. New England Cheesy Crab & Corn Dip. 

In March of 2015, I was on-air for a St. Patrick's Day segment. My Irish Beer Cheese Soup with Garlic & Gruyere Croutons. 

In April of 2015, I did an on-air segment at WZZM with Catherine Behrendt for Spring Sporting Snacks. Game Day Ham & Cheese Ranch Sliders and Game Day Jell-O. Thanks, Catherine. 

Asparagus season arrived in Michigan in May 2015 and I was asked by Sarah Greiner & The Michigan Asparagus Advisory Board - MAAB to go on Fox 17's Morning Mix with the reigning National Asparagus Queen, Danielle Kokx, and show my asparagus recipes. I made my Asparagus Guacamole. Thanks Sarah, Danielle & MAAB.

Gina Ferwerda, Leigh Ann Towne & Danielle Kokx 

Then, Danielle and I were off the WZZM TV13 a few weeks later to show my Asparagus Spring Salad in a Parmesan Cup and promote the National Asparagus Festival. 

Then in June of 2015, I went on WZZM and made my Cherry Chipotle Cheese Stuffed Burger with a Mango Mimosa Salsa, Adobo Avocado Aioli on a Pretzel Bun. This is the one that was featured on #nycwffdish contest and it also features a Mad Genius Tip that I learned from Food & Wine's Justin Chapple. Thanks, Justin and it was nice meeting Kim Carson that day as well. 

 July 28th was National Hamburger Day, so I made my Sweet Smell of Summer Burger along with some Healthy Burger Swaps. Thanks to Kim Carson for the healthy food tips. Check out Kim's weight loss journey and her Simple Food Life blog. 

National Filet Mignon Day was August 13, 2015 - Catherine Behrendt and I grilled some my Mango Tuscan Filet Mignon with Avocado Limoncello Compound Butter. Thanks, Catherine! Catherine is always a hoot. :)

In September, we started Tailgating Season. I did a Tailgating Prep segment on the weekend morning news at WZZM with Meredith TerHaar. Thanks, Meredith. 

And then I did a Food Tailgating Segment with Meredith TerHaar and Laura Hartman. Thanks, Meredith and Laura for having me on. 

Then in December, I went on My West Michigan and did my Cheesy Ranch Egg Cups.

2016-

Okay, I'm just going to preface 2016 with "It's been quite a year and it's only June". I can't even describe how humbled and grateful I am for all of these amazing opportunities. God is good....all the time! Okay, here we go into 2016...

I started the New Year off down in Florida. I was so happy to see Stephanie Webb, she has her own show in the Tampa/Sarasota area. Remember Steph used to live up in Michigan and work at WZZM, but she moved to Florida and I went on her show Studio 10 Live - WTSP 10 News and made my Healthy Enchilada Bowl to kick off the New Year. Thank you so much Steph for the invite. And by the way, Studio 10 Live has an awesome kitchen. It's beautiful! 

Then....wait for it.....I got invited to go to NYC to be on Good Morning America! What an amazing opportunity that was. I sent in my recipe for my Pretzel Crusted Chocolate Cake with a Peanut Butter Frosting, and it WON! Here's the GMA video. I also did GMA's Wakeup Call with Rebecca Jarvis, how cool is that?! And then I made GMA's 60 Second Hot List 1.27.16. Thanks to everyone at GMA,  I really appreciate everything! Also, a big thanks to Rocco DiSpirito for judging that day. I was hoping to see Ginger Zee that day since she's from West Michigan, but she was off on maternity leave. Thanks to everyone who watched GMA that morning and was rooting for me, even my WZZM family was rooting for me. I heard that they even talked about it during the morning host chat on My West Michigan. You know what's funny? I still haven't seen the entire 2 hour GMA segment from that morning. I don't have a copy of it, just this clip. (Also, I just received a letter today 6.21.16 from Robin Roberts, It made my day. Thanks, Robin!)

The next day, John Gonzalez at MLive did a amazing article on my GMA appearance. Thank you so much, Gonzo! 

Now, on to February 2016. I started the month off with a segment on Studio 10 Live - Tampa/Sarasota with Stephanie Webb - Supper Bowl: Making the Perfect Burger Bar. February 1st -

Then on February 3rd, MLive/Gonzo featured my Big Game Recipes 2016: Gina Ferwerda's Top 10 Party Dips. Thanks again, Gonzo! 

On February 5th, I went back on WZZM - My West Michigan and did my Big Game Burger Bar with Lauren Stanton. 

On February 6th, I went on WZZM - Weekend Morning Show with Meredith TerHaar and did an Ultimate Super Bowl Decoration Ideas segment.   

Then, on February 7th, Swoon Talent featured my GMA win on a blog post. Thanks, Donna Benner for everything. Check out Donna's Swoon Talent page if you are looking to for a lifestyle expert. She's has something for everyone! 

Valentine's Day was right around the corner and I went back to WZZM and showed their viewers how to make my  GMA Award Winning Cake on-air with Meredith TerHaar. 

Wow, we're only 6 weeks into 2016 and then I get an e-mail from the TODAY Show Food Club inviting me to TODAY Show Broadcast & Breakfast Event in Miami during the SOBEWFF (South Beach Wine & Food Festival). Now, I was on Cloud 9. TODAY Food Club started in November of 2015 and I joined right away. It's an amazing foodie community. If you're a foodie like me, you should check it out and join. You'll love it! Thanks, NBC & TODAY Show! I met so many people at the event and I just want to say how grateful I am that I was included. Here's a few of my new friends from that event and their links - 

Alice Choi - Hip Foodie Mom                           

Molly Shapiro - The Preppy Hostess

Billy Dec - A Chicago Thing

Steve Green - Foodie Chats

Molly Shapiro, Billy Dec, Gina Ferwerda & Al Roker

Since joining the TODAY Food Club, they have featured quite a few of my dishes on their site and even on their weekly e-mails. Thank you so much!

Thank you so much, TODAY Food Club! I truly appreciate it and I can't wait to see what's in store for the Food Club in the future! (And just maybe I will get on the show and do a live segment?! Fingers crossed). 

In April, we celebrated National Grilled Cheese Day. Here's my segment on My West Michigan with Lauren Stanton and my Buffalo Chicken Grilled Cheese/Wedge BLT. 

Then, it was asparagus time again in Michigan. In May 2016, I was invited by the Michigan Asparagus Advisory Board - MAAB to their Inaugural Michigan Asparagus Food Tour 2016. #ohsnap - Thanks, John Bakker & MAAB for the invitation! The farm tour was fun, food was phenomenal and I met tons of bloggers! Also, thanks to Kellie Fox for joining me and sharing her Asparagus wine with the food tour.

Then, I went on WZZM and did my Teriyaki Chicken with Asparagus in a Pineapple Bowl with the reigning National Asparagus Queen, Courtney Kokx. A big thanks to the Kokx's for their asparagus and also to the Oomen's for their purple asparagus that I used on my segments. 

Also in May, ABC The Chew featured my Buffalo Chicken Quinoa Burger on TOP of Avocado Toast  in honor of National Burger Month. That was such an honor. Thanks, ABC The Chew! Mario Batali spends his summers in Traverse City, just an hour north of us. I think he and I should grill out together one of the days. (Someone put the word out to him on this, will you? haha)

Besides being a TODAY Food Contributor, I also became a Jeep Talk Show Contributor. Check out my Jeep Talk Show Debut - Reuben Sandwich Bowl. Thanks, Jeep Talk Show (especially Tony Muckleroy). It's crazy how social media works. Tony saw my Easter Jeep Safari post on Twitter and said that I should come on JTS and do a food segment. I said "of course, anytime". And that is how it started. 

And last, but not least, for this anniversary post is my debut at Indy! No, not racing. My Asparagus Cheddar Cheeseburger along with my Ham & Cheese Asparagus Fries on WISH-TV - IndyStyle in Indianapolis, Indiana. Here's another shoutout to social media, Tracy Forner sent me a message and said "you should come on my show and do some asparagus recipes". I said, "I'll make it happen". And I did. I invited the Asparagus Queen to come with me, just she couldn't. So, the next invite was to a friend and business owner/winemaker, Kellie Fox. Kellie owns The Fox Barn & Winery and she makes her own Asparagus Wine & she partners with Country Dairy to make a special Asparagus Cheddar Cheese. Thanks Kellie for joining me in Indy. And a huge thanks to Tracy Forner for the invite! Thanks to Indy Style producer, Janine, as well for everything. The Indy Style kitchen is awesome! 

So as I close out this LONG post, I just want to reiterate my feelings of gratitude and thankfulness for everyone and everything. None of this would be possible without those extending a helping hand, an invite or simply following my blog and liking my posts and having kind comments. I truly appreciate it! It's crazy to think that it has only been 24 months of blogging and I have done almost 30 LIVE-On-Air segments on TV from Michigan to Florida to New York and Indiana. I have been on GMA, WZZM, Fox 17, Studio 10 Live and Indy Style. I have also been featured by the Rachael Ray Show, ABC The Chew, The TODAY Show, MLive and Oceana County Press. 

And I just have to give one more shoutout to my girls at WZZM for all their continued support! I will be forever grateful to my WZZM family. (And thanks to Val & Denise for getting me those segments so I could use them for my food demo reel.)

 Denise Pritchard, Val Lego, Lauren Stanton & Gina Ferwerda

CHEERS....To More Blogging! 

New blog coming soon! Stay tuned for some exciting news.

I will still have a "Boating, Boarding & Burgers" section on the new blog, but I need to expand because I do more than burgers now.