Heading down to Belize

After an intense weekend that had me cooking for 30 people who came over for a book party Saturday night (to celebrate the release of Paula Derrow's new anthology, "Behind the Bedroom Door") and then filming a Spanish cooking video with two eleven-year-old girls for three hours on Sunday, I'm about to head down to Belize to fact check my book and open up to whatever unexpected or random adventures take place, as they often do down there. I'm a bit nervous about leaving the girls for a week, but Uzi knows the ropes well, and he's got a good support network of babysitters and friends around to help him. I'm traveling with the intrepid Jeff Wynne, my high school pal, who'll be toting one of those nifty small digital video cameras to shoot footage for an online book trailer. Internet access is bound to be spotty for the next week, but I'll undoubtedly have lots to report after our return on February 4. Stay tuned.